His right eye immediately started itching and watering, but he could see enough from his left to know he was alone in the big room with the table and chairs and all the TV screens and stuff. He turned a little and reached for the weight on his shoulder, a little worried about what he might find.
His fingers sank deep into soft fur and a small warm body began to vibrate with a low rumbling sound. The little cat arched into a long stretch and yawn then hopped to the floor with a chirpy meow that reminded Tyler of a bird. A flick of the fluffy tail invited him to follow and Tyler wasted no time doing exactly that. Maybe the cat knew where to find something to eat.
The cat trotted away, pausing before a door that whooshed open automatically, then closed after Tyler passed through. A humongous rock passage stretched in both directions like something out of a castle. Every little bit, a window or door opened off the hallway and light came from actual burning torches in holders on the wall.
Tyler managed to breathe through the excitement. Every boy he knew dreamed about this kind of chance their whole life—to explore a real castle. Too bad it wouldn't have knights and horses and a moat and everything. That would be totally cool. Of course, since the totally cool options were off the table, he could be happy with just checking out the buildings and grounds.
After he ate.
The cat must have been as amazed as Tyler, since it looked around too, instead of taking off. But when Tyler moved, it started jogging to the right like it knew exactly where to go. For all he knew, it did, so he shrugged and headed after it.
A ways down the hall, he came to a window set high in the wall. Standing on tip-toe, he was tall enough to see out just a bit, enough to really annoy him. The tops of some trees, majorly gigantic rocks and fog weren't enough to give him a clue what else was out there. If he hadn't been starving, he'd have climbed up for a better look. The cat had waited and took off again as soon as Tyler turned from the window.
He didn't stop at the next window and soon after it a wooden door big enough for a knight in armor to ride his horse through stood open. Tyler stuck his head in to check for signs there might be something to eat in that direction. The big-as-a-barn room held floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with tons of books. No librarian would allow food or liquids near books, so he kept on searching.
Tyler and the cat went on a little faster. The next door, as big as the last, whooshed open as they approached. Tempting odors drew Tyler right through and into another wicked large room. A big black couch sat opposite a castle-sized flat screen where someone with a red cap was currently kicking major butt in what looked like the new Halo.
Tyler stood fascinated with the realistic graphics, forgetting his hunger as he watched the person take out an army of the Covenant. The room sat in silence except for the violent clatter of a controller in serious use.
"Squid face, three o-clock!" Tyler yelled, just as the ugly elite alien filled the screen. The gamer threw a sticky grenade at the thing's head. The awesome beeeeyump sounded before the ugly creature's four jaws went kaboom. "Ohhhh," Tyler yelled in triumph.
The smell of pizza interrupted Tyler's gaming hunger and he turned his attention to the table by the couch. A ginormous cheese pizza, still steaming, made his mouth water and his stomach growl. And right beside it, a six pack of grape soda sat with the exact right amount of sweat on the cans. Drool flooded his mouth and threatened to run over before he could move toward that pizza.
At the table, he hesitated a second. He really should ask, but gamers tended to get annoyed when someone interrupted them for anything at all, especially right in the middle of a mass war.
"Help yourself kid. When you're done, I'll show you around the joint."
Tyler nearly jumped out of his skin and the cat arched its back and hissed.
The gamer, a guy close to Tyler's size, paused the game then turned with a grin. "Go 'head. It's all yours."
Tyler shrugged and grabbed a slice and cracked open a soda, then dropped to sit on the couch. He stuffed himself past sick while the other dude went back to playing. The instant he decided he should stop before he actually got sick, his companion saved his game and started shutting the system down.
"I'm Francis. You're Tyler, right?"
"Yeah." Tyler paid attention to the other boy's looks for the first time.
Francis was skinny but his sleeveless concert T-shirt revealed a very impressive set of biceps that even an older kid would be glad to have. The odd shade of his skin reminded Tyler of someone with a really dark tan and a deep sunburn over it. Almost brick red hair hung in layers to shoulders a little too wide for a kid. Maybe he was older than Tyler first thought.
"What is this place? I mean, why are we here?" Tyler asked the questions his curiosity demanded ever since he woke up. None of the explanations he'd come up with made sense.