The Iron Hallway

Chapter 15

The sights, sounds, and smells of the Kemarian village proved quite distinct from any other place I had been before. For one thing, the roads weren't built out of concrete, dirt, or any of the conventional materials used for the task. Instead, enormous rugs were spread across the walkways, large enough to cover dozens of yards each. No ordinary rugs were employed for the purpose either, as each one bore a striking beauty, with vivid colors and intriguing ornamentation. 

When I finally convinced my eyes to leave the gorgeous carpets and look around elsewhere, still other sights intrigued me. On one side of the path, lovely almond-eyed women lined a long table and sold flowers to those who passed by. The fragrant blossoms blessed my eyes and nose both as we passed by, and some of them in particular caught my interest, because many varieties appeared there that I had never seen before. However, interesting as the exotic flowers were, Abigail's favorite, pink roses, popped out at me and refused to let my attention wander long from them. Moments like these served as painful reminders of just how much I missed my girlfriend. 

I snatched myself out of my thoughts and realized that my companions had stopped at the flower table. I spun around and headed back. As I approached, I saw that Hannah had been persuaded to purchase a flower. She handed some money to the young ladies with a grin, only for them to inform her that they didn't accept Odegoan bucks. Her smile dropped somewhat, until Khemera stepped in, paid for the flower, and told Hannah to keep her money. Her grin returned and increased as she slipped the glittery purple flower into her hair. 

As Khemera approached me, I cleared my throat. "So, where're we headed?" 

"Somewhere we can find lots of people." 

"But I thought we were gonna get gas." I challenged. 

"That's the last thing we're gonna do, unless you want to be the one lugging that heavy barrel around our whole time here." 

I flinched at the thought. "Yeah...I'd rather not." 

"Thought so." the old man replied with a smirk. 

At that moment, a stringy-haired teenager raced up to us and shoved a flyer in Khemera's face. "You've gotta get your butt over to the music festival right now! Ontoko's playing!" 

Khemera eyed the flyer perplexedly. "Where is this festival being held?" 

"The dome in the center of the town, same as always!" 

"I'll consider it. Thank you, young man." 

Without even acknowledging Khemera's gratitude, the boy raced off and presumably performed the same routine with others. 

"Well, now we know where we're going." Khemera stated calmly. 

"Why would we go there? I don't know any Ontoko!" I protested. 

"Baird, we're looking for people. Music festivals are filled with what?" 

"People!" Hannah exclaimed. 

I shrugged. "I suppose you have a point." 

A five-minute walk took us to the dome the young man had spoken of, where booming music assaulted my ears even before we entered the door. This is certainly not my kind of place. Against my better judgement, I followed my comrades inside and braced myself for tinnitus and a massive headache. 

******************** 

(Abigail's POV) 

My heart raced. Jamente had decided to start rehearsal bright and early at 8 o'clock, and his first order of business had been to have us try our outfits on. So much sooner than I was expecting, Wendy and I had locked ourselves away in the fitting room.