Mercury, Venus, Planet Moon, Mars thought Max. For some reason he thought that didn’t sound right.
“What was the old name for Planet Moon?” asked Max.
“I can’t remember what they called it,” said Carl. “Though Philbert might know. Hopefully they weren’t caught as well.”
I’ll have to remember to ask him the next time I see him, thought Max.
“Back to the occupation conversation, if the priest caste set up the system for occupations, do they have to draw their occupation before they can become a priest?”
“No. Being a priest is hereditary. Only they are born with the grace of the House Gods that enables them to be our spiritual leaders.”
“What about the chief?”
“That occupation is also drawn for from the box,” Carl replied.
“Isn’t that dangerous? What if someone picked to be the Chief and was terrible at it?”
“Hmm, that is a danger, although it has never happened that I’m aware of. Philbert says that the House Gods chose what people will do long before they ever come of age and pick.”
That’s convenient, thought Max.
Cameron rolled over and awake. “Damn,” he swore. “Where’s everybody else?”
Carl answered first. “Max and Mark are over in the other half of the room, and everyone else is lost elsewhere.”
Before anyone could warn him, Cameron attempted to stand up, only to fall back down much like Max earlier.
“The floor is too slippery to stand, by the way,” Carl said.
“So how are we going to get out of here?”
“I’m working on that,” said a Mark who had been lying down awake for some time. “We wait for our captors to come in here and try to take us. Then we knock them off their feet by propelling our selves at them across the floor after pushing off with great force from those bars in the middle of the room. They fall over, and we push them to the other side of the room, away from the door which will push us towards the door and freedom.”
“That might work, but what if there are more of them outside?” Carl said.
“Take our chances with them and fight!”
Then the light coming from the slit in the door was interrupted.
“Get ready, here they come,” Mark whispered. They grabbed onto the bars and awaited for the door to open. Quickly the door opened, and a figure was silhouettes against the light. He did not enter, merely remained where he was standing. Then he spoke.
“How are you, and where did you come from?” the voice asked.
Noticing that his plan probably would not work now that the figure appeared to have no intention of entering the room, Mark did not move, nor did anyone else answer him.