The Watchers

by Reakes, Wendy

  As they made their way along paths of shells and pearls, Mia wondered, and not for the first time, about the lack of females in their world. They were all male adults as vibrant and desirable as any real man, more so…What woman wouldn’t want them, and if they were so desirable, how had they escaped the chance for reproduction? They had the ‘equipment’, she pondered privately.

  In front of them, about twenty meters away, they approached the rock face over the waterfall, which Jesus called the green man. Its face became bigger as they got closer, more omnipotent and real, the features distorting close up, becoming simply a cliff side of crevices and gulley's covered in oak leaves, holly and mistletoe. His beard was trailing ivy, his hair bushes of green and his eyes were placed naturally within two rounded holes where inside each, a magnificent emerald reflected the light. To his left, a waterfall crashed to a small pool where fresh-water fishes of gold and rainbow colours swam beneath its surface among reeds and rocks, and coral as fine as porcelain.

  Uriel spoke as they all gathered around the pool watching the life under the water. “Take the entrance at the side of the rock.”

  Jesus turned about and asked, ‘The fabled green man…who is he?”

  “His image represents our father.”

  “Your father?” muttered Jesus. “You mean God?”

  “Yes, of course. It’s no different to man having a cross to use as a symbol of worship. We worship this image because it is formed of the earth, by the mother’s own hands. His face is a good representation of how our father looks.”

  They all regarded the cliff face as if they were looking at it in a new light. The Angels had a mother and a father, supernatural in man’s perception, but very real to them.

  Uriel spoke, bringing their attention back to the matter in hand. "Go behind the fall of water. It will take you to the other side, if you are wise."

  Mia stepped forward. “You’re not coming!?” They couldn’t go alone. Not without the Angels to guide them.

  “We will wait for you here. You may return by the same route when you are ready. But you must return. You cannot stay.”

  Stay? Why would they stay? And what was on the other side? They were acting as if it was a secret vault containing something too precious to expose. "What is on the other side?"

  “You will see,” he said. “Go now.”

  Guided by Tom, the four stumbled over rocks next to the pool and walked through a darkened crevice at the side of the green man’s face. The path took them to a ledge behind the trailing ivy, hidden like a secret passage behind a hanging tapestry made of living green silk.

  Tom’s stomach churned so bad he blamed it on the lack of meat in his diet. Fruit was okay, but man, it couldn’t beat a prime American steak. They were about to enter a world never before seen by any human. The prospect of exploring new territory in a world that was already a wondrous find was almost too much to for his stomach to bear. He wondered if he should vomit. Spill his guts behind a rock somewhere, but for now, he placed his hand inside the ivy that hung like beaded drapes and pulled it to one side. When he stepped through, Mia and the others followed.

  Behind was a deep crevice in the rock, chiselled out by the fall of water which had eroded it over centuries. The path extended behind the waterfall like a curved walkway and as Tom sidled along with the water crashing down in front of him, the rest followed suit so that all four of them were hidden from view by the veil of water. Halfway along the walkway, they took a new direction to a short tunnel, and as they traipsed with anxious footsteps they came to an enormous low-ceiling cavern.

  The cave was about half the size of a football pitch, but it was raised only a meter above their heads, making Tom hang his neck even though there was enough room to stand upright. The ceiling was covered with thin spiked anthodites resembling white crystallised flowers. And around the walls, rock formations appeared to resemble clusters of pearls, glistening, as if they had been sprinkled with fairy dust. From the ceiling, and spiralling throughout the cave, ancient stalactites fell, joining with stalagmites rising from the rock floor. To Tom and the others grouped together at its entrance, it looked like a princely ballroom filled with marble-like pillars to waltz around.

  “It’s beautiful.” Keri’s voice echoed around the room. It’s beautiful, it’s beauty…

  Tom walked around the edges trying to find an entrance. The low ceiling was making him feel claustrophobic. “There’s no way out.” He stood against the pearl covered rocks and turned his head to detect an illusion, something for them to walk through, but again there was nothing.

  “There must be a way through,” Jesus said as he walked around the pillars. He smoothed his hands over the magnificent structures, so naturally formed and preserved for millennia.

  Mia’s called out. “Uriel said something about finding our way through ‘if we are wise’.” Her voice reverberated against the walls.

  Jesus smiled at the echo of her voice, if we are wise, if we are… “I might have an idea, but I’m not sure…” He wandered about in a circle. “I could be wrong, but it looks like the Cretan maze. It’s hard to distinguish from here, but I’m trying to picture it from above and it does seem to follow the ‘labyrinth’ principle. Like Woodhenge”

  “So?” Tom asked.

  “We could try and follow the path through the pillars. If their spiral castle is based on the Cretan maze, it would seem reasonable to assume that this is the same sort of principle.”

  Tom rubbed his bare arms. It was cold down there. “Except this cave is naturally formed, not manmade.”

  Mia paced forward as if she was going to embrace Tom. But of course, she didn't. "Don't try and analyse this, Stoney. It is beyond our comprehension just like everything in the Watcher's world."

  “Yeah, got that. Okay, let’s try it. It’s cold in here.”

  Jesus began at the point nearest to them and walked to the left until he reached the far pillar. He knew the way of the labyrinth since he'd drawn the image often enough. There was only one route and that was the way he would go. He encouraged the others to follow him in case a portal -or something-opened suddenly. He changed direction and walked right back to the point he started from, except he was on the next pillar along. He turned back and then moved left again, and then right until they finally reached the centre.

  The group stood still and silent, waiting for something –anything-to happen.

  “Look.” Keri was glancing back to where they had just walked, and through the pillars, there formed a walkway leading to a gate set into the wall. It was clearly visible from where they were all standing and yet if they hadn’t have followed the maze, they would not have seen it.

  Tom stared at the gate. “Whatever is behind that entrance must be extremely important to the Watchers,” he said. “To have such a complex route…they must be guarding something very precious to them.”

  “Well,” Mia announced as she went towards the gate, “Now’s the time to find out.”

  Chapter 40

  In the front hall, Maggie leaned over the desk, waiting for the receptionist to give her some print-outs. She turned her head to watch Jay saunter out of the lift. “There you are. About time,” she hollered, as she rested on her walking stick. “You’ll have to pay her. The paper is £5 a page.”

  “Five…” That’s like…twelve dollars. How many reams had she asked for? Jeese. He placed his key upon the front desk. The receptionist was still gazing at her computer screen. “Room 7. Pullman. Any messages?” She looked up just as the printer at her side began churning out paper. Jay was counting them as they appeared.

  She checked the screen. “No messages, sir.”

  Maggie poked him in the ribs. “Don’t tell me you’re still waiting for a message from Fran? After all I’ve said.”

  "I'd rather stick to the land of the living if that's all right with you? It's a lot more predictable."

  “You think so, do you? Son, you just keep getting it wrong.”

 
; He nodded to the stack of papers she held up to her chest and tucked behind her arm. “What have you got there? And how many.”

  Maggie spoke directly to the receptionist. “Put it on his bill.” She linked her arm through Jay’s and pulled him towards the entrance. As they reached the door, Jay glanced back at the receptionist, who quickly averted her eyes and went back to her computer screen. Man, they must look like an odd pair. He attempted to release Maggie from her hold on him, but she pulled him back.

  “We’re going to the Challis Well Gardens,” she said as they stepped outside the hotel. “It’s a tourist attraction at the foot of the Glastonbury Tor.”

  As they walked past houses and shops with strange objects displayed in their windows, crystal balls, figurines of medieval horses and soldiers, fantastical creatures like dragons and unicorns, pendants with emblems and birthstones, new age jewellery, books on mystic legend; King Arthur, the ruins of Glastonbury cathedral…the list went on. Jay had already strolled through them all, asking about Fran and generally browsing through the strange merchandise.

  “What is it about Glastonbury, Maggie? I can’t say I’ve ever seen a place like it.”

  She tightened her grip on his arm. She was slowing her pace, leaning heavily on her stick. “This place…” she paused as she gathered her thoughts on how to summarise Glastonbury. “Why this is Avalon, sweetie. It’s Avalon.”

  “Avalon!? As in King Arthur and Guinevere?”

  “Of course, but it’s so much more than that. Glastonbury Abbey is the oldest Christian church in the world, which according to legend was built by Joseph of Arimathea's request to house the Holy Grail, 65 years after the death of Jesus. Joseph was Jesus’ great uncle. He brought him here to England on business, during those lost years when Jesus was just a boy.” She squinted as the sun blazed down on them.

  Jay was wearing Raybans. He had read about the ‘Jesus’ connection somewhere. He wasn’t sure about believing that part since it was the first he’d heard and he always preferred a second opinion on anything he chose to believe in. And King Arthur….Avalon, they were mythical stories. No one believed in that stuff.

  Maggie stopped to catch her breath and looked in a window of a shop called Man, Myth and Magik. Displayed inside were so many curiosities, Jay didn’t know where to look first. It was as crowded as Maggie’s apartment. “So you believe all these myths and legends, Maggie?”

  “Of course! All legends start from somewhere, my boy. There isn’t a person in this town who doesn’t believe. It is their life. Where their dreams began.” She watched him grin. He didn’t try to hide it. “The people here may seem strange to you, but at least they believe in something. Whereas, you, American boy…what do you believe in?”

  “I guess I don’t believe in much unless I’ve got proof.”

  “Well, something tells me that even if proof slapped you in the face, you’d still find a reason to doubt. That’s the way you are. A city boy. I feel sorry for you in a way.”

  “Thanks. And for your information, I’ve seen the Watchers with my own eyes.”

  Maggie stopped in her tracks. It was as if she had turned to stone. Without moving a muscle, she said, “Why haven’t you mentioned this to me before, and when did you see them?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want your imagination going off into some spiritually driven realm, as it does with everything else.”

  “You idiot,” she said sternly after she slapped him on the arm. She was thinking things through. “Okay, we’ll save the details for later, but do you have any idea what this mean, city boy?”

  He rolled his eyes. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “You’re connected.”

  “To the Angels?”

  “The Watchers don’t let anyone see them unless they want to be seen. You’ve been chosen.”

  “Chosen?”

  “Kudos. You’re Kudos.” She rubbed his arm where she’d hit him. “I feel quite honoured.”

  “Good for you. Can we concentrate on the present now? We’re looking for Fran remember.”

  “I remember everything, American boy. Everything.”

  They arrived at the Challis Well gardens where Maggie waited for him to open the gate so she could step inside. “You pay over there,” she said.

  Jay pulled out his wallet and handed over a fifty. He didn’t get back much change. The place was cheap in comparison to the tourist attractions in New York, but it was still expensive. Not that anyone did tourist attractions anymore. The museum of natural history and the New York art gallery had been boarded up and sealed like Fort Knox, to be opened, they say, when the economy has improved.

  “It looks like a nice place, Maggie. But why are we here?”

  She was sitting on a bench next to a shallow stream. There were no other tourists. No one else there. “‘Nice’!? What sort of adjective is that?” she scowled. “It’s enchanting, serene, mystical…it’s not nice.” She stood up and they started to walk along a winding path amid shrubs and borders. “I’ll tell you what we’re doing here…I’ve got these theories, see!” Suddenly Maggie seemed unsure of herself, a little coy even, if that was possible. It was as if she had a lot to say but didn’t know how to say it. Jay found it strangely endearing.

  She sat down again and he sat alongside her on the bench. The sun was hidden behind some trees but he could still feel its heat on his face and neck. He closed his eyes, letting the peace of the garden wash over him. It was the strangest sensation, one that he couldn’t remember ever experiencing before. It was a very, very nice place. “So what’s the theory? I’m listening.” He kept his eyes closed and waited for her to begin. He could feel her shifting closer to him and he heard her rustling papers. When she nudged him with her elbow, he opened his eyes.

  “Do you see this?”

  He took the paper from her. It was an aerial map. He turned it around to look at it from all angles to see if there was something he recognised.

  Impatiently, Maggie snatched it back. “Have you ever heard of the Pineal Gland, Yankee boy? Some call it the third eye. It’s a tiny muscle in your brain and when it’s activated, you can see things other people can’t see. Your creativity and your intelligence are enhanced or even revealed for the first time if you’re lucky enough to have it…” She whipped him across the arm with the paper. “Well, you ain’t got one. Period!”

  Jay rubbed his arm and grinned. “Do you know how many bruises I have already?”

  “Look, here,” she said, holding the aerial map on his lap. “I pulled this off Google Earth before they shut it down. I don’t know why the hell they did that.”

  "Something to do with North Korea. Remember Pokemon Go in 2016? The whole thing blew up when they discovered the pesky little things in high-security locations. They shut down Pokemon and Google Earth at the same time. Too much exposure, the powers that be said. Can't let the public see too much…there may be an uprising." Now he was being sarcastic, but nothing riled him more than the world leaders holding back information that was deemed ‘not in the best interest of the public'. It was a minefield out there. Jay knew it and so did everyone else. It was just a matter of time before they blew everyone to bits with their nuclear devices. Despite the cover-ups, the word was out, the Russians, American's and the British have followed Red China's precedent and developed their own dirty bombs, or enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), better known as neutron bombs, with the potential to kill every living thing in range, with no impact on the environment or structures. Along with Nano tech, those little nani-blighters could be programmed to clean up the mess, leaving everything nice and dead-body-free for the ones left behind. The whole thing was terrifying, but Jay was past caring. When it’s your time to go, you go. And there was nothing anyone can do about it. End of!

  Maggie was looking at her Google earth image. “It’s an aerial view of the Glastonbury Tor. See that…?” She pointed to an almond shaped mound amongst green fields.
“That’s the Tor. What does it look like to you?”

  “Without being rude,” he answered, “it looks like a woman’s…” He couldn’t say it.

  “Vulva,” she finished for him. “Well done. So now we’re getting somewhere.” Maggie pointed to a symbol on the gate at the entrance to the gardens. “See that?” she asked. “It’s the Vesica Piscis symbol, made by linking two circles together to create an almond shape in its centre. That shape is called the Mandorla, which is Latin for almond.” Maggie smiled. “See?”

  “Not really.”

  She shook her head and frowned. "During medieval times, the almond was interpreted as a symbol of the embryo enclosed in the uterus," Maggie said.

  “Okaayyy.”

  “The Mandorla is interpreted as minimal space. Minimal space is the place where you leave one room and have not yet entered another. Do you understand?”

  Jay nodded.

  “All transformation takes place in minimal space. It’s a very potent symbol, and it’s everywhere. Christians use the symbol as a method to describe the coming together of heaven and earth, between the divine and human. Christ and the Virgin Mary are often portrayed in the framework of the Mandorla.” Maggie had a glint in her eye.

  “Right, so the Vesica Pisceee…”

  Maggie shook her head. “Vesica Pisces. Pronounced Jessica Crisis.”

  “So the…Vesica Pisces creates the Mandorla and the Mandorla is the shape of the Glastonbury Tor?”

  “Correct.”

  “So?”

  “Get your credit card out.”

  Jay leaned forward and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. Maggie swiped his MasterCard from the sleeve. “What’s that symbol?” She was pointing to the MasterCard logo of two circles intertwined.