by Mark Boliek
Chapter 11
“Bang!” A loud noise echoed through the great hall and the blast carried into the dining room. Another large tree branch smashed against the back outside windows. Some of my young listeners scurried under the cherry table to hide from the racket. My heart jumped. Fortunately, none of the glass panes shattered.
Everyone immediately wanted to know what had happened and scanned nervously around the room, with only the crackling of the fire breaking the silence. Suddenly, a person appeared at one of the glass French doors of the dining hall. Lightning flashed and lit his dark silhouette. The children still seated at the table, myself included, jolted with fright, and the patrons beneath the cherry slab buried their heads deeper in their arms. The mysterious person then flung the door open and entered from the outside recklessly, rain splattering on the floor and wind howling through the jamb. I have to believe that the titanic, gruesome image of Billy weighed heavily on me and my listeners. For a brief moment, I think we were afraid the forgotten old spirit had decided to make a surprise appearance.
A few anxious moments later, the unknown person flipped his hood from atop of his head. We were very relieved to see that it was only my grandson who was coming inside from the storm. He had just completed the task of latching the shutters from the windows outside of the main hall. He had tried to close them from inside before venturing into the gale, but the wind kept him from pulling the shutters closed. He tried to dry himself as much as possible as he explained his actions. He apologized for halting my storytelling and only wanted to say that he would never attempt that maneuver again. He also needed to speak with the children’s parents.
The storm was just not letting up. I thought it strange. There were no hurricanes or any other abnormal weather patterns in the forecast for that day in our region. I then thought that it was probably a very strong northeaster that had just popped up. Those mighty tempests do that from time to time. My grandson took the parents back into the great hall to discuss what the plan for the rest of the evening might be. I continued my story to my dedicated listeners.
“I know it has been quite a long day,” I said to the children. Like I have mentioned before, I may be a bad judge of mood, but my new friends seemed frightened. I searched for the proper words to say. “I didn’t plan on taking this long with the story. I thought I might have stopped earlier and if you wanted to come back, we could have started where we left off tomorrow. I know this is quite a long tale. I am glad though that you have a chance to listen to the end of the story. It would have been a shame if some of you were not able to come back tomorrow.”
I tried to calm the kids as much as possible. With the storm still raging and a bit of uncertainty dangling in the air, the continuation of the story would be a good way to keep our minds off of it.
“I want to keep hearing it,” a little black-haired boy said. “I really like it.”
The other children, including the ones that found their way back to the surface from underneath the table, agreed. It would most likely only be me and the children for the rest of the story. I believe my grandson would be busy by now preparing their parents for staying the night in the citadel that was Warhead Dale.
“I want to start again by saying that you all have been just wonderful. There is still quite a bit of story left like I said, but I just wanted to take a brief second to express that you all have been very polite and brave.” I noticed a tinge of confidence wash over the group’s faces. “It’s now that we all have to be even braver. For JT, Kali and Michael, even though they had been on quite a journey to get back to Ol’ Captain Luke’s house, the real adventure was about to start.
If you think really hard, you might be able to conclude that it would have been very easy for the trio to have just walked away from what might be waiting for them through that empty hole in Warhead Dale.
The chance to leave was right before them. I may have alluded to this earlier, but a reoccurring theme through this tale is that people are faced with many, almost limitless choices in their lives; and as just a reminder, JT, Kali, and Michael are not excluded from that group.
The tunnel of trees that led to the black gate leading to Michael’s big, old, blue car could have been easily navigated, regardless of the rain. A nice shower never really hurt anyone, right?”
The children’s eyes sparkled from the flames of the fire as they listened intently, and I could see the thought of the horrible storm empty their minds. “It may have been the inevitability of Billy haunting them for the rest of their lives that may have made them enter the house, but I believe it was something different. Despite the complaining, whining, bickering, and the obvious confusion endured on the trek in returning to the big house, I think Kali, JT, and Michael were committed to whatever might transpire through to the end, no matter how awful or good it might be. You can decide that for yourself; but nevertheless, their choice was to follow Billy into darkness.”
“JT, Kali, and Michael walked through the shadowy opening of Warhead Dale and found themselves standing in a great hall.”
“That big hall in there?” a little voice pierced the air of the adjacent dining room. “The one we were in earlier, right?”
“That’s correct,” I replied, “but like I mentioned before, at the time JT, Kali, and Michael entered the house, it was very run down; nothing like what you see now.”
“JT luckily found some dry logs still stashed in the firewood closet by the big fireplace. He took the small flashlight back from Kali and fiddled about until he found an old pack of matches in an end table. The first couple of matches crumbled as he tried to strike them, but one of the three left in the small box lit, and fortunately warmth would be felt. He had started many fires while living with the Shorts on their farm, and soon the light from his first fire in Warhead Dale illuminated the great room.
Water leaked from cracks in the roof as the rain pounded down. The fat drops created quarter to silver dollar-sized craters in the thick dust that covered every inch of the big hall, including its contents. JT stood up from the fire and was suddenly taken aback. Over the mantle, JT stared at a large painting of his grandfather - the original of the small picture he found in the old man’s journal at the farm. The painting appeared lifelike as his grandfather’s eyes beamed more fiercely and his white hair waved in the light of the flickering flames.
The three wandered about the great hall and dodged drops of water spitting from the ceiling. Their fidgeting about the space was more about trying to take in everything that had just happened than really investigating their surroundings. It took a while for the words to develop in their minds before they were able to form any coherent opinion or rational thought about the encounter with Billy in front of Warhead Dale.
Eventually bored from poking around, they pulled an old white sheet off of a rather long, musty, old green couch in front of the fireplace. It was the one place where water wasn’t leaking. They all wondered where Billy had gone. It was rather strange that the monster now chose to leave them alone after all the trouble it took to get them back to the house.
‘I still can’t believe I’m back here,’ Kali remarked as she stretched her legs out toward the fire to warm her feet. ‘I’m still not convinced this is a good idea, but did you get a good look at Billy? What happened to him?’
‘He’s changed, that’s for sure,’ Michael said solemnly.
‘You think?’ Kali said with her ever present sarcasm.
‘Can you fill me in a little about that?’ JT asked. He wasn’t hesitant in asking for more information any longer. ‘You know I can’t—’
‘I know you can’t remember anything,’ interrupted Michael. Finally, he had the chance to remind someone of JT’s condition, even if it was JT himself. ‘He appeared a lot more digestible back then, that’s for one.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Kali remarked, shaking her head.
‘I don’t recall him being quite that tall,’ continued Michael, ‘and what’s with all of that slimy paint on his
face?’ Michael tried to relax but squirmed impatiently. They all scanned around, spying and preparing for Billy to jump out at any moment. ‘Anyway, he’s much scarier looking now.’
‘He’s also much more demanding,’ Kali continued. ‘I mean, he was never the polite one, but he was never this forceful from what I remember. I can always recall him as the philosophical, mind game-playing type. He always tried to coax you to do certain things. Sometimes, he was even funny.’ Kali’s chin sunk into her chest. ‘I don’t know. I’m just curious as to what all of the fuss was in getting us back here.’
Michael perked up. Adrenaline coated his veins. He jumped to his feet. JT was rather tired and wondered how Michael had any energy left from the day’s events.
‘Don’t you want to look around the house some more?’ Michael asked JT. His voice trembled and his eyes scanned back and forth around the room. He pointed frantically toward doors that led to other rooms.
JT took a deep breath. Michael’s emotions were off kilter again, much like they were at the Shorts’ farm under the big oak tree. JT was becoming used to his frenzied shifts, but the mood swings annoyingly lingered.
‘Um, it’s raining and dark and there’s no power,” JT answered with a huffed voice. ‘I’m not sure I would know what I was looking at or for anyway.’ JT laid his head over the back of the sofa.
‘I guess you got a point,’ Michael said twiddling his hands. He was let down.
‘Just relax,’ Kali said to Michael. She kicked her feet beside JT and curled into a ball. Her head gently rested on the fluffy, dusty arm of the sofa.
Michael took an anxious breath and his mind raced. He found it hard to relax knowing Billy was somewhere in the house, and he wondered how JT and Kali could be so at ease.
‘That’s cool,’ Michael said in the most soothing way possible, but his voice still squeaked. ‘It’s good to relax. It’s been a long day.’ Michael’s eyes got big. He rummaged around the great hall and took a few raindrops that pelted him on top of his head. He yanked a dirty sheet off of a small wooden chair, cracked and worn with age. He dragged it beside JT and the couch and plopped down on it. He squirmed around the seat trying to get comfortable.
JT and Kali had no problem being at ease. It was odd that after the confrontation with Billy and discovering they were practically helpless in the situation at hand, along with the rain outside and the uncertainty that lay in front of them, they were quite content. The warm fire soothed their bodies, and the dancing light placed them in a serene trance that broke any thoughts about the monstrous Billy.
For JT especially, it had been a very long two days. In that short time, he had met many interesting people, including Michael, Kali, and now Billy. Just three days before, none of those names meant anything; now, they were the center of his universe. The Shorts, their farm, and his humdrum, non-adventurous years there seemed like a lifetime away. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Kali, her emotions revved to a fevered pitch, succumbed, and let her fear and anxiety go. It had been a long trip for her as well. She woke up early that morning and debated whether she would relent and answer Michael’s letter by returning to Athens Eden. It was about an hour and a half before she actually left her house. That’s why she was late to Linda’s diner. She was exhausted. Though she may regret her decision in coming, the debate for her was over. She had to make the best of the events that had transpired after she entered her not-so-sleepy, little hometown.
It didn’t take long; Kali and JT slipped into sleep.”
“JT, in his slumber, fell into a very familiar dream. The thick white mist around him separated and he stood once again on the deck of the Mary Maid, the ship that had materialized just a few nights before in the nighttime visit from Billy. His heart jumped. The smell of salt, wet canvas, and rope exploded in his nose as he cleared the haze.
A thin mist blanketed the deck as it swayed gently and evenly to and fro. The large white sails fluttered above him and the rigging whipped against their masts. JT heard the noise of creaking footsteps on warped wood behind him. He closed his eyes. His mind rattled. He thought back to the first time when he occupied the same space on the massive ship. He was still so very scared and confused at all that had transpired on his journey to Warhead Dale. He was even more terrified at the endless possibilities that may lie in front of him. He wished in all of his heart that the same person would be standing there as the first time he heard those heavy footsteps.
‘Hello boy,’ a rough, deep voice behind him coughed.
JT, for a brief second, thought it was Billy, but the voice was very different. When he performed a very neat about face, his wish was answered. Standing in his full military uniform, white hair flowing, medals jingling scratching his thick, bushy mustache, was his grandfather, Captain Luke Xavier Davis.
‘Granddad?’ JT asked. His stomach launched into his throat. Quickly, he looked up to the night sky in his dream, unable to see pinhole stars through the dense mist, but luckily there was also no vortex that would drain his vision.
‘Aye, it is me. It’s been a very long time since I last saw you, son,’ Captain Luke said with a Celtic accent. JT had never heard a twang like that before. The old man crossed his arms and sighed with disappointment toward JT. ‘I’m really worried about you, my boy. Things just haven’t worked out quite like I’d hoped.’
JT didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t remember his grandfather, but Ol’ Captain Luke didn’t seem to care. JT could see the concern and worry in the old sailor’s eyes. ‘Um,’ JT thought for a moment, but realized that whatever answer he gave would not be the right one. ‘I’m sorry?’
‘That’s not enough.’ The old man’s arm popped up and scratched beneath his nose. ‘Sorry doesn’t cut it. You have to go back to Bruinduer before it’s too late. It will collapse soon,’ Captain Luke said with urgency.
‘How did you get here? Where did you come from?’ JT said anxiously. ‘I have a lot of questions.’
Ol’ Captain Luke turned and walked to the aged, treated railing of the ship and peered out across the vast gray emptiness. He beamed as though his eyes burned right through the mist that swallowed them. ‘I’m not really sure how I came to get here JT. What’s important is that I am here. Bruinduer is collapsing and we can’t let that happen. I tried to tell you earlier, but Billy… I don’t know what’s wrong with him. You have no idea what the consequences could be.’
Captain Luke raised his head and glanced at the flapping sails. It was obvious he tried to gather his thoughts. He then continued. ‘If Bruinduer collapses, my existence will be in question.’ The old sailor then panned down the mast and stared at JT as though he were reading his thoughts through the air. ‘It is hard to know because of the mystery and complexity of Bruinduer. Two scenarios come to mind: First, Bruinduer collapses and nothing significant happens; Second, in a worst case, Bruinduer collapses causing some sort of rip in time and I cease to exist beginning from the time I and my crew first found the cane and the door over fifty years ago. There’s just so many unknowns that might happen as a result of that world vanishing.’ Captain Luke grabbed his elbows and anxiousness filled his eyes. ‘I shudder at the thought. That’s why you have to go back through the Mahogany Door.’
‘This is all just so confusing to me,’ said JT, his voice sinking. ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I can’t remember anything.’ JT felt helpless about his grandfather’s plight.
Ol’ Captain Luke walked over and placed his firm, aged hands on JT’s shoulders. ‘I don’t know how to get your memory back, son. I wish I did, but you have to find the strength to help me - to help us. You are the steward of the key.’ Captain Luke nodded toward JT, his pointed nose angling at his chest, his eyes rolling upward to JT’s as if to mentally send his thoughts to him.
JT stared back into his grandfather’s dark eyes. His eyebrows lowered and then jumped halfway up his forehead. The old man’s suggestion hit him like a ton of bricks. ‘I guess it doesn’
t really matter if I know what to do or not. If you don’t exist, especially since the time you found the door, then I guess I won’t exist either, right?’
Captain Luke bowed and winked with a quick jerk of his neck. He staggered back over to the ship’s railing. ‘I wish we would have never found that blasted thing. We should’ve shredded it when we had the chance.’ He pounded his fist down on the wood. ‘Now it may be too late.’
‘Michael said that you spent most of your life trying to find the Mahogany Door? Why?’ JT asked. It was strange that his granddad wanted to destroy something now after he spent such a long time trying to find it.
‘It is a fool that says what could have been Sunday on a Monday.’ Captain Luke turned back to JT. ‘You never see things quite so clearly until after they actually happen. But like I said, it’s too late for that. We have to deal with what’s at stake now.’ He slouched and let out a mammoth sigh. A lifetime of regret seemed to rush through his body. ‘I wasted a lot of time. Hopian and that door consumed me. I lost some precious things.’ The old sailor placed his right hand gently on JT’s arm. Regardless of whether the vision was real or imagined, JT felt Captain Luke’s hand tremble. ‘I don’t want to lose you, too.’
JT dropped his head; it started to ache, which was strange. He had never felt pain in a dream. He decided to change the subject. ‘What is this steward of the key?’
‘I guess I have to come to the realization that you really can’t remember anything. No one told you about that, eh?’ Ol’ Captain Luke reached his hand beneath his straggly white beard and rubbed his chin.
‘Willy, I mean, Billy - whatever, said I was the steward of the key. He said he didn’t trust me with it; said you shouldn’t have trusted me with it either.’ JT tried to keep his focus, but his head still spun with pain. ‘How do I know I can’t be trusted, if I don’t know what it means?’
‘The Vryheid were very smart despite their primitive ways, I guess,’ Ol’ Captain Luke began his tale. ‘As I hunted for Hopian and the Mahogany Door I came to understand that the tribe actually tried to pay as much attention to detail as possible.’ A cheesy little smile cracked on his face and he nodded. ‘After they created this key, they didn’t want people to know that it was a key. I theorize that they designed it in the shape of a cane so that no one would suspect it to be an actual unlocking instrument.
From my research in the matter and in trying to think logically, if someone attacked a person with a cane, the attacker would disable the victim by dispensing with the cane, leaving his prey more vulnerable. The perpetrator would have no need for the cane. The cane, or in this case, the key, would be safe lying in some field or ditch, hopefully safe.’ JT tried to follow his grandfather, but his head still throbbed with piercing pain.
‘Of course,’ continued Ol’ Captain Luke, ‘if the attacker saw the ruby eyes in the skull and decided to take them, it is realistic to think that the assailant would take the precious stones and then discard the remaining cane. Again, this would disable the key. It must be intact to work. But that’s beside the point. I’m rambling; I apologize.’
‘No, no,’ JT responded. It’s very interesting. Keep going.’ JT became used to the pounding pain and ignored it.
‘The steward of the key,’ Captain Luke continued, ‘is the only person that can delegate the power obtained by the key. He or she is the only one that can unlock the Mahogany Door. You see, the Vryheid played around with powers that should have been left alone. I’m almost certain they couldn’t control it. Nevertheless, they put a rule in place for the cane that only the steward could utilize its power. That ability and title can only be passed to whomever the current steward deems worthy. And that, my son, for the time being - happens to be you.’
JT shook his head. He had been the steward of the key and could have opened the door to Bruinduer for eight years but never knew it. He thought that Billy might be right. He shouldn’t be trusted with the cane.
‘What about Billy? I want to know more about him.’ JT skimmed over the deck of the Mary Maid and looked back up at his grandfather. ‘Michael told me a little.’
Ol’ Captain Luke paused for a moment. His smile disappeared in his beard. ‘Billy, my boy, is something that not even I was ready for. Sometimes I wish I could explain the complexities that riddle the definition of the being.’
JT’s expression tinted with confusion.
‘In other words,’ Ol’ Captain Luke explained, ‘Billy is a tough nut to crack.’ The old man then straightened his beard. His eyes rolled to the left and then shot to the sky as he tried to collect his thoughts on the matter.
‘Let me see,’ the old sailor continued. ‘Man has his limitations. When man creates something, he has to create everything that has to do with the object he is producing.’
JT nodded his head. ‘O... K?’
Ol’ Captain Luke shook his head and took a deep breath. He could see his grandson had a hard time understanding. An idea then popped into the old sailor’s brain.
‘Just imagine that you wanted to create your own world. Now, try to think of everything you would have to put in that world. It’s much more difficult than just saying, hey! I want to create a world. The variables and systems are infinite.’ JT’s grandfather started to explain, ‘Think about it. You would have to determine how the world could sustain life. Would you want an ocean? Would you want plants? Would you need small bugs to decompose garbage and waste?’
JT nodded again. This time, what his grandfather was saying made some sense, but he still didn’t know where Billy fit into this grand vision.
‘In the Vryheid’s case,’ continued the old sailor, ‘it was a matter of life and death to escape the Pharaohs, so the variables had to be as close to perfect as possible. They had to think of everything. Billy was just one of those many, many variables.’ Captain Luke paused. ‘He is a larger variable, to say the least, but a necessary one.’
‘How, though? Why?’ asked JT. He still desired more information.
Captain Luke let out a loud guffaw, throwing his neck back and forth. ‘I’m sure when you see him soon he’ll be glad to tell you that on his own. You’ll find out that he is a little more informed than I, especially when he starts to talk about himself.’ The old man appeared as though he was remembering a certain moment, a moment possibly spent with Billy. ‘And it’s very hard to get him to shut up sometimes.’
JT enjoyed the time he was spending there alone with his grandfather. He was very comforted by his presence, but the time slipped away terribly fast.
‘I’ve been here too long as it is. I think it might be time for me to get going.’ The sailor interrupted JT’s serenity as he looked up at the misty sky and then back at JT. ‘I’m just an old explorer that found a door and a key.’
‘Wait though. I have some more questions,’ JT said, trying to keep his grandfather with him as long as possible.
‘Questions, questions, boy. You know what you need to do now. Remember, it’s for our sake. You need to go back through the Mahogany Door and stop the collapse of Bruinduer.’
‘But how?’ asked JT.
‘When you see Billy, he will tell you,’ answered Captain Luke.
‘One more quick question and then I’ll stop. I’ll do what I need to do,’ JT said abruptly with a begging tone, wanting his grandfather to stay.
HA! Ol’ Captain Luke knew JT was stalling. ‘Sure, go ahead, but only one question.’
‘You said that the Vryheid made a rule that only the steward of the key could unlock the Mahogany Door. If that’s so, then why would you ever worry about someone taking the key? They couldn’t use it anyway, right?’ JT felt it was an honest question. He was also hoping that if that was right, then he would feel better about being so careless with the cane the previous eight years.
‘Not necessarily, JT,’ answered the Captain very tenderly. ‘You still have a lot to learn.’ He grabbed JT on the shoulders again and smiled. ‘There are many ways in the real world to
get you to relinquish your stewardship of that cane; if you won’t willingly release your ownership, then I trust someone else will make you.’ Captain Luke’s eyes twinkled. JT’s bubble had burst. It was true. He had been careless.
JT nodded his head and looked at the deck of the Mary Maid in shame. He sobbingly looked back to his grandfather. Ol’ Captain Luke started to fade away right before his eyes. His shoulders became lighter as the old man’s hands disappeared.
As the old sailor vaporized, he said one last thing to JT. ‘Billy was wrong. I would trust no one more than you with the cane. Now go.’ Ol’ Captain Luke’s smile was gone like the rest of him.
‘Man, this is just too mu—’ JT tried to get out his words but with a tremendous jolt, the ship jerked. ‘BAM!’
JT awoke from his dream. He gathered his senses and in a dizzy state he spun his head around. He was still in the great hall of Warhead Dale sitting with Kali on the musty, old green couch. The fire had burned down to its last embers and the rain had stopped. It had cooled the air with a crisp, clean smell. Water still dripped from the ceiling and plinked on the floor and surrounding furniture.
He panned over at Kali who was still deep in sleep. She squirmed a tad and smacked her lips together. She looked very comfortable. JT stood up and stretched. Remembering his grandfather’s vision, he reached for his cane. It was gone. He remembered putting it close to his side against the arm of the couch. He frantically danced around the room trying to locate it. He inspected the floor and peeked under sheets. He leapt and seized the wooden floor ignoring the pain shooting up his knee and searched under the furniture. The cane was nowhere to be found. He popped back up and then realized something he hadn’t when he first woke up - Michael was nowhere in the room.
‘Kali!’ JT screamed shaking the sleeping woman’s legs. Kali jumped straight up. Her right arm flung around and landed a perfect punch to JT’s cheek. JT yelped.
‘What...What?’ Her voice was frenetic but testy.
‘The cane and Michael are gone,’ JT said panting. His hair, profile, and most of the clothes that covered his body were dusty and wet from scurrying around the room and rummaging about the floor. His face wiped with fear.
Kali sighed. Her face went flush. ‘Oh my.’
