Sounds of the Forgotten

by Rayne W Grath

  “Wow! If I hadn’t just witnessed what we did today I probably would be more skeptical of your story, but after experiencing it first hand, I believe you,” Aarik said honestly. He strolled towards his suitcase and grabbed a couple more shirts. He turned his back and pulled off his loose t-shirt revealing the muscles she had imagined and as he raised his arms to put the clean shirt on he paused and looked back over his shoulder. He lowered his hands and turned around to face her. “I, too, have a secret,” he said quietly and looked down at his chest.

  Kiya smiled as she stepped toward him with her hand outstretched. Shaking, she paused momentarily before she caressed the medallion hanging from his neck carefully. “I was hoping you would confide in me. Don’t get mad, but I saw you and Taylor that night in the hangar bay. It was one of the reasons I felt I could trust you with mine. Where did you get it? I was with you the whole time,” she whispered, and dropped her hand before she looked up at him quizzically. He smiled before he pulled the shirt over his head and said, “Found it when I was nine, the day of my parents funeral. Been searching for its origins ever since.”

  He offered Kiya the other clean shirt while he said, “Here you could use this. I have some sanitizer wipes and paper towels on the table as well. Don’t worry I’ll turn around.” She grabbed the shirt, shuffled over to the table and set it down. Kiya removed Aarik’s flannel carefully and peeked over her shoulder to see if he was looking before she reached behind her back and released her bra. She sighed when she plucked it off and snickered when she heard Aarik mutter to himself, “this time.”

  She used the wipes and paper towels to clean herself to the best of her abilities before she yanked on his over-sized shirt, faced him and said, “I’m in desperate need of a shower, but I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Aarik twisted around and said, “You look beautiful to me but I know what you mean about a shower. Once we take care of Luke and meet with the authorities, as I’m sure they will want to question us, we’ll meet back here to come up with a plan, and yes part of my plan includes getting cleaned. I want to hear the prophecy for myself,” clarified Aarik in a gentle tone. He walked up to Kiya slowly, placed the crystal around her neck, and tucked it under his shirt to conceal the gem while he stared down at her tenderly, waiting for her answer.

  “Oh. Okay,” Kiya muttered out in a daze and then sputtered out, “Tha..” before she was interrupted by Taylor outside the tent.

  “Time’s up, you two. We have company,” Taylor said in a forced whisper.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Aarik

  Aarik approached Kiya calmly and raised his hands slowly as he lowered the necklace and settled it under his shirt. He loved seeing her in his clothes and as he waited for her to respond he looked down at her longingly. When she responded breathlessly with, “Oh...okay,” he celebrated internally at her reaction. She licked her lips before she said, “Tha...” and was rudely cut short by Taylor outside the tent as he forcibly said, “Time’s up, you two. We have company.”

  He smiled down at Kiya, cradled her face and whispered, “To be continued and, with your permission, I would like to include Taylor.”

  Kiya returned his smile, reached up and grabbed his fingers with her hands and whispered, “I trust you.” She linked her right hand with his left and stepped to his side.

  “Taylor, what’s the ETA?” Aarik said out loud.

  “Thirty seconds, tops. Do I need to play interference? I could possibly buy you guys a few minutes but, I must say, it won’t look good if you two are shacking up directly after a murder. Kinda creepy...if you ask me,” questioned Taylor, in a weirded out voice.

  Aarik opened the flap and walked out hand in hand with Kiya. “While I appreciate the offer, old friend, that won’t be necessary.” He pulled Kiya towards the approaching men in suits and prepared himself for the inquisition.

  “Gentleman, sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. Thomas, you have my deepest sympathies. Luke was a hero in the end and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. If you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to scene of the crime,” Aarik said, as a way of greeting and was surprised when Thomas broke rank from the tough guy persona, teared up like a giant teddy bear before he choked out, “Thank you. I will make sure his mother is aware.”

  Jones must have been used to the emotional outbreak from his partner because he pretended like it wasn’t happening when he stepped in front of him and said, “Before we leave I need to warn you that Director Sorr is onsite and is waiting by the broken dolmen impatiently. She doesn’t like to wait, so don’t let her petite appearance fool you. Although she’ll tell you differently, she runs the show.”

  Aarik took the warning seriously and nodded towards Jones and Thomas with respect before he marched towards the broken dolmen with dread. He could feel Kiya shaking beside him and even though he wanted to protect her from reliving the last hour over again he knew it wouldn’t be possible. He squeezed her hand gently to remind her they were in it together and felt relieved when she returned the gesture and bumped him with her hip.

  The sounds of raised voices were the first sign they were close to their destination and as they crested the small hill that led to the dolmen, flashlights could be seen in the distance. Aarik approached the gathered crowd with apprehension as a small, impeccably dressed woman shoved her way to the front of the group. The woman, who Aarik deduced could be none other than the director, had dyed black hair pulled away from her face, too tightly, which enhanced her large bulging eyes.

  The aforementioned eyes scanned the area as her head remained focused on Aarik and she spoke in a soft, but annoying voice, “Ah, there you are. Thank you for taking the time to show us around, Dr. Landon. I realize this must be hard on everyone, but try and leave out your opinions, I want only the facts. Please. We’ll begin with introductions and then a tour of the whole facilities. I’ll ask questions along the way, and if needed I’ll probe for more information. I’ll start. My name is Director Madeline Sorr,” Director Sorr said with authority, and then tapped her foot as she waited impatiently for Aarik and Kiya to jump at her snapped commands.

  “Right. As you already know my name, I assume you are speaking about Kiya,” Aarik responded in a reserved voice. He pulled at their attached hands and as he was about to make a proper introduction Sorr interrupted him. “Unless you are her keeper, let the woman speak for herself.”

  Kiya glanced at him quickly and looked stunned before she faced the director and answered in a military-like voice, “Kiya Brown, sir. I mean, ma’am, sir. Darn. Sorry, ma’am.”

  Director Sorr cracked a devious half smile that made a person wonder what vindictive scheme the person was planning before it vanished completely and she faced Kiya more directly. “What is your role in this incident, Ms. Brown?” Sorr purred evilly.

  “Witness, I guess,” Kiya said hesitantly. Aarik concerned about the negative spotlight Director Sorr continued to place Kiya under, decided he needed to redirect Sorr’s attention to the heart of the matter, the murder, by starting the tour without her permission. He would play the fool later and ask for her forgiveness in order to stay on her good side for a bit longer.

  “Kiya followed Luke and I to this hidden entrance after Luke witnessed Diego and five men leaving from this entrance earlier this evening,” Aarik said, as he scooted around the gathered crowd and moved the vines aside to reveal the hidden tunnel that started the tragic events of that evening.

  “I see. Is this when you notified your superiors of the discovery?” Director Sorr asked in a nice enough voice, but before Aarik could answer she continued, “No, it wasn’t. If I remember correctly, you never did call. Did it slip your mind?”

  “I’m sorry Director, it didn’t slip my mind. I had every intention of reporting the discovery after having something to report back on,” Aarik replied factually, and passed through the vines dragging Kiya along with him before Director Sorr had a chance to chastise either of them for their r
udeness. He could hear the director barking out orders behind them, but he rushed towards the stage of the auditorium in an effort to get Kiya alone for a few precious seconds.

  Kiya tugged Aarik to a stop and snickered quietly up at him, “If you don’t watch what you say, you’ll find yourself on the naughty list.”

  Aarik was thankful to see a little of her spirit break through the shadow when she joked like her usual self before he quickly whispered in her ear, “Nothing about me or you or anything we discussed earlier will ever pass my lips.” Aarik kissed the shell of her ear and pulled away moments before the director stepped onto the stage like she was making an appearance.

  “This way, Director. I believe this was some type of auditorium and the platform you arrived on was the stage. The men and I hadn’t yet discovered this room, due to the cave-in but you’ll see that soon enough for yourself when we reach the main hallway,” Aarik rattled off in his deep voice, as he walked ahead of the crowd like he was the guide in a museum tour. Part of him knew he was tempting fate by following the director’s words literally, but he couldn’t help but point out her error in a nonchalant way. “The stone seating and shape of the room would make it perfect for large gatherings. Makes the scholar in me try and imagine if plays were a part of their culture,” Aarik continued to prattle on until he reached the mezzanine type platform.

  He paused for a moment and turned around at the top, waited for mere seconds before he continued on, all the while cheering in silence when he noticed the director was out of breath as she struggled up the slope in her sleek-soled, one-inched heels with determination. With her small stature she was forced to take twice as many steps just to keep up and when he peeked behind to see how she was faring he nearly stopped himself to let her rest when he swore he could see steam rising from her persona. Her neat appearance was starting to crumble as the temperature of the location crinkled her sweaty clothes and wisps of hair escaped their hold to scatter across her hairline. Instead he spoke over his shoulder as a form of encouragement which was as much bullshit as he could muster for her benefit, “Just up this incline is where the incident occurred.”

  Aarik remembered to push Kiya to his right side so that she wouldn’t have to walk next to Luke when they entered the hallway at the last minute and when she looked up at him in question, he shook his head and said, “Let someone else handle his body, Kiya.” She nodded, looked up at the ceiling when they crossed the threshold and mouthed the words “thank you” in response.

  Aarik trudged into the hallway with remorse, took a deep breath before he looked over at Luke’s still form before he promptly squeezed his eyes closed and tried to create a picture in his mind of when Luke wasn’t lifeless and covered in blood. He would always feel ultimately responsible for Luke’s early demise, but he vowed that he would make Diego pay for it. He dragged his view to the right and was thankful to find Diego’s men still lying against the rocks tied and unconscious.

  The director entered the hallway with a complete lack of discretion and almost stepped on Luke as she zeroed in on Aarik like he was a miscreant instead of the reason they were called to the site in the first place. It reminded him of a dog with a tick, chasing its own tail.

  “Dr. Landon, walking at a breakneck speed to avoid speaking with me only makes the inevitable more unbearable. Or so I’ve been told,” she said, with her hand on her hips and her head held high.

  “You’re completely right. Where in the world are my manners. I sometimes forget the length of my normal stride. You should have said something sooner, I would have slowed down for you. Please be careful though, you’re about to step on poor Luke,” Aarik responded demurely and prayed Director Sorr wasn’t completely immune to his charm like Kiya was. Two women in a row would be a terrible indication that he would no longer be able to count on getting his way in the future.

  When she looked down in surprise and backed up discreetly, he counted that as a win and liked his odds that he hadn’t completely lost his touch with women in general. Although he wasn’t sure the director technically counted as a viable female. He waited for the inquisition and when the director just continued to stare at him he took that as his signal to retell the events of the night. Kiya squeezed his hand in reassurance which made it easier for a replay.

  “Luke, Kiya, and I were exploring the tunnel Luke had seen Diego and these men leave from earlier. I made an executive decision, that I regret, to find out what he was hiding and believed I had more time. Diego Gershom returned, with his armed men, earlier than expected and forced Kiya to crawl through the only small opening at the time to the other side of the entrance behind me. When, well, let’s just call him the ancient man, when the ancient man was released he demolished the rocks that previously blocked the access to the tunnel behind me like they were made of graham crackers and he was the food processor, only he used his voice as the demolisher.

  Kiya apprehended a gun, from the biggest guy tied up over there, while Diego was distracted with the sound and vibrations coming from the man who just destroyed the other cave in. For some reason, maybe he was tired? He stopped, and Diego pulled a gun on me and fired. I fired a shot as well but it went astray when Luke shoved me to the side, saving my life as he sacrificed his own. I think he expected he would knock me over and follow me to the ground but his small body only pushed me out of the way which left him in the line of fire.

  My shot missed Diego but struck the ancient guy in the shoulder. They escaped the way we came in by causing the air to feel thicker than mud, making it impossible to move until either the effects wore off or enough distance passed between him and the spell before it released me. We followed after him when the effects dissipated and found him in the hangar bay. He used a medallion he was wearing around his neck to power the craft he escaped on and disappeared in a shimmering wave,” summarized Aarik, with as much detail as possible, dusting lightly over the parts that confused him and skipping anything that implicated himself or Kiya too much. He needed more time to process everything that happened and now wasn’t the time to think about how his voice seemed to change earlier in Th’ael’s presence, which scared him the most of all.

  Without missing a beat, Director Sorr started asking questions and holding up her fingers like a scoreboard, “Who released the being? How was he released? Released from what? What type of powers did he have? You said you shot him, why didn’t you keep firing? Describe the medallion and how it was powered. Pryor! Come here! Take care of the body, he was practically family so treat it with respect,” she said, holding up six fingers as she waited for Aarik to answer. The agent she called Pryor stepped forward with a body bag he had draped over his shoulder, knelt next to Luke’s body, crossed the boy's arms while he whispered a small prayer before he placed him in the bag. The director, annoyed that Aarik’s attention was diverted, cleared her throat and waved her six fingers in the air dramatically.

  Kiya stepped around Aarik and said, “I released him, ma’am, because Diego was holding Aarik and Luke hostage at gun point. The being was sleeping in a cryochamber of some sort and once I laid my hands on the outside of the crystal pod, the lid popped open and he emerged. Besides destroying the boulders with his voice, he also had the power to control a person using that same voice. He seemed to be weakened because he wasn’t able to bring down the second cave in, leading further into the chambers and after Aarik shot him, it barely seemed to faze him in the least. When Aarik fired again, Th’ael stopped it with his voice, like it was stuck in thick molasses. I say we are dealing with an ancient alien of epic proportions and our first priority should be to find out where he went and what our next moves should be.”

  “I could do without your opinions, Ms. Brown. I specifically stated only the facts were wanted. What about the medallion and who knocked out the captured men?” Sorr responded sorely and pointed to the unconscious men.

  Aarik looked at the unconscious men and shook his head before he swung his head back towards Sorr and said, “Not reall
y sure about the men, I wasn’t watching them after Luke tied them up. It all happened so fast and my focus was elsewhere. As for the medallion, he was wearing it like a necklace. It was round and metallic and when they escaped, he used it like a key to turn on the craft. I didn’t get a close up so I don’t have much more to add.”

  “And you, Ms. Brown, anything to add to Dr. Landon’s testimony?” Director Sorr added sweetly, like a little honey would overpower her sour tones from earlier. Her beady little eyes moved to Kiya unnaturally, while her body and head stayed in place.

  “After Luke was shot my attention was elsewhere as well,” Kiya said with restrained vehemence.

  “I see. Dr. Landon, I would like to see the rest of the chamber,” Director Sorr stated firmly, shifting her eyes back to him slowly.

  Aarik grabbed Kiya’s hand, thankful Luke’s body was no longer in sight, and pointed with his right hand towards the auditorium before he said, “It can only be reached from the main entrance, we still haven’t broke through from the other side.” Using the same hand he pointed his thumb to the right-side cave-in before he dropped his arm and walked forward, pulling Kiya with him. Director Sorr watched them pass with her eerie eyes before she turned on her heel and followed behind them closely.

  “Might I remind you, this isn’t a marathon,” Director Sorr huffed in annoyance, when Aarik trotted down the incline into the auditorium.

  “It’s also not a leisure stroll,” Kiya muttered under her breath. Aarik squeezed her hand in agreement, but slowed his stride in an effort to be cooperative with the obnoxious woman.

  “We entered the secret tunnel at the broken dolmen, but the main entrance is about five hundred feet to the west, toward the mountain. With your current footwear, I suggest we head back to camp first and then follow the dirt path to the entrance rather than trudging through the forest,” Aarik said over his shoulder nonchalantly. He peeked down at Kiya and returned her brilliant smile with one of his own.