The Atlantean Chronicles - Shadow's of Enlightenment

by Kip Hartzell

  She moved through the camp nervously as they knelt and whispered, “Chalchiuhtlicue,” over and over. The translator was having a little trouble, but John could make it out, ‘Goddess of the river, or water, with a green stone dress.’ She began shoeing them away, and helped to set up the camp.

  Fires were soon started, with a little help, they dried off, and settled in for the night.

  The following morning brought sunshine, and the laughter of children acting out the previous day’s events. The smell of fish mixed with smoke permeated the area. John sat up and watched the sight, as Anataka overslept. His cloths were wrinkled from the activities of the past few days. He heard the impact tremors, as Thestor and Despin-A approached. He got up to meet them. “Thank you for risking your lives for them,” he said, looking in the direction of the tribe’s people.

  “They are resilient.”

  Despin-A gave Thestor a wry look. “It felt like the right thing to do.”

  “They are relatively safe now. We should be going,” Thestor said, trying not to sound gruff.

  “Look in on us, from time to time.”

  “We will Captain, and may Enlightenment guide us.”

  John just smiled. The two turned and made a running start for the tree line, spreading their wings, they lofted themselves into the air, and were soon out of sight.

  “Will we see them again?” Anataka asked from her sitting position.

  He sat down beside her. “It’s possible.”

  She had a confused look on her face. “I had the strangest dream. I was flying through the heavens, great cities, fire, destruction-you.”

  He put his hand behind her neck and smiled. “They’re just dreams. Don’t worry about them.”

  She didn’t look convinced, getting up, and staggering a little. “I’m hungry. Are you?”

  The trek through the jungle was arduous, but John was finally told why they migrate. Food-mostly, most tribes are too large to support themselves, so, every year the smaller groups would meet at their ancient tribal hunting grounds. They exchange ideas, trade, chose who they want to reproduce with, games, and other important things. The valley they are going to has an abundance of food this time of year, enough to support a large group for at least a month. Then, the groups split up and follow their previous migration patterns.

  The nights were very dark in the dense jungle. The tribe had adapted well, and made quick work of foraging and hunting. The group seemed to be excited about the upcoming reunion. Until, they followed a path that led to a large totem pole tree carving. The group became solemn and fearful.

  John studied the pole with his equipment he managed to recover from the river, with the help of his comm implant and Chrysalis, using the satellites to triangulate its presence. He looked at his handheld, and then back at the carved grotesque faces. Human blood, he noticed, stained the wood, as he analyzed the area. Camp was set up a short distance away.

  Through the night, the mood was serious as if anticipating an impending battle. Anything that could not be strapped to the body was to be left behind. Anataka sat and prepared her travel pack, while darting her head around to strange noises.

  “Anataka,” John quietly said, “what are you preparing for?”

  “The Demon crossing.” She saw the non-understanding in his face. “In order to get to our ancient hunting ground, we have to pass through Demon territory. Evil creatures that stalk us night and day, until we are through the valley. We will lose many. We must rest, it will be a long few days with not much stopping.” She laid on her fur blanket and tried to sleep.

  He took her advice, and took a nap.

  John was up well before sun up, along with most of the tribe. They quietly gathered their things as they lined up single file with warriors, men and women, proportionately split to protect the children. The extra weight of fresh water made John curious, so he checked with the satellite and determined there were no more rivers in the direction they were going, just ponds, far between each other.

  Following the trail as quietly as they could, the Chief led as fast as the slowest could keep up. John’s sharp vision and hearing was accosted by the sights and sounds of the morning jungle. He towered over the middle of the caravan, his reasoning was, he could get to either end at the first sign of trouble.

  After mid-day, they gathered in a clearing for rest and food. They quietly stayed close together with guards posted. The day was partly cloudy, but the sun was warm and bright. John watched as they only used hand signals to get the crowd moving again.

  They were well into the trip when the sun was starting to cool, that’s when John noticed the birds and bugs became silent. He pulled out his handheld and checked for life forms. The machine went crazy until he narrowed the parameters. While he was making his final adjustments, he knew they were surrounded. John whistled for the Chief, who was leading the pact, he turned, and John gave the sign for surrounded. The Chief ‘s eyes grew as he broke the silence, and yelled for everyone to run. He thought this was a bad tactic, but he was unfamiliar with the threat, so he jogged along with them.

  In a few seconds, a snare net grabbed two people and pulled them up into the air. John pulled out his pistol and shot the rope vine. He got under them before they hit the ground. Without warning, creatures launched themselves out of the jungle and grabbed who they could. One launched himself at John, but bounced off, and did a back flop on the ground.

  He hesitated at what he saw. Aztek-Alon’s mutations were not Atlantean mutants, but Cousin. They exhibited the same characteristics, pasty white skin, large incisors, stronger, faster, and more animalistic. John was glad they didn’t inherit the full strength and agility of an Atlantean. Their smaller size, compared to him, allowed him to estimate that he could probably take on four or five, but any more would overwhelm him. The vampire squinted in the day light as he got up and yelled. He heard Anataka scream and looked in her direction in time to see her being carried off into the jungle.

  He was brought back to his present situation by multiple screams, as three other creatures charged him, pushing him back. He lost his footing and fell back onto a bed of foliage, which promptly gave way. He crashed down ten feet into a hole trap. Dirt, tree branches, logs, and anything else that was close fell in on him.

  He lay there trying to move things aside, as they fell back in just as quickly. He was glad it was a capturing trap and not a food trap, since there were no spikes sticking up. He took out his pistol and began disintegrating what caved in on him. He leaped out of the hole to a quiet jungle. He listened carefully, and located the tribe. The survivors collected in a clearing with warriors posted. A third of them were missing.

  John spoke to the Chief, telling him to continue. He was going to track down the captured and bring them back. The Chief looked relieved, and the group headed back down a trail, moving as quickly as possible.

  A few hours before sunset, he reached the base of the mountain. The handheld told him where they were, but it failed to pick up the traps made out of the native material. He was more careful after he sprang the first one, his quickness saved him from injury, but it made a lot of noise. So, he hovered over the ones he crossed, until he got to a tree line that left him with no cover.

  The exposure was too great, so he clicked on his personal cloaking device just before the sun went down. He followed foot prints, and went around traps. He took it slow as he stepped up on a large carved out ledge. Moving quietly, he approached camp fires and jubilant noises. A guard with blood drained pale skin stood up and sniffed the air. He wore a leather skirt with small human bones tied together around his neck. The guards heightened senses made John pause and be more careful as he moved around the creature waving a spear around in the air.

  Moving further in, he had his pistol ready, counting at least eighteen. They were faster and tougher than normal Cousins. Being cautious, he moved into the cave mouth, slipping past a few more guards as the distant singing and laughing got louder. The cave was large, whi
ch gave him the advantage of avoidance. A couple of twists and turns, and he heard a scream, he moved quickly toward it. An alcove held a human woman and two male vampires. The larger one sank his teeth into her jugular as the other held her down. John wanted to help, but he had to know more as he moved on down the tunnel.

  A right turn, then a left, brought him to a string of wooden cells that held all his tribe’s people, and a few others he didn’t recognize. He moved down the line, noticing that more than a few had puncture wounds on their necks. Good, he thought, they’re just feeding, not killing.

  He saw Anataka squatted down near the cell door. He thought she was darting her head around in fear, but it was the opposite, she was counting guards, and studying the cell doors weak points. John skirted by a guard making him turn around, as if being watched. He then moved further down the tunnel. Kneeling beside the wooden cell door, he touched Anataka’s hand. She jerked back in surprise, then smiled, and put her hand back. “Huehueteotl?”

  “Yes,” he whispered, “make it sound like you’re praying to me when you talk.”

  “But, I was.”

  John shook his invisible head. “I’m going to need some time to figure out how to get all of you out. So, stay put, and get everyone ready to move quickly.”

  “Oh, Huehueteotl,” she said looking up at the ceiling, “why don’t you just kill the Demons?” Some of her cell mates began to look at her.

  “I will protect you, be patient. I’ll be back.”

  “Please, Huehueteotl, don’t leave us, save us.” The others began to chime in.

  “I will.” He reached for the leather straps that secured the door, and broke them. “Now, only go when I tell you.”

  “I understand, my lord.”

  The guard came back and thumped his spear across the wooden posts, making Anataka fall back. He felt that feeling again, and looked around, but soon the feeling was gone.

  The light was bright up ahead. John stepped around a corner. A dug-out room to his left radiated artificial light that beamed out. He stepped in, only to be met by a force field. The repulsion was mild, but it disrupted his cloak for several seconds. He quickly looked around for witnesses. None, so he took out his handheld, and found the frequency, thus, shutting it off. He gazed over Atlantean equipment, a lot of it was very outdated, but Atlantean, nonetheless. Most of it was medical research equipment mixed with weaponry and transportation agoam crystal drives. Examining the clutter more closely, a death scream came from down the tunnel.

  He moved in that direction, rounding a bend, he saw it. A skull, green in color, smaller that the key, but highly polished. It sat on a pedestal facing the men that held a woman down on her back stretched across a stone block. Her eyes were set as she stared at John. The calico feather dressed vampire lifted her heart into the air as he chanted. There wasn’t much blood, she had been drained before the extraction. The murderer dripped blood into his mouth, and then threw the heart at another lit alcove. The heart sizzled on the force field before it dropped on a pile of other burned hearts, he fought back the horror.

  “No!” He pulled out his pistol and decloaked, firing at the leader, flinging him back against a cave wall.

  Three creatures appeared and attacked, but John’s anger always made his telekinesis stronger, and with a flick of his hand, they all flew back into the walls. John saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and a sense of familiarity as a half dozen more came running in. He flicked them away like flies. In the bright room stood a silhouette on the inside of the force field. It had the shape of a woman. The field melted away.

  “Stop!” came a feminine voice, “Leave us. Now!” The frenzied creatures slowed their activities and slinked away, as if beaten. “John? John is that you?” She ran to him.

  Chapter Eleven: Mutants

  He was unsure what to do, but he stayed on the defensive. A smiling vampiric body hugged him with a very strong embrace.

  John hugged her in return. “Maya, what is going on here?”

  Her strength wavered as John supported her when her knees buckled. He picked her up and moved her to the room she had come from. In the middle was an open stone box at knee height. He laid her down on dusty age-worn furs. Her white glassy eyes opened.

  “Maya, what’s wrong with you?”

  “Blood,” she whispered, “I need blood. I... I haven’t fed in a long time.”

  “Will mine do?”

  “Atlantean is the best.”

  John hesitated.

  “Don’t worry about contamination. It takes more than just blood transference to be infected.”

  John slowly put his hand to her mouth, and the other on his pistol. “My personally designed nanites probably won’t help you.”

  “They don’t need to.”

  He winced as she injected her incisors into his wrist. His arm began to tingle. Perhaps, he thought, she was draining his blood faster than his heart could pump it. Then his legs began to tingle, and he started to feel light headed. “Alright Maya, that’s enough for now.” She didn’t stop. “Maya!” He pulled away in revulsion, watching blood run down her chin. While she sat up, the color started coming back into her face. Her eyes cleared, and blue eyes rested on a sea of red.

  She wiped the blood away, and looked away in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. What year is it?”

  “Depends on when you want to start counting.”

  “Probably the incident in the cave, when we last met.”

  “One thousand seven hundred and thirty-six years, and six point three months.”

  She sat on a partially exposed rock to regained her composer. “I’ve been hibernating on and off ever since, this time I over slept by a few hundred years. I have dreamed about this moment. Seeing you is no surprise.”

  John felt her mind reach out. It was easily blocked, but he allowed some things through to save on lengthy explanations. Jay felt his mind kick into fast forward, as sights and sounds accosted his brain. Just when he thought he couldn’t stand it any longer, it ceased. She allowed the same thing. Once, all they were willing to reveal was done, she stood up, and began removing her tattered Atlantean rebel clothes. A few seconds later, two male vampires brought in a small cargo case full of water, and put it down in front of her naked body, and then graveled away.

  Other than her pale skin and fangs, which she had retracted, John thought she was just as beautiful as the day they met hundreds of lifetimes ago, on a planet that no longer existed. She looked over at the doorway at the pile of crispy hearts, and then she looked at the dead woman on the cave floor. John saw sadness in her face just before she sank into the makeshift tub.

  “Things have not gone as planned. They were supposed to be my guards, feed off of animals, and remain inconspicuous. Their primal nature must have won out while I was not supervising. I’m sorry. I know how you feel about these human Cousins. I will rectify the mistake as soon as I can.” She slipped under the water, returning cleaner, and more refreshed. After washing, she stepped out of the water and opened another sealed cargo case and brought out a towel. She was drying herself off as she approached John. “I can deduce you and the others have a modern facility.”

  “Yes,” not wanting to give away too much.

  She put her head on his chest. “John, I want to come home. I’m tired of living like an animal. I’m going to go insane if I have to endure much longer. Remember, I did save your life back in the cave.”

  John reached up and took her by the arms and pushed her back. “That’s the only reason I don’t haul you back to Chrysalis and put you on trial, again.”

  “Please, John,” she begged, “I’ll do whatever you want.” She dropped the towel.

  His anger fled as he saw more than just desperation. “Get dressed, we have some catching up to do.” He turned and walked out.

  John had to pin a few mutants to the wall, as he released the prisoners. He led them outside of the stench of the cave. They were blocked from leaving by twenty of Maya’s min
ions. The confrontation was tense, as the vampires danced around, pushing and shoving one another, waiting for their leader to give the word to attack.

  “Stand down.” Maya yelled, stepping to the middle of the group. They heeled and drifted back. “All of you, into the cave.” They did, reluctantly. She hissed at them as they went by.

  John turned to Anataka. “Take everyone to the foot of the mountain and set up a defensive camp. I will meet you, soon.”

  She gave him a nod of understanding and began giving orders and leading them away.

  “She’s pretty, and I like her dress.”

  “Yes, she’s special.”

  “Come, sit.”

  They sat on stumps, while using a stone for a table. The night sky was clear with a light breeze. Maya looked up. “Things have changed a lot since the days of Terrah.”

  “That’s one thing about this universe, everything changes. Maya, where’s Aztek-Alon, and the key?”

  Her euphoric look drained away. “After the cave incident, he went even more insane. I tried to persuade him to stop his idea of conquest for years, but when I helped you-he knew. He tried to kill me. Even after I escaped, he pursued me for centuries. I’ve been hiding like an animal ever since. Of course, taking one of his projectors didn’t help.”

  “Projector?”

  “The skull you saw in the cave. Alon was so paranoid, he had thirteen stone skulls carved out. When he aligned them with the original key, the same frequency resonates and a holographic needle of the original key’s location is revealed, no matter where it goes. But, you have to have all thirteen. He decided that if he hid the key, but made more to find it, he would have more bargaining power. He sent out one of his lieutenants with a small work force, to hid the key, and when they returned, he promptly killed them. Then he sent out the projectors to be safe guarded by his worshiping human masses.”