The Golden Talisman

by J. Stefan Jackson

  “‘You know my mom?’ I suddenly blurted out, unaware I’d even interrupted her. ‘Where is she now? Is she okay??’

  “She really had my attention now. The little girl frowned slightly, as if sorting her thoughts, and then in the next instant she smiled and spoke to me again. ‘There’s not enough time to answer your questions to your satisfaction. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s true. Think of it this way, Jack. Both your mom and your dad are doing fine now, just like we are.’

  “The earthen group lying around her verbally agreed to this assessment, with one lingering ‘amen’ that followed the rest.

  “‘When your wish at the pool was granted earlier today, your mom was able to force her way out of the spiritual bondage that’s held us all up until now. Once she went, the rest of us followed her lead. As we speak, the boxes you’ve learned about are bursting at their very seams throughout this place. For now, every one of us is free to roam the village since Genovene remains largely unaware of this development. That’s how we ended up here with our very own bones that were buried in this spot long ago. You’re hurt!’

  “She gasped and then reached up and touched me on my shoulder with her earthen hand. Instantly, the pain began to disappear. She then withdrew her hand from the wound, crossing it with her other hand upon her stomach. I looked over at my shoulder and was amazed to see the wound closing up. A moment later, both the pain and all evidence of the tear in my shoulder were completely gone! I smiled and laughed to myself in nervous amazement, grateful for the little girl’s healing power.

  “‘We’re all victims of Genovene, Jack,’ she told me, ‘and we’d love nothing better than to see you succeed. So, we’ll be sending you on your way in a moment. Just be aware she’ll be able to see or at least sense your location once you get within striking distance of the golden lion’s head—yes, it does really exist—and you must avoid any direct confrontations with that witch or you’re a goner for sure! Trust me, Jack. She’s able to wrap her claws around your throat in a death grip faster than you could call to Jesus! I know, Uncle Ned, that’s sacrilegious of me, but I couldn’t help myself. The next thing you know you’re on top of that awful pyramid, with your chest laid bare naked and ready for her and her kin to carve out your beating heart. You can bet, too, they’ll go and show it to you just before they tear your head off and butcher the rest of—.’

  “‘That’s enough, Allyson!’ a young man’s voice broke in. ‘Spare him your fascination with that shit, will you?’ The man was obviously irritated with her and sat up suddenly, just to my right. He didn’t look much older than Jeremy, and his hair was nearly as long as my brother’s, too. He looked like Huck Finn would as a man, in overalls, torn shirt, and even a frayed straw hat—all made from the soil of the garden, no less.

  “‘Sorry, Uncle Ned,’ she apologized. ‘I guess I got a little carried away. Anyway, Jack, consider this as you leave us. I’ve been stuck here for more than thirty years, and my great, great, great Uncle Ned here has been trapped in this place for more than a hundred years! Can you believe it?? Others, some of whom are with us right now, have been in this hellish realm for several hundred years or longer. Much, much longer.’

  “Suddenly, they all looked toward the road, even though only a few of them could see it clearly through the thick plant foliage. An old man in a western-styled suit and broad-brimmed hat took this opportunity to address me. ‘You need to be on your way, son!’ he admonished. ‘They’re out there eliminating hiding places and will be by to examine this nifty hideout pretty soon. ‘Got to hand it to that bitch, she’s pretty thorough about most things. Hey, y’all! Let’s clear a path for Jack... Yeah, that’s it! There you go, son!’

  “The earthen people did as the old man directed, and I scooted myself over to the edge of the garden closest to the candy store. The flowers and plants were lower on this side, and I stuck my head up amid a thick clump of dark red poppies to get a good look at the surrounding area. The area was still clear.

  “‘Goodbye, Jack!’ the little girl said, and everyone else in the group chimed in. ‘We’ll be praying for you, and if there’s any way for us to help out, rest assured we’ll do it!’

  “‘Thanks,’ I whispered, and then stepped out onto the grass again, crouching low as I prepared to sprint over to the candy store.

  “‘Tell Marshall that your namesake says ‘hello’! Can you remember to do that for me, son?’ the old man called after me.

  “‘Yeah, I’ll tell him that for sure!’

  “‘Good luck to you, son!’

  “‘Thanks. I’m sure I’ll need it! Goodbye!’ I then raced over to the back wall of the candy store. I was baffled by the old man’s words. What did he mean by ‘your namesake’? It didn’t make any sense to me, but perhaps it’d mean something to Grandpa. I only wished I had more time to talk with him and the little girl.

  “I moved quickly along the back wall until I could see the village gates. They were less than two hundred feet away. Unfortunately, Morylan still stood in front of them, continuously surveying both sides of the road.

  “While deciding on how best to avoid detection by the giant sentinel, a chorus of shrill screams erupted into the air behind me from the garden. Curiosity got the better of me and I quietly moved back toward that area to find out what was happening. Near the edge of the building were a pair of juniper bushes and a large empty gold vat that was lying on its side. I moved over to the vat and crawled into a space between it and the store’s back wall.

  “I had a clear view of the garden. Genovene and her evil brood had converged upon the area. They’d pulled up nearly all of the plants and had strewn the bones of the earthen people all over the lawn. I winced while watching Genovene shake the fragile body of Allyson, which nearly disintegrated in her claws. All that remained was a decayed skeleton and the little girl’s shrieks as they echoed through the air.

  “Genovene laughed with delight and threw the lifeless bones on the grass. She crushed and ground them with her claws until a small pile of dust was all that was left of the little girl. Genovene then sent a gust of her foul breath upon the pile, scattering the dust in every direction. ‘That’ll teach that little daughter of a whore to mess with me and our kingdom!’ she roared. ‘Make sure you treat the rest of them in the same manner!!”

  “Her siblings immediately stepped up their assault on the other earthen people. Terrible cries and moans soon filled the air, and as I agonized over the painful reality that once again I couldn’t save anyone but myself, I prepared to leave my latest hideout. I started to crawl backward when the vat moved. It only moved a fraction of an inch, but to my horror, it squeaked noticeably. I prayed no one noticed and pulled my legs up to my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to remain as still as possible. But, I soon heard the fast approaching footsteps and excited whispers of Genovene and her kin.

  “The vat was suddenly lifted up. I opened my eyes, expecting the worst, and was horrified to find all five standing over me with a crowd of villagers behind them. I was a goner for sure, just as Allyson had warned. Genovene seemed very pleased, giggling with delight as she bent down toward me. I felt really nauseated from her stench and repulsiveness, and feared she and the others planned to eat me right there. But suddenly the backside of the candy store’s roof caved in, spilling debris in every direction. They all immediately backed up to avoid being hit, and I realized this could be the last lucky opportunity I’d ever get.

  “I scrambled to my feet while gold and marble debris continued to fall, and the dust from the roof’s contents rose as a small cloud in the air. I ran as hard and as fast as I ever had in my life, speeding along the back side of the candy store’s building and beyond without even pausing to check if anyone was waiting for me there.

  “‘Stop him, damn it!!!’ shrieked Genovene. ‘After him, you fucking imbeciles!!! Stop him NOW!!!’

  “Morylan was on his knees and in the process of standing back up. I raced toward the golden lion�
�s head, which I could finally see protruding from the crystal wall on the right side of the village entrance. I glanced over my shoulder and was shocked to discover it was the giant sentinel that’d inadvertently come to my rescue a moment ago. Morylan had just lifted his enormous hand up from the roof of the candy store, and was still flicking his fingers free of debris.

  “Meanwhile, the angry mob of villagers were rapidly gaining on me, threatening to overtake me at any moment. To make matters worse, Morylan now lifted his left foot off the ground as he prepared to turn around, and the wind from this simple maneuver blew me off course. I nearly fell to the ground, but somehow managed to maintain my balance. With the chirping villagers about to catch me, I pulled the oval stone from my shorts’ pocket. I was almost to the lion’s head, and I lunged forward with my arms stretched out in front of me. I held the stone in my left hand with my palm thrust outward in order to feed it directly into the lion’s mouth.

  “The dark shadow of the immense foot descended quickly upon me, thickening as it announced the impending arrival of the warrior’s crushing footstep. Like the terrible slowness in a dream, I watched myself approach the lion’s head at a snail’s pace, even though I was running full speed. The foot was just above me when I leaped for the lion’s head with both arms outstretched in front of me like a diving outfielder making a last-ditch effort for an errant fly ball. In one swift graceful move that completely surprised myself, I angled my body in midair and then spread my arms apart, deftly depositing the stone inside the lion’s mouth. I managed to avoid a direct collision with the crystal wall, but I still landed hard on my ass, just as the giant’s foot slammed onto the ground a mere six inches away from me.

  “The power from that footstep shook the ground mightily, and though I was already knocked off my feet, the force of this pushed me face up against the wall. Another deep rumbling sound soon filled the area, and I realized the wall itself was trembling. I immediately backed away from the wall and stood up, though it was extremely difficult to do so.

  “Morylan and the villagers ignored me. Instead, this rumble that grew stronger as it threatened to overrun the village distracted them. The magnificent golden gates groaned open, and the splendid buildings and crystal wall of that wonderful place began to crack and crumble. The villagers all scattered in a screeching panic, like beetles whose nest had just been exposed to the light of day. As they scurried about looking for a safe place to hide, the golden road began to rise and buckle from the earth’s upheaval.

  “Genovene and her loathsome brood suddenly loomed again before me, blocking the sunlight as they drew ever closer. Just when I thought I might’ve seen the last of her, she found me yet again. But before she and the others were able to finally get their claws on me, the very ground the monsters stood upon gave way, sending each one sprawling and screaming into a large sinkhole. ‘God damn you, Jack!!!’ she cursed me. ‘God damn you and everything you love to HELL!!! Do you hear me?? TO HELL!!!’

  “Bravely, I edged on up to the rim of the sinkhole and peered down into the earth. The bare roots of a large magnolia swayed gently back and forth near the spot Genovene had been a moment ago, along with several gold flagstones and a few crumbling dirt clods. I started to feel dizzy from the sheer unending darkness of the hole and pulled myself back, though I couldn’t help but smile. She was finally gone! That goddamn bitch and her wicked cronies were really gone!

  “Now all I had to deal with was a remaining handful of villagers and Morylan. I turned toward them. They still ignored me just as they had before, this time preoccupied by the deepening fissures that stretched along the sides of the buildings and along the entire length of the crystal wall for as far as my eyes could see. It was then that I noticed a bright swirling mist of rainbow-like colors hovering just inside the village gates, now completely open.

  “The mist swirled faster and faster, gaining momentum as it traveled between the two gates. It lengthened and twisted so that it soon looked like a cyclone measuring the same height as the gates themselves. A high-pitched sound similar to a teapot whistling filled the air. Interspersed with this sound were voices speaking to me again. I glanced once more at Morylan, and after noting his own fascination with the strange mist, I decided it was safe enough for me to get a closer look.

  “‘Thank you, Jack! You did it, son!! We knew you could do it!! Thank you! Thank you!! Thank yo-o-u-u!!!’

  “The voice of my mother, along with a multitude of others, rang out into the crumbling village and seemed to hasten the destruction of the buildings. They collapsed in upon themselves. The massive crystal wall was soon to follow, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the swirling mass. The souls of the village’s countless victims filled the air in front of me, and I could see their radiant smiles mingling with the intense light shimmering throughout the cyclone.

  “‘You must leave now, Jack,’ a familiar voice told me from somewhere nearby. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was behind me, in front of me, or from either side. For all I knew it could’ve been coming from inside my mind. The only thing I knew for sure was it belonged to my mother. ‘Your journey has just begun, my son. Come on.’

  “Her voice moved through me, from front to back, until her unseen spirit gently prodded me from behind, pulling and pushing as she guided me through the open gates of the ruined village. I stood atop the steps that led directly down into the corridor that Genovene and I had walked through earlier. ‘Be brave, Jack,’ she said. ‘Be very brave and stay on the path you see before you. They’ll collect themselves and be after you soon, while others lie in wait. Remember we are with you as well, and will do everything possible to ensure your safe return home. Go quickly!’

  “I felt several unseen hands upon my back, and then I was shoved through the gateway out into the world of freedom, or at least freedom from the village. Once I reached the bottom step, I heard the mournful cries of Genovene amid the enraptured voices of her emancipated victims. I couldn’t believe she made it back so quickly from the seemingly bottomless pit she fell into.

  “I turned around in time to see the cyclone lengthen and rise above the village wall. It then disappeared in a bright blast of light speeding through the sky toward the late afternoon sun, taking with it the grateful multitude of voices. Heeding my mom’s latest warning, I didn’t wait to see if Genovene, Morylan, or any other fiends were on their way after me. I raced down the long corridor, determined to make it back home before it got dark.

  “The first few hundred feet were easy. I’d completely forgotten the miahluschkas because I didn’t see them right away. I soon heard their high-pitched voices sending an alarm to one another that rang shrilly throughout the corridor. I looked up as I ran, but still didn’t see anything. Suddenly, a wave of darkness appeared high in the treetops, moving up quickly from the village ruins behind me.

  “The wave passed over my head and started moving down the massive carnac trees ahead of me. Once the wave neared the ground, to my horror it was made up entirely of miahluschkas, whose faces remained shrouded by their hoods. I tried to run past them since none had ventured onto the marble floor yet. As I ran, I cast a quick glance over my shoulder. Seeing no one behind me I picked up speed, returning my line of vision to my front. Shocked by what I found waiting for me, I nearly hurled myself into the air, I stopped so fast.

  “An army of several hundred miahluschkas stood waiting less than twenty feet away, completely blocking the marble pathway. I couldn’t believe they had moved into position that fast. They removed their hoods, and a stray beam of sunlight settled upon many of their pale frightful faces. Every one of them had long white hair as brilliant in color as Genovene’s had been while in her human form. They glared at me malevolently, their pupil-less gray eyes devoid of any warmth as they pulled back their lips far enough to reveal sharp jagged teeth. They spread out and soon surrounded me, scooting up ever closer as drool ran unchecked down their dark robes.

  “I had absolutely no idea what to do next, and my
mind raced wildly as my panic deepened. As they closed in tighter around me, I thought again of my mother’s words. Maybe it was the hubris of youth, but I felt since mom’s earlier admonitions had saved me once they could do it again. I decided to meet my aggressors head on.

  “With the miahluschkas brushing up against me, I began screaming uncontrollably while throwing my arms and legs in every direction. The entire group froze and seemed unsure how to respond. They soon backed away from me, as confusion replaced the malice they’d originally greeted me with.

  “Since this strategy seemed to work, I intensified my body’s chaotic movements and inadvertently kicked a pair of them. They went flying into the trunk of a nearby carnac, splattering there before sliding down to the tree’s base where they slumped over onto each other, dead. Once the rest of them saw this, they quickly disbanded, screeching shrilly as they ran away from me.

  “What a pleasant surprise!. But I wasn’t given long to enjoy it, as a heavy crash rocked the area behind me. Morylan was now on his way after me, the loud noise caused by the golden gate on the right side of the village entrance tumbling to the ground. The angry giant proceeded to tear down the left gate, and the last few villagers poured out into the corridor.

  “They ran toward me with Morylan lumbering right behind them. His powerful footsteps easily obscured their chirps and other gibberish. The ground shook beneath me, but I forced my protesting legs to move and ran again. My lungs and sides burned terribly, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to prevent my pursuers from catching me.

  “I didn’t realize at first the thick vines and moss hanging from the trees slowed Morylan’s progress. He couldn’t run after me effectively and I saw frustration on his face once I glanced over my shoulder. He began using his sword to cut the vines, which only made matters worse. The vines now hung even lower and were a greater nuisance.