Sentinel: The Race Against Dark Energy

by Andrew McIntyre

  The final guard caught Saul across his face with a blow from the handle of his spear, knocking Saul across the room and as Saul fell he looked across to see the Oracle approach Nell. The fighting between Saul and the last guard standing, became ferocious and extremely fast-paced with Saul evading and delivering blows with pin-point accuracy. Hit, move, duck, strike again, block. Saul moved with lightning speed, grabbing anything and everything he could to deflect blows raining in.

  The final guard was relentless in his attack and kept walking towards Saul with purpose as he rained in blows onto the young student. Saul fell to the ground with the sheer weight of the beating he was taking. As the guard walked towards him, towering above, Saul hooked his foot behind the heel of the guard and with his other leg, kicked as hard as he could straight into the guard’s shin, breaking his tibia and fibular cleanly in half. The final guard dropped in agony and excruciating pain, leaving Saul exhausted and bleeding and laying flat on his back.

  As Saul desperately looked across the room towards Nell, he saw the oracle approach her, walking slowly. Nell stood riveted as the oracle came close and speaking softly she looked deep into Nell’s eyes. The oracle again tilted her head to one side and said “What a beautiful specimen you are my dear.” Nell was terrified. She began to shake. The Oracle came even closer scanning all of Nell’s face and features slowly. “Your beauty is timeless, enough to cause an ancient being such as myself to lust after the energy of youth,… But I am the only female allowed in this temple, along with Cleito, the mortal wife of Poseidon himself, SO GET OUT!” As she shouted her final insult, she struck Nell with the back of her hand swiping wildly and viciously, knocking Nell backwards and off her feet.

  Saul jumped up and lurched forward to save Nell from any further abuse, but was confronted by a huge figure, walking slowly into his path. The figure stood nearly nine feet tall, with armour and weapons strapped about its’ body and arms. Its limbs were heavily muscled and the helmet it wore appeared completely dark through the eye slits. The looming figure removed its helmet and there staring out from deep-set sockets were the blackest eyes Saul had ever seen. The towering being bellowed out an evil noise, which sounded like a mix of an Orc’s cry and a bison. It was the most terrifying sight Saul had ever witnessed and he backed off slowly.

  Nell lay on the floor of the temple dazed, confused and in pain, from the blow she had just been dealt by the Oracle. But the pain and confusion, resulting from the head strike, soon turned to anger. Nell recalled her martial arts training and quickly rolled away out of danger whilst rising to her feet. The Oracle slowly moved towards her with a menacing look on her face and her eyes flashing wildly with bright purple glints. Nell stood her ground assuming a defensive stance and faced the oncoming wizened woman. “ Who the hell are you calling ‘Dear’” Nell said angrily and span around flying out a powerful punch straight into the stomach of the Oracle, sending her careering backwards, shocked at the young woman’s agility and force.

  Nell quickly followed up with a running leap towards the old woman, landing directly on top of her and simultaneously landing a twisting, direct punch to the oracle’s throat, disabling her in one movement. The old woman fell back, slumping into a gurgling heap. Nell darted a look across the temple chamber to witness Saul being backed up against the marble ceremonial sacrifice table. She shouted across to him. “Saul! What in God’s name is that?”

  “You really don’t wanna know!” Saul shouted back, crashing into the sacrificial slab as he backed off at pace.

  As Nell looked around desperately at the redundant weapons laying on the marble floor from the felled guards and deciding which would be adequate against such a beast, she spotted the Oracle who was once again up on her feet and approaching fast. The Oracle delivered another blow to Nell, which betrayed her strength that was much stronger than a normal woman of her years. Nell fell to her knees. The Oracle lashed out a kick from beneath her long robe and caught Nell in the head, sending her rolling backwards, once again dazed by the brutal attack.

  The Oracle walked over to where Nell lay and prepared to deliver the final violent ending, but as she drew a dagger out from beneath the folds of robe and held it with both hands ready to plunge, Nell back-flipped to her feet. The Oracle’s eyes opened wide and flashed again in disbelief, as Nell leaped with a spin, flying into the air. As she completed her three-sixty movement she let out an almighty kick, aimed directly at the Oracle’s chest area, knocking her back some two meters. Nell quickly followed up with a series of three kicks, some straight and some twisting and as she did so the Oracle was knocked further back, staggering and attempting to stay standing. But with the final kick Nell screamed, “Fuck You BITCH!” She leapt at the Oracle with a two-footed kick which hit its mark directly in the chest and sent the Oracle speeding backwards and landing, impaled upon a golden-tipped horn of the bull statue. The Oracle looked down at the horn protruding from her chest and held it with both hands, then looked up at Nell with a confused and crazed look upon her face, before slumping down to remain hanging and with blood, dripping from her mouth and chest wound.

  Saul was still attempting to evade the monster before him and Nell scanned the large chamber for anything that could be used as a weapon, but quickly realised that any sword or spear she could collect from felled guards would be useless. She ran some scenarios through her mind at breakneck speed, then rushed over and grabbed a fire stand. The receptacle was burning gently and contained a reservoir of fluid, which she quickly kicked over, sending it splashing across the legs of the Demonicon and engulfing its lower half in flames.

  Saul glanced to his side and noticed the sacrificial dagger still in its sheath at the head of the table, he was now backed up against. He immediately grabbed it, removing the gleaming blade from its scabbard. As the burning Demonicon staggered about in flames and screaming in agony like something straight out of hell, he plunged the blade into its chest with both hands. And just to the side of its breastplate.

  The Demonicon staggered and lurched, crashing about the chamber. But slowly reached down and withdrew the dagger from its chest, pulling it out slowly. Saul and Nell both watched in horror and gasped, as green blood seeped out of the wound. The Demonicon turned away from the petrified pair and began making its way over to a bathing pool within the chamber, where it reached for a large pouring jug and doused itself, quashing the flames on its lower half.

  Saul reached for Nell and pulled her close to him, both of them panting and recovering from the onslaught. As the Demonicon was distracted dousing the flames and the Oracle was already eliminated, hanging on the horn of the bull statue, the pair regrouped and quickly scanned the enormous chamber for a route out. Saul reached for his phone and called out, “E – Help us!”

  “What help would you like?” Came the short reply

  “Oh I don’t know,… Something to maybe save our lives.” Saul gasped sarcastically. “What about one of those sonic things?”

  “Of course, what frequency and amplitude do you require?” Asked E flatly.

  “You gotta be kidding me!” Exclaimed Saul as the Demonicon turned and approached a second time. “Just get this thing away from us!”

  As the Demonicon paced slowly back towards the terrified pair, Saul held his phone out at arms length and with the screen pointing away towards the beast, the device wound up a high pitched tone which reached its crescendo, emitting a burst of sound waves in one pounding pulse. The Demonicon and everything surrounding it were sent flying backwards as if an explosion had caught them in its blast. The Demonicon was blown backwards at such speed, it took with it part of the temple wall some fifty meters behind it, with rubble and debris flying in all directions.

  Saul turned his phone screen back towards himself and looked at it quizzingly, “Jeeze!” he said loudly.

  Nell pulled Saul away from the sacrificial table and screamed at him. “Let’s get the hell outta here!”

  The young pair ran across the temple chamber so
me one hundred meters into the opposite direction and called to E whilst they ran. “Where do we go now E?”

  “The two main doors ahead and to the right of you is the entrance to the ‘Chamber of Artefacts,’ which is where the Tablet is kept.” Replied E.

  The pair dashed across the huge hall and arrived at the large doors as instructed, attempting to open them in a panicked state.

  “OK this isn’t funny E – these doors are locked.” Said Saul frantically pulling and pushing the huge, heavily decorated entrance doors.

  “Yes, obviously they are locked, they contain all of the ancient relics of Atlantis and would never be left open to anyone but city elders and high-priests.” E said calmly.

  “OK, OK! Enough of the history lessons E – What the hell do we do now?” Saul screamed.

  “Show me the doors please.” E instructed Saul.

  Saul once again held the mobile phone out facing the doors and a beam of light fired out flickering and scanning the huge doorway, highlighting the locking mechanism on the far side.

  “The doors appear to be hermetically sealed to protect the artefacts contained inside, however I can override the system used.” E calculated.

  As Saul and E attempted to access the locking system, Nell heard a noise behind them and glanced back to see something moving in the distance and in the rubble where the Demonicon had been unceremoniously dumped. She stared further, her face frowning as she tried to fix her gaze upon the movement in the distance. Her face then transformed from curiosity into terror as she witnessed the Demonicon rising up from the rubble and masonry, to stand fully erect and removing debris previously trapping it.

  “Umm guys,..” She said nervously. “Guys you need to work faster, we have a slight problem.” She said understating.

  Saul fired a look back. “Oh shit!” He exclaimed quietly. “E work fast!”

  E was still scanning the locking system on the far side of the doors whilst the sound of bolts and metallic cogs clicked and jolted. The Demonicon entered the temple once again and approached slowly but steadily with its huge, pounding paces and dust falling as it walked.

  The young pair looked frantically around for another escape route but they were trapped. As the Demonicon gathered momentum, the final bolt in what seemed to be a never-ending number clunked, and the door on the right clicked open by just a few inches. Saul handed the phone to Nell who was fixated by the looming monster, he pushed the huge door open just a few more inches and grabbed Nell, pulling her violently through the small gap and into the chamber of artefacts, with both of them slamming themselves against the door, desperately closing it again, behind them. As they did so a huge pounding struck the doors, shaking them loudly. The mechanism once again clicked and clunked, bolting them safely inside.

  Chapter 7: Destroying The Tablet

  Saul and Nell slumped, backs against the door, with the deafening pounding still hammering against the exterior.

  The pair both exhaled loudly and finally Nell fell into Saul’s arms, holding him tightly. Saul reciprocated and as her head fell onto his chest he buried his face into her hair breathing in deeply and deliberately, to take in the smell of her and trying to cancel out the terrifying image of seeing her hurt by the Oracle.

  As they held each other close and firmly squeezing, neither wanted to release the other. Finally, Saul’s attention was caught by the contents of the chamber they were now safely bolted inside. The frenzied pounding on the exterior of the doors, dropped to an occasional blow and eventually ceased altogether. The young battered Sentinel, slowly took in the whole enormity of the chamber and the breathtaking contents, all systematically exhibited on plinths and chests.

  Saul came back into the moment and his embrace of the young woman he adored. He pulled her away from her desperate clutch and looked deep into her eyes. She was crying and trembling with shock. “Now listen to me Nell,” Saul spoke authoritatively. “You are safe, nothing will hurt you in here. You need to breathe deeply and you’ll be fine.” He held his hand up and gently caressed her marked cheekbone, which was grazed and bruised. Nell nodded and obeyed his instructions silently, ensuring she calmed her breathing like an athlete in training.

  “Look at this stuff.” Said Saul trying to distract her like a hurt child. “E what is all this?”

  “The Atlanteans are the forerunners of many great civilisations.” Explained E, then continued. “They were an incredibly sophisticated race of beings, possessing great wealth due to natural resources and being culturally educated, making many technical advances. They were quick to erect schools, universities and to realise that the preserving and protecting of their cultural antiquities was an important task in creating an enlightened society. So they stored their important artefacts here in the Temple of Poseidon, which is the most protected site on the whole island.”

  “So what next E?” Enquired Saul, impatiently. “I don’t think those doors will hold for long if that thing returns.”

  E once again rose out of the phone screen in human, holographic form. Flickering with interference. “We are only interested in the tablet, the Emerald Tablet. Let me locate it.” E disappeared back into the phone and was replaced by a bright strobing light, which engulfed the room in a thin line dancing about as a circle around them. Flickering at high speed, it scanned the thousands of objects within the chamber and after a few moments, changed from a circular bean down into a focused, straight line when it located the tablet at the far end of the room. The tablet was positioned within the centre of a shrine and fixed upright, facing outwards.

  Nell and Saul approached the tablet, carrying Saul’s phone, with E once again beaming out in human holographic form. They stood motionless and silent staring at the tablet, which was indeed emerald green in colour and approximately twelve inches in height. It appeared to be about an inch or so thick and glowed slightly, emanating a strange energy.

  “So,.. This is what all the fuss is about?” Asked Saul, indignantly.

  “Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in the tone of your voice?” Asked E. “The ‘fuss’ as you call it, is all about the knowledge contained within the script written upon the tablet. The script contains steps for transformation, which the alchemists assumed related to the transformation of elements into other elements, but which they soon discovered applied to human life forms and offered them the ability to transform into higher beings – more enlightened and extremely powerful.”

  “So what’s the problem with that?” Nell interrupted. “Surely enlightenment is a good thing?”

  “Of course it is, given to every human being. But locked away in here for just the elite to use and to use against other human beings, is not what it was intended for and brought about the destruction of Atlantis, as the alchemists and Demonicons abused its transformational properties. The result being the total cataclysm that was the sinking of Atlantis by a tsunami so large, it destroyed every single building and structure, wiped out the whole civilization and,… which is due to hit in approximately thirty minutes from now.”

  Both Nell and Saul looked directly at each other in a stupefied stare. “Atlantis ceases to be in thirty minutes time?” Saul asked in disbelief.

  “Correct.” Said E, in its trademark, unemotional manner.

  “And you were going to tell us this when?” Demanded Saul.

  “Before the thirty minutes elapses.” Replied E curtly.

  “Listen,.. E we gotta get some rules of engagement agreed here fella. You have to give us more information, this ‘Need to know basis’ shit isn’t working for me!” bellowed Saul. “So how do we get outta here?”

  E was still flat and unrushed in tone. “Firstly, we must destroy this tablet and there is only one method for effectively doing that. Please point the phone towards the tablet Saul, then face the other way.”

  As the young pair did as instructed, Saul looked at Nell, shaking his head and whispered “A bit late for health and safety.”

  Saul stood arm extended pointing the
phone at the tablet, whilst simultaneously looking in the opposite direction and with his free arm held around Nell who also turned away. The phone once again began emitting a high pitched whine and from the screen came a thin white line of light, which hit the tablet and began pulsating with increasing rhythmical cycles. The noise heightened and became an octave higher, giving Nell cause to cover her ears. The tablet glowed and began to pulsate, building into a frightening level of noise within the chamber. Then with one huge explosion, the tablet burst into a shower of a trillion atoms, landing like glitter on and around the two students.

  Nell and Saul brushed the tiny particles of debris from themselves. Saul was puzzled. “Is that it? I thought the roof was coming in when the explosion happened, but its just dust.”

  “It was an internal energetic force you heard, which although creates inevitable audio disruption, simply realigns the cellular structure of the object involved, reorganising its cellular make-up back into, in this case, powder.”

  Saul placed the phone onto a plinth next to him and with E’s face once again emitting from the screen, stood hands on hips. “So are we done here E?” He asked.