by Aratare, X.
Her mother. That is the girl’s mother.
When she saw the girl’s still form lying on the furs the Mer covered her face with her hands and wept silently, though the young man must have still heard her. His head whipped around to face her. Fast as a snake he was on his feet. He grabbed her shoulders in what looked to be a painful grip. Her hands fell away from her face and she made an audible gasp this time. Both she and Gabriel could see that the young man’s eyes were filled with hate. He shook her violently as he screamed at her, and once again Gabriel understood the meaning behind the words he did not know. He was shouting that she was responsible for his love’s death, that she was going to die, too. The young man then snapped the Mer’s neck with one violent, fluid motion. He released his hold on her and she crumpled to the ground beside her daughter.
His actions were so sudden, so merciless, so violent that it took Gabriel’s mind several long moments to actually realize what had happened and when he did, anger flooded him. He lunged for the young man, but he touched nothing. For the world had fast forwarded once more. Gabriel caught himself just before he fell to his knees on a stone floor. He was back at the settlement and standing in the threshold of the temple, looking out at the wide expanse of sand between it and the sea.
The young Native American man was there, too. However, his face was now painted black. There were two red streaks extending down from his eyes like tears of blood. He was leading the land tribe into battle, urging them on. The eyes of the members of the land tribe snapped with hatred. Their mouths opened with howls of rage. Their arms were raised, hoisting aloft hatches, spears, clubs and bows. They were advancing on a handful of Mers who were in the settlement, likely visiting lovers and children. Beautiful Mer blue-green eyes widened in shock and horror in response.
The Mers formed a tight circle in the center of the beach, fighting back to back. They were cut off from the ocean by members of the land tribe, though many still threw frantic glances towards the blue waves. Gabriel watched as the Mers’ bodies moved against the land tribe with quickness and impressive strength of martial arts’ masters, but their fists and feet were not enough. The Mers had brought no other weapons with them.
Arrows sped through the air like hundreds of feathered serpents and rained down on the Mers. The Mers on the outside of the circle were immediately struck down. Their bodies were pierced in dozens of places. Gabriel’s heart wrenched as he saw their faces empty of life and their bodies tumble to the ground like wheat cut down with a sickle.
A girl, one of the Mer children from the color of her eyes, threw her body between a massive human warrior and a female Mer who had already gasped her last breath with an arrow blooming out of her chest like an unnatural flower. The warrior’s lips writhed back from his teeth. His arm rose over his head, stone hatchet in hand.
The warrior did not hesitate, not for a moment, even though it was a child in his path. Gabriel shouted as he saw the girl’s blood, crimson as rubies, fly into the air and then spatter the sand as the hatchet crushed her skull. He watched her fall in slow motion, her limbs flailing in the air, a cloud of sand puffing up as she landed on the beach. Her blue-green eyes stared emptily outwards as a sheet of red washed over them. Then she was lost in the crush of bodies as the battle continued.
No! NO! I can’t let this happen! I can’t just stand here! Gabriel thought, forgetting that this was the past and could not be changed. I have to save them!
Gabriel had no weapons and he was not skilled in hand to hand combat. He needed to do something, though. And that was when he felt it. The pull. The feeling of being connected to something deep within the temple. It was the same feeling he had felt as he directed his parents’ boat to that certain spot in the ocean. But the pull he was feeling now made the pull from back then seem weak and insubstantial in comparison.
Instead of storming out into the fray, Gabriel found himself turning and running into the temple and towards the back wall. His mind was empty of thought. The pull was leading him. He had no idea what he intended to do in the temple, but he somehow knew that he would be able to stop the slaughter by doing it.
As soon as he reached the back wall his hands moved of their own accord. The pull dragged him to touch towards the center-most stone. Its radiance increased for a moment after he had touched it. The pull then directed him to slam his palm against the stone to the right of the first one. Then the pull had him double-tapping a stone on a lower row. The entire wall lit up as bright as fireworks. There was a grinding noise, and then the stones were folding back to reveal another chamber, the inner sanctum.
And inside … inside was a statue.
A terrible statue that was far from life-sized. After all, the temple was not miles high.
Gabriel recognized the thing sculpted out of black stone. He had seen it so many times in his dreams. It was the creature that had been waiting for him out in the deep. It was the something amazing that had saved him as his parents’ bodies sank into the ocean’s depths.
And he knew one other thing, that if he touched the statue, the real creature would come up from the deep and wreak havoc. It would destroy the land tribe. It would save the Mer.
Gabriel prepared to slam his hands down onto the statue’s bulbous, squid-like head ...
7
COREY, MEET CASILLUS
Gabriel’s hands rose up above his head. He was about to slam them down on the black statue’s skull. He would destroy the land tribe. He would make them pay. He would—
Suddenly, Casillus’ voice screamed in his mind, GABRIEL, NO! IF YOU TOUCH IT CTHULHU WILL COME AND KILL EVERYONE! YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT! YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT!
Casillus? Gabriel blinked and the world seemed to shimmer. The statute was still there, though. The glow of the blue stones was not reflected in its obsidian surface. The idol seemed to suck in all light.
Do not touch the statue! Please, Gabriel! Casillus begged. His voice was streaked with terror.
I don’t understand. Gabriel’s hands slowly lowered. The statue’s many eyes seemed to watch him. They were killing the Mers. The land tribe … they killed the children, too. I have to—I had to do something. I had—
That is all in the past, my love. That is all over and done with. You were having a vision of what happened here long ago, remember? Casillus reminded him.
The past? Gabriel touched his forehead. His skin was clammy and cold. Yes, it was the past, but it was so real! So incredibly real. I can’t get their faces out of my head!
I can feel that. But turn around and see the present. Corey, Greta and Johnson are the only ones there with you. There are no dead Mers. No slaughtered children. Turn around, Gabriel, Casillus urged.
Gabriel slowly turned his head to look out the doors of the temple. Despite Casillus’ words, he fully expected the sand to be stained red with Mer blood. He also expected to see piles of beautiful Mer corpses on the ground. But the beach was empty. There were no bodies. No blood. No Mers.
“Gabe? Are you—are you okay?” Corey asked.
Gabriel’s head snapped around towards his best friend’s voice. Corey and Greta were standing near the wall with the inscription. Both of them looked incredibly pale and shocked. Gabriel made sure that he did not look directly at the inscription this time, but the words were not moving. They were dead things now.
What did they see me do? What did they think I was going to do? Gabriel asked the Mer.
They saw you open the inner sanctum, Casillus said.
“C-corey?” Gabriel asked. His voice sounded so uncertain.
“Dude, wha—what happened?” Corey took a few steps towards him, but Greta caught his arm.
“He may not be himself yet! When we found Henry here he seemed okay at first, but then he—he attacked us,” Greta explained.
“Gabe would never hurt me—”
“It’s not him, Corey, it’s this place,” Greta said with a shake of her head. She looked over at Johnson. “Dr. Tims, we need to get Gabriel out
of here. Now.”
“How did you know how to open the inner sanctum, Gabriel?” Johnson asked. He was standing on the opposite side of the temple from Greta and Corey. He didn’t look concerned at all. He seemed completely unsurprised by what had just happened.
“I—I …” Gabriel turned back towards the statue once more. It squatted obscenely on top of a rough-cut pillar. Gabriel could barely look at the thing’s tentacles before he felt the urge to touch its squid-like head come over him again. He wrenched his gaze away with difficulty.
“He doesn’t know, professor!” Greta’s voice was shrill. “Just like Henry didn’t know what he was doing either!”
“We left the inner sanctum open when Henry had the bright idea of communing alone with Cthulhu,” Johnson snapped. “This is not the same!”
Cthulhu. He knows its name too, Casillus.
Yes, and I fear he knows far more, Casillus breathed. The Mer’s body was as tense as a bow.
“So what?” Greta demanded. Her hands were fisted in front of her. She was shaking with fear and anger.
“So how did Gabriel know how to get into it? It took us weeks, but he opened it in seconds without a moment’s hesitation.” Johnson’s eyes were glittering.
How did I know, Casillus?
You are a Caller, Gabriel. I had suspected it before, but now I know. You are the most rare of Callers: one that can summon dread Cthulhu from the deep to wreak chaos and destruction on everyone.
I—I don’t understand.
I know, my love. It is a hard thing to understand. But I will explain everything, once you are with me.
Gabriel’s gaze went to the water. Though the sea was several hundred feet away, Gabriel swore he caught sight of a dark head rising above the waves for a moment. Fear gripped him that Johnson would see it too, but then the head disappeared beneath the surface.
“Cthulhu has strange effects on everyone,” Greta replied. “Even you.”
Johnson frowned. “What do you mean?”
She stepped towards him. “You’ve become obsessed with the statue, Dr. Tims. I know that you spend hours in here after you think we’ve all gone home. I’ve seen you. Night after night you come in here.”
“So you’ve been spying on me?” Johnson asked. His tone was mild, but something in his gaze had her straightening up and crossing her arms defensively over her chest.
“Only because I’m worried about you,” she answered.
He smiled at her, but it was not a nice smile even though it tried to be. “You don’t need to worry about me, Greta. I’m perfectly fine.”
Greta did not look like she believed him.
“I think I want to go,” Gabriel said faintly.
Yes, come to me, Gabriel. Come to me now. Get out of there.
Gabriel took a step forward, but his legs crumpled beneath him. Corey darted to his side and stopped him from collapsing utterly. Johnson started towards him, too, but Gabriel stiffened and shouted, “No! Not you!”
“How about me?” Greta asked as she kneeled at his side. “Can I help you?”
“All—all right.”
Gabriel finally lifted his head and looked up into her face. Her eyes widened hugely and there was an inexplicable look of surprise and awe on her face, but then she was pulling one of his arms over her shoulders and pressing his head down so that his gaze was on the floor. He realized that with his head down like she wanted, Johnson wouldn’t be able to see whatever she had in his face. But he could feel Johnson’s piercing gaze on him as Greta and Corey helped him out of the temple, down the steps and onto the sand.
“Gabriel, I’m taking you to the hospital,” Corey said mulishly as he and Greta half carried him to the stairs.
“N-no, I don’t need—”
“You collapsed! I can hear your breathing! It’s like you have double pneumonia! Your lips … they’re blue!” Corey cried.
Gabriel thought of the young girl who had died with blue lips, gasping out her last breath far from the sea. That wouldn’t be him.
It will not be you. You will be in the water. You will be with me. You will be safe, Casillus said.
“I need …” Gabriel’s eyes flickered to Greta. Their gazes met again.
“It’s all right, Gabriel. Tell Corey what you need,” she said, her brown eyes full of knowing.
She knows I’m a Mer! How? As he blinked she stared hard at his eyes, and then he realized how she had guessed. Somehow his eyes had changed to those of a Mer’s, and she recognized what the change meant.
They were at the base of the stairs when she added, “I’ll head back and keep Dr. Tims from following after you.”
“Why—why are you doing this?” Gabriel asked. Why are you helping me?
“Ever since we found the inner sanctum and that—that statue, things have been going wrong,” she said before passing a hand over her forehead. “People haven’t been themselves and I believe the statue is the cause.” She bit her lower lip. “Some things shouldn’t be unearthed. They should be left alone. That’s what the inscription was warning us about. The writer died to make sure anyone who found this temple after him would know it, but Dr. Tims is ignoring the warning.”
Without any more explanation, she turned on her heel and hurried back to the temple.
After watching her walk away and meet Johnson on the temple steps, Corey asked, “What is going on, Gabe?”
“I don’t know all of it, but I’ll tell you everything I do know. But first, I need to get to the ocean,” Gabriel got out.
Corey froze as they started walking up the steps. “The ocean?”
“I—I need to get into the ocean and then I—I’ll be fine.” Gabriel could not catch his breath. He hoped that it was just the shock of what he had seen in the visions, the deaths, the blood, the horror. He wished he could block it out, but the memory of the dead child’s sightless blue-green eyes kept cycling through his head. And then there was the statue. A statue of something that shouldn’t exist. Something made of madness.
“I don’t understand,” Corey said.
“I—I know, but y—you will,” Gabriel said. He pushed the words out as they continued to mount the stairs. Just one more flight. He would make it up one more flight, and then he could collapse in the van. “This is what I wanted to tell you about today. Please.”
Corey nodded slowly, still looking completely unconvinced. In fact, he was clearly wondering if the lack of oxygen was affecting Gabriel’s mind. After all, why would Gabriel, who was afraid of the water, want to go swimming now?
“I—I promise I’ll be fine. You just need to trust me, Corey,” Gabriel said as they stepped off the stairs and onto gravel. Gabriel let out a groan of thankfulness.
“All right, but if you don’t get better, we’re going to the hospital. I don’t care what you say,” Corey said as he helped Gabriel into the van.
Gabriel gratefully collapsed onto the seat as Corey shut the door and hustled around to the driver’s side.
Gabriel. Casillus’ voice was threaded with fear and agony. I need to get to you.
I will come to you. Meet us by the cave where you found me the other day, Gabriel requested.
I will be there the moment you arrive, Casillus said. Gabriel felt him start speeding through the water. The Mer’s strokes was fast and effortless, and Gabriel tried to imagine that it was his body that was cutting through the waves and startling brightly colored fish. Instead, he was in a sweltering van and his body felt like a useless sack of bricks.
Corey hopped into the driver’s seat and shoved the key into the ignition. He was pale despite the heat and the exertion of half-carrying Gabriel up the stairs.
“I’m going to the beach, right? Which beach?” Corey asked.
“Just get on the highway. I’ll tell you where to pull off,” Gabriel said. His voice was raspy and his throat was dry. He pulled off the rucksack from around his shoulders and took out the half empty water bottle from it before letting it fall to the ground. He dra
nk the water all down in one swallow. There were more full bottles behind his seat. Corey really had gotten a van-load full of water. He grabbed two more and drank them down as well. He was then able to add the thought that was keeping him most calm at that moment, “Casillus will be waiting there.”
“Who is this Casillus? He’s more than just your boyfriend,” Corey said as he stepped hard on the gas and the van revved up. Not that the van could go all that fast. The poor thing usually topped out at about sixty miles per hour, but Corey put his foot to the floor and managed to coax out an extra five more miles per hour.
“Yeah, he’s far more than that,” Gabriel said with a soft smile.
Corey’s face took on a determined expression. “I can’t wait to meet this guy and find out what the deal is.”
“You and me both, Corey. We met the day I drowned,” Gabriel found himself saying. “Well, almost drowned. Again.”
“D-drowned?!” Corey was now staring at him instead of the highway.
“Road, Corey. I promise everything will be explained when we meet Casillus,” Gabriel said.
“Oh, shit!” The van swerved as Corey realized he was drifting over the white line and overcorrected.
“I’ll tell you everything once I’m in the water, but I can’t—can’t talk very well right now,” Gabriel rasped.
“O-okay, so quiet until we’re there?” Corey asked.
“Y-yeah, I’m sorry big guy, just—”
“Don’t worry, Gabe! Just rest up, okay?” Corey’s worry eyes were back in on full power.
“O-okay. I’ll tell you when to turn off,” Gabriel assured him.
He shifted uncomfortably in the seat. It was like a furnace in the car. The air conditioner worked fitfully when it did at all, and they weren’t going on a long enough car ride for it to kick in with even a pitifully cool breeze anyways, so he sat still and tried to ignore the fact that his back was covered in slick sweat, which had also soaked through his T-shirt. Once he stopped talking his breathing was still labored, but not as bad as before.
