Detarru Island_The Gates of Hell

by Mickey Deymon

  That was very odd.

  “Milo? Here, boy,” Matt and I called.

  No sign of him.

  I heard the sound of a motor close by. It was Nathan and my dad. They were back in a black Cherokee. It was old but mobile.

  “Okay everyone, hop in. Matt, we’ll be back soon, so stay here. We won’t take long,” Nathan said.

  “Got it,” Matt replied.

  “Is it really necessary to take the whole crew?” My father asked, annoyed.

  “Absolutely! They all need to see this.”

  Matt continued searching for Milo while the rest of us got in the truck and made our way through a dirt road in the deep jungles of the island. Nathan was driving and Dad was in front with him. I sat between mom and Blondie, while the rest of the group were in the back seats.

  “That’s strange,” my father said.

  “What is?” Nathan replied.

  “Where are the Detarrunians?”

  “Somewhere up in the mountains or the village I suppose.”

  “Nathan, we are wasting time here. Why won’t you—”

  “Shhhh.” He shushed him. “I’ll tell you all about it when we get there. Stop being so stubborn, Jack.”

  We kept driving in the middle of the night on that long dark road. Nathan and my dad knew this place pretty well but it was an unknown territory for me. Nothing was visible, only a jungle and a dark road ahead. We continued on like this for about an hour, until Nathan pulled over and instructed us to get out of the truck.

  We finally had arrived at our destination. However, we were still in the middle of nowhere. Nathan walked to the back of his truck, opened the trunk, pulled out a few tools, then a 9mm gun.

  Was he really planning to use that?

  “Nathan?” my father uttered, worried.

  I heard a squeal followed by a loud scream behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw my mother with a knife to her neck.

  HUH?

  Gregory had control over her.

  I was about to help her, when I felt two big arms wrap around me. It was a tight grip. Joseph had me in a bear hug.

  “What is this? What’s going on? Let us go!” my mom yelled. I turned to my father but Nathan had the gun pointed at him now. I didn’t understand. What was going on?

  “What the hell is this, Nathan?” my dad said in this voice I’d never heard before. He was angry. I guess that happens when you’ve trusted someone and they point a gun in your face.

  Blondie walked towards Nathan and said, "Good job, Nathan. Just as we planned.”

  Just as they planned? They planned this? I thought we were friends. We trusted him. He was like family.

  Rebecca took away all of our cellphones and smashed them by a tree.

  “Now, Jack. If you know what’s best you, you’ll come with us and do as you’re told,”

  Rebecca said.

  “I’ll do whatever you want but you must first let them go,” my father conveyed.

  “We both know we can’t afford to do that. Right, Clara?” She looked at my mother.

  Mom looked confused.

  “What are you talking about? They have nothing to do with this. Let them go!” Dad demanded.

  “That is not negotiable.”

  I tried to break free from Joseph’s grip but he was too strong, so I came up with another strategy. I kicked down on his right knee and tried to get him on the groin but that was useless. He got pissed at my move so he spun me around so fast, I almost lost my balance. Then he grabbed me by the shirt and gave me a low blow kick to my stomach. I lost my breath. The impact had me bending down on my knees for air. While I was on my knees, Joseph grabbed both my arms and cuffed them behind my back.

  Where did those come from?

  “Easy with him. No need to harm the kid,” Nathan said while helping me up. Rebecca turned on a flashlight and flashed it at my dad.

  “What is it that you want?” he asked.

  “We need you to help us find Satu. If you do, we will let your family go,” Rebecca guaranteed.

  “Seriously? That’s the dumbest thing you could ask right now. Why do you think I’m going to Africa, you idiots?” Dad shot back.

  “What if I told you Clara knows where he is?”

  “What?” my dad exclaimed.

  “Jack, you’ve been misled,” Nathan assured him.

  Rebecca walked over to my mom. “You can stop pretending now. We know everything,” Rebecca said, as she turned the flashlight towards my mom now. She definitely looked like a deer in the headlights and she looked pale.

  “Tell us the truth, Clara!” Rebecca snarled.

  Mom stood there silently for a few seconds. She glanced at each and every one of us probably thinking about what she could possibly say.

  “Start talking,” Rebecca hissed. Nathan raised the gun at me now.

  My heart stopped. I was so hurt. I did not expect this from Nathan.

  “Okay. I’ll tell you, but don’t harm him,” she pleaded.

  Nathan lowered the gun for reassurance.

  She took a deep breath and spoke very slowly. “Before The Chosen One perished, he left a selected few in charge. They were called The Guardians. Their job was to guard the beast and protect the island from outsiders. They’ve done that for years and they will continue doing so for many generations to come. I myself am one of those guardians.”

  So if she was a guardian, then she must have been more than 100 years old, which didn’t add up. This didn’t make any sense. I don’t think my dad registered what she just said either.

  “You’ve got to be joking,” he said. “Alright, guys. Look, I already knew my wife was a Detarrunian descendant. That was no big secret to me so I don’t understand what the big deal is?” My father said, frustrated.

  I personally didn’t know my mom was a Detarrunian so that was a big shocker to me. Rebecca gave my dad a stern look, then turned to Nathan.

  “I don’t think he knows,” she said.

  “Apparently not,” Nathan replied.

  “Looks like she also forgot to mention one very important thing,” Rebecca continued.

  “Which is?”

  While everyone was distracted, I tried to get Joseph off me. I got away from his grip again and landed on my back. The guy tried to come at me, but I kicked him hard on his right knee and he doubled over in pain. That was a bad move from his part though because I kicked him again in the head and he fell on the floor sideways.

  Mom tried to fight Gregory off and my dad struggled to take the gun away from Nathan. Mom stomped on Gregory’s foot and pushed the knife away from her throat. I thought she was going to run. Instead, she took the knife away from him, and started swinging it around, taunting him.

  Wow! That threw me off a little.

  Nathan and my dad were at it for a minute until the gun fell on the ground, close to Rebecca. She ran for it and picked it up. While they were still wrestling on the ground, I thought Rebecca was going to shoot my dad for sure. My heart was in my throat.

  She used the gun and delivered a blow to the back of my father’s head. He collapsed to the ground unconscious.

  “Dad?” I yelled.

  “Do I have to do everything myself?” she said while rolling her eyes. She walked towards me.

  I rolled to my side and tried to get on my feet, but she beat me to it and grabbed me by the back of my shirt. She stood me up with my back facing her, then pointed the gun to my face. Mom saw this and screamed, “Erick!”

  “Do you want me to hurt him? Is that what you want?” Rebecca shouted. “Come with us or so help me God, I will shoot him.”

  Mom had tears in her eyes. She looked defeated. She always protected me but now there was nothing she could do.

  “Carry him,” Rebecca ordered Gregory, pointing at my dad
.

  Joseph grabbed my arm and pushed me forward. I was dragged to walk alongside them.

  Why would Nathan betray us after so many years of friendship?

  We walked through the jungle for another 10 minutes, when I saw an opening up ahead. Even in the dark, I could still make out that there was a clearing. I saw buildings also. Some were four stories high, and others looked like cottages. We were walking straight into the Detarrunian turf. The place was probably a city or a small town. What intrigued me about these buildings was their structure and the way they were built, sort of like castles. The architecture was really amazing.

  There was a small entrance in the middle of a building and there was light coming from inside. Either the Detarrunians were waiting inside or they had no idea we were creeping outside their homes. The entrance seemed to lead downwards, like a cave. We remained in the dark areas where the Detarrunians wouldn’t be able to see us, in case they were around.

  I didn’t see anyone though.

  I thought this place would be a lot more secured. Where were these so-called guardians? Weren’t they supposed to be guarding the place? Heck, if I were guarding Satu, security would’ve been a lot tighter than this.

  As we kept creeping, I wondered if Nathan and Rebecca had gone psycho on us. However, they actually knew where they were going. That was no coincidence.

  Chapter 6

  The Cave

  We all went through the small entry. The cave had stairs that led down to lower levels, which made it a little uncomfortable. We couldn’t stand upright, and we had to squeeze through to wherever this entryway led to. I glanced at Gregory, who was struggling to squeeze through while carrying my dad.

  Good for him. He deserved it.

  I hoped that when Dad woke up, he’d be so pissed he’d punch him in the throat. I really wanted to see how good of a fight Gregory would put up then.

  As for me, since my arms were handcuffed behind my back, I couldn’t even hold on for safety. That made it even more uncomfortable. The thought of falling on my face and knocking all my teeth out had me a little worried. How would I be able to talk to Kate Anderson? I’d creep her out for good.

  We were descending for about 5 minutes when we reached the basement, or the lower basement, or the basement under that one.

  Whatever.

  There was nothing great about this part of the cave. It just looked like any regular cave and it was pitch black. The only lights that were coming through were from the torches that were scattered in every corner of the place. The good thing was that we could finally stand up straight.

  Nathan turned to us and gestured to stay quiet, then he continued walking and we followed quietly. We made a few turns every so often. Some instances, we would come across two or three passageways. Rebecca chose the right one every time, thank God. I wonder what would happen if we went the wrong way? Perhaps hit a dead end or get lost in here; after all, this place was a maze.

  We kept coming across different doors that were locked. There were about six of them, and you needed some weird circular keys to open them too. Somehow, Rebecca had all six keys. Thank God for that too.

  I was getting tired though. Having your hands handcuffed for a long time, without being able to use them, could get tiring. It was also hurting my wrists, so I stopped. Everyone turned to face me, except for my dad. He was still in dreamland.

  “What is it now?” Rebecca asked, taking a deep breath, annoyed.

  “Is it possible to use my hands again?”

  She walked towards me and started taking the cuffs off me. “If you do anything crazy, I won’t think twice about handcuffing you again.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said, relieved.

  “And no talking either or I’ll gag you too, is that clear?” She gave me a mean stare with those intimidating gray eyes of hers. I nodded very slowly.

  Jesus, it felt good to have my arms back though. I rubbed my wrists from the pain. They were bruised up a little.

  We continued walking.

  I felt a warm draft. Yet it felt relieving, since we’d been underground for a while now. There was also this irritating sound that got louder and louder every step of the way. What the heck was it? It sounded like steel.

  We hit a dead end and I thought we were going to turn back around and head another way, but Nathan kept walking towards a wall. Actually, it wasn’t a wall. It was a steel door, and the strange sounds were coming from behind it too. I was scared and excited at the same time. My dad would’ve loved to see this. All these years of hard work, just to find out that he’d only end up betrayed by his best friend.

  That would hurt.

  I turned to Gregory who still carried him, and I wished I was able wake him.

  As we walked near the steel door, I saw ancient engravings on it and it had beautiful designs. It had carved drawings and Detarrunian hieroglyphics. On one side, it had a drawing of a king. The king had a skull mask on, and was sitting on his throne, while looking down at his people or Detarrunians. I’m guessing the king was Satu. Every drawing was different, and it was expressing the history of the island.

  It was fascinating!

  There were two levers on each side of the heavy set of doors. Sort of like those ‘Indiana Jones’ type of mechanisms that take two people to open. You’d have to turn with it 360 degrees, a few times, until it fully opened.

  “We have to use these,” Nathan instructed, pointing at the two levers. “Hey, Joseph? Give me a hand here,” he called.

  Joseph walked up and positioned himself next to the right revolving handle. Nathan went to the left lever, and together they pushed as hard as they could. It wasn’t budging. It took more than just two people. Nathan called me and Gregory over to give them a hand. I stood next to Nathan. Gregory gently put my dad on the ground, then joined Joseph. When the doors opened up a few inches, a warm wind blew in our faces. Bright lights hit us instantly. I had to cover my eyes for a minute, since we’d been in the dark for a while. As I tried to adjust to the brightness, I saw a spectrum of light; it had purple, orange, red, green, blue, and yellow. I imagined walking into a ‘Skittles’ world.

  If it hadn’t been for our current situation, I would’ve thought that was funny, but this was no joke. This was real.

  The spectrum lit up the room for a few seconds, and then it died off. We kept pushing and going in circles, until the doors fully opened. We all stopped to catch our breaths, but we were staggered at what was behind those huge metal doors.

  It was a monumental sculpture made out of bronze. I went to get a closer look at such immense and beautiful artwork, then realized that I’d seen it before. It took a while to figure out what I was staring at. My knees locked.

  Dante’s Inferno!

  The actual Gates from ‘The Divine Comedy’. It told the story of a guy named Dante and his journey to Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. I’d seen these doors before, at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, but the one at the museum was only a copy. My dad told me there were actually seven gates, each located in every continent of the world.

  Now that I think of it, this was no continent. This was an island, which meant that Satu had an eighth gate all to himself.

  “This is it! This is why I needed all of you here!” Nathan said, excited.

  I heard moaning. Dad was regaining consciousness. He rubbed the back of his head, then he rolled to his feet very slowly, not to fall backwards and knock himself out again. He turned to us, but never said a word, because his eyes were fixed on the huge gates behind us.

  His mouth dropped. He could not believe it. It was so mesmerizing for him, as it was for all of us. He slowly made his way to the gates and stared at it in wonder. I could only imagine what was going through his mind at that moment. He turned to us, and pointing at the doors, announced: "The Gates of Hell.” We all looked at the gates in bewildermen
t. “These doors divide two different worlds,” he continued. “Our world, and the underworld.”

  “I thought it was a myth,” I said in disagreement.

  “It isn’t!” Dad responded quickly. “The manuscripts state that Satu used this portal to take those slaughtered souls into the underworld. Satu wanted more power and immortality, so he created his own VIP access.”

  “So then where’s the beast?” I asked.

  Rebecca gave me a sideways look. Every once in a while she would turn to face me, and she just stared at me for no reason at all. Either she was still flirting, or she was looking at me for answers but I was just as lost as she was.

  “Clearly, he is somewhere in Africa, but Nathan insisted on coming here anyway,” Dad explained.

  “They’re all lies, Jack,” Nathan replied.

  “What is it with you and—”

  “Jack, listen to me. The answers are here, on this island. They’ve always been. These texts are only going to keep us going in circles, with false information. This is exactly what the Detarrunians want. They are trying to keep us from the real truth.”

  “What truth?” My father asked dreadfully. He wanted to know where Nathan was going with this.

  “Satu is in the underworld!” Nathan said, pointing at the gates. My dad stayed quiet. It’s like he was just slapped in the face with facts, but he was still in denial and wasn’t really buying it.

  “How do we get him out?” he asked.

  “Only Satu was able to walk through them. No mortals were allowed. If we were to walk through these gates, we wouldn’t be able to come back out,” Nathan answered with another very important fact. “The Chosen One purposely dragged him in there to make sure no one was able to get him out for good. However, Rebecca mentioned there might be another way.”

  “With The Book of Mythos!” Rebecca declared.

  Mom glared at her, shaken. “You can’t possibly consider that,” she said, frightened.