HAWTHORNE: Chronicles of the Brass Hand: Mystirio Astronomiki

by Christopher C. Meeker

  I learned from McNeil that Kokuo had grown to distrust the Egyptian and that he would like to be free from his service; however, he feared that the Egyptian would take vengeance on his village if he were to attempt to escape. We were also able to learn why at some times the apes were aggressive and at other times they were not. Kokuo informed us that the Egyptian could somehow control the beasts with just a simple thought and, without uttering a word, cause them to carry out any task he willed.

  I found this quite impossible to believe, but the evidence thus far would suggest that Kokuo was correct in his assessment of the Egyptian’s abilities. I could not in any case imagine how such a feat could be possible, but nevertheless, whether I could accept what I was told or not, our situation remained the same, and the apes as well as the Egyptian and his men were as great a threat as they had been before. If we were to liberate ourselves it would be necessary to negate that threat, whatever the case.

  Once again the guard entered the room and motioned for Kokuo to exit; however, as he left he whispered to McNeil that they would speak again soon and with that departed. The guard closed the iron door with a familiar thud, locked it tight, and then disappeared down the darkened passageway. The thought of gaining an accomplice within the Egyptian’s camp gave us hope that we would perhaps make our escape with little notice, were we able to assemble a plan that would not arouse much suspicion. We decided that we would continue to gain Kokuo’s trust and attempt to extract from him as much information as would be required to devise a proper plan, which would provide us a means of escape. Thus it had been agreed upon that when next we were visited by Kokuo, we would try to discover the location of our weapons and the remainder of the crew. In this way we would be quite prepared for any confrontation with the Egyptian, his apes, or otherwise.

  Another night was spent in confinement without incident, so to speak, excluding a moment in the late hours when footsteps could be heard on the stone floor just outside the chamber. Loud at first, passing our cell, then fading as they receded into the distance. After some time the footsteps could be heard once again, and I guessed that it was the Egyptian, no doubt, returning from engaging in some manner of nefariousness.

  The following morning when Kokuo arrived to deliver to us our breakfast, I could see that this time, unlike the day before, the usual guard was not present outside our chamber. We used the opportunity to question Kokuo about a great many things, in particular the habits and actions of our captor, the Egyptian. Kokuo informed us that every night, as I had suspected, the Egyptian would leave the temple by way of the stairs leading up to the top of the pyramid and, standing upon the summit of the stone-works just beyond the entrance of the temple, would open a book, which he carried about his person at all times, and gaze with great concentration into the night sky as though searching for something, looking away for naught but to consult the book on occasion. This ritual he practised each night upon the exact hour. We continued to press Kokuo for further details concerning the Egyptian’s nocturnal activities, but it became apparent to us that he had no further information regarding his actions.

  At length the conversation with our new friend turned to the subject of our weapons, fellow crew-mates, and the location of the captain which, it seemed, he was most hesitant to speak about. We assured him that if he were to aid us we would never disclose the source of our information and deny any involvement upon his part; nevertheless, we felt the point moot for, we were convinced in any case, the Egyptian was still quite unaware of our ability to communicate with one another.

  Kokuo indicated to us that the captain and the remainder of the crew were being held not far from us, but the captain was in quite a serious condition, and Kokuo did not think he would survive much longer. This was disheartening news indeed, for although we were aware that the captain’s injuries were severe, we nevertheless had hoped he was in well enough condition to return to the Stratos, where his wounds could be treated in a proper manner. I now feared, with this new information regarding Bowman’s condition, he would not live long enough to see our plan through.

  Our conversation continued with discussions concerning the layout of the temple and where the various chambers were located and how best to make our way to them. We asked also about the large chamber we had been trapped in once before, and Kokuo indicated that he knew the chamber of which we spoke, for he was present at the time the Egyptian had sealed us within. We began to piece our plan together as we talked with Kokuo and at the last inquired as to whether or not he was aware of where our weapons had been stored. He said they were kept in a large room sealed with the same iron door that was used to hold us captive, along with the captain and the others.

  As Kokuo finished speaking, McNeil turned to me with a puzzled look upon his face, and when questioned he replied that Kokuo said, concerning the location of our weapons, that is where they keep the girl also. I asked McNeil to question Kokuo about all that he knew concerning the girl, who she was and what intentions, if he were able to tell us, the Egyptian had for her.

  We soon discovered that the entire purpose of the Egyptian’s journey to Kokuo’s village, and thereafter the temple itself, was to secure a guide and several porters to aid in the delivery of the girl to the Egyptian’s chief, although McNeil was certain that the one whom Kokuo referred to as his chief was in likelihood a person for whom the Egyptian was under employ.

  Pressing our new friend further, it became apparent that he knew little else about the girl save that she was kept inside some type of metal box awaiting her departure to some unknown destination. I must admit that the thought of keeping a prisoner so confined, and worse a young girl, quite caused my blood to boil. I vowed that when once we reclaimed our weapons I would free the girl as well, for what gentleman with decent and proper upbringing could do otherwise? McNeil found the notion of this imprisonment as abhorrent and assured me that I could count on his full assistance in the matter.

  No more information could be gained from Kokuo, and a final pact was made with him that were he to aid our escape, we would return him and his men to their village. We asked that Kokuo return and unlock the doors to our chamber and that of our captain and crew-mates, and of the weapons store when the Egyptian left the temple that night. He agreed and left us to our planning, nodding as he exited the chamber. McNeil, myself, and the others used the remainder of the day and well into the night to set forth the details of our escape.

  When Kokuo and his men returned to free us, it was our intent to gather up what weapons we could carry from the store, free the girl, and make our way to the chamber within which we had at the start been trapped. Once there, we would affix the explosives, which McNeil still carried within his pockets, to the large stone door allowing us, once they had been discharged, to exit through the small opening in the wall just as we had done on the previous occasion. It would be paramount that we all moved in as cautious a manner as possible if our plan were to succeed; however, if need be, I was certain that on recovering our weapons we would be able to defend ourselves well enough so that a good portion of the crew might be able to escape.

  Thus it was, at the appointed time, that Kokuo returned and opened the door to our chamber, freeing us as he had promised. We then made our way, with as much silence as possible, to the place where the others were confined. Once all had been freed we continued to the weapons store, each man following one after another in rapid fashion, save for the captain who now, in a much weakened state, found it quite difficult to walk without assistance; therefore, several of the crew-mates were assigned to carry along our good captain with as much speed as they could manage.

  Arriving at the weapons store, Kokuo unlocked the great iron door and pushed it open without a sound and entered, trailed by some dozen or so of the crew, myself and McNeil included in that number.

  Upon entering the chamber my gaze fell at once upon a large metal container that was in fashion not unlike a common coffin; however, the differences, other than the enti
re casket had been constructed of metal, as I have mentioned, were that on the upper portion of the object, where the head might be positioned, was a small window measuring, by rough estimation, twelve inches on each side, allowing one to view the face of whomever might lie within, sealed with a narrow metal frame.

  I approached the container and peered through the thick glass of the small window, and what I saw then was nothing short of miraculous, for there before my eyes, suspended in a translucent liquid, the colour of which was that of the deepest blue of the ocean or the sky on a cloudless summer day, was the girl of whom Kokuo spoke, the very image of my dearest Ophelia, lost to me years ago. The likeness of the girl behind the glass to that of my departed sister was so astonishing that “Ophelia” escaped my whispering lips, free of conscious thought, before ever I was aware the name had been uttered. The girl’s lengthy tresses, the colour of a sunset, wafted with gentle ease within the bluish material, swirling about her face and across her tiny nose, the nose which I kissed with such tenderness the day my sister left us, the most bitter day of all my life.

  For how long I stood gazing at the girl through the tiny window I do not know, though it required the voice of McNeil calling my name with some urgency within the dimness of the chamber to return me to my senses. In an instant I sought to free the girl and, upon examination of the metal container, discovered the means by which it was sealed. A large lever connected to a number of steel clamps, set in a row, held two halves of the container, an upper and a lower, tight together so as to prevent whatever form of liquid the girl was being suspended in from spilling out.

  Again McNeil called my name and urged me on to make haste in our escape, but I could not leave the place without the girl, and knowing that the size and weight of the container would cause it to be far too cumbersome to carry along with us, I performed the unthinkable. Scrambling round to the opposite side of the girl’s tiny prison, I grasped the lever and with all my strength pulled until I heard each clasp of the large clamp give way. The two halves of the case separated, though not altogether, allowing the blue liquid to flow out, which as it did so streamed through a number of now revealed breaches and fell to the floor of the chamber. The substance ran like quicksilver about the place, pooling together in some areas and in others rolled away, following the irregularities of the stone floor.

  Before the container had all but emptied, I grasped the lid and with great effort threw the cover off, which crashed to the floor with a deafening clatter. In that very instant the girl sat straight up and began to expectorate the vile liquid, coughing and spitting as she did so. Clothed in a garment woven of a single piece of material, the liquid flowed down the front of her as it did when the cask had first been opened, yet left no sign of moisture as it did so - even the girl’s hair, though submerged in the strange fluid, was just as dry.

  The girl turned toward me, and without hesitation, I stepped forward and grasped her in my arms in order that I should lift her free of her metal prison. At the very instant we touched, however, our eyes became locked upon each other, and my mind erupted with images and visions of such strange nature I was quite unable to make sense of them in any fashion other than the most vaguest of conceptions.

  Paralysed as though trapped in a dream, I stood transfixed in the girl’s gaze, unaware once again of all that was transpiring about me, while images of her brief existence, each one connected to the last, flashed through my mind as a spinning daedalum. McNeil called my name and, taking hold of my shoulders, shook me firmly until at the last I was broken free from the wild visions and was mindful of our present state. Lifting the girl out of the metal casket and setting her feet upon the stone floor, I took her by the hand and led her away out of the chamber and down the passageway along with the others.

  McNeil, whom I now counted among my friends, thrust a revolver into my hand as we made our way toward the chamber where we had first become trapped. We traversed the winding passages as fast as we were able, making no sound which could in any manner alert the Egyptian, his henchman, or the brooding apes under his control, for it was paramount that we remain undetected in order to bring about a successful conclusion to our scheme. I must admit that though my concerns should have been concentrated on our escape, I could not keep my mind from being occupied by thoughts of the girl, of whom I yet knew little except for the images in my mind which I still was not able to comprehend in fullness.

  Within a short time we arrived at the chamber and set about placing the charges at the base of the large stone door, hoping, as the door had remained undisturbed, the small exit we had discovered two days prior was yet unknown to the Egyptian.

  McNeil set two of the four charges at the base of the huge door and twisted their fuses together so as to accommodate the matched burning of each, allowing the explosives to detonate in a simultaneous manner. It had been decided that I would take the girl and one of the crew who had been with us from the start and lead the others through the long passageway that we had traversed before. McNeil and two others of the crew would follow after with the captain in order to aid him in the escape.

  Once the charges were detonated, we knew the Egyptian and his horde of angry apes would be alerted to our actions at once. For this reason Kokuo and his men chose to take up position within the passage, some distance away, in order to defend our retreat, perhaps occupying the Egyptian long enough to give our party an opportunity to withdraw.

  Though it seemed a foolhardy endeavour, I commend Kokuo and his men for their gallant sacrifice and I should want nothing more than to imitate their courageousness for the remaining days of my life. A good and admirable friend had been found in Kokuo, and I prayed for his safety as he defended our retreat from the onslaught that was sure to follow, though I was all but certain I would never see him or his men alive ever again. And I did not.

  McNeil lit the fuse and dashed to safety joining us within a nearby passage as we awaited the sound of the explosions, fingers inserted firmly in our ears. I glanced at the girl, whom at the moment looked rather apprehensive, and gave her a quick nod which seemed to reassure her somewhat, though I cannot claim that I was as confident as I would have liked the others to believe I was.

  With a loud roar and rush of wind, the two charges detonated in tandem, as intended, shaking the very foundation of the temple. When all was clear, we rushed to the entrance of the chamber to find that the giant stone door, as we had hoped, had broken into hundreds of pieces. Some of the stone fragments were a great deal larger than the rest and would have to be moved clear of the doorway before we could proceed inside. Although this would not be too difficult a task, it would deprive us of precious time which would be needed to flee from our captor, his subordinates, and the army of enraged apes which was sure to be set upon us once again.

  Before the dust from the explosions had yet to settle, we began to remove some of the larger stones from the entrance to the chamber. In but a few moments we had cleared enough of the opening to allow the first of us to enter the room and, as had been expected, the small square opening which we used to enact our escape was still accessible.

  Sending two of the men who had been with us from the beginning of our tribulations ahead to lead the others through the long passageway, I remained behind in order that I might aid McNeil in the support and care of the captain. It was also my original plan to send the girl ahead with the others for matter of her safety; however, she would have nothing to do with the notion and remained steadfast at my side. She was a stubborn sort and, once again, reminded me in quite every way of my sister, Ophelia. An idea that, at the moment, my mind was still rather unable to grasp.

  With less than half the men through the small opening, my heart sank at a sound which I had now, much to my dismay, become too familiar with, the whoops and screeches of the advancing legion of giant apes bent on our complete destruction. Fear welled within us as we made a frantic attempt to escape before the great multitude of ferocious beasts was upon us.

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p; Using some of the larger pieces of the stone door as cover, crouching low, we steeled ourselves for the flood of wild creatures that was sure to come hurtling toward us from the passageways beyond. It was not long, moments in fact, before the glowing eyes of the apes could be seen in the dimness of the temple passage, advancing upon our position, their howls and screeches becoming quite deafening the closer they approached; the bristling hairs upon our necks stood straight as we made ready our weapons.

  At once the apes were upon us! Shots echoed against the walls of the temple’s open chambers and passages; the enraged apes, screeched in return, hurling stones and whatever other debris lay at hand against us as they advanced. I glanced at the girl, a look of utter terror in her eyes as she recoiled against the horrific scene that played out before us. We were soon overrun and retreated deeper into the chamber, men in continuous succession pouring gunfire into the massive crowd of apes, while the remainder of the crew scrambled through the small opening in the wall to our rear. The situation was now quite desperate and afforded us no time for thought thus, grabbing the girl by the arm, I shoved her headlong into the tiny opening and commanded her to flee with the others.

  As the last man, save for myself, the captain, McNeil, and two of his men, escaped through the small exit it became clear that we were in the most dire of circumstances as the mighty apes began to pour into the chamber. It was then I spied McNeil reaching into his pants pocket and, understanding his intentions, called for those who remained with us to fire without pause while McNeil executed his scheme.

  From his pocket McNeil produced the third of the four charges he had removed from the Stratos and, using his machete, shortened the fuse so that the merest portion protruded from the end of the charge. Lighting the fuse from the lantern he carried, McNeil then tossed the explosive past the oncoming apes into the passage just outside the chamber. At once the munition erupted in a terrible blast, and both apes and men fell silent to its display of destructive power.