by S V Hurn
The group hiked for hours through the ruins of the ancient city vacated long ago. They were astonished by what they found along the way. What looked to have been a modern city that once held a thriving, advanced culture had been left to rot in the elements. The forest had taken most of what was left. What remained was the high, intricate, gleaming towers that rose over 300 meters. They pressed on, approaching the thick forest at the base of the mountains. Up they climbed, over sharp, jagged boulders from an ancient landslide, blazing a trail to the base of a grand waterfall that reached up to the ceiling of this enormous underground cavern.
Coolie pointed, and out of breath, said, “There is a cave on the back side of the falls. A narrow path leads to the entrance and looks very dangerous; one bad step and you could be swept away over the edge.”
Everyone felt as if their legs were going out from under them. They sat on an edge of a huge boulder at the edge of the pool close to the base of the falls. They had noticed a small area of bubbling water being heated from the core below with the cool mist hitting their faces from the falls of melted ice from the surface, crashing down from a thousand meters above. A beautiful rainbow had formed over the pool from the light shining through the mist. Dorathy was not about to miss an opportunity like this; tired, hot, and dirty, she stripped down to her skivvies and dove into ice cold water that took her breath away. She swam towards the rocks and felt a band of warm water from the natural hot springs wash over her.
“Oh God, this is wonderful!” she yelled, over the loud crashing of tons of water hitting the pool and rocks below. “You’re all missing out!”
Henry looked at his dirty, sweaty crew, and decided it was a great idea. He stripped down and joined her near the falls. For a moment his thoughts drifted to another place and time far in the past when he and Rebecca were in love. Thoughts of the woman he should have married and started a life with had haunted him for so many years. Both young and stationed in Hawaii, they had taken a day for a quick getaway. Oh, how the memories now became crystal clear to him. Henry couldn’t help himself and wrapped his arms around Dorathy’s waist as a playful gesture. Dorathy pulled away gently as thoughts of Alex came back to haunt her. She knew he was long gone but couldn’t dismiss the feeling that they had only been apart for a short time. Conflicted, she swam towards the bubbling pool and motioned for him to join her.
The hot spring bubbling and churning along with the coolness of the icy water made for a comfortable relaxing spa. They leaned against the smooth boulders, eyes closed, dreaming of another moment in space and time—memories of the loves they left behind.
Dorathy reached out and held Henry’s hand: a gesture of friendship, a gesture of the mutual attraction they shared.
Dimitri broke the silence. “Ah, yes, this is the way we are supposed to live.”
Henry released Dorathy’s hand. As much as they wanted to stay in this place forever, they were on a mission and needed to hit the trail hard before it became dark. Once dressed and rested they began their ascent using ropes and climbing gear. Jobar, holding the old, weathered map took the lead, his squat frame climbing slowly up the switchback trail with Coolie on his heels. The team anticipated a slow ascent and was grateful for it, as none of them had the endurance to scale this trail at a faster pace.
Coolie tugged on the rope as he fell backwards. Fortunately, Henry had blocked his fall and Jobar had secured the rope to a thick branch of a tree growing out from in between the rocks and boulders. Breathing laboriously, Coolie stopped and wheezed out for Jobar to stop, “I . . . need . . . to . . . rest . . . awhile.”
They could still hear the crash of the falls, but it was out of sight and they were no longer getting the refreshing mist in which to cool off. They all leaned against anything they could find while keeping their footing. The view of the city from this angle was amazing, but Dorathy’s eyes settled on something peculiar.
“Hey guys, look over there,” she called out, pointing into the distance. Above the city something looked like it had been carved into the side of the mountain. Everyone turned to look in the direction she was pointing, but nothing looked out of place or familiar to the others.
Closest to Dorathy, Henry looked down to the end of her arm and saw what she had spotted, but couldn’t determine its significance. “Yes, I see it, two horizontal parallel zig zag lines.” Everyone now saw it clear as day, carved deep into the rock.
Henry asked finally, “Do you know what it means?”
“It’s the zodiac sign for Aquarius. Literally speaking, the dawn of a new age; to carry us into the next level of awareness.” The group pondered what she had just verbalized so simply and eloquently.
“Holy shit!” Brenda gasped under her breath. “I think we’re on to something, but what really gets me is the fact that that symbol is here.”
Dorathy was also perplexed and knew what Brenda meant. “Yes, a Greek astrological sign . . . what in God’s name, is it doing, HERE?”
CHAPTER 33
The New Western Ordinance had long been established as the sector’s government, controlling the comings and goings of the different planetary civilizations which had elected ministers to self-govern.
Prime Minister Kore Athanatos was at the top of the heap. An elderly woman from a distant planet, her species was known across the sector as being non-indigenous to her world—myths had formed over the millennia that her planet had been settled by beings from another part of space. The legend was that a group of nomads arrived in an enormous ship to the once sparsely inhabitant rocky world and through the centuries the two species had evolved together as one.
Over the years Kore had grown weary trying to ascertain the origin of her species, but it was a fascinating story that compelled her to investigate her people’s ancestry. Every time she came across a clue to their existence, she would take the time to investigate, but always ran into the same dead ends. As she grew older, the issue seemed less and less urgent, but still always nagged at her; she had always believed she was a part of something much larger than herself.
Time had overtaken ambition and age had crept upon her like an old withered vine. She was growing tired of her routine responsibilities and was always seeking a way to escape her onerous duties. She was frequently vulgar, with a nasty disposition, both obvious to all in the grimace permanently affixed upon her wrinkled face. Her attitude prevented her from becoming anything more than what she had become.
Kore sat upon her throne in her enormous office, surrounded by an elegance that was in sharp contrast to her character. Her assistant entered the room, carefully carrying the Prime Minister’s cup of hot morning brew. Kore lit an herb stick and she silently drew in a lungful of smoke, its toxic scent filling the room with a smoky haze. The chemicals coursed through her veins, slowly lifting the veil of exhaustion from her eyes. The old woman peered out the wall of windows from the highest level of her precious capitol, the New Western Ordinance. The gray sky seeped into the room with a cold dreariness that was relentlessly cursing the sun, delivering an everlasting somber mood.
Kore read through the requests of the NWO ministers and came upon one that sparked enough interest for more than a mere second, just enough time to contemplated it a bit more closely.
Someone had reported a rumor to one of her many offices, which resulted in the request to initiate an investigation into a group of Travelers. It was said the transient ship was not carrying origin papers. This was deemed a criminal act and her Deputy of Foreign Affairs was scrutinizing the request. She leaned back in her seat and read every word, assessing the urgency of the request. The hairs at the back of her neck tingled with an excitement she couldn’t ignore. Kore spun on her seat and demanded, “Prepare my ship for immediate departure. I’m leaving for the outer rim.”
Standing with a jerk, she sent the heavy throne back against the windows, causing them to tremble. Reaching for her cloak, she pulled her pointed black hat down over her thin and graying straw-like auburn hair. “I wan
t to get to the bottom of this. Something tells me this is no ordinary circumstance.” Kore stomped away down the hall on her skinny booted legs swinging her walking stick, dragging her crisp uniform cloak behind her.
Arriving at the ship, she observed that her handsome pilot had already entered the coordinates of the last-known whereabouts of their transient suspects. She climbed into the seat opposite him. “I suggest you don’t wake me on this journey, I need my rest.”
Silas could only muster, “Yes ma’am, I’ll wake you once we have arrived.” He was grateful she was deciding to sleep, as he couldn’t stand having to converse with such an ill-mannered creature during a trip of this length. Moments after departure he looked over in disgust to see that her head had fallen back at a contorted angle; she was snoring, drool collecting at the corners of her mouth.
The ship came to a soft landing at a docking station for deep-space mining operations. Kore woke with a snort and straightened in her seat, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Silas was an impressive pilot and had already exited the ship to enter their arrival into the log of arrivals and departures. As she exited down the gangway, the hot, swampy humidity hit Kore like a thick damp cloud, and she winced in pain as her joints started to seize in the moisture.
“Damn this horrendous, miserable place! Where is the flight controller? I want him to meet me here at once! I will not be kept waiting and his superiors will hear of this massive inconvenience!”
A squat individual came scurrying up, bowing down low and tripping over himself while stammering apologies, “Hello, Prime Minister Athanatos. How nice of you to come in person over this matter. My name is Patsup and I am here to assist you with location of the derelict ship. I have good information . . .”
“Enough with the pleasantries!” As she unbuttoned her stiff collar, she grumbled at him, “Damn this cursed heat! I want the logs, just give me the damn logs!” Patsup did as he was instructed, eyes blinded by the intensity of the rainbow of colors radiating from a pendant that hung from a chain just under her cloak collar.
“Please follow me, Madame Prime Minister, and I will show you the log entry. The information I have of the travelers’ whereabouts comes from an insider . . . let’s just say someone with whom I have constant contact and is a very reliable source.”
“Enough said! Give me the log so I may ascertain their whereabouts and be on my way from this Hellish climate.” Patsup handed her the information she demanded, and she snatched it from him with her clammy hands. “Anyone else know of this information?” she quizzed as she shook the memo pad at his round face.
“No ma’am, that is the only copy, as I thought you would want complete control over this situation.”
“Good,” she sneered. “I will be taking over this investigation from here. Therefore, I do not require any further involvement from you.”
Patsup stuttered for a moment as he thought his help might get him a promotion. “Please, if you require any more information, don’t hesitate to contact me and . . .” His voice trailed off.
Kore snapped back, “I don’t need any help from the likes of you. I suggest you go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under and leave this matter to me. Now scurry off,” she instructed as she swung at him with her walking stick.
Patsup hung his head in despair as he departed. “Oh my, what have I just done? “Eh . . . ,” he shrugged off his feelings of remorse, “Jobar and Coolie have it coming to them with their grandiose adventures in search of some stupid myth. Serves them right.”
Kore practically pushed Silas out of her way as she climbed up the gangway. She was now struggling with a limp from the effects of the intense gravity and the relentless moisture on her joints. She turned and slapped the memo pad hard against his muscular chest. “Enter this data immediately into the navigation system and get me off this hellhole.”
Her pilot had grown weary of her unpleasant disposition and snatched the pad from her. He followed her into the cockpit, wishing this mission would end soon. He entered the log and with great disappointment read he was on yet another long journey. He prayed she would once again feel the need to sleep, as he could not bear to be in her presence any longer.
Kore screeched, “Where are we to go now?”
Silas, losing his patience with her foulness, was short. “The outer region, to an abandoned mining planet. Very few inhabitants.”
“Oh for the love of Hell, when will this madness end?”
He was thinking the exact same thing for a very long time.
CHAPTER 34
When they found the symbol carved on the side of the mountain, the group was reenergized. The thought of being able to decrypt whatever may have been left behind so many years ago encouraged them to climb higher at a much more rapid pace. It had become a driving force, and they pressed on for hours without a break. Twilight was upon them and their lanterns were not supporting a safe journey, so they stopped for the night on a level clearing just off the track.
They ate their rations in silence, trying to predict what may lie ahead in that mysterious cave. One by one, they laid out their bedding and fell asleep with images of what they might find floating in their mind’s eye.
Dorathy sat with her back against the rock wall, looking out over the city in the twilight.
She pondered how she came to this place; what made her so special that she would find herself doing exactly this . . . at this moment in time? Time . . . time had no meaning to her now. She would not age at the same rate and life on Earth would go on exactly as it would, regardless of time, regardless of her placement in time. Everyone and everything she loved was now just dust in the wind.
Henry pulled his sleeping pad over to Dorathy. “You look like you need someone to lean on.”
“Yes, I suppose I do. You know, I keep asking myself, why am I here and what purpose do I really serve?”
Henry shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. We had instructions to come fetch you once we got a signal from your tracking beacon. You were regarded as an asset that needed to be protected at all costs. So here you are . . . with us. I’m truly sorry about that.” A smile lingered on his lips.
“You know what? I’m okay, and amazingly enough, I accept this new life as a great adventure, a journey I guess I had to make. My husband and daughter, no doubt, lived their life. My husband, Alex, was with me on the other side for just a moment and then I was gone, but I can still smell him, I can still feel his presence. I have on occasion, had very real dreams, so real I swear I can reach out and touch him. Dorathy smirked—he and I discussed once about this being a side effect, of being temporarily in ‘suspended animation’ and brought back to life.” She felt an overwhelming sadness wash over her.
Henry reached out and held her hand. “I’m glad you’re here with us. For such a long time I’ve been feeling . . . dead . . . no heart, my soul lost to me.” He looked into her eyes. “Since you joined us, I have to say for the first time in a long time I feel alive. Thank you for that.”
Dorathy looked back, wondering why on Earth he was chosen for this mission and what may have happened to him and the others to have elected to be a part of something this amazing, this . . . crazy and magnificent. Whatever the reasons, she thought, she was happy to be a part of it. She slept, feeling safe with him by her side.
Morning came quickly. Brenda woke, hearing Dimitri snoring, as he so often did. With a little shove, she said, “Turn over, you’re snoring again.” He did as he was told, muttering something in Russian. “Yeah, whatever you say, sunshine.” She wondered how she ended up with him. He was a brilliant scientist after all, but it was wearing on her to constantly have to keep his ego in check. With a heavy sigh of acceptance, she also knew her options were limited with her current circumstances.
Dorathy awakened with her head comfortably snuggled on Henry’s chest feeling safe and warm as if he had been Alex. Realizing where she was, she sat up ramrod straight and the moment was gone.
Coolie and Jo
bar were already packed and ready to go, like excited children ready to open their Christmas boxes. “Come on, you lazy house pets,” Jobar said as he nudged Magnus with his foot. “We have much to do still.”
The group, moving slowly, packed up their gear and with a bite to eat in hand, continued the hike upward towards the crest of the falls. After several hours they approached a wet, slippery, natural rock trail with a narrow passage up its side. The mist made it hard to see, but far below they could see where they had started, the pool as small as a bathtub. Looking up, they could make out the cave only several meters away through the cascading water. The noise was deafening, and they had to yell to be heard.
Jobar shouted, “Be very careful here, one false move and . . . ,” he pointed down.
Single file, they traversed the narrow path, backs against the wet mossy rock wall, making sure they had a firm hold before making the next step. Upward they moved, Jobar and Coolie in the lead, Dimitri, Brenda, and Magnus close on their heels, with Dorathy and Henry bringing up the rear. Henry was taking special care of Dorathy.
Finally, they came to a clearing just beneath the falls. Somehow, they had to break through the tons of water crashing over their heads without being swept over the edge.
Dimitri volunteered, “I am the biggest man here. I will take the rope and secure it to the other side.” He tied the rope securely around his waist and handed the other end to Magnus and Brenda and down the line, “Just in case I fail, be ready to catch my fall!”
Dimitri prepared himself and lunged in a quick forward motion. He lost his footing as the water hit him in icy cold waves, crashing down on top of him like a tsunami. Brenda and Magnus pulled up on the rope, while Dimitri clung to the rock wall, tucking his head so the water could roll off his back. He managed to muscle through to the back side of the falls.
