The Otherlings and the Crystal Amulet

by S V Hurn

  Kore was not one to mince words. She read the badge and insignia on his uniform. “Captain Simms, I am looking for information. It has been brought to my attention that you have in your possession artifacts that are important to my case.”

  Simms leaned back in his seat, “Oh really and what case might that be?”

  The conviction that had driven her to this point in time was not about to leave her now. “My case, is to the find the true origins of our civilization.” With that she pulled out of her bag her image book and slammed it on his desk and switched it on.

  Captain Simms, although caught off-guard, clasped his hands on top of his desk and looked into Kore’s eyes without a blink. “Where did you obtain this book?”

  She was quick to respond and snapped back. “It does not matter where I got MY book, what matters is that I have it and I want answers!”

  Simms rapped his fingers on his desk momentarily while he thought of his next move. “Well Madame Prime Minister and Doctor Hoffman, we have a bit of a problem here.”

  Kore looked at Simms with a piercing glare. “The only problem I foresee is your attempt at holding back the information I seek.”

  Simms smiled. “I need not remind you, of all people, there are procedures for this type of thing; you can’t assume to have the clearance necessary to proceed any further than my desk. You don’t honestly expect to . . .”

  Kore reached into her buttoned-up uniform cloak and presented her amulet and Simms suddenly lost his words. Her words were concise and filled with a threatening undertone. “What I assume, is that you will cooperate.”

  At that moment Simms knew he was losing the upper hand. Every person who had gained access, instantaneously had their arrival documented in several departments in endless government offices, all in the name of security. “I cannot authorize you to proceed to the sublevel you are requesting.”

  Kore smiled. “We both know what this is and its importance, nor can you remove it from my possession. Simms knew she must have thoroughly covered all her bases with the Doctor’s help. She chose her words carefully. “I have all the clearance I need to proceed, not only for what I have in my possession and the firsthand knowledge of what is being kept from public awareness, but with my governmental position as well. I am warning you, do not attempt to stand in my way.”

  Simms blurted out, “This is a military facility under the military’s jurisdiction and . . .”

  “And, Kore interjected, “under the control of the government to which I am appointed, therefore you are not in charge, I am. Your hands are tied Simms, now take me to sub level fifty-one.”

  Dorathy’s senses were foggy as she struggled to gain consciousness. She reached for her eyes, only to find she had been chained at the wrists. She groaned in pain, her head throbbing, her ankles tied to some type of bed. Vision blurred she could make out that a faint light was filling the space. As things moved into focus, she saw she was in a type of adobe construction with wooden carved furniture tastefully placed. She felt a draft that chilled her skin and realized most of her clothing had been removed. She felt suddenly terrified as she came to grips with her situation. She whispered to herself, “Oh my God, where am I . . . where’s Henry?”

  As the drug wore off, she started to struggle against her restraints and could see she would require a key for the iron cuffs that had her held firmly in their grip. Her ankles had been tied with rope to the corners of the bed. “Think,” she said to herself. She heard the heavy footsteps of her assailant approaching. With adrenaline pumping through her veins she knew she needed to outsmart her captor if she had any hope of coming out of this unscathed. What came around the corner shocked her to her core. This male specimen was big and bulky, skin hardened like some type of exoskeleton, with an outer rib cage that came down to a disproportionately narrow waist and hips. His huge penis hung partially erect, his testicles adorned with piercings and jewels. Dorathy struggled to remain calm, her breathing becoming erratic. She sobbed to herself, “This can’t be happening! Stay calm!” She decided her best bet was to gain this creature’s trust just long enough for him to unchain her. She turned her head to the side as she wiped away her tears on her bare shoulder when she spotted the key on the table beside her. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts and put on the best come- hither face she could muster.

  Her bulky male companion seemed very thrilled with her positive response as he slowly moved onto the bed between her bound legs. Dorathy motioned with her eyes towards the key on the night table and gave her wrists a shake and looked into his large glowing eyes that laid in his head like pools of black oil. She spoke in a sultry hush, “Come on big guy, what fun would it be if I can’t do anything for you.” She knew he didn’t comprehend her words but felt he might just get her meaning. She just prayed it would work and that he had the same sensitivities most men had in their groin area. As he buried his head in her neck, she could feel him becoming aroused against her thigh. She caught a glimpse of a heavy stone vessel on a stack of shelving parallel to the side of the bed. She moaned, “Come on now, unleash me,” as she rattled her chains once more, and he leaned over and grabbed the key and she smiled at him, blowing him a kiss. He groaned something incomprehensible and slowly unlocked her wrists and gently released her, then slowly moved backwards and untied her ankles. “Be patient,” she said to herself, planning her attack.

  With one quick motion she pulled him towards her and threw his back to the bed, straddling on top of his waist and stroking his chest to gain more trust. Slowly she began kissing his hardened skin and ran her fingertips over his exposed ribs almost retching in the process. He groaned in pleasure as she worked herself down and moved into position for her attack, slowly and gently centering herself between his knees and leaving him spread eagle on the bed. She smiled at him and gathered her strength and with all the force she could gather kneed him in the groin, “Not today asshole!”

  He screamed in pain with the look of anguish and surprise sketched on his contorted face. He moved to lunge at her, but she had already grabbed the stone vase and smashed it into his temple. He laid bleeding and momentarily unconscious, a greenish blood oozing onto the blanket. She grabbed what clothes she could and ran out of the room desperately trying to find the way out. There were no windows and she deducted that she must be in one of the structures that had been built into the side of the mountain. She ran from room to room and finally found a door, practically mowing it down as she made her escape.

  She found herself alone in a tunnel with lanterns that dimly lit her path. She threw her cloak over her head that Jobar had fashioned for her and ran through the tunnel in her bare feet. As she moved along, she realized this was no tunnel, it was a maze of interconnecting lava tubes. The coarse black walls extended down deeper into the mountain. She stopped to get her bearings, trying not to breathe as she thought she heard distant voices. She realized the sounds were getting closer and she started to run. Every time she would come to an intersection she would stop to see if she saw a way out towards the surface. Knowing perhaps if she stayed on course, she might have a better recollection of how to find her way out or perhaps better yet it might take her out to the other side of the mountain. The voices were growing louder now coming from behind. She started sprinting, her feet being cut by the rock. She turned a corner to find a dead end. “Fuck . . . fuck, fuck!”

  Panic started to set in as she could see the approaching lights and the voices speaking in a language she could not even begin to comprehend. She slowly backed up against the smooth rock wall, eyes wide with fear. As she pressed back, her knees shaking, she suddenly felt the cold surface tingle up her spine and out her limbs and she fell completely through the stone surface. She was now lying flat on her back, her head throbbing as it had bounced off the hard ground, almost rendering her unconscious. She shook off the pain and rubbed her eyes as she thought they were playing tricks on her. She scooted back and the rock wall was morphing from transparent to solid and
back to transparent. She could see her captor with a bloodied rag around his head and a torch clutched in his hand, and a couple of his equally frightening looking companions, one of which had a lasso of rope slung over his shoulder. She dared not move as she gazed at the shifting rock, afraid that she could be seen from the other side, but just as swiftly as they had appeared around the corner, they turned tail and left the way they had come.

  She slowly stood as darkness filled the room. She groped for the side of the cavern, not being able to even see her hand in front of her face. She finally met the cold stone wall and felt a tingling sensation in her fingertips. Slowly the cave became illuminated in a soft warm glow. As her eyes adjusted, she looked back at the wall she had fallen through and it was solid rock, but she dare not touch it as she feared it would somehow alert her attackers.

  She walked to the end where it came to a small opening. Dorathy bent down to enter the small room that looked to have been carved out of solid rock with a precision that indicated this was not the handiwork of this pre-industrialized civilization. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she started to make out precise laser cuts in the wall. “My God, what is this?”

  Her eyes grew large as its implication became clear. Depicted in the carvings was unmistakably thirteen planets, each having a pyramid being aligned to a point in space that looked to be part of a constellation, and within each pyramid was a puzzle piece. Dorathy ran her fingers over the carving absorbing its meaning. The end of the pictogram was what looked to be an unknown entity of light and in its hand was a type of crystal capstone or talisman. It was placing it on the finished product of the puzzle pieces forming a pyramid. Shooting from its apex was a beam of light opening a hole in space. Dorathy whispered to herself, “That’s it, holy shit that’s the answer!”

  Dorathy heard an echo of voices coming her way but now she heard her name being called. She stood up straight, banging the top of her head on the rock ceiling. Running towards the wall she touched it gently then applying pressure she felt her hand slip though the cold stone. She closed her eyes and stepped forward, stumbling out the other side just as Henry, Jobar and Dimitri rounded the corner, weapons in hand. Henry rushed for her, holding her in his arms. “Thank God you’re safe! Holy hell, that a girl . . . I knew you could take care of yourself!”

  “Henry, I found the answer to the thirteen planets! There are pyramids on each which contain pieces of a puzzle and a crystal cap stone! It’s all carved into a small cave on the other side of this wall! Watch!” Dorathy placed her hand on the wall and pushed. Nothing happened. She tried again but with more force . . . again . . . with the same conclusion. “I swear to you I was able to walk though this wall!”

  Jobar said, “You found the Hidden Message!”

  “Yes!” she shouted. “It’s in there!” She pointed to the rock face.

  Dimitri interjected, “Not now . . . we need to go!”

  “He’s right.” Henry agreed. “We got to get the hell out of here! Come on!”

  The group wound around the lava tube till they got to the surface. On their way out, they picked up sacks of supplies they had stolen from one of the locals. They had already stunned him and knocked him out cold, so they thought as he was nowhere to be seen, no doubt he has altered the rest of the villagers to their presence.

  The chill of night sent shivers into Dorathy as she collapsed from the pain in her feet and the trauma she had endured finally registered. Henry handed his sack to Dimitri as he scooped up Dorathy in his strong arms. They hurried down the dirt trail from the local residences and ran to the ship waiting in the cold dark of night, almost invisible in the blackness.

  Brenda stood waiting just outside and ran to them, helping Dorathy aboard and carting her directly to the med lab. Henry jumped in the pilot’s seat with Magnus by his side, the hatch closed, and they lifted off without a moment to spare as they could see lights coming on and a line of villagers rapidly approaching, torches in hand.

  Kore stood and leaned over Simms’s desk. She was in command now and had voiced her demands to her subordinate. “Now that we have an understanding, you will take me to sublevel fifty-one.”

  Simms leaned back in his chair knowing he had been beaten, thinking this could go one of two ways: Either show her what she is requesting and he gets reprimanded, or the problem goes away . . . either way he was due for retirement and his days were numbered. “So be it, have it your way.”

  Kore stood straighter and motioned for Hoffman to get up and follow. Simms pushed away from his desk and stood a foot taller, looking down at her frail frame. “I need not remind you what impact this information would have on our society if it were to be leaked to the public.”

  “What I want with this information is none of your business. What I do with it is another matter which is not up for discussion.”

  Simms said, shrugging his shoulders, “Your government, and your rules, so from this point on I am merely a tour director. Your pet will have to stay behind . . . security measure.

  She spoke gently to her beloved Nikko. “You have to stay here; I will be back shortly.” Nikko understood and curled up on Simms’s big cushy chair.

  Simms rolled his eyes. “I hope he’s house broken.”

  They departed as Simms slammed his office door behind them. “Follow me—just so we are clear on your demands I’m going to do this by the book to make sure I’ve got my ass covered when the shit hits the fan.”

  Kore sneered at Simms with an air of arrogance. “Whatever you say Simms, your future is none of my concern.”

  As they approached the high security area to the top-secret sublevel, they halted at the control center that documented everyone accessing the rapid descent platform to the bowels of the facility. Simms entered his key card and punched his pin into the control panel as the heavy steel door hissed open. Simms said with a sweeping exaggerated motion of his arm, “After you.”

  Kore entered with Hoffman on her heels. Simms rarely had the need to go into the pit as it was known and wished he could fast forward his days to retirement. “The security protocol is not much different from what you experienced upon your arrival, just now you will have to override the system by putting in your personal ID number along with your government ID number and wait for it to accept.”

  Kore was not amused. “I cannot stand wasteful redundancy!”

  Simms chuckled to himself. “You must be accustomed to it as it’s much like the government you work for.” Kore glared back at him unamused as the green rings enveloped them in its grip. An electronic voice announced their arrival as it disengaged. “Welcome Prime Minister Athanatos and Doctor Allen Hoffman please enter your personal ID number followed by your government status number. She approached the keypad that was on a tall pedestal at the side of the entrance to the shaft. She entered her information. “Thank you, Prime Minister,” the feminine voice said. Hoffman followed suit. “Thank you, Doctor Allen Hoffman.” Simms grudgingly entered his information. “Thank you, Captain Eric Simms. Please enter the override sequence.” Captain Simms entered a long series of codes he had memorized over the years. After a few moments the automated voice approvingly said, “You may proceed.”

  The huge cylindrical door slowly opened with a cold rush of air from its climate controlled interior, sending a chill up the back of Hoffman’s collar. There was no control panel or keypad, just six seats in a circle with shoulder harnesses. Kore stopped in her tracks, having second thoughts, but took a seat, firmly adjusting her harness with Hoffman following suit and saying, “I don’t like the looks of this.”

  Simms smiled. “Hope you enjoy the ride.” The door slowly closed and locked as a timer ticked down five seconds and a red light strobed inside. At zero the small space dropped with a muffled scream coming from Hoffman while Kore sat motionless, her eyes squinted shut. Simms just smiled at seeing their discomfort. After what seemed to be far too many seconds of free falling, the capsule came to a slow descent and stopped.

 
; Doctor Hoffman stood, knees shaking, asked, “How far down are we?”

  Simms laughed. Far enough . . . trust me you don’t really want to know.”

  Kore saw her breath as she spoke, “Can you please tell me why there is such a need for such dramatics! Such an unnecessary waste of resources to have such a place to store ancient and in my opinion somewhat insignificant artifacts.”

  Simms chuckled. “Lady we didn’t put this here, it was already here from the ancients that came to settle, apparently they like deep underground edifices to hide all their secrets.”

  Kore looked at him sideways. “You mean to tell me this facility has been here the whole time and you have kept it as a secret base to continue to store these so-called ancient artifacts?”

  Simms nodded, “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  She shook her head in disgust. “Ridiculous!”

  Simms agreed. “Our tax dollars at work.”

  Simms finally unstrapped himself and stood, apparently bored with the task at hand. The internal motion sensors activated the door and it slid open, exposing a massive chamber carved out of solid rock. Hoffman with a long whistle was obviously impressed, their voices echoing in the vast cavern as they spoke. “Now that is a sight to behold!”

  Kore stood staring, stunned by what she saw before her. “Oh, my holy hell, I don’t believe my eyes!”

  Coolie and Patsup landed Jobar’s ship in a clearing behind his home, just beyond the trees. Patsup was already whining about the distance they would have to walk to get to the house. Coolie slapped him hard up the back side of his head. “If it wasn’t for your stupidity none of this would be happening!”