The Relics- The Keystone Trilogy - Part 1

by Michael K. Damron

  “Wait, I’m sorry if I seem puzzled by all this, but why did the AEB have you and my father searching for old artifacts? He was an ecologist.”

  “I can’t talk too much about it with you right now. Just understand that we worked for a very secret branch of the bureau. Almost no other AEB employees know about it. I mean, there are whispers among some of the Special Forces agents about what Division 1042 actually does, but they really don’t have a clue. Anyway, the division’s founder wanted these relics for a specific reason and your father and I were part of a specialized team to find them.”

  “I’m still not quite sure what to make of all this,” said Jack.

  “I know it’s hard to believe when coming from someone you only recently met,” said Nigel. “But perhaps hearing it from your own father would take away any disbelief.”

  “What did you say?” said Jack.

  Nigel reached again into his inner suit pocket and pulled out a small digital storage device, handing it to Jack.

  “Your father left you a video message on this. Watch it in complete privacy. Also, make sure to open your gift in complete privacy too.”

  Nigel then took the device he initially laid down and gave it to Jack.

  “You need to take this with you as well. You should leave it turned on until you’re finished watching the video and opening the present. You absolutely have to have it turned on while doing those things. After that, flick the switch and turn it off.”

  “This is freaking me out a little bit,” said Jack, trying to remember everything he just heard while also wondering what he was getting himself into.

  “Don’t worry about anything right now. Just think of this device as your own personal bubble. And please, keep the knowledge of your gift and the video to yourself.”

  “But who’s listening?”

  “The AEB. If you didn’t already know, they’re always listening. Crazy enough, all those daft conspiracy theorists that talk about how the AEB infringes on citizens’ privacy are more right than most people give them credit for.”

  Jack tried to produce words, but even a simple syllable eluded him.

  “Look,” said Nigel while waving his hands in the air, “there are things your father wanted you to know and the AEB not to know. Take in a few deep breaths, and don’t worry about anything for now.”

  Jack was still speechless as he processed what Nigel had told him and thought of what it would be like to see his father again through a video recording.

  “Not everything will be clear at first, but give it time,” said Nigel. “Your father is a brilliant man who showed me the malevolent intentions the division founder had for us. Let’s just say I won’t be working for the AEB much longer. Now please, feel free to go back to your dorm and pack your bags for America. Keep this conversation and your gifts secret, for the time at hand. Oh, and be sure to also smash and toss the scrambler device before you head back home on an airplane. They’d probably arrest you for having something like that at an airport.”

  That being said, Nigel pressed a button on his personal screen and the doors of the shuttle opened, revealing the front of Jack’s dorm. He stepped out of the car with his graduation present, thinking the box was much heavier than he imagined it would be, and turned around to face Nigel.

  “Happy to give you a ride, Jackson Drake!” he said. “Catch you later!”

  Jack watched as the doors closed and the shuttle sped away, blending into a sea of traffic in the distance.

  The whole way to his dorm room, Jack tried to hide the gift and mysterious device by holding them close as he walked. Upon entering his room, he quickly locked the door behind him. He proceeded to load the memory drive’s contents onto his screen to watch the video of his dad. Cong had already left for his hometown, so Jack knew he didn’t have to worry about anyone barging into the room. A video was the only thing loaded on the drive and Jack acted fast to play it, quietly gasping as his father’s face came into frame. His dad looked healthy—perhaps somewhat sleep deprived, and a little manic, but healthy.

  Hey Jack, I know we haven’t talked in a while. Hope everything’s going all right. I know you’ll have plenty of questions for me after this video, but sadly, I’ll be busy working on location for quite some time and won’t be able to answer them. This message is very important, though, so listen carefully.

  I hope Nigel was able to clear up some of the mysteries surrounding our work at the AEB when he talked to you. That’s one reason I sent him your way, another was to deliver your gift. You may want to try and contact Nigel after you receive this message and open the gift, but he may not be reachable. As we speak, there are previous circumstances that could cause him to exit the AEB sooner than expected. I realize I’m not making much sense right now, but I promise I’ll expand on everything the next time I see you.

  As for your gift, it’s something I stole from the bureau for you. In order to open the box Nigel gave you, you’ll need to press your palm over the upper right-hand portion of the top where there are three small holes. I know it sounds crazy, but trust me.

  When you go back to America, I need you to get something from my office at home. In the top drawer of the storage dresser, I’ve placed three small notebooks and my old necklace, the one with the pendant you used to play with as a kid. Wear the necklace and keep the notebooks with you to read when you get the chance. The AEB will probably send someone to the house to find you. Most likely, it will be a man named Mr. White, who also goes by John. He will explain the situation to you and your mother and you will need to go with him. It’s necessary that you do this. He will probably implore you to join the sector of the AEB that I was a part of—Division 1042. Accept his request.

  When you’re asked where you found the gift I gave you, tell the AEB that it was mysteriously left for you in your dorm room. For both my protection and yours, this video message will be permanently erased from the memory drive I loaded it on once it’s finished playing. No one should know about me contacting you, or what I’ve told you—not even Mom. I’ll tell her about everything when it’s safer for her to hear it.

  I love you, Son. Don’t be afraid to do exactly as I’ve told you. I’m sorry I can’t be there with you, but I’ll tell you the whole story the next time we get together.

  Immediately upon completion, the video window closed on Jack’s screen and the file on the memory drive disappeared, followed by an error message stating that the storage device was corrupted and its contents irrecoverable. Jack began to fill with anxiety, thinking about everything he just heard. On his bed was the box containing the aforementioned gift. He approached it with trepidation and removed the black wrapping paper from the outside. After cutting it open, he slowly lifted the flaps and peered in at the object. Inside the box was yet another rectangular box that appeared to be made of some sort of opaque black glass. While lifting it, Jack couldn’t help but wonder what strange material it was made out of. Although it looked like obsidian, it had the weight and cold feel of solid metal. After placing it on the floor, he noticed the triangular arrangement of three holes at the upper right-hand corner that his father described. Jack checked the underside to make sure he wasn’t holding the thing upside down.

  Knowing it was properly oriented, he held his palm over the holes and before pressing down, exhaled a deep breath while saying to himself, “Oh, what the hell.”

  Suddenly, a sharp stabbing pain jolted from his hand, up his arm, and to center of his spine. He let out a momentary scream of agony as several drops of blood fell from his hand onto the top of the obsidian box.

  “OW, DAMMIT!” he shouted, wondering why his father would tell him to do something so painful.

  Jack looked back down at the box and saw his blood had beaded up and traveled, as if by magic, into the holes in the upper corner. A new perforation started to appear close to the top of the container, emitting a bright blue light from the developing crack. The newly-formed lid began to levitate off the box’s base and sh
ift to the side, revealing the contents within.

  Inside was a small sphere hovering in the exact center. The sight of it struck Jack with the simultaneous feelings of awe and suspicion. Mesmerized, he reached to grab it for a closer look. As his skin made contact with the sphere, his hand involuntarily bared down hard on it. He tried to release his grip, but it seemed impossible. A tingling sensation began to surge through his arm and into his spine until the feeling enveloped his whole body. The sphere then started to roll itself up Jack’s arm, as if it were a magnet and he were made of metal. He tried his hardest to grab hold and throw it off him, but it was impossible to stop its progression. When it slid under his sleeve and out of sight, Jack frantically removed his shirt and desperately grabbed for the object. The sphere continued onto his back until it reached the center of his spinal column. This is when the truly excruciating pain began. It started unwinding itself and combining with Jack, sending metallic, wiry tendrils of unknown technology into his muscles and along his spinal cord. Jack bared down on all fours, trying not to pass out. It felt as though there was a multitude of tiny needles burrowing throughout his entire body, on a journey from his back to the very tips of his extremities. The final blow of the torturous object was to send several piercing nodes through Jack’s spinal cord and deep into his brain. The pain from this caused him to black out and collapse on the floor.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MEETING MR. WHITE

  Jack didn’t regain consciousness until morning. Through blurry vision, he looked at his screen for the time and realized he had only been unconscious for the night, although it seemed like it had been days. Jack’s body itched all over. He began searching his body to find evidence of what happened the night before. There were navy blue, metallic strands embedded in his skin that he could observe peeking over his shoulders. He also felt the unraveled sphere still lodged in his back when he started to move and stretch. Becoming more frantic and curious, he hastily made his way to the bathroom mirror to get a better look at what the sphere had done to his body.

  What on Earth? he thought.

  A majority of the metallic mass was centered on his upper spine. It shimmered as he turned his torso and was slightly raised in the middle of his back while the strands that came out from it became flush with his skin. The mass covering his spine had thick branches that ventured off and continued to branch indefinitely until they reached the edges of his back and neck. At those borders, the many terminal branches took a final plunge beneath Jack’s skin. He could feel the thing’s wires and tendrils continue throughout the inside of his body until they reached the ends of his extremities. Taking a closer look, Jack observed it was also emitting streams of dull blue light that flowed along the paths of the metallic threads from their origin point in the mass above his spine to where they went beneath his skin. It resembled something like fiber optics or bioluminescence.

  Panic began to overcome Jack when he heard Cong’s voice begin to materialize in the hallway outside the dorm room.

  Oh, geez, Jack said to himself. What’s he doing back here!

  He quickly ran to put a shirt on and stash the sphere’s container under his bed to try and hide any evidence of the night before. However, when Jack touched the container it transformed into a large sphere and stuck to his hand, much like a strong magnet would stick to steel. He tried to shake and pry it off, but it wasn’t budging. As a last resort, he hid his hand behind his back and faced the door as it opened. Cong was talking with someone on his screen when he entered, but ended the conversation when he saw his suspicious roommate.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” said Cong, seeing Jack disheveled, a little sweaty, and out of breath. “You know you should put a sock on the door knob or something if you wanted some privacy. Is there a lady friend of yours in here you’re trying to hide?” He began to swivel his head. “Maybe under your bed or in the bathroom?”

  “Nope,” said Jack, heart pounding and still breathing heavy. “Just me. Nobody else around, s-s-so no need to be nosey!”

  Cong shook his head. “I know you may be ashamed, but I don’t have a problem with you doing obscene things privately behind closed doors. It doesn’t have to be a sock on the door knob as a warning. Maybe we could use a—”

  “Cong! I told you. I wasn’t—”

  “Yeah, yeah, you weren’t doing anything,” he said, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. “I was just coming back to grab a few things that I forgot before heading back to my parents’ house.”

  Jack remained awkwardly silent and faced Cong as he grabbed some items from around the dorm room before leaving.

  As he exited, Cong turned around from the entrance and said “I’ll miss your crazy ass next year, man. Have a fun time doing nothing in our dorm room while I’m gone.”

  Jack’s face turned bright red and he gave Cong a simple thumbs-up gesture with his unoccupied hand as the door closed.

  Once alone again, he tried even harder to pry off the offending object still stuck to his hand. As he started to flail his arm back and forth in a panic, the material suddenly became like a viscous liquid and flung itself off his hand and toward the ceiling. Jack was relieved to finally detach himself from it, but horrified to see the black sphere had morphed into what looked like a big shard that plunged itself into the dorm room ceiling. He moved out of the way as broken pieces of drywall started to rain down from where it was stuck.

  Jack put his hands on his head, wondering what the hell he was going to do about the destruction he just caused. The shard then fell from the ceiling and stuck its other sharp end into the floor. Unbelievable, he thought, now covering his mouth as if to stop himself from screaming in disbelief at his insane predicament.

  Wary to try and touch the material again, Jack breathed deep and reached out to pull the giant spike out of the carpeted floor. To his surprise, before coming into contact with it, it removed itself from where is was implanted and quickly leapt into his outstretched hand. This is crazy, he thought. Marveling at whatever the material might be, Jack could feel a peculiar kind of pulsing energy emanating from the shard and into his body. With intense focus, he was able to form it into a sphere again. He stared in amazement as a dull blue light emitted as it shapeshifted, similar to the light he observed from whatever attached to his back the night before. Only now did he notice that the once-heavy material felt incredibly light and strong. Jack let go of the sphere, grateful it didn’t remain stuck to his skin this time, and was surprised at how loud a thud it made when it hit the floor. He then heard the dorm room below banging on their ceiling, not happy with the ruckus coming from upstairs.

  Jack decided he better start packing and get ready to head back home before trying to figure out anything else about the strange black substance and body-infused tech his father gifted him. He formed the black sphere into a box shape and stuck it in his carry-on bag, hoping that airport security wouldn’t be suspicious of the strange-looking object. He also worried about his own body and going through the airport with a metal substance fused to his skin.

  Later that evening, Jack finished collecting all of his belongings at the university, destroyed the scrambling device he was given by Nigel, and, after working up the courage, took a shuttle to the airport for his flight home. Once he obtained his ticket and dropped off his baggage to be stored on the plane, the difficult part began—getting through security without being questioned. His carry-on bag, which contained the obsidian-colored material, was dramatically heavier without the substance in direct contact with Jack’s skin. He was worried its weight would bring undesired attention. Also on his mind was the worry that the AEB had already sent someone to find him before he made it back to the United States, so he was sure to keep a close watch on his surroundings.

  After the biometric screening process came the conveyor belt that scanned everyone’s carry-on baggage. He gently lowered the bag onto the moving surface and then stepped into the human scanner. To his surprise, nothing was flagged on his person as
being odd or threatening.

  Whew, that was a close one, he thought.

  But he immediately began to panic when he saw his bag being diverted from the scanner and onto a table for questioning.

  “Step over here, sir,” said one of the droid security personnel, ushering Jack to a small searching station where his bag was starting to be unpacked by one of the citizen workers.

  “So, the system flagged your bag due to its unusual weight and an unidentifiable object,” she said, starting to remove the clothes and other items at the bag’s top.

  “Is that so?” said Jack, trying to play it cool. “Probably just the square piece of obsidian glass I kept in my dorm room at college.”

  “Oh, yeah, here it is,” she said. “Woah, this thing is heavy!” Her voice strained as she picked it up from the bottom of Jack’s bag, which made a loud thud as it was placed on the countertop.

  “Yep, that stuff is usually pretty heavy,” said Jack, beginning to nervously scratch the back of his head.

  “I’ve gotta ask, what is it, why do you have it, and why are you bringing it on a plane in your carry-on?”

  “Well . . . I love geology and I use that particular stone, known as obsidian, for a . . . a really big paperweight. And I just didn’t want it to break by putting it with my other luggage. You see, it was a gift from my dad and it helps remind me of him when I’m away.” Jack took a noticeable gulp after his explanation.

  “It’s still a strange thing to be travelling with,” the woman said, raising an eyebrow to Jack.

  “True, but I’m sure you see a lot of strange things coming through here.”

  Jack was pleased to see that this response changed her demeanor to something more agreeable.

  “You’re right about that,” she said, laughing. “You know, someone brought through an entire sack full of turmeric root through here to take on a plane just yesterday. And they were worried, if you can believe it, that the security staff might accidentally break some and spoil them. I thought it was very strange.”