by S.E. Akers
I glanced at my watch again and then whipped my head around for a quick double-take, only to see the back of the sign fading in the distance.
No way! That’s IMPOSSIBLE! I couldn’t have run over fifty miles in fifteen minutes… There’s no way I’m in the NEXT COUNTY! I slumped down in my seat and stared out the front windshield in a daze.
“It’s still morning, right?” I asked nervously.
“Yes,” Trooper Burks confirmed with a laugh. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head back there when you fell?”
“Yes, Sir. I’m sure I didn’t,” I muttered. That was the only thing I was certain of at this point. I propped my head up against the window and stared hypnotically out at the scenery as it rolled by. My mind replayed all the oddities that had transpired this morning — namely my unnatural strength in fending off two police officers, and just now, running 50 miles in about 15 minutes. I needed answers to some awfully peculiar questions that were churning. All of them led to what had happened last night, so I knew exactly where I needed to start.
On the drive back to Welch, I noted two advantages of riding with a State Trooper: they drove fast and people got the heck out of their way. Needless to say, we reached Welch’s city limits in no time.
“If it’s okay with you, could you drop me off at the mine instead of taking me home?” I asked politely.
“I’m afraid not,” Trooper Burks declined. “I think you should go straight home, Miss. I want to make sure you arrive at your house, safe and sound.”
I didn’t take him for someone who could be easily persuaded. I pouted quietly as we headed down Highway 52. All I could think over and over in my mind was, I want to stop by the mine… Please drop me off at the mine… Just let me out at the mine…
We approached the fork, but instead of taking a left to head up the mountain, Trooper Burks continued straight and then turned off to the right — down into the mine’s parking lot. That came as a strange, though welcomed surprise considering how adamant he was about “taking me straight home” just a few minutes ago. I turned to thank him, only to notice the lawman sporting a somewhat vacant look in his eyes.
Trooper Burks slowed to a stop and simply stared out the windshield. “Miss, you’re at the mine,” he announced, never looking my way. Granted, I was beyond grateful, though I couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted his change of heart, especially since the trooper somehow didn’t seem quite “all there” right now.
I opened the door and crept slowly out of the vehicle. Taking his “checked-out” vibe into account, I ended up replying with an ambiguous, “Thank you…?” After waiting a good ten seconds for a response that never came, I shut the door softly and then watched him drive off.
Well, that was kind of crazy…
I headed over to the parking lot, straight to where my father’s truck was in the process of being towed. I got there just as Hank Sheppard, who owned an auto shop in town, was about to start hooking up Daddy’s truck.
“Wait a second, Mr. Sheppard. I need to get something,” I hollered. The tiny man, well into his early 70’s, walked over and gave me a hug.
“I’m so sorry to hear about your father, Shiloh. Caiden was such a good man. Did you know he worked down at my garage when he was your age?”
“Yes,” I nodded.
“I hated when he left to go work for the mine. Caiden was the best mechanic I ever had. I missed him then, and I miss him now,” he insisted with a somber, teary gaze.
I patted his shoulder. “He really thought the world of you, too,” I acknowledged. That was true. Daddy was always telling me funny stories about Mr. Sheppard, and that he missed working for the “old coot”.
Mr. Sheppard grabbed a rag from out of his back pocket and blew his nose. “Did you need to get something out of here? I was about to tow it up to your house.”
“Yes, umm . . .” I hesitated. I really didn’t have a plan laid out. I just needed some time to jog my memory some more. “Could I have a few minutes, Mr. Sheppard?”
“Take all the time you need, honey. I’ll run over and pester Uriah for a bit. He’ll love that,” Mr. Sheppard teased with a smile and then headed over to the security gate.
I stood there in the rain staring at my father’s truck with a wary eye. After circling it several times, I opened the driver’s-side door and climbed inside. I got a bit misty when I realized I could smell him—musk aftershave and spearmint gum—and found myself taking several extra-deep and evocative breaths, longing to make the memory last as long as I could. As I sat clutching the steering wheel, another vision began to emerge. His cell phone was ringing. I whirled my head around when I recalled seeing something flashing underneath the old weathered tarp lying in the truck bed.
I hopped out of the cab and walked back to the rear of the vehicle. I lowered the tailgate nervously. No sooner than I’d climbed inside the bed, I remembered exactly what I’d seen earlier — every heart-wrenching image. I closed my eyes and shuddered. Somehow I could even feel the pain Daddy was in. I wiped away a tear streaming down my cheek and breathed out an aching sigh.
Why didn’t I HELP HIM?
I began to sense something — fear. My eyes focused in on a small dent that had been punched into the back of the truck’s cab. A terrifying jolt ripped through my body when I remembered someone had attacked me and that somehow I’d managed to jump out of the truck. Once I’d climbed out of the bed, I felt an uncontrollable urge to walk towards the road, which I automatically followed.
While standing beside the highway, my eyes scanned the line of trees that lay on the opposite side. My gaze homed in on a particular spot as the feeling urged me to enter the woods right there. I hurried across the road and traveled down to the area in question. Intuitively, I pushed back the tree limbs. As I entered the woods, I could see myself as plain as day running through the thick brush.
That’s how my dress got ripped, I recalled. I was running like the wind away from something, but I still had no idea from what.
I carried on uphill for several more minutes. Up ahead and to the right, something black caught my eye. I ran over and grabbed what ended up being a sopping wet tuxedo jacket from off a bush. I instantly knew it was Ty’s. I remembered him giving it to me when we were in the parking lot. Right before that snake attacked me! A shiver ran down my spine at the sight of it slithering towards me. I’d killed it with my shoe. Good aim, I noted. I folded the tux jacket over the bend of my arm. Surely he’ll need this back. My instincts began assuring me that I didn’t head this way and to turn around and take a left instead. Once again, I followed my gut and trekked up the mountainside until I’d reached a clearing that lay below one of Shiloh Ridge’s cliffs. Without the slightest delay, my anxiety clamped down on me like the relentless squeeze of a vise.
What on earth would’ve made me come up HERE?
I continued to prowl the clearing as my eyes panned across the edge of the cliff. A cluster of bushes looked eerily familiar. My senses told me something had been stalking me, and that I’d jumped into the bushes to take cover. The vision was so frightening I had to scope out my surroundings just to make sure I wasn’t in any present danger. No one was around, so I continued to focus on my memory. I recalled someone cackling and screaming out my name in a wretched voice as I stared intently at one particular bush. I could see myself hiding behind it and then someone reached for me.
I gasped loudly. It was Mike! Mike Riverside! He was the one who had been chasing me. I shook with fright as all the details of the encounter surfaced. His eyes were the most frightening of all — eerily hollow and bathed in as much black as a dirty hunk of coal.
Why was Mike acting like that last night? That relevant fact was still hazy.
I remembered seeing the falcon attacking him and that something had pushed me out of the way. I walked over to the bottom side of the ridge where I’d landed after that purple cloud of whatever
had thrust me against the mountainside, just before dragging Mike away. I waited for another nugget to surface, but nothing came. My mind felt just as blank as this morning, like the cosmos had abruptly flipped off the switch to my brain.
Dead end, I huffed as I stared at the wall of earth in front of me. If I got away from Mike, then WHY didn’t I get help for Daddy?
I stood there for several minutes, attempting to recall something — ANYTHING. But no matter how hard I tried, nothing else came to mind. Disgusted, I started kicking twigs on the ground and throwing rocks around the clearing. I acknowledged that I, the eighteen-year-old, was having a three-year-old tantrum, but I didn’t care. I knew there were more answers to be uncovered. I was so frustrated that I took my foot and kicked the side of the mountain underneath Shiloh Ridge with all of my strength.
All of a sudden, the ground began to shake. I jumped back from the side of the ridge to watch several rocks beginning to slowly crumble away from the earthy surface in front of me. When the rumbling stopped, a small opening to what appeared to be a cave had revealed itself.
Cautiously, I crept over to the entrance. A soft light was radiating from somewhere deep inside it. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make my descent. I poked my head inside the strange cave. The mysterious light illuminated an uneven, sloping trail that hugged the side of the cavern all the way down. It looked like some sort of naturally formed staircase, but still steep and extremely dangerous, nonetheless.
My instincts urged me onward, so I thought, What the heck, and entered the cave.
Slowly, I followed the stairway of jagged rocks downward as I clung to the wall of the cavern. The further I descended, the more the light seemed to be intensifying. Its source turned out to be lit torches meticulously hanging along the cavern walls. Those didn’t ring any bells, but then again, neither did the staircase I was following. I carried on until I’d reached the bottom of the cave. I looked up at the entrance. About a couple of hundred yards, I guessed. An inundating sense of déjà vu filled my head as my eyes wound back down the intricately crafted rock staircase. I’d definitely been here before, but I got the distinct feeling I hadn’t arrived the way I’d just come.
The interior of the cavern was enormous, and it looked like it had been hollowed out ages ago. Its surrounding walls were as black as they were rugged, and the air hovering in the mix of this earthy wonder felt surprisingly warm. I observed a field of stalactites above me that dangled from the ceiling like massive, jagged fangs. My stare then fell to the numerous column-like stalagmites rising from the ground. They were bizarre-looking and certainly unlike any I’d ever seen. I ran my fingers along one of the smaller forms. It felt just like coal. I didn’t know how it was possible that bituminous coal could form like this, let alone hold its shape in such a way. Anthracite coal, maybe…but not the soft stuff the mountains around here were full of. That alone had me questioning whether or not this place was a “naturally formed” occurrence.
From out of nowhere, a surging feeling of distress besieged my entire body. Then not a second later, I remembered falling into the cave. I saw my body plummeting from the entrance above, bouncing against the rocks throughout my entire drop, until it finally came to a stop when I’d crashed onto a boulder. I patted myself all over to make sure I was okay. I clasped my mouth when my mind revealed an image of a very scared and injured girl. I was a mangled mess of cut flesh and broken bones just lying there on the cold ground, blood gushing out of my wounds…and for some unknown reason, I was still very much alive.
How could that be? There’s no way I could’ve survived a fall like that, let alone be walking around today without so much as a scratch on me…
I remembered the moonlight streaming in through the small opening at the top of the cave. My eyes led me over to the rock formation that I’d gazed upon last night. I saw something lodged in the structure. I hastened my gait as I headed straight for the object lying on the rocks. I knew what it was before I reached it. All of my memories had returned. As I climbed the side of the formation, my eyes spotted it — a six-sided crystal of some sort, about four feet long and several inches thick. I still desired to touch it like I had merely hours ago, even though it wasn’t shining like before. It lay fused to its rocky coal base, and the vibrant energy that I’d witnessed flowing within the crystal just last night had somehow fallen inert. I remembered how its light had been beaming so intensely that I’d found myself helplessly hypnotized by its beauty.
Cautiously, I reached for the crystal. My hand hovered over it for a moment, and then carefully, I lowered my index finger to touch a spot on its shaft. All of a sudden, the crystal illuminated magnificently, just under my finger. Startled, I drew back my hand quickly, even though I knew it hadn’t hurt. I moved my hand back towards the wondrous crystal. This time, I allowed all of my fingers to stroke it back and forth, along one of its smooth sides. I stood there watching the light dance within the crystal and again I found it uncontrollably mesmerizing. It reminded me of those novelty static lights you would see in the movies, sitting in the backdrop of some mad scientist’s lab. It tenaciously flowed and followed my every touch while a surge of awesome energy pulsated through my body. I’d never felt stronger or so alive, and my mind had a sense of clarity that I could have never imagined.
“Nice to see you used the stairs this time . . . Shiloh,” a male voice called out casually.
My fingers flew off the crystal and then I spun around straightaway to find none other than Professor Tanner Grey sitting on the base of the rock formation.
“What are YOU doing here?” I blurted.
I may have been taken aback by his presence, however he didn’t appear the least bit surprised to see me. The handsome professor simply donned a slick smile and raised his brow, but he said nothing. I could feel the depths that his hazel eyes were piercing me, which only heightened my confusion.
“Where is HERE? How do you know about this place?” I demanded, my voice a shade shaky.
“I’ve known about this place for many, many years,” Professor Grey revealed as he rose to his feet. He twisted up the mound of rocks, headed towards me. “It’s about time you found it. I was starting to get concerned.”
“Concerned? About me finding this deathtrap? Oh, I found it . . . Every inch of it last night, to be exact! But something tells me that you already know that,” I asserted while I rubbed my arm and reflected on the injuries I’d received after my harrowing free-fall.
“You cleaned up all right,” Professor Tanner Grey quipped as he walked past me and gave my back a firm smack.
His bold gesture forced my eyes to roll into a stunned glare.
“About that . . . What exactly happened to me last night? And on an additional note, ever since you and your employer have come to town, some really bizarre things have been happening to me, and I think — No, I’m certain that you know why, don’t you?” I charged. My suspicions were escalating, and I had a gut feeling that this was the guy to give me all the answers I’d been seeking.
Professor Grey’s sly grin slowly disappeared from his handsome face. He reached for his necklace, the one that held the mysterious tiger’s-eye stone, and then removed it from around his neck. He laid it down on a rock beside him. His seductive hazel eyes were sparkling fervently as he approached, like the facets of a gemstone, and they were now a vibrant purple hue.
“Ugh! ‘Menu’ — MY ASS!” I scoffed. As much as I loved to embrace an I-told-you-so moment, I was bewildered as to how he could make his eyes change colors like that and why he had lied about it.
Professor Grey took my hand and gently placed it back on the crystal. “Do you know what this is?” he asked while his bewitching eyes dipped profoundly into mine.
“It looks like some sort of crystal rod — I think,” I answered uncertainly. “But I’m not a Geology professor,” I added, trying to shake off the effects of his obvious charms with a
defensive dose of snark.
The professor’s eyes tightened into a pair of humored slits. “Good thing,” he jeered. “Because you’re wrong on both counts. It’s a wand, and it’s not just any crystal. It’s a diamond. The most powerful diamond . . . well, gemstone, for that matter, in the entire world.”
My eyes widened as I looked down at the strange, but fascinating wonder. I felt as if my brain had been split right down the middle. The logical side was thinking this was the most dramatic and hokey bunch of crap I’d heard in a good while. “The most powerful diamond in the world” and it was buried deep within the recesses of West Virginia? Of all places? But even in spite of that, the speculative side of my brain was spinning with intrigue. After all, my humdrum life had been unexpectedly turned upside-down by numerous strange occurrences over the past three days. This was what I’d been in search of—answers—even if they sounded as crazy as the questions. I figured it couldn’t hurt to play along.
“Okay . . . So what is it doing here?” I asked, motioning all around.
“It was hidden here many years ago to ensure its whereabouts remained a secret until its rightful owner could claim it,” Professor Grey replied, his tone staunch and serious.
“Why HERE? This spot, in West Virginia? Of all places? Underneath Shiloh Ridge?” I probed suspiciously.
The mysterious professor picked up one of the rocks lying in the formation, which I recognized instantly. “The wand needed a source of carbon to keep its charge, to preserve its powers — its life force. That’s what you saw running under your fingers. Its raw energy. The carbon from the coal was strong enough for the diamond wand to maintain its strength but still weak enough not to alert others to its presence, keeping its location a secret.” He tossed the hunk of coal back onto a pile and blew its dust from his fingers.
“Next question,” I continued, “Who hid it here? And why does a diamond have a ‘life force’ and glow like that? I mean, it’s not possible.” I gazed at the wand, still baffled by its presence here, as well as its sheer existence.
“Have you ever heard of a Talisman?” Professor Tanner Grey inquired as he circled me with a calculated gait.
My mind became inundated with all the fantasy stories I’d ever read. “You mean like a necklace or a charm that’s supposed to bring you good luck? That kind of talisman?”
Professor Grey let out a subtle laugh, appearing to be amused. My eyes narrowed as I turned to scrutinize the diamond once more and then redirected my stare back to him.
“Are you telling me that this is some sort of talisman?” I speculated doubtfully.
Professor Tanner Grey stopped directly in front of me, now merely inches from my face, and raised his brow. “No,” he announced boldly. “This is the Wand of Adamas . . . The most powerful force on the face of the earth.” Then he gently brushed a few strands of hair away from my ear and leaned in close to whisper, “You, Shiloh . . . You’re the Talisman.”
Chapter 13
