by R L Delaney
"W-What are you doing?" Justin narrowed his eyes.
"Haven't you noticed that this big boulder is kept in place by this smaller one?" she explained. "What if Cipher Flux hid the key under that big boulder? We need to roll it away, but we can only do that by removing this smaller rock first." There was a wide grin on her face.
"You really think that's possible?" Justin asked as he stared at Amy.
"It's worth a try," Amy answered without looking up. "Help me, Justin."
The excitement in Amy's attitude began to rub off on Justin. Maybe Amy was right. She had been right before, and had they not seen wonderful and inexplicable things these last months?
Without further ado, he fell down on his knees next to Amy, and planted his hands in the ground as well.
The rock turned out to be a lot bigger than they had anticipated at first, but after they had been feverishly working on excavating the stone for a good fifteen minutes, the rock lay before them, bare and uncovered.
"What now?" Justin asked.
"It's quite a puzzle," Amy replied and she pointed to the small boulder they had just dug out. "This rock is holding this bigger boulder in place. If we move this smaller rock, and take the support for the bigger rock away, the big one will roll forward."
Justin scratched his head. "… And then we can look under it."
"Right," Amy said and she pressed her lips together. "It would be the perfect place to hide something."
Justin's face held a wide grin. "Excellent, Amy… You never cease to amaze me." He stared at the smaller rock and narrowed his eyes. "But how do we move this small rock?"
"It's easy," Amy replied. "We use the same principle. If we make another hole right next to the small rock, we cause it to slide, and at the same time the big boulder will move too."
Justin nodded. "That's it."
They both knelt down again, and by using their hands and a few sharp stones as tools, they set out to work to make yet another deep hole.
After they had made good progress, and had been digging around for some time, Amy became concerned. The earth under the small rock was now loose and gone for a good part, and it wouldn't take long before the stone would move by itself. It was now balancing precariously on the edge of the new hole they had made. "Careful now," she cautioned. "We don't want to get hurt."
Justin looked up, his face smudged, but a wide smile covered his face. "We're almost there," he heaved. "Maybe I'll give the stone a kick with my leg." He got up, walked around and while Amy moved to a safe spot, he planted his leg with considerable force against the small rock.
It moved, and rolled effortlessly into its new spot.
Amy and Justin looked breathlessly at the big boulder. It should move as well.
But nothing happened.
The big boulder did not move.
Not even an inch.
For a moment Justin and Amy stared at each other, but then Justin ran over to the big boulder and began to push it with all of his might. "We just need to help nature a bit," he cried out with a boyish smile as he pressed his shoulders against the clammy stone.
It did the trick.
Now that the big boulder was no longer held in place by the small rock, and there was nothing but a hole in front of it, it began to move.
First slowly, as it rocked back and forth just a few inches, but then, when Amy sprang into action as well and helped to push, the boulder rolled away several feet, before it stopped again.
Both Amy and Justin cried for joy as they saw their plan had worked. Then Amy turned and began to search the spot that had been covered by the boulder. At first, it seemed there was nothing unusual about the clearing, but then, as Amy knelt down again, she spotted a hole in the ground, the size of a rabbit hole. But it could not be a rabbit hole. No rabbit could have made a hole there.
"You see that hole?" she whispered as she pointed to it.
Justin knelt down beside her. "S-Shall I stick my hand in it?" he offered.
Amy looked up at him. "It's not an animal hole," she said, trying to encourage Justin, who leaned over and tried to peer into it.
There was nothing to see.
He licked his lips, nodded, and then slowly stuck his hand inside. Amy watched with bated breath.
"I-Is there anything there?" she asked when Justin didn't say anything.
Justin still did not answer. His hand was deep into the hole now, but then, a smile appeared on his face. "There's something here," he mumbled in an excited voice.
"What?"
He pulled out his hand again and dragged out a small box. It was caked with dirt, but at first glance, it still seemed to be in perfect condition.
Justin stared at it and then handed it to Amy while he whispered, "It's a jewel case."
Amy held the box on her flat hand and inspected it. Then she looked up at Justin, and she bit her lower lip. "Do we dare to open it?"
"Can we open it?" Justin asked. "Or is it locked?"
Amy tried to move the lid slightly. It moved.
"It's not locked," she said as she closed it again. "If this is indeed the key of Cipher Flux, and it can open the doors for demons like Gogothol to come out… I am not sure I want to open it. I do not want to take any risks."
Justin thought for a moment. "Father Galvéz said he had dreamt that we should not be afraid to give the key to the Shadow Walkers. I say… let's at least open it and see if there really is a key in there."
Amy nodded, and looked into Justin's eyes. "You want to open it?"
Justin pressed his lips. "They usually say… ladies first." Then he grinned and said, "But in this case, I'll do it." He took the box out of Amy's hands, swallowed hard and placed his fingers on the lid.
As he opened it, a strange purple glow emanated from within the box. At first Justin held the box at an arm’s length as they beheld the unearthly light, almost fearing they had opened Pandora's Box, or activated something similar to Aladdin's lamp.
But when no ghost appeared, no rumbling voice was heard and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, Justin brought the box closer and looked inside. As he did, Amy could not contain her curiosity anymore and glanced over Justin's shoulder into the box as well.
And there it was.
A key.
Justin whispered. "It's the key of Cipher Flux."
It seemed to be made of silver, and was indeed the source of the strange purple glow. It almost appeared the key was somehow alive. The colorful brilliance pulsated in small waves through the key as if it had its own heartbeat and made the glimmer almost seem natural.
The instrument itself was no more than 5 inches at most, and the bigger part of the key was taken up by the bow, which was intricately formed in complicated patterns, with an especially intriguing, dark looking symbol right in the middle. The stem was very short, not more than 1 inch, and tiny Latin words were inscribed in it. The bit itself seemed nothing more than a small, rectangular plate that was divided by notches into wards.
"Close it," Amy hissed. "It's indeed extremely evil."
Justin stared at it for a moment longer and had to fight the temptation to pick it up. It was such a wondrous key.
"Come on, Justin," Amy demanded. "Do it now!"
Justin nodded and closed the lid again. The purple glow instantly washed away.
For a moment none of them spoke a word and they stared in silence at each other. Justin was the first one to speak. He cleared his throat. "And… we are supposed to just hand this thing over to those wicked Shadow Walkers, just because Father Galvéz had a dream?"
Amy looked at the box again. "We walk by faith, Justin. Not by sight. When was the last time you had a dream in which the angel Quabriel spoke to you?"
Justin had to chuckle. "Good point, Amy," he said while he let out a sigh. "I know you are right, but sometimes walking by faith isn't all that easy."
"Let's go back to Father Galvéz," Amy said. "It will be getting dark soon and I don't want to get stuck in that horrible ri
ver bed."
Justin nodded, but as he stuck the jewel case in his rucksack he couldn't suppress a victorious feeling. They had found the key of Cipher Flux.
Chapter Nine
Whether it was because of the exhilaration that they had found the key, or because they had already traversed the dry riverbed before, they couldn't tell, but the way back to the ruins of the Bitter Grog Chapel and its adjoining stable, seemed a lot easier than the way up.
And it was a good thing too, because dusk had set in, and soon the whole terrain would be covered in darkness. Already the shadows were deepening, and the temperature was dropping. Justin shivered as he climbed over another boulder. The rain had not quite soaked his jacket, but he was most certainly looking forward to meeting up with Father Galvéz, who could heat up the truck while they were driving home.
They were now at the spot where they had said goodbye to Father Galvéz earlier. "We're almost there, Amy," Justin turned to look at Amy and lent her a hand to help her down a boulder. "Once we are out of the riverbed, we'll be with Father Galvéz in a jiffy."
Amy breathed heavily as she gazed up at the incline.
"You need help climbing up?" Justin asked.
"Thank you," Amy replied, "I think I'll be fine." Just as she took hold of the root of a broken tree and wanted to pull herself up, a panicky, hushed voice called out to them.
"Justin… Amy? Over here."
"Huh?" Justin looked up, and Amy let go of the root.
"Who's there?" Justin called out.
A shadowy figure appeared, barely visible in the deepening twilight, but Amy recognized Father Galvéz' silhouette immediately.
"Father Galvéz…," she cried out as she began to pull herself up out of the riverbed, "…why are you here? I thought you'd be peacefully waiting for us in the truck."
"I was," Father Galvéz replied in a strained voice. "But first, let me ask you… did you get anything done? Did you find the key?"
Amy gave the old priest a victorious smile. "We did, Father. We found it."
"Thank God," Father Galvéz mumbled.
"So why are you here and not in your warm truck?" Amy asked again.
Father Galvéz stared at her with large, fearful eyes. "Because they came…"
"Who came?" Justin asked, who had just climbed up out of the riverbed and was standing next to Amy. He stared with rising alarm at Father Galvéz.
"I-I presume…" Father Galvéz stammered, "… the Shadow Walkers."
The Father's words came down on Justin and Amy like one of the boulders they had just been climbing over. "W-What do you mean?" Justin asked as he placed his hand on the garb of Father Galvéz. "They came from where?"
"I don't know," Father Galvéz was clearly shook up. His lip even trembled. "I had gone back to the truck and was waiting there for you, when I heard cars coming. Thank God, I parked the truck behind the hill."
"Cars were coming?" Amy asked and her eyes were widening.
Father Galvéz nodded. "That's right, Amy. Because it's so still here, I could hear them from miles away."
"I knew that whoever would be coming here wasn't likely to come for a picnic or a birthday celebration, so I got out of my truck and looked over the hill to see what was happening." The old priest crossed himself.
"How many cars?" Amy lowered her voice even though they were quite a ways away from the stable.
"Nine," Father Galvéz stated in a flat tone. "I counted nine cars."
Amy shook her head and Justin sucked in his lips.
"I knew somebody was still using the stable," Justin hissed. "I bet you they have a secret meeting in the stable."
"How do you know they are the Shadow Walkers?" Amy looked at the old priest. The poor man shivered.
"They got out, right at the place where we first stopped too. I did not recognize most of them, but a few I did."
Justin's nostrils flared. "Who did you recognize?"
"Former Principal Rigby was sitting in the first car."
"Rigby?" Justin couldn't help it, but he raised his voice. Amy grabbed both of his hands and ordered him to calm down. "Quiet, Justin. Keep cool."
"Anybody else?" Anger was now rising in his chest, but he did lower his voice.
"There was this girl that used to work in the fitness center. I forgot her name, but I believe she was the secretary there or something."
"Carrington," Justin said while a scowl appeared. "Her name is Betty Carrington."
Father Galvéz smacked his lips. "Guess so… and then there was Carl Billows too. He was the co-owner of the local gym, wasn't he?"
"He sure was," Amy answered. She wrinkled her nose.
Justin shook his head and while a scowl appeared on his face, he muttered, "Reminds me of the joke I heard the other day. This unbeliever was talking to the pastor and said, 'Pastor, I guess heaven is all right, but for meeting old friends there's no place like hell.' "
Nobody laughed. The situation was too grave.
"Did you recognize anybody else?" Amy asked.
Father Galvéz bit his lower lip, gave a small nod, and hesitated. He licked his lips, scratched his head, and lowered his eyes. "T-There was someone else."
"Who, Father?" Justin and Amy asked at the same time.
"I am so sorry, Justin…"
Justin's eyes grew wide. "What is it, Father? Tell us."
"They were dragging your Uncle Harrison along."
"Uncle Harry?" Justin blurted out.
Father Galvéz nodded. "His hands were tied and they were pulling him by a rope."
Justin wasn't sure whether he had heard correctly, but when he looked at Amy and saw the startled expression on her face, he knew Father Galvéz had really said it.
Justin let the words sink in. After he had thought for a moment he whispered, "They are going to sacrifice him. But they told me in that letter I had three days to get the key…" His voice was barely audible. "It's not been three days yet."
Amy grabbed his hands. "We are still on time, Justin. We have the key of Cipher Flux… we can still do something to save your Uncle Harry."
"By just handing them this key?" Justin snorted. "That seems more like a terrible defeat. Whatever choice we make, we are going to suffer for it."
"Not true," Amy fired back. "I believe in the dream Father Galvéz had. That was a dream sent from heaven. We don't need to be afraid to hand them the key. Everything is under the control of the King of Heaven."
Justin pressed his lips together and turned to Father Galvéz. "What do you think, Father?"
Father Galvéz sighed. "I can't say I like it, but I think Amy is right, Justin. We need to act on what we believe. We need to trust."
"So what do we do then?" Justin scoffed. "While they are having some sort of wicked ceremony we just knock on the door and say, 'Hello, special delivery for the Shadow Walkers. Would you please sign here?' "
"Maybe," Amy answered while she shrugged her shoulders. "What else can we do?"
Justin dragged his hand through his hair and sighed. "I really don't know."
"Then, let's first pray," Amy suggested.
And so it happened that while the night settled over the ruins of Bitter Grog Chapel, Father Galvéz, Justin and Amy held hands and pleaded with heaven for supernatural strength.
After they prayed Amy looked pensive. She squinted and squeezed her chin. Justin arched his brows. "Are you thinking of something, Amy?"
Amy looked up. "I don't know… For some reason, I keep thinking about that strange poem that Stana Growklowsky handed your uncle, Justin…"
"What about it?"
"We never really studied it. Do you still remember it?"
"Sure do," Justin said while giving her a victorious smile. "I made a copy of it with my phone."
"You did?" Amy's eyes lit up. "Where's your phone?"
"In the truck," Justin replied. "Sorry, I left it in the glove compartment."
"Then let's go the truck," Amy suggested.
Minutes later they qu
ietly snuck in the truck and Justin picked up his phone. After he had clicked on some buttons the light on the screen came to life and seconds later he showed the poem to Amy and Father Galvéz. "Here it is. Read it for yourselves."
As she read the poem aloud to the others she squinted her eyes, trying to comprehend its meaning, but the meaning remained a mystery.
"What in the world does it mean?" Justin said, as he shook his head in frustration. "This doesn't help us a bit."
"But," Amy said while the muscles in her face tightened, "there is a God in the Heavens that understands every mystery." Before Justin or Father Galvéz could respond she closed her eyes and prayed a simple prayer. "Father in Heaven… Help us to understand what we need to understand. Amen." Then she read the first couplet again.
Not from the West- or from the South
Nor from the North or from the distant East
But from a dark and mud stained, ruined mouth
Will climb to freedom, oh, that feared and dreaded beast
After she read it she closed her eyes again and thought about the words she had just read. At last, she looked up, an inner fire shining in her eyes. "This poem talks about a ruined mouth. What if the writer is talking about this ruined chapel, the place where we are right now? After all, Cipher Flux always wanted this chapel to be the gateway, or the mouth, through which the forces of the netherworld would stream into this world. But then that Reverend Øivind Balstad, or whatever his name was, stopped him by destroying it."
The others listened intently.
"And that dreaded beast that will climb to freedom?" Justin wondered.
"According to Alfred Rodeo, the Shadow Walkers believe the keys will open the door for a terrible demon, called Gogothol… That would fit the poem."
"Go on," Justin urged. He did not like what Amy said, but it had a definite ring of truth to it.
The pit, its sweetest stench will then release
That glorious day when lock will meet with key,
And grinding of the teeth below will cease
When captives will be forever set free