by Otto Schafer
Apep had only taken a few steps when voices found him. Continuing forward he reached back, lifting his hood into place.
Apep peered out from the shadows to find Officer Brown kneeling next to Jennifer. “What was that?” Officer Brown asked, standing back up and drawing his Glock. He took aim at the tunnel.
“I don’t know, but the last time someone came out of there, I got my face broke!” Glen said, too loud.
“Who’s there?” Officer Brown demanded.
Apep stepped into Glen’s basement. “Good evening, Officer Brown.”
“Freeze right there! Don’t move! Don’t even breathe!” the officer demanded, training his weapon with a rail-mounted light on Apep’s face. “I… I know you. You’re—”
Apep cut him off. “I’m afraid we’ll have to skip the formalities, Officer, and get right to it,” he said, taking an aggressive step toward Officer Brown.
“I said, don’t you move!”
Apep took another step, closing half the distance.
Officer Brown pulled the trigger. The hammer dropped onto the firing pin, and the round backfired. Simultaneously every round in the magazine detonated in the same instant. The gun exploded in Officer Brown’s hand with the force of a hand grenade. Officer Brown fell dead to the floor, never realizing the impossibility of what had just happened.
Glen had stayed far back, his fear saving him from the shrapnel. He began to weep as he put his hands up in the air high above his head and groaned. “Plllleeeaaassseee don’t hurt us.”
Apep frowned and shook his head. “This world is so weak, it is no wonder humans were banished from Karelia long ago.” He reached out with nothing more than a feeble amount of the Sentheye, twisting his hand slowly in the air. Glen’s head twisted on his shoulders until finally it could twist no further. Glen turned off like water from a tap.
Jennifer, who had regained consciousness at the sound of the officer’s exploding gun, managed a scream.
Apep looked at her with a sorrowful expression. “Would you like me to spare you?”
Jennifer nodded hysterically through the bloody tears.
“Of course you would.”
“Stop!” Officer McMullan shouted, as he descended the last of the stairs. “You freeze right there! You so much as twitch and you die!”
Apep sighed. “Oh, good, I can watch you blow your face off too.”
The officer frowned, quickly appraising his partner’s hands and face. It must have been enough to put together that using his sidearm was a bad plan because he holstered his weapon and drew his nightstick. “Apep!”
“Ah, another Keeper! How delightful.”
He rushed Apep, swinging at his face.
Apep caught the stick in his hand, broke it, and shoved the remaining piece through the eye socket of the officer, driving it deep into his skull.
As the officer collapsed, lifeless, to the floor, Apep turned in time see the woman scrambling frantically on her hands and knees across the concrete, trying desperately to get away. She made it to the opening in the wall and scrambled inside like a rat scurrying for cover. That’s what all humans were, he thought – rats. He could call the Sentheye and pull her back to him. Instead, he just watched her go. It wasn’t because he felt sorry for her, or a desire to be merciful. It was quite the contrary, but he felt a sense of urgency to go and she was insignificant – just like a rat.
He walked up the stairs to the landing, where he paused before exiting the Pattersons’ home. A small child stood at the top of the short set of stairs leading into the house. He looked terrified. Apep looked up at the boy, met his eyes, and smiled. “I allowed your pathetic mother to live. Someday, if you somehow survive what’s to come, find me… and thank me.”
The only acknowledgement that the boy even understood was the movement of his eyes as they widened.
Once outside, Apep turned his attention to the two police cruisers and the ambulance that were screaming down Fourth Street with sirens blazing.
“No more wasting time. Rah ak ff esh oz eshmue eshoz eshflah!” he shouted, as he raised his hands and all three vehicles lifted off the street. Their fuel tanks exploded, engulfing them and their occupants in an instant inferno. The vehicles landed hard back onto the street, both cruisers veering into the ditch as the ambulance careened in the other direction, crashing into the burning rubble of Garrett’s home.
“No more wasting time,” Apep repeated to no one.
18
A Bad Idea
Wednesday, April 6 – God Stones Day 1
Rural Chiapas State, Mexico
Sarah wiped her sleeve across her forehead. For the past hour or more she had been awkwardly testing her yoga pose dexterity as she shifted her body to and fro, systematically clearing the bones and other strata from the bottom of the shaft. Exhausted as she was, her inner drive to know consumed her. What was this strange lid? How did the giant skulls fit into the picture? And the strange structure itself – how was it created? If not carved in place, then how was it built? The questions persisted, begging to be answered, but each clue only added to the enigma. She knew she wouldn’t understand it until she found out what was underneath the lid. The answer to all the mysteries was right under her feet – it had to be.
She had already filled bucket after bucket, each one hoisted topside where the material inside was no doubt being methodically cataloged by Fredy and Andrés. These bones weren’t those of giants, they were just bones of normal-sized humans. Sacrifices. Normally, Sarah would conclude sacrifices of this nature were offerings to the rain god Chaahk, but that didn’t fit. For the love of it, she couldn’t understand why whoever went to all this trouble would plug a hole meant to offer sacrifices to the underworld. And why at the bottom of the shaft? Why not cover it at the top? This place… it didn’t fit – it didn’t make sense. It just didn’t feel like this hole was for Aztec or Maya water rituals. No, this was for something else.
She bent to pick up another bone. If only you could talk to me. Tell me what you saw. Tell me how you ended up in this dark, cold place. Whether it was the thought of the bone she held, alive and weighed down with flesh, or the cold clamminess of the shaft, a shiver grabbed hold of her and raised goosebumps on the skin of her forearms.
Suddenly, Fredy’s voice crackled over the radio. “Sarah.”
Sarah’s heart jolted in her chest as if the dead themselves had shouted her name. She flinched upright, smacking her head on the bucket. “Christ! Dammit!” she said, then rubbing her head with one hand she pressed the button on the radio with the other. “My god, Fredy, you scared me half to death.”
“Sorry, Sarah. Are you ready to come up? It is getting late and you must be very tired.”
Sarah stood and stretched her back. Beneath her feet the bones shifted slightly, and the toe of her boot slid forward awkwardly. She grimaced, keenly aware of the damage she might be causing to the fragile bones. She tried to ease her foot back, but it was wedged in tight. Dammit. Fredy was right, she was tired. She could hear the concern in his voice. No matter how bad she wanted to see what was under this plug, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get it cleared tonight, and even if she could, she wasn’t sure how she was going to remove it. Would they even be able to retract it? How thick was it? If they couldn’t remove it, could they bring in a jackhammer of some kind and break through it?
She could just imagine telling Charles, So yeah, we jackhammered through a priceless, ancient stone lid. I mean, we had to see what was underneath, right? She laughed to herself. Charles… I can’t wait to tell you about this! she thought.
Sarah sighed. “Yeah, Fredy, let’s call it a day. Give me a minute to tie back on, and I’ll signal when I’m ready to start the climb.”
“Standing by. Oh, Sarah? Andrés says be sure to triple-check your rigging.”
There had been some argument when Sarah had decided to remove her rig while she worked. Fredy didn’t like that Andrés wouldn’t be there to check her rig when it was ti
me to come back up. But in the end, and to no one’s surprise, Fredy lost the argument.
“Jesus Christ, Fredy, I promise. I’ll double-check, just hang on,” Sarah said, her face splitting in a grin. She wasn’t going anywhere until she figured out what the hell her foot was hanging up on.
Fredy sighed. “Alright, standing by then.”
She moved her other foot methodically, careful of its placement. The floor, or suspected lid, wasn’t completely cleared of strata, and she didn’t want to do any more damage if she could help it. She tried to pull up and back on the wedged foot again. This time the bone her foot was caught under shifted up oddly, unnaturally, like it was attached to something at one end. It felt… wrong. Her foot was free now, so she slid it back under the object and moved her foot against it again, and it moved up then dropped back down. She searched for the cause of the anomaly, and with the help of her headlamp, found it protruding from the partially cleared material in the center of the lid. What the hell? She knelt and began clearing the area around what appeared to be some type of mechanism recessed into the stone floor. Sarah paused, giving the device a long, hard look. Who in the hell were these people?
“Sarah? Are you secure?” Fredy asked.
Sarah double-checked her knot and sucked in a deep breath. “Stand by, Fredy. I’ve got something here.” She looked back down at the lever. Girl, this is a bad idea. She positioned herself over the lever and squatted down, taking hold of it with both hands.
19
Not Alone
Wednesday, April 6 – God Stones Day 1
Petersburg, Illinois
The feeling of safety from finally having everyone inside the tunnel turned out to be fleeting. Three separate beams of light shone from deep inside the culvert.
Garrett waded forward, maneuvering around everyone. The water was already over his feet and moving fast down the tunnel. “Who’s there?”
“Who do you think? You lying coward!” Jack said, forced into a hunch as he sloshed forward.
Garrett’s stomach tightened.
“When you didn’t show up, I wasn’t surprised. I always knew you were afraid to fight me, Garrett!” Jack said, stopping directly in front of him, his flashlight pointing at his face. “You didn’t think I would figure it out, did you? The book led you here. I already know it’s a map, and whatever it leads to is mine. Right after we settle up and I kick your ass!”
“So what, Jack, you had to bring your big brother and his thugs with you?” Garrett asked, squinting past Jack’s light to find Danny holding his own flashlight in one hand and something else in the other. If anything, Danny was far more of a bully than Jack and probably twice his size. Garrett didn’t know who the other two guys were, but they were older than Jack, so it was safe to assume they must be friends of Danny. All and all, this was about the worst possible time for Jack to show up. They needed to get past this tunnel before the water rose and before Apep caught up to them.
Garrett drew in a breath. But he knew something else. He couldn’t run, and he was all out of excuses. This thing with Jack had to end, here and now. Garrett looked past Jack. “What’s up, Danny? Figured you were still in jail. You come to fight your baby brother’s battles?”
Jack’s lip curled up. “They’re here to make sure you fight me this time, chickenshit. So, let me tell you how this is going to go. First, I’m going to beat your ass,” he said, punching his fist into his palm. “Then your loser friends are going to give me that book and tell me everything they know about it, including how to open the entrance, or we’re” – he hooked a thumb over his shoulder – “going to give all them a beating too.”
The water was rising fast, almost to Garrett’s ankles now.
Paul stepped forward next to Garrett. “We need to move. If the water continues to rise at this rate we’re going be swept out. You want me to handle this?”
Garrett shook his head. “Thanks, but this is mine to deal with.”
Jack laughed. “You going to deal with me, are you?”
“Alright, Jack, let these guys through so they can get to work finding the entrance before the water rises so high no one finds it,” Garrett said, pointing past Jack.
Jack held out his arms. “Whatever, man. Just don’t try anything or I’ll have these guys start working everybody over.”
Paul rolled his eyes.
Everyone hugged the curved wall single file and made their way past Jack and his thugs, leaving only Garrett and Lenny in the mouth of the opening. Lenny leaned in close to Garrett, his brow wrinkled in concern. “I don’t like this, man. I’m not leaving you.”
“Lenny, you got to get down there and show them the bricks you found. They can’t get inside without you.”
“Garrett, listen, I love that you’re going to face this, but they’re not going to fight fair,” Lenny whispered, nodding at Jack.
Garrett smiled weakly. “My kung fu is better than these losers’ kung fu any day of the week.”
The worried crease on Lenny’s forehead only deepened. Even for Lenny, this was no time for jokes.
Garrett leaned in close and lowered his voice to a whisper, “I need to do this, Lenny. If I don’t… I’ll always be afraid. Just go, man, I will be right behind you.”
Lenny nodded reluctantly, making his way down the tunnel.
When Lenny tried to get past Jack, Jack made sure to shoulder Lenny hard, checking him into the concrete wall of the culvert. “Good job, Lenny – way to know your place.”
Lenny pushed himself off the wall. “I would kick your punk ass myself, but I don’t want to deprive my boy here of the fun he’s about to have with your face. God, I’m going to enjoy watching Garrett kick the crap out of you!”
Jack doubled up a fist and punched it into his hand. “Don’t worry. This won’t take long,” he said, pointing a finger in Lenny’s face. “Your turn next!”
“You just don’t get it, do you, Jack? It’s like the lights are on but it’s just a big dimly lit space up there.”
Jack frowned, clearly confused. He turned back toward Garrett, raising his fists.
Garrett didn’t understand why, but he felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. Maybe it was because he had just accepted that this was inevitable and had inwardly come to terms with it, releasing him of his fear. Or, maybe after all he had witnessed and learned that evening, his emotions were just depleted. Whatever it was, he felt oddly relaxed in this looming moment.
Paul started forward with ill intentions toward Danny and his two thugs, but Lenny grabbed his arm. “No, Paul. Don’t.”
Every muscle in Paul’s body flexed, but he stopped. “Why?” he asked incredulously.
“Let Garrett deal with him,” Lenny said.
“Yeah, I agree, this has been a long time coming,” Pete said.
“A long, long time.” David nodded.
“They’re not going to fight him one-on-one, Lenny,” Breanne said pleadingly.
“I know,” he said, maintaining his grip on Paul’s arm.
“So, what then? We’re just supposed to look for this secret passage, and what? Hope he doesn’t get beaten to death?” Paul asked, through gritted teeth, clearly ready to throw down.
“Hell, no!” Lenny responded with a smile. “Rising water or not, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Besides, if these dicks decide to get froggy and jump… we jump.” Lenny said, letting go of Paul’s arm.
Paul nodded reluctantly, “Well, let’s get close as we can then.” The group worked their way closer and positioned themselves right behind Danny and his thugs, everyone vying for a space to see in the circular culvert.
Garrett’s heart beat against his chest. No more running, no more standing by and letting it happen – letting Jack happen. Win or lose, this was going to end now. “Jack?” he said in a low voice, barely audible above the roar of water.
“You say something, chickenshit?”
“I truly hope you can swim these currents in the dark.”
&nbs
p; Jack turned to his brother and laughed.
Danny and his crew started laughing.
Those with flashlights shined them toward the two boys as they squared off. He really wished Bre and Lenny weren’t watching, but it hardly mattered now. His back was to the river, and his only way forward was through Jack.
The corner of Jack’s lip curled as he sloshed forward and threw his famous roundhouse punch.
Garrett watched the sweeping roundhouse coming at his jawline with a strange detachment. Almost like the punch was not coming at his face but at someone else’s, and he was just an onlooker like everyone else. Then, suddenly his focus changed, and the trail appeared, blocking out his vision as an intense pressure began to slowly build from somewhere deep in his head. The world slowed around him as time passed at a different pace in his mind.
Just like with the three concrete blocks during his test. It was as if he had all the time in the world and a fist weren’t on a bone-cracking collision course with his face. Garrett found himself in a slowed moment of time, contemplating the many ways he could counter the punch.
Everyone watching wouldn’t understand why Jack was throwing a slow-motion punch, nor why Garrett was just standing there.
As the punch closed in, two things occurred to Garrett. The first was that he had somehow found the focus again and slowed time around him, at least slowed Jack.
The second thing that occurred to Garrett was that he didn’t want to beat Jack with the magic stuff from the God Stones. He wanted to do this on his own, with his own abilities. He shook his head no and mouthed the words, “Not like this, Lenny.”
Then he heard Breanne’s voice, full of panic, but it was slowed too. Not as slow as Jack’s fist but slower than normal. “What’s he saying, Lenny?!”