Timelock

by R. G. Knighton

  Cowering in terror as this giant of a man closed in to study him; Henry retched from the smell of his breath, rank from sour beer and tooth decay. It was obvious that the chief had just eaten as greasy wet food stains on his beard shone in the firelight.

  Firstly the chief pinched and pulled at Henry’s cheeks with his calloused fingers, and Henry physically jerked when the chief ripped open his denim shirt, exposing his lean torso. The fascinated villagers watched silently as the chief kneeled down and smelled Henry’s skin and looked puzzled at the shower gel fragrance. Hugging him tight in his huge bear-like arms he pressed his ear to Henry’s chest. Henry squirmed from the itchiness of the beard as the chief listened to his rapid heartbeat. Eventually the chief stood up, roaring with laughter giving off huge plumes of vapour as warm expelled breath mixed with the cold night air. Henry had not eaten since breakfast and the smell of roasting meat had made his stomach rumble. Everybody laughed as the chief turned around, rubbing his huge belly and pointing at Henry. Almost passing out in terror, Henry now believed the chief was about to kill him and roast his body over a campfire to feed his village. Looking around for possible means of escape, Henry could see it was useless as he was completely surrounded and would not get further than fifty feet before being captured. When the laughter ceased the chief bellowed an announcement to his people and they all cheered in reply. Turning to one of his aides standing nearby, the chief beckoned for the man to come closer. After a short exchange of grunts, the man removed his own necklace of animal teeth, giving it to the chief before returning to his place with the others. The chief, in turn summoned the lead Druid who came forwards and graciously accepted the necklace, bowing deeply in gratitude as he obsequiously reversed back into place.

  Out of nowhere, dozens of flaming torches passed around the men of the village and without instruction everyone headed for the main gate of the compound with Henry and the Druids bringing up the rear. The mass of people congregated at the entrance and a long narrow procession slowly oozed through the gateway and wound its way along the path, heading back towards the site of the bone outlined pentagram to the accompanying beat of animal skin drums and the cry of 'Amon Ra' resonating through the thick forest.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Tyler, Chelsea, and Carl crept along the dimly lit corridors, successfully avoiding the security patrols that were blissfully ignorant of any incursion. The guard whose job it was to watch the television monitors connected to security cameras positioned around campus, reclined in his chair, feet up on the desk flicking through a girly magazine that had been thoughtfully left by the guard from the previous shift.

  The trio successfully unlocked, passed through and relocked the door to the repository without being seen and they proceeded down the stone steps to the now well-lit lower floor. They found Professor Appleyard and Mary already there along with a sickly looking George holding a bloodied rag gingerly to his gashed forehead. He was trying not very successfully to staunch the flow of blood that was already soaking into the cloth.

  ‘Oh my God, what happened?”

  Exclaimed Tyler, turning pale from the sight of George’s blood.

  (He would have probably died of shock if he had opened his eyes and seen the carnage when he took a shower with that morning)

  George attempted to stand up and reply, only to be held down and chastened by Mary who fussed about him with a first aid kit she had retrieved from one of the laboratories upstairs.

  “Don’t talk George, you’ve told us already and I’m sure the professor will fill in all the details to the others while I patch you up, Won’t you professor?”

  Mary aimed her last comment in the professor’s direction and he looked up from his work and nodded in agreement. Mary returned to her task in hand as she unwrapped the cellophane from a sterile bandage retrieved from the first aid kit.

  “Press on harder George, You won’t stop the bleeding if you don’t press harder or you’ll have to go to casualty for stitches!”

  Mary removed Georges' hand and firmly pressed a wound dressing onto the damaged area, ignoring George’s yelps of pain. She expertly wound the bandage around his forehead, holding the loose end and the pad in one hand while unwinding the white binding with the other before securing the lot together with sticking plaster that she had already attached to the back of her wrist.

  “There you go George, good as new.”

  Mary announced as she kissed her fingers then lightly touched the bandage on the site of George’s injury. George blushed at the affectionate gesture, mumbling his thanks as he returned to the task in hand.

  Attention now focused on the professor as he filled in the details of how George received his injury and Henrys plight. When he had finished, Mary had packed up the first aid kit and rejoined the astonished group.

  Tyler broke the short silence, his stomach had settled and he cleared his throat.

  “Ok professor, how do we get Henry back?”

  His positive assertion did little to enforce his inward belief. He had little faith in the doddering old man.

  Professor Appleyard sat down and looked at all the hopeful faces,

  ‘I’m sorry but I really don’t know.”

  This dampened everyone’s spirits and a further silence ensued. George finally regained his senses and exclaimed,

  “The book!”

  Everyone looked around at George as he carefully stood up while holding his head and began searching through the piles of books that had been previously tidied and stacked on the table. When he found it he began to explain.

  “Henry found a book this afternoon, it’s full of Druid chants and spells, perhaps we can repeat the experiment using a different incantation and hopefully reach him.”

  Everyone crowded around George as he opened the large handwritten tome and eagerly scanned the pages in hope of finding something useful. Hope faded rapidly, ending in bitter disappointment as the chants bore no apparent bearing to their current predicament.

  “What about the rest of us?”

  Carl asked; still concerned about the entity he carried.

  “What about the rest of us?”

  Replied Mary quizzically, her attention suddenly taken from the task in hand as she stared at Carl.

  “The entities; the professor says that we probably all carry them and they must be put back.”

  Tyler stood up and began to yell at Carl.

  “You Bastard Barker, self, self, self, that’s all you ever care about. Henry is missing, possibly for good and all you’re concerned about is your own self preservation, you make me sick.”

  Almost everyone agreed with Tyler and berated Carl with an assortment of Anglo-Saxon insults except the professor who waved his hands trying to break up the squabble. He finally got everyone’s attention by picking up the book of spells, raising it to chest height and dropping it flat onto the tabletop with a resounding bang, bringing a stunned silence and full attention.

  “I believe Mr Barker is correct.”

  The professor immediately raised his hands to quell the abuse that now focused his way and he had to shout over the din.

  “Let me explain, first, Henry is missing and hopefully still alive but lost and we haven’t any idea how to locate him. Second the rest of you and possibly Miss Palmer still carry the lost souls of victims of sudden violent death and I believe these entities must be returned at all costs. This hopefully will rebalance the equilibrium between our time and the other side and will maybe return Henry in the process.

  Everyone calmed down and reluctantly agreed that this was the best way forwards, within five minutes the equipment was primed and ready. George, Carl, Tyler, and Mary resumed their places at each point of the pentagram, leaving Henrys empty. Chelsea volunteered to take the spare place, stepping forwards to the last remaining point. Seeing as nobody complained the professor switched on the Geiger counter, video camera, Reel-to-Reel tape recorder and checked for a nominal reading on the display of the oscilloscope that wa
s attached to infrared security sensors aimed across the centre of the pentagram. Finally, two full length mirrors were placed perpendicular to the floor exactly facing each other across the perimeter of the newly drawn pentagram. Each mirror stood on top of a powerful electromagnet creating a charged field around each one, the idea being that when a lost soul, attracted to the pagan chant passed from one mirror to the other the electromagnetic field would hold them in place for examination.

  Professor Appleyard checked the equipment for a third time before being finally satisfied that the setup was complete.

  “Is everyone ready?”

  He announced, looking at each member in turn and receiving a nod of nervous compliance from all the anxious faces. The professor began by reciting several verses of incantations from his notes while walking around the outer perimeter of the pentagram finally returning to his original position to monitor the equipment.

  “Amon Ra, Amon Ra,”

  He chanted, encouraging the others to join in. Mary, Carl, George, and Tyler began, followed sheepishly by Chelsea until everyone chanted in unison.

  The professor could hardly contain his excitement at the culmination of twenty-five years of wondering whether he would live long enough to complete his theory, and now it was finally here.

  “Amon Ra, Amon Ra, Amon Ra.”

  They all chanted over and over again and after five minutes apathy was beginning to show from Chelsea when suddenly the Geiger counter burst into life as a column of green light slowly rose from the floor in the middle of the group. The higher it grew the faster the counter clicked and a pulse appeared across the screen of the oscilloscope triggered by sensors being interrupted by an unseen force.

  ‘It’s happening!”

  Shrieked the professor over the noise,

  “Change the chant, Amon Ra rise, Amon Ra rise.”

  Everyone followed suit and the tower of swirling light widened, pulled apart by the electromagnets placed under the two vertical facing mirrors that the professor had just switched on. A sudden chill fell on the gathering as the temperature dropped ten degrees and a gust of wind encircled the group tossing around any loose papers and dust.

  Around the campus and for nearly a mile in all directions, televisions crackled and fizzed, lights dimmed and other electrical equipment faded before returning to normal as though some huge drain was temporarily put upon the system for a few seconds. At the control centre for the national grid the alarm sounded as a massive drain of power ensued, but as people jumped to their feet to induce emergency backup; the needles on the displays returned to normal leaving puzzled technicians scratching their heads in wonder at what had just happened.

  Back in the book vault the electromagnets began to pull the glowing column apart until it filled the gap between the two mirrors. The clicks from the Geiger counter increased in rapidity beyond normal hearing, blurring into one long whine before the professor turned it off, as it was no longer needed. Everyone gasped as the mist across the glowing green screen cleared away, giving them all a fuzzy picture of dozens of people walking aimlessly from one mirror to the other. They were all different, from all walks of life, some young some old, even infants carried by angels. Their clothing revealed many different periods of history and locations of the world ranging from an Aztec sacrifice to modern army soldiers all lost in this timeless realm seeking progression towards their allotted fate. The professor adjusted the electrical resistance to the magnets until he was satisfied they matched the same frequency George said he used for the first time. Steadily the lost souls faded and disappeared leaving behind the single image of a naked woman kneeling on top of a low, white stone altar with her hands tied securely behind her back. Sobbing pitifully, she watched wild eyed in terror as a man in Druids attire walked into view and stood facing her. The mainly unseen crowd continued to chant with their own words as he accepted their adulation.

  “That’s the man we saw!”

  Chelsea squealed, pointing animatedly at the Druid. The picture faded as she forgot to maintain her chant but with a cry of

  “Amon Ra rise, Amon Ra rise,”

  The image soon cleared again much to everyone’s relief. The professor adjusted the electromagnets to full capacity, locking the image and allowing everyone to stop the chant and they all stood silent in wonder at the scene as it unfolded before them.

  The Druid held a golden sickle in his left hand and menacingly circled the woman facing her at all times while jabbering in a language only a select few could understand. Slashing the sickle through the air, he scared the filthy children that had worked their way to the front of the watching group. Finally he stopped and frenzied cheers rang out as he held the sickle aloft and turned to grab a handful of the poor wretch’s hair which he violently yanked back, lifting her head to expose her filthy tear stained terrified face to the eager crowd. She began to plead for her life but before the words left her mouth the Druid scythed across the taut flesh of the woman’s throat almost severing her head in one swift stroke. Only the spinal column remained intact which was soon detached as he sawed the curved blade back and forth in a semicircular movement until beheading was complete. Jets of hot blood sprayed high into the air, showering down on the Druid and dyeing his white robes crimson as he completed his grisly task. Finally, he lifted her head in triumph and the avid crowd cheered wildly as they watched the collapsed body roll from the altar into a puddle of its own blood splashing some of it right through the void and onto Tyler jeans causing him to gag; but he manfully held it together and swallowed back the bile as it rose into the back of his mouth.

  The crowd roared as the jubilant Druid turned as he held the severed head aloft allowing everyone to see the grimace of pain frozen on the dead woman’s face. The macabre spectacle continued with the Druid dripping what remained of her blood onto the upturned faces of the children when Henry suddenly came into view. Pushed by an unseen hand he tripped over the twitching headless corpse and fell face down into the still warm congealing blood. The Druid laughed and Mary screamed with what everyone believed to be shock but turned out to be delight at Henry’s plight. The Druid impaled the severed head onto a tall wooden spike that had been set in the ground just for the purpose, and the woman’s face watched blindly on as the crowd bayed for more slaughter. The gathering gasped in horror as the Druid grabbed the collar of Henry’s shirt and pulled him up onto his knees. Henry’s face was completely coated with the dead woman’s blood and as he tried to focus on the event it ran into his eyes momentarily blinding him to his fate.

  Women screamed and men reached for a weapon when from out of nowhere the professor unexpectedly appeared, pushed away the astonished Druid, and grabbed Henry by the arm. The Druid missed the professor by a hair’s breadth as he slashed his golden sickle through the air and chipped the tip of the blade on the altar stone as he followed through.

  “Quickly Henry, come with me.”

  The professor shouted over the din. Henry instantly recognised the old man’s voice and did not need to be asked twice. Guiding the still blinded student almost back to the portal, the professor slipped over into the wet mud, taking Henry with him. As they both got to their knees and before they could stand again, the chief ran in from the crowd, completely blocking the way. Confident that there was now no escape, the villagers stood and watched as the man raised his sword aloft in both hands and waited for approval from the head Druid to cleave the intruder in two. The professor could see the portal agonisingly close through the chief’s massive legs before craning his neck in order to look up at this giant of a man who waited to deliver the killer blow. Cowering in terror, the professor turned to Henry and whispered,

  “I’m very sorry, I did my best.”

  They both prayed silently to their own gods and waited for the fatal strike; but nothing happened. Instead, the chief let out a mighty roar, dropped his sword dangerously close to Henry’s head and then fell to his knees clutching his groin with both hands. Behind him appeared the g
rinning face of George who had crept through unnoticed, swung his size eleven foot through the chief’s legs and planted the toe of his shoe squarely into the chief’s unprotected scrotum. In the confusion that followed George grabbed Henry and the professor, pushed them through the portal then turned to see the advancing horde running to the aid of the chief before diving headlong through his self.

  Collapsing on the floor, the professor and Henry were helped to their feet and they turned back to see George diving towards them when suddenly the portal collapsed.

  “Where’s George?”

  Screamed Mary as the two mud and blood covered men staggered to their feet helped by Tyler and Carl. No one had an answer until the professor recovering with the aid of another nitroglycerine pill placed under his tongue, stood up and began to prepare the equipment for another attempt. Realising what he was doing the rest of the gang did what they could until all was ready to try again. Everything was repeated exactly as before and the cry of Amon Ra echoed through the vault once more. Ten minutes passed by, but there was still no sign of the portal and the professor checked and rechecked the equipment as the chant ensued. Another ten minutes passed then twenty and when they passed the forty five minute mark, it was obvious it was a failure.