The Time Stone

by Jeffrey Estrella

  “Who are you and what are you doing here?” They grabbed one another and wrestled around twirling about in a series of revered dances as Drax got up leading his half-dazed group of companions back to the bikes.

  “Come on” he beckoned and they managed to overturn one of the hovering motorcycles seeing the others were damaged beyond hope. All five led by Drax squeezed together onto the hovering motorcycle and took off towards the mountain range nearby leaving the two beasts locked in mortal combat snarling at one another.

  As they drove off, Drax asked “where did you learn to fight? I went to the best schools of the west.”

  “In college with my ex-boyfriend mostly” said Tina.

  “I took self-defense classes at the Y” shrugged Mercedes.

  “I learned to fight in the streets” said James.

  “We should keep practicing” said Drax.

  Drax led the team on the hovering motorcycle barely touching the ground because of the extra weight as they approached the mountain quarry.

  “We’re not going to make it” screamed Tina “it’s too heavy.”

  “Where there’s a will there’s a way!” Exclaimed Drax as he pressed a few buttons on the hovering motorcycles and held the handle bars tightly, “we can jettison the fuel and accelerate for a quick boost up the mountainside using the stone as leverage for the bike’s hover coils I think but if we miss our mark we will fall to our deaths.”

  “Let’s hope the timing is right” said Tina.

  “Hmm” Muttered Drax. And with that Drax unlocked the handle bars and disengaged them then pressed a pair of red buttons on the inside component of the handle bars then pulled up as a large exhaust emitted from the tail end of the bike sending them soaring up the side of the mountain quarry and up the mountain. As they approached the summit several miles into the air, they were close to a ledge on the mountainside near a cave and stopped in mid hover right below the ledge. “Engine is being pushed to the limit and burning out, we can’t scale the cliff.” Drax screamed. “Brace yourselves for fall impact.”

  “Not yet” said James as he waved his right hand down underneath the bike as it started to fall and it then lifted upward slowly towards the ledge and leveled out on the precipice.

  “Close one” said Mercedes.

  “Bike’s dead” said Drax as he dismounted with his group and pulled out his handheld scanner. “There appears to be a large energy signature nearby. Oh, we’re in luck. It’s the Time Stone.”

  They prepared to enter the cave when suddenly a large flapping sound disturbed them and as they turned they saw Satyr fluttering up into the sky above them seriously hurt and bleeding. He did not notice them and kept going. There was no sign of the other creature.

  “What do you think happened to him?” Tina asked.

  “We’ll have to worry about that later. Let’s go.” They entered the cave and Drax hit a button on his scanner activating a flashlight that flooded the cave with light. The cave entered into a four walled room with pictures on the wall. It was damp and cold, a silhouette of hidden shadows over smooth stonework and artificial alters and tables scattered throughout along with drawings and pictographs on the walls of various ancient Egyptian and prehistoric hieroglyphics. Jenny’s eyes widened as she saw the colorful array painted there.

  “This is incredible. I never thought I would see something like this.” She wandered through the halls of lavishly colored painted tapestries and artifacts of gold and silver, vases, necklaces, and headwear.

  “We could enjoy this” said Tina picking up some of the jewelry.

  “I don’t think so” said Jenny brushing off a part of the wall with some text on it. They were all shocked at the sight of gold items and a seven foot tall gilded sarcophagus with a high relief image of a pharaoh amongst the artifacts of high relief gold staffs, pots, and scimitars, and jewels.

  “Whoa” said Tina.

  “This is interesting” said Jenny.

  “What?” Tina asked.

  “It’s nothing, I think. I barely understand this stuff, only the basics. I think this is an old Aramaic code.” Jenny added.

  “Let me see” said Drax, “it is but it’s in some type of code. ‘The Lion’s Den Raises Fire in the Winter Solstice’.”

  “Something about a creature from hell when it freezes over” joked Tina.

  “I am pretty good at cracking codes” said Jenny. “Let me see, let me see…” she uttered slowly while looking around the room and saw the various pictures of people, animals, places, and saw a marking depicting a legend like a map with a strange character and then saw one on each side of the room they entered. “Mr. Drax. Is that what I think it is?” Asked Jenny.

  “Those are map coordinate locators,” Drax replied. “North, East, South, and West” he turned his light to them all in turn.

  “Interesting. The directions of the four parts of the Earth were considered by some cultures as reflective of the four elements of nature, Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire” said Jenny.

  “But also the four seasons,” said Drax, “Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.”

  “So which one is the winter solstice?” Asked Mercedes.

  “West?!?” Questioned Drax.

  “No, its north. I am positive. The directional legend is inverted slightly.” Jenny walked over to the symbol for North and noticed the wall had breakings around the symbol like a button on a keyboard. She pushed the wall inward pressing the button and the room suddenly erupted in light as flames began to combust in the empty vases around the room.

  “Cool” said Tina, “Jenny, you are brilliant.”

  “Well, I grew up in the hood and had plenty of time for reading…” Jenny started with a small smirk when suddenly as they stood before the north wall; the wall gave way splitting apart leading towards another room where a small and narrow wooden bridge spanned the distance over a large ravine with a pedestal on the other side holding a shining object in the distance. “I think that’s it… ‘the eye of the gods’” said Jenny with widened eyes of enthusiasm.

  “The Time Stone!” Said Drax smiling.

  “James can you lure it here with your powers” asked Tina.

  James waved his hands but nothing happened.

  “I can’t affect living things. Maybe it’s alive,” he said.

  “Or maybe it’s too far away.” Added Drax.

  The five started across the bridge slowly together led by Jenny.

  “It feels like we’re tightrope walking” said Tina with a laugh.

  “Watch it. We got to be very cautious not to overturn this bridge. It looks very old.” Said Mercedes as the bridge wobbled back and forth over the endless dark apparently bottomless cavern before them.

  “Jenny,” said Drax. “You never told us what you were doing looking for the ‘eye of the gods’.”

  “I was sent by government officials who wanted it. I was told Egypt was the last place it was found in.”

  “They weren’t by any chance related to a company called Temporo, Inc.?” Drax asked.

  “How did you know?” Jenny replied.

  “Lucky guess.” Drax said nodding with sarcasm in his voice.

  “They funded my research grant,” Jenny said, “a man named Staffnight who seemed almost desperate to find this ancient relic that only existed in fables. I didn’t understand at the time. Now I do.”

  “There was a reason you said you didn’t think we should take the items in the room, what was it?” Asked Tina.

  “I think I saw something about a curse on the wall text but I am not sure. I heard ancient structures usually were associated with acts of misfortune for whoever desecrates it, tomb robbers and so forth.” Jenny said.

  “I don’t believe in curses” said Drax.

  They made it across and all stepped off the bridge and onto the platform surrounding a circular alter with writing in old language similar to the writing in the old caverns. The item embedded in the center of the alter was a large circular metal enc
asement and within that was a small item that was familiar to them all, the green emerald they all knew as the Time Stone.

  “Yes we found it” said Drax.

  “Thank God.” Said Mercedes.

  “Now we use it to return back to 2012.” Said James.

  “Yes” Drax reaches for it and stops himself as he reads the text below and his eyes widened with disbelief.

  “What does it say?” Asks Mercedes.

  “Um, it basically says there was a powerful group in the deep past that came from another galaxy, a union of thirteen races, aliens from different worlds joined under one banner or group. They gained a thoroughly mastered knowledge of everything in the universe including the meaning and essence of time itself. They had an artifact that represented the full might of their divine collective abilities and had it stored away to keep it safe from their enemies.”

  “Remember James, Alexa said the ancestors told of legends of sky watchers, sky gods, or what was the word she used…?” Asked Tina.

  “Pregivers”, said James, “it’s tied to this holder of stones prophecy.”

  “The Pregivers?” Drax said to himself.

  “Oh my… It was… oh my God.” “What is it?” Asked Tina.

  “I think these are the beings that created the Time Stone. The originators. It was said they would return someday as they had died out long ago but time is the answer to fulfill their long lost history and destiny combined into one. These Pregivers created the Time Stone and were the first to wield its power and use it.” Said Drax shocked. “That is new.”

  “Deep” said James. “But we should skip the history lesson and get with the goods” James smirked as he reached out and lifted the Time Stone off of its pedestal and Tina grabbed it from him with a smirk. As she did, the entire ground they stood on started to shake with the bridge wobbling uncontrollably. “What’s going on?” Asked James yelling over the roar in the chamber. They stood in shock and gasped as flaming lava started to rise to their level from the depths below and towers of fire emerged from the lava lake that now surrounded them.

  “Run” screamed Jenny as she led them back across the bridge. They ran across the bridge and barely made it before it was consumed by the rising lava lake having stopped at the edge of the stone platform they made it to. Then out of the flames, a form emerged that fully appeared hovering above them, a large dragon whose wings were flapping above them sounding like thunder and whose roar and breath of fire seared the air before them like the brimstone of hell. Sweating profusely in the intense heat they froze in horror at the site of the great beast. James and Tina looked at one another.

  “That looks like the one we saw in the cave in Brazil” she screamed.

  “I remember” James bellowed as he noticed the same metal plate on its underbelly with the five orbs glowing bright red like before. “It’s the guardian.” James yelled. The beast did not introduce itself this time but roared and breathed a huge trail of flames in their direction. James yelled “run” and they headed out of the chamber back into the prior room before them, all but Jenny who was toasted and vaporized by the flames. Her piercing screams were the last the remaining quartet heard of her as they ran into the next room.

  “Activate it” said Drax.

  “I am trying” said James as he held the Time Stone out and up above his head, and turned it, the five orbs in its center glowing brightly with a spike of energy emanating from it like a star as a stream of yellow energy emerged from the device and created the glowing fissure of the temporal wormhole before them.

  Drax screamed, “ladies first” and Tina ran in yelling.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice” and was quickly followed by Mercedes as they were transformed into balls of light once within two feet of the entryway and sucked in. Drax followed in as the dragon flew into the room and was prepared to fire another burst. James jumped in as well just as the burst of flames flooded the room charring the pictorial alters and stone walls. The fissure faded once having absorbed them all.

  “By the grace of God we made it” said Mercedes.

  “Where or when are we?” Asked Tina as the foursome found themselves in a room with gilded adornments and velvet silk laden linings. A central chair sat in the pinnacle of the room resembling a royal throne with symbols and writing all over the walls.

  “Is this King Arthur’s Court?” Asked James.

  “No, it’s an ancient Egyptian pharaoh chamber” said Drax looking about at the symbols. “I think we’re still in ancient Egypt just far from the mountains.” Then suddenly a group of men entered with spears and dressed in Egyptian ifd worn like kilts folded into layers and draping down into various streams, belts and sashes spread over them adorning the wearers. They were led by a man with a long striped headdress and gilded adornments who commanded their loyalty and attention. Being held at spear point by the men yelling in ancient Egyptian dialects, the foursome raised their arms in the air. An old man entered and spoke in ancient Egyptian dialect.

  “I am Saragin, high priest of the pharaoh to be.”

  “Greetings. We are travelers from far away” said Drax in the same ancient early Egyptian dialect. “We have come here from a great distance. We mean you no harm.”

  “There was harm in the village earlier today, men of great magic killed many people and some escaped. The wife of one of my soldiers also vanished. A mystery killer threatens the royal pharaoh to be, an assassination of imperative portends to destroy the incarnate spirit of the gods divine.” “The threat has been neutralized. The men of great magic are no more a threat to your pharaoh to be. His spirit body will remain free in this world and the next.”

  “That is the word of the gods indeed, the true key to salvation will be written amongst those who follow the path of light, the true home of all of those in time.” He said with a nod and a faint smile and turns without a word beckoning with his arms to the leader of the soldiers who yells and orders them and they stand at attention and hold their spears upright and marched out of the room single file.

  “What was that about?” Asked Tina as they all lowered their arms.

  “The pharaoh to be was threatened and I put their minds at ease.” Replied Drax. “It is a very simple belief structure about the literal living dead, the spirit of the pharaoh moving on in all lives preceding and succeeding this one. Any outside influences are seen as magic or influential. Doing my line of work, cultural sensitivities are of paramount importance and now as we continue on our journeys in time, you all must understand that as well.”

  “What is going to happen to the village? The people?” Asked Mercedes.

  “There will be lots of strife, civil war, famine, drought, many conquests including the reunification of two lands, but all in all it turns out as it does in all history. Our purpose shouldn’t be to judge or impose our ideals but to try to learn and simply exist with others in harmony. Those are ideals the machination never cherishes.”

  “Yeah and Jenny?” Asked Tina sadly.

  “I didn’t tell them about Jenny. God rest her soul.”

  “Yeah too bad. Couldn’t we reverse time to save her or something?” Asked Tina.

  “Time is tricky. We couldn’t change what was meant to be and even if we could, the chances of success are slim. We must move on for all our sakes.” Drax spoke philosophically.

  “Indeed” said James nodding thinking of the mushroom cloud in his vision.

  “We did make a profound discovery. At least we know more about the creators of the Time Stone. I wonder if there is more information on them somewhere. But we should get back. Time is our oyster as long as we have this relic but we belong where we belong.” Said Drax.

  “So …?” Asked Mercedes.

  “So let’s go at it again. I think we are ready to move on but this time let’s all think positive thoughts about being thousands of years in the future.” Drax nodded as did his cohorts.