Land of Nod, The Artifact

by Gary Hoover

  Then another beetle emerged and followed the first . . . then another and another . . .

  Soon there were 20 or 30 very big beetles all marching in formation into the clearing.

  Jeff watched silently hoping they would get well out in front of him. He wanted to keep an eye on them. He was a good bit larger than them, but those pinchers looked like they could do some damage, and if they ganged up on him . . .

  Jeff had seen nature shows in which ants had taken down grasshoppers many times their size with some well coordinated teamwork. He shuddered at the thought.

  When the lead beetle was about 100 feet into the clearing, Jeff saw a large shadow pass over the line, then another.

  Jeff looked up to see what was causing the shadow, but the trees were blocking his view. He cautiously edged closer to the clearing.

  Holy . . .

  Circling the line of beetles were three huge . . . birds? They had wingspans of about 9 feet.

  There also seemed to be something unusual about their heads. Jeff squinted into the sun and saw that their heads didn‘t look like bird heads, but looked more like badger or weasel heads.

  The birds swooped and snatched beetles from the line. The formation scattered and some of the beetles headed back toward Jeff.

  Jeff began to panic.

  The beetles were running fast and erratically. They were going in all directions.

  Jeff started backing quickly away, but tried to keep a watch on as many of the beetles and birds as possible. Within seconds though, he had beetles in front of him, behind him and on all sides.

  Jeff saw one of the birds swoop down and snatch a beetle just at the tree line, but the birds didn’t seem to pursue the beetles beyond that line.

  After a few more minutes, the beetles that hadn’t been eaten found hiding places. The birds went off and out of sight, and the forest was calm again.

  Jeff stood for a few moments weighing his options and began to think this might be an example of discretion being the better part of valor.

  . . . He wasn’t sure what wetting his pants and crying like a little girl would have been the better part of.

  I think it’s time to go back and re-think this whole thing.

  He began re-tracing his steps to where he had dropped. He had paid close attention to the path he had taken and he had a good sense of direction.

  Crap!

  He thought he was headed in the right direction, but everything started to look the same.

  He began to panic.

  He was tempted to begin running, but he realized that would be very foolish. Instead, he continued slowly and methodically and tried to tell himself he had a clue where he was going.

  After about 5 minutes – that felt more like 20 – he could see the spot where he had landed.

  There it is!

  The rope was dangling down the side of the tree. Jeff followed the rope with his eyes and he could see it was hanging through a black circle in the sky.

  I wish I had thought this through a little better.

  He could climb most of the way by finding footholds on branches and using the rope to balance and guide himself. But there was a gap of at least ten feet from the top of the tree to the portal, and that would be a hard climb.

  Jeff was a good climber, but the rope was thin and not knotted.

  It would be tough.

  Just relax, take your time, Jeff told himself. I can lock off and take a break if I need to. I can just inch my way up if it’s too hard to do it all at once.

  His stomach turned over as he thought about himself hanging there . . . in the sky, far above the ground with nothing but rope. He felt sweat bead on his forehead even though the temperature was cool.

  He decided that the longer he thought about it, the harder it would be, so he grabbed the rope and began to make his way up the tree.

  He had the bat tucked under one arm, but quickly realized he couldn’t hold the bat and climb easily at the same time. He dropped the bat and watched it fall with some trepidation. The bat had given him some sense of comfort, but it was holding him back now.

  For a moment, he thought about his mom and how she wouldn’t be happy about replacing the bat, but then he wondered why his brain occupied itself with such mundane details when his very life might be in danger.

  He climbed quickly and within a relatively short time, he was nearing the top of the tree. He paused a moment to catch his breath. He had a good view of the portal now, and, as he looked at it, he saw something that made his face go white.

  The black circle seemed to be getting . . . SMALLER! Jeff squinted and tried to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, but the longer he looked, the surer he became that the portal seemed to be closing and tightening around the rope.

  The black circle was basically gone now and the rope seemed to just be hanging in the air.

  Jeff stared.

  He wasn’t sure what this meant, but he was getting very nervous. He hoped that, when he got to the end of the rope, he could coax the portal to open again . . . as he had opened it on the other end by breaking the plane.

  But he couldn’t be sure that would work.

  He continued to stare at the end of the rope – just hanging there.

  As he watched, he saw the end of the rope begin to . . . glow.

  . . . Then it began to spark.

  Jeff had an idea where this was headed, and he got a firm footing on a strong branch. No sooner had he done that than the rope fell and hung limply from his hand.

  He pulled the rope up and examined the end. It looked like it had been burned through.

  “Idiot!” Jeff said out loud.

  He hadn’t even thought about what would happen when the machine turned off. It had turned itself off before when he had left the office and then came back. It must only stay open for a limited time. Probably uses a lot of power so it has an automatic shut-off, Jeff thought.

  He dropped down and sat on the branch on which he had been standing.

  For a while, he just sat there and stared.

  But after a few minutes, he was shaken out of his daze by a long, eerie, moaning howl coming from somewhere in the forest.

  Chapter 11:

  Jeff paused about five feet from the ground. He scanned the ground for anything that might be moving. His stomach twisted as he remembered the ‘jellyfish’, and he twisted his head back to squint upward through the branches.

  Nothing . . .

  . . . At least nothing that he could recognize as dangerous.

  But what might be dangerous here?

  Were there plants that would come to life? Or maybe they just kill more mundanely by exuding toxins. . .

  He pulled his hand off of the branch and looked at it.

  He shivered and thought about the time his father told him: “There are very few things as frightening as the unknown.”

  I’ll go crazy if I imagine everything that could happen.

  He hopped onto the ground and snatched up his bat as quickly as he could manage. At least it gave him some sense of security. . . Hey, if I can imagine all types of irrational danger, I’ve got a right to put some irrational trust in a piece of aluminum, he reasoned.

  He scanned the forest. He couldn’t see anything other than trees and underbrush, but he could hear sounds. Insects? Birds? They didn’t quite sound like anything he had ever heard . . . but they didn’t sound particularly unusual either.

  . . . Like the sounds he’d expect in a forest, just a little . . . off.

  He began walking slowly, scanning everything around him obsessively.

  Where do I go from here?

  He didn’t have many choices. It was basically: a) Head into the forest to face God-knows-what.

  . . . Or . . .

  b) Head into the clearing to face God-knows-what.

  He decided on the clearing. He wasn’t sure if that was the wisest thing. After all, he’d be more exposed out there. He hoped he was too big for the “birds�
� to make a meal out of him . . . but he wasn’t sure.

  There were times, back home, when he had ‘hoped’ Alicia Keys would show up in his room - naked, bearing Ho-Ho’s and Vanilla coke - and offer to give him a back rub while she sang gently in his ear.

  That had never happened.

  . . . But he knew he’d feel more comfortable in the clearing than in the forest. He might have less cover in which to hide . . . but so would predators.

  It was a very strange and VERY uncomfortable feeling to have no idea where he fell on the food chain.

  Jeff stopped.

  There was a large hole, about 6 feet in diameter 10 feet ahead. He had the uncomfortable feeling it was a burrow of an . . . extremely large . . . animal of some sort.

  He considered moving away as quickly as possible, but his curiosity got the better of him. He kept his distance but stretched up on his toes to see if he could see anything in it.

  There was a flash of movement . . . And the next thing Jeff knew, an ENORMOUS snake was emerging from the hole. Its head was over 3 feet in diameter.

  Jeff jumped back, and adrenaline shot into his system. He took off at a run - faster than he ever knew he was capable.

  Over his shoulder, he saw the snake completely clear the hole. It was shorter than he would have imagined with its body about a third the length he would have expected from the size of its head.

  Also - and this was a detail that Jeff was too distracted to notice at that particular moment - it had three pairs of short, stubby, lizard-like legs. It moved like a snake, but the legs helped propel and steady it at certain points. Other times they tucked up and out of the way - like an alligator’s legs did when it swam.

  Jeff realized that it was gaining fast and he didn’t have a chance of out-running it. He had no choice but to try to fight and he realized the quicker and more forcefully he acted the better.

  He turned to face it, raised his bat - the snake was nearly on him. His arm tensed and he brought the bat down with all the force he could manage on the snake’s nose.

  The bat made contact with a satisfyingly powerful impact. The snake shook, lurched and backed off several feet, taken by surprise and, seemingly, slightly dazed.

  The two looked at each other.

  Jeff was trying to stay focused. He was breathing hard, and the exertion and adrenaline were giving him a feeling of light-headedness. Time seemed to slow down as each of them considered the other - both nearly motionless. Jeff was right at the edge of the clearing now, and he could see shadows of birds, but he tried not to let that distract him.

  Then the snake began to move. It moved its head to Jeff’s left, keeping a good distance this time. Jeff had the bat raised over his right shoulder in a batting stance, ready to swing, but not wanting to swing until the snake was in range. He kept his left shoulder pointed at the snake’s head focused intently on every move.

  The snake could move fast, but Jeff took some comfort in the idea that a baseball could also move pretty fast . . . and presented a much smaller target.

  . . . Though most baseballs lacked enormous fangs.

  The snake pulled back and then moved slowly around on Jeff’s right side. Jeff followed its movements keeping his left shoulder pointed at his target.

  The snake’s mouth was open slightly, and Jeff could see rows of hundreds of 6 inch long teeth. He grimaced as he imagined for a moment what would happen if those teeth sunk into his flesh.

  The snake moved back to the left. . .

  . . . Then the right. . .

  . . . Then left again. . .

  Then he LURCHED!

  Jeff acted instinctively as the snake came at him - extremely fast with mouth open.

  Jeff smashed him as hard as he could in the mouth and several teeth cracked as the bat struck them. Again the snake retreated . . . but only enough to get safely out of range.

  Jeff didn’t know how long he could keep this up. He already felt exhausted. It didn’t seem like he was doing much, but the adrenaline and hyper-focus really seemed to be wearing him out.

  He backed into the clearing, hoping that the snake might prefer the cover of the trees and not follow. Jeff tried not to get distracted with thoughts of what might be out in the clearing that would frighten the snake . . .

  The snake followed him into the field. It was holding back a little - apparently still feeling some pain from their last encounter - but it held within about 10 feet of Jeff.

  The dance started again.

  The snake moved slowly from one side to the other and Jeff matched each of his moves.

  Jeff began to try to steal quick glances to get a read of his options. He was afraid that if this became a marathon, the snake could easily outlast him. Jeff was on the verge of exhaustion, but the snake, while maybe in some pain, wasn’t exerting much energy at all.

  Jeff noted a few trees with low hanging branches that he thought he might be able to scale if he could knock the snake out or distract it.

  Can snakes climb trees?

  Can lizards climb trees?

  Could this . . . thing climb trees?

  I’d assume “yes” on all three counts.

  Jeff felt a wave of shear panic wash over him then quickly disappear as his mind stopped drifting and focused back on the urgent, immediate concern.

  The snake seemed to be more stationary than it had been. Jeff wondered if it realized time was on its side and there was no rush.

  Jeff felt his muscles start to relax for a moment, and he forced himself to snap back into focus.

  Fatigue and a sense of hopelessness were beginning to crowd out his sense of urgency.

  The snake reared back and prepared for another attack.

  . . . But the snake held.

  Jeff got a sudden sick feeling that the snake was afraid of something.

  . . . Something behind Jeff.

  A shadow fell over him, and before he could react, something grabbed him and jerked him violently backward.

  Chapter 12:

  It wasn’t a painful or tearing attack - as if something latched onto him with teeth or claws - more like something relatively soft had wrapped around and then pulled him – violently but without causing him any damage – away from the snake with a sudden acceleration.

  Jeff was now traveling backward at about 40 miles per hour. His heels skimmed the ground, bouncing as he went.

  Then Jeff heard something that seemed impossible.

  A girl’s voice.

  “Hang on kid. We got you.” she said.

  Jeff saw that the snake had gotten over its initial fear, and was in pursuit, but Jeff was moving away far faster than the snake could travel, so the distance between them was growing.

  Jeff craned his neck around, and saw that the girl had her arms wrapped around him. She was sitting in an open flying vehicle that was moving sideways as it hovered three feet above the ground. Jeff was pinned against the side of the car - held there by the firm grip the girl had on him.

  “Give us a minute to get far enough away,” she said, “and then we’ll stop so you can hop in.”

  “Thanks!” Jeff said. It seemed far too little, but he was at something of a loss for words at that moment.

  When there was a good, safe distance between them and the snake, they stopped and Jeff scrambled into the passenger compartment behind the two front seats. He now saw that the girl - actually ‘young woman’, an attractive 20ish year old - was in one of the left-front seat, and there was a boy - about Jeff’s age – to her right. The young woman had some sort of steering yoke in front of her, but the boy seemed to have a hand on the yoke and was steering from the passenger seat. Now that her hands were free, she took the controls back and then the vehicle lurched upward as the vehicle picked up some SERIOUS speed and put a very comfortable distance between them and the snake.

  “Give me a minute to find a good place to set down, so we can hear each other,” she shouted over her shoulder.

  Chapter 13:

 
After a very brief flight, the vehicle settled down on top of a rocky ledge.

  They were 200 feet above a fast moving stream, beyond that was a vast, rocky arid area that contrasted with the lushness of the forest they had just left.

  “Nahima,” the young woman introduced herself, “and this is my brother, Baldwin.”

  “Jeff.”

  “Did your mobile break down or something?” Nahima asked.

  By ‘mobile’, Jeff assumed she meant something similar to the flying vehicle they were in. It was a simple, open, four-seat vehicle with a minimal body, but it sure seemed to move.

  “That was UNTAMED!” Baldwin exclaimed. “I can’t imagine fighting a hexaserpent with a . . .metal club.”

  They seemed to both speak with a slight accent that Jeff couldn’t place - nothing dramatic, but some of their pronunciations seemed just sort of . . . off.

  He reached for Jeff’s bat. “May I?”

  “Sure.” Jeff tried not to look nervous as Baldwin examined his bat. He had no idea where he was or who these people were . . . or how this society treated crazy people. He decided it would be best to try to blend in . . . if possible . . . and find out as much as he could about where he was before letting on that he had come from a hole in the sky.

  He noticed that Nahima and Baldwin wore very simple, plain clothes. He didn’t imagine that his blue T-shirt looked particularly unusual, but he suspected his jeans . . . and sneakers looked very foreign to them.

  The bat was certainly something that Baldwin had never seen, and he studied it admiringly.

  “Of course given a choice between a hexaserpent and Nahima’s driving . . .”

  Nahima PUNCHED Baldwin on the shoulder before he could finish the thought.

  Jeff was reasonably sure it was a good natured punch . . . but it nearly knocked Baldwin out of his seat.

  “Owww. . .” Baldwin said smiling as he rubbed his arm. “Are you taking hormones or something? You punch way too hard for a girl.”

  She raised her fist again and Baldwin cringed.