by William King
“No, that is not true. Without you, I would have never had Alexander and Charlotte Kingsley as my parents, or become the man who I am today. I would not have ever experienced life, love, sorrow, or laughter. I will never regret what you have given me, no matter what the outcome shall be. My experience of life is worth all that,
and more.”
“Mason, I can never express what you truly mean to me with words. I have lived with a tormented soul for millennia’s, and now I can leave you at last with peace in my heart. Goodbye my son, I can never return, but I will be as near or as far as your thoughts.”
I awakened from my dream feeling the warmth of my tears running down my face, and could not help from noticing the faint familiar smell of roses, and I knew then that she had always been with me, and I had never been alone. I slipped out of the warmth of my sleeping bag, and once to my feet something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I glanced over to see what had caught my attention and noticed Elizabeth tossing and turning within her own sleeping bag. I watched in silence as the flames from the campfire encircled the glowing logs as a giant anaconda would wrap around its pray, silently and with insurmountable strength.
I shook my head and rubbed my eyes to regain focus because I could not believe what I was seeing, and when I opened them, I saw a monstrous anaconda devouring Elizabeth’s body, sleeping bag and all. I screamed out “No. this cannot be happening,” at the top of my lungs, which then echoed vigilantly through the canyon.
I was petrified with fear, and thought that this was just that evil bitch Bastelet playing one of her tricks, yet it was happening right before my eyes. The enormous reptile wasted no time in achieving its objective, all the while eyeing me with a mocking laughter. All that I could do was watch, as my body was frozen with fear, I could not move a muscle even though the sight of Elizabeth being consumed by this enormous reptile pained me dearly, until the last of her body had been engulfed by the giant serpent.
However, I was instantaneously released from the serpents grasp when it spoke to me in Elizabeth’s voice.
“Mason my dear, why do you look upon me with so much unpleasantness?”
I could not stand to hear the serpent’s hideous voice, which grew louder and vibrated the earth beneath my feet. I quickly grabbed a half burning log from the fire and hurled it at the monstrous serpent with an inner strength that could only be matched by a well-trained athlete. I knew that the burning log had hit its target even though my eyes were tightly shut at the time with fear. The massive serpent went right up in flames, and as it burned, the serpent spoke to me. I tried my best to block out what the serpent was saying, but it was no use. I could not block out a single word that came from its mouth. I will always hear those hideous words that it spoke to me, “Mason, you have destroyed me. You have killed me with your own two hands.”
I felt my knees weaken then finally give way, and I fell to the ground. The only thing that I could do is lay on the ground motionless, filled with fear, unable to take my eyes off the burning reptile. Its body looked as if it was an enormous redwood on fire when I suddenly heard the serpent’s pleas for help, but in Elizabeth’s voice say, “Mason Williams, you have killed me.” Then suddenly, I lost consciousness, and everything went black.
I do not know how much time had lapsed within my unconscious state of being, but when I awakened from my blackout, Elizabeth was still in her sleeping bag just as she had been before this horrific scene had taken place. I swiftly walked over to her, wondering how all this was even possible, and if it had only happened in my own tormented mind? I was more than willing to believe that it had when my eyes caught a glimpse of something that caught my curiosity, and as I walked over to examine what it was. I was shocked to realize that it was the burnt remains of the lower half of the reptile’s jawbone, which seemed to be snarling back at me.
Confused and filled with fear, I wondered how could Elizabeth still be alive, and still within her sleeping bag? I saw her being consumed by the giant serpent. So how in God’s name did Elizabeth escape the snakes grasp unharmed, let alone the scorching heat from the fire? What kept Elizabeth from being burnt to death along with the serpent? The only conclusion that I could come up with was, it must have been that evil bitch Bastelet. Other than that, I had no answers, nor did I believe that I ever would.
I noticed Elizabeth beginning to move around within her sleeping bag, awakening from her night’s sleep while I fought to gain control of my emotions, and what I had just witnessed. How could I possibly explain this to Elizabeth? Nonetheless, I was positive that even with the evidence that I had of the massive reptiles jawbone, the things that I would have to explain to Elizabeth would be preposterous, and unbelievable to her.
I was expecting a battle of the minds, but I was totally unprepared for this kind of deception. Elizabeth, now fully awake had listened to my horrid story in complete silence, giving me her complete and total attention as I tried to explain the strange and bizarre turn of events that had just occurred a couple of hours before she had awakened. She looked at me in total disbelief, and there was no mistaking the pity in her voice when she finally spoke.
“Mason you have got to understand how hard all this is for me to imagine. I just cannot comprehend how in God’s name this could be possible since I neither felt or heard a thing out of the ordinary.”
“Elizabeth, I realize how preposterous this all sounds, but maybe this will help convince you that I am telling you the truth.”
I held out my hand and produced the only tangible piece of evidence that I had to offer. Elizabeth’s fingers touched my palm as they wrapped around the burnt unfamiliar object. Her eyes consumed all that she saw with a thirst that seemed almost never to be quenched as she asked, “Mason, where did you get this?”
“Elizabeth, I found it over beside the fire after I had regained conciseness. I am afraid that is all that is left of the enormous reptile in the way of evidence.”
“Mason, so far these supernatural forces, or whatever they are have picked the battle grounds. I think starting today, we pick the next one. We are moving to a new camp location this instance.”
We gathered and packed all of our belongings and prepared them for the move. Dawn had broken through the clouds bringing with it a renewed faith, although I knew it was only a superficial moment of peace, as the clouds moved back in with rapid speed, and as pictorial as they were they could only be described in only one way, Sinister. They gave the appearance of a dark grey smoke that swirled within the sky, promising more torrential rains. The air held a sharp chill that bit into our faces and hands. Elizabeth and I were packed in what seemed to be no time at all and began our move to the opposite side of the mountain, and into the familiar circle. I wanted to share Elizabeth’s feelings of serenity about the circle, but each time I tried, I fell short of enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.
By the time Elizabeth and I had reached the circle, the sky had darkened tremendously, making us believe that there was a tropical storm building. However, we were not offered the luxury of any more thought about the matter, for at that particular moment the heavens decided to open up in a torrential down poor, catching the both of us off guard. Our tent that had not yet been anchored down blew into the brush, and all of our belongings were exposed to the elements. The winds grew stronger as we struggled to subdue what was left of our tent. It was all we had left to keep us from being drenched. Not a single dry thread was left on our bodies once we were finally able to crawl inside our only means of shelter. Once inside, all we could do was try to stay warm and wait out the storm, which raged on for six grueling hours.
When the storm presided, Elizabeth and I managed to scrounge up just enough dry branches to build us a fire so we could warm up our chilled bodies, dry out our wet clothes, and warm up some canned food to eat. I managed a weak smile as I asked, “Well Elizabeth, do you still feel this is a safer location?”
We both started laughing, not hysterically, but with warm
and lighthearted laughter, as two mischievous young children might do.
“Mason, do you want to return to the cave?”
“Elizabeth, are you kidding me, heck no. I would not have missed this for anything. It is just another one of Bastelet’s cheap tricks to break our spirit.”
No sooner than I had finished my sentence, Bastelet’s evil laughter could once again be heard echoing through the canyon walls, across the entire island. Her laughter grew to a tremendous pitch, piercing our ears with such force that it caused us physical pain, mentally and physically exhausting us. Darkness had fell upon the island by the time Bastelet’s hideous laughter vanished, and nothing but silence could be heard all across the Devil’s Island. Being so exhausted the silence put us both at ease, and we drifted off to sleep. I awakened to a sound that made my blood turn cold. I strained to listen to see if I could make it out, but could only hear a shuffling sound, and then a strange screech that was oddly familiar.
I rolled over, put my hand on her sleeping bag, and found it empty. I quickly got up and stumbled out of the tent. The site I saw was devastating. Elizabeth was turned upon her stomach and held by the sharp talons of an enormous owl, which had to of stood at least thirteen feet tall. The owl had buried its talons deep into her sides. I screamed out at the top of my lungs in an attempt to cause a diversion, but got no response. Therefore, I pulled up a metal tent stake from the ground and began to stab the owl with all my might until it finally loosened its deadly grip on Elizabeth. The owl screeched in annoyance at the thought of losing its prey. It jumped backwards a few feet flapping its gargantuan wings back and forth as though it was preparing for a fight. The next thing I knew I felt a sharp pain in my side, as its sharp talons pierced my side. I lashed out stabbing the enormous owl in the neck, and it fell to the ground.
I must have passed out from the pain, but for how long I do not remember. When I came to I saw Elizabeth still lying on her stomach in a pool of her own blood, and there was no signs of the enormous owl. I tried to stand up, but could not know matter how hard I tried so I sat back down. I tried again and still could not get to a standing position. Therefore, I turned and crawled over to Elizabeth and somehow managed to roll her over on her back. A sign of relief came over me as she was still alive, but just barely. Her breathing was shallow from the tremendous loss of blood. I knew that I had to act quickly if I wanted to save her life. Therefore, I crawled on my hands and knees back to the tent and grabbed a pillow, her sleeping bag, and the first aid kit.
I washed and poured alcohol on Elizabeth’s wounds then bandaged them up. I unzipped the sleeping bag and placed it beside her body and rolled her over onto it, then zipped it back up to get some warmth back into her cold lifeless body. I could do no more except wait and see if she would ever come to, only time would tell.
I must have fallen asleep beside her after caring for my own wounds as I was drained of all energy myself from the dreadful encounter. I awakened several hours later to the sound of Elizabeth moaning. I looked over at her and closely listened to her breathing, getting much deeper and steadier. Somehow, I knew that she would survive her horrific wounds, and they would eventually heal. However, she was going to have some battle scares to show for it, and the mental scars will never heal.
I dragged my aching body over to the dying fire and within minutes had enough small branches piled on to restart the flames. Once the fire was going good, I put the kettle over the fire to boil some water to make some chicken noodle soup, hoping that once Elizabeth came too, she would eat it to regain her strength. I started to take off her bandages so I could change them and clean her wounds and Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked up at me.
“Glad to see you awake. I was starting to worry about you. How do you feel? Do you remember anything that happened? I would like to hear about it once you are feeling up to it.”
“Maybe later,” was her only reply before closing her eyes, as if sleep were the only important thing to do, or her only escape from reality. However, she did need the rest so her body could heal itself as quickly as possible. Elizabeth and I did not have the luxury of time, as time was not one our side. I sat beside the fire watching, as the sun peaked over the crest of the mountain, giving the appearance of a circle, and we were locked inside. I knew somehow with dawn came light, and somehow we would be safe, at least for a while. I looked around the confines of the circle, the same circle in which Elizabeth believed would keep us safe for the night, and where did that get her. I already knew the truth, but she would not admit it, not even to herself. There was no place on the planet that we could go to be safe from Bastelet, the Princess of Darkness.
All this time, I was trying to fool myself, thinking that once daybreak hit, the light would somehow bring us safety, but I could no longer convince myself that it actually did, for it seemed as if evil was drawn to us no matter where we went, what time of day it was, or if the sky was filled with darkness or the light of day.
All that I could do now is wait patiently for Elizabeth to recover. Therefore, I sat back and dazed into the sky, soaking the suns warm rays up like a reptile would to gain its strength. The weariness of the past few days had taken its toll, and my body needed the nourishment that only the sun could provide. I felt myself slipping away into what I hoped to be a peaceful state of tranquility, as my mind was like a classroom blackboard that had been wiped clean, erasing all thoughts that had previously been there.
I awakened sometime later to find the sun’s rays and its warmth being blocked by a dark grey cloud, and the fire nothing but a smoldering pile of ash. Therefore, I got up and began to gather more firewood, which would be needed for the night’s fire in order to keep us warm during the coldest part of the night, once darkness fell upon the island once again. Although I made a bunch of noise dropping the firewood next to the fire, Elizabeth slept on undisturbed through the entire day. I felt alone even though Elizabeth was there physically. I had no one to talk to, making the day seem to drag on forever. I hopped that her physical state would heal, but if she did not get the proper nourishment, that would never happen, as her wounds were severe. Elizabeth seemed to be in good condition, although her mental state was another matter. Either way, sleep would be the only way to help her recover, as I had done everything within my power to help her. Hopefully, by the time she wakes up Elizabeth would either forget what had happened to her, or at least come to terms with the nightmare that had occurred.
I sat there beside her throughout the day, wondering if she was going to be all right, as I watched the rise and fall of her chest as she peacefully slept. I did not know why, but for some horrifying reason it had brought back some haunting memories of the time when my parents suffered an agonizing death at the hands of that evil bitch Bastelet, and was helpless to do anything about it. There was no way in hell that I was going to let that happen to Elizabeth, a woman that I have only known for a short while, but somehow fallen in love with. I would give my life for her. Unfortunately, I admitted only part of the truth, as her real misfortune was in the choice of persons that she chose to love, which was me.
Night was already covering the island in a blanket of darkness, causing unfamiliar shadows to dance in an obscure way. I could not relax, jumping at every sound that I heard, and wondering what the darkness had in store for Elizabeth and I. I laid there and prayed that Bastelet would leave us alone tonight as Elizabeth slept in peace, and managed to fall asleep.
Somewhere along the way, my subconscious mind awakened, and I now felt very strange within my own body, as if it did not belong to me. In fact, it seemed as if I was watching it from aside, as I walked down a dimly lit path. I had just enough light to see the fog swirling around my feet after every step I took. I was obviously going somewhere, but where I did not know. I had the awful feeling that I did not want to be there, while it seemed I had no choice in the matter. I had no control over my own two feet and limbs, as I just could not come up with enough strength to turn myself around.
> The fog seemed so dense around my feet that it felt as if I was walking on a cloud, and could, at any time fall through to an untimely death. Still I continued on walking, and up ahead where tiny shimmering lights that resembled stars. It surely seemed that I would never reach my destination, but as I came to rest upon a fluffy white cloud. I wondered if I was being guided on a journey through Heaven, or was I just having another hellish nightmare. There was a blanket of stars above me along with the magnificent Milky Way, which was a lot brighter and clearer than I could have ever imagined, reminding me of a crystal spiral staircase just waiting for someone of great importance to come and grace its beauty for the final crowning touch.
There was no one to be seen. Not one single person, but a voice spoke out to me saying, “Keep your faith Mason, and I will show you the way, but lose your faith and your fear will imprison you with sudden death.”
I yelled out, “Who are you, and what do you expect from me?”
“Who I am is of no importance to you. The two of us are merely strangers, yet our paths have been destined to cross for millennia’s, and I shall one day open the door of truth for you, but for now may Gods guardian angels always be with you. May they protect and guide you until you find your way back home.”
I called out, who are you once again, but got only silence in return. I started back to camp, more confused than ever when I realized that I had made this journey once before, though when or why I did not know. I only knew that by following the paths that were being laid out to me within my dreams that maybe I would find the knowledge of a long forgotten past that would lead me to the last puzzle piece.