The plane was away being fixed, and the remaining equipment that was left aboard was being repaired back at the laboratory.
The island was still fantastic, and Parker felt more relaxed. This time they at least never had all the problems of being stuck there, and they had enough food, supplies, clothes, camping gear, and all the other needs that they wanted. And there was even a suggestion that they may be able clear up some of the mysterious events, and find the answer to all the unsolved riddles that had accumulated.
It was late in the even, and getting dark – and they camped at the same site.
What Parker, Brydon, or Carlton never got was why they had so much equipment and supplies. Most of it was not even needed. And there were no clues to what they intended to do.
Their only hope was to question them, or just wait.
Chapter 13
The Beach
The pictorial wild panorama spectacle of the beach, with its rugged golden sand shoreline, was outstanding from the upper level of the beach, behind the palm trees. The coast was as if it had been frozen in time since prehistoric times, and he recalled why he had wanted to be paleontologist and archeologist. It conjured up visions of an original primitive world, with its astounding untouched magnitude.
Parker continued to view it, from the edge of the beach, beneath the light blue sky, while resting against a palm tree.
Waves splashed against the plane, resting on the ocean, as it reflected beams of sunlight, and weird aromas blew in from the depths of the interior of the island. They had a scent that reminded him of volcanic sulfur, as though it had come from some vents coming out of the mountain.
Carlton shifted along over to him, while swatting away some insects that pestered him, and he stopped in front of him, and Parker felt the cool morning gust blow against his face.
A fresh salty seaweed scent fragranced the air.
“These guys just will not answer any queries!”
“It could be because they normally use another language from us,” Parker replied, annoyed.
“Or they have a custom not to ...”
“Well, what have they got hidden then. Perhaps that will give us something to go on …”
“I have seen something!”
“What?” he asked instantly, feeling there may be something, from his tone.
“They have long ropes with them.”
“Ropes! What could they be for – I wonder?”
“I’ll leave it open – for you to figure out.”
“It is all these events, and these guys going to such limits to achieve some goal!”
“There has to money behind it. Brydon thinks so too!”
“Perhaps someone wants something, and is willing to pay for it.”
“Even so why all the men?” Carlton said, examining the gunmen, further up the beach. “They are hardly there just to force us into giving them what they want, or to visit old war ruins on an island …”
“I was thinking they could be also an illegal gang – with competitors – and, perhaps, just playing safe or something!”
Chapter 14
Back to the Ruins
The intense colors of the sun blazing down, and the jungle about Parker, turned the world about him into a tropical wonderland.
He examined Gorman and his soldiers, all in jungle warfare soldier gear, cutting their way through the jungle, with large machetes, and realized that the agreement between them and him would last.
They made mistakes, and even if he decided not to try to escape for the moment, he thought that they could make some form of mistake, which could be of danger to all of them. But what they might do wrong he was not quite sure of at the moment.
Their vicious use of machetes, and forced way, instead of going through empty regions of jungle was confusing – as he had gone through the empty regions of the jungle the first time without even hardly thinking the matter over. However, perhaps, there was a hidden reason, and that whatever their goal was it was better for them to explore these regions than avoid them.
He had suggested that they should go around them, and they had ignored it.
All the words that they had said echoed through his mind, as the ruins of the structure emerged between the trees. And on the approach to the structure, the hot sun appeared through the above branches, and the depth of the undergrowth, and thickness of the surrounding trees decreased, causing them to relax.
They were soon able to get a proper look at it before they reached it, and Gorman stopped them, and considered it, with his men.
It was an ancient World War Two small concrete Japanese army building, hidden away in the island jungle.
Then their rhythmically crunching on through layers of undergrowth began again, until they arrived at it.
The door to it was still shut, as Brydon had left it, and they shoved it – and its heavy, solid, wooden frame firmly slid open – and once in they shut it behind them.
It was empty but for rotting vegetation, and, at the side there were small heavy stone steps descending below.
“Parker let’s check this underground chamber then,” Gorman confirmed, not waiting any longer, moving to the steps. “The rest of you stay here!”
Parker swiftly followed.
They marched down, and then through the tunnel. And at the glowing rock, Parker stopped to watch Gorman examine it.
And as he confirmed that it was what he wanted, and took a sample, Parker gasped thinking of its power, and what affect it would have if it ignited in the tunnel. It would be equivalent to being blasted out of a massive gun.
However, Gorman’s attitude started to grab his attention more and more, and confused him. It was clearly not what they were really there for!
Chapter 15
The Journey into the Island
The abominable journey went on and on, and it caused Parker to grit his jaws, and regularly wipe his brow, from the intense heat built up in the jungle region.
Though the direction that he was being taken in was only towards the cavity, they were being taken to another region further out than the direct course that they had gone to.
They had a rough map, drawn by one of the gunmen on the plane – which they had decided to go to already on the plane.
When the edge of the cavity emerged along the end of the trees, he lay his startled glare anxiously on it, and to a region that they were marching to – and as they moved up close, they raced more.
From the edge of the cavity cliff, which went down for more than a thousand feet, he stopped to rest, with the others, and examined the immense cavity with interest, and as a scientist and archeologist.
The other view that they had seen further along had not had a proper view, and this one was startling, and he even was glad that he had come, and endured the hideous trek.
Brydon and Carlton moved in, and sat at his sides, examining it all about it, at different angles.
“Well will I say it first,” Brydon spoke, first. “Just for the history books! If this happens to go that far ...”
It was clear to Parker, and he nodded in agreement.
“This is not a normal crater! This is not a volcanic crater …”
“This is one of those immense meteorite craters!” Carlton replied.
“Yes! Great!”
Parker smiled at Carlton’s joke.
“What are we going to call it then?” Parker asked firmly.
“What about Brydon Point?” Carlton joked.
Brydon coughed, with embarrassment, and quickly replied: “We better leave that for the moment. This island may not be as uncharted as you consider it …”
Brydon pointed over at Gorman holding out and examining the scroll, which he had shown them at the hotel restaurant, which had the island clearly mapped on it.
“This crater is strange!” Parker finally stated, as he examined it in more and more detail.
Chapter 16
Into the Crater
Parker looked straight down th
e perpendicular cliff, as he descended, into a cloud of radiance, amidst the abyss under him, and he kicked his foot into a small ledge of rock.
He glanced up at Gorman, Brydon and Carlton just above him, and the others above them, at the top of the cliff, and Parker continued to unleash the rope away.
Faint sounds of heavy breathing could be heard from Brydon above, as he gasped for air.
What were they doing here? Why had these guys forced them down the cliff?
He climbed endlessly downwards, dangling over an obscurity, at the bottom, with expectations of plunging down.
Glances of the shadowy shapes of the men appeared above, against changing shades of the sky, as they vigorously shifted further and further down the foundations, of the ancient structure.
The structure captivated him though, as he examined it more. It was tremendous! He had no idea that a meteorite could have such power! The force must have been more powerful than a tremendous amount of atomic bombs!
The sheer cut in the rock was staggering, and he had a hard time accepting it was real. Surely this was caused by the collapsing in of the original outer shell!
In fact, he could not remember any going down to such a depth!
Perhaps the length of the meteorite upwards had been vast, and had been made of entirely of heavy solid iron.
However, he was starting to think that it could have been made of some unknown substance.
Perhaps even a miniature sun – with a density beyond anything found.
By earlier frantic reactions, of Gorman, he sensed that they believed that something was actually beneath him. Although by the way that they had described something there made it too unacceptable to him to believe fully. In vivid detail they had also detailed something of extraordinary value somewhere out there.
His mind conjured up vague visions of ancient lost ancient treasure, buried away.
Debris showered him from overhead, as someone dramatically moved.
He speculated over why he was forced down first. He had not climbed much. Yet he sensed that they had checked him out, and had taken from somewhere that he had mountain climbed. Perhaps taken from a magazine review that he had once done where he had exaggerated his abilities in it.
He sensed and knew that Brydon and Carlton had done some, but they copied and followed him down, anyway.
At the bottom, the rope started to jerk wildly, and oscillate above, and he moved fast down until he landed.
A surge of blackness engulfed him as turned around to face the cliff, at the side of him.
A small cave was there, and he watched a spot of light in it, reflected there.
A surge of water splashed down further away, to his side, from a small waterfall pouring down from an above stream. Its turmoil went out into the jungle.
The jungle covered the entire area at his front, further out from the cliff.
He felt himself fall sideways, and balanced himself upright again, while releasing the rope from him.
After resting, he cleaned away dirt from his face, and grabbed his bag, fixed at his side; then fumbled through his pocket, and removed some food.
A cloud of dust sprayed down, through the warm air, as Brydon rushed down to the ground, and Parker moved away from it, from his eyes.
While he walked away, his hand rhythmically caressed the edges of the cliff, as he wondered what had caused it to be so firmly cut – as though by shear force.
Vague sounds came through the stone in hollow surges.
Voices made surreal echoes, from above, as they mingled with each other.
With some amusement he watched the figures of Gorman and his men up above, dangling back and forth, and he realized that he could escape.
However, since they had actually given just about everything that they wanted, they had not been that concerned about them escaping. They had got the location of the island, and they had the location that they were looking for.
Not only that there was the problem of them being marooned there, and nobody knowing where they were.
He moved out into the outer fringes of the jungle, considering the problem. If they actually left them on the island, when they finished, it would be a serious mistake. They could be trapped in the cavity perpetually. Its walls were immense and perpendicular!
If they intended to leave them there – then there would not be anything that they could do, anyway – they were trapped.
However, there was a possibility that they needed them for something else. However, on the other hand, there was also the possibility that they may kill them at the end of this episode. They may find whatever it was that they wanted, and just to be safe dispose of them then!
He was confused, and he realized Brydon was the same.
Dampness across the stone at his front had large strange insects scurrying about on it, feeling their heavy movements, and he studied them – in amazement. They were strange, and he had never seen anything like them before.
They surely were designed and adapted to another environment.
They even looked to him as if they had trouble breathing air, and that they had problems with their weight. As though they were now far heavier, and trying to adapt.
Part II
The Crater
Chapter 17
The Crater
At the front of him, the cliff went along until it went out of sight, and a dim rectangle shape came into his sight, as he walked along.
His fingertips were blindly caressing the rough stone, through thick webs and dirt, and he shoved his hands away, in the dim light there, and crumbling bits of gray rot fell about to the ground.
His mind gradually grasping its hideous outline, and he moved away, as he jerked his hand further away – conclusively knowing what he was fumbling through. It was an open-mouth skeleton with a rusted knife embedded its chest.
It was incredible to him that such a thing could have been there, and left there for such a length of time, without it being taken away. The place must be the most desolate place on the planet!
“It’s clearly of another era!” Carlton stated, moving in behind him, with Brydon behind him.
“But was it a savage that roamed this place?” Parker asked.
“Perhaps even a cannibal – and original habitant!”
“Yet why has it got an early 20th century knife stuck in it?” Brydon asked.
“So it has!” Carlton replied, realizing that he had missed it.
“It also looks the same age as that guy’s scroll map of this place,” Parker continued.
While the others descended down the cliff, they examined it and their newly found surroundings.
Once Gorman had made it down, he came over to them, and they showed it to them.
Parker argued with himself over how much they should go along with them. Should he take the philosophy and procedure of the more that they helped them the better it would be for them, and quicker that they found what they were looking for the more better it would be.
Gorman looked at the skeleton with disgust, and then as if they had put it there – which amused Carlton – perhaps wondering if he thought that they had carried it there, hidden in their stuff.
He snorted loudly out his nose and was going to march away, back to where he had been.
“I thought you were searching for something and wanted us to help you?” Parker asked.
“We do!”
“Well surely this must be a clue or something. There could hardly been anyone else down here … It proves there is something of value here anyway. People don’t get killed over nothing!”
“You have a point. And we are surely on the right trail.”
A sudden hostile shriek of something strange appeared for a moment in the distance, but it was too vague for any proper identification.
They stared at each other for a moment, and Parker noticed that Gorman and his men looked worried about it.
Chapter 18
Tropical Wonderland
In the
ground below the skeleton Parker spotted a rusted piece of metal and rummaged through pieces of twigs and muck, and yanked it out of the ground.
He cleared the muck off it, and then saw that it was an old rusted metal tag, with a piece of chain on it.
It clearly was Japanese, and had belonged to a soldier. Perhaps during the war in the Pacific, in the previous century, from what he could make out.
He thought of calling Gorman over but he realized that would be a mistake.
Then he started to watch Brydon, standing away from them, observing Gorman and his men, with a worried glare.
Parker’s first wondered why were they all so heavily armed!
They captivated him, as he stood amid the shades of the trees. Even though their figures were distant, their antics gave away their decisiveness to do something.
They polished and played with their weapons, and mentally prepared themselves.
The colors from the sun had been blazing near the skyline, and the bright celestial objects had radiated in the dark blue sky, and his surroundings resembled a tropical wonderland.
A distant sound pulled him back to reality, and the situation.
Were they better off making their escape? But they would be trapped here – on this island – and perhaps in this crater.
However, this time, the full situation shocked him.
The men were shifting about aggressively – obviously from the danger from something – from a hidden enemy, getting at them.
A deep blast, from a gun, came as one fired at something just ahead of them, and they all started to get ready to be attacked.
From Beyond Reality (Novelette) Page 4