NICHOLAS PENN
SHANTAGO III:
The Rock of Tahguhl
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
SHANTAGO III: The Rock of Tahguhl
Copyright 2017 by Nicholas Penn
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Shantago III:The Rock of Tahguhl
Introduction
Ring of Fire
S.O.S
Hail to the Chief
Out of the Furnace
Sierra Hotel India Echo Lima Delta: Shield
No time to Oogle Ogle
T.B.A
Turned Inside Out
Never Trust a Toggle
Paul the Ball
Teamwork
Shantago III:The Rock of Tahguhl
The Tables have Turned
Unexpected Travelers
Just an old Memory
Doom! Doom! Doom!
Terror on the Waters
Octavious Branch
The Truth Exposed
World 8-4: The Rock of Tahguhl
And now, The End is Near
My Heart will go On and On
A Knight to Remember
Epilogue
Introduction
I am writing you this letter in search of closure. I know what you now think of me, and I am sorry for letting you down. Please forgive me for my naïve stupidity.
Certain circumstances that are out of my control have opened new doors in my life. Did you know that humans only use about 9 percent of their brains on a daily basis? What if I was suddenly gifted with more? What would the consequences be?
Let me explain. For some strange reason, I now know what lies ahead–yes, the future. Time regularly shows up in my thoughts. In my mind, I find it hard to know what is the past, the present, or the future. Quite frequently my visions won’t let me rest or sleep, and I’m haunted night and day because of it, almost to the brink of insanity.
I’m taking what I now know of what is yet to be. I have written a letter, in your name, to give to the original toggle killers. Please share it with them when the time is right. I know that doesn’t make any sense right now, but when have I ever made much sense to anyone?
I know if I give you this letter today, you will simply discard it like trash, toss it aside. In the future, on the other hand, you will appreciate it. That’s the funny thing about time and presentation. I hope this read finds you well.
May you soon find peace in this tumultuous and disturbing time. I’m writing this letter to give witness of our past–the good and the bad, our accomplishments, and our failures. Do you remember a much simpler time when life was easy? I do. When the only thing that you needed to worry about was how to have fun, and your biggest headache involved such things as Nintendo Voodoo. Life was elementary, uncomplicated, and much happier when I was growing up. I miss those days of yesteryear, especially when family gathered around for the holidays, and there was joy and merriment amongst brethren.
I’ve tried to pinpoint exactly when the world stopped smiling. As best as I can recall, it was the year of our Lord 1992. That’s when the truth was first exposed. That’s when the world started to get darker.
I’m not saying that toggles first arrived the same year; in fact I would suggest that they’ve graced this sweet land for many generations now. It was 1992 when we, the original three, first discovered those ravenous monsters.
I was stuck somewhere between a boy and a man when we first experienced the truth. At first we didn’t know exactly what to make of it, so after some careful consideration, and much trial and error, we decided to write everything down. We thought by doing this, it would allow us to see the mistakes that were made, and somehow later fix all of our misinterpreted and ineffective years.
We were just young kids who didn’t know exactly what we were dealing with. We had limited capabilities at first. The old saying, “flying by the seat of your pants” comes to mind. We didn’t have a clue on how to defeat those monsters, but we studied them, and by doing so, we grew stronger and more confident in our fighting skills. Did we miss a few things along the way? I’m sure of it. Heck, we probably forgot more than we wrote down back then.
Think about a time, if at all possible, when there was no Internet, smart phones, or any of today’s modern amenities. All that we had was pencil and paper to work with; but I guess that’s still better than chisel and stone. We did the best that we could at logging all of the information we’d discovered. The problem was, I fear–our best just wasn’t good enough…
I can safely say that we’ve all come a long way in battling those repulsive little creatures. Starting out, we only found a few things that would hurt, destroy, or stun a toggle. Since we had a budget less than zero back in the day, all the answers to our questions came via home remedies.
The most effective deterrent was of course, toggle dust. The ingredients will remain a secret; mainly because they are too gruesome to mention. We found that sprinkling a little bit of that magic dust could melt away almost all of the little toggles, but not so much the sizable ones. All the mystical powder seemed to do was infuriate the bigger, meaner toggles.
As silly as it sounds, spitting on toggles would stun them enough so that we could catch them. I’m not sure if it was the shock of the spit or the awe of the act, but spitting on them froze toggles right in their tracks. The fatter the loogey, the more paralyzed they became. That allowed us to trap and catch them with a snare method. We would also scoop up and bag those evil rapscallions after they played opossum. It wasn’t until our teen years that we discovered how to make a delucificator, also known to the toggle world as a vorpal sword.
The original three… where do I begin? Over the years we made so many discoveries, fought battles, and once even tried to reach a truce with the toggle king, Sebulbula Negassa. Of course that was long before the evil one affirmed his terrible reign over the toggle kingdom. Each one of us knew, deep down in our hearts, there would be a day of reckoning. Unfortunately for all of us, I fear that day has now come.
What can we do to rectify the situation? The short answer-absolutely nothing. We all knew that eventually they would get the best of us for all of the calamity and chaos we have caused. We tried to fight a good fight just because we wanted a better future for the next generation.
As the years passed on by, life happened. We all grew up and had families of our own. From time to time we would have to take matters into our own hands, but for the most part, we all lived a life that was free from those menacing monsters.
Why did we keep it a secret? Well we found out a long time ago that no one, I repeat no one, believed in the truth. We found it easier just to keep the truism to ourselves. We once tried to involve the authorities, and you can see where that got us––a little place called Splitsville, which caused the band to drift.
As I look back at our discovery I wondered, could we have done something more to have prevented today’s atrocity? I strongly feel that there is one who did in fact drop the ball. I fear that boy will never learn. I tried teaching him all he needed to know to survive in a world filled with monsters, but
somewhere along the way, I must have faltered. Trust me when I say, verity didn’t come easy to that one. I think today’s generation is lacking one thing: patience. I’ve always said that good things come to those who wait.
We’ve spent the last few years hiding in the shadows, exterminating certain problems when they arose, and trying to restore balance to this saddened world. I want the world to get back to a place that I once knew; before those monsters destroyed our innocence. We haven’t forgotten, I assure you of this. No, in fact, we too have made a solemn vow–and we plan to keep it.
This world was once a great place to live and we demand its retribution. We’ve lain low the last few years, hoping the problem would take care of itself. Now we must put an end to this madness, and stop the carnage before it destroys us all.
There are only a select few who know and believe. I say thank you to those who do battle and stand with a shield of honor. I just wish there were more like those who understood the importance of a free and peaceful world. It’s been too long and the people of today have forgotten what it’s like to be redeemed and delivered.
I say all of that to inform you of this: I am a vigilante, a toggle killer. I am one of the original three–a keeper of the truth, a knight for freedom, and a defender against all things that go bump in the night. I have a certain responsibility to the people of Willoughby Woods, and to the world, to see this through to the end.
I understand that it’s now time; time to get the band back together and go face-to-face with today’s gruesome reality. We were known back in the nineties as the TBA or the Toggle–Killers with Bodacious Attitudes. That was Aaron’s acronym and creation, not mine. I chuckle each time I think about it. Personally, I would like to change it at some point, but that’s yet to be announced.
The team has been dormant for way too long, and we’ve let the situation escalate–I fear, beyond our control. It’s now time to reunite the clique. We need to stand as one and fight the same. My wish, my hope, and my burning desire is that it’s not too late to make a difference in this grim and silent world.
Sincerely,
Togglekiller 1
Ring of Fire
I awoke in a room that was hotter than a devil’s hell. The once ice-cold interrogation room had now become a blistering hot box, and I feared it soon would be my final resting place. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I realized that I probably didn’t have much longer. The fervent heat seemed to escalate in the room once the glass broke away from the tiny window of the entrance door.
A loud explosion echoed in my ears, which sent shockwaves through the entire prison, and rocked the very foundation that I stood upon. The massive blast sent me staggering to my knees. Realizing the sudden impending doom that quickly drew near, I thought to myself, “Jordan, you need to pull it together.”
Handcuffed to a desk, my only lifeline would be a rescuer. Taking into consideration that no one besides the police knew my whereabouts, my salvation looked bleak. Besides, I was sure by now that even John Jamison laid victim to the awful attack I heard go down at the hands of the evil one and his minions.
While I lay there in agony, I couldn’t shake the single, powerful thought that was now consuming me, which was this: All broken hearts mend. I don’t know why this rationalization suddenly hit me the way that it had, and at this particular moment, but it all made sense now. I guessed it had a lot to do with death now staring at me, right in the face, but I finally realized this: everyone dies. No matter who you are, rich or poor, young or old, death is coming for you at some point. Death is a journey that we all must take, and it’s a part of life that we just cannot escape.
When my gramps died, I took it real hard. My father wasn’t around much when I was younger; he was always traveling, trying to make a living and provide for our family. My gramps had to pull double duty as a dad and a grandpa. Gramps always meant the world to me, and I hoped that he would live forever.
I couldn’t ever imagine not having Gramps around. It broke my heart the day he left this world, and it was something I hadn’t been able to shake until today. It took me some time to understand that. It’s time to let go.
The fiery ceiling tiles were now expanding because of the extreme heat that filled the room. One by one the tiles were popping off of their tracks and feverishly flying right at me. I had to time this perfectly or my skin would soon feel the burn. Dodging the falling fireballs proved to be a difficult task since I was still handcuffed to a table.
Smoke started filling the room and I had just minutes left, if not seconds. With the thought of mending broken hearts still flooding my mind, Piper’s accident came to the forefront. I’d already come to terms that there was nothing I could have done differently to save Piper from dying.
That’s when a thought hit me, and I was truly trying to convince myself of this: If I was meant to be with Piper, and live forever together in each other’s arms, then it would have happened, right? I sought a forever love, not a fleeting one. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved Piper, but she was gone now, and there was nothing I could do to bring her back.
I was occupied by the extreme rise in temperature and my nose was now dripping wet. I wasn’t sure if it was sweat or snot, but my nose was definitely running like an open faucet. The sweltering room conditions made me wonder if a heat stroke would be my demise.
Suddenly, an old memory resurfaced. Echoes of a past conversation with my gramps cousin immediately entered my thoughts. Recollecting the wonders of the Toggle Handbook, which was sitting just inches from my dripping-wet nose, I thought that perhaps there was still a chance I could bring Piper back.
I first wiped my runny nose, then tried to open the book, but to no avail. I’d forgotten about the locked clasp, which kept it from opening. With time running out, I needed to act swiftly if I wanted answers.
Bending over as far as I could to pull the Toggle Handbook closer, I took my teeth and turned the key to the left. After a few mouth-watering seconds, music began to play. Just as I felt satisfied at my last feat, a blazing ceiling tile fell onto the book, just inches in front of my face.
My pulse quickened. I instantly reacted by reaching for a cup Marlowe had left on the table. I doused the book with a cup of joe. Drat, the ceiling panel singed the edges, I thought as I started to dab away at the book’s corners. My new goal was to protect the magical book from any more unwanted falling asteroids.
I carefully opened the handbook towards the end, just like my gramps’ cousin suggested. After quickly flipping a few pages, I found what I was looking for. Written in blood, the passage read: After the rebellion, one can use the knowledge in this book to bring forth any soul which was taken. First, one must locate the Mystic Rock of Tahguhl, which has powers beyond recognition.
In the picture was a green boulder that sparkled brightly, like an emerald. There was also a gleaming portal, which I imagined connected this life to the next. Just looking at the drawing, one could see that this rock carried with it great force and mastery.
Ye must find the caves of Tahguhl, which are located past the eastern gates and hidden inside the Toggle Forest. Heed this warning: Deep inside of the forest and swamps lurks the great Indo-zilladile, a super-stroggle, which only has one thing on its demented mind; your extinction.
There was a hand-drawn map showing me my future destination. Ye must be in the presence of the Mystic Rock of Tahguhl, and speak these wondrous words; only then will the life portal be opened: ‘Seek ye now and forever ye shall seek, but bring forth ye loved one to the life portal and forever together ye shall be.’ Take heed! You should know, anyone who speaks these whimsical words while touching the rock and does not possess the qualities mentioned in this book will hastily die.
Closing the mystical book tight, I discovered that the room was now engulfed with a fervent fire and ash. It started with a ring of fire around the wall clock and was rapidly spreading. I tried breathing through my shirt to help mask and reduce the vapors, but I feared that it was now
checkmate for the good guy.
Fearing that my time was about to expire, I saw a shadowy figure appear through the busted window. Someone or something was approaching, and at a rapid pace. Grief and hope both filled my mind as this thought entered. Save me or kill me, I don’t care––just do it quickly.
S O S
At first I thought it was a man, perhaps a firefighter. However, the closer he came, the more I realized that it wasn’t so. With my heart pumping faster, my hope instantly turned to apprehension as I thought, Maybe it is a toggle after all, and the monster is coming to kill me.
I watched the door come crashing down with one swift kick. Flames and soot blanketed the room for many seconds. Once the dust settled, I wasn’t sure just what I was looking at. Here I was, face-to-face with a monster, and I was defenseless.
This being was dressed in solid black, much like a ninja, and he was all adorned in military tactical attire. It seemed like his outfit was made out of some type of new age cloth–shielded and padded. He also had on combat-style boots and protective gloves, I assumed flame retardant. His vest was filled with mesh pouches that carried rounds of ammo and grenades. He also had a patch stitched on his left shoulder that read: T.B.A. There’s no doubt about it, this guy was a true badass.
My only concern: is this friend or foe? The stranger wore a metal facade. The rumpled mask was definitely frightening enough, with a skull print on it. The facemask also had cutouts for eyes, which were bulging back at me. I could tell that the person behind the veil had lived a full life, and the wrinkles around his eyes told a deadly story. An apparatus around his mouth seemed to work as a filter of sorts, somewhat protecting him from the room’s smoky atmosphere.
Flames were about to reach my chair when the monster of a man hurled a mask at me and said, “Here, put this on.” I just stared at him in awe for a few seconds. When he spoke, his voice sounded very familiar. It was hard to place, since the cover he wore made him sound like he was speaking through an aluminum can. “I said put this on; we don’t have much time!” I held my hands up, which were still in handcuffs. The man rolled his eyes as I heard metal being sheared. “Now c’mon, let’s go, before we both fall into the lake of fire. And by the way, make sure you keep your facemask on the entire time; trust me when I say, it will save you if you do.” Securely fastening the irregular facemask, I followed the man out the door like a bat out of hell.
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