Ancient Echoes

by Joanne Pence

  A cold breeze began with small gusts, but soon gathered strength. She stopped and listened. The desolation around her frightened her. The wind made the only sound. No triumphant hawk’s cry, no gentle chirps, not even an owl’s hoot was heard. Something ominous crept near, some essence that held an unknown terror.

  She had no weapon. The wind increased, and brush blew like straw.

  Something darted before her; a blur. She almost convinced herself that she had imagined it, but then she smelled the creature’s stink, the scent of decay. Of death.

  o0o

  Lionel slowed down Quade and Rachel as they hurried toward the pillars. Quade was convinced that if any of the others were alive, they would make their way there. The pillars offered, after all, the only gateway out of here, the only logical place to go. Rachel agreed, although Quade scared her. She sensed something about him that felt impure, evil almost. She ached at the loss of her friends. She even missed Brandi, poor silly Brandi, who once confessed that she only came on this field trip because she heard Devlin would be on it. Devlin never gave her a second glance. And he was gone, too. It was all too much.

  Lionel fell.

  “Please,” Rachel said, trying to help him up.

  He shoved her away. “I’m too tired. Get away from me!”

  Anger filled her. Her friends died out here, and this hot-shot professor was a fraud and a failure.

  Quade stepped up to Lionel and without expression clamped steel-like fingers onto Lionel’s shoulder and lifted. Lionel cried out, but the look on Quade’s face so frightened him, he quieted and began to walk once more without comment or complaint.

  o0o

  Tieg and Webber brandished their crossbows as they moved toward Michael, Jake, Brandi and Devlin. Gone were the villagers who had given them a shelter and food. These men were killers.

  “Jake’s been shot,” Michael said, turning his back on the two and winking at Jake. “He can’t walk, can barely stand. He needs help.”

  Jake crumpled to the ground on cue. Michael bent over, acting as if he were trying, but failing, to get Jake to his feet again.

  “Leave him!” Tieg ordered, marching forward. “I said, step back!” He reached out to pull Michael away.

  Michael kicked the crossbow from Tieg’s hand and as Tieg lunged for it, gave an uppercut to his jaw. He spun and kicked Webber in the stomach. Devlin immediately joined the fight, while Brandi cheered them on, once hitting Webber’s back with a rock when he stumbled too close to her. Webber and Tieg soon lay unconscious.

  o0o

  Charlotte scrambled back up the hillside, away from the scent of the beasts. As dangerous as the villagers were, the chimeras were worse. They were killing machines without reason. Her heart pounded and her legs quivered as she pushed herself beyond endurance. The rocky slope caused her to slip and fall, bruising her knees and scraping her hands. The wind kicked up, howling now. She felt like it held her back, blowing dust, grit, and her own hair over her eyes, making it hard to see.

  Up ahead, she heard a low rumbling growl. She stopped. A bear-like creature stepped into her line of sight. It, too, stopped and stared at her a long moment before it rose up on its hind legs with an earth-shaking roar.

  She had no way to fight it. She slowly backed away, but black, intelligent eyes watched her. At any moment, it would charge. She had seen what such beasts had done to Brian Cutter and Ted Bellows

  She refused to pull her gaze from the monster as she slowly backed away, smelling its musty, thick scent, hearing its heavy, raspy breathing as it watched her. It rolled its broad shoulders while its massive head swayed from side to side, readying itself to attack. She wasn’t about to give up. Not while she had hope. She couldn't outrun the beast. The mountain was steep, rocky, and dangerous. Loose rocks, earlier, had given way under her weight, and were even more likely to roll under the weight of the creature if it tried to follow. There was only one way out.

  She plunged down the hill, running, but soon lost her footing. She fell, slid and rolled, unable to stop herself.

  o0o

  Michael, Jake, Brandi and Devlin hurried toward the village because Tieg said the others were held captive there. As they reached the top of the cliff overlooking the village, Michael saw the mercenaries approach it. He motioned to the others to drop down and watch.

  o0o

  Derek Hammill took in the strange, archaic surroundings. He had learned that the bizarre men of this place were formidable foes. Also, something had gone wrong with the accuracy of their weapons that had his men spooked. “Some of them might be hiding here,” he said to his men. “Check the buildings.”

  “No need.” A voice came from back at the gate.

  Hammill and his men spun around to see Kohler, Olgerbee and Durham watching them.

  “You will find the buildings quite empty,” Kohler added.

  The two leaders each took the measure of the other. “It’s time to talk,” Derek Hammill shouted.

  “Speak your piece,” Kohler invited.

  “The woman, Charlotte Reed, is the best bet to get us, all of us, out of here. She also has, or can get, the book I want. We may need those friends of hers to force her to cooperate once we find her again.” He eyed Kohler. “I know you fellows also want to leave this place. Let’s discuss it. Maybe join forces.”

  Kohler shook his head indicating he had no interest in talking.

  “Wait, listen to them! Let’s work with them to find the woman and her friends. We need them!” Olgerbee’s voice rang out. “You know we can't do this on our own. We've tried everything over the years. Everything we could think of and then some! Time and again we've walked eastward until the soles of our shoes wore away, and instead of finding a big East coast city, we've only seen more empty land. The Atlantic itself was devoid of shipping. Then, when we turned back, in two days we were at the pillars! The same happened when we went west or south, even north.” He fought his growing fury. “Always, always, we returned to the pillars. The gateway. We couldn't escape them!”

  “We’ve tried other means as well, ungodly, demonic means, using the book,” Will Durham said. “But nothing worked.”

  “Let Charlotte Reed live, and whoever else she needs to help her,” Olgerbee cried. “Let her continue studying the book. It could mean freedom for all of us!”

  “He's right,” Hammill said. “We want the same thing. We don't have to fight.”

  “You say that pointing your weapons at us?” Kohler asked. “And look, we are unarmed.” He opened his arms wide.

  Hammill and his two men lowered their weapons. At that moment, Kohler shouted, “Now!” as he, Olgerbee, and Durham dove for cover.

  Distant arrows flew at the mercenaries from behind them. Three of the villagers had snuck in the back gate while Kohler kept the mercenaries' attention. But this time the mercenaries were ready for the speed and cunning of the villagers. At Kohler's shout, they hurled themselves out of the walkway, using the buildings for shelter and firing back in both directions.

  The villagers released their arrows with incredible speed, but arrows were nothing against rifles.

  o0o

  Michael nodded at the others who had watched the battle with him. All of them felt confident they had seen the last of the village men. Also, they knew the others weren’t captives in the village, but were out in the wilderness somewhere.

  They could only think of one place where they might be going.

  Chapter 65

  “THE PILLARS,” QUADE said as he looked at the sight in the distance. “We've made it.”

  Lionel and Rachel nearly cried with relief, emotionally and physically exhausted. They feared going closer to them, however. They feared leaving the heavily forested area that provided them some protection from the mercenaries, who most likely waited nearby for them.

  “Do you see the lights?” Quade asked Lionel, as cold and sanguine as ever.

  “Yes, but I don’t know what they’re telling me!” Lionel cried.r />
  “We need to get closer,” Quade said.

  “But we’ll be exposed! Please, let’s just wait here for the others. They've got to come here; this is the only logical place for them.” Lionel dropped to one knee, head bowed and chest heaving.

  Rachel took Lionel’s arm and tried to pull him to his feet. “Let me help you,” she said. He resisted.

  Quade nodded at her, surprised by her courage.

  “Please, Professor Rempart,” she pleaded, “won’t you try?”

  Lionel acquiesced and slowly stood. He and Rachel held each other as they walked toward the mound. Both blinked back tears as they listened for the sound of a rifle shot or the whistle of an arrow. They knew each step could be their last.

  Michael ran from the brush towards them. “Stop! Don’t go out there.” He relieved Rachel of Lionel. “The mercs will soon be at the pillars. We’ll have to be ready to face them.”

  He led them back to the sheltered area where Jake, Devlin and Brandi waited.

  “Devlin! You’re alive!” Rachel cried. To her surprise he opened his arms wide. She ran into them and he lifted her off the ground, hugging her just as tight as she did him.

  “Me, too!” Brandi said and joined the hug.

  “Wait!” Jake limped toward them. “Where’s Charlotte?”

  “We don’t know,” Rachel said. “The villagers caught us, but she managed to get away. We haven’t seen her since.”

  He stopped short at the news, his face ashen.

  Michael spotted a glint of light, sun bouncing off of metal, in the distance. “Down, everyone!” He shot toward the light.

  Jake flung himself backwards and felt a bullet pass by, missing him by inches. He saw one of the mercenaries duck behind a boulder. “I’ll be damned,” he muttered. “The mercs are already here!”

  Michael, Jake, and Devlin fired the HK-91s, thankful for the powerful weapons they'd found, weapons that provided their only chance of survival. Still, the mercs were not only well-armed, but well-trained. Michael and the others were forced to move back, away from the pillars, deeper and deeper into the forest.

  “Toss one of those rifles over here, Sheriff.”

  Jake spun around with a prayer of thanks at the familiar voice. Charlotte hid behind an outcrop. He saw the relieved smile on her face as she looked at him.

  He crawled to her, gave her one of the rifles, and a 30-round magazine. She was bruised, with dirt and scrapes on her hands, face, and clothes, and even her hair was full of leaves and brush, but he thought she had never looked more beautiful.

  “You’re wounded!” she cried.

  “I’ll be fine.” He started to show her how to release the safeties when she shook her head, and said simply, “Homeland Security training.”

  She joined the fight.

  They were forced to run, and at one point found themselves slipping and sliding down into a low-lying dry creek bed. They hid among the trees and shrubs near the creek as the mercs approached. At one point, the mercs were momentarily exposed.

  Only three were left—a surprising and heartening discovery.

  Michael circled around as the others held off the mercenaries with steady bursts of gunfire. He quickly became aware of the direction of the person giving orders, the one they needed to take out. With their leader gone the others might be less inclined to fight.

  He made his way behind Hammill. He positioned the gun to shoot just as gunfire from two other directions pinned him down. The mercs were protecting their leader. He spun and fired, even though he knew that would leave Hammill free to shoot him. A head shot stopped the one with a black mustache and goatee circling thick, purple lips.

  The Hammer smiled as he found Michael in his cross-hairs.

  Out of nowhere a bullet struck Hammill squarely in the heart, knocking him backwards. He looked down with shock and horror as his life’s blood spread over his chest. He lifted his eyes to the shooter and saw his totem, his lucky charm…the one he believed would free him from this place. In a sense she had. His last words were her name. “Charlotte Reed.”

  Charlotte dropped behind a boulder. Her heart pounded and her stomach threatened to empty. The man had killed her friends, had tried to kill her. Her revenge should have been sweet, except that she’d seen too much killing, too much death. Even for revenge, it was more than she could bear.

  “No!” Fish cried out in anguish seeing his leader fall. He spun and fired nonstop in Charlotte’s direction, his bullets bouncing harmlessly off the boulder protecting her, before shots from Michael, Jake, and Devlin’s rifles silenced him forever.

  As suddenly as it began, the shooting stopped.

  “If we're lucky, that’s the end of it,” Michael said. “If we're able to destroy what's keeping this world going, we'll be free of it.”

  “That’s kind of a big if,” Devlin murmured.

  “But we can concentrate now,” Charlotte said. “Finally our enemies, all of them, are gone.”

  Chapter 66

  MICHAEL’S GAZE DRIFTED over the survivors, his heart heavy. While Jake smeared some of the poultice Charlotte carried on his wound, the others sat and waited. They all needed to rest a moment, to somehow find the strength to regroup and overcome the emotional maelstrom of being stunned, sickened and horrified by all that had happened. The villagers had seemed ready to help them fight a common enemy, but then revealed themselves as monsters. The day had been a vision of the power of evil.

  At least no one had been lost when the mercs attacked. Still, he couldn't imagine what the students must be feeling and thinking with four members of their group gone. Too much death lurked here. Too much horror.

  “I’m ready to keep going,” Jake soon told them. The poultice already dulled some of the pain.

  "Why bother? It's hopeless," Devlin said. "I’ve traveled; I’ve tried to find help; nothing worked. No one is out there. We're stuck here just like those village men...until they all died."

  "It's not hopeless. I've been told there is a way," Michael said, "and that I'd recognize it. It's got to be near."

  Charlotte's gaze narrowed. "Who would say such a thing?"

  Michael looked ready to give a flippant answer, but then his shoulders sagged. He gazed at her, then at Jake, wondering how much they remembered of his tale of Mongolia. "Lady Hsieh. And I wasn't hallucinating. She’s real…except that she'd been dead for two thousand years."

  "Oh, boy," Jake muttered. "Now it's Chinese ghosts. The more the merrier."

  “Ghosts?” Quade asked.

  “An immortal being, created by her own alchemy,” Michael said. "She lived for over two thousand years stuck between heaven and earth in the world her alchemy had created. When I opened her coffin, I somehow freed her to break the alchemical spell she was under. I don’t pretend to understand it. All I can say is she thanked me for that, for freeing her to go to the land of souls." He paused a long moment, letting all sink in, and then he added. "She warned me that this place is evil. But she said I'd know how to leave—and that I must."

  "Do you think that's possible?" Charlotte asked.

  He gave a half-smile. "If you'd have asked me two months ago I'd have said everything we've experienced was completely impossible. Now, to me, it is the only explanation."

  Jake added, "If it gets us out of here, I'll buy the story, too."

  “It’s got to be the pillars,” Charlotte murmured. “Those damn pillars that attract danger like a magnet each time we go near them.”

  o0o

  “I see it!” Lionel cried. “I see the array! It’s much, much clearer than ever before. I’m not sure what happened. I’ll be damned, it’s actually beautiful!”

  How could Lionel be surprised by its beauty? Michael wondered. It had always been so. “Yes, I see it, too.”

  “I thought you did,” Lionel said. Then, all but dismissing Michael, he turned to Charlotte. “Give me the book. I need it.”

  “You haven’t understood a word in it up to this time,” she s
aid. “Why should you now? It’s more than reading. It takes an intuitive feel. If anyone here has it, it’s Michael.” She held out the backpack. “You take it, Michael. Open the gateway for us.”

  Michael’s instincts told him to fight the temptation. He sensed that if he opened the gateway, he would cross a bridge from which no return existed, at least for him.

  Quade’s gaze jumped from one brother to the other.

  “I agree with Charlotte,” Jake said. His voice already sounded stronger as the poultice worked its magic.

  Michael shook his head. “I've never studied anything like that book, and Lionel said he could do it.” He faced his brother. “We’ve never been close because of the way we were raised. But we can change that.”

  Lionel stared longingly at the backpack. “You’re right. We can change.”

  Reluctantly, Charlotte took out the book and gave it to Lionel.

  He climbed to the top of the mound, opened the book to the section that showed an array, and stepped on the lights on the ground as he walked between the pillars. Nothing happened. He placed the book on the lights and walked through again. Still nothing.

  Dismayed, Michael watched with growing impatience.

  “I told you he can’t do it!” Charlotte angrily removed the red pendants she wore and grudgingly thrust them at Michael. “Take these.”

  His gaze locked on the stones in his hand. “They’re beautiful.” He reached into his pocket. “The color is the same as this small one from Lady Hsieh’s tomb.” When he opened his hand to show her the small red stone, all of them began to glow. Bright beams of red light shot from each one skyward, meeting and intertwining. Rolling thunder boomed, and bolts of lightning arched above the pillars.

  “My God,” Charlotte whispered. “We’ve never had thunder and lightning on this side; only in the real world. You’ve bridged something. Made a connection! This just might work!”