by Beth Bowland
“We can use your cellphone.”
“Oh, yeah.” Parker reached into his jacket pocket then moaned. “I left it on the kitchen counter after I couldn’t get a signal.”
Aaron paced around in a circle. “Ugh! Why’d you do that?” he shoved Parker, “You’re an idiot!
“I’m an idiot?” Parker shoved Aaron back. “You’re the one who invited an alien into your house for warm milk and cookies!”
“I didn’t know he was an alien!” Aaron yelled back and got into Parker’s face before backing away. “You’re right. This is my fault. I am an idiot. I got you involved and my mother is missing.”
Parker reached out and touched Aaron on the shoulder. “No you’re not. I know you were just trying to help him.”
Aaron managed a slight smile.
“Good thing he went to your house, because he would’ve been a Popsicle by now while trying to get into mine.”
“Let’s go get your cellphone or we can get my camera from my house, but first let’s stop by Dr. Ameed’s office to see if my mother is there.”
The two braced themselves for the blasts of cold air as they pushed their way back out the door. They headed to the medical building a couple blocks over. The heavy snow appeared to have caused everyone to take cover inside the nearby buildings, as there were now only a few people outside besides those in slow-moving cars and trucks on the main road.
Parker pointed across the street. “There’s that crazy old man from the gas station that I saw yesterday. I wonder if he saw the alien and that’s what he was talking about.”
Aaron turned to watch the old man. He seemed to be explaining something to the shop owner; his gestures were very animated. “We can see what he says after we finish at the doctor’s office,” Aaron said.
After entering the medical office building, they paused to look up the suite number.
“First floor. I think it’s just down the hall,” Aaron said.
They headed down the hallway and entered the room with a shiny brass nameplate on the door.
Dr. Jacob Ameed, MD
Several people were sitting in the waiting room, most of them coughing and sweating profusely, but as Aaron scanned the area there was no sign of his mother.
Aaron tapped on the glass that covered the reception area. A young lady slid the window open.
“Please sign in and take a seat,” she said and closed the window.
Aaron tapped at the window again.
“Yes?” answered the young lady again after opening the widow.
“I don’t have an appointment. I’m looking for my mother, Shelly Martin,” Aaron said.
The young woman scanned the appointment book. “Your mother didn’t have an appointment, nor has she been here today.” The woman briefly smiled as she closed the window again and turned her attention elsewhere.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, and to make it worse, I can’t even call my dad to tell him what’s going on,” Aaron said.
“Let’s get out of here and talk to that old guy. I have a feeling he’s seen something,” Parker said.
After leaving the medical center, they made their way across the street to the shop where they’d last seen the old man. The owner was out front shoveling snow and singing to himself.
“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream,” he sang. “Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream … ”
“Excuse me, sir,” Parker began. “Do you happen to know where the old man you were talking to earlier went?’
The shop owner stopped shoveling and gave them a puzzled look.
“What old man?’ he said.
“The one who was talking to you about ten minutes ago,” Parker said.
The shop owner shook his head.
“I’ve been out here for about forty-five minutes shoveling, and I’ve only spoken to a couple of people. Both were young girls. One was looking for poster board, the other a certain metallic spray paint,” he said.
“Are you sure? We saw him talking to you,” Aaron said.
“No. You must be mistaken. It wasn’t me,” he said and continued shoveling.
“What’s going on?” Parker whispered.
“I dunno, but let’s get back to your house and get your camera.”
They made their way back down the old country road near the old Washington Bridge and noticed that the tree was now off to the side of the road. Parker stopped the truck. “Good. At least the tree is gone.”
Aaron’s heart beat against his ribcage, and he felt as if he were being watched. “Don’t you see that there is something weird going on?”
“No.”
Aaron pointed to the street in front of them. “There are no tire tracks leading up to the tree.”
“So? Maybe they came earlier and new snow covered them.”
Aaron shook his head. “No, it’s something else. The tree was recently moved, look at the big sweep of missing snow where it was dragged over.” Aaron pointed to the side of the road. “But there are no new tracks leading to it or around it.”
Parker straightened in his seat and looked out the driver side and through the passenger window. “Yeah, I think you’ve got a point there, Sherlock.”
“I know it’s Nakal, “Aaron said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Why is he having these creatures attack you,” Parker asked. “What did you do?”
Aaron forcibly blew out his breath. “Dude, I don’t know. All I did was let him come in from the cold. I only tried to help him.”
“Well, I knew something was wrong with him when I first saw him,” Parker replied, “and he knew that I knew he was up to something no good.”
Parker put the truck in drive and slowly moved forward. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and his eyes intently observed everything on the road ahead.
They slowly picked up speed as they made their way toward the Old Washington Bridge. They watched for any sudden movements of the tree branches or the unforgettable, ominous thumping that announced the forthcoming presence of the eraser creature. A loud pop sounded, followed by a wobbling sound as the truck veered off to the side of the road.
“Sounds like one of the tires blew,” Parker said as he put the truck into park and climbed out.
Aaron sighed, quickly scanning the area before leaving the safety of the truck.
Parker knelt down to examine the rear flat. He pulled out a dagger that was stuck in the side of the tire and handed it to Aaron. “Someone sabotaged us,” he said.
“We both know who that someone was.” Aaron examined the object and stuck it in his back pocket. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
After deciding the woods would not be the safest place for them, they ran down the main road, until they heard a thumping sound in the distance that caused them to stop in their tracks.
“Sounds like it’s coming from over there,” Parker said, pointing to the left side of the street.
“Come on.” Aaron took off running to the right, directly into the woods, with Parker right behind him.
“Wait,” Parker yelled.
Aaron stopped running, stooped over, and placed his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
“Look at the ground. It looks like the snow is melting,” Parker said.
Aaron realized the sloshing sound was coming from mud and the snow was no longer deep.
Suddenly, they both froze and panic swept over them like a flood. The ominous thump was felt all around them. The branches twitched and shook. The creature appeared and moved toward Parker.
Aaron moved in front of Parker. “Get away from us, you alien thing!” he shouted. He bent down, picked up a fallen branch, and used it to fend off the creature. Each time Aaron swung and hit the creature with the branch part of it would disappear. The creature continued to try and reach around Aaron and get to Parker. Aaron saw another branch and went to grab it when he slipped and fe
ll over, tumbling down a slight hill. The creature ignored him and went after Parker as he ran and hid behind a tree.
“Run, Aaron,” Parker yelled. “He’s not after you. Go get help! I’ll keep him here.”
Aaron got to his feet and started running but stopped when he heard Parker scream. He turned around just in time to see Parker sprawled on the ground with his arms wildly swinging at the creature. As soon as it touched him, Parker vanished.
Aaron’s scream choked inside of his chest as he ran deeper into the wooded area. He continued running until he could no longer hear the thumping sound. As he rounded a tree, his foot hit something hard, and he fell face-first into the melting snow. He looked back and saw it was a very large boulder, partially hidden in the snow—the meteorite.
He ducked behind it to hide, intently listening for the thumping sound or any sign of Nakal. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he allowed his weight to lean against the massive rock. He felt someone grab him by the front of his coat and yank downwards, forcing him inside the meteorite.
Aaron found himself in total blackness, completely weightless, floating amongst millions of twinkling stars. Directly in front of him stood the old man from the gas station.
Chapter 5
“Shh,” the old man whispered as he placed an index finger to his lips.
Aaron barely took a breath as he looked beneath his feet and saw nothing but stars. The only sound was the rapid beating of his heart in his ears.
Aaron stood in space, a place where time was and is at the same time. A place where darkness met light, the end and beginning joined hands in the middle of creation. It was an eerie place, but beautiful at the same time. A peaceful and still place, where life was created and death crept by.
The old man motioned for Aaron to follow him as he turned and took a step into the darkness and disappeared. Seconds later, his hand appeared from the unseen back into the seen, his index finger beckoning.
“How is that possible?” Aaron whispered, but fear prompted him to follow. He took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. For a brief moment he felt as if he were in a vacuum. The darkness drew him inward. Moments later, he once again found himself standing next to the old man. This time they were in a long narrow hallway. The walls appeared to shift as if made from liquid mercury. Within them were faces that appeared to be asleep, the walls slightly moving with each breath they took. The floor looked like it was made from highly polished stainless steel that showed no evidence of recent visitors.
He continued to follow the old man as they made their way down the hallway into a small room, and finally into what appeared to be a storage closet. Aaron watched in silence as the old man looked around before closing the door behind him.
“We can talk here,” he said. “My name is Henry Kessler.”
Aaron’s mind raced, not sure where to begin or what to say.
Mr. Kessler continued. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Some I may be able to answer, and others I may not be at liberty to answer.”
Aaron forced himself to speak. “What do you mean?”
“Meaning, I must abide by the rules.”
Aaron squeezed his eyes shut, trying to awaken himself from a dream. “I don’t understand. Who are you and what is this place?”
Mr. Kessler didn’t answer right away, but paused for a moment, probably to word his answer in a way so as not to frighten Aaron.
“I was afraid this would happen. Sirius of Aurora Australis was deceptive and jumped ahead of the starting signal. Clearly against the rules.” Mr. Kessler shook his head. “No, this is not fair to you.”
Aaron’s mind went back to Nakal’s words: You have to follow the rules. “Can you tell me who or what Nakal is? I mean, is he an alien? Why am I being attacked, and what happened to my mother and my friend Parker?”
Mr. Kessler motioned for Aaron to sit on the floor. “I see you have a lot to learn about all of this, and we don’t have much time.”
Aaron nodded.
Mr. Kessler took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Nakal is known as the Leadman; he initiates the game.”
Aaron’s hands tensed. “Game? My best friend was killed and my mother is missing. How is that a game?”
“Parker is not dead. He’s just been voided,” said Mr. Kessler. “Just like your mother.”
“Voided?” Aaron said.
“It’s like being out-of-play.”
Aaron stood up and reached for the doorknob. “I gotta get out of here. Everyone has gone crazy! I don’t even know this Sirius person.”
Aaron yanked opened the door, but Mr. Kessler quickly slammed it shut. “Please, sit down. You must listen to what I have to tell you.”
Aaron sat, but moved himself as far away from Mr. Kessler as possible in such a small space. His mind raced with thoughts of the previous events. He was afraid to stay but also afraid to leave and face what awaited him.
“I’m listening.”
“I will make this as brief as possible. You will need to get up to speed quickly so you can battle your opponent,” said Mr. Kessler. His aged face showed much concern.
“What is this game, and why do I have to play it?”
“You accepted the challenge when you invited Nakal into your home. It’s really as simple as that. You do not choose. You are chosen.”
Aaron pondered this for a moment before speaking. “Okay, so how do I stop the game?”
“There is no stopping until it is finished,” said Mr. Kessler. “You must play through to the end.”
“You said I was chosen. Who chose me?”
Mr. Kessler leaned toward the door to listen for visitors. “You were chosen by the council members of the Legend. No one fully knows the criteria to be chosen.”
“Where are they? Maybe I can just go tell them I don’t want to play,” said Aaron with a glimmer of hope.
“These beings are not from our world. I’ve never actually seen them.”
Aaron let out a sigh. “You must have, because you’re here with them.”
“I’m unable to tell you at this time how I became aware of them. I must give you your tools. We haven’t much time. They will find you.”
“Okay, what are the tools?”
Mr. Kessler reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a small vial of liquid.
“Drink this, and you will become invisible for five minutes,” he said, handing the vial to Aaron. “I suggest you only use it in dire circumstances, because you only have enough for one use.”
Aaron briefly examined the vial. He placed it in the side pocket of his jeans.
Mr. Kessler then reached up and removed a necklace from around his neck. It was a silver chain with one small falcon charm.
“The falcons are your weapons, just as the annihilators are Nakal’s weapons.”
“Do you mean,” Aaron interrupted, “those giant eraser thingies?”
Mr. Kessler nodded. “Yes. You may call upon the falcons by holding onto the charm and thinking about them. You may call them up to three times.”
“The falcons have already come to my rescue, and I didn’t hold any charm.”
“Perhaps someone from your team received a free card, which can be used to get additional weaponry.” Mr. Kessler handed the necklace to Aaron.
Aaron placed the necklace around his neck. “What is this voiding thing that happened to Parker and my mom? Can I void someone?”
“No,” Mr. Kessler answered. “These are the items your captain selected. Nakal’s team picked the void and teleport items. So at times Nakal may seem to vanish into thin air.”
Aaron fidgeted with his necklace. “Seems like he got the cool ones.”
“Perhaps,” Mr. Kessler shrugged. “But they all are useful if you use them strategically. Also, if one of annihilators is able to void you the game is automatically over and Nakal wins.”
“But how can I win the game?”
Mr. Ke
ssler stood, cracked the door slightly, and peered out before quietly shutting it.
“The game is quite simple. It’s basically a scavenger hunt. Whoever retrieves the majority of the five artifacts wins.”
“What are the artifacts?”
“Your team will supply this information to you. Please remember to pay attention to everything.”
“Is that it?” Aaron shrugged. “How long will I have?”
“There is no time limit; however, most of the games are completed in a day,” Mr. Kessler answered.
“What is Nakal’s role?”
“He is the Initiator as well as your opponent.”
“Okay, so he will try to block me.”
Mr. Kessler nodded. “But you must remember the council members of the Legend are controlling the game board, which is your town, and the players, which are the townspeople. At times, your team may send you clues as to where your next artifact may be found. It would behoove you to pay close attention to your immediate surroundings at all times.”
“Can you give me any more information on the council members?” Aaron asked.
“The council members are made up of two groups. The first is Aurora Borealis, which is the team you are on. Arcturus is your team captain,” began Mr. Kessler. “Aurora Australis is the other team, and Sirius is the captain.
“Interesting that both team captains are named after stars,” Aaron said.
Mr. Kessler gave him an inquisitive gaze. “So, you’re familiar with the brothers?”
“Brothers?” Aaron shrugged. “Arcturus is one of the brightest stars located in the Northern Hemisphere, and Sirius is located in the Southern Hemisphere. I’ve studied our solar system with my father since I was old enough to look through a telescope. What do you mean, brothers?”
“Let me explain. In your atmosphere, they are seen as stars. But in the outer dimension, they’re immortal beings who are executives within the members of the council of The Legend. Arcturus’s team consists of Vega, Capella, Altair, and Pollux. Sirius’s team is Canopus, Rigel, Achernar, and Hadar.”
“Wow,” Aaron said. “North versus south?”
Mr. Kessler nodded. “Yes.”