THE AWAKENING [Part One]

by Michael Timmins

  He turned and climbed out of the chamber.

  Chapter 1

  Kathleen moved to Salisbury when she was twenty-eight. She worked doing field research for the Institute of Historical Research out of London, and before that, she was one of the youngest to get a doctorate of Archeology from the University of California. As a little girl, she was a cattle rancher’s daughter in Montana who loved digging up fossils. She was what you’d expect for someone who grew up in Montana on a cattle ranch, lean and muscled; a no-nonsense type of gal. Her sandy blonde hair seemed to always be at odds with itself,

  as if it wanted to be free of the tight ponytail she put it in to keep it out of her face, which it failed to accomplish. It always seemed to escape, a little at a time, to drop down over her face as she was reading or studying something important.

  She never wore dresses or slacks, as much as it angered the professors at the Institute. Jeans were more comfortable for the jobs she did, so jeans were what she wore. They would frown and politely suggest she dress more lady-like, and she would smile and nod, yet continue wearing her jeans. The only one who never said anything bad about her wearing jeans was Samuel, although he did mention it made her ass look nice. She smiled at that. Samuel was one of her only friends here in England. Well, more than a friend really, though they had never spelled it out, formally.

  She had been at the Institute for three years and not one of the professors seemed to appreciate her, or even like her, except Samuel.

  She wished he had joined her in Salisbury, but he had been asked to teach a class this semester in Ophiology, the study of snakes, as Samuel continually informed her. Samuel had a doctorate in herpetology and loved teaching. Unfortunately, there were very few students of herpetology as of late, and they just managed to gather a large enough group from all over England to make it worth having a class. Samuel was disappointed and happy at the same time. He really wanted to go with her; however, he really wanted to teach the class. Of course, they hadn’t really given him much choice. After going through all the difficulty of getting enough students together, they were hardly going to let him take off right when the class was going to start.

  She looked up from her writing desk in the inn where she was staying to look out the window. Her long face reflected vaguely back at her. She took a moment to examine her reflection. Her nose was small, almost too small for her long face. Her lips were drawn tight and almost non-existent and her face was pale and pasty looking since she almost never wore make-up, to liven up her skin tone. She was, at best, cute, but never pretty. Her eyes made up for the rest. They were lively and sparkled as if they knew a secret they were keeping from the rest of her face. She acknowledged she was not very attractive and guessed it was her body most men were interested in. She was strong, but not overly muscled. When she did wear a dress on those rare occasions, she usually wore them short, to show off her legs which were long and made up most of her height. At five foot ten, that was a lot of leg. Her calves were shapely and her thighs were tight, which is why men loved her ass, she guessed. Well, Samuel definitely loved it, and he wasn’t the first one to say it.

  “If a woman has great legs, they usually came from a great ass,” as he loved to say. She smiled and shook her head, causing a stray hair to drop down in front of her eyes. She really missed Samuel she thought as she brushed the strand of hair out of her eyes and continued to stare out the window as the rain pattered against the window. She hated rain, which she found ironic since she ended up in England.

  The rain kept her from her work, and she was really looking forward to continuing studying Stonehenge. She had reason to believe there was a hidden chamber below the altar that sat in the middle of the rings. She had procured a Ground Penetrating Radar device, or GPR, which would be perfect for what she had planned. The radar would shoot into the ground, and if there is a chamber below the altar, then it would map it out for her. She just needed to wait for a day that was a little drier. Pushing away from her writing desk where she had only been scribbling. She crossed the room and picked up the remote and turned on the television. It only took a moment for her to find a weather forecast.

  “Tomorrow, the rain should move out and the sun will finally make an appearance. Though the temperature…”

  She turned the television off and slumped back on the bed, her feet still flat on the wooden floor. She smiled. Tomorrow she would be able to continue her research and use the GPR device to locate that chamber. She wished Samuel could be there. He said he wanted to be there; in fact, he would arrive the day after tomorrow. He begged her to wait till he arrived. It had been odd really. She was pretty sure he still had to teach, but he said he was taking off a couple of days to come down. He hadn’t seemed all that interested in coming down till she mentioned the GPR device and how she believed there was a chamber under the altar. As soon as she mentioned that fact, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to join her. She was surprised when he out and out begged her to wait till he arrived.

  But she couldn’t wait. With as much as it had been raining, tomorrow would be the first day in a week she would be able to get out there. And frankly, she had to be honest, she didn’t want to wait any longer. She wanted to prove her suspicions correct. So Samuel would have to be disappointed. I will make it up to him. She smiled at that thought. After all, it had been a while since she had been in his arms.

  It was early morning when she woke. The sun had not even graced the sky yet, but the rain had ended sometime during the night. Still, there was a dampness in the air. That dampness permeated her room. That was the problem with these old inns. They certainly were not built with any insulation. With the rain ended, it meant she could finally get out to the site and see what there was to be discovered. The phone rang at her bedside. She rolled over to answer it. The voice on the other end was Mitch, her assistant.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” He always said that when he called her in the morning. It was somewhat of a joke, because he had seen her in the morning, and she was anything but beautiful.

  “Good morning to you, too. Are you ready to head out?”

  “Of course, got the GPR on the trailer. Peek out your window — I’m already outside your inn.”

  She moved to the window and looked down. Mitch was there and when he saw her, he waved his hand. Mitch was what you would think of when you thought techno geek: tall, thin and with larger glasses than his eyes seemed to need. His nose was a bit big and he was clumsy as hell. His hair was in the classic 80’s comb over and considering how much gel he used, it was surprising if he had to comb it very often. She liked Mitch. He was shy and quiet until you got to know him. But, once you did get to know him, you discovered he had a mouth dripping with sarcasm and always quick with the quip.

  “Fuck. What time is it?” she asked.

  “Nice language, princess. It’s 7:30. I figured since you had been waiting so long to get out there, you would be chomping at the bit.”

  “True enough. I think I forgot to set my alarm. Give me a minute and let me get beautiful.”

  “Come on, we both know it will take you longer than a minute to get beautiful.”

  “Asshole.”

  Kathleen hung the phone back up, got out of her pj's, and into the shower. The water was cold at first, and by the time it was hot, she was done. She pulled on her jeans and got dressed. She took some time to dry her hair. The thing about Britain she learned early on is the mornings were chilly, and if you went outside in the cold with wet hair, you got a cold quickly. Even with drying her hair, she was downstairs in less than twenty minutes.

  “Wow, record time Kate and you even made yourself bearable to look at,” Mitch said as she made her way into the lobby from the stairs. He waited for her in one of those big plush chairs all hotels seemed to have.

  “Yeah, and you got up before me and couldn’t do the same, Mitch?”

  “Touché, Kate. Touché.”

  They headed to the truck and got in. There was a box sitt
ing on the dash in front of her. It was slightly open. The smell of doughnuts filled the truck and she took a peek inside the box, already knowing what was going to be there.

  “Doughnuts? Oh, Mitch, you are an angel.”

  “Well, most women would call me the devil if I stuck that many great smelling calories in front of them.”

  “Well, I’m not most women, am I?” She grabbed a glazed doughnut from the box and started eating it.

  “That you aren’t, Kate. That you aren’t”

  He fired up the truck, shifted into gear, and moved out onto the road. It only took about fifteen minutes to get to Stonehenge. By that time, Kathleen was really excited. This would be the moment of truth. All her studies had led her to believe something was, indeed, under the alter. Now she would be able to prove it. And once she proved it, she would be able to dig, which reminded her.

  “Did you call Clive?” she asked.

  “Of course, I did. He said he would be there, and if you are correct, he has the signed permission for us to dig. We can start today he told me, as long as we find something, mind you. They have roped off the area where we are to work and I have a team of ten laborers waiting to dig. It actually was a good thing it rained as long as it did.

  “Why is that?” Kathleen frowned at him. “We could have started a week ago, if it hadn’t.”

  “True, but the ground wouldn’t be as soft as it is now. Digging is going to be very easy.”

  Kathleen nodded at that. He was right, of course. Plus, she wouldn’t have been able to get a hold of the GPR before yesterday. Things happen for a reason she guessed, and you couldn’t hurry them up if you wanted to. Mitch turned onto a dirt road that ran back to Stonehenge. The road was bumpy, and she had to grab the box of doughnuts off the dash so they didn’t fall. She couldn’t help but stare at Stonehenge; it was a marvel of construction and mystery. There were so many theories and beliefs about what Stonehenge was used for, and why it came into being, but there was no proof or any written explanations. Many felt the Druids had built it. However, it predated them, so most scientists felt the Druids had just made use of it and its ability to measure time and the seasonal changes. It was like a giant calendar, but it had been used for many purposes.

  The altar in the middle was believed to be used for sacrifices, and considering the number of bones found in the area, that seemed a likely use. She, herself had made a life’s work out of trying to figure out what it was used for. It wasn’t until three years ago, when she stumbled across an ancient text by a Celt who other historians apparently discounted as mad or delusional, for he talked of mythological beasts. He talked at length about the Druids and how they had with them man-beasts, half beast, half men, or as they are referred today in modern times, werewolves.

  The Druids were notorious for not writing anything down. All their history was passed verbally. So, for Kathleen, this seemed like a great find. It was true most of what the Celt wrote was fanciful and the stuff of mythology, but one thing caught her attention. The man referred to one of the Druids as the Lady who lived under the Table, which didn’t make much sense. At least it didn’t until you read further on. Later in the writing he described in detail Stonehenge, and when he talked about the altar, he called it the Table, denoting the importance of that word. The Table, not the table, or just table. He emphasized it. That meant they were one and the same. That meant some woman lived under the Table, under the altar. It took a while for Kathleen to convince the professors at the University. But, she was persistent. Eventually, they agreed it was worth considering, and sent her to Stonehenge. And here she was. Soon to make the discovery of her lifetime, and quite possibly change the way people viewed Stonehenge.

  Mitch pulled the truck up next to another one parked on the A334 that was now closed, but given the work they were going to do, they had gotten special permission to use it. It was only a short walk from there to Stonehenge. The truck belonged to Clive, and he was resting against it, waiting for them. Clive was a member of the English Heritage that took care of Stonehenge, and nothing could be done here without his permission.

  He was a short man and a little wide. He always wore a suit, no matter where he was. She would give anything to find out how he managed to keep his shoes clean when he came out here. With all the mud, she was usually covered to her knees in it in no time. He never seemed to get a spot on him.

  His jet-black hair was thinning and he seemed to be unwilling to admit his hair was losing dominance to his scalp, as he combed it in such a way the strands seemed to try to cover every bare spot, but failed in the attempt. He also seemed to sweat, or at least he always seemed to be dabbing the sweat off his brow with the handkerchief he kept wadded into his suit's breast pocket. His face was pudgy in the cheeks and he had a high forehead. His smile made a thin line across his face, like now, as they got out of the truck.

  “Mitch, Kathleen.” He nodded to them both.

  “Clive. It’s nice to see you again.” Kathleen extended her hand to shake.

  “You, too, Kathleen, although you could have picked a better day, it’s a bit warm.” He grabbed her hand in both of his hands and held it momentarily.

  Mitch looked over at her and they both smiled at each other. That was another thing about Clive. Never mind the fact they were wearing jackets to ward off the chill, he still thought it was ‘too warm.’

  “Well, hopefully, we won’t keep you out here for long. I just need to fire off the GPR and prove to everyone I was right and then you can trot off home, Clive.”

  “I hope you are right, Kathleen. It will renew interest in Stonehenge if you are. More interest means more revenue.”

  She nodded her response as she watched the laborers unload the GPR and move it to the site near the altar. There was a tent already set up with the computer system needed to run the GPR.

  The GPR looked like a large microscope you could stand on, but what it really was, was almost like a large gun. Its function was to fire a charge into the ground that would return a radar signal allowing you to see whatever was hidden in the ground. It would also allow you to see if there was empty space, which is what she was hoping for.

  She moved away from Clive and Mitch towards where they were setting up the GPR. Mitch, she noted absently, moved to the tent and the computer that was there. She took a moment to make sure they were setting it up in the right place and then quickly moved to the tent. She wanted to be there as soon as the image showed up on the screen.

  When she got to the tent, Mitch was sitting in front of the computer and typing away. She assumed he was running a system check. He had on some big ear protection, she noticed and realized she would probably need some, too. After a quick look around, she spied a table holding a bunch of them and moved to put one on. She had just put it on when there was a loud boom and the ground shook underneath her. Glancing in the direction of the GPR she saw a man climb down off it and remove his ear protection. She did the same and moved quickly to the monitor.

  “It should be showing up any second here, Kate.” Mitch removed his ear protection and typed away while staring at the screen.

  She watched closely as the green line made its circle around the screen. Kathleen was reminded of those scenes in the movies, watching a radar screen with three concentric circles, each one a bit larger in diameter than the others. At its center, a green line projected out and continued off the screen as it moved a decent pace in a circle around. As she watched, the line went around for the fifth time. Suddenly a beep sounded and images appeared on the screen. An outline of rock could be seen surrounding a dead area where only a few things pinged back. Mitch looked up at her as she looked down at him. She wasn’t immediately sure what she was seeing was what she thought she was seeing. Then suddenly Mitch smiled like a Cheshire cat and nodded to her. She let out a loud whoop, pulled Mitch up out of the chair, and holding him at arm’s length, did a little circle dance as they both laughed. She pulled him close and hugged him then let him go. He blushed
.

  “Thanks for believing in me, Mitch. Oh, and by the way, you look good in pink.”

  Mitch was about to say you’re welcome but stopped as soon as he got her meaning. He went from pink to scarlet in the face.

  She smiled wider and patted him on the cheek.

  “So, you were right, I take it?” She hadn’t even notice Clive walk up.

  “So it would seem. That means we can start digging?”

  He nodded.

  “Just be sure to put everything back when you are done playing — okay?”

  “Okay, dad.” She smiled sweetly at him.

  He shook his head and made his way back to his truck.

  “Alright gentleman,” she yelled as she moved out towards the laborers who were waiting on their instructions. “We got a lot to do and I want to get it done as soon as possible.”

  She made her way into the lot of them and walked up to the biggest guy she could see and grabbed the shovel out of his hands. He made no move to stop her, but he did seem somewhat surprised. She moved to where she had seen what she thought looked like stairs in the image, and raised the shovel above her head and jabbed it down into the wet earth. She stepped on the edge with her boot and pushed down with all her strength and wrenched the shovel up to lift a clump of grass and dirt. She pivoted and tossed the dirt back behind her.

  She glanced back at the laborers who were all staring at her like she was crazy.

  “Well? Start digging.”

  They looked startled for a moment then they were all rushing over beside her to start digging, except for the one from whom she took the shovel. He was making his way back to the truck, she assumed, to get another shovel.

  They found the stairs almost immediately, but it wasn’t until about nine in the evening when they cleared enough dirt to find the rough mud brick wall at the base of it. It took the laborers little time to punch through the wall. As the bricks fell inward a rush of stale air escaped from inside. Kathleen knew this was going to be the most amazing thing she had ever found. It would change her life forever. She waited impatiently as they pulled the rest of the bricks up and out of the hole. In no time, they had cleared a rough-hewn doorway leading into a dark chamber.