(2014) Dead End

by Jack Parker

  7:02 a.m.

  Lari rang the doorbell on the wall to the side of the glass plated doors. She could hear it chime throughout the house and echoing repeatedly until the sound faded.

  Barely a moment later the door opened and a man dressed like George Washington welcomed them in.

  "I think we should have come in costume," Ash whispered in Lari's ear once they passed by the George Washington butler.

  "Don't worry, we aren't the only ones who didn't come in costume," Lari pointed to a woman dressed as Cleopatra. The white dress she wore had long slits up each leg and was far from being considered conservative. Her hair was jet black and had been curled. An expensive looking crown with a snake emblem was on the top of her head.

  "Dara?" The woman turned around, a smile draped across her rosy lips.

  "Lari, Ash, glad you could come," she said as she walked over to them.

  "Dara we really need your help with something…a code." Ash explained, pulling the map back out of the envelope and handing it to her. She took it before going into the study. Lari followed, as did Ash.

  Dara plopped down on her brilliant blue couch and turned on the lamp behind it.

  She read the numbers over and over still coming to no conclusion. "I'm sorry but there doesn't even seem to be any kind of pattern here."

  "I cannot believe you passed that test and became a cryptographer." An irritated Lari said while plunking down next to her.

  "I'm a good test taker, so sue me," Dara sighed looking the numbers over and over again. "Wait… get me a phone." Ash and Lari glanced at each other like she had gone off the deep end, but Ash obeyed and retrieved her cordless phone from the kitchen.

  The trio sat in perfect silence. Ash and Lari would exchange looks every few minutes while Dara scribbled numbers and letters down on a faded yellow scratch pad. The main things she wrote were the keys on the phone: 2-ABC, 3-DEF, 4-GHI, 5-JKL, 6-MNO, 7-PQRS, 8-TUV, 9-WXYZ.

  "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World," Lari was the one to jump this time, hitting the back of her head on the lamp behind her. "Does that ring any bells?"

  "Actually, it does," Dom, the missing friend, finally appeared at the door. Beaten to a bloody pulp.

  Chapter Three

  The Pieces Start To Fit

  Dom limped over to the surprised trio. He had several injuries on his face, a long gash up his right arm, and it looked as if he had a sprained ankle. His grey eyes seemed lifeless and his dirty blond hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in a week.

  "Dom! What happened to you?!" Dara asked sincerely.

  "I'll get to that in a minute but right now I believe that this-" In his 'good' hand he held out a tiny slip of paper, that closely resembled the map piece that Dara now held in her slender hands for all to see, "is what you are looking for."

  "Really? I wasn't aware that we were looking for anything." Lari's distaste clearly evident in her voice.

  The man seemed to have been deaf to her comment and continued, "Dara you solved one of the puzzle pieces, do you think you can solve another?"

  "What do you mean by puzzle pieces?" the seeming silent Ash spoke up. Dom retrieved that first map piece form Dara and put it next to his. Like he had predicted the two pieces fit together like part of a puzzle.

  "Incredible…" was Ash's astonishing reply.

  "No, the incredible thing was that I got this from your father." Ash's azure eyes seemed to widen more than humanly possible.

  "You saw my father?" Ash inquired incredulity.

  "Only for a short time," Dom took a deep breath and his supposedly emotionless face and silver eyes fell into sadness, "He was in pretty bad shape when I last saw him, Ash."

  "What do you mean? He was in London! How did he get from London to Los Angeles overnight?!" Ash's voice was loud enough to make the party guests in the adjacent room grow silent with wonder.

  "He was never in London, Ash. He was taken," Dom heaved a heavy sigh, "just like I was."

  "Did the Neves take you?" Lari asked in a sarcastic tone, obviously not believing him at all.

  "How did you know?!" Dom nearly fell over in shock.

  "Lucky guess. Now about that map piece…"

  "Right. Dara, could you try and solve it?" Dom suddenly remembered the map pieces in his hand and gave the newest one to Dara.

  TGUANHHSLDETEERLHOXIIOFAA

  "It looks familiar but I don't think I know how to solve this one." Dara admitted.

  "That's what you said about the last one and you solved it in the blink of an eye." Lari protested.

  "I'm only familiar with solving number codes, not letter problems." Dara defended.

  "Now calm down girls. I have more to add. When John gave me the piece he told me something about Caesar Box," Dom added, trying to calm the two before they started a chick fight.

  "Did you just say Caesar Box?!" Lari couldn't believe her ears.

  * * *

  "Sir, why aren't we out there looking for the map?" a man in the back of a crowded and bustling room of would-be soldiers dressed in black, "She will have our heads if we don't find it!"

  The man whom everyone called 'Sir' cocked his head to look at the other man. "You know as well as I that she is not in charge of us. The only person that you should fear is General Nick." Sir stood from his chair and all the men went dead-silent. "The search for the map has been called off. We will not continue until told otherwise."

  The questioning man fell silent with the rest of them until the assistant-general walked into the room dragging a half-dead John Zaztep behind him.

  "We have a new problem," the assistant-general announced with a grim face.

  * * *

  "Ash! Don't you remember when we were little and in Miss Mac's class and she would put those letters on the bored and tell us to unscramble them?" Lari said, as if she were about to explode with excitement.

  "She called them word boxes. You were always the first to solve them."

  "I think this is one of them." Lari concluded.

  "You think your teacher is behind this?" Dara inquired.

  "No but I do think that I can solve this clue." Dara handed over the clue and yellow tablet.

  It was Lari's turn to scribble on the tablet but it wasn't what everyone expected her to right, except Ash.

  TGUAN

  HHSLD

  ETEER

  LHOXI

  IOFAA

  "It is a word box!" Lari exclaimed gleefully. Dom and Dara only stared on unmoved, "All you have to do is rewrite the letters so that it's, in this case, five letters by five letters."

  "You don't see it do you?" Ash said as more of a fact than a question. The couple shook there heads in unison. "Try reading it vertically instead of horizontally."

  "Oh my God…" Dom was flabbergasted.

  * * *

  The soldiers were not pleased with the news with which they were informed with.

  "The map is in pieces. You will never find them all."

  Pieces. That was the last thing they needed to hear. After all that searching, after all the time wasted on just trying to locate Ash Zaztep. Time had been of the essence and now it seemed like the time they had, had finally run out.

  Sixty-one days, 6 hours, 35 minutes, and 12 seconds, was all the time they had left.

  * * *

  "And you say your first-grade teacher taught you this?" Dom asked still amazed that she had solved it so quickly.

  "We wouldn't shut up so she made us work of these." Lari explained while writing out the answer to the word box. She finished with the click of her pen.

  THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA

  "Do you think it's trying to tell us something?" Ash asked with a hint of humor.

  Lari smiled, "Yeah, like pack your bags, because we are going to visit a lighthouse halfway around the world."

  An eavesdropper from behind them near the door to the adjoining room listened intently before quietly sneaking out the back door.

  Apparently Dom had led th
e soldier right to Ash… and the map pieces.

  Chapter Four

  Before There Were Seven

  October 30, 1970

  "...so once the map was separated into seven pieces, they were given to seven men who lived near the Seven Wonders of the World. When each man received his piece, they were told to never, under any circumstances bring these pieces together. Don't you see, John?" John's father, Thaao, was attempting to explain the story to his now twenty-one year old son which he had just told him, "There always has to be seven. And so now you too will be one of them...just like I was..."

  * * *

  The Secret Base

  October 31, 2005

  8:45a.m.

  John snapped awake. Memories flooded through his mind as he laid on the ice cold floor where he was disposed of after telling the soldiers even more information than he had planned to.

  He didn't want to tell them that the map piece was with his son, but Ash had to prove himself worthy one way or other. And it seemed to be the other.

  He ran a clammy hand through his graying hair. No one deserved to suffer like his son was about to.

  * * *

  Dara's House

  "Do you think there will be even more clues at this 'lighthouse'? Dara inquired, eyes scanning the words Lari had written on the tablet.

  "The lighthouse along with five other of the wonders no longer stand today. Only the pyramids of Giza." Ash informed her rather broken hearted.

  "Well that sucks," Dara mumbled to herself then threw the tablet down on the coffee table before her.

  "We have to do something," Lari exclaimed, "Ash's father has been kidnapped, we've been given these clues for a reason and I think that our plan of action should be to follow these clues and see where they take us."

  "For once I agree with you," Dom told her, while Lari pretended that she didn't hear him.

  "So it's settled then," Ash announced, "We follow the clues to see where they take us."

  "And if that takes us halfway around the world-" Dom stated.

  "Then it takes us halfway around the world. Dom, so far this seems like the only way to get my father back." Ash's face finally went from a mask to a pained expression.

  "You're right. There is no other way." Dom admitted with a pang of guilt.

  "Wait before we jump into anything else, I want to ask the burning question," Dara looked as if she were going to burst, "How did you escape, Dom?"

  * * *

  The Secret Base

  Four hours earlier

  Dom paced his confinements, every once in a while jiggling the door handles to see if they were open, but sadly they were still bolted shut.

  His injuries to his face and arm were fresh; they were dealt to him earlier that night.

  John had been put in the room directly behind him nearly ten minutes ago. The only thing separating them was a 3inch pane of glass. There were the tiniest holes in the glass for them to speak but none said a word to the other.

  The bolt on the door squeaked open and the knob turned. When the door finally opened a soldier walked in with confidence.

  "Dominic Copeland," The soldier spoke in a rough Greek accent, "I am sorry for how we treated you earlier, but you must understand, we need information very badly."

  "And hopefully you now know that I am not the man to give it."

  "Yes, you are right. We have now found the right man as you can see."

  "I see him," Dom confirmed, "John Zaztep, never thought I would live to see the day I would be his presence again. Now you have your man, why keep me here?"

  "We keep you here because-"

  * * *

  John sat with his back pressed up against the glass. Every word the two men said flowed through the almost microscopic holes in the pane of glass into John's ears.

  "We keep you hear because you seem to be the only one who might be able to get the information we need from Mr. Zaztep."

  "I'll try but I doubt I'll get anything from him."

  Not thirty seconds later his cell door opened and Dom limped in. The soldier shut the door once Dom had entered.

  "Hello Dominic," John's eyes were closed as he rested the back of his head on the thick glass.

  "John, I think you know why they put me in here."

  "Yes, I know, but there is only so much I can tell you. The rest you and Ash must learn on your own." John stated without even opening his eyes to look at him, "There is something I need you to get. Something that you must give to Ash as soon as possible."

  "Well, what do you need me to get?" Dom asked with curiosity.

  "Inside the house under the blue rug in the kitchen, is a false floor. I suppose I don't have to explain the rest."

  "No, not at all." Dom said with understanding.

  "All you need to remember is Caesar Box." Dom furrowed his brow but received no answer.

  "What about the Neves? They might follow me and try to take what ever it is you want me to retrieve." John looked at him questionably.

  "The Neves?" The word flowed off John's tongue as if he had never spoken them before.

  * * *

  The large steal door opened once more to free the oldest prisoner. Dom looked at John one last time before exiting the cell. All of his curiosity resurfaced once he left the glass and metal prison. The item John wanted him to collect, the item the soldiers apparently wanted, and how Ash was supposed to fit into all of this.

  Two soldiers were leading Dom out of the base when Dom heard the beginning of a very heated conversation two other soldiers were having directly in front of him.

  "Of course the old man knows what we need! Why else would the general have him as a prisoner?!" The older looking soldier explained, while getting the door for Dom and the guards.

  "All I'm saying is why don't we just search for the map ourselves? I doubt that that man will even talk to his son, let alone us." The younger guard seemed uncertain and more questioning than the other.

  The conversation faded as Dom entered the poorly lit room. There was a man sitting at a table in the middle of the room hovered over a mass array of papers.

  "Sir, Mr. Copeland," the soldier didn't have to say another word. The man at the table waved the two soldiers off until it was only him and Dom.

  "Did you recover any useful information?" The blackness of the man's eyes would have made anyone shutter; Dom not being an exception.

  "Quite a bit actually,"

  * * *

  Present

  "Dom? Are you alright?" Dara seemed to be the only one concerned about him after he had become silent for some time.

  Dom shook his head to shake himself out of the daze he was in. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about what had happened earlier."

  "Are you going to tell us how you escaped?" Lari asked.

  "I didn't have to escape, I was set free." He received shocked expressions for his answer.

  "But they wouldn't have set you free unles-" Ash began but was soon cut off by Dom who finished his sentence for him.

  "Unless I gave them information,"

  "What did you tell them?!" Ash went from calm and collected to full of rage.

  "I only told them what they already knew."

  "Which was..." Lari waved her hand with emphasis.

  "Which was that the Neves, the soldiers, were searching for something that they wouldn't be able to find without help." Dom explained.

  "And the enemy let you go?" Lari said with disbelief.

  "They are not the enemy," Dom recalled the last words which John had told him, "The Neves aren't trying to steal the map, they're trying to protect it."

  Chapter Five

  Treasures in the Deep

  The turbulence shook the jet like an earthquake high in the air. As Ash glanced around the inside of the jet, he noticed that only Dom had managed to get any sleep. Not even the frequent turbulence could awaken him. The click of the intercom and the voice by followed by it turned Ash's attention to the open cockpit door. There the
flight attendant stood with the microphone. Not that she really needed it. Only four people were onboard as passengers.

  "We will be landing shortly. Please buckle your seatbelts and prepare yourselves for more turbulence." The intercom clicked off. The ripple of seatbelts clicking seemed to be the thing that finally woke Dom up from his deep sleep. He followed suit with the others and the plane shook violently once more.