by Luke Romyn
His hand smacked into something plastic and knocked it, skidding away across the cave floor toward the thrashing head of the cobra. Through the dim light coming from the tunnel, Talbot could discern the outline of Wes's smart phone, now sitting directly beneath the head of the thrashing serpent.
Nice.
"Wes," he yelled, "I need you to keep this thing occupied, okay?"
"What the hell do you think I'm doing? Does this look like foreplay?" The sword crashed discordantly once more against the serpent. "Do it quick!"
Talbot nodded, realizing such a motion was pointless in the dark. Diving forward, he skidded along the ground and snatched the phone up, rolling aside just as the massive head crashed down once more - avoiding being crushed by a hair's-breadth. Wes smashed his sword into the beast once more, and Talbot shuffled out of the way.
He stood, turning toward the wall paintings and realizing something horrifying: Talbot couldn't see the paintings!
The dots and lines of the Aboriginal painting denoting the codes he needed to interpret into musical chords were nothing more than a murky smear in the darkness. The cave was close to being pitch black. He could barely see a smudge of white along the wall where he guessed the painting was, and he couldn't get closer because of the gigantic snake filling half the cave.
Furiously, Talbot racked his brain for a solution. His mind drifted around the tune he had played the last time, but he couldn't recall it exactly. If he played a single note out of tune, the entire enterprise was doomed and they would be stuck down here until the giant's leg-snake ate them or they starved to death.
The phone glowed slightly at his touch, and Talbot slid his thumb across the screen in order to illuminate it fully. Immediately the screen shone in the darkness, and he tested the light against the opposite wall. The cave was still too dim. He could see Wes standing over the other side, just out of reach of the gaping jaws of the enormous snake. Occasionally he would slash at it with his sword, causing a crash to sound, but otherwise the weapon did nothing.
Talbot glanced at the screen of the phone and saw the synthesizer application still on the display since the last time he had used it, the end of the tune still visible.
And then it came to him.
Fumbling with the phone in the gloom of the cave, he searched through the program for the thing he needed. Finally Talbot had found an option which allowed the tune programmed in to be played in perfect reverse - same pitch, same speed. He hoped against hope this was the equivalent to pressing the 'up' button in an elevator.
The tune reverberated around the cave and dust once again began to fall from the ceiling, the floor lurched, and both men fell to the ground moments before the cave exploded upwards, pinning them to the floor with its velocity.
A horrific sound, like a gigantic pumpkin being squashed, echoed momentarily, followed by a muted howling coming from the cavern where Porphyrion still was. The howling was cut off in a fraction of a second, the rocketing cave hurtling toward the surface. His eyeballs were being pushed into the back of his skull and his chest felt like the ribs were being crushed beneath the foot of a giant.
Talbot was on the verge of blacking out when the cave suddenly stopped moving upward with such a jolt that his entire body lifted several feet off the ground before slamming back down, winding him horribly.
Gasping for breath, he rolled to his belly and squinted against the yellow sunshine pouring in through the open cave mouth. Climbing slowly to his feet, Talbot recalled that they'd returned only moments after having departed. So that meant -
An awful shrieking cry, like that of a large bird, sounded and both Talbot and Wes rushed to the front of the cave, gingerly avoiding the giant severed snake's head that was Porphyrion's foot. They gazed out, but Talbot already knew what would be there... waiting to attack him once more.
Below them, about a hundred yards or so away, was Wes's ship, disguised as a septic truck in order to 'blend in' once more. Just beyond that he saw something he'd hoped to never encounter again, the thing which had sought him out from the beginning of this hellish quest: the gryphon.
It was dead, slightly charred-looking, perhaps twenty yards away from the ship. The screech they'd heard must have been its death-cry as the electrical defenses of Wes's ship had finally ended it once and for all.
Talbot exhaled.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Wes, interrupting his thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what the fuck are we going to do now?"
Talbot stared at Wes, nonplussed. "We get back to Atlantis and close the rift," he said.
"Atlantis. You mean the place under the ocean which is probably flooded once more after that minotaur smashed his way through everything, including the generators which kept the water out. That Atlantis?"
Talbot gasped. He hadn't thought of that.
"But can't this ship fly under the water?" asked Talbot.
"Well, yes... in theory. I know when I screwed up it didn't fuck it up too badly crashing into the ocean, but it's not designed for it. Besides which, we don't have any diving gear, especially for that depth. It's no good if we can get down there but not exit the ship, is it?"
Talbot thought about arguing that they could fly somewhere to collect some gear, but knew it was useless. They had maybe a little over an hour to get to the other side of the world and down to Atlantis. Even if they had the diving gear with them, he knew they wouldn't make it. There was no way they could navigate through Atlantis and destroy the Syrpeas Gate - if they even figured out how to destroy the gate - in the time they had left.
It was over.
They had failed.
Talbot felt hopelessness well up within him, and he slumped to the ground, tears forming in his eyes. It had all been for nothing. They'd travelled through four different worlds in an attempt to save this one, and had still fallen short.
Talbot's tears fell silently, striking the orange dust of the Australian desert.
"There is one thing we could try," said Wes softly.
Talbot half turned. "What?"
"Well, I screwed the pooch when I tried it the first time, but we could try to do it again."
"What are you talking about?" asked Talbot, turning fully and staring at the commando.
Wes looked uncomfortable. "I wasn't completely honest before, when I said it was an accident that I travelled through time. That was a lie I told your government in order to keep them off my back about certain things. The entire thing was planned. I went AWOL in the future, stealing that thing in the process," he indicated the ship. "I tricked Bessie into traveling back in time, but I stuffed up with my calculations and ended up here instead of where I really wanted to go."
"So what are you saying?"
"We could try to use the ship to travel back in time. If we could do that, we might be able to shut down the rift."
Talbot felt hope rise in his chest once more. "Let's do it. What do we have to lose?"
"Well, if we stuff it up it could mean the end of civilization as we know it, but I figure that'll happen if we don't try, so what the hell."
"Fuck yeah," grunted Talbot.
Wes laughed. "Man, you sound like a kitten trying to imitate a lion when you talk like that, but I think I like it."
Talbot grinned, rising to his feet. "Let's get a move on," he said. "Time's wasting."
"There's one thing you have to understand before we do this," said Wes seriously. "If we succeed, it may still destroy everything."
"What do you mean?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one to ever successfully travel back in time. Einstein speculated on the ability to travel backwards through time, but nobody has ever tried it before out of fear of the repercussions if something goes wrong."
"How so?" asked Talbot.
"If you travel back and alter something - even a minor thing - then everything after that event changes like dominos falling. Now, what happens if those adjustments also mean you're
not where you need to be in order to go back in time in the first place?"
"Okay, you've lost me."
"If we go back and change this," said Wes, all aspects of his simple, brutish speech vanished, replaced with the crisp vocalization of a highly intelligent individual, "it may restructure the past in such a way as to cut us both out of the equation, and as such we won't be here to go back in time to save the past."
"Just as I'm beginning to understand what you're saying, the meaning of your words slithers away from me."
Wes sighed. "The past will change. If the past changes, they won't knock on your door in the first place. Understand? The dominos won't fall in the same way and we won't end up here."
"But that's okay, isn't it?"
"No, because if we don't end up here, we won't be able to go back in time," said Wes, exasperated. "It's a giant circle which you'll shatter by changing the past."
"What will happen?"
Wes frowned. "There are two schools of thought on the subject. One thinks it won't matter and everything will continue as it will. The past will change without drama and time will continue along its new path, devoid of incident."
"What's the other school of thought?" asked Talbot.
"The universe and everything in it can't rearrange something so massive and it collapses in on itself. It's like an incredible mathematic equation whose answer is true, but the equation itself changes each time you try to decipher it. The universe is based upon mathematics, and if something like this happens it might simply implode."
"Whereas if we do nothing, a similar thing will happen," said Talbot.
"Uh huh," agreed Wes.
"So why are we talking about it? Let's just do it and to hell with the consequences. At least we'll have done our best."
"I'm just likin' you more and more. That timid little bitch I met way back when is truly dead and buried now," said Wes, slapping Talbot on the shoulder.
"Hell yeah," said Talbot. "Let's go fuck something up."
Wes's laughter echoed off Ayers Rock as the two made their way down to the ship. It blurred and shifted, once more becoming a shining jet. Talbot tried to keep his hopes high for the coming endeavor, but sensed dread edging into his thoughts, knowing their chances of success were almost non-existent.
***
Wes and Talbot positioned themselves within the PCMs, and Wes began furiously manipulating controls inside the semi-liquid.
"Don't talk to me for a moment," ordered the commando. "I need to chat with the ship for a bit."
A casing came down and situated itself upon Wes's head, completely covering it. It was so enclosed around the commando Talbot feared it might suffocate him, but Wes's hands worked furiously within the PCM, and he seemed unencumbered by it.
Several minutes passed, but eventually the head casing lifted, and Wes looked at Talbot, his expression grim.
"The ship has agreed to help us," he said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"We have no choice," replied Talbot. "Let's go."
Wes nodded.
The ship lifted off the ground and shot directly into the air where it paused.
"Hold onto your nut-sack," called Wes.
Before Talbot could comment, the jet shot forward so quickly Talbot was unable to catch his breath, and he was once again thankful for the confining security of the PCM. The viewing screen opened up in front of them, and Talbot gazed in wonder at the scene before him. Just like their last journey, the clouds flashed by so quickly he had no time to register them before they were gone. Within seconds the red desert was replaced by the rich green of the Australian coastline, and then the deep blue of the ocean.
"Just so you know," called Wes, "you're really not gonna enjoy this next bit."
Talbot glanced over at the commando, seeing the serious and somewhat concerned expression upon his face, and knew that whatever was about to happen, it was really going to suck. The viewing screen in front of them closed, shutting out the outside world.
"Um... okay," said Talbot, knowing they'd come too far to turn back now.
Wes manipulated something within his PCM and suddenly Talbot's containing module became completely rigid, like cement.
"Hey, what the -?"
"Trust me," replied Wes seriously. "You're gonna need it."
The world outside suddenly blurred and shifted moments before Talbot felt his intestines tear apart and his head prepare to explode. Agony shot through every atom of his body, and he cried out in a soundless plea. The air in his lungs became lava, scalding him irreparably before pouring out through his eyes and every orifice of his body.
Conscious thought departed, and the one remaining part of Talbot's sanity prayed for the enveloping oblivion of unconsciousness - but it wouldn't come. Next he begged for insanity to take hold and release him from this pain, but it too remained absent. All he had was agony.
Nothing else compared to this. The myriad of injuries Talbot had suffered throughout this journey paled beside the anguish now tearing through him. The suffering within the limbo of the rift accessing Olympia was like being tickled with feathers compared to this.
Talbot's eyeballs burst, a miraculous feat since only moments ago lava had erupted from his sockets. His ribcage was wrenched open by unseen hands and vinegar poured onto his flayed heart and lungs. Swiftly the ribs healed, only for the inferno to now rush out through his ears, scalding and torturing. Strange goo ran down Talbot's cheeks and it took him a moment to realize it was actually his brains, bubbling within the cauldron of his skull, three witches cackling as they stirred the broth with a dark spoon....
What the hell?
The entire scene had erupted into one endless nightmare, like the worst acid flashback ever imagined. The three witches shifted form and became the cyclops, crashing through the underground base at Quantico. The cyclops morphed into the gryphon, chasing Talbot through the skies as he fled in terror. With each change the vision became something from Talbot's quest, increasingly horrifying in its unreality. Briareus crying out at the deaths of his brothers, though in reality the Hecatonchires had not seemed the least bit perturbed about their deaths. Heracles screaming as he was absorbed into Kharon - torment echoing through the cabin of the ship -
And then Talbot was back in reality, the sounds of his own screaming still lingering within the confined space. He tried to move, but the unyielding PCM held him solid, and he understood the need for it now. If he hadn't been held motionless during whatever the hell had just happened - hallucination, reality, whatever - he might have injured himself unintentionally.
Glancing over at Wes, Talbot saw the commando furiously working on calculations, his eyes fixed to the thin screen hanging before him. The Australian seemed unperturbed by the trip, but Talbot knew by now that Wes was a master at concealing how he really felt.
"Did we do it?" asked Talbot, his throat raw.
Wes glanced at him. "I'm just figuring that out now. I think we're pretty close to the mark. The calculations are spot on, so I can't see a problem. You didn't shit yourself, did ya?"
Talbot grimaced, slowly recovering from the horror of the images still burning within his mind. "Not that I know of. You?"
"I hope not. You have no idea how hard these PCMs are to clean out. Hang on a sec, and I'll make you more comfortable."
A moment later, Talbot felt the constriction surrounding him relax and return to its original texture - what Wes had referred to as something akin to snot. Talbot hadn't thought he would ever prefer this, but he felt his muscles slowly begin to relax.
The viewing screen opened before them and Talbot saw they were still above the ocean, but this one looked somehow different.
"Where are we?" he asked Wes.
"Just off the west coast of Africa."
Talbot swallowed heavily. "So we're almost there?"
"No 'almost' about it. We're there. Now we just have to find out if this thing will get us under the water to Atlantis. Here goes!"
The
ocean sped toward them, closer and closer. They plunged into it, the hull of the ship slicing through the surface without pause, causing Talbot to think once more about the way Wes had said it could cut between dimensions in order to travel faster. This ship was so far beyond anything he could understand, it hurt his mind just trying to get his thoughts around the idea.
The craft dove deep, the jets - or whatever propelled it - driving it swiftly to the depth of the sunken city of Atlantis. Talbot caught a glimpse of what looked like the outline of a huge whale before the murky depths swallowed them, and he lost sight of it in the inky blackness.
"You might want to brace yourself," said Wes.
Talbot looked at him quizzically, but Wes indicated he should watch the screen instead. He turned back just in time to see -
A wall!
They crashed into the pyramid, cutting through it and down, slicing the stony walls like cream until they smashed into a huge pocket of air. There was no real impact, and Talbot remembered what Wes had told him happened when he'd crashed into the aircraft carrier after his initial jump through time. By cutting between the dimensions, there was less friction, and when he'd hit the aircraft carrier, he'd carved through it without pause.
The same happened this time, only now the ship had cut through centuries-old stone blocks on a massive pyramid within a sunken city. It had somehow sliced cleanly through the stone of the pyramid all the way down to the open space where it suddenly halted, throwing Talbot forward with a jolt, but the PCM held him secure, preventing any sort of injury.
He looked up at the viewing screen, noting several marines and what looked like engineers running around in a panic. Glancing at the side of the viewing screen, Talbot saw the reason for their panic, tons of water were pouring in from somewhere behind them.
It was at that moment Talbot remembered something else about when Wes had crashed into the aircraft carrier - it had sunk.
He kept watching the screen as the PCM retracted and he was allowed to step clear. After several moments of witnessing the crews bring in various pieces of equipment along with what looked like some sort of heavy duty waterproof panels, the water slowly subsided, and finally stopped. They'd obviously had plenty of practice with all the beasts crashing through after escaping the Syrpeas Gate.