Into the Triangle (Harmony)

by C.O. Amal

  Jan is months away from delivery. He need to get back to earth and most of all he needs to find the secret for which he have come. As far as he know this Bermuda triangle is a portal to another dimension and this dimension is nothing like we thought of. It is where your nightmares come alive. The black well is clearly a nightmare. And what the hell is that dog thing?

  This desert is clearly a place where predators roam. Jack couldn’t shake away the image of the corpse the dog thing was eating. Where does he came from? He must be from the ship Harmony. That corpse looks like had just died, so it was a fresh kill. How did he survived this long in this desert? Is the tent belongs to him?

  What still bothering him is that why did his sub disappeared in the abyss of that well while that aeroplane had survived it? Does this well thing only appear in that region only? This land is surely mysterious. This pink sky alone is questionable.

  Jack crested another sand dune. Suddenly something jumped out of the sand at Jack. Jack quickly used his metal rod to block the attack. The thing hit the rod and fell on to the sand. Jack looked carefully. It’s a rattle snake having the size of a king cobra! Jack quickly backed away.

  The ugly monster’s tail is rattling like they always do. Jack had seen rattle snakes and king cobra inside a zoo. And he is pretty sure that this thing is bigger as a king cobra. The rattle snake opened its mouth and screeched. It coiled its body and readied its head for another jump. The site induced a sudden fright inside Jack. Jack slowly, carefully backed away again.

  The snake followed him and jumped again. Jack blocked the snake again using the rod. The thing landed on the ground and screeched. It opened its mouth and curled its body and like a spring it pull back its head and then suddenly released. The snake propelled toward Jack. Jack quickly swung his metal rod in an arc and the snake upon meeting the metal rod fell down on the ground a few feet away after a long flight.

  Jack didn’t wait for the thing to jump again. Jack sprinted away from the scene. Suddenly the sand dune he is walking exploded with sand. More rattle snakes are jumping out of the sand towards Jack. They were buried in the sand waiting for their pray and Jack is their pray.

  Jack blocked the approaching beasts using his metal rod and he ran away. When he made sure he covered a considerable distance from the snakes Jack looked back. The site horrified him. Hundreds of snakes are crawling towards him at full speed. Their tail rattling all the way making that horrible sound. Jack ran with all his might.

  Jack crested another sand dune and looked forward. In front of him lay a huge ship. A ship which once floated on the oceans. Jack ran toward the ship. Snakes are still gaining on him.

  What in the god’s name are these?

  Jack finally reached near the ship. He looked for a way inside, and he spotted it Just near the back of the ship. Metal rods attached to the ship’s body like ladder rungs. Jack climbed through the metal rungs and finally reached on top of the ship. Below snakes are jumping to the ship but none reached closer to the top of the ship. A minute or so later the snakes crawled away from the scene. Relief washed over Jack.

  Jack looked carefully at the ship. On a board on top of the ship he could make out the letters that form the ship’s name. It says Harmony!

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  Chapter 13

  2026 July 26, Unknown Desert, Inside ship Harmony

  How is this possible? Why things disappeared in Bermuda triangle end up in different places? Why the black well thing hadn’t sucked this ship? New questions are popping inside jack’s head. Questions he don’t have answers for.

  From this ship Jack can see the mountains clearly now. He needs to move forward but first he need to check inside this ship. He needs to search for survivors. That tent he passed and the human corpse indicate the presence of survivors. So he is sure that he will meet someone in this wretched place.

  Run, Jack, run.

  Some internal warnings are instructing him to run from this place. Living in this desert is very difficult. So his best bet is that the survivors must have left for the mountains. Jack slowly got inside the ship searching all the corners.

  “Hello. Anybody?” Jack yelled.

  Nothing happened. No one came to the light. The ship is dead silent. All the things inside the ship such as vases, tables are all had been dismantled and the ship is filled with wreck.

  Jack found what happened to ship Harmony for which authorities sweep searched the entire ocean floor back on Earth. This portal only works in certain time. That’s certain because if it had worked all day everyone searching the ship Harmony would have ended up here.

  Ship’s interior is decorated with paintings but most paintings had broken away from the walls. Jack walked deep inside the ship. He don’t know what will gain in doing so, but some of his internal wiring says that searching this ship will be a good idea.

  Everything inside the ship is out of place. The ship must have landed here with full force but he couldn’t remember his sub falling when he became trapped in the Bermuda triangle. Some of the walls have cracks. Even though ship is made of steel all inner parts are made of wood.

  Jack slowly entered in to a small platform where music instruments lay. This place must be used for small gatherings. Based on the pattern these music instruments lay, musicians and other people had left this place in a hurry, possibly frightened of something. Jack left the room and entered in to what might be the ship’s kitchen. Jack quickly opened the first refrigerator he saw and looked inside. There is rotten meat inside. Jack covered his nose with his hand. It’s been long since the refrigerator had been operated. Ship must had lost the power when it entered in to the triangle.

  All electronic thing will die out in the vicinity of the triangle. The portal must be a high energy field emitting electromagnetic waves in all directions. It looks like refrigerator is completely empty of mineral water. Survivors must have took all. Jack opened all other refrigerators and looked for water. Finally he found two bottles in the last refrigerator.

  So there are survivors in this place. That’s certain. What not certain is that did all of them stayed alive? If they are alive where would be they had gone to? Jack is certain that they must had left for the mountains since no one want to venture into a desert. If they did took the desert they must have killed by the desert predators.

  Jack opened one water bottle and drank half of it. Then he put the water bottles inside the bag and continued towards the ship’s bottom level. The once luxurious ship is now nothing but rubble. There are wide cracks throughout the floor. Even if somehow this ship have put back in the water, it will sink.

  Lower levels are also abandoned long ago. Clothes can be seen on the floor throughout the ship. Jack finished searching and walked to the top of the ship eating one packet of snack which he took from his sub. Looks like sun have started going down in the horizon. Darkness can be seen conquering land inch by inch. Before going out he took two match boxes from the kitchen and put one box in his bag and the other in his pocket. Who knows what will be waiting in the darkness.

  Then it hit him. Staying inside the ship for the night is a good idea. There may be beasts lurking in the darkness. And also if that well thing did appear there is no way to distinguish it from the night. Jack cleared a room in the top level and set his back pack on the table. The bed in the room looks like cosy.

  Darkness slowly took over the land. Jack lighted a candle which he found in the drawer of the table and fixed it on the table. It’s time to write the journal.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 14

  2026 July 26, Inside Ship Harmony

  Jack took the journal and pen from his back pack. The candle light have lightened the entire room. Since no windows are present no one outside will notice that someone is inside the ship.

  Jack slowly flipped through the pages. All previous journal entries are about the progress of the sub. Finally he reached the page whose date says 26 July 2026.

  “Yesterday night my sub got trapp
ed in the Bermuda triangle. Due to extreme bad weather I was forced to go underwater. From deep inside the ocean water my sub somehow got attracted to a blue light. All the electronic equipment had fried before that. Due to the absence of light, I failed to record the event in my journal.”

  “When outside condition got normal, or at least appeared to be normal, it was well past 2 AM because my watch stopped at 2 AM. In the morning I woke up with the sound of wind. When I opened the sub’s door, I was on a different world, a different dimension. This place is filled with sand and is appeared to be a desert. Also the pink sky is very mysterious and the sun is blazing hot.”

  “First danger I encountered is a black well thing. It expanded automatically sucking everything on top of the sand. I somehow escaped from that thing. I am now on my way to find a portal that leads back to Earth. On the way I encountered several desert beasts. First one was a dog thing. It was lot bigger and it was eating a human corpse. The whereabouts of the corpse is unknown, but my guess is that, it belonged to someone who was a passenger of the ship Harmony.”

  “The dog thing attacked me and wounded me. It stabbed me on my shoulder using its claws. Somehow I was able to kill that thing with a metal rod that I found near the wreckage of an aeroplane.”

  “It seems that although things got trapped in Bermuda triangle back on earth from one location, they ended up here in this desert in different places.”

  “The second beast I saw was rattle snakes, lots of them. These snakes are bigger than king cobra which is very unusual for a rattle snake. They also tried to attack me, but again I somehow escaped from them and ended up in a ship which turned out to be none other than the Harmony. She is a wreck and things inside the ship indicate that her passengers and crew may have survived and are at someplace else.”

  “I can see snow covered mountains in the distance and I am on my way to the mountains. My guess is that survivors of the ship Harmony must have left for the mountains. I now have three bottles of mineral water. I hope it will get me to the mountains. Now I am spending the night in the ship Harmony. I hope there will not be any desert predators to hunt me in the night.”

  “I strongly believe that I could unveils the secrets of this world and that of Bermuda triangle.”

  Jack closed his journal and tuck it inside the back pack. He is planning to leave at the first light. With the images of getting back to Earth, Jack closed his eyes.

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  Chapter 15

  2026 July 27, Unknown Desert

  Jack woke up early in the morning. Sun haven’t started to rise in the horizon. Jack put the back pack on his shoulders and took the metal rod in his one hand. He also took two knives from the kitchen and put one in the bag and one he strapped to his waist line.

  Jack stood on top of the ship and watched the rising sun. In the distance sun’s rays slowly arose and it shined the distant desert. Darkness slowly parted away. Jack quickly climbed down through the metal rungs and started walking towards the mountains. Mountain top is glimmering in the early sun’s light. Jack wonder how come the mountain support snow near this harsh desert under the scorching sun. Normally the snow will melt away quickly. Then he thought what if the white on top of the mountain isn’t snow? Only one way to find out the answer - he needs to reach there fast.

  Jack quickened his pace. A cold wind whipped up through Jack’s bare hands. The cold wind is moving to the mountains. Jack clearly saw the direction of wind because the wind is slowly taking some sands with it. With each passing second the size of mountains kept increased. Jack crested one of the sand dunes and watched the amazing scenery.

  Sun have risen in the horizon. In the horizon the sky is in orange pink colour. An astounding scenery. Jack wished his camera to be in good condition. Jack sighed deeply. The horrific portal had fried every electronic equipment. So much for the good technologies which could record the astounding memories back on Earth. If he did escaped how can he say the beauty of this horrific place to others? How can he explain this place without any pictures?

  Jack want to scream at the top of his lungs but that will attract unwanted attention especially from the dog things. He don’t want to be in any place near that foul creatures again. Jack’s senses had already kicked in watching for any movement that cause harm to his life.

  Suddenly wind howled from his left direction. Jack looked in that direction. The scene before him was unexplainable. A big sand storm is approaching him steadily. Without thinking Jack sprinted towards the mountains. Mountain is still kilometres away and this sand storm is going to hit him for sure. Jack stopped for a moment and unstrapped the bag from his shoulders. He took a white cloth piece that he had took from the ship. Using the cloth piece he covered his head by coiling the cloth around his head. He even covered his eyes but he kept the cloth thin near his eyes so that he could faintly see what is in front of him.

  Jack strapped on his back pack and ran. The sand storm will hit at any moment now. Sunlight got completely blocked by the storm. The thing about sand storm is that the wind will whip the sand along with it. The storm entirely comprises of sand. Wind is just a thing blowing the sand. And most importantly the violent sand storm will possibly leave a few inches of sand on the ground and the air will be minimum. If you are inside a storm and didn’t cover your nose, then you would be dead in second because what you breathe in inside a sand storm is sand which will block your lungs and you will die due to lack of air. In short, the storm will choke you down without proper care.

  Jack passed sand dunes after sand dunes. The pain in his shoulder is slowing him down. When running he have to move his hands back and forth. In doing so create pain in the shoulders since there are wounds near both of his shoulders.

  Suddenly the storm hit him hard from his left side. He almost lost his footing. He quickly stabilised his body and ran. The storm is howling in his ear now. He can hear all sort of nasty sounds in the storm like howling, clattering and so on.

  Jack’s vision had blurred but he kept moving forward without turning anywhere. Moving in a straight line.

  Suddenly Jack dropped to the ground. A pain shot up through his left leg.

  “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Jack’s anger have no limit.

  It appear that his left leg got trapped in a depression and he somehow twisted his leg. Jack somehow got out of the depression and he twisted his leg hard to make it well.

  “Ahh ... Fuck!” Jack cried out loud but his cries got lost in the sound of the wind.

  Sand is hitting him from all directions at high speed. He then somehow stood up and swung his leg back and forth. It looks like the pain have gone away. Jack slowly moved forward but that’s when he realized that he lost direction. When he fell down he turned away from the direction in which the mountains lay. Now he have no idea where the mountains are.

  He then decided to crouch down on the sand and wait out for this storm to be over. He waited in that position for hours. Hours nothing to do. Sand got trapped inside his shirt and pant. When the storm was over he was sitting in the sand with sand up to his waist line.

  Jack stood up clearing away the sand and looked forward. It looks like mountain is just near, only a few feet away. Jack removed the cloth on his head and tuck it inside his pocket. He tightened his grip on the metal rod. Then he heard a sharp growl. Jack looked behind him. His legs suddenly shook with fear. About five dog things are running at him. They are farther away but jack could clearly see that their goal is Jack.

  Jack remembered the movie Hobbit an Unexpected Journey. “Out of the frying pan, into the fire!” He said out loud the dialogue from that movie. Jack sprinted away from the scene. Only the mountains could save him now.

  Jack could see trees in a distance. Finally Jack entered the snowy landscape. Jack ran with all his might. Jack saw a tree with many branches. He put down the metal rod and quickly climbed on top of the tree remembering the movie. That’s when he saw a large hill with large rocks and bushes in the way. He could have gone in tha
t way but no time now.

  “Stupid movie!” He cursed himself.

  Jack heard a sharp growl from the back. He turned back and looked. It looks like the dogs are nearer and they are growling, but, none of them are approaching. They have stopped near the snow line. Jack watched the scene with wonder. What is happening? Jack don’t know why they have stopped. Do they fear snow? Or are they tricking him like acting they fear the snow? A watery material oozed down from all of the dog creature’s mouth.

  Jack decides to test his fortune. Jack slowly climbed down without taking his eyes off from the creatures. Jack could hear the desperate screech and shriek of the dog things. Jack stood firm on the ground and watched them.

  Suddenly the dog things did a desperate howl and they all ran away. Relief washed over Jack. Do they fear snow? Or is it something that lurks in these grounds? The very thought send a chill through his legs.

  It’s nothing, Jack. It’s nothing.

  Jack’s internal wiring says it okay but he still fear for what is yet to come. Jack slowly walked through the snowy landscape into the unknown.

  * * * * *

  Part 3: The Mountains

  Chapter 16

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountains

  Jack began to shiver in the chilling wind. The wind howled and went through the mountain ranges whipping up snow in its way. Weather system in this mountain is very unusual. There are clouds gathered above these mountains and based on the pattern, these clouds are snow clouds.

  Even though skies are filled with snow clouds it seems that snow is not going to fall today. Sun can be seen dimly through the clouds. No wonder why the mountain came to support snow under the scorching sun.

  Jack’s skin began to redden due to extreme cold. Yesterday his skin reddened due to extreme heat now due to cold. These lands are slowly killing him. He needs to find a shelter soon to wait out until this wind stop blowing. Trees are sort of pine trees but not bigger. Most trees are filled with branches and branches are in turn filled with snow. Branches heaved and snapped there and there due to the weight of the snow.