Into the Triangle (Harmony)

by C.O. Amal

  Jack climbed a small hill and looked at his surroundings. Desert can be seen in his back and his front side is filled with snowy mountains. Jack walked farther into the mountains. The terrain is filled with rocks in white colour. Trees swayed back and forth in the wind. Based on the position of the sun it is about noon.

  Jack had visited Mount Everest back in 2020. And one thing he learned about snowy mountains is that, with increasing altitude the pressure will increase and that most possibly result in haemorrhage. Jack is good at mountaineering, so Jack hope that these mountains will be a piece of cake but the coldness cannot be disregarded. He have nothing to keep him warm. Since he is wearing a t-shirt below the shirt the warmness haven’t completely gone from him.

  He wished he have taken some clothes from the ship Harmony. Harmony was filled with clothes in its rooms. Again Jack blamed himself. Jack is not completely trusting the mountain lands. Like in the desert there would be that black well here too. Also there must be some predators lurking in the shadows of the cliffs.

  After sometime snow began to fall. So much for his prediction. Jack quickly took the piece of cloth from his pocket and covered his head with it like he had done it in the desert, but he kept his eyes bare.

  Snow is falling heavily and also the wind got stronger. The howling of the wind created an eerie feeling inside Jack. Much of the sun’s rays aren’t reaching the mountains. A small layer of darkness have covered the entire mountain range.

  Jack can see that the mountain range is composed of seven big mountains and several small hills. Jack walked through the hilly region in search for a place to stay for the day at least until this snow fall is over. The truth is he can’t stay anywhere for long because he is here on a mission to find the secrets behind Bermuda mystery but he need to rest too. He is in a life and death situation now.

  Of course, this world is larger than Bermuda triangle, after all, the triangle is just a portal to this world. The real mystery lies in this land and Jack is pretty confident that he could find out the truth.

  Jack wondered why government is trying to conceal the Bermuda triangle mystery. Surely they had found out that there is no ship wreckage in the sea and the ships and aeroplanes went missing near Bermuda triangle are still missing, not sank or fallen down. Government still haven’t agreed that there is actually a triangle. When will they understand this?

  But the real question is who made the portal? Is it artificial or natural? There is no way it would be natural. There must be involvement of inter-dimensional beings in this. If it is actually aliens, did they came to earth? Are they among us waiting for the day to take over the world? Or are they friendly? Questions are numerous, but at this point there are no answer for them.

  Jack climbed another hill and looked forward. There is no sign of survivors. Where have they gone to? Are they all dead? Jack climbed down the hill and entered in to a vast planar region filled with snow. Trees are on the edges of the region and the centre is free of trees and rocks. It’s like this place is artificially created.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 17

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountains

  Jack slowly moved towards nowhere in particular. He don’t know where his feet are taking him. He don’t know what he will find when he reach a destination. The weather is getting colder and colder. Jack couldn’t think clearly in this extreme coldness. His feet and hands seemed to have become numb.

  Jack reached near a cliff. His only path forward is through the edges of the cliff. Jack took all his might and slowly began to walk along the edges. After some time he reached about the middle of the path.

  Suddenly the ground he is walking became unstable. The ground shook with crackling sound. Jack don’t know what to do. It’s like suddenly his mind became blank. Most of it is of course due to cold. Then it happened. Jack along with the ground he is walking fell in to the abyss.

  “Oh! Fuck!”

  Jack slid through the inclined surface of the hill and fell on to the bottom of the cliff. Jack screamed at the top of his lungs.

  “Jesus!”

  At the time he reached down his shirt’s back had torn away exposing bare skin. Blood prickled on his back. Fortunate for him nothing bad happened. He thought he broke a leg, but when he checked, everything was just fine apart from the loss of skin in a few places. His hands and legs are all dirty. Some soil sprinkled toward his head from the top of the cliff.

  The ground where Jack now stands is filled with the soil from the top of the cliff. Soil hid the snow on top of the ground. Wind howled past Jack chilling Jack to the core. His skin is fully redden now. Jack slowly walked through a narrow path between two mountains which supposedly leads to nowhere.

  He needs to find something to cover his bare skin now or he will die due to cold. He finally reached the other side of the path and the sight in front of him excited him. Before him lay a few tents scattered through the land possibly made by human survivors. Who else make tents here?

  The tents are made up of cloths. Why on earth did the survivors carried this much of cloths? Anyway Jack looked inside each tent but sadly he found no one. Survivors must have left this place.

  Fortunately Jack found a nice pair of clothes inside one tent that fit well. He changed his clothes from there. It is now that he looked at his bag. Bag’s exterior is filled with dirt even though he carried the bag safely in his arms to get more heat. This bag was given to him by Jan on his last birth day. Jack slowly cleared the dirt from the bag using a piece of cloth. Now the bag looks dirtier, seriously dirtier.

  “Never mind. Should wash when I am home.” Jack said himself.

  Jack stood up and threw his bag on his shoulders. It’s time to move on. Jack took one knife in his hands since he lost his rod when he fell down from the cliff. Jack slowly exited the tent. Suddenly Jack froze. In front of him stood a beautiful young woman. Possibly one of the survivor. Jack couldn’t hide the fact that she is prettier like Jan. Jack stood there motionless with astonishment and relief that he is not alone anymore.

  “Thank, god!” Jack heard the woman say.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 18

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountains

  “Are you from ship Harmony?” Jack finally asked cutting down the silence.

  “Yes. And I don’t remember seeing you. Who are you?” The woman asked.

  “I am Jack. I came here after Harmony sank.” Jack said.

  “So, you must be here to help us, right?” The woman asked.

  “Kind of.” Jack said.

  “Kind of?” The woman asked.

  “Well, I am here on a mission to find the secrets behind Bermuda triangle. And also to find out what happened to ship Harmony.” Jack said looking away.

  “Why on Earth did you do that for? Is this mystery enough for you? Who on earth would come to this ugly place?” The woman asked.

  “Just me I guess. Also I didn’t knew I would end up here in the first place but I am sure that there will be another portal somewhere here which will lead us back to earth.” Jack said trying to encourage the woman. “So what’s your name?”

  “I am Clare.” The woman said.

  “So, Clare, how many were you?” Jack asked.

  “We were forty, but when I woke up this morning I was alone. They left me here all alone.” Clare said, tears welled up in her eyes.

  “I heard the ship had hundred people. What happen to the other sixty?” Jack asked.

  “We don’t know. They just vanished into thin air, I guess.” Clare said.

  “So, what’s your story?” Jack asked.

  “Well. I am an accountant and I was on my way to Bermuda when all this happened. Actually I was sleeping in my room, in the ship, of course. I woke up by the sound of ship falling somewhere. When I went outside I saw this horrible place. The desert. Can you imagine that, one minute we were floating on the water, next minute we are here in this god forsaken land where sky is pinkish.” Clare paused thinking. “Then we w
ere afraid. And we decided to go in the direction of the mountains. We actually waited for rescue in the first week. We were actually heartbroken since some of us had disappeared. We also began to see horrible nightmare about some dark entity capturing us and all. Then in the next week we moved here.”

  “Didn’t you see those dog things and rattle snakes.” Jack asked.

  “We did saw those dog things. They chased us here but they don’t like cold so they ran away.” Clare said. “We didn’t see the rattle snakes, though.”

  “Those horrible snakes were larger than king cobra.” Jack said.

  “What? Did they attack you?” Clare asked a little surprised.

  “They did tried to attack, but somehow I escaped and ended up in your ship.” Jack said.

  “So, what happened next?” Jack asked.

  “We walked long way to get here in the cold. Then we saw these tents and we stayed her for two weeks now.” Clare said.

  “I thought these tents were made by you guys.” Jack asked.

  “No. These tents were already here when we got here.” Clare said.

  Another mystery for sure.

  “Okay.” Jack somehow processed the new information hardly. “Then what makes the others to move away all of a sudden?” Jack asked.

  “Well, it’s mostly because of the dreams. The dreams got uglier. We think it is because of this place. So we decides to move on, but I didn’t thought they would leave me alone.” Clare said tightening her arms across her waist due to cold.

  “Don’t worry about it, now that I am here. You said they left this morning?” Jack asked.

  “Yes.” Clare said nodding her head.

  “Come on. Let’s catch them up.” Jack said readied to move.

  “Okay.” Clare and Jack slowly walked side by side deep in to the unknown.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 19

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountains

  Jack took the last packet of snack from his bag and he tore it open. He threw in the snacks to his mouth while walking. Jack put forward the packet of snacks to Clare. She took a handful from the packet with eagerness and they both strolled through the snow covered landscape.

  Big mountains are wholly covered in snow and snow in some of the part slid through the inclined surface like an avalanche, but not destructive. Jack thought about sliding through the snow in a snowboard. Back when he was at home he usually go for snow sports, in the winter, of course.

  “So, what did you ate all this time to get over hunger?” Jack asked.

  “We ate the food from the ship mostly. We all took bag full of food when moving here. Also we caught squirrels.” Clare said.

  “Squirrels?” Jack asked confused.

  “Yes. Squirrels. They are very tasty. They come in pack in the morning. Did you saw the nut trees growing near the tents?” Clare asked.

  “Yes.” Jack said.

  “Squirrels love those nuts and the boys will capture them by throwing stones at them.” Clare said.

  “So, in short you guys enjoyed your time here.” Jack said.

  “We did, but happiness will not last long. Those shitty dreams shook us in the core. We actually were scared about what will happen next. I mean we did saw those dogs. By the way those dogs barked, they want our flesh. That alone induced a panic in us. The most shocking thing is we all saw the same dream in which a dark thing trying to haul us in to a darker place. First we thought it was just a dream but then we started to see it as soon as we close our eyes. Most of us haven’t slept for days because of this.” Clare said with a seriousness.

  “Sounds like a horrific nightmare.” Jack said.

  “This place entirely is a nightmare. This coldness may soon kill me. I am shivering.” Clare said.

  “I have took an extra shirt from the tent.” Jack opened his bag and produced the shirt to Clare. “Here you go, wear it. It may minimise the cold.”

  Clare accepted the shirt and wore it. She shivered when wearing the shirt.

  “So where do you think we are? Are we under the sea in some mysterious place?” Clare asked.

  “I don’t think we are at Earth at all. This is a new dimension. And this world is nothing like the Earth we know of.” Jack said.

  “Just like I thought. Do you thing they will send help?” Clare asked.

  “Who? Our government?” Jack asked.

  “Yes.” Clare said.

  “According to them Bermuda triangle does not exist. I don’t think they will send help. They must have stopped searching for us long ago.” Jack said.

  “I was afraid you’re going to say that.” Clare said.

  “We have to find our way home.” Jack said. “So, are you married?” Jack asked changing the topic when he saw Clare’s face filled with fear.

  “No. I have a boyfriend but he is not in to a relationship even though I have a connection towards him. What about you?” Clare asked.

  “I am married and my first child is on his way to Earth.” Jack said smiling.

  “How far is she?” Clare asked.

  “She is four months away. I want to be home at that time.” Jack said.

  “I am sure we will find the portal if it do exists.” Clare said.

  They reached near a melted glacier which is flowing through the mountain ranges at high speed. Then they saw it. A man in red shirt is lying near the glacier with his legs on the water.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 20

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountain

  Jack and Clare rushed forward. The man was lying with his face downward. When Jack reached near the man he immediately flipped him and looked for a pulse.

  “He is long gone.” Jack said with worrisome.

  Clare covered her mouth with her hand in horror. That’s when Jack looked at the dead man’s swollen belly.

  “He must have drown.” Jack said.

  “I know him. He was with us.” Clare said.

  “He must have fallen down when crossing the glacier. He drank too much water.” Jack said. “The good news is we must be on the right trail. Come one let’s catch them. They can’t be far.”

  Jack and Clare walked through the edges of the glacier looking for a way to cross. Then they spot it. The glacier is flowing through a tunnelled rock. Jack and Clare easily crossed through the rocky surface and they entered in to the other part of the glacier. Trees are lining this part on both sides of a narrow path which supposedly lead them forward.

  Jack and Clare reached the end of the path and saw that they are in an elevated ground and below is a tree filled land. In a distance they saw a huge tower. Survivors must have gone in that way. Something shined from the top of the tower. Jack and Clare moved forward towards the tower, started by climbing down.

  * * * * *

  Part 4: The Tower

  Chapter 21

  2026 July 27, Unknown Mountains

  The tower is surrounded by trees and the trees are covered in snow. Jack and Clare slowly moved forward. Based on the position of the sun it is about evening. A thin layer of darkness began to cover the entire place. Here snow is very loose and when they took firm steps their legs got buried in the snow. Walking is very difficult especially since the snow fall started.

  Jack and Clare wrapped their hands across their chest to get warm. Jack’s face have completely turned red. Clare’s face have also turned red. The tower is still about a kilometre away. Suddenly a howl came from their back.

  A wolf!

  Jack saw the beast clearly. It’s in pure white colour. Jack could clearly see its teeth shining in the day light.

  “Run!” Jack yelled.

  Clare was actually wondering when Jack would say that.

  Jack and Clare ran through the loose snow at maximum speed they had mustered. The wolf ran at them with full speed. When the thing reached near Jack it jumped on top of Jack. Jack fell down on the snow along with the wolf. The wolf immediately propelled forward to bite in his head but Jack kept the thing at bay using
his right hand while his left hand searched for the dropped knife.

  Suddenly the wolf bite deeper in to Jack’s right hand.

  “Ahh ...” Jack screamed.

  Clare also screamed in horror. Finally Jack’s left hand got a grasp in his knife. With a fluent movement Jack pressed the knife deeper in to the wolf’s under belly. The wolf howled sharply and it went down. Jack slide away the wolf from his body and somehow he stood up. His shirt gotten drenched in wolf’s blood.

  “Ahh ...” Jack couldn’t hold back the pain in his right hand along with the surging pain from his shoulders.

  “Fucker!” Jack muttered.

  “Let me look at it.” Clare took Jack’s hand in her and examined.

  Clare took some snow from the ground and rubbed it along the wound in Jack’s right hand.

  “Ahh ...” Jack screamed again.

  “Don’t be a little boy.” Clare soothed him.

  Clare then tore the hem of her shirt and wrapped the piece of shirt around Jack’s arm.

  “There you go. It will be fine.” Clare said.

  Jack for a moment lost in thoughts staring at the dead wolf.

  “Come on. Let’s move.” Clare said gesturing with her head.

  Jack shifted his gaze and they both started towards the tower. It looks like the land they are walking is a forest. There is thick growth of trees and snow covered shrubs there and there, but to the mysterious side of these lands there is a narrow path that leads to the tower.

  Jack couldn’t say someone had passed through this path because even if someone did passed this way, the trail will be lost in the fallen snow. The snow is very loose in these parts. Jack and Clare left a long line of footprints through the snow only to wash away by the freshly fallen snow but Jack is pretty confident that the survivors did took this path.

  Jack and Clare slowly moved forward. The loose snow is considerably reducing their pace.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 22

  2026 July 27, the Tower, Unknown Mountains

  Jack and Clare finally entered inside the tower’s boundary. Tower’s boundary is marked by a small wall built by using burned brick. Even though the wall is covered in snow Jack could clearly see the form and shape of the bricks.