This is a work I have in progress. It is, to be honest, no where near done as of yet. I would like feedback and suggestions on what I have written so far.
Chapter 1
There were legends that circulated around the small Pennsylvania town of Allegheny Heights for as long as anyone could remember of an old, nearly ancient burial site somewhere in the surrounding mountains. Some said that it was Native American, others said it was earlier than that and still some said that some Vikings, disillusioned with their findings in Canada, wandered away and settled in the more temperate mountains. Nothing was ever proven because nothing was ever found but the stories continued to grow.
More than a few times people went out looking. Some came back with wilder embellishments of the story, others with nothing but poison ivy and sunburn. Yet others never returned and were never found. Of course, that added new dimensions to the story, and the more the story grew, the more people went looking until it went from a campfire tale to legend and finally to history.
More than twenty summers ago, a troop of boy scouts left the First United Church of Christ for a weekend of fishing and hiking. The woods were dense at first with pines, oaks and maples lining the trails. Occasionally, a snake would slither across and small groups of birds broke through the leaves looking for the warmth of the sun.
In an area of the woods very rarely visited by anyone, two of them, Johnny Miller and Frank Tesci, were searching for mushrooms under a granite outcropping and taking pictures of some of the landscapes in the area. There they saw a small piece of rusted metal. Johnny and Frank never said a word as they moved branches aside. As they did, they saw more pieces poking out of the ground and yet more hanging from the roof of a small cave. Taking a rock, they broke the jagged edges off and crawled inside.
The cave went through 50 feet of rock but the boys could see a dim light at the end. It was not nearly as bright as they had left but there would be enough to see with. As they exited, they saw several stone slabs, a few broken and scattered, with strange writings covering their surface. Looking up, they saw a forest canopy so thick that the daytime sky looked as if the sunlight was nothing more than stars on a dark night. An open box rested on a slab located in a corner surrounded by large rocks. It took the boys a few minutes to get to it but once they did they found an amulet with a deep red ruby surrounded in silver and gold bands. Around the edge were words written in a strange language. Instead of being letters as they knew them, there were strange engravings all around the edge. Some looked like people, others looked like lines, scenes or animals and there were words that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
Thinking for several minutes, they both looked at all the items scattered around the cave. At the end of the area was a large chair decorated with gold and jewels. In it sat the remains of a person. The bones were still intact and draped by shiny cloths and aged, tattered furs. On its head was a kind of crown with the head of a large cat protruding from the front.
There was so much treasure lying around, mostly gold, silver along with bones and weapons, the boys just shook their heads and stared. Finally, after God know how much time, Frank picked up the amulet and felt a tingling shoot up his arms. "What the hell is that?" he asked. His fingers clinched tighter as the tingling got more and more intense. He did not want to cry but the pain was getting harder to stand. Finally he could stand it no longer, and he screamed louder than anyone possibly could. Hearing the screams, Johnny reached over and slapped Frank's arm, sending the amulet flying across the field. "We'll go and get our dads," he said. "Maybe they'll know what to do." Rushing back through the cave, they saw that he path they walked earlier was gone. Once in the open, they looked back to see that the entrance to the cave had also disappeared.
The boys did rush into town and got their families and friends. Returning to the sight, Frank and Johnny looked for landmarks and found them but the entrance was no where to be found. During summers and holidays, every minute they could get away from their school work, they were up in woods looking for the entrance to the cave so they could have proof that they found what nobody believed existed.
There was talk in the town that four strange women walked into town that day but almost as soon as they arrived they turned and left without saying a word to anyone but that, like the legend, faded into myth as time went by. The only thing anyone could remember was the way they were dressed. They all wore long black dresses, very low cut revealing more than the small town was used to seeing, long dark brown hair and eyes that were a cold blue that some say brought the ice of the north with them.
Years later, now grown, John and Frank still searched the hills and valleys looking and hoping that they would find something anything to prove their memories to them.
Chapter 2
One morning shortly after John's 23rd birthday, he came running over to Frank's house. "Frank," he yelled pounding on the door. "I found something you have got to see." The more he pounded the louder he got. "Frank, get your freaking ass out of bed. This is important. You won't believe it."
Still groggy from a party the night before, Frank finally got out of bed and crawled to the door. "What is so important you can't let a man die in peace," he asked rubbing the sun out of his eyes. "This better be..." He was not able to end his sentence before a picture was shoved in his face. "What the hell is that," he asked getting madder and madder.
"Look at it dumbass" John said with a smile on his face.
"I don't see anything," Frank said. "I see some trees, rocks and some really bad photography."
"That's no surprise, you took the picture."
"Okay, what am I looking at," Frank asked.
"In the rocks, look in the rocks". Frank looked and saw shadows, dark almost black shadows. "Look really close," he said holding the picture as still as possible. There it was, just slightly lighter then the black. He saw the edges of an iron gate covered with vines and ivy.
"Holy shit," Frank yelled. "Where did you get that?"
"I was cleaning out my mom's desk for her last week and I found a bunch of undeveloped film. I guess she never got around to getting them to the drug store. A mess of the pictures were of my aunts and uncles when they came to visit but some were of outings we went on and one was that fishing trip with the scouts."
Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, Frank looked even closer at the picture. "Those rocks couldn't have changed that much in ten years, could they" Frank asked.
"I don't think so," John replied. They both looked at each other as if they shared a thought. "I think we ought to go this weekend." Frank just nodded his agreement and shoved his friend back out the door. As the door shut, John stuck his foot in keeping it open for a second. "I will call you tonight and we can talk about it." Frank just mumbled about getting back to bed, kicked his foot and slammed the door.
Frank tried for a couple more hours to get some needed sleep but every time he closed his eyes he saw John and that picture. Finally he got up, opened the curtain to let in the noontime sun, and got dressed. Mumbling the whole time abut the rotten S.O.B. who bothered a man during a hard-earned nights sleep, he grabbed a toaster waffle from the fridge and just bolted it down without milk, coffee or syrup. The light still burned his eyes as he got in his car and started driving the three blocks over to his friend's house. It took 5 minutes to drive the distance. Of course, there were a few signs of road rage on the way when an old woman was driving 4 miles per hour on a 35 mile per hour street but other than that it was an uneventful trip. John was just starting to pull onto the street after a lunch with his wife when Frank pulled up, blocking him in his driveway. "Okay..." he yelled, "...let me see that picture again?"
They both shut their cars off when John suggested they go back in the house. There with a magnifying glass both John and Frank covered the photo from top to bottom. They could see in the shadows in the cave and something that looked like the bars of the gate. It was clearer and more defined in eyes that had found the rest they needed. "I did one thing with it earlier," John said. He reached over and with one poke at a keyboard an enlarged version of the photograph appeared on the computer monitor.
"John, do you have Paint Shop Pro," Frank asked. John just and opened the program. A couple more keystrokes and the pretty girl at the opening of the program was looking at both of them with just the slightest of smiles while the system got ready to run the program. John got up from his seat and Frank took his place.
"I am going to enhance the picture and decrease the shadows just a bit and we should be able to see a lot more," Frank said. "This will take a couple minutes so you go get us a couple beers and turn the music up." He did and by the time he got back the editing was done and they were both looking at a site they had seen years before...the opening of an ancient cave. However this time they noticed a very faint carving in a rock above the gate. As far as they could tell it read "Regoshin tal e pogunta"
"What language is that," John asked. Frank replied that he had never seen anything like it before. Frank enlarged the image one more level and printed it out.
"I think I'll stop by the university this afternoon and see if they know what this is," Frank said as he pulled the paper from the printer. "Meet me down at the bar around nine tonight and I'll let you know what I find out." John agreed and they both left for their respective jobs.
Hours later, Frank finally got to leave on his lunch break and, just as he promised, he took the rest of the day off and headed for Pittsburgh and the University Of Pittsburgh main campus. Once there he looked up the head of the linguistics and ancient languages departments. Several of the classes were in session so he found a nice seat in front of the department head's office. It didn't take long before several of the professors dismissed their classes and headed past. Without hesitation Frank reached out and grabbed one of the first to walk by. "I need some help," he said still holding on the gentleman's arm. "We, a friend of mine and I, found a cave a few years back. This morning we found a picture of the cave and noticed some strange writing surrounding the opening. Can you tell me what it means," he asked, holding out the picture.
The professor took the picture and looked at it for a second and called several of the others over to see what was there. They took the photo, but not Frank, into one of their offices where they must have looked at it for what seemed like hours before they finally came back with a happy confusion on the faces. "Where did you find this," was their first question as a group. He explained that they were on a camping trip as kids and stumbled on the cave in a secluded part of the woods.
"This is an impossible find. The language in the picture is something we saw once in an expedition into a cave in Newfoundland," the oldest of the professors said.
"Where did you find this," a second asked. Frank wondered how he should handle that question, knowing full well that if he told even the general area, the scholars would take possession, and the two men would get little or nothing, other than a plaque in front of a museum.
Lying through his teeth, he replied, "We were up in Ontario, somewhere near Iroquois Falls. We found it in a cave about 5 miles outside of town." They asked if there was anything else in the cave of interest. Quickly changing the subject, Frank quickly asked if they could translate it.
The older professor answered that this was the second example ever to be found. "There is not enough syntax or phrasing available to be able to translate it at this time. But if you do not mind we'd like to make a copy of this to study." Frank agreed to let them copy the photo, but he went them to make sure he got the original back. It took them a couple minutes since they made 20 or so copies. As soon as they were done, he grabbed the original and took off back to Allegheny Heights.
A couple hours later, Frank was home and on the phone to his best friend. "Johnny," he said, "I just got back from Pittsburgh. They said that there is only one other example of anything like that and it was found in northern Canada." There was not a sound at the other end of the line for quite a while then Johnnie asked if they translated any of it. "No," Frank replied, "There is not enough of the writings around for them to be able to figure out what it says."
"Frank, hide that picture really well," John said. "I really need to hear more. I'll be at Shannon's in about an hour. Meet me there." He agreed and went to put the picture in his secret hiding place, basically the same place he had hidden things since he was 12. After that he finally got to sit down to eat and relax for a short time.
An hour later, he and John walked into the bar at nearly the same time. Both sat at a booth way in the back. Now, these booths were usually reserved for lovers who wanted to be out of sight of their significant others. At other times, business deals between people of less than savory character took place with often several thousands dollars passing across the stained wooden tables. This time it was just information, that may be worth millions, that no one else needed to hear was being shared.
"What exactly did they say," John asked before their beers arrived. Frank repeated the story in details so precise that there would or could be no further questions.
"Tomorrow is Friday," Frank said. "We'll both call off work and get up there and try to find this place."
"I'll be getting up sometime around 5. I'll be at your house a little before 6 and we'll drive straight through," John said. "You go home and make a couple gallons of coffee and I'll get Helen to make some sandwiches. To get our stories straight, we are going up to Lake Pleasant to get in some fishing...right."
Neither man slept much that night. Memories of that day so many years before flooded their thoughts. What would they find if they could find it? What would they do if they were memories and not dreams and there was wealth beyond their wildest expectations?
Before the sun rose, John was awake and on his way to Frank's house. He had already had more than a half gallon of coffee, and his mind was spinning thinking about everything he had heard and seen in the last 24 hours. He got to Frank's house sometime close to 5 and there he was waiting in the driveway, his wife looking out the window as if she knew what was going on but could not exactly understand it. "C'mon man," John said as he pulled in the drive. "We've got to get going," he said opening the passenger side door. As soon as the door closed, he threw the car into reverse and they were off.
"You know where we are going?" Frank asked.
"I know the general area. I know we are going to have to have a long walk once we get there." They turned from Frank's street and on to Route 79 headed north. Frank finished off John's coffee and looked straight ahead through the rather dirty windshield. It was only a couple exits away and it only took 25 minutes but for the two of them it seemed a lot longer. During the trip, they talked about their lives, former loves and their plans for the fortune.
"What ever happened to that girl you dated in high school," John asked.
"You mean Sharon," Frank asked back. John just nodded his head.
"She left town to go to school and we, kind of, lost touch. I saw her a couple times when she came back to visit her family but we never talked. By the time I realized how I felt Lori had gotten pregnant and he family insisted that I marry her. I still see her around town sometimes and our eyes meet but I don't have anything to talk to her about anymore. Now I wish I could just hear from her so I can see how she is doing." John said that he knew what he was feeling and that conversation disappeared like a puff of smoke from John's cigarette. They talked about other loves and lives they wished they had lived but the time flew too fast to get into anything too deep.
Finally, they got near the exit and they turned east and headed into the mountains. A lot had changed. Stores they stopped at as kids were now run down and covered with thick strands of green ivy. The gas station they bought gas from was still there looking like a shack built in some third word country but the signs were still hanging in front advertising B.F. Goodrich tires and premium gas for only 25 cents a gallon. At the side was the rusting hulk of a 1965 Chevy with rust orange replacing what must have been, at one time, beautiful colors. The gullied dirt roads were now tarred and chipped, making the sound of a machine gun as the tires threw the gravel against the car. Even the wooden bridges had been rebuilt using steel and concrete. Finally, there was the old shattered tree stump. It was there like gnarled sentry guarding an ancient fort. Its branches were devoid of leaves and the bark was hanging from silver fibers like knots in an old man's hair.
About a mile down the road, John saw the remnants of a road covered with brush and three foot tall grass. He slowed the car and cautiously turned down a steep slope where the road cleared and the mountains were clearly visible. They traveled about two miles before the steered off the side and parked the car. Below them they saw a familiar sight, a flat area of grass near a small lagoon. The sun was reflecting on the water but between the flashes they could see schools of bright orange carp swimming by. Frank put his hand on John's shoulder. "We are here," he said. John just crooked his head and smiled.
"Yes we are," he replied. "Let's make camp for the night and we'll get started in the morning." Frank agreed and they set up their tent, cooked dinner and did some fishing. By that time night had arrived and they turned in for the night.
Chapter 3
Morning came slower than either of them wanted. As they stirred from their tent they saw a fog thicker that anything they had ever seen in town. Although only a few feet from the edge of the lagoon it could not be seen. Even the fire they had kept going all night was just a blurry orange shape in a world of gray. After several hours it began to lift and Frank and John had their first good look around. Accidentally one of them tripped and found an old fire pit with a dented pot buried beside it. "John," Frank yelled. "Look at this."
"What is it," he asked.
"You remember that pot your dad burned when he was showing us how to cook on a fire?"
"Yeah"
"Well, here it is," Frank said scratching below his Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap. John ran over, nearly falling into the lagoon. "That is it isn't," Frank said in disbelief.
John picked it up and looked at it. On the bottom were the initials "T.M.". "My God...," he said, "...Those are my dad's initials." They both just stood up, John still holding the pot. He looked around staring into the woods. "This is the right place...I know it." He pointed toward a break in the trees. "We have to go that way."
"Alright buddy but I think we should have some breakfast and coffee first," Frank said kneeling over their fire. John reluctantly agreed and they cooked some smoked ham and powered eggs. Over course the coffee was way too strong but what could be expected from two men alone in the woods. It took them till almost 10 to finally get ready and get moving but once they did it didn't take them long to cover several miles of trail.
Carrying the photographs they walked along trails that had faded or nearly disappeared from lack of use until finally they found what they were looking for. Across the valley was a stone wall with a vein of rose colored granite splitting the gray rock into two. John held up the photo and they both looked at, smiles across their faces. "It is somewhere around here," Frank said grabbing the picture. He headed north while John moved toward the mountainside. It took about 3 hours but finally John yelled that he had found something. Frank ran over and there it was, the old rusted gate, the vines and brush and those strange words. They just stood and looked as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. "Let's campout tonight," John said. "Everything will be there in the morning." Frank agreed and once again they set up camp and settled in for the night.
The next morning found the area bathed in a golden glow. They both awoke at the same time and, without eating breakfast, changing clothes or even making coffee they walked the 500 yards to the gate. There it was those words, "Regoshin tal e pogunta" but there was something different that they had not noticed before. They looked up and saw a cinnamon garnet about the size of a softball placed just above the words. The rays of the morning sun were backlighting the stone which glowed like a miniature sun with several hundred beams of light flowing through the slight morning fog.
Clearing the brush away they finally saw the gate, still jarred open from their visit years before. Grabbing it tightly they pulled it lose from some vines that had grown between the iron bars and climbed into the stone tunnel. A few feet later and there is was, everything was exactly as they had left it. Frank looked around as if he were a man on a mission. "Where is it," he asked under his breath. John walked ahead not looking back at his partner. Frank started tearing at the grass and ferns that had grown up be the tunnel. "It has to be here," he said, his voice starting to sound as if there was the beginning of a panic hidden deep with in. Searching down on all fours his actions echoed the emotions in his voice.
John looked around in a more casual fashion taking a mental note of everything he was looking at. There was more gold and gems than he remembered...tons more. The body was still seated on the granite throne surrounded by flowering plants and tall weeds. There was one thing he had not seen before. Leaning in front of the throne was a stone tablet with markings covering it...a written language. He lifted it and looked closely at the writing. It was the same style as that on the gate. Down the side were several pictures but the rest was text carved deep into the black rock. The stone was relatively small measuring no more than a couple feet tall and a about a foot wide so he slipped it into his backpack and continued to look around. Suddenly he stopped at stared at the face of the mummy. "
Frank..." he yelled, "...you have to see this." Frank looked up but quickly back to his searching. " "Frank, get your ass over here," John yelled with a serious importance in his voice. This time Frank did what he was told.
"What the hell do you want," Frank asked. John never said a word rather he pointed to the face. There it was. Somehow the amulet was hanging from the neck of the king, priest or what he was.
Frank looked back to the area he remembered as the place he threw the amulet. His face showed a combination of surprise and shock but somehow it was not reflected in his voice which calmed as soon as he saw the amulet. "How the hell did it get here," he asked. John just looked back and didn't say a word choosing to shrug his shoulders instead. Frank reached up, clearing away centuries of cobwebs, and grabbed the chain, ripping it from the body's neck. As he did there was a gasp of air exited the open mouth making a short moan and the body fell to dust, covering the seat of throne with a thick layer of grayish green powder.
Holding the amulet is his hand he changed. A look of serenity swept across his face but it only last a second. Frank to the chain opened it and lowered it over his neck. The amulet fell onto his chest and as it did Frank started convulsing. His body twisted and contorted into positions that had never been seen before. "Frank,: John yelled as he started moving toward him.
"Stay away," Frank yelled back. "Stay the fuck away from me." The convulsions continued and got stronger. Frank's breaths were short and shallow as if the was not oxygen left in the air for the wanting lungs. His lips had a slight blue tint to the them and his eyelids fluttered like pieces of cloth in a hurricane. Both hands grasped at the amulet holding it closer to his chest. Suddenly just and quickly as it started the convulsions stopped and Frank was left on the ground, as still as if he had died. But as John looked down he saw slow rhythmic breaths and the color returned to Frank's face. Raising his head Frank looked around and said, "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," John said kneeling beside his friend. "I thought for a moment that I had lost you." He looked and Frank's face. There was something about his eyes. He could not put a finger on it but they looked clearer and more awake than he had ever seen. "Do you feel okay," he asked.
Frank slowly, unsteadily rose to his feet and looked around. "I am fine," he replied.
As he finished his sentence a strong breeze blew through a small opening in the tree tops. The wind picked up the powder from the throne and swirled it around like a miniature tornado. It almost appeared to become solid as it was buffeted and thrown around the canyon. Suddenly and strong updraft lifted the powder and took it back through the same opening.
John took the tablet they had found earlier and looked at it more carefully. The was a strong red and gold patina on the rock and the edges of the engraving were worn smooth with age. At the top were several larger letters. They spelled out two words or, as John thought, maybe a name. "Tirgorna Letraiv," was all it said. "I wonder what this says," he asked.
"It is probably nothing," Frank said as he started to gather some of the other artifacts which were strewn around the site. His eyes were still strange in a way which could not be defined. After about 2 hours of searching and gathering items they settled in, at Frank's insistence, for an evening meal and a good night's sleep. During the night they heard several strange conversations, saw mists which looked like people drift by and felt fingers stroke their faces, arms and legs. But neither of the two said anything to the other for fear of being ridiculed and teased for the rest of their lives.
In the morning neither men had slept very well, possibly splitting two hours rest between them but there was something strange, maybe a feeling, that told them something was wrong until Frank noticed that the stone was missing from John's pack. Looking frantically around the site they finally found it back in its original position. Both thought the other had played a joke so neither of them said anything about it. They just gathered up their possessions, including the stone, and started back down the long tunnel.
As they exited the other end John stood and looked around, his eyes wide and his pupils as large as they could be. He looked as if he was in another world. Frank ran over and shook him. "What is it," he asked. "What do you see?" Words that started as mere mumbles but cleared rather quickly.
John looked around. The images he saw were solid but also transparent. "There is a building, made of wood and rope. I can see maybe a dozen people walking around. They are wearing furs and the men are carrying long swords," he replied. "There is a large fire pit in the center with huge branches and trunks feeding a fired that nearly touches the ceiling."
Then suddenly John stopped talking and just stood there. In his vision four young women in white robes approached and knelt down before him. "Rosit Lordate," they said without looking into his eyes. "Opesa tah ros hotesa ros?"
John just looked at them and said the best answer he could think of. He simply said, "Polug res kilsa muy er ros a poist." The four of them nodded in unison and walked away. Now all of the people in the building were looking directly at him, their heads bowed. John looked around and, without saying a word to anyone...not even Frank, he walked though a large doorway and into the meadow outside the cave. "What the hell was that," he finally asked, falling to his knees. "They spoke to me....four of them...four women."
Frank picked him up and led him over to a large rock, settling him down Frank asked what he had seen. John went into detail about the building, the people, everything he had seen and heard.
"What did you say?" Frank asked.
Casually John answered him. "They asked if there was anything they could do for me and I said no, that's all."
Suddenly John got up and ran about 30 feet to a small pile if grass and shrubs. Once there he dropped and started tearing at the dirt.
"What are you looking for," Frank asked.
"I just have to check...see if it was a dream or hallucination."
"What."
"Everything I saw. I have to know if it is real."
By now he had already dug down more that six inches. Finally, a couple of inches later, he found something. It looked like a topless box made of stone. Inside were shards of wood. Each appeared that it had been hand cut on one side. John grabbed one piece and stuck it in his pocket.
"I'll get this checked out when we get back," he thought to himself.
Calling Frank closer John said, "Here it is. It was real." Frank asked what "it" was. "Here," he said, "One of the support holes for the building I saw. It must have been real." John sat up on the edge of the tiny hole with a big smile on his face. Frank just walked over and picked up the bags of treasure they picked up and carried them back to the campground.
"When you are ready I'll be cooking dinner," Frank yelled back. John just looked into the hole and silently nodded his head.
It wasn't till way after dark when John made it back. Dinner had been warming for more than two hours and Frank was just sitting there drinking a cup of coffee. "Frank, throw that coffee away," John said reaching into his backpack. Bringing out a bottle of Jack Daniels he smiled, "A day like this deserves something special." They both took turns drinking the entire quart down. By the time the fire had died down so had both of them, drifting off into a world of drunken unconsciousness.
In the morning they looked around. The entrance to the cave had once again disappeared and everything had returned to the way it was when they first arrived. It took about 4 hours for them to completely sober up and get everything together before they could start back. Near the fire pit was the bag they had filled with stones and gold. The stone tablet laid beside the bag. Frank made sure that he grabbed that and stuck it deep in the bottom of his backpack. Because of the weight in their packs it took several hours for them to walk back to the car. Once there they took their time driving back to town, finishing several beers on the trip. A couple times Frank nearly drove off the road but recovered just in time. Eventually they pulled into Frank's driveway and got everything unloaded.
"I'm going home and get some sleep," John said. "I'll be back sometime tonight to sort out what we got." Frank nodded as he put the last bag in his garage.
Chapter 4
The naps they both took last well into the following morning. Sometime around 11 John showed up and he and Frank got their findings out of the garage. John was till wearing the amulet and he was not willing to add it to the other objects they had found. But before they stated sorting things out Frank started talking.
"Guess who wrote me a letter," He said.
"I have no idea," John replied. "Santa Clause maybe."
"No you smartass." John reached over and slapped Frank across the back of his head. "Sharon...Sharon Sheppard. The letter said that she has tried to get in touch with me but she had no idea where I gotten to."
"And...?"
"And what?'
"Are you going to contact her?"
"She sent her number in the letter so I think I am going to call and maybe meet her for dinner or something...just to talk."
"Yeah right," John said shaking his head with a big knowing smile on his face. "I know better that that and so do you. She is the one you've been dreaming about for years. It won't end with dinner."
"I know," Frank said putting his head in his hand. John could hear his voice start to crack as he continued talking. "You know that I always loved her and I always will. I just wish there was a way that I could change things so that she and I can be together."
John asked if he could see the letter.
"I left it on the desk in my study." Frank lifted his head with a look of fear in his eyes. "Oh my God," he screamed.
"What," John asked.
Without a word Frank just stood up and ran back into the house. As he opened the door to his study he saw what he was afraid of...his wife reading the letter. He did not say a word, choosing to just stand there and see what was going to happen.
"Frank, who is Sharon," Frank's wife asked without looking at him.
"Someone I used to know when I was in high school," he replied.
"Someone special?"
"Yeah. She and I were close to being engaged when you got pregnant. I dumped her and married you."
"Why did she write to you now?'
"I have no idea," he lowered his head as he answered the question.
"Do you still love her?"
"I don't know."
His answer brought a tear to both her eyes as well as his.
"Do you plan to see her," she asked.
Frank just looked into her eyes. Lying was not going to do any good and the truth was going to cause a lot of trouble.
"I'll tell you what...," she started "...I am going to save you the trouble. If you want me to stay just say so, if you don't just be an ass and stand there and say nothing."
She stood there for a good fifteen minutes just starting at him. Her anger grew with every second he didn't answer. Finally she walked over and slapped him across the face and then with out a word she added a knee to the groin just to emphasize the point.
Suddenly she screamed, "Ok, you son of a bitch, I'll be back on Friday to get my stuff. You make it a point to be gone."
Frank just nodded his head and covered his mouth to hide the beginnings of a slight smile he had thinking that now he could finally be happy.
Frank didn't wait around making it back to the garage before busting out laughing.
"Frank, what in the hell happened."
"Janice found the letter," he said smiling as big as he ever had before. "She is leaving me and going back to her family."
"What," John asked.
"My wish came true. I can get back together with Sharon. I have wanted that for so long."
John walked over and placed his hands on his friend's shoulder.
"I am so happy for you my friend," he said. "You deserve to be happy for once in your life."
With that they both walked over and started sorting out the pile of jewels, trinkets and carvings that they found. The one thing they were both interested in was a golden crown with several large diamonds and rubies placed around the lower edge of the item.
"Oh my God," Frank said. "This must be worth a fortune all on its own." Placing his finger next to the larger of the diamonds he saw that it measured from his second knuckle to the tip of his finger.
John brought up that they had to take some of the stuff to the university to make sure that it was authentic and that they were not dreaming everything.
Just then the garage door open and a ceramic pot came flying across, smashing into the bad of Frank's head. His wife stood there with a look of pure evil mixed with anger.
"Take that you rotten son of a bitch," she screamed as the door slammed behind her.
Frank reached back and felt blood gushing from several wounds in the back of his head. John looked over and asked the most understated question ever. Are you ok," he asked.
"Do I look like I'm fucking ok you ass," he replied holding a greasy towel to the back of his head.
"You look like you could be doing better," John said with a smile across his face. After asking Frank if he wanted to go to the hospital and Frank refusing all he could say was, "Well, let's get back to work."
After a few minutes John looked over at his friend and was reminded of something he had heard on years before and being John he just had to say it..."Watch what you wish for my friend...you may get it." Frank looked over and raised a single finger into the air and that was the end of the conversation.
Once they began sorting the treasure again Frank reached down and picked up a huge reddish diamond. "Look at this," he yelled.
John ran over and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Frank was fumbling with his find so John reached across the table and grabbed the piece. "We have to keep this separate," he said while his fingers worked to remove the stone from its mounting. Finally it came loose and landed in his hand.
There were no chips on the sharp edges, the baguettes were smooth and shiny and the light showed through and sparks of red fire.
"Oh my God," Frank yelled as he got a closer look. He ran into the house returning less than a minute later. "Here, I think we are going to need this." He put a box of his wife's jewelry on the table. "The bitch ain't going to need it anymore."
"I know," was all John could say as he rustled through the box until he found what he needed. Dumping a cheap Avon ring on the floor he slid the diamond into the small velvet bag. The both stood, staring at the bag for a moment and then went back to sorting the rest of the items.
It took the rest of the afternoon but they finally got everything sorted. They had bracelets, necklaces, rings and crowns. A pile of more then thirty loose gems of every type reflected a thin beam of sunlight across the garage like an old-fashioned disco ball. The amulet sat alone at a place right in front of John. Each agreed to keep one item for their own personal pleasure, for lack of a better word. John grabbed the amulet while Frank took a man's ring with a 5 carat ruby surrounded by 30 perfectly white diamonds. It was not the best or the most opulent item before him but Frank was not the type to want the best of everything. He just knew was he liked.
"I guess we are done for the day," John said as he put the amulet around his neck. "We better put this stuff away."
Both John and Frank started stuffing the rest of the items into bags.
"I want to leave the tablet out," Frank said putting it on a shelf at the back of the garage. "We should take it down to the university and let tat professor see it." John should his head and mumbled that he agreed.
As the lest item was placed gently into its bag there was a knock at the door. It was not a normal knock. It was soft and barely audible. Both John and Frank stepped from the garage, closing and locking the door behind them. John went to his car. Frank went around the corner of the house and saw Sharon standing at his front door. The minute she saw him she ran down the slate walkway and directly into his arms. Once there John saw them share the most remarkable, loving kiss he had ever seen. He also knew that there was no way Frank would hear any thing else he had to say so he went back into the garage and hid all of their treasure. Taking a piece of paper he wrote a note saying that he would be back in the morning, left it on the table, shut the door and he left without saying a word.
Chapter 5
That night John curled up with an old book he had meant to read years before but had never gotten around to. He laughed as he read and re-read the first few pages, not quite understanding what he had read the first time and understanding it less after the second reading. After somewhere around 20 or 30 pages he finally started drifting off and, after a shot Jack Daniels, he dosed off.
As his eyes closed he entered a new, strange world where the ground looked as if it were made of a silver colored translucent mist. There were hills and valleys, rivers and more, all made of the same strange material. Even the animals and birds were the same.
Stranger still were the objects laying around the field. Just glancing around he could see several items including a harmonica, a car and small boat filled with fishing equipment. Looking around more closely he realized that this must be a dream induced by the drugs he and Frank used to use back in the early 70's. His mother always warned him that the pot he was smoking would someday come back on him. He guessed that this must be he night.
As he walked around and touched the items he felt a tingle in his arms, much like the one he felt the first time he picked up the amulet so many years ago. He looked at each item and as he did it faded from view.
"What in the Hell," he asked in a whisper.
He looked at the amulet, which was still around his neck from the day before. It shined more than it did before but other than that there was no difference but he felt different, better than he did before.
Something must have happened while he slept because suddenly his dream changed. No longer was he standing in that strange world.. His dream changed. He was now with his father on a camping trip they had taken when he was a boy. He saw the mist of the evening and smelled the smoke from the cheesy campfire his dad tried to build. In the distance he heard the other kids down at the lake. He heard the splashing, screaming and laughter and wanted bad to go and join them but something told him to stay there and absorb everything he could. The dream seemed like it only lasted a couple of minutes but through the sounds he heard the alarm calling to him to arise. He hit the snooze but, as with so many other dreams, it was just impossible to get back to the campsite.
Sitting up he noticed that his neck felt lighter. He reached for the amulet but it was no longer where he had left it, around his neck. He scampered around the bed throwing his blankets and sheets all over the room. Finally he saw a glimpse of the golden chain sticking out from beneath his pillow. Grabbing he noticed that the clasp had come open. He quickly fixed the problem, put the amulet back around his neck and, after a shower, started getting dressed for the day.
After he finished dressing he tried calling Frank a few times but each time the line was busy. There wasn't much more that had to be done so he just got in his car and started driving over. A few more tires on the cell phone got the same results. Either Frank wasn't home, which was doubtful, or he had turned off the ringer to get some of the sleep he had been missing the past few days. John wasn't sure but he was going to find out shortly.
Chapter 6
After stopping off for some Krispy Kremes he finally pulled into the drive. Not even bothering to open the door John jumped from the car and ran up to the front. It took about 20 knocks before he finally heard someone stirring in the house. A couple more and a woman in an old Rolling Stones t-shirt opened the door.
"Sharon I presume," John said with a half smile on his face.
"Yeah, I am," she replied. "Who are you?"
"I'm John, Frank and I have some running around to do this morning."
"Well, he's still sleeping," she said as she nervously played with a ring on he left hand.
John saw it and recognized it as one of the things they brought back with them.
"Where did you get that," he asked as he reached towards it.
Pulling her hand back Sharon told him that Frank had gone out late the night before. "When he came back he slid this ring on my finger and said that he was going to do something he should have done years ago." John just looked at the sky, silently. "He asked me to marry him."
"Of course you said yes," John asked already knowing the answer.
"Of course I did. I have always loved him." She kind of rolled her eyes in an attempt to show him his stupidity. "I would not have said no years ago, why would I now?"
"I have no idea," he said. "How long will it be before lover boy gets up?"
She said that he should come back in about an hour and he "should" be out of bed by then
There was nothing for him to say so John got back into the can and drove off to have a couple more donuts and a cup of coffee. As he started to pull out a kid on a bike darted out behind him. For some reason he noticed that the boy was riding using one hand. The other was occupied with a silver harmonica. The kid wasn't very good and the instrument looked very new. The kid stopped and looked at John with a happy look.
"When did you get that harmonica," John asked.
"I got it this morning," the boy replied. "I woke up and it was on the pillow next to me. I guess my mom got it for me for my birthday."
"Well, you keep practicing and happy birthday," John said as he finished backing up and began pulling away. For some reason John suddenly noticed a warm feeling in his chest right under where the amulet hung. It got warmer and warmer until it reached a point where the warmth had spread through his whole body. It was almost like drug, the feeling was so good, so strong that he did not want it to end but as quickly as it started it ended.
An hour later John returned to Frank's house. Both Frank and his fiancé were waiting outside. Frank was carrying a small bag held tightly between his fingers.
"How many things did you bring," John asked.
"I've got five pieces most have writing on them so maybe they can tell us something about them," Frank replied.
John asked if he had brought that strange black tablet.
"Of course I did," he answered. "That has got to be the second best thing we found."
John knew what the best piece was because he had grabbed it the night before. "Before we go to the university I have a stop to make downtown. I have the other thing we were looking at last night and I want it checked out."
Frank looked as if he didn't know what he was talking about but in his mind he knew exactly what it was.
A few minutes later they pulled in front of Lewis Markham Jewelers. "I know these guys," John said. "They sold me the first three engagement rings I had to buy." He opened the car door and went in. Roughly twenty minutes later he came out with a smile so big that most would have thought it impossible for a human face to make.
"What did they say," Frank asked while Sharon sat there with a totally unknowing look on her face. Without giving John a chance to answer he asked a second and a third time.
"It isn't worth much," John finally answered. "He said that there were several flaws in the stone and that detracted a little from the value."
"So..." Frank said grabbing over at John's arm.
Finally the smile subsided just a bit and he looked seriously into Frank's eyes. "He said that it is a little over 5 carats and is worth about $1.8 million."
Frank nearly passed out as the shock of the value of that one stone was nearly unbelievable . "Are you sure," he asked.
John nodded a strong yes. "I gave it to him to store for us in his vault. I figured that it would be safer there than anyplace we could put it."
Frank agreed as John settled back into the car and they started the trip to Pittsburgh.
As they pulled from the curb a horn blasted behind them playing some really bad rendition. There was an old man driving a 2002 Taurus SE and behind it was a fishing boat loaded with brand new fishing gear. john just waved to the guy as he drove off and it was then he noticed that that both the car and the boat had temporary registration tags that were issued that morning.
There was not enough time to ask any questions but it was obvious these were the items that John had seen in his dream.
Chapter 7
It took about an hour for the three of them to make the trip. All three joined in a conversation what they would do with $1.8 million if they got it. Sharon was the charitable one of the three saying that she would share the money between family, friends and several charities. John said he would get a house with a pool, a Hummer and waste the rest in Vegas and Frank said he would set up college funds for his kids, give his ex wife some and then buy him a good car ad take a trip to Poland to see the place his mother was born back when the town was called Breslau Germany.
Once the got to Pittsburgh they rushed to the university to find that professor they had talked to earlier. John remembered the name that was on the door. It was Dr. Paul J. Lewis. A look at the school directory gave an office address and, as soon as they had that information they hurried across campus.
It took a couple more minutes to find the building and the office. Once the finally arrived they found the door open and the professor and two of his assistants sitting at a large conference table.
"Dr. Lewis," Frank asked cautiously.
Dr. Lewis tipped his head, looking through the top of his gold-rimmed bifocals. "I remember you," he said. "You were here talking to me about some finds you made in Canada. I think it was about six months ago."
"Right," Frank replied. "We made another trip and brought some stuff back. I thought you might want to see it."
"I do, definitely I do."
John lifted the bag and poured the contents onto the table. There were a few more pieces than he remembered putting in there but it was a nice assortment of what they had found.
Frank reached into the small briefcase he was carrying. It was the black stone. Placing it on the table he saw the professor's eyes bug out.
The professor slid his hand through the treasure but his major interest when in the stone.
"This has got to be the best example of this language ever found," He said as he tipped his head back to get a better look. "It is so clear and the writing is so crisp. Was it covered where you found this?"
"It was in a small canyon covered by really thick trees and vegetation," Frank said. "It was more of a crypt with an open top. There was a body there but it dissolved when we neared it."
"How was it dressed?"
John spoke up first. "He was wearing furs and robes and a lot of jewelry." John reached down and lifted the amulet out of his shirt. "This was one of the things he was wearing. When I touched it, he turned to dust. That stone was beneath the dust."
The professor looked at the amulet, reaching over for a touch. As his fingertip touched the gold he received a mild shock. He tried again to hold it but it was almost as if it was defending itself. The stone in the middle glowed a brilliant greenish light which pulsated quickly. The second charge was strong enough to send the professor flying across the room.
"Holy God," he said as he picked himself off the floor. "What in the world was that?"
"I am not sure," John said. "It happened to me the first time I touched it."
"And now?"
"Now it sometimes gives me a warm feeling but it doesn't hurt me at all. I actually kind of like it."
Finally back on his feet Dr. Lewis looked again at the amulet, from a safe distance, and saw writing around the edges. It was very similar to the writing on the tablet but it was just a few words written around the edge.
Back at the table Lewis cautiously reached for the tablet. After not feeling any type of shock he picked it up and looked closely at the writings.
"It is going to take us years to decipher this language," he said holding the stone closer to his eyes. "It looks to be a combination of several different languages. I see some ancient European, some native American and even some Aztec references hidden in the words."
"Why is it going to take so long Doc," John asked.
"This is the first time we have found an example with more than a few simple words carved into them. With this we can find the rules of their grammar and language."
"Ok," John said shaking his head. "But if you want to know what it says...it is about a King they called Tirgorna Letraiv. I think that translates to Panther Eye. His real name was Lorgorn but the Indians gave him the other name. He came from the Land Of Ice, across the Great Water."
"How are you doing that," the professor asked.
"I have no idea," John replied. "I just see the words in my mind and I understand them."
"Ok," Lewis said with a strange look on his face.
John continued as if nothing was said to him. "When his people settled here he joined the natives and other travelers into a single tribe and they flourished. That lasted well over 200 years. One of Panther Eye's descendant named Sunfire became King but when he wore the royal jewel it did not work for him the way it did for Panther Eye. Losing their leader's power the tribe members killed him and disbanded the tribe. The tablet was placed in the tomb to warn others of the curse of the jewel."
"What did the jewel do," Dr. Lewis asked. "Did they say?"
"All it says is that starting in the time of Panther Eye and for nine generations after no one wanted for anything. There was no starvation, no illness and no one suffered in any way. It also says that the women of the time were bountiful and raised many children as was their duty. The men were strong hunters. farmers and warriors."
Frank asked John if he had any idea which "jewel" they were talking about.
Thinking about it John looked at the items spread out across the table, the tablet and the amulet he wore around his neck. "No, I honestly have no clue," he finally said. "There are so many here and we left so many more it is hard to tell which one it might have been."
The professor picked up on the remark and his eyebrows lifted. "There is more than this," he asked. "You have to tell me. This would be the archeological find of the century."
Both John and Frank looked at each other without saying a word. They shared a common thought that they had to protect the location of the site until the time was right.
"Like I told you Doc, it is up in Canada near a small town," Frank replied. "It is very hard to find. Even the people of Iroquois Falls don't know about it."
John didn't say a word other than to agree with everything Frank was saying. There was no way they could or would tell anyone about their "special site". He reached toward the table and started pulling the items toward him. The first was the tablet. He was not going to leave it there since the school now had an idea about what the writing was about it would not take them long to completely translate it.
Reaching down and grabbing his cell phone John acted as if he had just received a text message. "Frank, Sharon we have to be going. Something is wrong at home and I have to get back right away."
Frank looked at him, stunned and confused but he listened and helped gather the items back into their bag. "Professor," Frank said, "I left my number on a piece of paper on your desk. Call me next week and we'll set up something so you can see the rest of the stuff we got."
Dr. Lewis looked disappointed but still a bit pleased. He not only had gotten to see some remarkable ancient finds but was also, possibly, given the chance to see more in a few days.
Once they were outside Frank asked John what was going on. "Why did we rush out of there? I wanted to hear more about this stuff."
"I just had a feeling that he was going to keep asking until he found out where the site is and we can't risk that," John said with a strange resolve in his voice. "We can't let anyone know until we go back and see what is still there."
Sharon stood quietly as John and Frank discussed the situation. A few times their voices got loud for them but in the end they managed to work things out. They decided that they would not tell where the site was for a while until they could figure out what was going on with the things they already had.
After a quick bite at a college area diner they started back to Allegheny Heights. They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sorting and resorting their treasure.
Chapter 8
The next morning Sharon was the first to wake up. She opened the door and picked up the morning edition of the Allegheny Heights News-Post. After she picked it up she saw something that panicked her. There was an article on the bottom of the front page that should not have been there. She slammed the door and rushed back into the bedroom.
By the time she made it into the living room her screaming pretty much matched any rock back for loudness. "Frank," she yelled, "get you ass out of bed and get down here. There is something in the paper you have to see." Her voice got even louder as she reminded him less than five seconds later, "You had better get down here quick."
He rushed to get his night clothes back on before he ran down the stairs to the front door. There in Sharon's hand was the front page of the paper. Frank rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes before the finally focused on what she was trying to show him. Across the top of the paper was the headline, "Local Men Find Lost Civilization."
"Oh shit," Frank said as he grabbed it from her and started reading.
"Two unidentified Allegheny Heights residents have found treasure from a long lost culture. The treasure includes jewels, jewelry and a several stone tablets. University professor Dr. Paul J. Lewis said that the most important find was a black stone tablet with a sample of writing engraved into it. That one tablet provided tons information about a culture were never knew existed"
Frank's eyes didn't blink as he read on.
"The tablet spoke of an ancient King named Panther Eye," Lewis said. "The men said they discovered the treasure in a box canyon, turned tomb, in Southern Ontario. Dr. Lewis would like to find the men so he can study the objects more to learn more of this unknown civilization."
"There is nothing we can do about it now," Frank said as he lowered himself onto the couch, trying to keep himself calm. He reached for two items at the same time, the phone and a half of a beer he started drinking the night before. The beer went down quickly considering that it had turned flat several hours before.
The beeping of the cell phone dialing was a lot louder than normal but he still held the phone next to his ear. It took something like 20 rings for John to answer and he sounded a lot worse off that Frank ever could.
"This had better be fucking good," John said in an animalistic growl.
"John, it's me Frank,"
"What do you want?"
"It's us man. We're in the paper. Not our names but there is a story about the cave, the jewels, the stone...everything." Hearing this woke John up so fast that he pulled a muscle when he rose to a sitting position. "It even made the front page." Suddenly the phone went dead as John threw it onto the night stand, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.
Frank set his phone down without breaking it. "He'll be here in a few minutes," he said putting his arms around Sharon's waist. He kissed her and reassured her that everything was going to turn out ok. "They have no idea who we are and I am sure that we aren't going to say anything."
She put her head on his shoulder. "I believe you Honey," she said with a smile.
It was less than 5 minutes before they heard the engine roar into the driveway and the door slam. Frank was already standing in the door as John came running up. "Hey guy," Frank said raising his hand up to slow John down. "Take it easy. Go back, shut your motor off, then come in and have a cup of coffee and we can work things out."
As he came through the door John was mumbling, "First I had another of those fucking weird dreams and now this."
Trying to get John to calm down Sharon and Frank tried to get him talking about anything other than the article. "What was this dream," Sharon asked.
"All I saw was steam, fog and a lot of water with people who were not unhappy to see what was going on." His eyes looked as if he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. "This time the images were not distorted in any way. They were as clear as daylight. It is really starting to bother me."
The amulet warmed up slightly and there was a soft glow. Outside the window they heard children laughing and playing.
"Shouldn't they be headed to school," Sharon asked.
Frank looked at the clock and it said that, although it was dark out, it was 8:15 in the morning. "They should have been there fifteen minutes ago," he continued.
Sharon tried to think if there was a holiday or something that would allow the kids to be off. Not thinking of anything she went to the door and asked the first kid that passed by. "Why are you kids off today," she asked.
"It is funny," the kid said. "The boilers in the schools all blew this morning."
"All three of them," she asked.
"Yeah, they are saying that the power went out all night and the boilers blew. There is water all over the place. The principal said that we'll be off school for at least two weeks while they get everything fixed. Man, it is a dream come true!"
Sharon looked back at the two guys and said, "How could the pipes had frozen? It only got down to 45 last night."
John thought for a second and it came to his slowly, his dream was about the school building problems. "Oh my God," he said under his breath although it was still loud enough for the others to hear.
Both Frank and Sharon asked the same question at the same time, "What?"
"The dream I just had was about hot water flooding and the other day I dreamt of a harmonica and a boat. I think I know what is going on," John said in a slightly louder voice. "When I dream about something it happens."
Once again their voices questioned the statement in unison. "What are you talking about," they asked.
"The other day I had a dream, it was like I was in another world. I saw a harmonica, a car and small boat filled with fishing equipment but they were made of a silver liquid. The next morning I saw the same items outside the dream and now this, I see steam, water and smoke and the schools' boilers explode."
Frank piped up that it could just be a coincident.
"Well, what about you two..."
Frank and Sharon looked at each other with a puzzling look not daring to interrupt.
"Frank you mentioned to me that you were not happy in your marriage and that you always had loved Sharon," he said grabbing onto Frank's shoulder. "It worked out really well that your wife left no more than an hour after Sharon got in touch with you after all those years."
Frank looked at Sharon and she back at him but neither said a word.
"Sharon," John asked, "How did you find Frank after all those years?"
"I was looking for a friend from college in the phone book, the page ripped off and the first thing I saw was his name. To be honest I had only thought of him a couple times in all that time but it was always with love."
"When we this," John asked.
She answered that it was a couple weeks before.
"Frank," John said, "When were we up at the site?"
He thought for a second and said that it was a little over two weeks before.
"Right before we got the treasure. I will bet that you dreamt about her that for a couple nights after we found it.
Frank nodded that he did for more than a couple nights.
"Don't you see what is happening," John asked the two of them. "That was the blessing the tablet was talking about."
Both Frank and Sharon looked confused for a second but it wasn't soon before a light bulb lit in Sharon's mind. "Oh my God," she said. "That was it. That amulet has the power to grant dreams."
John held the amulet to his chest and silently nodded his head. That has not to be the curse that killed that King...you heard me mention it..."
"Sunfire," Frank said breaking into John's thought.
"Yeah Sunfire. Remember the tablet said he could not get the royal jewels the way they did for Panther Eye so the people of the settlement killed him."
As he held the amulet closer to his chest it began to heat up and a glow lit up the cracks between his fingers. It was so bright that it seemed to be at least 10 times brighter than the sunshine that surrounded them. Just as suddenly the amulet cooled to mated the surrounding air and the glow faded into the darkness of his clenched hand.
"W
Short story by Rob Taylor
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Written on 2006-10-29 at 04:15
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The Amulet
THE AMULETChapter 1
There were legends that circulated around the small Pennsylvania town of Allegheny Heights for as long as anyone could remember of an old, nearly ancient burial site somewhere in the surrounding mountains. Some said that it was Native American, others said it was earlier than that and still some said that some Vikings, disillusioned with their findings in Canada, wandered away and settled in the more temperate mountains. Nothing was ever proven because nothing was ever found but the stories continued to grow.
More than a few times people went out looking. Some came back with wilder embellishments of the story, others with nothing but poison ivy and sunburn. Yet others never returned and were never found. Of course, that added new dimensions to the story, and the more the story grew, the more people went looking until it went from a campfire tale to legend and finally to history.
More than twenty summers ago, a troop of boy scouts left the First United Church of Christ for a weekend of fishing and hiking. The woods were dense at first with pines, oaks and maples lining the trails. Occasionally, a snake would slither across and small groups of birds broke through the leaves looking for the warmth of the sun.
In an area of the woods very rarely visited by anyone, two of them, Johnny Miller and Frank Tesci, were searching for mushrooms under a granite outcropping and taking pictures of some of the landscapes in the area. There they saw a small piece of rusted metal. Johnny and Frank never said a word as they moved branches aside. As they did, they saw more pieces poking out of the ground and yet more hanging from the roof of a small cave. Taking a rock, they broke the jagged edges off and crawled inside.
The cave went through 50 feet of rock but the boys could see a dim light at the end. It was not nearly as bright as they had left but there would be enough to see with. As they exited, they saw several stone slabs, a few broken and scattered, with strange writings covering their surface. Looking up, they saw a forest canopy so thick that the daytime sky looked as if the sunlight was nothing more than stars on a dark night. An open box rested on a slab located in a corner surrounded by large rocks. It took the boys a few minutes to get to it but once they did they found an amulet with a deep red ruby surrounded in silver and gold bands. Around the edge were words written in a strange language. Instead of being letters as they knew them, there were strange engravings all around the edge. Some looked like people, others looked like lines, scenes or animals and there were words that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.
Thinking for several minutes, they both looked at all the items scattered around the cave. At the end of the area was a large chair decorated with gold and jewels. In it sat the remains of a person. The bones were still intact and draped by shiny cloths and aged, tattered furs. On its head was a kind of crown with the head of a large cat protruding from the front.
There was so much treasure lying around, mostly gold, silver along with bones and weapons, the boys just shook their heads and stared. Finally, after God know how much time, Frank picked up the amulet and felt a tingling shoot up his arms. "What the hell is that?" he asked. His fingers clinched tighter as the tingling got more and more intense. He did not want to cry but the pain was getting harder to stand. Finally he could stand it no longer, and he screamed louder than anyone possibly could. Hearing the screams, Johnny reached over and slapped Frank's arm, sending the amulet flying across the field. "We'll go and get our dads," he said. "Maybe they'll know what to do." Rushing back through the cave, they saw that he path they walked earlier was gone. Once in the open, they looked back to see that the entrance to the cave had also disappeared.
The boys did rush into town and got their families and friends. Returning to the sight, Frank and Johnny looked for landmarks and found them but the entrance was no where to be found. During summers and holidays, every minute they could get away from their school work, they were up in woods looking for the entrance to the cave so they could have proof that they found what nobody believed existed.
There was talk in the town that four strange women walked into town that day but almost as soon as they arrived they turned and left without saying a word to anyone but that, like the legend, faded into myth as time went by. The only thing anyone could remember was the way they were dressed. They all wore long black dresses, very low cut revealing more than the small town was used to seeing, long dark brown hair and eyes that were a cold blue that some say brought the ice of the north with them.
Years later, now grown, John and Frank still searched the hills and valleys looking and hoping that they would find something anything to prove their memories to them.
Chapter 2
One morning shortly after John's 23rd birthday, he came running over to Frank's house. "Frank," he yelled pounding on the door. "I found something you have got to see." The more he pounded the louder he got. "Frank, get your freaking ass out of bed. This is important. You won't believe it."
Still groggy from a party the night before, Frank finally got out of bed and crawled to the door. "What is so important you can't let a man die in peace," he asked rubbing the sun out of his eyes. "This better be..." He was not able to end his sentence before a picture was shoved in his face. "What the hell is that," he asked getting madder and madder.
"Look at it dumbass" John said with a smile on his face.
"I don't see anything," Frank said. "I see some trees, rocks and some really bad photography."
"That's no surprise, you took the picture."
"Okay, what am I looking at," Frank asked.
"In the rocks, look in the rocks". Frank looked and saw shadows, dark almost black shadows. "Look really close," he said holding the picture as still as possible. There it was, just slightly lighter then the black. He saw the edges of an iron gate covered with vines and ivy.
"Holy shit," Frank yelled. "Where did you get that?"
"I was cleaning out my mom's desk for her last week and I found a bunch of undeveloped film. I guess she never got around to getting them to the drug store. A mess of the pictures were of my aunts and uncles when they came to visit but some were of outings we went on and one was that fishing trip with the scouts."
Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, Frank looked even closer at the picture. "Those rocks couldn't have changed that much in ten years, could they" Frank asked.
"I don't think so," John replied. They both looked at each other as if they shared a thought. "I think we ought to go this weekend." Frank just nodded his agreement and shoved his friend back out the door. As the door shut, John stuck his foot in keeping it open for a second. "I will call you tonight and we can talk about it." Frank just mumbled about getting back to bed, kicked his foot and slammed the door.
Frank tried for a couple more hours to get some needed sleep but every time he closed his eyes he saw John and that picture. Finally he got up, opened the curtain to let in the noontime sun, and got dressed. Mumbling the whole time abut the rotten S.O.B. who bothered a man during a hard-earned nights sleep, he grabbed a toaster waffle from the fridge and just bolted it down without milk, coffee or syrup. The light still burned his eyes as he got in his car and started driving the three blocks over to his friend's house. It took 5 minutes to drive the distance. Of course, there were a few signs of road rage on the way when an old woman was driving 4 miles per hour on a 35 mile per hour street but other than that it was an uneventful trip. John was just starting to pull onto the street after a lunch with his wife when Frank pulled up, blocking him in his driveway. "Okay..." he yelled, "...let me see that picture again?"
They both shut their cars off when John suggested they go back in the house. There with a magnifying glass both John and Frank covered the photo from top to bottom. They could see in the shadows in the cave and something that looked like the bars of the gate. It was clearer and more defined in eyes that had found the rest they needed. "I did one thing with it earlier," John said. He reached over and with one poke at a keyboard an enlarged version of the photograph appeared on the computer monitor.
"John, do you have Paint Shop Pro," Frank asked. John just and opened the program. A couple more keystrokes and the pretty girl at the opening of the program was looking at both of them with just the slightest of smiles while the system got ready to run the program. John got up from his seat and Frank took his place.
"I am going to enhance the picture and decrease the shadows just a bit and we should be able to see a lot more," Frank said. "This will take a couple minutes so you go get us a couple beers and turn the music up." He did and by the time he got back the editing was done and they were both looking at a site they had seen years before...the opening of an ancient cave. However this time they noticed a very faint carving in a rock above the gate. As far as they could tell it read "Regoshin tal e pogunta"
"What language is that," John asked. Frank replied that he had never seen anything like it before. Frank enlarged the image one more level and printed it out.
"I think I'll stop by the university this afternoon and see if they know what this is," Frank said as he pulled the paper from the printer. "Meet me down at the bar around nine tonight and I'll let you know what I find out." John agreed and they both left for their respective jobs.
Hours later, Frank finally got to leave on his lunch break and, just as he promised, he took the rest of the day off and headed for Pittsburgh and the University Of Pittsburgh main campus. Once there he looked up the head of the linguistics and ancient languages departments. Several of the classes were in session so he found a nice seat in front of the department head's office. It didn't take long before several of the professors dismissed their classes and headed past. Without hesitation Frank reached out and grabbed one of the first to walk by. "I need some help," he said still holding on the gentleman's arm. "We, a friend of mine and I, found a cave a few years back. This morning we found a picture of the cave and noticed some strange writing surrounding the opening. Can you tell me what it means," he asked, holding out the picture.
The professor took the picture and looked at it for a second and called several of the others over to see what was there. They took the photo, but not Frank, into one of their offices where they must have looked at it for what seemed like hours before they finally came back with a happy confusion on the faces. "Where did you find this," was their first question as a group. He explained that they were on a camping trip as kids and stumbled on the cave in a secluded part of the woods.
"This is an impossible find. The language in the picture is something we saw once in an expedition into a cave in Newfoundland," the oldest of the professors said.
"Where did you find this," a second asked. Frank wondered how he should handle that question, knowing full well that if he told even the general area, the scholars would take possession, and the two men would get little or nothing, other than a plaque in front of a museum.
Lying through his teeth, he replied, "We were up in Ontario, somewhere near Iroquois Falls. We found it in a cave about 5 miles outside of town." They asked if there was anything else in the cave of interest. Quickly changing the subject, Frank quickly asked if they could translate it.
The older professor answered that this was the second example ever to be found. "There is not enough syntax or phrasing available to be able to translate it at this time. But if you do not mind we'd like to make a copy of this to study." Frank agreed to let them copy the photo, but he went them to make sure he got the original back. It took them a couple minutes since they made 20 or so copies. As soon as they were done, he grabbed the original and took off back to Allegheny Heights.
A couple hours later, Frank was home and on the phone to his best friend. "Johnny," he said, "I just got back from Pittsburgh. They said that there is only one other example of anything like that and it was found in northern Canada." There was not a sound at the other end of the line for quite a while then Johnnie asked if they translated any of it. "No," Frank replied, "There is not enough of the writings around for them to be able to figure out what it says."
"Frank, hide that picture really well," John said. "I really need to hear more. I'll be at Shannon's in about an hour. Meet me there." He agreed and went to put the picture in his secret hiding place, basically the same place he had hidden things since he was 12. After that he finally got to sit down to eat and relax for a short time.
An hour later, he and John walked into the bar at nearly the same time. Both sat at a booth way in the back. Now, these booths were usually reserved for lovers who wanted to be out of sight of their significant others. At other times, business deals between people of less than savory character took place with often several thousands dollars passing across the stained wooden tables. This time it was just information, that may be worth millions, that no one else needed to hear was being shared.
"What exactly did they say," John asked before their beers arrived. Frank repeated the story in details so precise that there would or could be no further questions.
"Tomorrow is Friday," Frank said. "We'll both call off work and get up there and try to find this place."
"I'll be getting up sometime around 5. I'll be at your house a little before 6 and we'll drive straight through," John said. "You go home and make a couple gallons of coffee and I'll get Helen to make some sandwiches. To get our stories straight, we are going up to Lake Pleasant to get in some fishing...right."
Neither man slept much that night. Memories of that day so many years before flooded their thoughts. What would they find if they could find it? What would they do if they were memories and not dreams and there was wealth beyond their wildest expectations?
Before the sun rose, John was awake and on his way to Frank's house. He had already had more than a half gallon of coffee, and his mind was spinning thinking about everything he had heard and seen in the last 24 hours. He got to Frank's house sometime close to 5 and there he was waiting in the driveway, his wife looking out the window as if she knew what was going on but could not exactly understand it. "C'mon man," John said as he pulled in the drive. "We've got to get going," he said opening the passenger side door. As soon as the door closed, he threw the car into reverse and they were off.
"You know where we are going?" Frank asked.
"I know the general area. I know we are going to have to have a long walk once we get there." They turned from Frank's street and on to Route 79 headed north. Frank finished off John's coffee and looked straight ahead through the rather dirty windshield. It was only a couple exits away and it only took 25 minutes but for the two of them it seemed a lot longer. During the trip, they talked about their lives, former loves and their plans for the fortune.
"What ever happened to that girl you dated in high school," John asked.
"You mean Sharon," Frank asked back. John just nodded his head.
"She left town to go to school and we, kind of, lost touch. I saw her a couple times when she came back to visit her family but we never talked. By the time I realized how I felt Lori had gotten pregnant and he family insisted that I marry her. I still see her around town sometimes and our eyes meet but I don't have anything to talk to her about anymore. Now I wish I could just hear from her so I can see how she is doing." John said that he knew what he was feeling and that conversation disappeared like a puff of smoke from John's cigarette. They talked about other loves and lives they wished they had lived but the time flew too fast to get into anything too deep.
Finally, they got near the exit and they turned east and headed into the mountains. A lot had changed. Stores they stopped at as kids were now run down and covered with thick strands of green ivy. The gas station they bought gas from was still there looking like a shack built in some third word country but the signs were still hanging in front advertising B.F. Goodrich tires and premium gas for only 25 cents a gallon. At the side was the rusting hulk of a 1965 Chevy with rust orange replacing what must have been, at one time, beautiful colors. The gullied dirt roads were now tarred and chipped, making the sound of a machine gun as the tires threw the gravel against the car. Even the wooden bridges had been rebuilt using steel and concrete. Finally, there was the old shattered tree stump. It was there like gnarled sentry guarding an ancient fort. Its branches were devoid of leaves and the bark was hanging from silver fibers like knots in an old man's hair.
About a mile down the road, John saw the remnants of a road covered with brush and three foot tall grass. He slowed the car and cautiously turned down a steep slope where the road cleared and the mountains were clearly visible. They traveled about two miles before the steered off the side and parked the car. Below them they saw a familiar sight, a flat area of grass near a small lagoon. The sun was reflecting on the water but between the flashes they could see schools of bright orange carp swimming by. Frank put his hand on John's shoulder. "We are here," he said. John just crooked his head and smiled.
"Yes we are," he replied. "Let's make camp for the night and we'll get started in the morning." Frank agreed and they set up their tent, cooked dinner and did some fishing. By that time night had arrived and they turned in for the night.
Chapter 3
Morning came slower than either of them wanted. As they stirred from their tent they saw a fog thicker that anything they had ever seen in town. Although only a few feet from the edge of the lagoon it could not be seen. Even the fire they had kept going all night was just a blurry orange shape in a world of gray. After several hours it began to lift and Frank and John had their first good look around. Accidentally one of them tripped and found an old fire pit with a dented pot buried beside it. "John," Frank yelled. "Look at this."
"What is it," he asked.
"You remember that pot your dad burned when he was showing us how to cook on a fire?"
"Yeah"
"Well, here it is," Frank said scratching below his Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap. John ran over, nearly falling into the lagoon. "That is it isn't," Frank said in disbelief.
John picked it up and looked at it. On the bottom were the initials "T.M.". "My God...," he said, "...Those are my dad's initials." They both just stood up, John still holding the pot. He looked around staring into the woods. "This is the right place...I know it." He pointed toward a break in the trees. "We have to go that way."
"Alright buddy but I think we should have some breakfast and coffee first," Frank said kneeling over their fire. John reluctantly agreed and they cooked some smoked ham and powered eggs. Over course the coffee was way too strong but what could be expected from two men alone in the woods. It took them till almost 10 to finally get ready and get moving but once they did it didn't take them long to cover several miles of trail.
Carrying the photographs they walked along trails that had faded or nearly disappeared from lack of use until finally they found what they were looking for. Across the valley was a stone wall with a vein of rose colored granite splitting the gray rock into two. John held up the photo and they both looked at, smiles across their faces. "It is somewhere around here," Frank said grabbing the picture. He headed north while John moved toward the mountainside. It took about 3 hours but finally John yelled that he had found something. Frank ran over and there it was, the old rusted gate, the vines and brush and those strange words. They just stood and looked as the sun got lower and lower in the sky. "Let's campout tonight," John said. "Everything will be there in the morning." Frank agreed and once again they set up camp and settled in for the night.
The next morning found the area bathed in a golden glow. They both awoke at the same time and, without eating breakfast, changing clothes or even making coffee they walked the 500 yards to the gate. There it was those words, "Regoshin tal e pogunta" but there was something different that they had not noticed before. They looked up and saw a cinnamon garnet about the size of a softball placed just above the words. The rays of the morning sun were backlighting the stone which glowed like a miniature sun with several hundred beams of light flowing through the slight morning fog.
Clearing the brush away they finally saw the gate, still jarred open from their visit years before. Grabbing it tightly they pulled it lose from some vines that had grown between the iron bars and climbed into the stone tunnel. A few feet later and there is was, everything was exactly as they had left it. Frank looked around as if he were a man on a mission. "Where is it," he asked under his breath. John walked ahead not looking back at his partner. Frank started tearing at the grass and ferns that had grown up be the tunnel. "It has to be here," he said, his voice starting to sound as if there was the beginning of a panic hidden deep with in. Searching down on all fours his actions echoed the emotions in his voice.
John looked around in a more casual fashion taking a mental note of everything he was looking at. There was more gold and gems than he remembered...tons more. The body was still seated on the granite throne surrounded by flowering plants and tall weeds. There was one thing he had not seen before. Leaning in front of the throne was a stone tablet with markings covering it...a written language. He lifted it and looked closely at the writing. It was the same style as that on the gate. Down the side were several pictures but the rest was text carved deep into the black rock. The stone was relatively small measuring no more than a couple feet tall and a about a foot wide so he slipped it into his backpack and continued to look around. Suddenly he stopped at stared at the face of the mummy. "
Frank..." he yelled, "...you have to see this." Frank looked up but quickly back to his searching. " "Frank, get your ass over here," John yelled with a serious importance in his voice. This time Frank did what he was told.
"What the hell do you want," Frank asked. John never said a word rather he pointed to the face. There it was. Somehow the amulet was hanging from the neck of the king, priest or what he was.
Frank looked back to the area he remembered as the place he threw the amulet. His face showed a combination of surprise and shock but somehow it was not reflected in his voice which calmed as soon as he saw the amulet. "How the hell did it get here," he asked. John just looked back and didn't say a word choosing to shrug his shoulders instead. Frank reached up, clearing away centuries of cobwebs, and grabbed the chain, ripping it from the body's neck. As he did there was a gasp of air exited the open mouth making a short moan and the body fell to dust, covering the seat of throne with a thick layer of grayish green powder.
Holding the amulet is his hand he changed. A look of serenity swept across his face but it only last a second. Frank to the chain opened it and lowered it over his neck. The amulet fell onto his chest and as it did Frank started convulsing. His body twisted and contorted into positions that had never been seen before. "Frank,: John yelled as he started moving toward him.
"Stay away," Frank yelled back. "Stay the fuck away from me." The convulsions continued and got stronger. Frank's breaths were short and shallow as if the was not oxygen left in the air for the wanting lungs. His lips had a slight blue tint to the them and his eyelids fluttered like pieces of cloth in a hurricane. Both hands grasped at the amulet holding it closer to his chest. Suddenly just and quickly as it started the convulsions stopped and Frank was left on the ground, as still as if he had died. But as John looked down he saw slow rhythmic breaths and the color returned to Frank's face. Raising his head Frank looked around and said, "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," John said kneeling beside his friend. "I thought for a moment that I had lost you." He looked and Frank's face. There was something about his eyes. He could not put a finger on it but they looked clearer and more awake than he had ever seen. "Do you feel okay," he asked.
Frank slowly, unsteadily rose to his feet and looked around. "I am fine," he replied.
As he finished his sentence a strong breeze blew through a small opening in the tree tops. The wind picked up the powder from the throne and swirled it around like a miniature tornado. It almost appeared to become solid as it was buffeted and thrown around the canyon. Suddenly and strong updraft lifted the powder and took it back through the same opening.
John took the tablet they had found earlier and looked at it more carefully. The was a strong red and gold patina on the rock and the edges of the engraving were worn smooth with age. At the top were several larger letters. They spelled out two words or, as John thought, maybe a name. "Tirgorna Letraiv," was all it said. "I wonder what this says," he asked.
"It is probably nothing," Frank said as he started to gather some of the other artifacts which were strewn around the site. His eyes were still strange in a way which could not be defined. After about 2 hours of searching and gathering items they settled in, at Frank's insistence, for an evening meal and a good night's sleep. During the night they heard several strange conversations, saw mists which looked like people drift by and felt fingers stroke their faces, arms and legs. But neither of the two said anything to the other for fear of being ridiculed and teased for the rest of their lives.
In the morning neither men had slept very well, possibly splitting two hours rest between them but there was something strange, maybe a feeling, that told them something was wrong until Frank noticed that the stone was missing from John's pack. Looking frantically around the site they finally found it back in its original position. Both thought the other had played a joke so neither of them said anything about it. They just gathered up their possessions, including the stone, and started back down the long tunnel.
As they exited the other end John stood and looked around, his eyes wide and his pupils as large as they could be. He looked as if he was in another world. Frank ran over and shook him. "What is it," he asked. "What do you see?" Words that started as mere mumbles but cleared rather quickly.
John looked around. The images he saw were solid but also transparent. "There is a building, made of wood and rope. I can see maybe a dozen people walking around. They are wearing furs and the men are carrying long swords," he replied. "There is a large fire pit in the center with huge branches and trunks feeding a fired that nearly touches the ceiling."
Then suddenly John stopped talking and just stood there. In his vision four young women in white robes approached and knelt down before him. "Rosit Lordate," they said without looking into his eyes. "Opesa tah ros hotesa ros?"
John just looked at them and said the best answer he could think of. He simply said, "Polug res kilsa muy er ros a poist." The four of them nodded in unison and walked away. Now all of the people in the building were looking directly at him, their heads bowed. John looked around and, without saying a word to anyone...not even Frank, he walked though a large doorway and into the meadow outside the cave. "What the hell was that," he finally asked, falling to his knees. "They spoke to me....four of them...four women."
Frank picked him up and led him over to a large rock, settling him down Frank asked what he had seen. John went into detail about the building, the people, everything he had seen and heard.
"What did you say?" Frank asked.
Casually John answered him. "They asked if there was anything they could do for me and I said no, that's all."
Suddenly John got up and ran about 30 feet to a small pile if grass and shrubs. Once there he dropped and started tearing at the dirt.
"What are you looking for," Frank asked.
"I just have to check...see if it was a dream or hallucination."
"What."
"Everything I saw. I have to know if it is real."
By now he had already dug down more that six inches. Finally, a couple of inches later, he found something. It looked like a topless box made of stone. Inside were shards of wood. Each appeared that it had been hand cut on one side. John grabbed one piece and stuck it in his pocket.
"I'll get this checked out when we get back," he thought to himself.
Calling Frank closer John said, "Here it is. It was real." Frank asked what "it" was. "Here," he said, "One of the support holes for the building I saw. It must have been real." John sat up on the edge of the tiny hole with a big smile on his face. Frank just walked over and picked up the bags of treasure they picked up and carried them back to the campground.
"When you are ready I'll be cooking dinner," Frank yelled back. John just looked into the hole and silently nodded his head.
It wasn't till way after dark when John made it back. Dinner had been warming for more than two hours and Frank was just sitting there drinking a cup of coffee. "Frank, throw that coffee away," John said reaching into his backpack. Bringing out a bottle of Jack Daniels he smiled, "A day like this deserves something special." They both took turns drinking the entire quart down. By the time the fire had died down so had both of them, drifting off into a world of drunken unconsciousness.
In the morning they looked around. The entrance to the cave had once again disappeared and everything had returned to the way it was when they first arrived. It took about 4 hours for them to completely sober up and get everything together before they could start back. Near the fire pit was the bag they had filled with stones and gold. The stone tablet laid beside the bag. Frank made sure that he grabbed that and stuck it deep in the bottom of his backpack. Because of the weight in their packs it took several hours for them to walk back to the car. Once there they took their time driving back to town, finishing several beers on the trip. A couple times Frank nearly drove off the road but recovered just in time. Eventually they pulled into Frank's driveway and got everything unloaded.
"I'm going home and get some sleep," John said. "I'll be back sometime tonight to sort out what we got." Frank nodded as he put the last bag in his garage.
Chapter 4
The naps they both took last well into the following morning. Sometime around 11 John showed up and he and Frank got their findings out of the garage. John was till wearing the amulet and he was not willing to add it to the other objects they had found. But before they stated sorting things out Frank started talking.
"Guess who wrote me a letter," He said.
"I have no idea," John replied. "Santa Clause maybe."
"No you smartass." John reached over and slapped Frank across the back of his head. "Sharon...Sharon Sheppard. The letter said that she has tried to get in touch with me but she had no idea where I gotten to."
"And...?"
"And what?'
"Are you going to contact her?"
"She sent her number in the letter so I think I am going to call and maybe meet her for dinner or something...just to talk."
"Yeah right," John said shaking his head with a big knowing smile on his face. "I know better that that and so do you. She is the one you've been dreaming about for years. It won't end with dinner."
"I know," Frank said putting his head in his hand. John could hear his voice start to crack as he continued talking. "You know that I always loved her and I always will. I just wish there was a way that I could change things so that she and I can be together."
John asked if he could see the letter.
"I left it on the desk in my study." Frank lifted his head with a look of fear in his eyes. "Oh my God," he screamed.
"What," John asked.
Without a word Frank just stood up and ran back into the house. As he opened the door to his study he saw what he was afraid of...his wife reading the letter. He did not say a word, choosing to just stand there and see what was going to happen.
"Frank, who is Sharon," Frank's wife asked without looking at him.
"Someone I used to know when I was in high school," he replied.
"Someone special?"
"Yeah. She and I were close to being engaged when you got pregnant. I dumped her and married you."
"Why did she write to you now?'
"I have no idea," he lowered his head as he answered the question.
"Do you still love her?"
"I don't know."
His answer brought a tear to both her eyes as well as his.
"Do you plan to see her," she asked.
Frank just looked into her eyes. Lying was not going to do any good and the truth was going to cause a lot of trouble.
"I'll tell you what...," she started "...I am going to save you the trouble. If you want me to stay just say so, if you don't just be an ass and stand there and say nothing."
She stood there for a good fifteen minutes just starting at him. Her anger grew with every second he didn't answer. Finally she walked over and slapped him across the face and then with out a word she added a knee to the groin just to emphasize the point.
Suddenly she screamed, "Ok, you son of a bitch, I'll be back on Friday to get my stuff. You make it a point to be gone."
Frank just nodded his head and covered his mouth to hide the beginnings of a slight smile he had thinking that now he could finally be happy.
Frank didn't wait around making it back to the garage before busting out laughing.
"Frank, what in the hell happened."
"Janice found the letter," he said smiling as big as he ever had before. "She is leaving me and going back to her family."
"What," John asked.
"My wish came true. I can get back together with Sharon. I have wanted that for so long."
John walked over and placed his hands on his friend's shoulder.
"I am so happy for you my friend," he said. "You deserve to be happy for once in your life."
With that they both walked over and started sorting out the pile of jewels, trinkets and carvings that they found. The one thing they were both interested in was a golden crown with several large diamonds and rubies placed around the lower edge of the item.
"Oh my God," Frank said. "This must be worth a fortune all on its own." Placing his finger next to the larger of the diamonds he saw that it measured from his second knuckle to the tip of his finger.
John brought up that they had to take some of the stuff to the university to make sure that it was authentic and that they were not dreaming everything.
Just then the garage door open and a ceramic pot came flying across, smashing into the bad of Frank's head. His wife stood there with a look of pure evil mixed with anger.
"Take that you rotten son of a bitch," she screamed as the door slammed behind her.
Frank reached back and felt blood gushing from several wounds in the back of his head. John looked over and asked the most understated question ever. Are you ok," he asked.
"Do I look like I'm fucking ok you ass," he replied holding a greasy towel to the back of his head.
"You look like you could be doing better," John said with a smile across his face. After asking Frank if he wanted to go to the hospital and Frank refusing all he could say was, "Well, let's get back to work."
After a few minutes John looked over at his friend and was reminded of something he had heard on years before and being John he just had to say it..."Watch what you wish for my friend...you may get it." Frank looked over and raised a single finger into the air and that was the end of the conversation.
Once they began sorting the treasure again Frank reached down and picked up a huge reddish diamond. "Look at this," he yelled.
John ran over and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. Frank was fumbling with his find so John reached across the table and grabbed the piece. "We have to keep this separate," he said while his fingers worked to remove the stone from its mounting. Finally it came loose and landed in his hand.
There were no chips on the sharp edges, the baguettes were smooth and shiny and the light showed through and sparks of red fire.
"Oh my God," Frank yelled as he got a closer look. He ran into the house returning less than a minute later. "Here, I think we are going to need this." He put a box of his wife's jewelry on the table. "The bitch ain't going to need it anymore."
"I know," was all John could say as he rustled through the box until he found what he needed. Dumping a cheap Avon ring on the floor he slid the diamond into the small velvet bag. The both stood, staring at the bag for a moment and then went back to sorting the rest of the items.
It took the rest of the afternoon but they finally got everything sorted. They had bracelets, necklaces, rings and crowns. A pile of more then thirty loose gems of every type reflected a thin beam of sunlight across the garage like an old-fashioned disco ball. The amulet sat alone at a place right in front of John. Each agreed to keep one item for their own personal pleasure, for lack of a better word. John grabbed the amulet while Frank took a man's ring with a 5 carat ruby surrounded by 30 perfectly white diamonds. It was not the best or the most opulent item before him but Frank was not the type to want the best of everything. He just knew was he liked.
"I guess we are done for the day," John said as he put the amulet around his neck. "We better put this stuff away."
Both John and Frank started stuffing the rest of the items into bags.
"I want to leave the tablet out," Frank said putting it on a shelf at the back of the garage. "We should take it down to the university and let tat professor see it." John should his head and mumbled that he agreed.
As the lest item was placed gently into its bag there was a knock at the door. It was not a normal knock. It was soft and barely audible. Both John and Frank stepped from the garage, closing and locking the door behind them. John went to his car. Frank went around the corner of the house and saw Sharon standing at his front door. The minute she saw him she ran down the slate walkway and directly into his arms. Once there John saw them share the most remarkable, loving kiss he had ever seen. He also knew that there was no way Frank would hear any thing else he had to say so he went back into the garage and hid all of their treasure. Taking a piece of paper he wrote a note saying that he would be back in the morning, left it on the table, shut the door and he left without saying a word.
Chapter 5
That night John curled up with an old book he had meant to read years before but had never gotten around to. He laughed as he read and re-read the first few pages, not quite understanding what he had read the first time and understanding it less after the second reading. After somewhere around 20 or 30 pages he finally started drifting off and, after a shot Jack Daniels, he dosed off.
As his eyes closed he entered a new, strange world where the ground looked as if it were made of a silver colored translucent mist. There were hills and valleys, rivers and more, all made of the same strange material. Even the animals and birds were the same.
Stranger still were the objects laying around the field. Just glancing around he could see several items including a harmonica, a car and small boat filled with fishing equipment. Looking around more closely he realized that this must be a dream induced by the drugs he and Frank used to use back in the early 70's. His mother always warned him that the pot he was smoking would someday come back on him. He guessed that this must be he night.
As he walked around and touched the items he felt a tingle in his arms, much like the one he felt the first time he picked up the amulet so many years ago. He looked at each item and as he did it faded from view.
"What in the Hell," he asked in a whisper.
He looked at the amulet, which was still around his neck from the day before. It shined more than it did before but other than that there was no difference but he felt different, better than he did before.
Something must have happened while he slept because suddenly his dream changed. No longer was he standing in that strange world.. His dream changed. He was now with his father on a camping trip they had taken when he was a boy. He saw the mist of the evening and smelled the smoke from the cheesy campfire his dad tried to build. In the distance he heard the other kids down at the lake. He heard the splashing, screaming and laughter and wanted bad to go and join them but something told him to stay there and absorb everything he could. The dream seemed like it only lasted a couple of minutes but through the sounds he heard the alarm calling to him to arise. He hit the snooze but, as with so many other dreams, it was just impossible to get back to the campsite.
Sitting up he noticed that his neck felt lighter. He reached for the amulet but it was no longer where he had left it, around his neck. He scampered around the bed throwing his blankets and sheets all over the room. Finally he saw a glimpse of the golden chain sticking out from beneath his pillow. Grabbing he noticed that the clasp had come open. He quickly fixed the problem, put the amulet back around his neck and, after a shower, started getting dressed for the day.
After he finished dressing he tried calling Frank a few times but each time the line was busy. There wasn't much more that had to be done so he just got in his car and started driving over. A few more tires on the cell phone got the same results. Either Frank wasn't home, which was doubtful, or he had turned off the ringer to get some of the sleep he had been missing the past few days. John wasn't sure but he was going to find out shortly.
Chapter 6
After stopping off for some Krispy Kremes he finally pulled into the drive. Not even bothering to open the door John jumped from the car and ran up to the front. It took about 20 knocks before he finally heard someone stirring in the house. A couple more and a woman in an old Rolling Stones t-shirt opened the door.
"Sharon I presume," John said with a half smile on his face.
"Yeah, I am," she replied. "Who are you?"
"I'm John, Frank and I have some running around to do this morning."
"Well, he's still sleeping," she said as she nervously played with a ring on he left hand.
John saw it and recognized it as one of the things they brought back with them.
"Where did you get that," he asked as he reached towards it.
Pulling her hand back Sharon told him that Frank had gone out late the night before. "When he came back he slid this ring on my finger and said that he was going to do something he should have done years ago." John just looked at the sky, silently. "He asked me to marry him."
"Of course you said yes," John asked already knowing the answer.
"Of course I did. I have always loved him." She kind of rolled her eyes in an attempt to show him his stupidity. "I would not have said no years ago, why would I now?"
"I have no idea," he said. "How long will it be before lover boy gets up?"
She said that he should come back in about an hour and he "should" be out of bed by then
There was nothing for him to say so John got back into the can and drove off to have a couple more donuts and a cup of coffee. As he started to pull out a kid on a bike darted out behind him. For some reason he noticed that the boy was riding using one hand. The other was occupied with a silver harmonica. The kid wasn't very good and the instrument looked very new. The kid stopped and looked at John with a happy look.
"When did you get that harmonica," John asked.
"I got it this morning," the boy replied. "I woke up and it was on the pillow next to me. I guess my mom got it for me for my birthday."
"Well, you keep practicing and happy birthday," John said as he finished backing up and began pulling away. For some reason John suddenly noticed a warm feeling in his chest right under where the amulet hung. It got warmer and warmer until it reached a point where the warmth had spread through his whole body. It was almost like drug, the feeling was so good, so strong that he did not want it to end but as quickly as it started it ended.
An hour later John returned to Frank's house. Both Frank and his fiancé were waiting outside. Frank was carrying a small bag held tightly between his fingers.
"How many things did you bring," John asked.
"I've got five pieces most have writing on them so maybe they can tell us something about them," Frank replied.
John asked if he had brought that strange black tablet.
"Of course I did," he answered. "That has got to be the second best thing we found."
John knew what the best piece was because he had grabbed it the night before. "Before we go to the university I have a stop to make downtown. I have the other thing we were looking at last night and I want it checked out."
Frank looked as if he didn't know what he was talking about but in his mind he knew exactly what it was.
A few minutes later they pulled in front of Lewis Markham Jewelers. "I know these guys," John said. "They sold me the first three engagement rings I had to buy." He opened the car door and went in. Roughly twenty minutes later he came out with a smile so big that most would have thought it impossible for a human face to make.
"What did they say," Frank asked while Sharon sat there with a totally unknowing look on her face. Without giving John a chance to answer he asked a second and a third time.
"It isn't worth much," John finally answered. "He said that there were several flaws in the stone and that detracted a little from the value."
"So..." Frank said grabbing over at John's arm.
Finally the smile subsided just a bit and he looked seriously into Frank's eyes. "He said that it is a little over 5 carats and is worth about $1.8 million."
Frank nearly passed out as the shock of the value of that one stone was nearly unbelievable . "Are you sure," he asked.
John nodded a strong yes. "I gave it to him to store for us in his vault. I figured that it would be safer there than anyplace we could put it."
Frank agreed as John settled back into the car and they started the trip to Pittsburgh.
As they pulled from the curb a horn blasted behind them playing some really bad rendition. There was an old man driving a 2002 Taurus SE and behind it was a fishing boat loaded with brand new fishing gear. john just waved to the guy as he drove off and it was then he noticed that that both the car and the boat had temporary registration tags that were issued that morning.
There was not enough time to ask any questions but it was obvious these were the items that John had seen in his dream.
Chapter 7
It took about an hour for the three of them to make the trip. All three joined in a conversation what they would do with $1.8 million if they got it. Sharon was the charitable one of the three saying that she would share the money between family, friends and several charities. John said he would get a house with a pool, a Hummer and waste the rest in Vegas and Frank said he would set up college funds for his kids, give his ex wife some and then buy him a good car ad take a trip to Poland to see the place his mother was born back when the town was called Breslau Germany.
Once the got to Pittsburgh they rushed to the university to find that professor they had talked to earlier. John remembered the name that was on the door. It was Dr. Paul J. Lewis. A look at the school directory gave an office address and, as soon as they had that information they hurried across campus.
It took a couple more minutes to find the building and the office. Once the finally arrived they found the door open and the professor and two of his assistants sitting at a large conference table.
"Dr. Lewis," Frank asked cautiously.
Dr. Lewis tipped his head, looking through the top of his gold-rimmed bifocals. "I remember you," he said. "You were here talking to me about some finds you made in Canada. I think it was about six months ago."
"Right," Frank replied. "We made another trip and brought some stuff back. I thought you might want to see it."
"I do, definitely I do."
John lifted the bag and poured the contents onto the table. There were a few more pieces than he remembered putting in there but it was a nice assortment of what they had found.
Frank reached into the small briefcase he was carrying. It was the black stone. Placing it on the table he saw the professor's eyes bug out.
The professor slid his hand through the treasure but his major interest when in the stone.
"This has got to be the best example of this language ever found," He said as he tipped his head back to get a better look. "It is so clear and the writing is so crisp. Was it covered where you found this?"
"It was in a small canyon covered by really thick trees and vegetation," Frank said. "It was more of a crypt with an open top. There was a body there but it dissolved when we neared it."
"How was it dressed?"
John spoke up first. "He was wearing furs and robes and a lot of jewelry." John reached down and lifted the amulet out of his shirt. "This was one of the things he was wearing. When I touched it, he turned to dust. That stone was beneath the dust."
The professor looked at the amulet, reaching over for a touch. As his fingertip touched the gold he received a mild shock. He tried again to hold it but it was almost as if it was defending itself. The stone in the middle glowed a brilliant greenish light which pulsated quickly. The second charge was strong enough to send the professor flying across the room.
"Holy God," he said as he picked himself off the floor. "What in the world was that?"
"I am not sure," John said. "It happened to me the first time I touched it."
"And now?"
"Now it sometimes gives me a warm feeling but it doesn't hurt me at all. I actually kind of like it."
Finally back on his feet Dr. Lewis looked again at the amulet, from a safe distance, and saw writing around the edges. It was very similar to the writing on the tablet but it was just a few words written around the edge.
Back at the table Lewis cautiously reached for the tablet. After not feeling any type of shock he picked it up and looked closely at the writings.
"It is going to take us years to decipher this language," he said holding the stone closer to his eyes. "It looks to be a combination of several different languages. I see some ancient European, some native American and even some Aztec references hidden in the words."
"Why is it going to take so long Doc," John asked.
"This is the first time we have found an example with more than a few simple words carved into them. With this we can find the rules of their grammar and language."
"Ok," John said shaking his head. "But if you want to know what it says...it is about a King they called Tirgorna Letraiv. I think that translates to Panther Eye. His real name was Lorgorn but the Indians gave him the other name. He came from the Land Of Ice, across the Great Water."
"How are you doing that," the professor asked.
"I have no idea," John replied. "I just see the words in my mind and I understand them."
"Ok," Lewis said with a strange look on his face.
John continued as if nothing was said to him. "When his people settled here he joined the natives and other travelers into a single tribe and they flourished. That lasted well over 200 years. One of Panther Eye's descendant named Sunfire became King but when he wore the royal jewel it did not work for him the way it did for Panther Eye. Losing their leader's power the tribe members killed him and disbanded the tribe. The tablet was placed in the tomb to warn others of the curse of the jewel."
"What did the jewel do," Dr. Lewis asked. "Did they say?"
"All it says is that starting in the time of Panther Eye and for nine generations after no one wanted for anything. There was no starvation, no illness and no one suffered in any way. It also says that the women of the time were bountiful and raised many children as was their duty. The men were strong hunters. farmers and warriors."
Frank asked John if he had any idea which "jewel" they were talking about.
Thinking about it John looked at the items spread out across the table, the tablet and the amulet he wore around his neck. "No, I honestly have no clue," he finally said. "There are so many here and we left so many more it is hard to tell which one it might have been."
The professor picked up on the remark and his eyebrows lifted. "There is more than this," he asked. "You have to tell me. This would be the archeological find of the century."
Both John and Frank looked at each other without saying a word. They shared a common thought that they had to protect the location of the site until the time was right.
"Like I told you Doc, it is up in Canada near a small town," Frank replied. "It is very hard to find. Even the people of Iroquois Falls don't know about it."
John didn't say a word other than to agree with everything Frank was saying. There was no way they could or would tell anyone about their "special site". He reached toward the table and started pulling the items toward him. The first was the tablet. He was not going to leave it there since the school now had an idea about what the writing was about it would not take them long to completely translate it.
Reaching down and grabbing his cell phone John acted as if he had just received a text message. "Frank, Sharon we have to be going. Something is wrong at home and I have to get back right away."
Frank looked at him, stunned and confused but he listened and helped gather the items back into their bag. "Professor," Frank said, "I left my number on a piece of paper on your desk. Call me next week and we'll set up something so you can see the rest of the stuff we got."
Dr. Lewis looked disappointed but still a bit pleased. He not only had gotten to see some remarkable ancient finds but was also, possibly, given the chance to see more in a few days.
Once they were outside Frank asked John what was going on. "Why did we rush out of there? I wanted to hear more about this stuff."
"I just had a feeling that he was going to keep asking until he found out where the site is and we can't risk that," John said with a strange resolve in his voice. "We can't let anyone know until we go back and see what is still there."
Sharon stood quietly as John and Frank discussed the situation. A few times their voices got loud for them but in the end they managed to work things out. They decided that they would not tell where the site was for a while until they could figure out what was going on with the things they already had.
After a quick bite at a college area diner they started back to Allegheny Heights. They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sorting and resorting their treasure.
Chapter 8
The next morning Sharon was the first to wake up. She opened the door and picked up the morning edition of the Allegheny Heights News-Post. After she picked it up she saw something that panicked her. There was an article on the bottom of the front page that should not have been there. She slammed the door and rushed back into the bedroom.
By the time she made it into the living room her screaming pretty much matched any rock back for loudness. "Frank," she yelled, "get you ass out of bed and get down here. There is something in the paper you have to see." Her voice got even louder as she reminded him less than five seconds later, "You had better get down here quick."
He rushed to get his night clothes back on before he ran down the stairs to the front door. There in Sharon's hand was the front page of the paper. Frank rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes before the finally focused on what she was trying to show him. Across the top of the paper was the headline, "Local Men Find Lost Civilization."
"Oh shit," Frank said as he grabbed it from her and started reading.
"Two unidentified Allegheny Heights residents have found treasure from a long lost culture. The treasure includes jewels, jewelry and a several stone tablets. University professor Dr. Paul J. Lewis said that the most important find was a black stone tablet with a sample of writing engraved into it. That one tablet provided tons information about a culture were never knew existed"
Frank's eyes didn't blink as he read on.
"The tablet spoke of an ancient King named Panther Eye," Lewis said. "The men said they discovered the treasure in a box canyon, turned tomb, in Southern Ontario. Dr. Lewis would like to find the men so he can study the objects more to learn more of this unknown civilization."
"There is nothing we can do about it now," Frank said as he lowered himself onto the couch, trying to keep himself calm. He reached for two items at the same time, the phone and a half of a beer he started drinking the night before. The beer went down quickly considering that it had turned flat several hours before.
The beeping of the cell phone dialing was a lot louder than normal but he still held the phone next to his ear. It took something like 20 rings for John to answer and he sounded a lot worse off that Frank ever could.
"This had better be fucking good," John said in an animalistic growl.
"John, it's me Frank,"
"What do you want?"
"It's us man. We're in the paper. Not our names but there is a story about the cave, the jewels, the stone...everything." Hearing this woke John up so fast that he pulled a muscle when he rose to a sitting position. "It even made the front page." Suddenly the phone went dead as John threw it onto the night stand, shattering it into hundreds of pieces.
Frank set his phone down without breaking it. "He'll be here in a few minutes," he said putting his arms around Sharon's waist. He kissed her and reassured her that everything was going to turn out ok. "They have no idea who we are and I am sure that we aren't going to say anything."
She put her head on his shoulder. "I believe you Honey," she said with a smile.
It was less than 5 minutes before they heard the engine roar into the driveway and the door slam. Frank was already standing in the door as John came running up. "Hey guy," Frank said raising his hand up to slow John down. "Take it easy. Go back, shut your motor off, then come in and have a cup of coffee and we can work things out."
As he came through the door John was mumbling, "First I had another of those fucking weird dreams and now this."
Trying to get John to calm down Sharon and Frank tried to get him talking about anything other than the article. "What was this dream," Sharon asked.
"All I saw was steam, fog and a lot of water with people who were not unhappy to see what was going on." His eyes looked as if he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. "This time the images were not distorted in any way. They were as clear as daylight. It is really starting to bother me."
The amulet warmed up slightly and there was a soft glow. Outside the window they heard children laughing and playing.
"Shouldn't they be headed to school," Sharon asked.
Frank looked at the clock and it said that, although it was dark out, it was 8:15 in the morning. "They should have been there fifteen minutes ago," he continued.
Sharon tried to think if there was a holiday or something that would allow the kids to be off. Not thinking of anything she went to the door and asked the first kid that passed by. "Why are you kids off today," she asked.
"It is funny," the kid said. "The boilers in the schools all blew this morning."
"All three of them," she asked.
"Yeah, they are saying that the power went out all night and the boilers blew. There is water all over the place. The principal said that we'll be off school for at least two weeks while they get everything fixed. Man, it is a dream come true!"
Sharon looked back at the two guys and said, "How could the pipes had frozen? It only got down to 45 last night."
John thought for a second and it came to his slowly, his dream was about the school building problems. "Oh my God," he said under his breath although it was still loud enough for the others to hear.
Both Frank and Sharon asked the same question at the same time, "What?"
"The dream I just had was about hot water flooding and the other day I dreamt of a harmonica and a boat. I think I know what is going on," John said in a slightly louder voice. "When I dream about something it happens."
Once again their voices questioned the statement in unison. "What are you talking about," they asked.
"The other day I had a dream, it was like I was in another world. I saw a harmonica, a car and small boat filled with fishing equipment but they were made of a silver liquid. The next morning I saw the same items outside the dream and now this, I see steam, water and smoke and the schools' boilers explode."
Frank piped up that it could just be a coincident.
"Well, what about you two..."
Frank and Sharon looked at each other with a puzzling look not daring to interrupt.
"Frank you mentioned to me that you were not happy in your marriage and that you always had loved Sharon," he said grabbing onto Frank's shoulder. "It worked out really well that your wife left no more than an hour after Sharon got in touch with you after all those years."
Frank looked at Sharon and she back at him but neither said a word.
"Sharon," John asked, "How did you find Frank after all those years?"
"I was looking for a friend from college in the phone book, the page ripped off and the first thing I saw was his name. To be honest I had only thought of him a couple times in all that time but it was always with love."
"When we this," John asked.
She answered that it was a couple weeks before.
"Frank," John said, "When were we up at the site?"
He thought for a second and said that it was a little over two weeks before.
"Right before we got the treasure. I will bet that you dreamt about her that for a couple nights after we found it.
Frank nodded that he did for more than a couple nights.
"Don't you see what is happening," John asked the two of them. "That was the blessing the tablet was talking about."
Both Frank and Sharon looked confused for a second but it wasn't soon before a light bulb lit in Sharon's mind. "Oh my God," she said. "That was it. That amulet has the power to grant dreams."
John held the amulet to his chest and silently nodded his head. That has not to be the curse that killed that King...you heard me mention it..."
"Sunfire," Frank said breaking into John's thought.
"Yeah Sunfire. Remember the tablet said he could not get the royal jewels the way they did for Panther Eye so the people of the settlement killed him."
As he held the amulet closer to his chest it began to heat up and a glow lit up the cracks between his fingers. It was so bright that it seemed to be at least 10 times brighter than the sunshine that surrounded them. Just as suddenly the amulet cooled to mated the surrounding air and the glow faded into the darkness of his clenched hand.
"W
Short story by Rob Taylor
Read 1165 times
Written on 2006-10-29 at 04:15
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