The Time Stone (11 page)

“
Dr. Thinga, our chief
scientist will now tell us about his latest creation with R&D
to help us on our journey.”

“
Yes,” spoke George
Thinga, a small portly man with glasses and a thinning hairline.
“We have been improving the collectivization of projection of
molecular atomic cohesion, a process that allows for the harnessing
of enormous amounts of energy into a localized field. In laymen’s
terms, we have finally after much painstaking research into the
field of particle field analysis that we can emit energy from a
single projection point towards a body as a single
projectile.”

“
In other words, it’s a
ray gun.” Broad added with a jubilant laugh. “Sorry the old science
fiction kid in me couldn’t resist.”

“
Well, sir. We are not yet
at the popular ‘science fiction’ stage with the technology but we
are confident that with further research we can improve it to
become more portable. Right now, the Mark Ten is just out of the
box as a five foot cylinder with projection coils and tubing to
localize the photonic field.“ He gestures to a cutout wooden box
behind him with a series of tubing and coils within it.

“
When will this device be
ready for field work?” Asked police chief Hightower.

“
We haven’t field tested
it yet.” Spoke Dr. Thinga. “We are pending results from the
experimental lab stage first to see how it reacts with living
tissue. Some of the rodent specimens we tested it on were
developing unusual side effects.

“
Such as…” added
Hightower.

“
Well… “Dr. Thinga giggled
as he twiddled his thumbs.

“
What the good doctor
means,” interrupted Broad. “We have our homework to do to make sure
that every contingency is covered for but the device is fully
functional and ready for further use.” He nodded and Dr. Thinga
nodded emphatically,

“
Just you wait until you
see what else we have in store.”

“
Good work doctor. You may
leave, now.”

“
Yes, sir” Dr. Thinga
walked out of the room pushing his cart full of gadgets and a
tubular device while whistling “
pop goes
the weasel
.” He had a slight waddle to his
walk that made him seem exceptionally joyous for a highly paid and
top ranking technologist and physicist.

“
So we shall come to a
vote now on our new endeavor.” Added Broad.

“
We shall commit fully to
the project, Broad Staffnight.” A dark crinkled and translucent
voice emanated from the monitor at the far end of the table and the
shadowed faceless man appeared to speak as many in the midst of
their silence. “However, there are problems and we must address
them, including the relic has been lost, the thieves sent to heist
it from the museum have disappeared, and the relic is nowhere
within our grasp. We must find it to fulfill this
mission.”

“
Yes my lordship. It is
simply lost again, lost to time.” Said Broad.

“
Can’t we track it down
like the ancient Mayan’s did?” Asked Elizabeth.

“
That may be our only
hope.” Said the man. The room seemed darker and more ominous when
he spoke, thought Broad. “We must find the relic before the last
time.” The man with the cloaked dark face added.

“
Send us to Brazil, my
Lordship.” Broad added.

“
It shall be
done.”

“
So we have narrowed down
the location?” Hightower asked.

“
We have narrowed done
everything we need to find it. We shall assemble a small team of
four to travel to the deep heart of the rainforest and jungle
terrain of the world to seek out mankind’s greatest scourge and the
world’s salvation and our future.”

“
Finally we could seek out
the greatest treasure man has ever known,” Elizabeth’s eyes gleamed
with eagerness.

“
I want you on my team
Liz, but we are seeking the treasure not for monetary worth but for
the promise it brings to control to whomever, wherever, whenever
it’s found.” Broad spoke eloquently.

“
It should be used for
peace, to keep and protect the people.” Hightower added.

“
You will join my team as
security only, Chief Hightower.”

“
And how are we going to
penetrate the tropical rain forests of the Brazilian landscape? The
artifact was only rumored to be there in legend.” Asked and
commented Hightower with his deep voice.

“
Ahem” unnoticeably Mr.
Cumberberry stood up slightly reminding the small group of his
appearance. He appeared slender, lanky, balding, and pale-faced,
seemingly malnourished at the edge of the conference room table
resting his chin on his hands cupped before him with his elbows on
the table before he rose up to speak. He wore a maroon tie and
loose fitting suit. His cock-backed hair was silky and gave him the
impression of a retired type. He lifted his glass and sipped his
cabernet before he spoke. He bore a strange heavy inlaid dark brown
mole on his left cheek that gave a very hairy and disfiguring
appearance. “I am very eager to participate in this quest but the
truth is that the item exists and we all know it but it is gone
from its rightful place here in Chronix Bay. Our only hope is to
trace the origin of its final resting place before it was
found.”

“
Won’t we be interfering
if we take it before it is ‘found’?” Asked Elizabeth.

“
I fear not for the fates
have spoken and we are facing the last moment where the attempts to
fulfill our destiny will be possible. If we do not succeed, then
our future will be forsaken.” Mark’s voice crinkled slowly and
almost mechanical as it ran down the table with his philosophical
diatribe.

“
Yes, um” Broad spoke
almost impetuously nervous, “Mr. Cumberberry will be the most
cherished member of our little entourage of course. We can always
go to the Florida office if we have to for completion of the
project but for now we stay the course.” Broad added slowly
choosing his words in a nervous fashion as he squinted at the man’s
hideous mole.

CHAPTER 25

Broad Staffnight was afraid. He hid
his fears well with his dynamic personality and quick-witted
speaking ability but he had a kindred hatred and sense of
solidarity for himself and for his superiors. He knew what he
wanted but was blindsided at the meeting and torn between his own
feelings of guilt and confusion with his desires, his lust and
avarice for the success he yearned for, the prize of the ages. He
struggled with this inner pain and how it was changing within him
in his heartless rugged exterior.

“
In the dark recesses of
his imagination was spawned an optimal force that is dominant
throughout the universe and concentrated in unspeakable horrors
since the origins of time.
Hmmm
.” He pondered strange and
fascinating things as he spoke to himself staring at the globe
twirling it with his fingers in his private office, a three hundred
square foot marvel symbolizing the wealth and ultra-conservatism of
the vibrant man.

“
A mystery in reality
itself, and their existence is enigmatic and their powers
ultimate.” His voice hoarse and eyes piercing darkness before him
as the globe turned to where his index finger lay, the mid Atlantic
Ocean down by Bermuda, “The Devil’s Triangle. It is difficult to
accept because no matter what time period one is in, the concept
remains sacrosanct as true. But who are they and where do they come
from?

”
They came from another
galaxy perhaps.” A soft delicate voice spoke from behind him in a
joking manner but strangely confident tone. “Mr. Staffnight, you
have been interested in everything from spirit possession to
extraterrestrial hyper galactic beings. What makes you so curious,
Boss?” She pushed up her suit jacket sleeves and crossed her arms,
a petite young woman in her early twenties, highly educated and
having experience with the business world since she was a
child.

“
Elizabeth, I just have so
much on my mind lately.” He uttered to his young protégé, “Their
reality” he spoke harshly with a twinkle in his eye on the prize
spot he continued to point to the model of the earth. “Their
reality is different, perceptions, thoughts, and vice versa. When
they are apparent to us we see them as two dimensional objects but
they see us as a curse on their realm and seek destruction.
Humanity’s end is the shadow’s realm and its purpose. I will get
them to see what I know to be true, that together we can be
triumphant and obliterate those with no cause or purpose.” Shocked
she looked at him. He sighed.

She smiled. “Bravo and Wow that is
deep sir.” She dropped her hands to her side and her jaw wide open
as if tired from applauding a miraculous performance of some divine
comedy.

“
It is as it has always
been, good vs. evil, ying vs. yang, opposites, light vs. dark, but
if only as true one cannot exist without the other and they are
subject to our own inner points of view. “

“
What will we seek to make
this wish come true, Sir?”

“
It is what has been
sought since the start of time, the project to obtain pure power…
dark matter and negative energy as one! Our true boss, it is like
facing the ultimate enemy of mankind and yet its
redemption.”

“
God help us!”

“
Indeed.”

CHAPTER 26

Outside of Chronix Bay International
Airport, James and Tina sat on a bench going through a bag of old
clothes they received from the Salvation Army as
donations.

“
Good thing we don’t
really need too much proof that were are poor to qualify for
donations”, said Tina as she grabbed a multi-colored blouse from
the bag and tossed the bag over to her partner in crime.

James grabbed it while staring at the
ground, his mind fixated on other things. “I am still confused
about what happened back there.”

“
Which part, our new lives
as fugitives from justice or your strange new powers?”

“
It’s like I felt some
weird energy all of a sudden and then I was able to get us here
without thinking from the alleyway where we ditched the motorbike
to the airport, supposedly miles and miles apart.” He ignored her
slightly.

“
Instant teleportation”
she smiled. “It is actually quite unusual to develop mental
abilities but it has been done. Maybe we practice you could become
good at it.”

“
Really? You think I can
make it happen again on purpose?”

“
Think now… concentrate on
being in another place. Where is the nearest pizza joint?” She
laughed all of a sudden.

“
Very funny.”

“
I’m just teasing you
James, you got a real gift. Don’t run from it. Embrace it,
Dude.”

“
Same thing happened when
we were in the jail cells and I felt something come over me. I wish
I could say it was like nothing that I have ever felt before but I
had similar experiences as a kid many years ago. Maybe I am crazy.”
He shook his head.

“
Or maybe you’re gifted.”
She nodded with a smile. “Not to mention quite cute”, she
said.

They both laughed slightly sharing a
casual smile. “Thanks, what do you think of this?” He showed off a
flannel work shirt he pulled out of the bag.

“
Awesome.” She replied.
“Let’s get on line at the airport, unless you can think and get us
teleported again.”

“
I wish I could” he closed
his eyes and concentrated, “but I guess I am all zapped out” he
laughed. “I honestly don’t understand how I did it. I just focused
on the fear I felt riding on the back of that demon
machine.”

“
Well. Don’t worry. We’ll
use convention.” She said.

Tina and James had donned their new
disguises to hide themselves from the law. James wore a black
leather jacket with silver stars studded on it from their grab bag
and dark sun glasses that he found in the side compartment of the
bike that they stole. He tucked in his shirt and slicked his hair
back to appear more vicious as he smiled. And Tina had worn a plaid
shirt and denim jacket from the bag and also items from a local
department store bag that she seized for her cosmetic disguising
like a blonde wig, with her notorious sense of rapidness or the
“old five finger discount” as she put it. She rolled up the sleeves
to her elbows and topped off her appearance with the blonde wig and
a pair of maroon shaded sunglasses, to cover her face. The duo
strode down Main Street together arms akimbo none the wiser that
they were a wanted man and woman.

CHAPTER 27

Downtown Chronix Bay was
quiet that night without a movement of any wind but stillness
begotten outside of the small shop of sorrows and happiness
intertwined. The sign outside read “
Fortune Teller: extremely low prices, 100% accuracy
readings
”. The lack of a proper college
education was enough for even James to realize the grammatical
inaccuracies.

“
What do you think?” Asked
Tina as the duo stood silently in front of the shop.

“
At least it’s a place to
hide for now. Nothing else seems to be open, not even a Motel
6.”