The Time Stone (59 page)

“
What?” Asked
Mercedes.

“
I just feel like going
over to …” she walked across the ranch and headed running outside
of the perimeter of the ranch and headed out into the open
desert.

“
Wait Tina” yelled
Mercedes.

“
Let’s go get the car”
said Drax. Drax and Mercedes drove along the desert ground and
caught up with Tina who had slowed down and approached a wall about
a mile from town, the wall appearing to be made of stone but had a
metallic look to it as well. It was greenish, curve, and had holes
in a strange sequence that seemed other worldly.

“
What did you find, Tina?”
Asked Drax.

“
I think it’s a code. I
don’t know what it is but I was feeling the need to approach it. I
wish I could understand. It’s a pretty compelling feeling, if you
know what I mean.” She stared deep into the wall. “Maybe this is
alien in origin, like the pre givers again.”

“
It could be” said Drax
getting out and looking at it with her. Mercedes joined and stood
back as Tina and Drax crouched down studying the design. “I have
never seen anything quite like this, not even in the pre giver
caves we were in. Why would it be out in the open like this and
what could it mean?” Asked Drax rhetorically.

“
This could take ages to
study by the top scientific and crypt archeological minds in the
field.” Tina said.

“
Let me see” said another
voice behind them that shocked them and made them turn in
horror.

“
Oh my God, who are you?”
Said Drax.

“
Who are you?” Said the
man, a slight middle aged man with glasses, wavy brown hair, a
brown mustache, and glasses.

“
Howard Kowolski?” Asked
Tina curious with a shock. “We got to stop meeting like
this.”

“
How do you know my name?”
He asked.

“
Uh we found out about
your past from your future” she brushed it off to the dismay of her
companions.

“
Hmm, time travelers huh?
I would not have believed it too long ago. I have been trying to
unlock the secrets of the wall since I arrived a decade ago.” He
said.

“
Arrived from the future?”
Asked Mercedes.

“
Yes, I imagine you came
the same way” he said nodding.

“
Sort of.”

“
I have been close to
unlocking the code to this wall but every time, I forget. I think I
am growing a little senile. What an odd phenomenon?” Said Kowolski
randomly touching his head looking up.

“
A little?” Asked
Drax.

“
You really were here ten
years?” Asked Tina.

He nodded fast. “Be wary, travelers.
There are many beasts about there from another world, another
dimension. They were brought by your machination friends, super spy
Milton Drax.”

“
Yeah, we know that” said
Mercedes rhetorically.

“
There is the worst to
come. Energy is the key and then…You see, I have learned that there
are natural hotspots of negative energy on the world’s
electromagnetic grid axis and if there occurs a solar flare on the
precipice of the end of the year bigger than any in the history of
the world it could be enough to trigger those spots and cause them
to simultaneously rupture causing there to be born a conduit
directly into the past, the natural effect of what the time stone
achieves but artificially stronger. We must stop it. We must
destroy it!” He panicked. “And I lost my time stone. I lost my
marbles.” He runs off in the distance waving his arms
around.

“
Poor dude” said
Tina.

“
Yeah, a little crazy too”
said Mercedes.

“
So how do we solve this
so we don’t end up like crazy boy over there?” Said
Drax.

“
Leave that to me” said a
woman’s voice. They turned and saw a tall voluptuous long legged
woman with a black leather skin tight outfit, gloves, and biker
helmet. She took off the helmet and let her long blonde locks hang
down beside her. Her deep brown eyes and plush lips made Drax feel
unbelievably attracted to her.

“
Who are you?” He
asked.

“
Tina knows me.” The woman
said.

“
I do?” Asked Tina as Drax
and Mercedes turned to her.

“
We met in the
future.”

“
That fortune teller we
met.”

“
Right” she
smiles.

“
But you look different,
and yeah, how you been?”

“
Well, I am not really
her. I am her descendant from the year 2055 A.D.”

“
Oh yeah, I knew that.”
Said Tina sarcastically.

“
My name is Alexandra and
I am her great, great, great, great, great, great granddaughter. I
travelled here from what you would call the future.”

“
What I would
call?”

“
Our perceptions and
definitions of time are different from yours. I am here to help you
now!”

“
How?” She
asked.

“
The alien riddle on the
wall”

“
That’s a
riddle?”

“
I will translate
it…”

“
OK”

“
The last time there was a
great wonder in the clouds, the coming of a new horizon dawns, the
cornerstone, legendary and secret, the book of time goes
on.”

“
That’s it?”

“
That is it!” She replied
confidently. “I must go now.”

“
Wait, there is more you
could tell us.” Said Mercedes.

“
Yeah, why did you help
us, who sent you?” Asked Drax.

“
I cannot answer your
inquires. I can only say this; each of us has a purpose in time.
When it is to be known, it shall be known. We are all part of one
great linen cloth in time.” She smiled at that last part and put
back on her helmet nodding, “in the name of justice I fight,” to
them and jumped up in the air and vanished in a haze of white
yellowish light as a vortex appeared and consumed her.

“
Wow” said
Tina.

“
She was amazing and
beautiful” Said Drax.

“
She is Soteira” said
Mercedes. “The one who randomly appears and helps people in 2012
and I suspect now all of time.”

“
Oh my God” said
Tina.

“
Yeah but we have the
answer to the riddle.” Said Mercedes. “And look the time stone is
lit up” they saw it glowing and the five orbs buzzing
brightly.

“
Did you see the patch on
her uniform?” Asked Drax.

“
Yes, it was dreadfully
familiar” said Mercedes. “A colorful curved weapon or bridge symbol
with words etched on it.”

“
The culto?” Asked Tina
rhetorically. “Could they be good guys in the future?”

“
Stranger things have
happened.” Said Drax. “Let’s get out of here buddies.”

“
Let’s ride” Mercedes said
as they entered the scorpion car and vanished into the hazing
vortex emitted by the time stone.

CHAPTER 87

Time Period: 2012, A.D., Chronix
Bay

Around the city of Chronix Bay, there
were sirens and lights from police cars wailing as federal agents
suited up running about and hovering about the scene of a gruesome
series of bloody murders.

“
What do you got, Mac?”
Said FBI Agent Adam Kartwell, a smooth-talking man in a dark grey
suit with his hands on hips and dashing smirk.

“
Seventeenth woman this
week, killed and totally drained of blood… you know exsanguinated.”
Said Mac, a chubby balding man in a cheap suit holding a white box
and wearing white gloves.

“
So we’re still hunting
count Dracula” said Adam.

“
I don’t like this. I used
to hear stories of olden times when there were similar occurrences
and they were never solved.”

“
We might be fated to
suffer the same fate.” Mac nodded as the two men stood overlooking
the coroner taking the latest victim away in a body bag.

“
Strange claw marks” said
Adam looking at the face of the latest victim, a petite blonde
woman, with three claw marks on her bloody face, gashed in like a
wild animal tore at her flesh, loose pieces of brown hair
surrounded the wound. Adam looked at the back of his hand and saw
the brown hair on his body and extended fingernails.

The tall skyscrapers and structures of
the modern era were a sight for sore eyes and Mercedes, Tina, and
Drax looked up at the Chronix Bay twin towers as a jet 747 engine
plane soared overhead.

“
Yes,” said Drax. The year
is 2012. We’re back. We made it home.” He pumped his fists in
midair.

“
But we’re a man down”
said Tina sadly.

“
Don’t worry” said
Mercedes consoling her with her arms around her. They heard loud
booms coming from the air above with loud echoes.

“
Sounds like firecrackers”
said Tina.

“
It’s not firecrackers”
said Drax looking at the launching of small projectile missiles
from the side of the building to a distant location. They looked up
and saw a familiar sight, Satyr flying up towards the apex of the
central complex.

“
Oh no, what is he up to?”
Said Mercedes.

“
Let’s go check it out”
Said Drax. “We can arouse less suspicion by taking the elevators. I
still know the access codes.” The trio walked into the building and
into the elevator and stood in formation like a triangle as they
headed up to the top floor.

“
We can still change
things and stop the Machination’s experiment or more of it from
harming the past?” Asked Tina.

“
We got to try” said
Mercedes.

“
We will try… and possibly
save the future as we know it” said Drax determined. They heard one
loud boom after another in the skies above.

The elevator made it to the top floor
and they walked off onto the roof out of a cylindrical entryway.
Satyr stood over an alter set up with lit candles and roaring
flames in gold bowls. A struggling limp form laid on the table, a
young woman with brunette hair and wearing a white gown. She was
shackled at the wrists and ankles with chains pouring down the
alter. Satyr chanted in a different language as he held a curved
dagger over her body with both hands.

“
What the hell is going on
here?” Yelled Drax. He ran over the alter as Satyr turned and
turned the dagger to him. Satyr lunged forward and Drax dodged and
struck Satyr in the jaw over and over with his clenched fists. Then
Adam came running up the stairs gun drawn.

“
Hold it, FBI” he yelled.
Tina and Mercedes ran over to the alter and tried to undo the
restrains on the helpless prisoner but were unable to free her.
Loud noises and booms continued above them. Drax continued to
pummel at Satyr who grabbed Drax and tossed him to the floor. Adam
yelled again for them to get up and they did.

“
You fool” yelled
Satyr.

“
Dad!” Said Adam, I know
it was you behind the killings of those women and the others in the
past. Drax looked at him with a perplexed grin. He kicked at Satyr
who grabbed Drax by the leg and pushed him back. Drax fell back.
Satyr opened his large mouth and reached with his tongue extending
long like a hose towards Adam and grabbed him by the neck wrapping
itself around him and choking the life out of him, causing him to
drop his gun as Adam held for his neck. He fell to the ground as
his face turned blue from oxygenation. He collapsed as he looked
with shock as the last thing he saw was Satyr’s rage.

“
The apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree, indeed” said Satyr. Drax ran over and he kicked
Satyr’s hand as he was distracted. The dagger went sliding on the
floor near the large alter.

“
This is not over” yelled
Satyr as he ran over the edge of the building up a ramp and jumped
upward into the air and over the six thousand feet below as he
lifted himself up flapping his extending wingspan. Drax picked and
pocketed the knife.

“
I thought human sacrifice
went the way of slavery,” said Tina.

“
It’s the ancient right of
Maldificio. Ritual sacrifice of a traitor.” Drax said.

“
What could she possibly
have done?” Asked Tina.

“
I don’t know.” Said
Drax.

“
She is very faint” said
Mercedes checking the woman’s pulse.

“
I think she is trying to
say something,” said Drax. He saw her moving her lips with a sense
of apprehension. Tina lowered and turned her head to the woman’s
mouth and raised her eyebrows as her eyes widened with sudden
shock.

“
Are you sure?” Asked Tina
as she listened again. “Oh my God, OK we’ll take care of it.” The
woman then stopped moving and her head dropped to the
side.

“
I am not getting a pulse,
we’re losing her. She needs medical attention now” screamed
Mercedes, “I can’t do anything here” she worried looking at her.
She’s gone.”

“
It’s not your fault.”
Said Drax as he saw her weep in mourning for the stranger on the
large alter. “What did she say Tina?” Asked Drax.