The Golden Gate - Chapter Two of the Book "999, The Novel"

CHAPTER 2 - THE GOLDEN GATE

Sack could not open his eyes. He instantly panicked. "Oh... oh... God! I'm blind!" 

With a tremulous hand, he carefully touched his left eyelid. It was swollen and hurt like hell. He felt his nose and forehead. Everything hurt!  "Where... where am I?"

I wish I could open my eyes. Is the sun out? He thought and dabbed at the right eyelid with his left hand. Damn, it's swollen tight. No wonder I can't open it!

He ran his fingers over the forehead and encountered a wet patch. It felt sticky, like blood. He struggled again to open his eyes. "Creeps! This is not good. Not good at all." With two fingers, he pried his eyelids apart and tried hard to focus, but a film obstructed his vision.

"God damn!"

He blinked repeatedly, until he could see his fingers covered in blood, and looked at them for a long while.

As he moved his hand away, a vague figure appeared. He blinked frantically to clear his eyes, and tried to prop himself up with both arms. A sharp pain ran through his body and he dropped flat on his back again.

Oh God! This is worse than being fried.  Sack gritted his teeth to push the pain away and waited for a few seconds until it subsided.

With eyes closed, he gauged the distance between him and the figure,

Fifteen, twenty feet higher at the most, he measured mentally. But what the heck is it?

Sack opened his eyes and focused on the figure. It was a young boy staring at him.

"What are you looking at?" Sack asked softly.  The boy did not answer, but looked at Sack for a few seconds more, then disappeared.

Good job, Sack thought. Now that you have messed up the whole thing, you'll have to save yourself. Hm. Where am I? What is this? It looks like a ledge jutting out from the wall. He lifted his head and looked around. Luckily, I ended up here. At length, he pulled himself to the edge of a narrow strip of rock, checked the crater, and thought, This darned thing is high enough from the bottom, but pretty lower than the edge up there. Sack cautiously crabbed away from the edge and finally laid his head down. Phew! Talk about the horns of a dilemma! How are you going to get out of this, Sack, my boy?

Every inch of his body hurt. Trying to lift his left leg, he drew in his breath... oh God, the pain! It was agony. The leg had to be broken; there was no other explanation. "Ok, If I prop myself against this wall and push up with my hands I might be able to stand on the other leg." Sack talked aloud to keep from screaming. "Damn, I'll have to move the broken leg next to this. Ok, baby, be good and move here. Bravo! I made it. Now what?" He waited. He stilled for a moment to breathe. Just for a moment. Gingerly, he turned around, his face toward the slab that towered above, his back to the emptiness below.

Minutes passed and, "Hey, you! Whoever you are. Are you still there?"

He listened. There was silence.

He yelled again. "Answer me, for goodness sake!"

More silence. All he could hear was the wind, sweeping across the rocky edge in a high-pitched whistle.

Don't panic, Sack. If he doesn't want to help you out of this hole, you'll manage, somehow. With a sideways shuffle, he inched along, his hands pressed against the rock that gave no hold. There was nowhere to climb up.

"Not to worry." He said aloud, but he was worried out of his mind. The place where he caught was fearsome. How he would ever get out, he could not imagine.

I am in a hole from the earthquake, he thought, and turning right, his eyes followed the rocky wall so far that he couldn't see the end. He turned left and did the same. Facing the front wall, he surveyed it from the top, down to where black pitch darkness swallowed the wall.

As the time passed, and the boy did not return, Sack's concerns grew. Where is he? How long has he been gone? Ten? Fifteen minutes? What time is it? He looked at his watch for a second. "Damn, it's busted!" Full of trepidation, he pulled the watch from his arm and threw it in the hole. He couldn't help but wish he were out of the hole.

"Help! Help! Somebody help me!" he screamed. "Where is everybody?"

"I've gotten out of worse stuff than this." he tried to calm himself, but the sound of his voice was not convincing. How long can I really survive on this ledge? Will someone find me? God, I hope so!

"Hey! Is this yours?" A shout came from up above. It was the boy! He was back! A great surge of emotion rushed through Sack as he heard the boy's voice.

"What?" he managed to say.

"This parka."

Sack looked up and said, "Yes, yes, its mine. Where...did you find it?"

"In what's left of that house." The kid pointed.

"Can you help me? Please... can you help me get out of this hole?"

"Yes, I will, if I can find a strong rope to pull you up."

"I don't think you'll find anything like that around here, you could try lowering the parka."

"I saw a thick rope over there."

"Okay, go and get it. Before you come back, tie the other end to something heavy like a wood beam or something secure, so I don't fall when I start climbing."

The boy disappeared again. To Sack, it seemed like an age before he returned, but in fact, it was only a few minutes. He pitched one end of a thick rope to Sack. Sack pulled heavily upon it to test its worth. If it were rotten... it held!  Now came the moment. In spite of himself, he glanced down. A void... and that was all.  A beckoning, empty darkness that would virtually eat him, if he fell. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine, and a wave of nausea overcame him. He wanted to crouch and give way to it, but he knew he must not. He took a deep breath and dragged his glance back to the rock face in front of him.

."Wrap it around your arm and hold on tight," the boy called. "I'll try to lift you up."

"Be careful. I have a broken leg," Sack said as he wrapped the rope around himself. "Done!"

His heart thumping, his vision blurred, and every muscle in his body painfully contracted, inch by inch, he let the kid pull him up the rock face, until his head and shoulders reached the top. He scrambled up and flung himself flat, edging forward with the help of the kid.

"Good heavens! How strong are you?"

"Why?"

"Kid," Sack replied, "you practically lifted me like a feather."

"Don't make such a big deal out of it!" the kid said, handing him the parka and stepping aside.

Who in the world is this? Sack, get real. He's no older than fifteen, maybe sixteen, Sack thought.

It took some time to sort his thoughts and don the parka. He tried to walk, but his injured leg wouldn't support him and he fell to the ground.

"Damn!" Sack exclaimed in exasperation. "My leg's broken. I need something to lean on to help me walk." He looked around. "See if you can find some kindling and something to tie them around my leg. Maybe we can make a splint."

"You don't need a splint," the boy said.

"The hell I don't." Sack said, incensed. "Look at my damn leg. The bone is split in two."

"I'll fix it."

"How? Are you a doctor?"

"No. I'm not a doctor, but I'll fix it."

"You must be crazy!" Sack shrieked. "Find something to make a splint."

"I said, I will fix it'." The boy spoke with such authority that Sack backed off. "Put your leg here." he commanded, and bridged Sack's injured leg on top of two large stones, one to sit on and the other to support his foot.

"Don't do anything stupid." Sack uttered, squeezing his eyes shut so hard that he hurt.

The boy knelt in front of the leg, lifted both hands like in prayer, and closed his eyes...

Sack, feeling something bad coming, opened his eyes and shouted, "No!" as the boy ‘axed' through the broken leg with both hands.

"There," said the kid. "You are whole now." He stood up, turned around, and walked away.

Sack, sweating, looked at the boy in awe and said, "This is not happening!" Sack examined his leg, twisting and bending it, unable to believe his eyes. He straightened it and stood up, putting his weight on it to test it out.  "Hey, wait!" he shouted, hurrying after the kid.

"Who the hell are you?" 

The kid didn't stop. Sack grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing him to stop and face him.

 "I said, who in the hell are you?"

The kid looked directly into Sack's eyes and said calmly, "My name is Anko, and I am here on a mission." With that, he resumed his walk.

Sack reflected for a second and repeated, "Anko... Mission....What the heck are you talking about?"

"You said it, my friend." Anko replied, mockingly.

"What kind of mission could a kid be on?"

"I am not a kid, mister... what's your name?" Anko said, with little interest, and much insolence.

"The name is Sack. Mister Sack," he replied with more than a hint of anger.

"Any way you like, Sack."

"Mister Sack."

"Sack."

"Mister Sack." Sack said, irritated.

"Okay Mister Sack! You need to calm down or your blood pressure will shoot up through the roof."

Sack stopped, staring he said, "This is a bit much. How do you know I have high blood pressure? I haven't seen a doctor in more than ten years."

"I know more about you than you do yourself," Anko stopped, inspected the pile of wood in front of them, and then continued. "I know that after your wife died you disappeared from the world; that you were wounded in the war; that you are afraid of snakes, and that you love to read books. Right?"

"That's right." Sack replied, taken aback.

"Now, can we stop this silly game and look for the entrance?" Anko started to pitch debris from the rubble of the house.

"What entrance?" Sack said, still befuddled.

"The entrance to the tunnel." Anko climbed over a pile of rubble.

"There is no tunnel under there."

"Yes, there is"

"Listen, kid, I've lived in that cabin for many years, and if there was a tunnel, I'd know about it."

"You lived in this cabin for nine months and four days." Anko stopped what he was doing, straightened up, and with the same monotonic voice he droned, "This cabin was built here many, many years before."

This kid knows too much, Sack thought. "How long ago?" he muttered aloud.

"That's irrelevant," Anko said, and continued his search. "The important thing is the cabin was build here to hide the entrance to the tunnel for many reasons. One of them was to confuse people like you."

Where does he come from? Never in my life have I met a kid so... so... insolent. Sack thought. After a while he said, "You must read or watch too many science fiction movies. What you're saying is too far-fetched to believe."

"That is your choice." Anko replied. "I am telling you the truth."

Anko worked for several minutes without talking while Sack sat on the ground and watched him. Exhausted, Anko picked one larger piece and looked underneath. Exhilarated, he shouted, "Here it is, the ‘golden gate' at the entrance to the tunnel."

"Stop this nonsense, Anko." Sack said, standing up for a better look. "The ‘golden gate' at the entrance of the tunnel? Give me a break!"

Anko beckoned to him. "Come and see for yourself."

Don't fall for that, Sack resisted the temptation to check the discovery.

"Come on Sack, you'll never see anything like this again."

Well Sack, are you staying here or you'll see what the kid has found? Curiosity was stronger than his will, and Sack climbed to the top of the pile.

From there he could clearly see a round plate, about three feet in diameter, reflecting the sun's rays, and almost blinding him.

"At three o'clock this afternoon, the sun will be in the right position to shine on the secret combination." Anko closed his eyes and continued. "It is now two seventeen. We can relax while we wait." He covered the gate again with the same piece of wood and climbed down from the pile.

Sack could not contain his curiosity, and waited until Anko moved away to lift the wood that covered the gate to look at it.

"Leave that thing alone." Anko shouted, and knelt on the ground.

Startled, Sack dropped the plank on top of the golden gate. A loud shrill cry came from the gate.

"Whoops! What was that?"

"I wish you hadn't done that!" Anko said. "Your lack of respect for the vibes will bring much trouble to all who want to enter the tunnel."

"I'm sorry, what more can I say?" Sack reasoned.

"It's too late now." Anko said, pointing to the sky.

Right then, a great patch of luminosity came out of the tunnel, blocking the light from the sun. Before their very eyes, shapes gradually morphed into ghost-like figures in filmy gowns that seemingly ended in tails of neon that intertwined as they circled around the two intruders, giving out high-pitched whines.

Sack and Anko backed up against each other for better defense. They moved in circles facing the aggressors and prepared for a fierce fight.

"If you can destroy the queen, they'll leave us alone. If you just wound her, be prepared for a long and painful death." Anko yelled.

"Which one is the queen?"

"The one with the largest eyes!"

"I don't see any difference." Sack cried out.

"You will!" Anko screamed.

A powerful lightning bolt hit Sack on one of his leg. "Son-of-a...." He yelled in pain jumping on one leg. "You'll pay for this!" Another lightning bolt followed immediately hitting the other leg. He screamed with all he had. He pulled the boleadoras from his back pocket. As he spun the balls, a third lightning bolt hit his arm sending the weapon flying away from him. "Damn cretin!" Sack screamed, and broke away from Anko to retrieve the boleadoras.

The tail of a phantom suddenly wrapped around Anko's body, lifting him and thrusting him into the air. The boy tried to escape this bondage by kicking and shaking, without success. In desperation, he shouted to Sack for help. "Kill it! Kill it, Sack. It's the queen!"

"How?"

"Use anything! Just smash the eyes or I am done."

A gaping mouth appeared on the queen's spectral body as she brought her captive closer. Sharp teeth jutted forward, in readiness to devour her prize.

"Hurry!" the boy screamed.

"I can't find my boleadoras." 

"Use anything, just be sure to hit her eyes"

A lightning bolt hit the boleadoras and pushed them back beside Sack's feet. Sack grabbed them as the tail of another phantom swept him into the air. He landed on top of the pile of wood.

"Hurry up!" Anko shouted.

Sack jumped, slung the boleadoras and rammed the weapon on the eye of the "queen", precisely when the ghostly mouth started to close on Anko. The boleadoras smashed the left eye and blew up the right. A shriek shot from the mouth and Anko was cannonballed towards the pile, where he landed next to Sack.

The unearthly bodies disappeared as fast as they had appeared. The sun emerged from the darkness and both of them stared at each other, perplexed. They shook hands and laughed aloud. They were alive.

Anko jumped to the ground and knelt, closing his eyes and lifting his hands in prayer.

Sack knew better than asking what was he doing. Mindful of the boy's behavior, he climbed down the pile and retreated behind Anko.

Here we go again. These religious bursts are getting to me.

He did not have to wait long. Anko finished his adjuration, put his hands on his legs, lowered his head, and said, "It's one minute to three. This is the moment I've been waiting for the last hundred years."

Anko rose and remained motionless for just a second, and then looking straight, he commanded, "Come, let us find the truth!"

Trancelike, he walked up the pile of wood followed by Sack. Anko knelt in front of the "golden gate" and waited. A few seconds later, the sun flooded the golden disk and the secret combination appeared on the upper edge. Identical numbers but in different order appeared on the lower edge.

"The entire universe has begged for these numbers." Anko said as he prodded the numbers in the lower edge in same order as the numbers above. "But from the beginnings of time, they were reserved only for me."

Anko completed the combination and stood silent. Several minutes passed.

Nice joke Anko. Sack thought. After all the troubles we went through, we ended here, kneeling and waiting. Nice damned joke.

With eyes wide open, Anko focused on the golden disk. Several more minutes passed while everything stood still. With the golden coating fading from the surface and the disk turning into rusted steel, the gate opened.

"Careful!" Sack retreated. "Don't touch that thing!"

Anko rose and looking to the heavens he lifted his arms in gratitude, and he exclaimed, "The prophecy is now fulfilled!"

He descended a stairway on the other side of the gate, which enlarged to receive him.

"What is he doing? Where is he going? Somebody tell me what is happening!" Sack ran to the entrance, "Hey, wait for me!" he screamed. "Where are you going?"

"To find my treasures!" Anko answered.

"Hold on right there!" Sack exclaimed, "Any treasure hidden under my cabin belongs to me. I am coming with you."

"These treasures are not what you think."

"Whatever they are, I want a part of them. I spent too many years being poor. No more. I'm coming with you."

"You are risking too much."

"I'm ready. Keep moving."