Mastermind, page 8
part #1 of Mastermind's Mutants Series
Dawn had her clothes back on by now, of course, and once again looked fully human and totally normal. Apparently those strange mutations appeared in the heat of a needed moment. Probably just a reaction from the glowing green chemical that had been injected into her. But once things had calmed down, Dawn’s body returned to its normal size, shape, and appearance. Even her slash wounds from Tiffany’s claw attack had miraculously healed up.
They told the cops everything. About the mysterious man’s apparent mind control. Who Tiffany was and how the mutated guy died. The strange chemical. Everything.
The officer was skeptical about the “mind control” part. It sounded just a little too far-fetched for him. The mysterious man obviously must’ve threatened or coerced them somehow. Maybe “mind control” was just less embarrassing for them. Or they had seen one too many sci-fi movies. Whatever. It didn’t matter. They had the deaf scientist and mysterious man on charges of kidnapping, illegal human experimentation, animal cruelty, and murder.
Under normal circumstances, the mysterious man might’ve been taken to a hospital under police custody, to tend to his bullet wound, before being put in jail to await trial. But based on what the arresting officer saw, and Dawn and Ray’s statements, they didn’t want to take any chances with this one. Just to be safe.
So instead, they called a paramedic to come down and patch him up on site. It was a minor flesh wound. Bullet went right through. Left a lot of blood, but other than that, the man would be fine.
The mysterious man sat there, silently staring blankly, as the paramedic stitched him up. Then with his wound closed up and his arm in a sling, the medic cleared him for transport.
Ray let out a slow sigh of relief.
It was over. They were finally safe.
He held Dawn’s hand. So glad he decided to trust his instincts and follow them here. He couldn’t believe he almost died – or got mutated into something weird – in the process. He was going to need a lot of therapy after this.
After patching up the mysterious man, the medic checked Dawn for all her vitals. She had, after all, been exposed to the unidentified chemical. But they assured the cops it was a two-part process; Dawn never received the animal blood injection. The medic couldn’t find anything wrong with Dawn, but still advised her to check in to the hospital for more thorough tests and overnight supervision.
But Dawn didn’t have any health insurance. And she felt fine. She was sure she was fine.
Dawn leaned onto Ray’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. This was an evening they’d never forget. But somehow, terrifying as it was, it brought them much closer together.
“Hey, idea,” Ray softly said to her. “Next date, how do you feel about staying in?”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said.
“Okay,” said the officer, finishing his report. “You two are free to go. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions.”
Three of the other police cars drove off, each carrying one of the bad guys safely to prison.
“Thank you, officer,” Ray said. And then, lightly squeezing Dawn’s hand, he said to her, “Come on, let’s go home.”
Dawn was pretty quiet the whole ride back. Ray understood. It was a lot to take in. A lot to process. He could barely get a handle on it all himself.
“Where should I turn?” Ray asked.
“Sorry?” She seemed lost in another world.
“Which exit, to get you home?”
“Scott Road.” She paused. “But Ray?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
He completely understood. He kind of felt the same way. He thought about it for a moment, still driving northbound on the freeway. “I know we just met and all, but how would you feel about—”
“Yes!” she interrupted. “Please.”
He laughed. “You didn’t even let me finish.”
“Okay. Sorry. Please continue.”
“I was just saying, I know I only met you earlier today, and we’ve only had one date – well, sort of. Anyway, if you’re comfortable with it, if you want to – you’re welcome to stay at my place, if that’ll make you feel safer tonight.”
She nodded. “It would.”
“Okay. Cool.”
She laughed softly. “You know, technically, you’ve already seen me naked.”
“That’s true.”
“I’m not usually that kind of girl. Just so you know. It was his mind control.”
“I know,” he smiled. “I know.”
“But I really do like you. And I’m just saying that, if you play your cards right, someday… you might see me naked again. Not tonight. But someday.”
“Is that a fact?” he said, smiling.
“Maybe. We’ll see. If you’re lucky,” she said, smiling playfully.
“Some first date, huh?”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re sure you still feel fine, right? I’ll cover the hospital bill. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
She smiled. “I’m fine. Really. I just want to go to sleep.”
He nodded. But he wasn’t so sure. Ray wasn’t known for his “gut” feelings, but something told him they were on borrowed time. He didn’t know what or why -- he just had a nagging feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. But for now, perhaps it was best to let her rest. They could both definitely use some rest.
What a day.
He turned off the freeway and headed towards his apartment.
Chapter Seven
The Desert
While Ray’s imagination got lost picturing himself naked in bed with Dawn, Luke and his uncle were in… well…
They had problems.
Here’s what happened. Luke and his uncle stepped through the portal, out onto the sand, and saw the ancient stone ruins all around them. In the distance was a pyramid, which Uncle Charlie seemed a little confused about, and Luke soon noticed two alien moons above.
Clearly, they were on another planet.
“I don’t think we’re in Egypt...” said Luke.
Beloved uncle Charlie nodded. “I know,” he said softly.
Luke seemed surprised. “You do?”
The old man looked around, took a long deep sigh, and drank from his water bottle. “Actually, I’ve been here before. Once, maybe twice, a long time ago.” He thought about it. “Maybe twenty-something years now. You were just a baby back then.”
Luke’s mouth hung open.
“You see, the Tablet of Ningishzida had five symbols on it,” he said. “A basic triangle was one of them. Apparently each symbol led to a different destination. Draw any circular or doorway shape with the crystal onto a solid surface, mark a specific symbol in the center, and a portal would open up to specific world.”
“What?”
“The triangle shape you drew was one of the five symbols. Every time we opened a portal with that symbol, it always led here. My papa – your great grandfather – also came here first.”
Charlie looked at the pyramid ahead.
“Although, I don’t remember him mentioning seeing any pyramids. Just the ruins we saw back at the portal exit. It’s why we never came here much. This place is just a whole lotta desert.”
“Should we go back now?” asked Luke. His water bottle was already half empty.
“If you want. Although, to be honest, I’d like to get a closer look at that pyramid.”
“Okay,” said Luke. And they continued to traverse the long, burning hot desert sands.
The endless desert went on as far as the eye could see. Giant sand dunes slowly shifted across the desert floor as fierce hot winds continued to blow. The air was so dry. Luke took another drink from his water bottle.
Meanwhile, his uncle explained more about the crystal and its history.
He, himself, had been to all five locations. Well, sort of. Three led to other worlds. He had visited all of those. One was too dangerous to visit, so he never went there. And the last one, he said, actually led back to Earth.
“And you’ll never guess where,” he said.
“Where?” asked Luke, finishing off his water bottle.
“Stonehenge.”
Stonehenge? Yeah right. Luke was never big on alien conspiracies, despite his love of science-fiction. “Whatever.”
“Told you you wouldn’t believe me,” said Charlie, grinning. “But if you’re ever lost or trapped, draw that symbol, and it’ll take you back to England. Last minute international flights are a bit expensive, but at least it’ll get you home.”
They stopped for a second.
“Here,” said Uncle Charlie, leaning down toward the sand. “Let me show it to you.”
He drew a small circle, then divided it horizontally and vertically with two straight lines. Luke had actually recognized it from before. It was the astronomical symbol for Earth.
It gave him chills.
Every celestial body in the solar system had its own symbol. The sun was a circle with a dot in the middle. Venus’s symbol was the same one used to represent “female”; Mars’s symbol was also used for “male.” Saturn’s symbol looked kind of like a lowercase “h”; Neptune’s symbol looked like the Roman god Neptune’s trident. And Earth… a circle divided into four corners.
These symbols went back to ancient times. Was it just a coincidence Earth’s symbol was the same one that opened a portal here – or was there some deeper meaning?
“Stonehenge, you say?” he was almost afraid to ask.
Charlie stood back up. He saw Luke’s empty water bottle. He didn’t have much left himself. He looked back. The portal was still open, in the distance. They had already walked a long way. If they were going to make it to the pyramid and back, then had better get going. Charlie knew what would happen if they waited too long.
“Come on, let’s keep going. I need to see something.”
Luke was a little lost in thought for a moment, staring off into space. When his uncle kept walking, Luke snapped out of it and caught up.
They hiked up a large sand dune, still headed towards the pyramid in the distance. It wasn’t too far now. The pyramid looked a lot larger than Luke expected. He had never seen one in real life. They started descending down the sand dune. But sand can be deceptive. Sand can appear stable when it’s not. Sand can appear solid when it’s anything but.
One misstep and –
Suddenly, without warning, Luke lost his footing and began sliding uncontrollably down the shifting hillside.
“Luke!” his uncle yelled. He reached out, but missed.
It all happened so fast. Luke tumbled down the steep sand dune, pulling more and more sand along with him, triggering an unstoppable avalanche. Within seconds, the ground under Charlie’s feet began shifting too.
“Wh-whoa!” he said as he fell down, sliding backwards, falling all the way down the collapsing sand dune’s edge.
The two men – one a young man in his mid-twenties and the other an old man in his early sixties – tumbled, rolled, bounced, and slid farther and farther down. Their momentum built, sand flew everywhere, and Luke managed to glance ahead at where this was taking them.
In the middle of the desert, nestled between steep sand dunes, was a dark rocky pit.
A giant hole in the ground.
“Oh nooooo!!!” Luke shouted as they slid down, down, down – no way to stop or change course – tumbling over, about to fall in. Luke reached to grab at the ledge. Sand flew at his eyes. He managed to grab a stable rock. Then Charlie crashed into him, Luke’s grip slipped, and they both fell in.
Suddenly free falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling farther down still, deep into the darkness, as sand from above continued to pour in over their heads and all around them.
“Hold on!” yelled Charlie.
“To what?!” remarked Luke.
SPLASH.
At least there was water on this planet.
But damn, was it cold.
They submerged deep into the icy, dark waters. It slowed their decent. Slowly, they both came to a stop at some unknown black depth, and began to rise to the surface.
Several impossibly long seconds later, they surfaced. They each gasped for air.
“Luke, Luke… are you okay?”
He coughed. “Yeah, Uncle. I think I’m fine.” He coughed up some water. “You?”
“We’ve got to find some shore.”
Easier said than done. It was all but pitch black down here. They had fallen pretty deep. They treaded water, trying to let their eyes adjust to the darkness.
The only thing Luke could see was the little light that leaked in through the pit opening, way high above.
“I think I see something,” said Charlie.
“This water is freezing!”
“I know. Try to keep warm. This way.”
They swam deeper into the darkness, farther away from the little light that did reach this far down. The sand pouring in from above slowed down and finally drizzled to a stop. For a moment, there was an eerie calmness. A stillness to the light and dust.
This place was huge. Some sort of enormous underground cavern or aquifer. They could be anywhere.
“Yup, I definitely see something,” said his uncle.
“How?”
“Trust this old man, would ya?”
“Okay.” Luke swam after him. He glanced one last time at the dim shaft of light that reached this far. He hated to swim farther away from it. But he couldn’t keep treading in this icy cold water.
Good thing he could swim. He couldn’t imagine just how deep below he’d find the bottom. They crashed pretty hard. Went under pretty deep. He was going to feel all sorts of pains and bruises in the morning, he was sure.
“Ah hah! I knew it!” declared his uncle. “Look! Look!”
Luke strained to see farther ahead. “What? Where? I don’t see it.”
“Here!” said his uncle. “Follow my voice, it’s right here!”
Luke treaded closer. He reached out into the darkness. Suddenly he felt his hand touch something solid.
Charlie climbed up onto it. Some kind of large smooth rock surface. It was nearly impossible to see. How on Earth – or wherever they were – did he see that?
He got a secure footing and reached out to help Luke up. Luke climbed up onto the ledge.
“W-Where d-d-do you th-th-ink we ar-r-re?” Luke asked.
“You’re shivering. Take off your shirt. We need to get you warm.”
Luke peeled off his soaking wet shirt. He and his uncle quickly rubbed his arms and torso, trying to create some friction to warm up his core vitals. It started to help.
“You okay?”
He was still shivering a bit, but getting better. He nodded as he continued to rub the sides of his arms. “Yeah. I’ll b-be fine.” He laughed. “Been l-living in southern C-California for too long. Not u-used to being this c-cold.”
Uncle Charlie licked his finger and held it out in the air. He couldn’t feel any breeze coming from any direction. “No breeze. That’s good. As soon as you start to dry, you’ll be fine.”
He started to warm up. “This is crazy. Where are we?”
His uncle looked around. “My guess is some kind of subterranean ocean. Makes sense. Whoever built the pyramid would need access to water somewhere.”
“Hello?” Luke shouted into the darkness. Several seconds later, his voice echoed back. “Hello!” Another delayed echo. “Echo! Echo! Echo!” Luke laughed. “And presenting, weighing in at 175 pounds and shivering cold, Luke Powers, champion of the underworld!”
His uncle laughed. “Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
Luke smiled. But soon the reality of the situation kicked in.
“You still have the crystal?” asked Charlie, trying to stay upbeat and positive – but with a clear worry behind his voice.
Luke quickly searched his pockets. He pulled it out.
“It’s here.”
It was their only source of light. It still glowed.
They both gave a sigh of relief.
“Thank God for that,” said Charlie.
“So… I guess we’re going to Stonehenge, huh?”
Charlie balked. “Not necessarily. You give up too easily.”
“Huh?”
“Now listen carefully, Luke. I want you to always remember this. No matter how bad things get, no matter how dark the situation looks… you always have hope. There’s always a way out. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years, it’s that there’s always hope, there’s always a way out – or through – any problem.”
“Okay. So… what do you suggest we do?”
“Got me.”
At that very moment, Ray unlocked his apartment door. Like a true gentleman, he held it open and invited Dawn inside.
“And here we are. Welcome to my humble abode.”
She walked in, looked around, saw the comic book and movie posters on the wall, the minimal cheap furniture… “Nice place,” she said.
“Thanks. We like to keep our costs low. Luke only works part-time and I’m in grad school, so… you do the math.”
“Got it. No worries.” She stopped for a second. Just took a deep breath.
“You okay?” He reached his arm around her.
“Yeah, sorry. Just can’t stop thinking about that poor guy, and our waitress… I can’t believe that man could control us like that… It’s…”
“It’s okay,” said Ray, trying to be strong. “I know. I was there too. It’s going to take some time to—” He walked past the wall that currently still had an open portal to a desert world on it. “What – the – fuck?”
Dawn saw it at the exact same time. A giant hole in the wall, open to a huge desert on the other side. What the hell? She was dreaming, right? This whole evening – everything – was all some really weird, really messed up dream. Right?
“What the hell is that?” she asked.
“Uh…” Ray wanted to answer. If only he had one.
Sand spilled out into the living room, overflowing from the base of the portal. Hot air blew in from the other side, keeping the air conditioner on full blast. The apartment was still warm.
