CHAPTER 2
TIME TRAVEL
FRIDAY 12/3
BEFORE THE SACRED HOUR
HUNK
I sensed my friends fearfully submit to Swasie's will; however my eyes remained glued to the massive doors of that spooky mansion.
Trembling, I waited for those intimidating doors to open, releasing the demons that I was sure dwelt within. My eyes darted back and forth sensing the phantom that watched me through those tall darkened windows.
"Can you feel someone watching us Pudge?" I whispered anxiously.
However Pudge remained strangely silent, staring woodenly ahead. Alarmed I watched him walk slowly to where my other friends stood zombie-like surrounded by the older members of the Bone Crushers.
Suddenly my head began to hurt and my vision blurred. I stumbled reaching out to Swasie; however my hands only grasped thin air. My cousin's body had vanished and only his head remained, floating eerily in mid air.
Swasie stared at me through reptilian eyes, his hypnotic gaze rendering me powerless to turn away as his transformed body slowly materialized.
An alien creature now stood before me, its forked tongue spitting menacingly from a green, reptilian mouth. Slowly Swasie walked toward me, his long black dreadlocks hanging from his ugly snakelike head swinging in unison to his familiar swaggering gait.
My skin crawled as Swasie's dreadlocks brushed against me. Now a seething mass of deadly snakes hissing seductively they willed me to touch their slippery writhing bodies.
Bewitched, I felt the deathly coldness of their skin. Now under their spell I listened to the strange gibberish language that spat forth from their forked tongues. Strangely I understood and was enticed by their promises of untold powers...powers that would give me anything I desired, if I accepted my alien birthright.
The fear I felt at those words broke the spell that had bound me, and quickly I withdrew my hand.
"Look well cousin, this too, is who you are! Swasie's voice boomed in my ear. "At 'Moon Harvest' your alien genes will be empowered, and you will have the ability to change at will as I have!"
Swasie's grotesque head began to rotate and in a blink of an eye he stood before me, once more in his human form.
Shaking in disbelief I ran to Pudge hoping that I wasn't going crazy and that he had also seen Swasie's grotesque transformation.
"Pudge, tell me you just saw what I did?" I implored to no avail.
"You pig, Swasie! What have you done to my friends?" I demanded as I ran frantically from one to the other shaking them. However they remained silent, wooden like, their eyes glazed over in a trancelike state
Swasie ignored me and walked laconically past.
"Stop Swasie, I know you're playing tricks with my mind. You can't fool me anymore I refuse to listen!" I screamed in anger.
Swasie continued to ignore me and began climbing the marble stairs to where an enormous statue stood guard. I saw him take something from his pocket and place it before the statue. My heart skipped a beat it was the vampiric 'Rune of Spells' that was used by his father Sissnaska's high priest Sorius in the holy rituals of the 'Secret Society of Crines'.
With bated breath I watched as Swasie knelt at its clawed feet chanting in a strange gibberish language. The heavens suddenly raged and deafening claps of thunder shook the ground violently beneath me. Huge bolts of lighting lit the dark skies, illuminating the beast- like statue as it was released from its enforced slumber.
Trembling with fear I watched in disbelief the beast's mighty chest heave as the stone encasing its hairy body crumbled away. Its dark evil eyes sprang to life in its scaly horned head and focused on Swasie.
"Oh 'God of the Gateway' I am your humble servant." I heard Swasie exclaim reverently as he fell at its feet.
I tried to shout at Swasie to run, but the words wouldn't come. In horror I watched my friends robotically bow their heads as Swasie stood up invoking the powers of the 'God of the Gateway'.
The creature cast its bestial gaze upon me, penetrating deeply into the inner recesses of my mind. Dazed, I fell to the ground as the 'God of the Gateway' disseminated into minute, molecules of swirling rays of energy, above my head
"This can't be happening!" I cried in disbelief.
"It's no use fighting you imbecile! Make the most of it my flunky cousin. You are about to time travel and experience the path to your destiny! Those rays of infinitesimal energy above you will compound into a repulsive gravity force creating a wormhole, a passage into space time." Swasie's voice mocked, his sniggering laugh fading into the distance as the fiery swirling mass parted above me.
Helpless I felt myself being drawn out of my body into its abyss unaware that my consciousness' now existed separate from my body until I looked down and saw myself standing motionless.
Shocked and unable to comprehend my outer body experience my mind tried desperately to reject what was happening. However the powers that were forcing me forward into space-time were too strong and I had no other choice than to surrender.
Yielding to the powers that be, I found myself oscillating between two extremes of predictable variations of energy, which caused me to be caught briefly in a time warp of the fourth dimension. .
Astonished I was experiencing what only my wildest dreams could imagine. I was a participant in what I'd learnt of the science of the Universe from my father. Here in this dimension where he'd taught me that time is relative to energy, the parallel world of Braden's future existed.
Disorientated I looked down at the desolation before me. Gone was the river and vast, fertile land I'd known, devastatingly consumed by the sea. All that remained of the bustling town of Braden were crumbling ruins, and the steps of the old Braden mansion where I saw myself standing forlorn and alone.
The ever-expanding Wormhole once again consumed me before I had time to dwell on what I'd seen.
On I sped through the vastness of space where images of parallel worlds in other dimensions invaded my mind. Finally I found myself in a dark, desolate land, standing before a set of crumbling stairs that were distinctively familiar.
I stood there trembling I was sure that they were the steps of the Braden mansion ...but what dimension was I in?
Through the mist a dark forbidding castle rose. Mysterious lights illuminated its towering embattlements where enormous black snake-like birds flew, squawking menacingly at the strange-feathered creatures looking down upon me...their eyes searching my soul.
All around me ghostly creatures flocked, inquisitively touching me, before vanishing into the night. Invisible hands prodded me forward, forcing me to cross a narrow ledge spanning a cavernous gorge.
Terrified I looked down into its infinite depths, and heard the wailing of lost souls awaiting their fate. Horrified, I clasped my hands over my ears, trying to drown those pitiful cries as I was forced to walk the remaining steps to the massive doors of the castle.
The great wooden doors swung open revealing the towering, illuminated metallic walls, of its great hall where a tortuous winding staircase floated mid air, awaiting its command.
Tall mystifying beings shrouded in black materialized, hurrying back and forth through the multitude of doors that appeared on their approach. Suddenly wraithlike beings tugged at my sleeve, their transparent hands ushering me through the great hall to where a classroom of strange creatures awaited.
Faceless humanlike students sat upon invisible chairs chanting incantations as a tall white-cloaked figure taught ancient spells of sorcery. Abruptly a slate board and chalk appeared and floated into my hands, an invisible chair slid underneath me, seating me before an enormous, suspended chalkboard.
Mesmerized I watched as a piece of chalk scrawled the words, "Welcome to the 'Crines University of Wizards'.
Shocked I realized I was in the parallel world of the thirteenth dimension where as the son of the high priest Ury I was to learn the secrets of sorcery.
A familiar evil laugh rang out, and there above me flew Swasie, his long black cl
oak swirling around his reptilian body.
Abruptly the images vanished and I found myself in the present, standing before the steps of the Braden mansion. Waves of dizziness engulfed me, as I stood disorientated and baffled from my outer body experience. Frantically I looked around only to find everything as before.
Anger quickly replaced my confusion and I yelled out to Swasie, convinced that he had played yet another trick on me.... that was, until I felt the piece of chalk in my hand.
I stared at it, rolled it curiously around in my hand. All at once my mind had clarity and my conception of my future changed.
"It's not funny... I know you're here Swasie! You can't hide forever!" I shouted.
Silence followed, then, I heard my cousin's sniggering laugh taunting me. Out of nowhere Swasie's ghostly image appeared inviting me to follow as he traveled toward the west wing of the Braden mansion.
"Swasie, seriously, stop it! If you think I am going to follow you then you're nuts."
It was all too much I just wanted to run home and pretend none of this had happened.
I gritted my teeth and nervously approached the rigid beastlike statue, searching for any sign of life. A chilling breeze began to play with my clothes and my skin crawled as icy fingers ran through my hair.
"Shit! What's that?" I shrieked. "Cut it out, what ever you are! It's not cool!"
Totally miffed, I raised my thumb in an obscene gesture. "To hell with you spooks!" I shouted defiantly.
Demented moaning emanated from behind the ancient door of the decrepit mansion making me shake in my boots.
"Is that the best you can do?" I yelled audaciously pretending I wasn't scared. "Go on, you spooks, show me what you're made of...I dare you!!"
An enraged howl ensued from within the confines of the aging rotting door, rattling it unmercifully in reply. Flames burst forth, burning the face of a hideous demon within their charcoal embers.
My courage instantly disappeared as the burning devilish eyes embraced me.
"Ooh I wish I hadn't said that!' Nice spook go away now...pleaseeee!!"
Frantically I turned to my friends shouting at them to run. However my pleas were hopelessly lost in the wind as it began to howl to the mystic being that had enraged it, its force driving me relentlessly on.
Within seconds I found myself at the steps of the mansions west wing terrace where the demonic force had unceremoniously dumped me. Stumbling to my feet I tried in vain to return to my friends; however an unseen hand pushed me up the ancient crumbling stairs
Gripped in its power my boots resounded upon the hard cold marble tiles as I was forced to walk through towering majestic arches. Dwarfed by their magnitude I trembled, feeling very small and insignificant. Then without warning I was mercifully released. All was silent now except for the wanton beating of my heart.
Inexplicably silvery rays lit the way, playfully creating strange animalistic shapes in the thinning mist. Stars appeared, twinkling their magic as moonlight caressed the forlorn beauty of the aging terrace.
Warily I walked on, unaware that I was walking where only moments before the ghosts of the dead had tread...the dancing shadows the only sign of their lingering presence.