“Any of you guys think it exists?” Reggie asks.
“It better!” Farrow says.
“Well,” Mike says. “We’re here, so we might as well go in and find out.”
“Hey Sherry,” Farrow calls to me, “What do you think?”
I look at the cave for a moment as it stands in its frozen glory, with an inviting yet daring aura. The ridges and stalactites seem stable enough, but something tells me this cave has a lot more on the inside. The way it looks like the open mouth of a monster, the way the wall of ice surrounds it, stretching farther than the eye can see under a sky just as snow white as the ground.
The guys at base–located in the center of Antarctica near the south pole–said the journey to Kemp Land would be an arduous one and they were right about that. They also said the cave may or may not exist and the only way would be to find out for ourselves, so we agreed to go. The journey was five days of dodging chunks of ice, taking photos of seals and killer whales, watching penguins interact and dive recklessly into the frigid waters as if at Disneyland, and having to save farrow from falling in when a seal vaulted over our heads and hit him in the nose, causing him to fall back. All in all, the journey wasn’t so bad (depending on who you ask).
“We won’t find out if we stand here,” I reply, “let’s go before we freeze to death.”
We walk in.
Farrow and I lead the front with Reggie and Mike in back. It looks like an icy wonderland when we get beyond the entrance. The crystallized ice shines brighter than diamonds on their best day here, with an intoxicating allure. I almost want to take one as a souvenir, but I know better. The last time I tried that the whole cave nearly fell on top of us and Reggie broke his leg. It took seven weeks just to get him a cast and another six for his leg to heal. Out here in the arctic, medical care isn’t exactly newsworthy or convenient.
We come across a frozen lake and it looks safe enough to cross but only Farrow knows for sure; he’s an expert in distinguishing between thick and thin ice. It may not sound impressive, but here in the arctic thick ice is sometimes more fragile than thin ice. Farrow inspects the surface for cracks. According to him, if there are cracks on the side the ice is more or less safe to cross, but, if the cracks are in the middle, watch out!
“This ice is good.” Farrow says. “The ends are a little thin but the middle is strong. Step freely, but not too freely.”
“Let’s do it.” Mike says, as we start crossing.
Farrow’s right like always, the sides are sketchy but the middle is strong. We cross with little to no effort.
Seems the cave is giving us a freebie.
After we cross, there’s a long, large, icy hall. It has an oval shape which makes it resemble the entrance to a throne room or cathedral. The air is still and silent, and the only sounds are our footsteps as we walk along.
“Goddamn,” Mike says finally, “from the entrance you’d think the jewel would be in back chilling in a display case.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Reggie agrees. “On the outside it looked like an conch shell. . .either God’s messing with us or something isn’t right.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask.
“I mean,” Reggie starts, “the other caves we’ve been in were nothing like this. What you saw on the outside was pretty much what you got on the inside.”
“I suppose you have a point.” I examine the surrounding area. “This does seem more like an oversized church than a cave.”
“Sounds like someone’s missed their daily sermon.” Farrow chuckles. “Don’t worry Saint Teresa, we’ll get back in time for you to read your bible.”
“You always say the corniest things.” I chuckle, “Somehow, they’re actually funny.”
“Don’t knock the player, baby.” Farrow says and forges ahead.
“Ohh shit, hold up guys.” Farrow says and we stop. “This one’s gonna be a bit more complicated.”
What we come across next isn’t a lake but a sea. The scene looks like a mirage of a desert island except covered in ice. Frozen trees, sands, and a perfect, circular body of ice which is the sea. The roof of the cave seems to have gotten farther away when we last looked up; in fact, I can barely see it at this point. Like it never existed in the first place.
“What the hell is this?” Reggie says. “First the king’s hallway and now a frozen desert mirage?!” He adds. “Something’s definitely off with this cave. . .if we can even call it that.”
“Yeah, I’m with ya pal.” Mike says. “Getting out might be the best option.”
“We can’t.” I look and walk toward the way we just came. “The cave won’t let us.” I stop and point to the wall that was just a passageway.
“Aww, Fuck!” Farrow says. “Not another mystic cave!”
“Afraid so.” I say as I look to him and the other guys. “It’s either get the jewel or die.”
“Just like last time, huh?” Mike sighs.
“Don’t even bring that up.” Reggie places his index and thumb on the bridge of his nose. “Just. . . don’t.”
We all walk through the icy desert mirage. The trees, sands, and frozen sea are sculpted to perfection. We tread carefully as Farrow leads us– keeping one eye forward and one on the ground–looking for cracks that could lead to our downfall, his small frame and narrow shoulders serving as a beacon. Smoke starts to appear and the next exit, about two hundred feet from us, becomes less visible. No one freaks out or says anything. We’ve all been through this before. Farrow leads us through the smoke like he always does, with a calm and collected demeanor. He moves fast but never hurries, maintains focus but doesn’t strain himself. We all follow in perfect harmony. The smoke becomes thicker and starts to suffocate us. Again, no one freaks out or screams. Farrow doesn’t bother to look back and neither do I, we know Reggie and Mike are behind us. The smoke feels misty as it touches my cheeks and a bit warm, which isn’t surprising for a mystic cave.
“It’s probably just me but, any of you guys think it’s a bit. . .hot in here?” Reggie asks. “I’m sweatin’ like a hog in the middle of summer.”
“That’s just you Reg,” Mike responds, “trust me.”
“You probably layered up too much.” I say. “The arctic is really not as cold as you think once you get used to it.”
“Hey guys.” Farrow says and we all stop and listen. “Ever seen a door like this?”
Large, intricate designs consume our vision as we try to take it all in. Icy blue doors with mechanical, watch-like movements–as if handcrafted– each mechanism operating independently of each other. Something looks off with these doors, almost as if they’re out of alignment with each other. The left door seemed to be moving automatically while the right seems stagnant at some points. Each part protrudes to the point of being detachable, like a jigsaw puzzle.
“I’ve seen this before.” Mike comes up behind us, his large, wide frame and broad shoulders make him seem like a giant. “These are the mechanisms a watch is made from.”
“How do you know that?” Farrow glances back at him.
“I used to be a jeweler back in my twenties,” He started, “a man named Stanley trained me. Taught me how to take a watch apart and put it back together again, also taught me the difference between mechanical and automatic movements.” He continued. “The training was hell but I’ll never forget how to fix a watch.”
“Well then,” I ask, looking at the door, “what movements do these doors replicate?”
“A little bit of both.” Mike answers. “The left door is fine though, no need to adjust that one. It’s the right one that’s fucked up.” He went on. “My guess is you gotta get the right moving at the same speed as the left in the opposite direction.”
We walk up to the right door.
“How do you suggest we do that?” Farrow asks.
“That’s kinda where ya lose me, buddy.” Mike chuckles and scratches his head. “All I know how to do is fix’em. The names and function of the parts are all lost on me now. Stanley would kick my ass if he knew that, though.”
“So now we’re stuck is what you’re telling us?” Reggie says, annoyed.
“Bitch fit in five, four, three, two. . .” Farrow says.
They start bickering behind me but I tune them out and look at the door. I don’t know how, but I understand what we’re supposed to do about this door. I walk to it and compare each side, examining them carefully. I discover nothing is wrong with either door. However, a piece that isn’t supposed to be there is stuck in the grooves of one of the mechanisms. The piece is situated at the midpoint of the door, about ten to fifteen feet up. The problem is we have no way of getting to it.
“Hey guys,” I say and they all stop bickering to listen, “I know what’s wrong with this door.” I point to the piece stuck between the grooves. “See that piece up there, the one between the grooves?”
“Yeah,” Mike says, “That’s not supposed to be there. Last time I checked, that piece is supposed to be in the center. Most expensive watches have a stone in the center on the inside, so when ya look at the back face you can see it. Like a little personal touch.”
“Oh, now you wanna be useful.” Reggie says.
“Fuck you.” Mike chuckles.
“Alright, leader.” Farrow says to me. “How do you suggest we get to it?”
“Well,” I look toward the door and an idea comes to mind, “we still got any grappling hooks?”
“Yeah,” Farrow says nervously, “I don’t like where this is going.”
We smile at him.
“Aw come on!” Farrow shouts and looks at us then relents. “Alright, give me the damn hooks!”
We all surround and secure him in the harness for the hooks. He walks to the door and starts to climb. He has a grimace on his face every time he looks back, letting us know he’s not doing this willingly. In all seriousness, Farrow is a great climber. His small frame allows him to move through the pieces like a spider, avoiding the rotations and moving parts with relative ease. When he gets to the piece he stops and cocks his head to the left.
“Something wrong?” Mike bellows.
“Shit, you tell me!” Farrow shouts back. “What the hell is an egg doing here?!”
“An egg?” Mike asks. “What are you talking about?”
“Seriously,” Farrow says, “there’s an egg with a living creature inside stuck between the grooves of a mechanical door.”
“Well, can you pull it out?” Reggie asks.
“Yeah, I should be able to.” Farrow tries to pull out the egg with not much success. “Damn, this thing’s stuck pretty good.” He continues to pull with all his strength until the egg pops out and sends him teetering, almost falling from the door. He tries to keep his balance and for a short time he does, however, as if an invisible force pulls him back, he falls from the door. Mike and Reggie go to catch him but I go for the egg since it slipped from his fingers.
My eyes are locked on the egg as it flies through the air for a couple feet, and, just when it’s about to hit the ground, I dive for it and catch it with both hands as I land hard on the ground, a sharp pain rising in my hip. I bring I toward my chest and turn over on my back and lay there for a few seconds, holding the egg with one hand and rubbing my hip with the other. After a few moments, I stand and look back to see if Farrow’s alright and he is; although, I can’t say the same for Reggie and Mike. They seemed to catch the brunt of Farrow’s fall, Reggie most of all. Farrow’s upper half knocked him to the floor and Mike completely missed his lower half, save for an accidental kick to the face that rocked him back just enough to cause him to stumble and fall. I walk toward them and we regroup.
“Nice job Farrow, you’re a real trooper!” Farrow says sarcastically to himself as he, Mike and Reggie stand up. Mike massaging his nose and Reggie trying to get the wind back into his chest.
Farrow looks at me, “I see The Jets former wide receiver caught the egg for the touchdown.”
“Well. . .” I chuckle, “someone had to go for it. I knew you were in good hands.”
“Oh, did you now?” Farrow asks with a sarcastic grin.
“She just wanted the egg.” Mike puts a hand on Farrow’s shoulder and shakes his head. “We’re just her three stooges.”
“That’s not true, Mike, and you know it.” I say. “But it is strange that an egg would be stuck inside a door though, and that’s saying something.”
The egg is ruby red with an embryo inside. It looks to have an eagle’s head with a human body. The egg flashes like a neon light in the middle of the night and weighs quite a few pounds. While we examine the egg, the doors begins to unlock and open. We turn our attention to them and we waste no time walking through. We come upon another massive hallway with statues of warriors lined up along either side. Overarching columns and artistic, fifteenth-century designs consume every corner like we’re being judged for our sins. The further we walk into the hallway the more the egg flashes and the heavier it gets. My legs start bending under its weight and I ask Mike to hold it. When Mike takes it I can see his muscles flex through his coat.
“What the hell?!” He grunts. “This things weighs a ton!”
“What?” Farrow says as we continue walking. “Let me see that thing.”
“All yours.” Mike hands Farrow the egg and he nearly face-plants upon holding it.
“What the fuck?” Farrow grunts and strains. “Is this an egg or a medicine ball?”
The egg continues to flash neon ruby red. It flashes faster and faster and, according to Farrow, gets heavier and heavier. It gets to the point Farrow has no choice but to drop it, we all hop back and watch in anticipation. The egg gets larger as the embryo inside becomes more developed, feathers start growing around its head as the rest of its body takes the form of a human. Eventually, the embryo bursts open and forces us back a couple of feet. I’m the first to sit up and witness a creature with an eagle’s head, a man’s body and majestic yet intimidating wings. It has eyes that pierce into your soul and devour the essence of your being. Its body has the physique of a Greek God, as if it were sculpted of marble. A coat of armor starts to consume its body. The coat is brown and sleek like the design of a new car in a commercial. It covers itself with its wings like a robe and starts to morph into something more recognizable, like the evil emperor in Star Wars. The creature turns from a light-brown to a midnight-blue, and its eagle head turns into a sort of mask that has a human head inside it and now it looks like a man in an eagle suit rather than a mythical creature. We watch this in utter shock. Never in all our times in mystical caves have we seen a transformation like this take place, it’s terrifying but astonishing at the same time.
“I am Argonaut, Fifth from the Sun.” It says. “And you’re Sherry.” It continues. “The three behind you are Reginald, Michael, and Farrow. Correct?”
“Uh. . .”
“Your first question is how do I know your names.” Argonaut fills the silence. “A very simple matter. Even as an embryo, I can hear everything from a distance of ten miles. In essence, I heard you all from the entrance of the cave itself.”
I can only nod.
“Anyway, I understand you four are looking for the Jewel of Arctic Summer.”
“We are.” I finally say. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we can find it, do you?”
“Of course, I know.” Argonaut says. “The Ergos created this cave, we know it from top to bottom and left to right and front to back. As for the jewel, however, you’ll find it in the same place you’ll find Arctic Summer herself.”
“Arctic Summer died in this cave, didn’t she?” Farrow asks. “Trying to find the jewel?”
“Not precisely.” Argonaut responds slyly with a side glance. “She is very much alive.”
“Impossible!” Reggie shouts. “No one can survive a mystic cave collapse. .” He pauses a moment. “unless. . .”
“Unless they have the aid of mystic beings in the cave.” I finish for him then look to Argonaut. “Which of the Ergos saved her?”
“Why, it was I.”
“How?” I ask. “You were an embryo not just five minutes ago.”
“Whenever a human discovers an Ergos, that Ergos is responsible for that human until it either saves the human’s life or sacrifices itself for the human. Whenever either two take place, the dead Ergos is reborn and remains as an embryo until it is discovered by another human.” He looks to Farrow. “I believe you were the one that discovered me, and now it is my duty to protect you until I either save your life, or sacrifice myself for you.”
“Uh. . .” Farrow is as bewildered as the rest of us. “Sure, I guess.”
We stand.
“Ok,” I say, “all pleasantries aside, how do we find the jewel?”
“Straight ahead.” Argonaut morphs into a smaller version of himself and flies toward Farrow and perches himself on his shoulder.
Farrow is too shocked to react as are Mike and Reggie, but, after a moment, Mike chuckles, “Looks good on ya.”
Farrow looks at Argonaut and Argonaut looks back at him, cocks his head like a regular eagle, then Farrow shakes his head and sighs. “Well, what the hell are we waiting for? Let’s go get the damn jewel.”
We start walking.
“So, what did you mean when you said ‘you’ll find the jewel the same place you’ll find Arctic Summer herself?’” I ask. “What exactly happened in this cave?”
“A very simple story.” Argonaut responds. “She went looking for the jewel quite like the rest of you. She had some experience with mystic cave and was able to sidestep some obstacles, but she wasn’t able to overcome the final challenge.”
“What challenge?” Farrow asks.
“The challenge of the Ergos.” Argonaut says with pride. “The trial of the Arctic Sun.”
“Sounds chilly,” Reggie says, “what’s that?”
“The Trial of the Arctic Sun is simple.” Argonaut says. “You fight for the jewel.”
“What?!” Farrow says.
“What kind of fight, exactly?” Mike asks. “A fight to the death?”
“No.” Argonaut answers. “Nothing so barbaric. The Ergos are a civilized race. When I say “fight”, I mean compete for the jewel. Nothing more.”
“So, who or what would we be going against?” I ask. “If it’s not a fight to the death, then are we fighting at all?”
“Oh, you’ll fight.” Argonaut chuckles. “You’ll fight harder than you ever have.” He adds. “You’ll be fighting the arctic itself.” His head snaps forward. “Just ahead, through that door, is where your trial begins.”
We look forward and see a large, icy door with gold trim. It looks like the previous doors with watch-like mechanisms moving counter to each other, except everything is running smoothly. When the doors opens, the suns rays burst through and blind us all for at least eight seconds. The doors open wider and the rays spread out more evenly and away from our eyes, what we see next is nothing short of an icy wonderland. Nothing but an expanse of polar ice caps and glaciers, chunks of ice broken from each other which look like frozen lily-pads, and spots of frozen cities in the distance.
“So this is where the great ‘Trial of the Sun’ takes place?” Farrow scoffs. “Okay.”
“Just wait.” Argonaut says. “It will begin soon enough.”
In the distance, we see something rising and coming toward us. It looks as if the ocean is doing the worm, but the strange thing about this worm is it keeps getting bigger the closer it gets, and it’s getting pretty close.
“Not yet!” Argonaut says. “It must think it has us in its clutches before we move. If we act too early, it’ll readjust course and follow us with godly precision.”
“Alright birdy,” Farrow says, “we’ll follow your lead. Just say when.”
The rising wave gets closer and closer and closer as we wait for Argonaut’s signal to move. “Not yet.” He says calmly as the wave starts to rise in height until its towering over us. It stands about a hundred feet tall and looms over us with malice, the moment it descends Argonaut tells us to move and we waste no time following the order. We all jump out the way as it demolishes the ice we were just standing on. Mike and Reggie are about three ice blocks away, Farrow is on the next one over and I’m in the lead.
“Go toward the sunlight!” Argonaut says. “That’s where you’ll find the jewel, and Arctic Summer.”
“How do you know?” Farrow asks.
“Just go, and I’ll explain on the way.” Argonaut looks back as the wave starts to rise again. “GO!”
We all get up and start working our way toward the jewel. Luckily the ice blocks aren’t that far apart and we can jump between them, we can’t move too fast though. Mike and Reggie are covering ground and catching up, which is good, but the wave is doing the same, which is bad.
“Hey Sherry!” Mike calls. “We bring those spikes the boys upstairs shipped to us?”
“I don’t know,” I respond, “Farrow, did we?”
“Nope.” Farrow sighed. “We didn’t.”
“Shit.” I mutter to myself. “Those would’ve came in handy.”
“Well, what did we bring?” Reggie jumps across an ice block.
“Hmm,” Farrow thinks as the wave crashes behind us, “we brought the hooks, rations, pickaxes, clothes, extra boots. . .”
It hits me, “Farrow!” I cut him off, “do the extra boots have spikes on them?”
“As a matter of fact. . .” Farrow thinks, “they do!”
“Great!” I smile. “Who has them?”
“I think you do, Sher.” Mike calls from the other side. “The boots were the lightest of the load, remember?”
“Right.” I check my bag while we run from the wave and Mike is right, I do have the boots. Thank God. “Alright! Let’s merge and create some distance, the wave’s moving pretty slow right now which should—” before I can finish, the wave descends and shakes us up a bit. I almost lose grip of the bag but I’m able to catch it at the last moment.
Mike almost slips into the water but Reggie grabs his arm before he falls, Farrow is just fine because Argonaut transforms and lifts him into the air with those majestic wings from earlier. That gives me an idea. I take out the boots with Farrow’s name on them and throw them to him. Farrow see this and catches them and I give him the nod. He knows what I’m thinking. He takes off the un-spiked boots and switches to the spiked ones and throws back the un-spiked. I catch them and put them into the bag. I take out the one’s with Mike and Reggie’s names on them and throw them over. Farrow looks to Argonaut and tells him the plan and Argonaut nods.
As the wave gets closer, Farrow gains traction and picks up the pace, Argonaut lifts both Mike and Reggie into the air and they change boots immediately and throw me and Farrow the other ones. We catch them and I put them into the bag. Argonaut places them down by Farrow and I, which leaves me to change my boots. Argonaut grabs me by the shoulders and lifts me into the air while the guys pick up the pace and create some distance. I probably should’ve been the first one to change because I’m a slow dresser, but too late now.
The guys move like Olympic athletes as they jump from one ice block to another. They form a triangle to divert the wave’s attention but it doesn’t work as the wave splits itself into three. Two minutes pass before I change into my spiked boots and Argonaut can safely put me down. I hit the floor running and catch up with the guys in less time.
“Took ya long enough!” Farrow laughs as he jumps another ice block. “Thought you’d never get changed.”
“Whatever!” I smile back. “Say, doesn’t this remind you of—”
“Don’t!” Reggie shouts from another ice block. “just. . .don’t.”
“Aww come on, Reg.” Mike starts laughing. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Yes, it was.” Reggie shivers.
The wave makes another large splash behind us and some of the pieces of the other ice blocks hail toward us.
“Shit!” Farrow says. “Take cover!”
We all lunge forward and hit the deck. Mike lunges too far and ends up sliding off the ice block. Just before he falls into the water, Reggie pushes himself forward and grabs Mike’s arm just in time. Farrow is under the divine protection of Argonaut, so no need to worry about him, and I’m sliding toward the end of the next ice block, leading the pack, toward the water. The wave makes another splash behind us and hail comes our way, I plant my feet and jump to the next ice block. I land on my feet then fall on my bottom, but it beats falling to the bottom of the ocean. I look back and see Farrow and Argonaut helping Reggie and Mike despite the hail scratching and slapping them in the face.
“Go on ahead, we’ll catch up!” Farrow says. He looks to Argonaut then back to me. “The Jewel is just ahead, get it so we can get the fuck outta here!”
“Got it!” I get a move on.
No sooner than when I go to jump the next ice block something erupts from the ocean right in front of me. The force generated pushes me back a couple ice blocks and now I’m back to where the guys are.
“Aww, come on!” Farrow says. “So fucking close.”
“Well,” Mike says as he pulls himself up from icy doom, “looks like we’re gonna have to do that again.”
“You mean. . .?” Reggie looks at Mike. “Don’t tell me. . .”
“Yhup.” Mike says. “As cheesy as it is—” the roar of the monster in the wave cuts him off as if it doesn’t like being ignored. It opens its hand and slaps it down in our direction.
Argonaut saves Farrow first while the rest of us jump three to four ice blocks over to get out of the hand’s radius. When it slaps down, the force causes a huge wave then a ripple. The ice blocks we’re on don’t get blown away or move–which isn’t surprising for a mystic cave. The monster roars again, and the sound travels far and wide. A tremble emerges all around us and the surrounding cities that seemed so far start to get closer. Farrow, Argonaut, and the guys are trying to sidestep and sneak past the icy blue monster but to no avail, every time they try to get close to the Jewel the monster flexes and lets off an astonishing amount of force to push them back.
“Sherry!” Argonaut calls. “You must perform the chant! There is no other way!”
“The chant?!” I yell back. “What are you talking about?”
“The one Reginald detests so much,” Argonaut responds as the monster tries to flatten me with its hand. I jump three to four ice blocks to avoid the impact and just barely survive sliding into an icy grave. I pull myself up, “the one you used when you acquired your first mystic jewel!”
“How do you know about that?” Reggie asks.
“We of the Ergos know many things, Reginald.” Argonaut responds then turns to me. “But never mind that now, just use the chant.”
“That was a long time ago!” The monster tries to flatten me again and I dodge. “The only ones who’d remember it are either Farrow or. .”
Mike and Farrow look at Reggie.
“Oh, fuck no.” Reggie shakes his head vehemently. “Fuck that, not me!”
“Come on Reg,” Mike says, “our lives depend on it.”
“Then we can all die right here!” Reggie says and Farrow tries to suppress a snicker. “Look at this guy, he’s already laughing!”
“There’s no one else here, Reggie!” I say while dodging the monster. “It’ll be just between us!”
“Yeah, until Farrow sees someone back at base!” He yells back to me. “Besides, you’re in front of the monster now, just get the jewel.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I’m reluctant to tell him. I dodge the monster one more time.
“Sher!” Reggie calls. “Why not?!”
I sigh, “Because what’s up there isn’t the Jewel.”
“What?!” Everyone says in unison.
“And the jewel wasn’t what we came here for,” I continue, “that was something the guys upstairs told us to get us out here.” The monster roars loudly and the trembling lasts longer, the cities get closer, and the skies go from baby to navy blue, “we came here to retrieve the body of Arctic Summer.”
I don’t have to look at them to tell they’re speechless as I say this. Even with the monster roaring the silence between us is deafening.
“And one more thing,” I say while I still have their attention, “Arctic Summer is my mother.”
Their faces share the expression of disbelief. I see a line of ice blocks that lead me to them and start making my way. The monster sees this and tries to stop me, but I’m too quick. I jump five ice blocks in less than thirty seconds, and with the spiked boots it’s easy. Ten more seconds and we’re all together again. The monster roars then descends into the ocean, probably to catch us from beneath. Farrow, Mike, and Reggie still look at me with utter shock, and I shrug with a I-don’t-know-what-else-to-say expression. I reach into my coat and pull out a mystic jewel, a golden emblem with icy blue trim.
“This jewel is the key to unlocking the ice.” I say. “Our real mission is to retrieve the body of Arctic Summer and resurrect her. She didn’t really die all those years ago.”
I add, “look, I’ll explain everything later.” My attention is part on them and part on the water, looking out for the monster. “Right now, though, we need to do this together.” I kneel to Reggie and lay a hand on his shoulder. “I need you to do the chant. If you don’t, we all die here. Stop being a baby, and do the damn chant or I’ll sacrifice you to icy-blob down there. We clear?”
“Sure, alright, yeah, we’re clear.”
I smile, “Good, now get to it.”
Reggie and I stand up and we all get into formation with Reggie in the front. I can feel the embarrassment oozing from him but I’m sure he’d rather do the chant than have my foot down his throat.
“Mystic team!” He yells. “Atten-tion!”
We straighten up. Reggie’s wiry, slender frame make him look like a stick with boots. He starts marching in place and we follow, then goes into a break dance that is a bit embarrassing, like the first time you go to the swimming pool without your shirt on.
“Mystic team, Mystic team, everything ain’t as it seems. Mystic team, Mystic team, we believe in the unseen! Mystic team, Mystic team, everything ain’t as it seems. Mystic team, Mystic team, spook and scare us? In your dreams!”
Each of the jewels we’ve collected during our encounters with mystic caves light up. Reggie’s is red, Mike’s is green, Farrow’s is blue, and mine is gold. A circle of light forms around us in the four colors as the monster emerges and tries to crush us under its massive, icy hand. The light around us expands and pushes the monster back on contact, it flies through the midnight blue air and lands in the water as if it did a belly-flop from the top deck. The water sprouts into the air and sprinkles down on top of us as the light starts to cover our bodies. The icy coffin with my mother’s body resonates with us and starts to shine as well then ascends into the air. The light consumes our bodies and covers us in armor accompanied with weapons.
“Oh yeah,” Farrow says, “I forgot they do this.”
Reggie is still embarrassed about having to do the chant, a tinge of red emerges in his light brown cheeks.
“Haven’t had to use these in a while,” Mike wields a long, thick, green sword with a lightweight shield on the hilt, “these last few caves’ were boring, no action.”
“Well then,” Farrow says, “let’s kick some icy monster ass! How ‘bout it?”
“I’m down.” Mike says. “Reg?”
Still embarrassed about doing the chant, “yeah sure,” he scoffs and draws his thin, sleek and simply designed red sword, “I need something to take my rage out on, anyway.”
“That’s the spirit, mate!” Farrow laughs and his suit emits a mesmerizing, dark blue light, “Mystic team. .”
“Shut up.” Reggie says and the guys go to face the monster.
“Don’t take too long with dear ole mamma!” Farrow says while flying away.
“Don’t worry,” I say as I turn to my task, “this’ll be quick.”
I go to retrieve her body until something else emerges from the icy ocean. Its entire body is icy blue and dressed in heavy knight’s armor. Its shield takes over at least half its body and its sword is about two feet long and a foot wide at first glance. I draw my weapons which are nothing but a medium sized, gold dagger, about as long as a short katana blade, and a gold, blue trimmed shield that only takes up twenty percent of my body. The icy blue guardian flashes toward me and I jump toward and ice block to my right. It slices the one I was just on clean through. The next thing I see is a big, blue shield coming from my right and I jump to the next ice block over, barely dodging it. I think about charging it, but think better of it because if I fall off these blocks it’s over. This lasts for about two minutes until I see an opening.
Rapid thoughts spark in my head, Every time the guardian swings its shield, its entire midsection is exposed. If I can get a slice of that I may be able to stall him. Farrow and the guys have their hands full with our other blue friend, so I’m on my own. I need a diversion of some sort, but, in the middle of the mystic Arctic Ocean, what could possibly. . .well, that could work.
The guardian flashes toward me and I do the same. I jump three ice blocks while it slices through them. It raises its sword and I ready my dagger then we charge each other. At this moment everything slows down. The guardian’s moving in slow motion, like I’m watching a scene in a movie, one of those cinematic moments that make everything seem super cool. Just when the guardian’s sword is about to cut me in half, I quickly plunge my dagger into its chest, contort my body, and use it as a step to vault over the guardian. Now I’m on it’s back and its flailing mindlessly trying to shake me off, but to no avail.
I’m not letting go if it kills me.
The guardian swings its shield at nothing while I have it in a chokehold and I start climbing over it. I prop myself face to face with the guardian and give him a wink, then I take the dagger out and start stabbing him repeatedly. Pockets of light emerge from each wound I make as the guardian remains frozen. The jewel around my neck starts to light up intensely and I grab hold of it and stick it between the guardian’s eyes. The inside of its body lights up and explodes. The force pushes me back about twenty feet and I land on an ice block. I almost slide into the water but I’m about to stop myself in time. I pull myself to safety and look over to see how the others are faring, and by the looks of it, they’ve gotten the hang of the mystic suits and started fooling around, like always.
“Alright guys!” I yelled. “That’s enough! Wrap it up so we can get what we came for!”
“Aw, come on!” Farrow smiles as he dodges the monster’s attack, putting his thumb in his ears and sticking out his tongue like a child. “We were just getting warmed up.” He sighs. “Alright boys, let’s get’em outta here.”
“Alright.” Mike says.
“Fine.” Reggie concedes and scoffs.
They surround the monster in a triangle and start running in a circle. They get faster and faster and within one minute form a ring. The monster looks confused and doesn’t know how to retaliate. A beam shoots out which isn’t a beam, its Farrow shooting through the monster like a headshot from a DC Sniper. Another beam shoots through the monster and then a third. The monster’s body lights up from inside then explodes like the guardian’s did. The guys fly through the air and make their way to me.
“So,” Farrow sighs, “shall we get dear ole ma?”
I chuckle and turn from him as we go for the coffin.
The coffin is baby blue with a gold trim and covered in a thin film of ice. We all surround it and pick it up, then find a secure ice block and lay it down gently. There are four slots on the face of the coffin, one for each jewel. We take off our jewels and our mystic armor disappears and we place the jewels in the slots. The film of ice evaporates and the coffin slides open like doors to a Lamborghini. In the coffin is the body of my mother, and around her neck is the jewel of jewels. . .the jewel of Arctic Summer.
“Whoa!” Farrow is stunned. “That’s one wicked looking jewel, missy.”
“Yeah no kidding.” Mike agrees. “Not too many guys can afford a ring to keep up with that one.”
“My father got her the jewel, actually.” I examine the jewel. “They were both mystic hunters and they came here for their honeymoon. He died in the cave and my mom got frozen.”
The jewel is a light blue and shaped like a pendulum, carved out in perfect symmetry. I take jewel around her neck and twist it clockwise, counterclockwise, then clockwise again and it opens. I lay the jewel down on her chest, take off my gloves, prick myself, then let a drop of blood slip into the jewel and it closes. We all step back as the jewel begins to rotate and light emerges around the coffin. An encrypted circle forms around it, like an occult symbol in a séance. The light intensifies and her body rises from the coffin with angelic grace. The ice that surrounds her body melts away and the grayness that held her body hostage lifts, restoring her milk chocolate complexion and jet black hair, her deep brown eyes and full lips, and her slender, lean build. She lands gently on the ground and the light moves in sync with her first breath as she absorbs it, the light inside her takes shape and aligns with her body like a soul returning to its rightful place among the living.
“Hopefully she’ll bake us some cookies for a job well done.” Farrow says as she descends.
“She’s more likely to lead an army than bake cookies.” Reggie says, and he’s right about that.
When she touches ground, she takes a deep breath and looks around, it’s a minute before she notices the four of us.
“Wait a minute,” I ask as I look back at the guys, “where’s Argonaut?”
Farrow looks over his shoulder and only now realizes Argonaut is gone.
“Sherry?” My mother calls and I turn to her. “Is that you?”
“It’s me, mom.” I say as we make our way toward each other.
We reach each other and hug for what feels like forever but is really thirty seconds.
“I must’ve been frozen for some time.” She places both hands on my cheeks and smiles. “You weren’t this big last time I saw you.”
I smile back at her then sigh. “About dad. . .”
“I know, Sherry.” She cuts me off. “I was there, remember?”
“Right.”
“We’ll catch up later,” She says, “for now, let’s get out of here before—”
A loud and booming sound permeates through the air as the cities connect all around and box us in. The strange thing about these cities is that they aren’t really cities, more like capital buildings. Like the White House in D.C. or the Taj Mahal. The ice blocks begin to reconnect as the water freezes over again, making it seem like the battle never happened. Amid the “cities” connecting, a loud cry pierces through the rumbling and clapping sounds as a bird-like figure descends from the sky.
“Well well,” Farrow says, “look who’s back.”
The bird lands on his shoulders which can only be Argonaut.
“Did you find us a way out?” Farrow asks.
“I have,” Argonaut responds, “but it won’t be open for long.”
“How much time we got?”
“I’d say, in your time, about five minutes.”
“What?” I say incredulously. “It took us over an hour to get here, now you expect us to escape in five minutes?”
“Yeah, that’s cutting it a little close.” Mike says.
“More like cutting it a little impossible.” Reggie retorts.
“It can be done.” My mom says. “But,” She pauses, “what I’m going to suggest is very risky.” She adds. “It’s what got me frozen and Sherry’s father. . .”
We all fall silent for a moment.
“Anyway,” I look to my mother, “can you lead us there?”
“Yes, but we must hurry.”
“Then what are we waiting on?” Farrow says. “Get’s get hoofin’.”
Mom leads the way as we take off toward the way we came. A hail of ice descends from the air all around us, as if the cities are trying to stop us. My mother moves with angelic grace as she avoids the hail and leads us toward the exit. Farrow is keeping pace with me and Mike and Reggie are just behind us until I hear a smack! and stumbling footsteps.
“You good there, Mike?” Farrow asks looking back.
I glance back to see Mike checks the back of his head for blood. There’s none. “I’m good.”
We’re all just about to make it to the exit when the windows in two of the cities open up and archers emerge, arrows ready. Mom is still moving, not a stride lost and Farrow and I struggle a bit to keep up with her. I fall back and push Mike and Reggie forward until they’re up there with my mom and Farrow. The archers aim and fire with no hesitation. Hundreds, if not, thousands of ice arrows aimed directly at us with no way to avoid them. Mom tells us to keep running, that if we get to the door before the arrows close in we’ll be fine. We all listen and keep moving. The arrows close in faster and faster, get closer and closer. Mom kicks it into overdrive and we do the same as the door starts closing ahead of us. Amidst all the excitement, everything slows down again. Like I’m in a time-bubble and everything is a little clearer, easier to process. Like the world and life are taking a break and waiting for me to catch up.
I plant my right foot and give a nice, hard shove which speeds up Mike and Reggie and we all just make it. Mom and Farrow blaze through the door, Mike and Reggie stumble through, and I manage to slide in just before it closes, but we all make it. Except. . .
“Where’s Argonaut?” I ask.
“He went on ahead,” Farrow says, “ to make sure the door stays open.”
“Alright,” I say, “Mike, Reg. You two alright?”
“I’ll live.” Mike says. “But my head’s gonna hurt like a mother in the morning.”
“Same for my legs.” Reggie adds.
“Not much time; let’s go.” Mom says and she’s off and running again, Farrow keeping up nicely.
“What is this lady? A marine?” Reggie says as him and Mike get up and we’re all running behind her.
She leads us to a wall that looks like any wall. She takes a breath, grabs and squeezes her jewel, rips it from her neck and sticks it in the wall. The wall lights up in the pattern of the Tree of Life then slides down and reveals an icy slide. She looks at Farrow and motions him to go.
“Why do I gotta go first?” Farrow asks.
She give him a look that says go-down-or-I’ll-make-you-go-down and Farrow clamps it then gets moving. She looks at Mike and Reggie and there are no objections as they slide right after Farrow. When I’m about to go she pulls me to the side.
She hands me the Jewel, “This is what the guys at base sent you here for. I know they told you that you can get me back too, but the truth is, you can’t.”
I look at her confused.
“I know I haven’t exactly been the best mother, that I haven’t exactly taught you how to be a young lady in modern society, but your father and I wanted you to be able to survive above all else. Now, it might’ve gotten a bit extreme at times but that’s besides the point; anyway, I want you to know that despite me not being there for your birthdays and the holidays, your father and I love you very much. However, once the mystic cave claims you, frozen or otherwise. . .”
“You can’t leave.” I finish it for her.
“Right.” She says with that confidence and poise I’ll always admire.
She hugs the kisses me on the cheek, “Take care of yourself Sherry.”
Before I even get the chance to say something, to offer any type of resistance, she pushes me down the slide and I’m falling backward at what feels like a hundred miles an hour.
When I reach the bottom of the slide, the guys are upside down. When I right myself and stand up, I see Reggie spread out on the icy ground breathing hard, Mike on one knee trying to shake the impending headache, and Farrow sitting on a boulder, Argonaut isn’t on his shoulder.
“Took ya long enough.” He says. “What happened to dear ole ma?”
I sigh. Farrow gets the message and drops the subject, “Gotcha.”
“Has Argonaut showed you the way out?” I ask him.
“Yeah, just up ahead.”
Reggie and Mike get up and we all get moving. We get to the spot Farrow says and only see a brick wall. Argonaut flies in from seemingly nowhere and lands on his shoulder.
“The way out for you is all but secured.” He starts, still in eagle form. “However. . .”
“However?” I say.
“There are strange humans in all black, riding strange contraptions that allow them to move through the snow waiting at the entrance. I heard them mention Arctic Summer and the jewel.”
“Sounds like our recovery team.” Reggie says. “Why’re they here? We didn’t call them.”
“I figured that,” Argonaut responds, “they also mentioned something about ‘leaving no witnesses’.”
“Cave-robbers.” I sigh in annoyance. “Always trying to steal our thunder, literally.”
“Aside all that,” Farrow says, “there any other way out? We don’t gotta lotta time.”
“No.” Argonaut says flatly.
“Looks like we gotta go through’em then.” He smirks. “Not our first rodeo.”
The cave rumbles.
“We must hurry!” Argonaut says as he reverts to his humanoid form, points his fingers, performs a rising gesture and the wall lifts. We all go through it and it closes behind us.
The cave rumbles again and this time icicles start falling in spots around us.
“Not a good sign.” Farrow says. “Let’s move people!”
We all start running faster, my legs pounding on the snowy ground and heating up despite the cave’s coolness.
Up ahead we see the cave robbers camped in front, one of them points at us and the rest get their weapons ready. They know who we are. They know we’re the enemy. They know we’ve got the jewel.
Farrow looks at me and the others. We all shoot glances at each other, knowing what this is going to come to.
“You ready guys?” Farrow asks. “This one might get rough.”
“Aren’t they always?” Reggie smirks.
“Mike?” I ask. “You alright for this?”
Mike shakes his head and takes a deep breath, “I’m always right. Let’s do it.”
We all sprint for the entrance while the cave robbers get comfortable on their snowmobiles, aiming for us like U.S. Marksman taking down the final target. We stay focused on the exit, never straying course or trying to zigzag and avoid the impending shots.
One of the cave robbers say, “On my mark!” and pauses for a moment as we head straight for them. Just when we’re about to make it out of the cave, when we get within ten paces from them, he says almost in a whisper, “Fire!”
The robbers aim their guns at the roof of the cave and upon impact a mountain of ice falls. Everything seems to happen in slow motion. I can see the bullets coming out of the guns, the cold and indifferent stance of the robbers’ leader, Farrow, Reggie, and Mike running as fast as they can, and Argonaut–transforming into the armored eagle/humanoid–fighting the bullets and protecting Farrow. The ice falls about midway to the ground. Farrow and Reggie manage to get to the entrance of the cave until a stray bullet hits them both. Farrow in the leg, Reggie in the shoulder. Without breaking stride, Mike and I pick them up and keep going. Argonaut is trying to protect us all, but the ice and the bullets are becoming too much for him. The ice is three quarters to the ground and the robbers stop shooting. Mike and I take two long, hard strides and jump toward the entrance to make it out.
We manage to make it out, disarm the robbers, and steal some of their snowmobiles. We ride off into the icy sun and they chase us for about an hour, Reggie and Farrow can’t hold out any more when they fall off the snowmobiles take us down with them and everything goes to black.
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