The sun was shining in Africa, and the fog was lifting as the heat was beginning to rise. The jungle was waking up, but feet were running. Sweat was dripping down onto the newly hot dirt, causing steam to rise from the sweat. As the sun rose higher, more sweat was dripping. A shirtless man was running in fear. He could feel the sweat on his chest, back, and waist, but he kept running. There was nothing to stop him from escaping. The man running was Matt Cutter.
He didn't look back, not even around. But, he was running away.
Two Days Ago
An unnatural noise was echoing in the jungle. Sheena was walking out of her cave and heard it. She looked around, and saw Kali meditating.
"Do you hear that?" Sheena said, sitting down next to her.
"I have been hearing it all day and all last night. It is the sound of the King of Awalai." Kali opened her eyes. "He is coming back after centuries of sleep."
"Will he harm anybody?"
"It depends. No one has disturbed his tomb for centuries."
"Do you think that people in the city can hear him? Cutter?" Sheena said, standing up.
"I don't know, why don't you ask Cutter?" Kali said, looking at her in focused concentration. "Sheena, be wary, you know the legend of what happens to those that get too close."
"Yes, Kali." Sheena left and headed toward Cutter Enterprises.
Matt Cutter looked exhausted, as he tried to figure out what the noise was. He told customers that it was just the sound of the jungle, and tried to connect the mystery with the Darak'na. He was trying to get customers to go on safari amid the sound, but they walked out. Cutter, pissed, took off his hat and his button shirt and sat at his desk, angry.
"Mendlesson!" he shouted.
Just then, Sheena jumped in front of his desk.
"Oh, hi, Sheena." Matt said, trying to make sense of his desk. "Can you explain the noise that has been driving away my customers?"
Sheena smirked and noticed Matt's bare arms.
"Didn't your charms not entice them towards business?" Matt noticed her looking at his arms.
"Not today, the noise is drowning out the charm."
"I can tell you what the noise is." Sheena said, looking at his chest.
"Tell me, because I need to get business in sooner or later."
"There once was a kingdom in the LaMistas called the Awalai. They were mostly a peaceful people, but one day, a sorcerer from outside lands came, and disrupted the peace. The sorcerer put a curse on the people, and a curse on the King. The people revolted and fled to other tribes. The King was sentenced to wait out the rest on his life in a cave underneath the ground. The sorcerer met him under the cave, and cast a spell on him for him to sleep for thousands of years. When he would awake, he would cry out for the ancestors before, and the descendents continuing. The sorcerer was very wise to warn of anyone who came near the tomb to liberate the King would be cursed in doing so. Their fears would be realized, and they would lose everything."
Present
Matt Cutter ran as far as he could, but he couldn't find home. At this point, his upper body was covered in sweat, and he didn't notice the ring of sweat around his waistline. When he turned towards the trees, he realized how far he ran, and looked around him to find the present dangers. He couldn't find anyway. He walked into the jungle, and found a creek of water. Matt kneeled down and put his entire head into the water. When he came up for air, he felt cooler. As he stood back up, he saw two big men in tribal array come charging towards him, and Matt punched one of them, but the other grabbed Matt by the neck and released him to the ground. Matt looked up to see the tribesman wielding an axe.
The tribesman with the axe lunged at Matt's throat, and Matt stopped the axe before it fell. Matt kicked the tribesman and the tribesman fell on the ground. Matt grabbed the axe and got up. Suddenly, Matt looked down to see the tribesman and he wasn't there. He was holding a stick.
Two Days Ago
Matt and Sheena were walking in the jungle. The noise seemed to have waived, but was prominent.
"So, are you telling me that this sound is an ancient king reawakening?"
"Yes, and when we encounter him, don't look into his eyes, he will trap you."
"These jungle tales just keep getting weirder and weirder. Yet, I am not surprised."
Sheena looked at him as if his sarcasm was new. But, she had to be the one and he wanted to see for himself like he always does. As they were drawing closer to the heart of the noise, dark clouds appeared in the sky, circulating a spot. Matt looked up.
"This doesn't look right."
"It is the king."
A sudden downpour fell on Matt and Sheena. They tried running towards a big tree, but the rain was too much. The rain soaked through Matt's clothes and hat. Sheena was soaked through as well. The rain didn't let up.
"Cutter, there is a cave!" Sheena said. They ran into the cave and walked deep away from the rain.
"Does this cave have anything to do with the king?" Matt said, taking off his shirt and hanging it up on a stalagmite.
"I think this was just here." Sheena said, not noticing.
Sheena did notice him, but the king matter impacted it too much.
"Remember when we get in to the hole he is in, do not look into his eyes."
"That one I have a problem with too. I know he has awoke from a long century rest, but I need him to go to bed so I can get customers." Matt said, sitting on the ground.
"Yes, you can still do anything for the money. The only line is the bottom line." Sheena said. She then proceeded to walk further in the cave away from Matt.
"Sheena!" Matt got up and went after her.
Suddenly a strange noise was heard that didn't sound cave-like and didn't sound jungle-like.
Present
Matt recognized he was holding a stick and dropped it. He wiped his eyes and tried to remember himself. He wiped his eyes, and noticed his arms were bare. He noticed he was shirtless and felt the sweat on his chest, and the cool water in his hair. He felt dirt on his back. He looked to the west, and didn't see Sheena behind him. Immediately, he ran to Kali.
"Cutter, what happened?"
He couldn't answer.
"Cutter, if we don't save her, the king will have her for eternity."
Kali took her bag and walked toward the jungle. Matt followed after her. When they got to the point where he was before, he did not see Kali, but a winged creature. He couldn't believe his eyes, but he started to believe. He saw a knife in his pocket.
Two Days Ago
Matt finally caught up to Sheena and grabbed her by her arm.
"Sheena, don't walk off like that. Look, I am sorry for my sarcasm, and I am sorry for making light of this crisis."
"Thank you for saying that, Cutter."
"Now, what do you make of this noise?"
Sheena looked up and tried to track the noise she heard. She listened to the walls to see if it was near. Matt watched her closely.
"The noise is not nearby nor in the cave."
"Is it in the jungle then? Should we check to see if the rain stopped?"
Sheena nodded in approval. Matt left her for a second. He disappeared in the dark, and Sheena realized that the King of Awlai was known for getting people in isolation.
"Cutter, wait!" Sheena said, trying to find him.
The noise grew louder and the earth below her started to shake. Rock dust was falling and she could see the stalagmites and stalactites shake. Sheena made the choice to run back to the cave's entrance, where she hoped Cutter was. Sheena saw a light and saw a body near it. She charged towards it and jumped on the body.
"Sheena!? What the hell?"
It was Matt. She quickly got up and Matt shook off rock dust from his still wet bare chest.
"You didn't feel the earthquake?" Sheena said, petrified.
"No, I just got back here to see if the rain stopped, and it did. I was just about to grab my dry shirt when you jumped me." Matt said, putting on his dry shirt.
"How did the shirt get dry when it was so close to the jungle?"
"I don't know. I am not skilled in jungle magic as you are." Matt said, buttoning his shirt.
Sheena nodded. He might be a jackass, but at least he allowed truth to come out when it had to. The ground began to quake again.
"Now I feel it." Matt said.
"We need to get out of here." Sheena said.
She and Cutter went toward the entrance, but a big rock rolled into it, cutting them off from leaving the cave. The earth shook violently and Sheena and Matt just held onto each other. The quake shook the save inside and out and rocks were falling given way to sunlight. The shaking stopped and when Sheena opened her eyes, she saw Matt, who held her close. The two realized what they were doing and separated from each other.
"Sheena, I think I see another light."
"Where?"
"It is behind us."
The two started walking towards the back of the cave. The light kept seeming farther and farther away the more they traveled through it. When Matt and Sheena were crawling along a thin edge of a low wall, Matt asked.
"Sheena, are you sure this cave was here before the King awoke?"
"Yes, I am sure. At least, I believe I am sure." Sheena said, trying to glance at him. Matt was walking very carefully on the ledge.
"Are you sure that this isn't some kind of magic? I mean, we aren't in an area that gets much rain. We are not around any volcanic activity."
"Cutter, just keep walking we are almost there."
They were almost there. Matt breathed a sigh of relief as him and Sheena were exiting the cave that almost killed them. When Matt and Sheena came out, they saw the sun, but not too far from the cave, they saw a tribe neither of them recognized. They were around a fire and chanting. They were carrying axes and spears.
"I wonder if this is the Alwai. I didn't think that they died with the King." Sheena said.
"Well, there is one way to find out." Matt said, before grabbing a rock and throwing it into the circle.
"Hey!" Matt said.
The tribespeople stopped their activity and came charging at Matt and Sheena. Sheena tried ducking them off and fighting, and Matt did the same. The tribespeople were too much, and held Sheena hostage and carried Matt by the fire, where they tore off his shirt and hung him on a spiket. Sheena watched as Matt was being rotated around the fire, and each time, he was getting closer and closer to it. A large tribesman holding an ax came up to Matt and elevated the ax above his neck.
"Enough!" a voice cried out. The tribespeople knelt. It was the King. The King kicked sand on the fire, and cut Matt down from the spiket. Matt had his head in the sand, and tried looking up. Sheena shouted.
"Don't look into his eyes!"
Matt didn't look into the King's eyes, but instead looked at the tribesman with the axe. Two tribesmen came behind him and got both hands behind his back. The tribesman looked at Matt with vengeance.
"Take these two strangers to the shafts."
Matt and Sheena were dragged to wood stakes where both were tied up. The tribesman with the axe quickly put the axe on Matt's neck. Matt's lips had a slight bleed on the corner.
"Do you want me to take care of the one who violated our ritual, my King?" he said, as Matt could feel the metal on his skin. Sheena looked worried.
"No, these are strangers. The Kaliniahi said that they would come and that they would not look like us, although this one seems to be resembling our women. Ask her who she is, then, proceed with the ritual as if they were never here. I will take care of them tomorrow."
"Yes, my King."
"Leave the fire." The King said, before leaving.
"Who are you?" The tribesman who held Matt after the King freed him from the spiket asked Sheena.
"I am Sheena of the Kaia, in the LaMistas." Sheena said.
"Kaia?" The tribesman said.
"The peacemakers of the LaMistas." Sheena said. "He is friend of the Kaia."
The tribesman looked at Cutter, who looked at him in stubborn defensiveness. He nodded at him in agreement. He could feel his chest muscles tighten and his wrists twisted by the rope. The tribesmen talked to each other, and one of them went away from the group. The tribesman returned, and the group disbanded. The tribesman with the axe went to Cutter and Sheena. He pulled out the axe and placed it on Matt's neck, then Sheena's neck, then left.
"What do you think that was about?" Matt asked.
"I don't know. I don't even know if they even know what the Kaia is. I mean, I know about how we started and that we were violent before we were peaceful at one point, but I don't know where we were in the 13th century." Sheena said.
"Great. This is just how I picture myself dying. In some jungle magic by an ancient tribe while shirtless, dirty, and roped to a stick with a friend." Matt looked at the fire.
"Cutter..."
"At least the noise stopped."
"At least the noise stopped. Yes, that's the only reason why you came. That is the only reason why you do anything. For your customers. For your business. All about you. It never was about anyone else but you."
"I didn't mean it like that."
The two were shouting at each other. The tribesman with the axe came charging at them and swung his axe that it hit the side of Matt's pole. The two got silent very quickly. The tribesman took out a knife and carefully ran it gently over Matt's chest and around the nipples. The tribesman made a noise and left.
One Day Ago
The sun rose and Matt and Sheena managed to sleep where they were. The fire was gone, but smoke was rising from the ground as ashes were forming. The sun beat hot on the ground, but the heat wasn't dry enough to rekindle the fire. Matt and Sheena were partially covered in ashes. A tribesman came and grabbed a bucket and filled it up with water. He then poured it on Matt, who woke up immediately. Sheena soon followed. The tribesman then cut Matt down and then cut Sheena down. Another tribesman came over and grabbed Sheena. The two were shoved in front of the King.
"I see the imposters enjoyed their night." The King said.
Sheena and Matt looked at the ground.
"Why won't they look at me?" The King asked a tribesman.
"I don't know. They must not recognize you are the head of the the Alwai."
.
The same two tribesmen who dropped them on the ground grabbed them by the hair and pulled them up. Both Matt and Sheena closed their eyes.
"Look at me!" The King said.
"No!" Sheena said. "You were cursed!"
"They know about the curse, who are you?"
"I am Sheena of the Kaia tribe. I was told you were cursed by a sorcerer, and that if I look into your eyes, the curse will come true." Sheena said, eyes partially open.
"It's true," Matt said, "we are trying to protect ourselves."
"The Kaia. The Kaia. The Kaliniahi was apart of that tribe. She is an enemy."
"No, no I'm not."
"Kaliniahi said that there would be others, and you are the others."
"No, I'm not with the Kaia. I'm just a friend of Sheena. I just wanted for the noise to stop." Cutter said, partially opening his eyes.
"Cutter, shut up!" Sheena said, opening her eyes.
"Stand up." The King said.
The tribesman pulled up Sheena and Matt.
"Look at me, Sheena." The King said. She closed her eyes. The King touched her face and opened her eyes. "See, there is no curse. But, you lied to me."
"Please, don't..." Sheena said, trying to look away.
"I won't do anything you don't deserve. See, the Kaliniahi did bless me with his magic. He told me more were coming. But then he said I would be cursed if they came. So, Sheena, I can't let you curse me."
"What is going on?" Matt said, resisting the hold of the tribesman.
"You aren't Kaia, you are worse, and you must pay." The King said. He threw his hands away from her, and walked away. The tribesmen walked away from her.
"Your Highness.." Sheena said, looking at the King.
"Your Majesty!" Matt said, resisting the grip.
The King turned in the direction of Sheena, opened his hands, and chanted something. The sand spiraled around him, and a purple light came out of his fingers. His eyes gleamed a bright yellow, and he looked straight at Sheena and a beam came towards Sheena. Sheena gasped, and the light encased her. The light shone very brightly. When it dimmed, Matt saw Sheena turned to stone.
"Sheena!" Matt strongly resisted the tribesman and knocked him on the ground. The tribesman with the axe came towards him and Matt ducked and kicked him on the ground. The tribesman with the axe jumped up and swung at Matt.
Other tribesmen soon surrounded Matt and Matt fought most of them off. Suddenly, winged creatures started swarming at Cutter. They had full bodies that were human-like, and it terrified Matt. Matt tried dodging and punching, but they became too much. Matt fell on the ground, his shoulders semi-cut from the winged creatures. The King was at his feet.
"You, you get something too," the King said.
Matt looked into his eyes, and the King looked at him and his eyes turned red. The King said something very quickly as this happened. Matt was frozen by this. Matt just saw the King's eyes, and when he didn't, he felt himself falling down a dark hole. The darkness ended when Matt felt ground. He woke up, and saw the jungle that he was in days ago. He looked around him, and he saw the tribesman with the axe again and behind him the slew of winged creatures. He started running.
Present
Matt took out his knife and went behind the winged creature, whose wings were parted and who was walking on the ground before him. The winged creature was growling, as if it knew Matt was behind it. When the winged creature started turning, Matt tried stabbing the creature. The creature knocked the knife from Matt's hands and punched Matt in his stomach. Matt soon got up from the ground, grabbed the knife, and took the winged creature by the neck and shoved it against a thick tree. The creature opened its mouth to reveal thick salvia and mashing teeth. The winged creature grabbed Matt's arm, but Matt pushed harder. The creature looked sad and frightened, and there were tears coming down the creature's eyes.
"Cutter no!" the creature said.
Matt started to bring in the knife, when the creature founded a stick that resembled Kali's and knocked Matt in the chest, pushing him away.
"Cutter, I'm Kali." the creature said, looking forgiving.
Matt tried pushing back by charging, but the creature wacked Matt to the ground.
The creature came over to him and touched his chest.
"Cutter, I don't know who you are seeing, but it is me, Kali. What did the King do to you?"
"Kali?" Matt said, "What did he do to you?"
"Nothing, but you looked into his eyes."
Matt suddenly saw the winged creature turn back into Kali.
"I did, and so did Sheena. She was turned to stone, and I was chased by tribesmen and flying creatures."
Kali gave Matt an hand and lifted him up.
"I am sorry, Kali. The last thing I remember was being thrown into a hole, and waking up to see tribesmen and winged creatures chasing me."
"It's okay, Matt, it was all apart of the King's curse."
Kali and Matt kept walking until they came upon the cave from before.
"This cave wasn't hear before." Kali said.
"That's what I told Sheena." Matt said.
"Did it rain really bad before you two entered?"
"Yes, it did. We thought the cave would dry us off, but then earthquakes happened and the cave door was shut on us."
"What happened after you left the cave?"
"We came out to find a ritual going on, and Sheena and I were in a tiff, so I threw a rock at them, they attacked us, then the King came out and sought clarity, then he turned Sheena to stone."
"How did he do that?"
"Lights and sand swarmed around him and a beam of light passed. Next thing I know, Sheena is completely stone. I try to break away from the tribesmen holding me down, and the King looks at me and his eyes turn red, and he says something to me very quickly, and I freeze in place. Next thing I know, I am running away from the tribesmen and the winged creatures." Matt said, wiping his face.
"Cutter, he put a spell on you. When I meet him, I will try and break it and free Sheena." Kali said, "Now, let's go into that cave."
The two went into the cave, and there was no evidence of an earthquake. When they came out of the cave, there wasn't a tribe there, and there wasn't a statue.
"I don't know what happened, are we too late?" Matt said.
"Wait a minute."
Kali walked slowly and Matt followed her. Matt decided to walk ahead a little bit, and Kali didn't stop him. Suddenly, the earth shook, and the ground started to tear underneath Matt's shoes. Matt started to fall into the gaping hole, but Kali grabbed his hand. She gripped hard and the earth crumbled in a big circle around him and was widening. Matt suddenly saw a winged creature behind Kali open its wings.
"Behind you Kali!" Matt said, letting go of her hand.
He fell into the hole and didn't see Kali in the distance, but he thought he saw the winged creature take Kali away, but he was falling down and fell to the ground. His back did not hurt, but he looked up and was surrounded by torches. Tribesmen surrounded him and lifted him up. They held him up and the King stood in front of him, and grabbed him by the jaw.
"You have returned, and the Kaia is still adorning my village." a torch lit up as if natural to see Sheena, as stone, looking as she did from where she was when he last saw her. "Who are you?"
"I was what she said I was." Matt said, looking at him crossly.
"Take care of him." The King ordered the tribesmen.
The tribesmen shoved Matt down on the ground, and he tried fighting them off, but they held him down, tore off the rest of his clothes, and put a leopard skin loincloth on him and strapped him to a tree.
"When you tell me who you are, I will let you go." The King said, "but your Kaia friend stays with me, and I will make sure the Kaia and their allies are dead."
"I won't let you have it." a voice said.
Kali came out of the shadows.
"King Alwai, I am from the Kaia too. He is with the Kaia as a friend, just as Sheena him go, and restore her back."
"I am the King, and how do I know you are the Kaia." the king said. Tribesmen revealed leopards, and were walking towards Cutter.
"Give me a leopard."
One of the tribesmen brought over a leopard. Kali looked at it and turned into the leopard. The King looked at Kali.
"Kalinali! She's returned!" The tribesmen started cowering.
"Stop cowering and cage her!" The King said. "But first, unleash the leopards on him!"
The tribesmen let go of the leopards and started clawing at Matt. Matt resisted as much as possible and tried to escape the robes. Kali turned back into herself and used her Kali mind powers to freeze the other tribesmen.
"Your Majesty, I am not who you say, but I wanted to let you know that the world has changed, and you need to rest, but you can't rest until you free yourself of the burden of the new day."
The King got up and formed a fireball in his hand and threw it at Kali, who dodged it. The leopards were starting to climb on the pole Matt was on. Kali ran to the pole and the King flew a fireball at the pole, which freed Matt from it, and leopards did jump on him, but Matt kicked them out. The tribesmen who weren't frozen started charging towards Matt, and Matt punched them and fought them off.
The King's eyes turned orange, and opened his arms. A ring of fire swarmed around the area, encasing everyone in fire.
"You do not know whom you speak, Kaliani. I am a King of a tribe your tribe calls an enemy. You come here, you send a European, and that doesn't make it easier."
"Your Highness, you have been asleep for centuries. I don't know what my tribe did to you, but Sheena, Cutter, and I come in peace. Sheena was trying to make peace with you when you turned her to stone. Cutter was trying to stop what you did, and you cursed him. Please, release the curses, and please, go back to sleep." Kali said, walking closer to the King.
The King added a ring of fire closer.
"I refuse to! I am King, and you disrespect me. All the Kaia disrespects me. That is why you cursed me."
"Well, King of Alwaiai, I sentence you to several centuries of sleep, and as soon as you sleep, your curses will be released and you will accept your fate and when you awake, you will ascend into death." Kali said, closing her eyes and opening her eyes and revealing a blue. She pointed at him.
"I will not go to sleep!" The King hollered.
"You will!" Kali said, pointing at him.
The fire swarmed around Kali's arm, and the dirt and wind collected around Kali. The force shot at the King and stunned him to the floor. The King's arms and legs opened up and magic started pouring into him. Matt saw the tribesmen and leopards started to dissolve and go towards the King. The stone was breaking away off of Sheena. Matt fell on the ground and gripped it hard. There was a high wind swarming, and Matt couldn't see anything. He saw a blue beam, and thought it was Kali.
When Matt opened his eyes, he saw he was in the jungle. He looked at his body, and he was still in the loincloth. Kali was standing over him.
"It's okay, Cutter, the King is asleep, and this time, he will stay asleep."
Matt got up and smiled.
"And Sheena?"
"See for yourself."
Sheena came out from a tree, and smiled.
"Cutter, thanks for coming back. It is nice to see you care more than just money and customers."
"Thanks."
Kali and Sheena walked back to the village. Matt walked back to Cutter Unlimited. Mendlesson saw him in the loincloth.
"Well, business should increase in the next couple of days, especially with you dressed as Tarzan."
"Can it." Matt said.