Indiana Jones and the Talisman of the Gods
Chapter 1
General Okidonomi
A lone biplane flew over the Pacific Ocean on a quiet and peaceful day. The pilot was wide-awake, whilst his counterpart was sleeping in the passenger seat. The resting man had a fedora propped over his face, but that did not block out the snoring. The pilot was thankful for the sound of the engine.
The silver plane flew over a cluster of islands. The Philippines. The pilot, a man named Jerome McHugh, was anxious to land the plane. He was afraid of heights, but the passenger had paid him a hefty sum to transport him to Shanghai, China, without stopping. "It's urgent," the man's deep voice had said over the phone. "I have a special delivery to make in Shanghai. Can you get me there A.S.A.P.?"
At the time, Jerome had thought that the offer sounded pretty good. The passenger had traveled from Connecticut to Jerome's house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so the trip had been dramatically shortened. However, the trip was longer than Jerome had expected. This would be the last time he would ever fly.
Jerome eyed the fuel gauge. They had left with ¾ of a full tank. Now there was only about 1/8 of a tank left. They would have to stop soon, against the traveler's wishes.
"Sir," Jerome shouted. "Sir, we need to land soon."
The man snorted.
"Dr. Jones! Wake up!" The man shifted in his seat. "Dr. Jones! We need to land immediately for—" Jerome was interrupted by the sound of a bullet piercing one of the wings. "Oh, no…"
The man snorted. "Are we there yet?"
"Dr. Jones! We're under attack!"
The man, Dr. Jones, almost jumped out of his seat. He moved the fedora to the top of his head. He was in a daze. "Is it the Nazis?"
"Dr. Jones, we're in the Pacific! It's the Japanese!" In the year 1943, Japan was caught up in World War II.
"Why are the Japanese attacking us?"
"Why do you think? They think we're spies!"
Jerome flew the plane away from were he thought the shot came from. If they didn't stop for fuel, they would crash in the ocean, but if they tried to land in Japan, they would be shot down. This was bad, and Jerome knew it.
"Jerry, you're overreacting. I'm sure that it was an accident." Three more holes appeared in the wing. "Holy…"
"What did I tell you?!" Jerome was furious. So much for money that you can only spend when you're alive.
"Look, we just need to—" Dr. Jones was interrupted by the sound of metal against metal. He looked over the side of the plane. A liquid was spilling from the plane. The gas tank was punctured. "Jerry, we've been hit!"
"Really?!" Jerome's voice was full of sarcasm. The propeller stopped and the engine made a grumbling sound. The plane began to fall. "Dr. Jones, I'm sorry. We're going down."
Jerome, using the best of his abilities, tried to glide the plane to the ground, but as the plane made its descent more and more holes appeared in the wings. The bullets made a rat-a-tat-tat sound against the silvery metal skin of the plane. The plane went down, down, down, spiraling towards the water at a quick pace. Dr. Jones braced himself for the impact. Any second now…
BOOM!
Dr. Jones opened his eyes to see a Japanese woman looking straight into his eyes. She spoke in rapid Japanese, but Dr. Jones could understand her perfectly. Come, come! He's awake! Dr. Jones lifted his head off of the cot he was laying on. He was in the hull of a ship. The boat was bobbing back and forth on the waves as it sailed through the brackish water.
"Where am I?" He asked. He knew he was in a boat, but where was the boat?
The Japanese woman spoke in English now. "You are on a Japanese boat on your way to Yokohama. General Okidonomi is waiting for you there."
"General who?"
She pressed her index finger against his lips. "Shhh… You need rest."
He grabbed her hand and moved it away. "I won't rest until I know why I was shot out of the sky!"
"Dr. Jones, your questions will be answered when you meet with General Okidonomi." The woman had long, beautiful, silky, raven hair. Her rosy red lips stood out in contrast against her pale complexion.
"Wait, who are you?"
The woman smiled. She looked down at her white kimono. "My name is Yuki-onna."
Dr. Jones passed out.
When Dr. Jones awoke again, the boat had stopped and he was being dragged across the shores of Yokohama. He opened his eyes to see a group of Japanese soldiers standing in attention behind an older, wiser looking general. The man spoke in a deep, grumble. "Ah! Welcome to Japan, Indiana Jones, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire!"
"Dr. Jones to you, General," Indiana replied.
The Japanese man smiled. "I am General Okidonomi, leader of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. I am a third class Maritime Chief of Staff. I don't suppose that you've heard of me?"
"What are you talking about? There is no third class Maritime Chief of—"
"Yes, but when you do as good as a job as I, the government needs to create new ranks to dignify your power. I am a third class Maritime Chief of Staff." The man had remained calm this entire time. Jones regained complete consciousness and was standing on his feet now.
"Okay, then. But why do you need me, General?" Getting shot out of the sky wasn't exactly a welcoming sign.
"Have you met Yuki-onna?" The tall, beautiful woman stepped out from behind Jones. He looked at her face. It was so pale that it was almost transparent.
"Yes, I've met her, both in text books and in person…" Jones looked over at the General. "How did you do it?"
Okidonomi smiled. "The same way you're going to do it."