Twisted Paths
Part 4
This was completely surreal… just the other day, she had been cracking jokes with her friend Phoebe, and today she was in the heart of an ancient temple following the one person in the world she had feelings for.
Way to go Helga… she thought to herself, what else could happen to make this whole thing more awkward…
"Is it just me, or is it getting easier to see?" Gerald asked, breaking the silence that had plagued them as they descended into the heart of the Green Eye's temple.
"No Gerald… I think it is getting lighter in here…" Phoebe confirmed, "But how could there be light at the middle of a stone pyramid?"
As soon as she asked the question, they turned a corner on the staircase and saw the answer. A trail of torches, embedded into the stone corridor walls, were blazing away as if they had just been lit.
"Maybe they're on a switch system… like the stairs were…" Arnold guessed.
"It doesn't matter how they work football head. Let's just find whatever it is we're here for and get out. This place gives me the creeps." Helga said emphatically, a chill running up her spine for no reason other than the sheer size of the tunnel forced them to walk close together, and she just had to be situated close enough to Arnold to be able to pick up his intoxicating scent.
Okay universe… I get it… you have it in for me… just give me a break please? She silently begged, I promise I'll cut back on the insults.
Apparently the universe has a sense of humor… because the next time they rounded a corner, they were at the end of a flat hallway. At the other end was a solid wall covered in carvings broken up like it was a timeline of sorts. When they got closer to inspect it, they saw that it WAS a timeline. It showed the first of the Green Eyes in a small village, the construction of the pyramid they were in at that very moment, followed by a line of what they could only assume were their gods… each one had a small crown over their head, and there was one with a familiar shaped head that had the largest crown of all, arms spread out over the whole scene.
"Is that… is that Arnold?" Phoebe asked, shocked to see that the image of the head god had the very same shaped head, same hair, and even had the same calm expression on his face. The only difference was that where Arnold had a hat, the picture had a crown…
"Weird…" Arnold muttered to himself, tracing his hand over the rest of the carvings. At the end of the stream of images, there appeared to be a familiar story to him and he teared up slightly.
"What is it man? You okay?" Gerald asked, putting a hand on his best friends shoulder.
"Yeah… I'm fine Gerald… it's just… this end bit… those are my parents helping the Green Eyes… you see?" and he pointed at the small section that showed almost all of the Green Eyes sleeping, and then a pale couple appeared and gave a box to the tribe. In the next picture, the box was open and all the sleeping members of the tribe were awake again. Now the pale couple had small green eyes over their heads, as if to show that they were now a part of the people. Then it showed the couple presenting the diamond from the carving on the pillar to the tribe. The villagers rejoiced and the diamond was displayed over what looked like a bed… or an altar… where the pale couple were standing over…
"This part we've already seen." Helga noted, pointing to the very end set of glyphs. There was the four figures from the pillar standing in front of the steps, but the next image, which should have the four standing in front of the wall and the crowned one holding up a sphere was blank. Instead, there was a blank brick just sitting there… the only blank space on the entire wall.
"I wonder…" Arnold muttered, placing his hand on top of the blank space, pressing lightly, the brick moved back into the wall and was replaced by the glyph they had seen before. Seconds later, the wall itself groaned and split down the middle, revealing a room behind it, illuminated by a bluish light that seemed to come from the walls themselves.
Not needing any further invitations, the group walked into the anteroom, looking around at a room no one had probably seen in centuries. At the center of the room was a pair of small pedestals, rising to just about shoulder height on Gerald, they had marks on the front of each, the one marked with the diamond from the carvings outside the room was empty, a circular patch free of dust sat on the top. The other pedestal was marked with the orb and held a small leather pouch the size of a baseball. Reaching forward cautiously, Arnold tried to grab it, only to have his hand slapped away by Helga.
"What was that for?" he exclaimed in pain and surprise.
"Are you a TOTAL MORON?" she responded, glaring, "Rule number one in an old creepy temple is NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING!"
"Now Helga… you saw those drawings out there… that was us… and the one that looked like Arnold was holding the circle thingie… I think we can make an exception to that rule." Gerald piped in.
"I agree with him Helga… it feels right for Arnold to take it." Phoebe agreed.
She released his arm and glared at all three of them, "Don't say I didn't try and stop him if this goes wrong…" she muttered, covering her fear with anger per usual.
Arnold gently picked up the pouch from the pedestal, pausing as if expecting a boulder to start falling from overhead. When nothing happened, he grinned and started walking back towards the corridor to leave the pyramid. But about three steps from the wall, the two halves slammed back together.
"Crap! Put it back man!" Gerald yelled, jumping about five feet into the air.
He ran back and put the pouch back onto the pedestal, and almost immediately, the wall opened again.
"How are we supposed to get this out of here if we can't leave when we have it with us?" he asked, not expecting an answer.
"Ever think that maybe we're not supposed to?" Helga suggested. Crossing her arms and leaning against the empty pedestal.
They sat in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts, when Phoebe noticed something she should have before…
"Look at this you guys." She said, directing their attention towards the circle carved into the pedestal. She traced the deep lines that shaped it before rushing to the other pedestal and doing to same to the diamond shape.
"What are we supposed to see here Phoebe?" Gerald asked, squinting at the carvings.
"It's hard to see in this light… but whoever carved these, they made the lines a lot deeper on the circle… it may be nothing…"
"Or it may be another switch!" Arnold finished, placing his palm on the circle and pressing. It took a bit more force than the other switches, but it recessed deep into the pedestal, and right in the middle of the pedestals, a third one rose, this one holding a green crystal the size of a large marble. This time, when Arnold picked it up, they walls made no sign of closing. The group wasted no time in running out of the inner sanctum and back up the stairs, emerging back at the top about fifteen minutes later out of breath but happy that they had managed to recover… whatever it was they had just pulled from the depths of the pyramid.
They emerged to the fresh air to the sounds of cheers and shouts from the Green Eyes. While they climbed down, with Arnold at the front of the line, they heard the cheers turn into song and finally into the same respectful murmured prayers as earlier.
"What the heck is that thing?" Helga asked, "And why are they freaking out about it so much?"
"I don't know…" Arnold responded, "but whatever it is… I think it has something to do with my parents."
"I just hope we did the right thing bringing it out here." Gerald said as they reached the last step and were surrounded by the natives. Arnold was hoisted onto someone's shoulders, and the rest of the group was given a wide berth.
The elder from earlier came to the front of the crowd and said something in the Green Eye tongue, something that got everyone to calm down and bow their heads as if in mourning. He then turned to the kids and said in broken English, "Come with me… you will meet family now…"
"If it's all the same to you… I have some questions…" Arnold began, stepping forward and holding out the crystal, though the elder bowed deeply at the sight of it, praying loudly.
"I think you should keep that thing hidden if you want to get anywhere Arnold." Gerald suggested.
"That may be a good idea…" Arnold agreed, pocketing the jewel and following the Elder as he led them to a hut that was longer and cleaner than the rest.
The old man motioned for them to enter, but what they saw was enough to stop Arnold in his tracks cold. There in the middle of the hut, surrounded by pedestals holding small figurines of their football headed deity, was a stone slab shaped like a bed… and on the slab was none other than his parents.
The elder approached the couple, who didn't look a day older than the picture he had seen of them that was taken almost a full decade ago, and pointed first at the pocket Arnold had hidden the jewel in, and then to the headboard. At the top of the headboard was a small figurine, bright green and almost transparent. Where the sunlight hit it, it almost seemed to disappear. And underneath the small statue was a hole the size of the jewel Arnold clutched in his hand. He put two together and approached, inserting the jewel into the headboard. When he did, the slab of rock glowed and heated up the room so much that Arnold and his friends were forced from the hut, driven back by a wall of pressure that seemed to come from the ground itself. As the dust cleared, and the heat died down, Arnold peered through the entrance of the hut. His parents looked no different from before, but slowly, his dad's hand began to twitch and his mom's brow furrowed as if trying to wake up from a dream. He ran to them, tears streaming down his face and he called for them…
"Mom! Dad!" he yelled, not caring what his friends saw. He shook them in turn until they sat up finally, shaking their heads and stretching. Their eyes opened and they blinked as if they had just woken up from a nap.
"Who're you?" his dad asked, "Where are we?"
"You're in the Green Eye village…" Arnold answered, barely able to think straight, "I'm your son."
"No… no you can't be… Arnold is only two…" Stella said groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes still.
"I am your son… see?" and he took off his hat and handed it to them.
"This looks like the hat I gave Arnold before we left…" Miles muttered. "but it's older… more worn…"
His parents looked at the elder and spoke something in the native language. The man in turn nodded his head and pointed directly at Arnold. Whatever he had just told them was apparently a big shock to them, because they slowly looked from the elder to Arnold, their eyes bugging out of their skulls.
"A-arnold?" Miles stuttered, "Is that really you son?"
By this point, Arnold had tears streaming down his cheeks, and a smile on his face that would light up a city, "Yeah Dad… it's me…"
Without another word, Miles and Stella pulled him up onto the bed with them and hugged him tight… the Shortman family finally back together…
Well that was cute wasn't it? but don't think we're through just yet… we still have so much more to tell after all… next chapter, you may be lucky enough to hear how they ended up not aging for almost a decade, why Arnold was so revered, and what everything they saw meant. We may even hear from Harold, Curly, Stinky, and Nadine… let's hope they haven't also met a jaguar on their search for their friends…
Til then…
musicalreader XIII