Indiana Jones and the Talisman of the Gods

Chapter 4

The Valley of the Dead

Indiana Jones dropped his gun and fell to his knees. There was no way that General Okidonomi could be a god. He was too humanlike. Why would the god of evil work in the military? Other than killing people and causing fear, the rest was just work and responsibility.

"Dr. Jones, it is time for our departure. Are you ready?"

Jones feebly nodded his head.

The large cargo plane flew over the country of Japan. They were flying north. Yuki-onna sat next to Indiana, giving him a reassuring look the entire trip. Shaman Shimizu sat shaking in his seat. Indiana wasn't too excited about what lay ahead.

He remembered speaking to Izanagi. He wasn't supposed to give the Japanese the object, or stone tablet, as Shimizu called it. He also remembered a Japanese myth. Izanagi had been in Yomi before. He went there to go bring back his wife, Izanami, when she died after giving birth to Kagu-tsuchi, the Japanese god of fire. He did not succeed though, a fact that made Jones worry. If a god couldn't bring something back from Yomi, then how could a mortal?

Yuki-onna said something. It wasn't out loud, but telekinetically.

Why did you come here, Indy?

Jones wasn't sure how to respond. Should he just think what he was saying?

I was going to Shanghai when they shot me down.

I'm sorry you could not get away. General Okidonomi has a hold over me. Your father gave him the Talisman of Ice, the object that controls me.

How can a talisman control a spirit?

She had a saddened look. I'm not sure. But if you give Okidonomi what he wants, he will be able to control a lot more than just me. What ever you do, do not give him what he seeks!

Jones gulped. Okidonomi walked over to him. "So, Dr. Jones, are you as excited as I am?"

Indiana sneered. "Why can't you do it, O God of Evil?"

"Because if I were to go into Yomi myself, I wouldn't be able to come back out." He smiled. "That's why I need a guinea pig who can navigate himself."

"You still haven't told me what it is I am looking for." How could he find something if he doesn't know what it is?

"Don't worry. You're an archaeologist. You'll be able to sense its great power."

"And another thing…"

"Yes?" Okidonomi wasn't in the mood for questions.

"Why did we go to Mount Fuji? We could have gone straight to wherever it is you're taking me now."

"For two reasons. One, we need to be at the location and night. It was too late for use to get there in time. And two, we needed to pick up General Hoshika."

A skinny Japanese man walked up behind him. "Hello, Dr. Jones."

"And who is this General Hoshika? Is he a god, too?"

"No. I am the general of the air force. I am providing zeros for General Okidonomi. Is that enough information, Dr. Jones?" A6M Zero was a Japanese version of a fighter plane during World War II.

The rest of the plane ride was seemingly uncomfortable. The two generals kept a close watch on Jones and Shimizu. Jones looked back and forth at the two. Hoshika was intimidating, even more so than Okidonomi. Why did they need zeros? Was it a precaution in case something went wrong? This just made Jones all the more worried.

The golden sun was setting in the west. The cargo plane landed on a sand runway made by the stationed soldiers. General Okidonomi and General Hoshika started ordering soldiers to set up camp. Indiana, Yuki-onna, and Ryuji all stepped off of the plane and were taken aback at were they were. It was a graveyard.

Shaman Shimizu looked around at the place and muttered. "Why here?"

"Why not here?" Okidonomi walked up next to him. "It's the Valley of the Dead. There's nothing much. Come nighttime, Mr. Shimizu will open up the door to Yomi and you three will be going in."

"Three?" Yuki-onna gasped. "If I go in, I can't come out."

General Okidonomi pulled out a small circular disk from his pocket. It was an icy-blue color with one character on it. The Japanese character for ice.

氷

"Yuki-onna, if you go into Yomi, your talisman will guide you out. If Jones acquires what I ask of him, he, too, will be able to get out. Nobody will be hurt." Okidonomi smiled. "That is, if you mind your manners."

Soon the camp was set up and Okidonomi and Hoshika were still discussing zeros. An entire fleet of sleek black zeros sat just beyond the graveyard. Jones and Shimizu sat on a bench in a tent while they waited nervously. Yuki-onna was doing a series of deep breathing exercises. If Yuki-onna, a spirit, was afraid of Yomi, then Jones would be terrified.

"Yuki-onna," he asked. "What's it like there?"

"It's dark for one thing. It's so dark that it feels like your being smothered. All hope and joy leaves your body and you almost become dead. It's not a good place to stay for long." She continued her deep breathing.

Outside, it was dark. A cool breeze blew through the camp. Jones exited the tent and observed their surroundings. The graveyard was located on a piece of land that seemed to have sunken—two walls of rock stood at its sides, while there was a slope to enter it. Technically, the graveyard was in a valley, a very small valley. As the breeze went over the craters of wet mud in the graveyard, the wind made a deep moaning sound. Indiana shuttered. If the real world was this disturbing, then how would Yomi be?

General Okidonomi walked over to him. "Dr. Jones, it is time. I will go and get Mr. Shimizu and we will begin the ceremony."

Within minutes Ryuji Shimizu was ready to open the portal to Yomi. Yuki-onna and Indiana Jones stood by his side as he began the ritual. He took petrified seashells and scattered them in a straight line at the entrance to the graveyard.

"The teeth of dragons…" he chanted. He continued to do similar things to the entranceway. He then began to chant in Japanese: "Open the gate!" He continued to repeat the phrase over and over. The ground where the shells were began to churn and the shells were pushed under the muddy ground. A grinding sound was heard and Shimizu stopped. "It is finished."

General Okidonomi shouted in Japanese and a soldier on the edge of one of the cliffs aimed a mirror at a larger mirror behind Shimizu. The redirected moonlight shone directly above the spot where the seashells had been. Now there was a large granite doorway standing. The moonlight had made it appear.

Shimizu touched the door and it slowly opened, pushing back the wet mud it was standing on. He gulped. A burst of warm mist and fog escaped the doorway. White smoke crawled out across the ground, covering up their feet. Jones looked back at General Okidonomi. He nodded. Without delay, Ryuji Shimizu, Yuki-onna, and Indiana Jones all ventured into Yomi, the shadowy land of the dead.