Attention K-Mart shoppers. There is a special in the book department. It is ch.5 of my story. enjoy. ^_^
Ch.5 REVELATIONS
The doors slowly creaked open. A tall figure wearing black robes entered into the room. The dim room was illuminated by candles hanging from the stone granite walls. The only sound came from the footsteps of the ominous man. He stopped in front of giant crystal orb. Raising his hands over the orb, the figure began to chant unfamiliar words. After a few minutes of chanting, an image slowly formed in the orb.The man's face showed disappointment due to what he saw.
The orb showed James resting on a bed. A skeleton doctor was beside the bed examining James. About half dozen more skeletons were gathered around James and the doctor. The person observing this clenched his hand tightly into a fist. It appeared that he was about to scream, but he just sighed.
"Someone has interfered in my plans." He turned and walked back toward the door. The image on the orb vanished with a wave of the man's hand. "I shall shall with this nuisance later." The doors of the room slammed shut behind him emitting an errie echo.
James slowly stirred from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open and his vision slowly came into focus. He tookin his surroundings and realized that he was in a room on a bed. James was still feeling a little sore in his side but other then that he felt fine. He frowned though for he had the same dream that haunted him in the underground room. The same dream as before. This clearly means something. The question is what though. He sighed hoping that the answers would come to him soon.
James quickly pulled the cover over his his head when he gazed upon another skeleton. This one wore a white coat and had plastic gloves on. A stethoscope hung around his neck and a doctor's badge was pinned to his coat.
"You see what I mean Doc? This guy is nervous wreck." James recognized the voice of the guitar player. The doctor placed his closed hand under his chin.
"I want to thank you for bringing him to my office. I just wonder why he is acting this way. It is if he has never seen a talking skeleton before." The doctor stated.
"Maybe this is his first encounter with our race." Everyone looked at the skeleton with confused faces. He wore black dress pants, a white button down shirt and a black vest. His wife placed a hand on his shoulder. She wore a long pink dress. She held a little baby skeleton in her other arm.
"But dear. How is it possible that he has not seen or heard of us before." The skeleton shook his head for he was unable to answer her question.
"None of this matters! What is important is that we destroy this kid now!" This skeleton wore an officer's uniform with a star badge on the left side of the shirt.
"How can you suggest such a horrible thing?" The skeleton wore dark blue pants, a white buttoned down shirt, a dark blue dress coat and a circular button with the title Mayor on it.
"Are you blind Mayor?!" asked the officer in a loud angry voice.
"Please lower your voice." explained the female skeleton. "I don't want the baby to wake from her sleep." The officer nodded his head and lowered his tone.
"Sorry." He looked back to the mayor. "The answer is simple. This boy is working along side Him. Why else would he be carrying a dangerous weapon?" Everyone gasped when they heard the name Him. Curiosity had got the better of James. He slo0wly lowered the covers and peaked his head out.
"Who is Him?" Everyone was silent for a moment. James watched as everyone lowered their heads as if they were mourning the loss of someone. The officer was the first one to raise his head. He slowly walked beside the bed.
"Do not deny it boy. It is obvious that you are in league with Him. So once you have fully recovered, I shall take you into custody." The policeman stormed out of the room and shut the door behind him. James had a mix of fear and confusion on his face and in his eyes. The physician gently placed a bony hand on James' shoulder.
"I promise that no harm will come to you. By the way, what is your name?" An embarrassed smile spread across James' face. Due to his fear he never mentioned his name.
"Sorry about that. My name is James Honda."
"A pleasure to meet you James. I am Dr.Greg Parker." The guitar player stepped forward.
"Hey James dude. You remember me right?" He nodded his head for he could not forget the first skeleton that he lay eyes on. "That's awesome man. My name is Kevon Jacobs. As you can tell, I am the lead guitar player of my band Skull and Crossbones." A smile slowly formed on James' face.
"I like the name. It's pretty cool. Perhaps your band can perform for me."
"Totally. You can count on it bro." The skeleton with the black vest spoke next.
"Nice to make your make your acquaintance. I am Hank Burton. This is my lovely wife Debra."
"Charmed." stated Debra as she curtsied to James.
"The little one is our pride and joy. Her name is Lucinda." James smiled politely as he stared at the baby skeleton. He blinked a few a few times before thinking to himself. I don't even want to know. Debra broke the silence in the room.
"Hank is an important person in our city."
"What exactly do you do?" inquired James. Hank cleared his bony throat before speaking.
"I am studying the history of our world." This statement intrigued James. Hank continued seeing that he had peaked James' interest. "One day, while exploring a pyramid, i discovered an old parchment. What was on the document fascinated me."
"What was on it?" James asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Our ancestors. What surprised me was that our people resembled you James." He was stunned by this revelation. "I was just as shocked as you. The people had skin, hair, and eyes." Hank's wife continued the tale.
"The script also had unique symbols written on it. The problem is nobody has been able to read or translate the hieroglyphics."
"Maybe I can understand the writing."
"That is a brilliant suggestion James. Later today, we will go to the museum so that you can examine the parchment." James looked to the skeleton that had not introduced himself yet. "Now where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Richard Shansky. I am the mayor of this cine city. Please refer to me as Mayor or Mayor Shansky." A few thoughts had crossed James' mind. They troubled him deeply. He needed answers to give himself closure.
"Something is troubling me." A sigh escaped James' lips.
"What is wrong James? We will try and assist you if we can." stated Dr.Parker.
"Well you see...It's just...Who was the other skeleton? Who exactly is Him?" Why is a section of the city in ruins?" There was a long pause before anyone spoke. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was obvious that these topics were indeed difficult ones to discuss.
"The remaining skeleton is Officer Lenard Sorrento." stated the mayor.
"Please don't be upset with the way he is acting. You see, he recently lost his son." announced the doctor.
"I am sorry to hear that." replied James.
"We all are bro. He was killed a month ago by Brandon Lexmire." Hank decided to take over there.
"Brandon was our most brilliant scientist. He was conducting a secret experiment in his lab. Something occured which caused an explosion." James was shocked to hear that such an event happened. "He miraculously survived somehow. Although a transformation would soon take place."
"What happened to him?" Dr.Parker continued where Hank left off.
"Brandon came rushing into my office. He was hysterical. I couldn't make out a word he was saying. I examined him and was astonished to discover that nothing was wrong with him. I was sadly mistaken." He sighed before speaking once more. I could not believe what transpired next. Brandon went down on his knees screaming out in pain. It was then that I watched him meatamorph."
"How did he change?" James asked. Greg proceeded and answered James' question.
"His entire body began to quiver and shake. Brandon stared at his hands as something began to form and grow over them. The same texture grew on his feet, arms, neck, and face. I took a step back as a furry creature grew on top of his head." The doctor paused to take a breath. "The next thing I witnessed was so gruesome. Something began to form in his eye sockets. Two white circles followed by three smaller circles. It appeared that his transformation was complete. I saw Brandon slowly rise to his feet. I was terrified at what he became."
"He slowly walked over to a full length mirror. He examined himself from head to toe. Brandon slowly raised his hands and stared at them. After a minute had passed, Brandon focused his attention on me. He just looked at me before speaking. I'm a freak were the words that he said before he ran out of my office."
"So Brandon grew skin, hair, and eyes?" Parker nodded his head.
"After he left, I looked for an old book which my grandfather had passed down to me. It contained information on a person like yourself James. I figure that he has a heart and all the other things that make up the human body."
"What happened to Brandon?" The mayor answered James' question.
"At first we were not sure. Nobody had seen where he went to. About two weeks passed before he returned. I remember that day well. I was in the park delivering a speech. During said speech, I heard the citizens screaming. I ran as fast as I could to the source.
It was there that I saw Brandon. I didn't recognize him at first since he had changed. He was destroying buildings and attacking people. This task was accomplished by the golden gloves that he wore."
"Did you say golden gloves?"
"That's correct. I watched as Lexmire shot blasts of energy from his hands." James recalled the dream that he had. He started to realize now that his dream was more like a vision. I guess this is the reason why I am here. To stop Lexmire from hurting any more people.
"I snapped out of my hypnotic state when I witnessed Greg treating the wounded. I ran over to him and that was when I learned that Brandon was the one destroying the city. I was in disbelief learning that a kind man could commit such a horrible deed. I quickly regained myself and performed my duties as Mayor. I made an announcement to evacuate the city."
"We all left as quickly as we were able. I stayed behind since it was my duty to assist the wounded. Unfortunately I was unable to save everyone. I was surprised though. Brandon spared my life. He could have easily killed me but he didn't. We don't know what to do. We wish that we had a way to stop Brandon."
"I will help you by defeating him." stated James bluntly.
"We would be so grateful James. But how can you combat Lexmire?" inquired Hank.
"I could have a chance if only I had my sword."
"The man is holding it in his stronghold bro."
"Officer Sorrento was afraid that you would use your weapon to harm the citizens." announced Hank.
"I will talk to Lenard and try to reason with him. Make him understand that you are our friend and not our enemy. It will be not be easy though. Lenard has always been a stubborn man as long as I have known him." stated Richard. James was grateful and happy knowing that he had made friends in this unique world.
Unbeknown to everyone in the room, Brandon was listening intently to every word which was spoken. Ironically, his location was behind the locked door which James tried to open in the underground hallway. He sat by a control panel with many switches and monitors. There were tables with beakers and test tubes. Smaller devices also lined the table tops. Brandon smiled as he sat in his chair.
"I am glad that everyone still remembers me. Those fools have no idea that I am keeping tabs on them. I have to congratulate myself for being a genius. With my cloaking device, I was able plant a microscopic chip on Lucinda. Now I can hear what they hear." He turned off the device and removed the headphones. He stood and walked over to a small table which his gold gauntlets were resting on. Who would have fathomed that other beings from different worlds existed. He laughed as he stared down at his gauntlets. "Aww. Poor Lenard. I remember your son well. He was on his knees begging for his pathetic life." He clenched his hand into a fist. "Before I destroyed him." He started to pace and tap his fingers on the back of his neck. "I must have James on my side. I realize that he will not join me willingly, but there are other methods." Lexmire smiled as his attention shifted to his scientific instruments.
END CHAPTER