Episode 21: FULL MQQN

Burning the late-night oil in the form of an alien lightning bug jar junior genius James Ian Pryce finally settled back for the evening. Like many people he liked reading in bed however popular authors such as Stephen King or Anne Rice were not available to him in this time lost era. Instead, he chose a hard bound book that pilot Cameron Scott had brought back well over a week ago from a salvage mission.

James never seemed to find the time to look it over. One thing after another called him away. A history buff he wanted to dig in and see what lie within the multitude of secrets mankind kept. To an untrained eye this book looked ancient, yet well preserved. Likely due to the time of its arrival here. For all anyone knew that ship could have landed on this desert a year or three ago. The book itself might have been written shortly before. The sands obscuring it for the most part was what maintained it. No moisture in these parts became its savior.

His faithful German Shepard Xander asleep on the floor below snoring James smiled then brought the book into his lap. Sitting in a brand-spanking new mattress they had obtained through the freight containers Malcolm Brand brought home he was feeling luxurious. So much more comfortable than a gravity bed.

“Okay! Here we go. Let’s decipher this biotch.” Unlocking the bound book with relative ease he opened the cover. Wearing his Ganthorian translation collar, the device allowed him to read any known languages. A humongous help in cases like this. Scanning the first page he noted the book as Chinese in its oldest dialect.

“Archaic Chinese from the Qin Dynasty. 221 B.C. I’d think it would be in scroll form not a bound book.” He murmured! “Wow! This was from the first Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Too cool!” Digging in page after page he realized something quick. “This is the equivalent to the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Spells! Tales of the Underworld! Gods! Demons! Yikes! Vampires!” He swallowed dryly! “Yeah, I’ll be sleeping with the bug zapper on again.” Continuing he learned the impossible secrets of the emperor and his secret army of supernatural guardians.

“Whoa! His Terracotta Warriors were once real people. Turned into statues of the undead by sorcery but made to appear as if hand made. The ship Cam found this book on was sailing away for a new realm to hide this book from the dark forces plaguing China. If the book got into the wrong hands, it could release a plague of evil that would overtake humanity.”

Thirty pages in he found information on the Great Wall. It was built not only to ward off barbarian hordes, but demons that inhabited the barbarians themselves. The wall had embedded sigils applied mystical boundaries that not even vampires could cross.

This knowledge paused his read as it dawned on him something that gave him the chills. Cameron had run into a woman outside the Ganthorian Hilton one night. A beautiful woman he referred to as Sabbath Black. She didn’t harm him, nor had she returned since that fateful night. Was she a vampire? Maybe she was looking for this book. Absorbed by the content James continued on. Reaching a list of Warriors sailing upon the ship, the emperor had appointed its captain Kong Zao to defend the book at all costs. Obviously, he failed somehow. James recalled Malcolm mentioning skeletons on the ship. Maybe they died there guarding it, feeling as if this strange land would be a safe hiding place due to its lifeless nature.

James Ian would tie everything together later. There was a lot more to read. Reaching ancient spells, he skipped over them out of fear that they might create a harmful curse if spoken. Instead, he looked over maps and documents in the emperor’s own words. It was a privilege to examine the man’s thoughts. Designs for Imperial cities, locations of battles, hoards of gold, forbidden temples, even mystical weapons, there were schematics for everything. Fighting techniques was certainly an inspiration. Those could be practiced here and now as a protective measure. “Iron Fist, K’un Lun stuff without the dragons. Want to learn the Way of the Canine, Xander? We can call you Iron Paw!” Too funny!

Discovering a drawing of the sword lying next to him he switched his gaze back and forth between the story of it and the blade itself. Edgy over its powers he reached out and without touching the blade itself glided his palm over it. In his mind’s eye he could envision hundreds of deaths at its appetite, almost hearing screams of the lost souls held captive within. As his palm passed over its shimmering blade it turned from glinting bronze to blood red. Fading as his hand regressed.

“Sick!” He muttered, shivering over the metallic river effect. “The sword is called Soul Burden. It holds captive those souls guilty of treason and murder. The hero Kong Zao used it at the emperor’s protection. I wonder why he abandoned the sword. We may have to go back and check out that site further. Could be Cam and Mal missed something.” Sand could easily hide more secrets.

“Amulet!” He found a drawing of it. “Whoa! This was what they brought back. The one Elle buried outside somewhere.” He began delving into its history! “The Bloodstone! It holds a great evil within. Kong Zao was entrusted with the gem. He was ordered to hide it away so that the great evil it held could never be allowed to escape. Death would consume the world. Yikes! It did try to drink blood from Cam’s cut. It must still be imprisoned. Good! We don’t need any more problems to deal with. Things are finally looking up for us. Let’s just hope Malcolm brings more salvageable goods from that freighter. Let’s hope for cans of dog food Xander. I think we found can openers in one of the crates. Too bad the canned beans were bad though!” He looked down over his mattress at his unresponsive pup. “Sleep tight, Buddy!”

James couldn’t set the book aside.

Let the nightmares brew!

Eleven miles out under the light of a full moon stomped Malcolm Brand, striding at a colossal height of 60 feet tall. Beside him soaring adrift on airflow currents followed the ghostly remnant of Madigan Ridge. Their third trip of the day, having hauled eight more containers earlier he intended on a final eight of the night. This freighter was an irresistible gold mine in their need to feel closer to home. It was nice to see his friends happy and feeling optimistic over their future here in this lifeless world.

Reaching the freighter christened the Papa Noel, Malcolm decided to test a theory. Instead of Madigan touching a rune upon his body this time, he was going to try it for himself. Deciding to increase his size to an impressive 150-feet he could easily lean over the ship’s embedded hull and claim the containers like a child picking up model cars. Stacking them neatly on the desert floor, the sand cushioned them nicely.

Obsidian darkness loomed the further he reached down into the bowels for more containers. Fingertips touching metal It was then he reached to his temple with his opposite hand and pressed in on a faintly glowing rune. It had turned Madigan into living light that first day in discovering their mystical potential. In holding the rune beneath his fingertip his eyes began to glow and cast twin bright high beams over the contents within the darkness. In doing so a shrill screeching noise erupted from the deepest of shadows. Madigan Ridge taking interest hovered closer to Malcolm as if spooked. Why when she was already deceased it was merely her human side recalling what it was like.

“What is causing that screeching?”

“Only thing I can think of is rodents. There is definitely something alive in there.” Removing another container he sensed movement. A flurry of winged activity sought the night air. “Bats!” Made sense!

Thousands of them stormed the sky obstructing his view as they avoided the light from his eyes. Those that found themselves captured in the lights cascade erupted into flames, torching themselves into a ballet of fluttering ashes. Their death howls sounded so very humanlike.

“Malcolm, are you hearing their language?” Maddy leered about from all angles. Bats were literally passing through her body to escape. If a ghost could get the willies, Maddy would be trembling. One such bat stopped before her while beating its leathery wings in an echo of code. The bat was huge, almost humanoid as it studied her before flying away, “He knew I was here. Even though I’m a ghost.”

“Our excavation process riled them up. Let’s take the five cargo containers I set aside and head back. From here on we come out only during daytime hours. If we leave them alone, they might leave us be.”

“Are you sure? I would swear that bat eyeballing me looked human.”

“They can’t hurt either of us. We have to consider the others though. Jack, Ruby, Cam, Greta, James, and Elle might be at risk if they are humanoid. After all that chatter about Sabbath Black and the amulet dealing with vampires, even I’m edgy.”