by Sigmond MacDurmon
It was midnight when the storm came crashing down on us.
We were deep in the mine-shafts, our destination right around the corner.
There were three of us; John, William and myself. We had descended into
the forbidden mine-shafts in search of the mythical portal of Xuynii. The
entire day had been expended by our relentless efforts to go deeper. And
finally we were nearly there. The walls of the caves were lit by an eerie
blue glow. Our flashlights were no longer needed. We were on the threshold
of Xuynii’s doorstep.
The rain had been falling
all day. From the time we took our first steps into the caves, it had been
pouring steadily. We could hear the sound of thunder echo through the tunnels
all day long. The storm itself was not a problem. The problem was simple.
The entrance to the mine was positioned along the wall of a rocky canyon
that was known to flood and create enormous whitewater rivers. At the time
we entered the caves, the water level had already risen a quarter of the
way up the canyon walls, and the entrance to the caves was only a few hundred
yards above the canyon floor. John had projected that if the rain were
to continue for another twenty hours, the water would start flooding the
caves. If that happened, we would be killed for sure.
All of us were overwhelmed
with excitement. The portal of Xuynii was close. Nobody knew the exact
origins of the mythic doorway, nor did anyone know where it would lead.
But its existence could not be denied. Years ago, miners had dug right
into the tunnels of Xuynii and discovered the portal. One man ventured
through the gateway and never returned. The majority of the miners were
superstitious descendants of the Mayan tribe. They had heard stories when
they were young. Stories of the dark gateway into the land of the dead,
the land ruled by the evil Xuynii. Convinced that Xuynii himself would
step out of the portal and claim their souls, the miners over-powered their
American foremen and sealed off the entrance. More American miners would
have come to continue the work, but the Brazilian government suspiciously
declared the area to have been destroyed in an earthquake. No human being
was to be allowed within the canyon walls.
Yet there was really no
way to keep people out. Only large operations were noticed. Several explorers
had made it into the canyon, never to be heard from again. We had made
it without any trouble, several natives had lead us through the jungles
and abandoned us at the canyons edge. We had no difficulties locating the
entrance.
And here we were.
John and William both exchanged
worried glances. We could all hear the sound of rushing water. If
it reached us there would be no escape. "We must hurry," William said.
"The portal could be our only chance for survival."
So we ran. The cave floor
was smooth, as though thousands of feet had pounded it into submission.
The blue glow was becoming more and more intense. The roaring of the water
was getting louder with each passing second. John shouted something over
his shoulder. I couldn’t quite make it out, but I guessed that it was something
along the lines of "We’re almost there."
We all came to an abrupt
stop. The cave ended and the portal hung in the wall before us. We were
all struck with awe, a blue liquid swirled lazily in the wall. All around
it, inscriptions were carved into the rock. We had no idea what they said,
none of us could decipher what tongue they were written in. But one thing
was for certain, we were there.
"This is it," John mumbled,
his voice was hushed with awe.
The roaring of the water
behind us was deafening. "We have no choice, we have to go through,"
I said as I glanced back into the caves.
William nodded, "See you
on the other side." With that he dove head first into the portal.
John hesitated briefly and stepped through without a word. I
stood alone at the entrance, staring into the blue liquid as it swirled
in gentle circles. It was now or never. I closed my eyes, took a
deep breath and stepped into the portal.
It was as though I had thrown
myself from a cliff. G-forces tore at my face with such tremendous strength
that I could not breathe. Just when I could take no more, it was over.
I landed violently on a stone floor and passed out abruptly.
*
My eyes fluttered open and
I glanced around. John lay silently on the floor beside me, while William
stood a few feet away with his back turned. My senses cleared and I took
in my surroundings. The room in which we had landed was constructed completely
out of stone. It appeared to be granite or perhaps even coral. I took note
that the portal hung silently on the wall directly behind me, its soft
blue light giving the room an eerie feel. Then I noticed what William was
looking at.
There was only one exit
to the chamber. It was a large square passage in the far wall. William
stood only a few feet away from the opening, staring at the heap of bones
that lay in the threshold. Most of them appeared to be human, some very
old and bleached white while others still held a chunks of decayed flesh
and scraps of clothing. I stood up and cleared my throat. William
did not turn around, "The exit is rigged somehow." He paused thoughtfully.
"We have to get out without ending up like our friends here," he gestured
to the remains on the floor.
I nodded, "Perhaps that
is not the exit."
Without another word, William
tossed his boot knife through the opening. I watched in amazement as the
knife transformed in midair, from a shining new boot knife to a rusted
metal shard. It shattered like glass when it hit the floor. "Even something
that has no life in it cannot survive…" he muttered.
"As I said, this may not
be the true exit." I repeated.
Just then John sat up and
glanced around. He noted the pile of bones at the exit door and grunted,
"Well that’s wonderful."
I turned around and began
a closer examination of the walls, hoping to find another way out. I ignored
the etchings and inscriptions, searching for something more evident. It
was William who noticed what we all should have picked up in the first
place.
"The inscriptions…" he gasped,
"They’re in English."
My eyes went wide with disbelief.
John swore under his breath. Every word on the walls was written
in plain English. Not Old or Middle English for that matter, but Modern
English. We took a great deal of time reading the inscriptions, every single
word. And finally we knew what was needed to move on.
The walls told a story.
An intricate network of portals had been placed throughout the universe
by an ancient and powerful race. Each world of significance was given at
least one gateway to the Great Hall of Dreams. According to the inscriptions,
the Hall of Dreams was a vast cavern of portals, each one leading to another
world. The walls gave no indication as to why the portals had been built.
Or why the inscriptions were in perfect English.
"Perhaps," William began,
"the builders created these portals to be used on specific and important
occasions. If a race of beings is powerful enough to link the universe
then perhaps they knew the secrets of time. Perhaps they knew that we were
to come here and therefore, they inscribed these words in our language
so that we could understand." He motioned to the bones on the floor, "None
of them were meant to enter the portal, they could not read the inscriptions."
I nodded thoughtfully. William’s mind worked excellently through unexplainable
situations.
John frowned, "You’re saying that this portal was built specifically
for us? So that we could come here and do something important?"
"I’m just setting out possibilities."
I glanced around, "It doesn’t
matter, lets get moving."
The inscriptions had given
specific instructions for exiting the chamber. The portal that we had come
through had two purposes. The first of which we all had a very clear grasp
on. The second was less evident. It was not just a portal, but a door.
There was nearly an inch of space between the portal and the wall behind
it.
With John's and William’s
help, I managed to push the swirling portal aside on its invisible hinges
to reveal another passage. The second we stepped into the new passageway,
the portal swung back into its original position. We descended silently
into the tunnel.
Within minutes the soft blue light from the portal had faded to nothing.
John flipped on his flashlight and we continued on toward the Hall of Dreams.
*
We entered the Great Hall
only minutes later. It was a seemingly endless corridor, the walls covered
with portals of all colors, shapes and sizes. The room was lit with an
eerie combination of reds, purples, blues and yellows. I even noticed one
white portal several feet down the corridor. My mind spun out of control,
where would we begin?
John broke the silence,
"We’d be idiots to go into one of these things."
William and I both turned
to face him. I spoke up first, "Why do you think we came here, John? We
surely didn’t risk our lives just to turn back."
"We might not ever get back
if we go into one of these things." John replied.
"What does it matter? I’ve
put half of my life into finding the portal of Xuynii. There’s nothing
left for me back on earth… this is our destiny." William exclaimed.
I nodded. "The inscriptions
were meant for us. We should go on. We were meant to."
John shook his head. "Something
is playing with our heads. The portal of Xuynii is supposed to lead to
the land of the dead. To Hell. Don’t you think that in a place like that
something very ancient and deadly has the power to toy with us? Xuynii
himself is just having fun before he slaughters us."
William laughed, "Since
when did any of us believe all those ridiculous myths?"
But John had a point. In
the land of the dead Xuynii would have complete control. It was not such
a crazy thought. If only this place wasn’t so real, so amazing…
"Come on, William, don’t
tell me that you actually believe that those walls have been engraved with
English inscriptions for thousands of years. That’s insane." John was nearly
shouting.
I cut into the conversation,
or rather,argumen, "Listen guys, we can’t go back anyway. The tunnels are
flooded and they will be flooded for weeks. Maybe months." I had their
complete attention now. "There’re thousands of portals here. Maybe another
one leads back to Earth."
William nodded, "All right.
Let's spread out and look for portals with English inscriptions on them."
"We’re dead either way.
Xuynii owns us now. Its his little game we’re playing." John said defiantly.
We both ignored John’s comment and went to work. William headed one way
and I went the other. We began carefully examining each portal that we
passed. John simply sat down and lit up a cigarette.
I had gone by nearly twenty
portals when I saw something in English. It was carved into the stone at
the foot of a small green portal. There was only one word etched into the
stone, it was the word ‘GO.’ I stopped and starred at the portal for a
long time, contemplating what it could possibly mean. It was almost like
a traffic signal. Green for go. It made utterly no sense.
My thoughts were interrupted by shouting. It was John and William.
Their voices grew louder as they approached. I squinted and noticed that
they were running as fast as they could. Yet I could not make out what
they were saying. As they drew nearer I could see panic in their faces.
"RUN!!" John screamed.
"Here!" I shouted, pointing
to the portal. "It has English on it!"
They veered in my direction and dove into the swirling green portal.
It was then that I saw what they were running from. A massive beast with
yellow eyes rounded the corner, snarling as it ran. I had no idea what
it was. But it was all the inspiration I needed to step into the portal.
*
We found ourselves in a room.
Not a stone room, but a steel one. The walls were thick metal, and the
ceiling was covered with large glowing panels. I noticed at once that there
was no portal behind us or anywhere in the room for that matter. We had
taken a one-way trip. John and William sat in the corner catching
their breath. I noted a sealed door at the far side of the room, a small
green button protruded from the steel wall beside it. I walked over and
hit the green button. The door hissed open, revealing a long narrow corridor.
William spoke up, "We have
to move, it might come through the portal." As if to confirm his
suspicions, the air crackled and began to glow green.
"It’s coming!" John shouted
as he ran out the door. William followed closely behind. The door slid
shut as I stepped through.
"What is it?" I asked, "Where
did it come from?"
John shook his head, "It
came out of a portal and started chasing us. It’s one of Xuynii’s servants,
I swear it."
William nodded, "I have
no idea what it is, but we have to move."
Something slammed against
the door we had just exited. My heart began to beat faster, "Right, let's
go!"
We ran for nearly an hour;
through corridors, up elevators, and we found ourselves in a huge circular
chamber. The walls were laced with electronic readouts and blinking
diagrams. At the very end of the chamber the wall was transparent, revealing
hundreds of stars and a small brown planet in the distance. My suspicions
were confirmed. We were aboard a space ship of some sort.
"Where’s the crew?" John
asked.
"Dead. They’re always dead
in situations like this." William muttered.
I walked over to one of
the consoles and pressed a button at random. Nothing happened, the screen
continued to display a large rotating sphere surrounded by numbers and
symbols. I looked up at John and William, "This is a dead end. We are trapped
on here with that thing."
John cackled, "That’s the
least of our worries. I told you before, Xuynii is playing with us. He
doesn’t want to kill his prey right off the bat. He’s like a little kid
that catches a grasshopper and pulls each leg off one by one, and then
sits and watches it die until he finally crushes it beneath his heal."
William raised an eyebrow,
"You got half of that right John. That monster is the least of our worries.
Whatever killed the crew is what we should be afraid of." He was starring
at the far wall rather intently.
I curiously glanced in that
direction and saw that the far wall was splashed with dried blood and several
severed limbs were scattered about the floor. A massacre. The crew
had been slaughtered, and recently. Then it hit me. That had not
been there when we first entered the chamber. In fact, I recalled seeing
a rather large array of electronic devices against that wall. Something
was seriously wrong. I glanced at John and then at William, trying to hide
my unease. Neither of them seemed to notice, they were both enthralled
by the bloody mess that had mysteriously appeared against the far wall.
Perhaps John was right. We were just being toyed with.
"That wasn’t there a minute
ago." I said.
William did not react, but John whirled around and locked eyes with
me. "What are you saying? What do you mean it wasn’t there a minute ago!"
He was definitely shouting.
I glanced nervously at William, who seemed to be in another world.
John took a step toward me, his eyes swirling with
madness. "Are you saying that this isn’t real!? Is that what you are saying?"
His voice had begun to change. It was deeper, almost unnatural sounding.
"John, are you all right?" I asked, taking a step
back.
John’s face suddenly contorted into a hideous grin.
His pupils vanished and his solid white eyes began to glow. "YOU DOUBT
MY CREATIONS!! IT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?" His voice had changed completely.
It was no longer John standing before me. I noticed that William had vanished.
The rest of the corridor was also beginning to fade away. My mind reeled.
Something was very wrong here.
John’s body began a revolting
metamorphosis. His torso exploded outward like a cocoon, revealing a writhing
red mass of raw flesh. The skin that had once been John, fell to the ground
and disappeared. An ancient and frightening beast now towered above me,
its pulsating flesh dripping with blood. Its head, nothing but a pair of
glowing white eyes set into a decayed heap of red meat. Laughter filled
the room. "BEHOLD THE POWER OF XUYNII! MY WRATH IS UPON YOU AND THERE IS
NO ESCAPE!!"
The room was completely
gone. I stood before the mighty Xuynii amidst nothing but empty space.
"What’s the matter?" I shouted, "Can’t you do two things at once?" I motioned
to the empty space that surrounded us and laughed.
Xuynii reared up in shock,
"YOU FOOL, HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY POWER!"
The air around me flickered and we were in a massive cavern. The entire
cavern was lit by Xuynii’s blazing white eyes. I laughed out loud, "Is
this all you can do?" My mistake became evident. The room shifted
out of focus and I found myself in free-fall, shooting towards the surface
of earth. I could see tiny little cities scattered about below me, they
grew larger and larger as my descent became faster. A voice rumbled around
through the air around me, "IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?"
Then something occurred
to me; a sort of hunch. I reached down and fumbled in one of my pockets.
Finally I pulled out what I had been looking for. My jackknife. I flipped
out the blade and rammed it into my left thigh. My vision blurred and suddenly
I was sitting bolt upright in a small cave. I laughed aloud, my hunch had
been right on. William and John were sleeping soundly beside me.
And throughout the rest of the room, several lifeless bodies were scattered
about. Directly behind me, the swirling portal of Xuynii hung on the wall.
I shook John and William awake and we exchanged similar stories. There
had been some misinterpretations in the studies of Xuynii. He was not the
ruler of the land of the dead. Quite to the contrary, he ruled the land
of dreams. The minute someone passed through the portal they were cast
into a deep sleep. Xuynii tortures them until their last breath.
He is powerless in the land of the conscious.
We returned to the United
States and published our discovery. Yet something has been bothering me
since my return. Every now and then I see the world flicker and fade out
of the corner of my eye. But when I turn to acknowledge the anomaly everything
is normal. My escape had almost been too easy. As I lay in bed at night
I often hear Xuynii’s voice repeating things he had said to me.
Last night I heard him whisper, "No one escapes…" That’s funny, I don’t
recall him saying that.
.
The End 