Kairos

Avalon 1.2 Beasts in the Night part 1 of 3

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After 4465BC in Southern China. Kairos 9: Keng

Recording …

Boston checked the database and read the results aloud. She concluded with her finger on the map and a note that they appeared to be somewhere between the Yangtze River and the southern mountains.

“How many time zones do we have to go through to get back to our own time?” Lieutenant Harper asked from the rear where she and Captain Decker continued to act as rear guard.

“One hundred and thirteen,” Boston answered from where she straggled at the back of the pack. “Glen is the one hundred and twenty-first lifetime of the Kairos.”

“It won’t be anytime soon,” Alexis looked back.

The land appeared to be a mix of forest and meadow with much steeper and taller hills than the Sahara. When they came to the top of one of those hills, a place where rocks stuck out through the soil, Lockhart called a halt. It would be dark soon, and they needed the rest.

“As good a place as any,” Lincoln sighed.

“Yeah,” Captain Decker added. “Something is bound to catch up to us no matter what we do, and this is a defensible position.”

“Chinese deer,” Roland announced, and he got out his bow and jogged back down the hill.

“And some greens,” Alexis said, as she dragged Boston and Lieutenant Harper off to gather. “I was never a big fan of Atkins.”

“Some rice would be nice,” Boston thought out loud. “Too bad we don’t have a wok.”

Once Alexis showed the others what to look for, they gathered as the sun sank in the west. They saw plenty of deer, and Boston felt sure Roland had already gotten back to the camp and had cut the beast for the fire. She stepped around a few trees and caught sight of a light in the forest. It did not look too far away, so curiosity drove her to take a closer look.

An opening among the trees showed sweet grass and flowers in that little place. A bubbling spring made a small stream that flowed by her feet.  A creature that positively glowed a brilliant white against the growing shadows stood beside the spring. Boston put her hands together in delight, but she dared not say a thing, not even to call to the others for fear of frightening off the animal. Thus, she simply watched, enthralled as the sun sank lower in the sky.

“Unicorn.” Roland came up beside her and whispered. Alexis and Katie Harper came with him.

“But no bones have ever been found of such a creature,” Katie protested. “I thought such things did not exist.”

“It isn’t a creature,” Alexis said. “It is a spirit, a greater spirit of purity and virtue, though it behaves much like a creature. There are a few still in our day on Avalon. Certain elf maids pledge themselves to their feeding and protection and do not marry or have relations with men until they retire at age one hundred.”

“You met Mirowen back at the headquarters building,” Boston whispered. “She was a unicorn maid before she met Doctor Roberts.”

“She lost her unicorn on earth, and it got captured. Doctor Roberts helped her retrieve it from area 51,” Alexis added. “I imagined you knew that since you and Captain Decker are stationed there.”

Lieutenant Harper shook her head. “The whole complex at area 51 is strictly on a need-to-know basis,” she said. “Colonel Weber,” she added by way of explanation.

They watched while the unicorn bent down to the spring for a drink. “Unicorns can be injured and even killed when they inhabit this form,” Alexis continued with the information. “But they are very powerful creatures, much more powerful than the form implies.”

“If it chose to charge, we would not escape,” Roland added.

“And it knows full well we are here,” Alexis said. “But I don’t get it. They usually are not seen unless there is an innocent in need of protection.”

“Hey.” Roland reached out, but it was too late. Boston had stepped out on to the meadow.

“Unicorns are dangerous,” Alexis spoke quickly.

“You said it knows we are here,” Boston responded softly.

“Boston,” Roland raised his voice a little. “Don’t you dare.” He turned on Lieutenant Harper because she raised her weapon to the ready.

“You have to be a virgin,” Alexis whispered very loud. Boston paused, turned to look back at them in the bushes and then turned again to continue toward the unicorn. The unicorn raised its head and began to nod, but it made no hostile moves in Boston’s direction. When she arrived, the beast turned its horn away from the girl as Boston reached out carefully to touch the unicorn’s neck. She felt a moment of electric shock when she touched before she felt drawn to do what moved her heart. She put her arms gently around the unicorn’s neck and kissed it right behind the ear. She dreamed about this since she was little.

The unicorn nodded again and broke free, gently. With one more nod, it turned and bounded into the bushes to be lost in the coming night. The light it emitted vanished with the animal, and Boston remained to cry gentle tears of joy.

When the others joined her in the meadow, Boston turned to Alexis. “You don’t mind? It was something I just had to do.”

“It called to you,” Alexis smiled. “I don’t mind at all.” She punched her grinning brother in the stomach before they escorted Boston back to the camp.

“Boston visited with it,” Alexis said, in a cryptic way. She said nothing about the virgin qualification. She imagined Lincoln understood and Lockhart may have guessed. She assumed Captain Decker had no idea, and Alexis was not going to spell it out for him.

“A unicorn.” Mingus understood right away. “Then we may have help guarding the camp against the creatures following us.”

“I see no good in it,” Doctor Procter said, and he looked morose.

“We still set a good watch,” Lockhart insisted. “And if you think you hear or see something, make sure everyone is awake before you go to investigate.”

That night, when everyone else worried about defending the camp from ghouls and the bokarus, Boston dreamed about riding on the back of a unicorn.

~~~*~~~

Boston and Katie Harper had the last watch in the night. They sat side by side as the sun readied to come up and talked about their lives and loves.

“I’m a good Catholic girl,” Boston insisted. “I finished High School when I was sixteen and went to Saint Elizabeth’s, an all-girl’s college. I finished there in three years and went straight on to graduate school where I studied. I mean, I went to parties and all, but electrical engineering takes real work. I didn’t have time for much dating, and then I got drafted by the men in black, I just sort of ended up pushing Lockhart around in that wheelchair for the last two years. That’s all, really.”

Katie Harper looked back toward the camp. “Yes, it is hard to remember him as an old man.”

Boston nodded. “Him and Lincoln, and Alexis who I never met before now. They were all old.”

“I understand,” Katie said as she looked again around the perimeter. “Given the environment, it was a good thing the Kairos was able to make them young again. A bunch of old people and a cripple would never have been able to keep up.”

“Glen,” Boston responded. “He likes to be called by name. Kairos is too formal, more like a title.”

“God of event time.”

“That’s right.” Boston smiled. “The Watcher over history, he calls it.” She looked at the lieutenant and Katie got the impression that it was her turn.

“I did my graduate work in human cultural studies, specifically the technologies of early and medieval cultures. I have a strong background in modern technology as well, though not exactly an engineering degree. Still, I am sure that is why Colonel Weber chose me for this assignment.”

“No doubt,” Boston said, before she jumped. Something roared in the distance. It stayed out of sight, down the hill and hidden by the trees, but it sounded loud enough to wake the camp. Lieutenant Harper stood with her weapon ready. Boston had her Beretta but stayed seated where she was.

“Bears?” Katie asked. She knew it was no lion or tiger sound.

Boston shook her head. “I hunted bears in Canada. That was no bear.”

The roar came again along with another sound. They heard a squeal that dropped to a low roar of its own. The trees swayed. They heard at least one tree crash to the ground. Then they heard a whine and something like thunder. Then silence. Smoke could be seen among the trees, just visible in the dim light before dawn, and the women thought the trees might be on fire, but they saw no light from flames.

Avalon 1.1 Hunters in the Dark part 3 of 3

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“Alexis. Lockhart.” Lincoln called, and they came to the door. Lockhart helped Atonis carry his dead wife out into the open where she got put with the others. Alexis and Lincoln brought the children who looked like they might never stop crying. As they walked past, Lockhart heard Mingus utter two words.

“Only nine.”

The survivors slept outside by the fire that night to be near their loved ones one last time. Not one moment in the night passed when crying could not be heard. The travelers stayed with them out in the open and left their tents packed away. Over supper, Boston read from her database for any who cared to listen.

“Ghouls, a type of lesser spirit of the family of Djin. They feed off the fear and terror they induce in their victims and in the end, suck out the life force. It is said, where there is one, there are ten and where there are ten, there are a hundred.” She looked up at Roland before she turned her eyes to Lockhart. “There may be more of them out there.”

“I think maybe one more,” Mingus said. “I think these are ten from the group Ashtoreth let loose in time. That was a number of years ago, when the demon goddess invaded Avalon and got access to the Heart of Time.”

Alexis apologized. “I’m sorry. I remember the story. It gave me nightmares when father told me about them. But they got sent to a thousand year before Christ—more than three thousand years in the future from here. I did not think they could come this far or I would have mentioned them.” She looked at her father and wondered why he did not mention them either.

“Probably still looking for the way out,” Lincoln said.

“The family of Djin?” Lieutenant Harper interrupted.

“Genies,” Roland and Boston spoke together.

“Tell me about these ghouls,” Lockhart said, and he looked at Mingus.

“They can play with the mind,” Roland answered. “They can make you see things that aren’t there.”

“I may have mentioned that glamours are hard to cast on others,” Mingus spoke openly. “It would be hard for Procter, Roland, Alexis and I to make everyone here look African to blend in with the locals. But Ghouls can easily cast illusions over others and over things to make you see and hear all sorts of things and literally frighten you to death. We caught these by surprise and unprepared, but there is likely one still out there.”

“We need to set up a watch in the night,” Captain Decker concluded.

“A single ghoul can only affect one or at most two minds at a time. Normally only one,” Mingus added. “What do you think, Procter?” He looked over, but Doctor Procter was sound asleep. He did not appear to be adversely affected by all the death around him. Mingus just shook his head.

“We will help to watch in the night,” Atonis volunteered the survivors in the camp and Lockhart nodded while Alexis spoke.

“You don’t mind?”

Atonis looked back at his people. Six had died, but there were eighteen survivors. “We will not sleep well in any case,” he said, and turned again to look at Alexis. “And without your help we would all be dead.”

Iris came up to Boston and knelt beside her. Her older sister, Hespah kept back just a little, but Iris came right up close. “Boston?” When Boston turned her head, Iris cried all over her. What could Boston do but hold the young girl, pat her back and say, “hush” and comfort her.

~~~*~~~

“Did you hear that?” The man picked up his spear.

“Hear what?” The other man squinted into the dark beyond the wood. “A predator of some kind?”

“No. Hush.” The first man crawled slowly over the wood, crouched down low and began to inch forward.

“Oleon. Wait, shouldn’t we wake the strangers?”

“No. It may be nothing. Just wait here.”

The second man waited and waited. He was about to go for help when he heard the rustle of the grass in front of him. “Oleon, is that you?” The man whispered before he saw the ghoul rise-up right in front of him. He barely had time to grab his spear and thrust. He caught the ghoul dead center even as he looked down and saw a spear thrust into his own chest.

The sun rose hot, but by that time most of the tents and things the people would carry were already packed and ready to go. They found the two dead men at first light. Lockhart pieced together what happened.

“It is just the ghoul’s way of reminding us that he is still here, watching,” Mingus said.

“I’d rather have my bokarus back,” Lincoln said.

“I’d rather have him here than running back to warn the other ninety,” Captain Decker said. “You did say a hundred.”

Mingus nodded. “And where there are a hundred, there is a chief who controls and directs the others. They may not know exactly what we did, but you can be sure, whatever time zone they are in, they already know we are here.”

“Cheery thought,” Lockhart said, and he looked over to where the girls had gathered. Iris stood in the middle, and Hespah had warmed up to Katie, Boston, and Alexis. Iris spoke.

“Hespah said I can keep mother’s comb. Isn’t it beautiful?” She held up the comb, white and clean.

“Ivory,” Katie identified it.

“Yes, it is beautiful,” Boston confirmed.

“Now you will always have your mother with you,” Alexis said, and she reached for Hespah’s hand, which the girl willingly gave. “Both of you. And you will always have each other.” Alexis smiled.

Iris was ten and still a girl. Hespah was thirteen and had the look of a young woman. But when the two hugged and a few more tears fell, the others remarked how much they looked alike.

“I don’t understand how she can look so much like her sister,” Boston wondered.

“Because she is her sister,” Alexis responded. “I mean Hespah is her sister. But what I don’t understand is why she doesn’t look more like Amri, or Pan for that matter.”

Katie raised her hand. “I understand that much. Outward appearance is a very small portion of a person’s genetic makeup. I suppose she will always look different, especially when she is a he, which is the part I still don’t really get.”

“Won’t always look different,” Alexis said. “There are the reflections.”

Katie looked at Alexis with curiosity etched all over her face, but she said nothing because Iris and Hespah finished crying for the moment.

The people, with the help of the travelers, piled all the remaining firewood on the bodies and set them on fire. Then the people headed north while the travelers headed south.

“We will go to Neamon’s village by the sea and seek to live among them,” Atonis said.

“I am sure everything will work out well.” Lockhart shook the man’s hand. He paused, then, because Iris tugged on his sleeve. “Yes Iris?”

“The gate should come up quick since we will be moving in opposite directions.” Iris said it and turned her back immediately to stand beside Hespah and take her hand.

An hour passed before anyone spoke. A mass grave will do that.

“We are making excellent time.” Doctor Procter looked at his amulet.

“Shut up.” Captain Decker got rude, and people stopped to look at the man. “Something in the bushes following us.”

“Can’t be the ghoul. They are creatures of the night,” Roland said.

“They are not bound to the night,” Mingus countered.

“Ahh!” Lieutenant Harper got startled and Captain Decker fired his weapon. The ghoul stood there, but also in three other places.

“What are you firing at?” Lockhart yelled.

“Close your eyes,” Mingus commanded. “The ghoul has your eyes.” Lieutenant Harper did not hesitate, but Captain Decker took a second before he closed his. They heard the ghoul let out a sound of frustration, and Doctor Procter took several steps in that direction.

“No!” The doctor shouted at the creature. “You cannot have them.” With that, they all saw it just ahead, but only glimpsed it. The thing made another sound. It sounded hesitant and uncertain before it melted right down into the solid ground.

“It has gone underground,” Mingus said. “It will rest. Quick. Now is our chance to put some distance between us.”

“Could we dig it up?” Captain Decker asked as he opened his eyes.

Mingus shook his head. “They are insubstantial underground. There is no way we could hurt it.”

“Too bad,” Lockhart said, as they made for the gate. “And I noticed it went first for the marines, so they are not just dumb beasts following instinct.”

“Neither is the bokarus, which I assume is still on our trail,” Lincoln said, and Alexis took his arm. He worried too much, but at least this time there were things to worry about.

************************

Monday

Episode i.2 is another one week episode: Beasts in the Night, but not all bests are monsters. Until then, Happy Reading.

*

Avalon 1.1 Hunters in the Dark part 1 of 3

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 4480 BC on the Sahara Grasslands. Kairos 8: Iris of the Anamites

Recording …

Boston stepped through the gate and found a hand pressed over her mouth. Lincoln’s hand tasted like sand. Good thing he was there, because otherwise she would have screamed. A wildebeest pressed up against her leg. It begrudgingly moved. Lockhart and the others came through quietly, and the herd made a little room, but that was all.

“Doctor.” Lockhart whispered the word, but Doctor Procter did not move. He appeared frozen in place. Roland stepped up and one beast stepped aside while Roland reached for the amulet.

“No!” The Doctor yelled and covered his chest with his hand, like he had to protect some great secret. Several beasts got startled and reacted. They made more room for the people, but soon settled down again. They all recognized the dangerous moment. They might have all been trampled if the herd started to run. Doctor Procter looked up at Roland and his outstretched hand. He looked surprised by his own word. He pulled out the amulet and both he and Roland looked, and Roland pointed to the south and west, into the setting sun.

They walked slowly, like a little herd of their own, while the sun went down, and the moon rose. Zebras, gazelle, and antelope filled this herd. Just as the last of the light began to fade, they found some elephants, and a couple of giraffes grazing on a small copse of trees. Boston thought it safe to speak if she whispered.

“Sahara grasslands,” she read from the database and spoke as they moved to the far side of the trees where there was some room for them to breathe. They had walked for more than an hour by then and found no end of the herd. “I didn’t know what that meant, but I see it meant Africa.”

“No kidding,” Captain Decker said, softly.

“Before the Sahara turned to dust,” Lincoln nodded.

“But the soil is no good here.” Mingus knelt to touch a handful. “Full of sand already.”

Alexis joined him to look for herself. “Unless this land is getting good rainfall, a herd such as this won’t take long to turn the Sahara into the desert we all know.”

Something laughed in the distance. “Hyenas,” Roland named them.

“Lions and tigers and bears,” Lockhart said. “We better keep moving while we can, and pray we find the edge of this herd before too long.” He looked up. They felt lucky the moon had already risen and looked three quarters full. In that land, with little undulating hills and few trees, the moonlight helped enough see where they were going.

It took two hours to reach a point where the herd thinned out sufficiently for the group to spread out a little and relax. A lion roared a warning somewhere off to their left, and it made Lincoln jump. It took another half-hour before Lockhart finally agreed they moved far enough out of range to pitch camp for the night. They stopped on the edge of another small wood, so they had plenty of wood for the fire. In fact, they built three fires on a small hill out in the open. They placed the fires in a triangle shape far enough apart so they could set up their tents inside the light.

“At least there is no shortage of game,” Captain Decker said.

“Good for attracting lions, I bet,” Lieutenant Harper countered.

Roland simply pulled his bow and trotted back the way they had come. He easily shot a Wildebeest and a zebra and cut rather large flank steaks. He returned to the camp and left the carcasses where they lay in the open.

They ate well that night, though the wildebeest proved to be tough and stringy. The zebra tasted good. Everyone said so, except Boston who declined to partake. She said zebras reminded her too much of Spunky, her horse back home.

After they ate, Lockhart looked at the moon. It kept rising. “Lincoln and Alexis get the first watch. Captain Decker and Roland take the second watch. Mingus and I will take the third watch. Boston and Katie can watch the sun come up,” Lockhart ordered.

“What?” Boston sat up straight. “You want Katie and me up early so we can cook breakfast? Well, forget it.”

“Actually, I want a pair of elf eyes available in the dark of the night, but now that you mention it, I take my eggs over easy.”

Boston made a face.

“What about me?” Doctor Procter asked, not that he sounded like he minded getting a full night’s sleep.

Lockhart looked at the man. Lockhart felt something wrong there, but he smiled as he spoke. “Old man, you just hang on to that amulet and keep it safe for us all.”

Doctor Procter did not argue.

Three in the morning, Mingus abandoned his corner of the watch to speak with Lockhart. “I do not understand my friend,” he admitted. “Procter is usually a gregarious and talkative fellow, but he has been so quiet.”

“I’ve been thinking about that myself,” Lockhart said, as he moved a little so the elder elf could sit on the log they dragged out from the woods. He had started to adjust to being around the elves. “Of course, I didn’t know him before.”

“Strange. You think you know someone.” Mingus shrugged.

“I was thinking that maybe after all those years of studying these time zones, to now finally have a chance to see with his own eyes. It must be overwhelming,” Lockhart offered an explanation.

Mingus shook his head at that. “I studied the lives of the Kairos longer than him. It is exciting, but I would have thought it would make him talk more, not less.”

They got interrupted by the sound of a distant howl. It started out low and rose-up the scale to a scream. They heard no animal.

“Bokarus,” Mingus named the howler.

“It followed us.” Lockhart nodded.

They heard the howl rise-up to a scream three times before they heard something else. It sounded like thunder.

“Everybody up!” Mingus and Lockhart yelled and went to the tents to be sure.

“Stampede,” Boston called it.

“And headed right for us,” Roland confirmed.

“To the trees,” Lincoln said but it sounded like a question. Mingus shook his head. That would not help.

“Roland,” Alexis called her brother. “Split the herd.”

They grabbed hands. “One, two, three,” and the light went out from their hands to form a golden triangle with the point in the distance. The stampede split down both sides of the triangle and away from their camp, but a few animals stumbled through the light.

“Lieutenant.” Captain Decker only had to say that much before both marines raised their rifles and began to pick off the ones inside the light. Boston and Lincoln pulled out their pistols and Lockhart readied the shotgun in case the ones inside got too close.

In the distance, the howls continued until suddenly it cut off in mid-scream. Then they heard it no more.

“Father!” Alexis yelled. The pressure against the outer edge of the triangle of light started to become too much to bear.

“Father.” Roland spoke softly through his teeth as Mingus stepped up and laid a hand on each shoulder. The light strengthened as the elder elf managed to add his magic to the force, and it seemed enough. Once the screaming stopped, the herd soon settled down. The herd was too large to move far and fast outside of a migration.

“The bokarus must have broken off a piece off the main herd,” Lincoln said. “Good thing the screaming stopped.”

“Yes,” Lockhart shouldered his shotgun. “But I want to know what scared the bokarus bad enough to make it stop.”

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 5 of 5

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It did not take long for the boys to get in position. Pan listened for the birdcalls. Duba’s came last, as usual, but as soon as he got set, Pan put his fingers to his lips and let the whistle scream. It echoed around the Shemashi camp, and then there came shouting, two tents collapsed, and fire sticks got tossed into the crowd gathered around Alexis. Several of the Shemashi panicked. They began to gather the children and run toward their own tents, and shouted at each other, which increased the confusion.

The boys ran through the crowd yelling “Fire!” in the Shemashi tongue. The shaman stuck his head out from his tent and frowned. Hog, Chodo and Shmee appeared to be frozen where they were, beside Alexis, who stood and wiped off her clothes. Then the boys melted back into the woods and Pan said, “Go.”

Mingus, Roland, and Lincoln walked toward the camp while Bluebell and Honeysuckle flew up to Alexis and spoke in English. “Come on, we have to go now.”

“I’m coming,” Alexis responded, as she picked up her medical bag. Shmee threw his hands over his eyes on sight of the Fee. Chodo dropped his jaw. Hog just looked angry, but he did nothing to interfere.

“Miss Bell,” Hog said, and Bluebell paused long enough to stick her little tongue out at the man.

Mingus, Roland, and Lincoln stopped at ten yards and waited for Alexis. The rest stood just visible at the edge of the camp. They were armed, but looked relaxed, except Doctor Procter who stepped forward and pointed at the three men by the fire who had been their guests.

“Kill them,” Doctor Procter shrieked. “Quick. Now is your chance. Kill them all—” The Doctor slammed his own hand against his own mouth as Captain Decker and Lockhart both turned to stare at him. “I don’t know why I said that.” Doctor Procter spoke in all honesty. “I hate killing.” He shook his head.

The shaman came out to watch as Alexis stepped up to Mingus. “Father.” She spoke in Shemashi and kissed Mingus on the cheek. “Brother.” They touched fists. “Husband.” They kissed in a way that made Honeysuckle sigh while Bluebell made embarrassed noises and flew rapidly in circles and back flips.

Then it got dark, or as Mingus called it, devil dark. They heard a scream, much worse than the whistles of Pan and the boys. Most of the people still in sight grabbed their ears and fell to the dirt. A frightening presence entered the pit of the stomach, and a spirit, like a ghost, began to fly in circles around the camp. It quickly built up to a speed that called up a great wind and the sea began to rise.

“Bokarus!” The shaman identified the creature and started to chant, dance, and rattle his necklace of claws and teeth. Honeysuckle, Bluebell and Alexis all got out their wands and began to zap at the sky, though the thing moved too fast to hit. The leaves in all the trees shook quite apart from the wind, and the sea continued to rise.

Pan climbed up on a boulder and shouted. “Bokarus! No!” The thing stopped screaming and paused to face the boy. It had an ethereal, ghost-like quality that frightened everyone except Pan got angry and Mingus stood at an angle to send out a zap of his own. Pan reached out to grab the creature, but Mingus’ ball of flame struck at the same time. The creature screamed again, this time from being struck, and it tumbled off among the trees to disappear in the wilderness.

“You almost singed my fingers,” Pan protested, as he climbed back down. The wind stopped. The sea receded, and the oppressive air cleared and brightened.

After it was all over, Doctor Procter pulled his wand from his sleeve and looked at it like he hardly knew what it was.

“Big help,” Mingus scolded as he walked by.

“Honeysuckle. Bluebell.” Pan called, and the fairies came right away. “You need to stay with our friends and escort them to the next gate,” he whispered. “Do what Lockhart tells you. Watch them along the sides as they walk and don’t let the bokarus near them.”

“Oh, but that is scary,” Bluebell whispered in return.

“We will do it,” Honeysuckle spoke for them both, and Pan smiled and spun around to find his boys gathered nearby.

“Come on, boys. Back to the secret tree.” Pan yelled, and he ran off, followed by the others, Ramina hot on his heels, and the Duba bringing up the rear.

It turned late, but with Alexis’ insistence, the travelers opted to stay the night in the Shemashi camp rather than risk the bokarus in the dark. Alexis and the Shaman worked it out. The people in the village kept their distance, but they appreciated the help rebuilding all the things knocked down by the boys and the wind, and they loved the bread.

“I think the bread-crackers are self-replicating,” Alexis pointed out. “I used my whole pouch but now it is full again.”

“Like the bullets,” Captain Decker said, but he said it in a way that suggested he was sorry he had not used any yet.

“And the vitamins.” Alexis nodded as she handed them out. They had missed their daily dose in the morning.

“You know,” Doctor Procter spoke up. “A bokarus is not a greater spirit. I am not sure it even qualifies as a lesser spirit. I am surprised it has taken an interest in you humans, what with our traveling with the company.”

Mingus explained, as usual. “What he means is a bokarus is not beyond elf magic. We may pose a threat to it. But evidently, the bokarus has judged you people from the future to be a bigger threat to the environment, so it is willing to take the risk to take you out.”

“Yes, I wondered why it followed us,” Lockhart said. He thought it was the same bokarus from the last time zone, and that meant it could follow them from zone to zone. “But how do we take it out? You got a good shot at it, but it did not seem badly injured.”

Mingus shrugged, so Roland spoke. “They are nearly impossible to damage as long as they remain in their ghost form.”

Boston got out her database. “Bokarus or green man is a defender of the primordial wilderness. It is catalogued here somewhere between little and lesser spirit.” She showed the chart, and Bluebell spoke from her shoulder.

“Yes, but they are scary.”

Lincoln thought what Bluebell thought, but verbalized what Lockhart wondered. “But it seems to me the question is whether or not this bokarus is the same as the last one or if we just happened to run into two of them.”

“Yes,” Lockhart agreed.

“Can’t be the same,” Doctor Procter said quickly.

“It must be,” Captain Decker said at the same time.

“It might be, but not necessarily,” Mingus danced between the two opinions.

Boston stood in the silence that followed. “Well, while you argue about it, Katie and I and our new friends are going to get some sleep. I assume we will have to leave about dawn if we hope to reach the gate in daylight.” She looked at Doctor Procter who looked at his amulet. He only shook it once before he spoke.

“Yes. Er, yes.”

Lieutenant Harper stood and followed Boston while Honeysuckle zipped ahead to open the tent flap.

“But what about Pan?” Bluebell picked right up where she left off, which was very unusual for a Fee. “He is my heart.”

“I am sure he is,” Boston responded. “But maybe you just need to back up a little and give him a chance to grow up first.”

“That is what I have been telling her,” Honeysuckle said, as they went inside the tent.

After that, the morning came quick. Hog and Shmee returned in their boat not expecting the village to still have visitors. They avoided the strangers as well as they could, but Chodo looked pleased to point them out. None of the travelers felt obliged to confront the men. Instead, they concentrated on packing and preparing to leave.

They moved as quickly as they could through the wilderness. They took a few rests and stopped only briefly for lunch; eyes open the whole way. Bluebell and Honeysuckle watched their flank along the way, but they never caught wind of the bokarus until the end of the day, as they approached the gate. Then they only heard a wailing in the distance—a mournful song, like the wail of a ghost in torment.

“I hope that thing isn’t the same one,” Captain Decker said.

“You see, Hon?” Alexis grinned at Lincoln. “You did not need to say it.”

“Sounds like you stepped on its toe pretty good,” Lockhart said to Mingus, who merely nodded.

“Here it is.” Doctor Procter did not wait for them. Boston and Lieutenant Harper took a couple of minutes to make the fairies get big so they could properly hug them. No surprise that Honeysuckle appeared as a full-grown woman, and Bluebell appeared as a fourteen-year-old.

“I’m going to miss you, Katie,” Honeysuckle said.

“And I will miss you,” Lieutenant Harper admitted.

“Maybe we will see each other again?” Honeysuckle suggested. Lieutenant Harper looked at Boston who shook her head.

“Maybe,” Lieutenant Harper smiled, and she and Boston went through the gate. Lockhart, Captain Decker, and Mingus brought up the rear.

************************

Monday

Avalon 1.1, a single week episode sees the bokarus back off.  There are ghouls in the area. Until then, Happy Reading

 

*

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 4 of 5

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

The man shook his necklace again. “I have the bear claws, the teeth of the lion, and the paws of the wolf. I am the hunter,” he said.

“And I am just an ordinary woman,” Alexis responded with a sigh.

“I think not.” The Shaman leaned forward and touched her clothes, respectfully. “I am fifty winters and look it. You are older than you appear.”

“I am.” Again, she saw no reason to lie to the man. “Let’s see. I was born in the spring, so next spring I will be two hundred and fifty-four years old.” She smiled. The shaman did not smile. “Really,” Alexis defended herself. “My father is a goblin.” The shaman frowned at that as if to suggest she might be carrying things a bit far. Alexis dropped her eyes. “I suppose I may have counted wrong, but I tell you what; when he gets here, you can ask him.” She smiled again even as Hog, Chodo and Shmee returned.

Chodo handed her the leg bone from a deer, but it was still moist and chipped at one end. The other end looked a little dog chewed, but with a great deal of work it might suffice. Shmee handed her a stick from an elm tree. She said oak, but who was she to quibble. The stick looked newly dead instead of dried but at least it did not look nibbled. The stick looked a little thin at the tip, but about the right length, and it had something that might do for a handle. Alexis waved her hand above the stick and the bark peeled back, then she focused her magic as well as she could with such a crude instrument and waved the stick at the leather that still bound her legs. The leather separated, and no eyes got bigger than the shaman’s. He stood with some quick words.

“This one belongs to the goblins. I have persuaded her so she has promised to make bread one time for us, but we must return her to her father when he arrives.” With that, he rattled off some words about placating the spirits and keeping the gods happy before he returned to his tent, and Alexis imagined, he sealed himself in.

“Now, Shmee, be a dear and hand me my bag.” Alexis reached out.

Shmee shrieked and handed it over with his hand shaking, terribly.

~~~*~~~

When the boys awoke, they huddled around the fire and ate what got offered. Their eyes were wide to take in the strangers in daylight. They said nothing, but Ramina sat there with Boston, Katie Harper and the two fairies, and they were using up all the words in any case. When Duba woke, the first thing he saw was the fairies and he screamed. When he saw Mingus and Roland right behind him, he stepped back and quickly let his fingers draw something like signs or symbols in the air. Mingus surprised his son, terribly, and shocked everyone except Pan. He jumped to his feet.

“Not the Praeger Defense,” Mingus shouted. “My heart!” He clutched his chest and fell to his knees before he fell to his side with his eyes closed.

Everyone got quiet except Duba. “What? I didn’t mean it.” He stepped up close. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Mingus opened one eye and grinned at the boy. “Well, as long as you didn’t mean it, I suppose no harm done.” He sprang to his feet. “So are we ready to go yet?”

“Time to move out,” Captain Decker agreed, and Lockhart made no objection. Only Lincoln spoke.

“At last.”

Once they arrived and found a place from which they could overlook the Shemashi camp, it did not take long to make an assessment.

“They are all bunched up around a central fire,” Lincoln borrowed the binoculars.

Lieutenant Harper looked through her own binoculars. “I make it about forty people altogether, plus children,” she said.

“About two hours before sundown. Time to go.” Captain Decker spoke as he cocked his rifle.

“No!” Lincoln’s word sounded a bit loud.

“This is covert,” Pan said, much more softly.

“But isn’t this like a computer program? Aren’t we covered by that Heart of Time thing? I figure it will reset after we’ve gone, or after you’ve gone. But you said if she is injured, she stays injured.”

Mingus put his hand on the man’s gun. “And that is why we don’t go with guns blasting. You don’t think I am going to take a chance on her getting struck by a stray bullet.”

Captain Decker yanked his rifle barrel free of the elf’s hand and frowned but said no more.

“I never said anything about a reset in that way,” Pan said. “I mean I don’t think it will work like that kind of reset. The information in the Heart of Time will change to reflect the truth, not the other way around. What we are living is real.”

“What?” Captain Decker and Boston both reacted, and Lockhart made everyone pull back into the forest so Pan could explain.

“My Storyteller, Glen is missing. He isn’t dead or Jennifer would be in the womb, but I can’t reach him. Everything back home on Avalon is confused, poor Alice.”

“So, which is it? The Heart of Time program resets things or it doesn’t?” Lincoln asked.

Lieutenant Harper thought out loud. “I think reset might mean the time gates jump back to the beginning point of that time zone when the Kairos dies so it can replay from the start. I don’t think the things inside the zone reset. I mean, the people that get killed will get killed again in the replay, even if they never got killed in the original.”

Pan shrugged, nodded, and shared his thoughts. “When time began, real time, Alice got drawn back to the beginning of history. Yes, she was in the Second Heavens, but she stood on a rock under a dome of air, and angel stood there along with Cronos. Alice, that is, the Kairos and Cronos made the Heart of Time together. That was when history began.”

“The rock where we first landed.” Boston swallowed.

“I, that is, Glen did not intend to go that far. The source must have had other ideas.”

Lieutenant Harper kept thinking. “So, what you are suggesting is we will be imprinted on the time zones from the beginning and for all time as far as the heart of Time recording is concerned. Whatever time we spend in each zone will become part of the historical reality.”

Pan nodded his head. “This seems utterly real to me, but maybe I am not a fair judge.”

“It seems utterly real to me, too,” Lincoln admitted.

“Mingus?” Doctor Procter questioned his friend and Mingus rubbed his chin.

“I don’t know.”

“So, what difference does that make?” Captain Decker still did not get it.

“It means if we change something here it might change all of history,” Lockhart answered. “Real history,” he added for emphasis.

“Like the butterfly effect?” Lieutenant Harper lifted her foot to look in case she stepped on something.

“No.” Pan smiled for her. “Reality isn’t that simple or that inflexible. You would have to change something serious and maybe several things to really change history. Of course, I can’t let you do that. I would send you all to present day Avalon right now if I could.”

“What? Why can’t you?”

“Well for one, Alice isn’t finished building it yet. But for two, I told you, Glen is missing, and it has repercussions all the way through history. And for three, the only way for you to get back to your own time is by going through the time gates.”

“But what happens if we screw up?” Boston sounded concerned.

Pan shook his head. “I don’t know anymore.”

“Only now we have to be really careful not to change history,” Roland said.

“What do you mean you don’t know anymore?” Boston interrupted.

Pan frowned before he turned red and yelled. “I mean, in reality I am an eleven-year-old kid and I told you; Glen is missing and Alice and everything is confused. Come on, Ramina. We have to start operation scatterbrains.” He grabbed the girl by the hand and headed toward the boys who kept back from the strangers. He huddled them up like a football team, and though Ramina giggled at one point, it otherwise might have been a youth team. They even said, “Break!” when they were done.

The boys scattered and hunkered down to move through the trees like hunters, or maybe sneaky kids. Pan returned to the others. “A bit of temporal borrowing,” he admitted. “Don’t try that at home.”

“What’s the plan?” Lockhart asked, and Captain Decker gave him a curious look, like why was he really asking this kid?

“Wait for the signal, and then come in with Lincoln, Mingus, and Roland out front. Stop about ten yards off. The rest of you keep back and try not to kill anyone.”

“What about us?” Honeysuckle asked.

“A special assignment,” Pan said in English, and watched as several eyes widened at being reminded of their native tongue. Pan started to speak whatever he could think of in English, and only got interrupted once.

“What is the signal?” Boston asked.

“You’ll know.” Pan smiled, and then continued to imprint English on the fairy minds while they went back to the lookout spot.

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 3 of 5

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

“Pan!” A young boy burst from the trees, all out of breath. He could not have been more than ten, and he looked all American, or rather Anglo-American, complete with freckles. Pan had the same European look about him.

“Tomma, what is it?”

“Ramina,” the boy said. “We couldn’t stop her.” With that, Tomma put his hands on his knees; but he let his eyes wander around to see this strange group of people Pan had mentioned. Pan called them friends, but Tomma did not look too sure.

“Pan.” A girl’s voice called out, and as she ran up, she showed no sign of being at all tired. Bluebell fluttered up into the girl’s face and turned her nose up. “Oh, a Fee,” Ramina shouted, and reached up to grab the fairy, but Bluebell made a dash for the safety of Boston’s shoulder.

“Ramina.” An exasperated sounding Pan did not have to say more.

“You don’t think I am going to let you go off adventuring without me, do you?” Ramina responded. The girl had to be Pan’s age or maybe closer to twelve or thirteen. She was beginning to show signs that she was developing little bumps and curves.

“It’s a wonder your father lets you go out so far from home at your age, or are we talking real lost boys?” Captain Decker stood up by the fire and checked his weapons in anticipation of a future fight.

“No,” Pan responded. “Our village is that way.” He pointed. “But in this age, children need to grow up fast. I’m eleven. Ramina is only ten, Tomma’s twin.” Everyone looked again and saw Ramina staring at Pan, wiggling her hips ever so slightly, like she was listening to some music no one else could hear. She also looked like she was thinking thoughts for which she was way too young.

Three boys came in and huddled around Tomma, uncertain of what to make of the strangers. “Where’s the Duba?” Pan asked.

“Where do you think?” One of the boys answered and pointed behind with his thumb. Sure enough, in the growing light they saw a boy significantly fatter than the others. He worked his arms like a true runner, but his legs staggered. When he arrived, he fell to his face, and smiled.

“Okay.” Pan clapped his hands like Alice to get everyone’s attention. “Here’s the story. Captain Hook has kidnapped a great lady. Are you ready to go and get her back?”

“Yeah. Okay.” The boys did not sound too sure. They sounded tired.

Honeysuckle chose that moment to come rushing back. “They are still at sea,” she said to Pan. “They won’t get to the village until the sun is high.” She pointed straight up.

“Well then, do we need to hurry?” Lincoln came out of his funk to ask.

“No,” Pan said flatly. “They are not cannibals, and they don’t practice human sacrifice. I imagine she will be all right until we get there.”

“And how far overland to the village?” Mingus asked.

“Half a day at most.” Pan shrugged. “Quicker than by sea in that canoe.”

“Then we stand down and let the boys get some rest. Four hours if Lincoln and Mingus can hold out,” Lockhart decided. “And Ramina can rest.” He smiled for the girl.

“Fairy.” The girl stared at Honeysuckle. Honeysuckle hid behind Pan, but he had a suggestion.

“Go sit on Lieutenant Harper, er, Katie’s shoulder and Ramina, you can visit but do not touch the fairies. Is that clear?”

Ramina’s face lit up. She rushed forward and kissed Pan on the cheek. “Yes. Thank you, shaman. Yes, oh yes.” She skipped over toward the women while Pan wiped the kiss off his cheek with the back of his sleeve.

“Shaman?” Lockhart asked.

“I get that a lot over the years—centuries.” Pan lay down by the fire and in a moment, he fell fast asleep. The other boys followed his example, though they bunched up for protection and warmth. and did not sleep quite so quickly, apart from Duba who began to snore.

“But my wife.” Lincoln spoke and Mingus spoke at the same time.

“But Alexis.”

“So, strike the camp,” Lockhart said. “Roland, would you mind finding us something for an early bite? Doctor Procter, you’ve been very quiet.”

“Eh?” Doctor Procter looked up at the man. “I was just wondering what the poor woman must be going through,” he said, and went to help take down the tents.

~~~*~~~

At that moment, Alexis was being tossed by the waves and trying hard not to throw up. She had a bag over her head. Throwing up would not have been pretty.

“But Hog, they will come for her,” Chodo whined.

“And they can have her,” Hog responded, with a smug sound in his voice. “By then we will have the secret of the breat.”

“But what if she won’t tell us the secret?” Shmee asked.

“Then we will make her tell,” Hog insisted, and he slapped his fist into his open palm.

“But what if they arrive before we can make her tell?” Chodo asked.

“A few people are not stronger than the whole village,” Hog responded.

“But she is a witch.” The truth of what bothered Shmee came out in the sound of his voice.

“Bah! Our Shaman can disarm a simple witch. You worry too much.”

“But what if Pan and the boys find out?” Chodo asked.

“Hmm.” A moment of silence followed, apart from the paddles and the sounds of the sea. “I will think. You paddle.” Hog sounded like Pan and the boys might be a problem.

When they arrived in the camp, Alexis had her hood removed. After stern warnings, her gag also got removed and her feet untied so she could walk to the central fire. They sat her down, untied her hands, but retied her feet so she would not be able to escape easily.

“Stay and watch her,” Hog told his companions, though to be sure, it did not take long before the whole village watched. “I will fetch the Shaman.”

Hog walked off and the people pressed in. Some thought to touch this strangely dressed woman. Shmee had to defend her. “Back away. She is a witch.”

“You will not hurt our people,” Chodo threatened her, but the people heard, backed up, and left her untouched.

“If you want me to make bread, the first thing I need is a bone. It should be a bone from a deer, as thick as your thumb and as long as your forearm.”

“How did you know we wanted breat?” Shmee asked.

“I know many things,” Alexis said, coyly. “And if you have no such bone, a stick might do, but it must be from an oak, the oldest, biggest tree you can find. It will take longer to make it the way I need it, but it will do.”

“I do not remember you using a bone or stick to make breat.” Chodo shook his head. “What do you need this bone-stick for?”

Alexis just looked at the man until he got uncomfortable. “I must have a new wand,” she said at last, though neither man appeared to know what a wand was. They thought about it as Hog came back.

“I have brought the shaman,” Hog said, and pointed at the man who followed him. “Now you make breat for my village.”

Alexis looked up as the shaman sat beside the fire. He looked ordinary enough apart from the red streak painted down each cheek. “Well?” She turned on Chodo and Shmee and they got up to fetch her a wand. “I need to be alone with your shaman for a few minutes,” she told Hog, and he looked willing, in order to find out what Chodo and Shmee were up to.

The elderly shaman just looked at her at first and tried to see what was inside of her. Alexis did not get ruffled or seemed bothered by the look, and that bothered the shaman. Alexis had seen such looks before, though not from one dressed in a loincloth in such chilly weather. The man only had a bearskin draped over his shoulders like a cape to keep him warm. He wore a necklace of trinkets, and he jangled it before her. She remained unmoved.

“Go.” The shaman finally spoke and waved his arm. All of the villagers that had gathered around the stranger separated, though to be sure, they only backed up a few feet and continued to stare.

“Do not be afraid.” Alexis remembered the words of the angel. “I will make bread for the village.”

“Will I be able to make more?” The shaman shot straight to the point.

Alexis shook her head. “Not unless you have the secret of the elves and can make the crackers.” She saw no reason to lie to the man. The man frowned.

“The goblins?” he asked.

“They would not like the name, but I suppose that is how you know them.”

The man’s face twisted as he thought hard. “There may be some advantage in that, knowing that it is enchanted. Call it a one-time gift of the gods.” he concluded his thoughts.

“Oh, I am always glad to help another person of magic,” Alexis said, to test a thought of her own. She judged by the look on the man’s face that he had no real magic of his own.

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 2 of 5

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“Lieutenant.” Captain Decker waved Harper away from the others and then whispered. “Are you getting all of this?”

Lieutenant Harper nodded. “As far as I know the recording equipment is working fine, but I don’t think anything is transmitting.” To Decker’s curious look, she explained. “No GPS. No satellites. I don’t even know where we are.”

“Pacific Northwest.”

“I know that much, but when? Boston’s database suggests between 4492 and 4480 BC.”

Captain Decker shook his head, like he did not believe that. “You just work on getting that transmitter working. That’s an order.”

Lieutenant Harper arched her back. “I know my duty.”

“Fish is ready,” Roland and Boston spoke together in a welcomed interruption.

“Do you got more breat?” Chodo asked.

“Bread,” Alexis corrected, and she made several more loaves. Then their visitors marveled at the lack of bones in the fish.

~~~*~~~

Lincoln got up in the middle of the night. The fish did not agree with him. Doctor Procter sat on the rock by the fire and examined something in his hand in the moonlight. He stared at the hand that touched the wall full of demons, though Lincoln did not pay close attention. The Doctor could have been looking at his empty hand for all Lincoln knew.

Alexis stirred at Lincoln’s absence but did not entirely wake. She easily got taken by three pairs of hands. One bound her legs in leather strips, one bound her hands and one gagged her with a wad of fur stuffed in her mouth and held tight by more leather. Finally, a bag got pulled down over her head to cover her cold stare.

Alexis thought, if these three were in a rodeo they might win the hog tying contest. That unexpected stray thought made her smile on the inside since her lips on the outside could not quite manage it. But really, how far could they take her in a hollowed-out log?

“Quiet,” Hog insisted while Chodo and Shmee did the carrying. “Now she will make breat for the village.”

“Careful,” Shmee whispered. “We do not want to make the witch angry.”

Alexis thought, at least they got that much right.

~~~*~~~

Once Lincoln returned from the bushes, it did not take long to raise the alarm. The problem was there was nothing they could do before dawn. No one could figure out how to track someone across the water.

“You stupid…” Mingus yelled at Lincoln. “You don’t have her back for three days and you lose her again!”

“I didn’t lose her the first time,” Lincoln yelled right back. “You stole her.”

“Hey!” Boston butted between the two, and they held their tongues well enough, but chose to glare at each other.

“Honestly, I did not see anything,” Doctor Procter told Lieutenant Harper. Lockhart raised one eyebrow at the speech, but he could not follow-up, because Captain Decker and Roland came trotting back down the beach.

“They headed north.” Captain Decker spoke while he returned the night binoculars to his pack. Roland nodded his head in agreement.

“I can’t imagine they can go far or stray much from shore in that thing,” Lieutenant Harper added.

“No, but our path goes south and just a bit east,” Doctor Procter started to protest, but when he pulled out his amulet he made a face, like he was not sure what he was seeing. “No, mostly east. Almost entirely east. Not south at all. The direction has changed. How is that possible?”

“Hello!” A young voice came down from a tree branch. They could just make out the figure, and though it did not sound hostile, Decker, Harper and Roland were ready when the boy shouted, “Welcome to Neverland.”

Boston could not make out the figure in the tree. “The bokarus?” She looked up at Roland.

“No, missy.” Mingus answered for his son. “This one’s human, though why he is up a tree…” Mingus shrugged.

“I was worried about Boston so I came ahead. Are you all right?”

“Glen?” Boston squinted in the dim light.

“No.” The young boy responded as a light with a slightly blue tint fluttered up to one side of him and another light with a slightly yellow tint fluttered up to the other. “The boys are following but I flew on ahead. The boys don’t know about my fairy friends, but I told my fairy friends you were okay so they could show themselves. This is Bluebell and this is Honeysuckle. My name is Pan.”

Pan floated down to the fire to warm his hands in the dark chill before dawn. Boston took note of the furs he wore. She expected a green suit.

“Kairos,” Roland put his hand on the barrel of Captain Decker’s rifle to encourage the man to lower his weapon.

Honeysuckle flew up to Mingus’ face and smiled. “Hello elf,” she said.

“Elder elf,” Doctor Procter corrected the fairy.

“And you’re a breed,” Honeysuckle said with disapproval in her voice.

“Bluebell, lovely to meet you,” Boston said. “We girls need to stick together in the middle of all these boys.”

Bluebell hovered a foot from Boston’s face and looked serious. “Oh, I know.”

“Would you like to sit on my shoulder?” Boston asked. “Missus Pumpkin used to sit on my shoulder so we could talk in private.”

Bluebell’s little expression turned from serious to concerned. She never considered such a thing before. She flitted back and forth gently and thought hard.

“I think that would be a good idea.” Pan said, and apparently, Bluebell decided the same thing as she zipped to Boston’s shoulder and made herself comfortable.

“Us girls need to stick together,” Bluebell said, and turned slightly to look at Lieutenant Harper. She quickly turned back to Boston’s ear. “But why is your friend crying?”

“Where is Alexis?” Pan interrupted.

“Lincoln lost her again,” Mingus complained.

“I did not,” Lincoln yelled.

“Hog and his two chums stole her in the night.” Lockhart looked around at the dark sky. The sun would not be up for a while yet.

“And the medical kit,” Captain Decker added.

“Hog and Shmee.” Pan nodded. “Who was the other?”

“Chodo.”

Pan nodded again. “So, you met Captain Hook.” He made a motion, like he had the bone and wood hook in his hands and picked something off the ground.

“Not your tribe, I take it,” Lockhart said.

Pan shook his head this time. “Shemashi tribe. We are Jephatha.”

“We?” Mingus asked.

“Me and my boys. They will be here soon.” He called. “Honeysuckle, Bluebell.” The fairies fluttered up from where they were commiserating with the girls. “When they boys get here; you can stick around if you want as long as you pretend to be with the gang here.” The fairies looked at each other as if they were not sure about that. “Meanwhile, Honeysuckle, would you please fly to the Shemashi camp and see if Hog is going there?” Honeysuckle fretted for a second and looked once back at the girls before she flew off over the sea. Bluebell waited. “Sure. You can go back to Boston and the Lieutenant.”

“Katie.” Bluebell said the lieutenant’s name sternly before she grinned. “Thanks,” and she zoomed to Boston’s shoulder faster than the eye could follow. She whispered, though it was loud enough so the elves caught it. “I’m going to marry Pan when he gets old enough. I love him with all my heart.”

“That’s great,” Katie said, but Boston shook her head.

“I don’t think it works that way. Don’t you know who Pan is?”

“Hey now,” Roland interrupted. He heard with his good elf ears and stepped toward the girls. “No revealing the future. That is still the law. You know who the Kairos is, but the world does not know yet. That won’t be official for a dozen lifetimes. Shhh!” He ended with his finger to his lips.

“So.” Captain Decker squatted by the fire. “Are we just going to sit here and wait for the lost boys to show up?”

“That and the morning,” Lockhart confirmed. “Hurry up and wait.”

“That’s the army,” Captain Decker complained, but it turned out they did not have to wait long.

************************

MONDAY

Welcome to Neverland. Pan and the boys have some ideas about how to save Alexis from Captain Hog, Shmee, and Chodo too. Until Monday.

*

Avalon 1.0 Neverland part 1 of 5

M G Kizzia Leave a comment

After 4492 BC in the Pacific Northwest. Kairos 7: Pan of the Jephatha

Recording …

The travelers found themselves on the shore of a salty sea. It smelled of brine and fish. The shore looked filled with dark sand and rocks, and the waves crashed strong against the beach. Though not exactly a swimmer’s beach, it looked unspoiled and beautiful.

Boston pointed out over the waves. “The Endless Sea of the Second Heavens, do you think?” She turned her toe in the sand, chilly as it was.

“The Pacific Ocean,” Lincoln countered. “I would guess the Pacific Northwest.” He also stood on the beach, but he looked inland.

“How do you figure?” Lieutenant Harper asked.

“Redwood.” Lincoln pointed, and everyone’s eyes turned from the beauty of the sea to the majestic tree whose top rose out of sight above all the other trees.

“Good call.” Lockhart craned his neck then lowered his head to look at Mingus.

Mingus shrugged. “It seems you don’t need my guidance.”

“Ash.” Alexis knelt and touched the sand. “There was probably some volcanic activity nearby not too long ago.”

“Mount Saint Helens?” Lincoln went over to see for himself, while Boston shivered.

“A bit late in the year.” Boston finally admitted.

“Here.” Roland stepped up with a piece of fairy weave, which he made into a shawl.

Boston looked up at him with a smile and a frown. “Thanks, but a shawl makes me feel as old as Lockhart. A sweater would be just fine.” She changed the shawl to a sweater and colored it to match her red hair.

“Well.” Doctor Procter got everyone’s attention. “If you are finished playing with the scenery, our way points south and slightly inland.” No one moved. Despite Doctor Procter’s protests, the group chose to stay the afternoon and night in that bit of sheltered bay. Boston particularly liked the idea. It left her time to look for shells and walk beneath the cry of seagulls. With the sun out on that sandy beach, she also had time to wade in the water, even if it was freezing cold. She started down the beach and Lockhart and Lieutenant Harper followed.

“I grew up in Oregon,” Lincoln shared. “This all reminds me of home except the people and the distant sound of cars are missing.” He dropped his firewood collection where Mingus built a stone circle and they looked up at Captain Decker.

The captain shook his head. “Charlotte, North Carolina.”

“I like it here,” Alexis said, as she watched her father lay hands on the wood to start the fire.

“Shall I hunt?” Roland asked. He sat cross-legged on a big rock that looked out over the water. He was meditating so his eyes were closed.

“No hurry,” Lincoln said, as he slipped his arm around his wife and watched his father-in-law grimace.

Lockhart, Boston, and Lieutenant Harper walked leisurely down the beach and spoke quietly. With Boston focusing on the shells and with Lockhart and Lieutenant Harper hitting it off, it was hard to say who noticed first. Three men rode on the waves in a dugout log built like an outrigger canoe with two poles to the sides attached to another, smaller log. That gave the craft enough stability to keep the hollowed log from rolling in the water.

“Hello!” The man in the center of the canoe called out and waved.

“They look friendly,” Lieutenant Harper suggested.

“But ugly,” Boston decided, though it may have been, “Butt ugly.”

Lockhart said nothing. He simply helped the men bring their craft up on to the beach.

“You are Jephatha?” The man in the middle asked. He did not exit the craft until he could step out on dry ground. “I am Hog,” he introduced himself, and Boston hid her smile. “This is Chodo and this is Shmee.” They looked Asian, but Lockhart and the others figured they were a very early version of the people that would one day be called Native American. Lieutenant Harper confirmed as much.

“Part of my studies at the university,” she said, and when Lockhart gave her a second look, she added, “Human culture and technology. Mostly history and archeology, though plenty of anthropology as well. Your boss asked for someone with my background, which is why I was surprised at first when he said we could not come.”

“I see.” Lockhart nodded that he understood.

“Jephatha?” Clearly, Hog understood none of it.

“Lockhart.” He stuck his hand out, but the man did not reciprocate. He probably did not understand handshakes. “This is Boston and this is Katie Harper,”

 “You have a fire? We have some fish.” Hog reached into the canoe and picked up a wicked looking bone hook with a wooden handle. He stepped between the poles where a net hung in the edge of the water. He hooked a fish by the gills and lifted it to show. It was a big fish, and there were more. He grinned, then dropped the grin when he yelled. “Chodo! Shmee!”

Shmee touched Boston’s hair and Chodo touched her sweater and marveled at it. These fur-clad men never saw real clothes before. Boston grimaced, but she did not know how to react. She did not want to offend any local customs.

Shmee excused himself as he withdrew his hand. “But her hair is on fire.”

“Not on fire,” Lockhart said, as he and Lieutenant Harper stepped between Boston and the men. Lockhart tried not to growl. Lieutenant Harper tried to smile.

“Please, be our guests.” She pointed the way.

When they arrived at the fire, Captain Decker stood with his weapon ready. Roland had an arrow on the string of his bow. Hog must have recognized the air of guarded hostility because he smiled and held up his catch.

“Fish,” Hog said, and Lockhart gave the signal to stand down.

“We have bread-crackers,” Alexis offered in return. She had water in a pot, ready to boil. She took three crackers out of the pack in her medical bag, crackers she insisted on carrying after the incident on the plains of Shinar, and she laid them out on a rock. A few drops of hot water was all it took to turn the crackers into three hot loaves of bread. They smelled delicious, like the best fresh baked.

The eyes of the visitors got big, but not much bigger than the eyes of Captain Decker, Lieutenant Harper and Boston who saw the effect for the first time in daylight. Lincoln was not surprised by any witchery his wife performed. Lockhart stayed busy watching their guests. Mingus, Roland, and Doctor Procter, of course, knew all about the elf magic.

“May I prepare the fish?” Roland offered, and the locals handed over their catch without argument. Roland expertly filleted them and not long before they sizzled in a pan. Meanwhile, Chodo marveled at their tents, and said so, while Shmee still worried about the fire on Boston’s head.

“You are Jephatha?” Hog tried again, but when he looked at Mingus, he shook his head. “I do not know your tribe.”

“I am an elf from Mirroway on the Long March from Elfenheim.” Mingus responded with a sly grin. Hog shook his head in utter incomprehension.

Hog turned to Lockhart whom he perceived to be the chief. “But you—”

“We are travelers,” Lockhart interrupted. “We are not planning on staying.”

“But we are glad to make friends wherever we are,” Alexis added.

“I don’t imagine this area is overpopulated,” Doctor Procter interjected. “They probably don’t care if we stay or go.”

“Not the issue,” Captain Decker said.

“Migrations?” Hog asked. “This is a good place. Plenty of fish.”

“Thank you for the offer,” Lieutenant Harper spoke up because no one else said it. “But we are looking for something and cannot stop until we find it.”

“Ah, Spirit guide?” Shmee asked. Lockhart and several others just shook their heads. Lockhart imagined no way to explain their quest in the limits of the language. Mingus confirmed that perception in Lockhart’s mind, as they stepped over to check on the tents and their three visitors hunkered down by the fire. The language had limits.

Avalon, Season One: Travelers by M G Kizzia

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Table of Contents

Introduction

1.0 Neverland

After 4492 BC in the Pacific Northwest. Kairos 7: Pan of the Jephatha

1.1 Hunters in the Dark

After 4480 BC on the Sahara Grasslands. Kairos 8: Iris of the Anamites

1.2 Beasts in the Night

After 4465 BC in Southern China. Kairos 9: Keng

1.3 The Way of Dreams

After 4447 BC in the Sinai Peninsula. Kairos 10: Ranear of the Ophir

1.4 Sticks and Stones

After 4400 BC, the Dead Sea Wilderness. Kairos 11: Saphira the Huntress

1.5 Little Packages

After 4364 BC on the Plains of Thera. Kairos 12: Dallah

1.6 Freedom

After 4320 BC in the Mountains of Southern China. Kairos 13: Xiang

1.7 Peace and Prosperity

After 4289 BC in the Foothills of Kashmir. Kairos 14: Vanu

1.8 The First City

After 4233 BC in Eridu, along the Euphrates River. Kairos 15: Anenki

1.9 The Elders

After 4176 BC on Malta. Kairos 16: Odelion

1.10 Kidnapped

After 4146 BC near the Transylvania Plateau. Kairos 17: Faya (Beauty)

1.11 Dance the Night Away

After 4086 BC in the Italian Peninsula. Kairos 18: Kartesh of the Shemsu

1.12 The Name of the Game

After 4026 BC near Modern Day Moscow. Kairos 19: Wlvn, god of the horses

END

Postscript

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Avalon Season 1 Introduction

Thrown back to the beginning of history, the travelers from Avalon must get home the hard way—through the time gates that surround the many lives of the Kairos, the Traveler in time, the Watcher over history. The time zones are dangerous. The Kairos never lives a quiet life. And the travelers understand that they are not the only ones lost in time. Other people, beings, and creatures are surviving around the edges of the time zones, and some have picked up their scent. Some are following them, and some are hunting them. The travelers face a long, hard road to get everyone back to the twenty-first century, alive.

The Avalon adventures are written like a television show in story form. A reader should be able to peruse a couple of episodes in the middle of the series and easily grasp the characters, understand how this impossible journey through time works, and get a good story, with plenty of entertainment action. Of course, starting at the beginning is recommended, but there is nothing to prevent a person from binge reading.

Avalon, the Pilot Episode is available at your favorite on-line book retailer. It tells how the traveler went into the past on a rescue mission and became trapped at the beginning of history with no easy way home. The revised and expanded second edition is a quick and easy read, and the best introduction to the characters, the conflict, and the impossible journey to come.

Each season after the pilot contains 13 episodes of monsters and mayhem, and hearts trying to hold on to hope and courage in the face of terrible odds.

In Avalon, Seasons One, Two, and Three, the travelers move through ancient days of myth and legend, when the gods and demons, all sort of spirit, ancient aliens, and nightmare creatures stand in their way.

In Avalon, Seasons Four, Five, and Six, the travelers enter more fully into the human world, from the first days of civilization, to the rise and fall of empires.

In Avalon, Seasons Seven, Eight, and Nine, the travelers move into the common era, where the human capacity for terror and destruction increases exponentially, and the spirits, aliens, creatures, and horrors have not really gone away.

To find these and other books by the same author, visit your favorite on-line retailer and look under the author name: M. G. Kizzia. Also, feel free to visit the website at mgkizzia.com.

I hope you enjoy reading these episodes as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Happy Reading.

–MGK

Cast

Robert Lockhart, a former policeman, now assistant director of the men in black, the one organization on earth in the twenty-first century that deals with strange and impossible things. He is charged with leading this expedition through time though he has no idea how he is going to get everyone home—alive.

Boston (Mary Riley), a Massachusetts redneck, rodeo rider and technological genius who finished her PhD at age 23. A “man in black,” she loves all the adventure, and all the spiritual creatures they encounter, which suggests she may be a bit strange. She gets the amulet, a sophisticated combination electronic GPS and magic device that shows the way from one time gate to the next.

Benjamin Lincoln, a former C. I. A. office geek, now a man in black, he gets the database and keeps a record of their journey. He tends to worry, and is not the bravest soul, but sometimes that is an asset.

Alexis Lincoln, an elf who became human to marry Benjamin. She retained her healing magic when she became human, but magic has its limits. For example, it can’t make her father happy with her choices.

Roland, Alexis’ younger brother, a full blood elf and gifted hunter. He came to keep his father Mingus under control and out of his sister’s face. He discovers there is something in humanity worth saving and protecting. He knows many of the creatures in the spirit world that they face, including the nasty ones inclined to rise-up out of the dark.

Mingus, father of Alexis and Roland, an elder elf. He ran the history department in Avalon for over 300 years. He kidnapped Alexis and took her to the beginning of history, which prompted the rescue party and got everyone stuck in the past. He knows the time zones and the lives of the Kairos but tends to keep his opinions to himself. And he believes his children are being ruined by so much human interaction.

Doctor Procter, a half-human, half-elf who worked with Mingus in the Avalon history department for years. The old man, with the long, white beard, also knows the many lives of the Kairos, but at first, he speaks in half-sentence, and soon, the others can hardly get a word out of him.

Lieutenant Katie Harper, a marine whose specialty is ancient and medieval cultures and technologies. She is torn between her duty to the marines and her desire to be part of this larger universe she is discovering.

Captain Decker, a seal trained marine special operations officer who will do all he can to keep everyone alive, even if it means shooting his way back to the twenty-first century. He is a skeptic who does not believe half of what they experience—even if he does not know what else to believe.

The Kairos. But that is a different person in each time zone.

Avalon, Moving into the Future

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Avalon is a television series in written story form.

I only have one general rule: that anyone who reads a story/episode, for example, from the middle of season three, they should be able to pick up on what is going on and basically how it all works. If you want to start with the episodes that appear on this website, mgkizzia.com, and then want to go back and read the earlier adventures, that should be fine. Of course, reading them in order will enhance the experience, but I hate accidentally picking up book two of some trilogy and being totally lost. Especially for a TV show, a person ought to be able to come in the middle and still get a good story.

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Look for Avalon, Season 1, Avalon, Season 2, and Avalon Season 3 at your favorite on-line retailers. Thirteen Episodes from the beginning of history in each book detail the adventures of the Travelers from Avalon. Thrown back to the beginning of history, the travelers struggle to work their way through the days of myth and legend. They face gods and demons, gothic horrors, fantastic creatures and ancient aliens in this romp through time. They also quickly realize that they are not the only ones who have fallen through the cracks in time, and some of the others are now hunting them.

Seasons 4, 5, and 6 brings the travelers face to face with the worst monsters of all: the human monsters. As they move through the days before the dissolution of the gods, they get caught up in the rise of empires, and the birth of the great civilizations. It isn’t what they think—a grand adventure of discovery. It is dangerous around every corner, and troubles rise up directly in their path.

Seasons 7, 8, and 9 brings the travelers into the common era where the human capacity for violence and destruction increases exponentially. The spiritual terrors and aliens fade into the background, without ever going away, as the world turns to the history of humanity, and eventually world war threatens the travelers with every step of their journey back to the twenty-first century.

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Free stories are presently being blogged in bite-sized pieces on this website: mgkizzia.com. You are welcome to visit and take a look.

Also, look for Avalon, the Prequel: Invasion of Memories, where the Kairos comes out of a time of deep memory loss and realizes he is the only one who has any hope of stopping an alien invasion. To keep from being overwhelmed with the sudden influx of so many memories from so many lifetimes stretching from the deep past to the distant future, the Kairos tells stories from various times in his own life when he remembered who he was: the Traveler in time, the Watcher over history.

Invasion of Memories is both a collection of short stories and a novel of the Men in Black who struggle to prevent an invasion by the alien Vordan, a species given to shoot first, and that is pretty much it, just shoot first.

All of these books are reasonably priced at your favorite on-line retailer, and are available as eBooks or in paperback copies, so you can hold them in your hands. You can find them under the author name, M. G. Kizzia. Pick up your copy today.

I hope you enjoy reading the Avalon stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

Happy Reading.

— MGK

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MONDAY

The story continues with episode 1.0 of Avalon, Season One: Travelers. Join the fun starting Monday, and as always, Happy Reading

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