'Rebuilding'

A conclusion to the 'Aftermath' epilogue

 

'Now, I want you to breathe deeply' Arthur said, walking towards Johnny. Who was sat cross legged on the floor.

 

The room was dark, with only one light switched on that hung above where Johnny was sat.

 

Johnny inhaled, then slowly exhaled a few seconds later. His broad chest rising and falling. He looked slightly better than he did a few days before, though still somewhat unkempt.

 

Arthur moved gracefully around the room, arms crossed behind him as he did. Even in the darkness Johnny could still catch a faint glimmer of green from his eyes.

 

'Now, close your eyes' Arthur calmly said.

 

Johnny hesitated, though his sleeping had improved he still had intense memory flashes from the Antarctica mission.

 

'Don't be scared' Arthur murmured 'I'll be right there with you'.

 

As Johnny closed his eyes Arthur raised his hands, the numerous rings he wore on his fingers shimmered in the light.

 

Two bright glowing disks dotted with runes and symbols flashed around his hands. And as he waved his hands a bright ring of light appeared above Johnny.

 

'Okay Johnny, keep breathing' Arthur said, holding his position.

 

'I'm going to count down from ten. And when I do you'll be making your way to the temple in your memories'.

 

He saw Johnny flinch slightly.

 

'I'll be right there with you through the whole thing' Arthur said reassuringly 'Are you ready?'.

 

Johnny nodded slightly.

 

'Ten'

 

'Nine'

 

'Eight'

 

Johnny kept inhaling and exhaling, though sweat was slowly beginning to form on his brow.

 

'Seven'

 

'Six'

 

His eyes tightened slightly, slowly the image of the mountains came into view in his mind.

 

'Five'

 

'Four'

 

'Three'

 

He could see the top of the temple.

 

'Two'

 

'One'

 

Suddenly, the long, thin rope bridge came into view.

 

As it did, the hazy image whisped and flickered Infront of Arthur. The snow flurried around him, and as he exhaled he could faintly see his breath.

 

The other adventurers came into view, all stunned and amazed at the size of the temple. A long, narrow pyramid like shape, made entirely from a brazen metal. Intricate symbols and markings etched into it's surface.

 

'You're doing great Johnny' Arthur said, as awestruck by the temple as Johnny had been.

 

Suddenly, the twisted and frail form of The Baron lunged from behind one of the fallen structures. As he appeared so did the grotesque Slybots, their hands extending into sharp claws.

 

Johnny shuddered slightly.

 

'let it play out' Arthur said reassuringly.

 

'There will be no victory for you today Thunder' the Baron rasped from his metallic face mask, as he did small puffs of steam emitted from the hoses on either side of the mask 'The riches in that temple belong to me and me alone'.

 

He raised his revolver and motioned for Johnny to enter the temple with him. As he did, the two slybots surrounding Pippin, Kilroy, Jing Lee and Harry. Leaving them outside.

 

As they entered the temple a wave of dread filled Johnny, he looked around the temple walls, all decorated with strange symbols and starfish like carvings.

 

''Whatever is here it's not worth taking' Johnny said, turning to the Baron.

 

'I will not be denied my treasure' the Baron grated, raising the pistol to Johnny's head.

 

They entered the center of the temple, there was a large circular hole adorned with symbols and glyphs.

 

Johnny looked up, noticing that there was a hole in the ceiling that extended through to the top of the temple.

 

He looked down, laying his eyes upon a gigantic glowing purple crystal that sat in the lower level. The crystal shimmered and crackled with raw energy.

 

'Magnificent' The Baron murmured.

 

He turned to Johnny, the purple glow of the crystal glistening in his sunken dark eyes.

 

'You shall retrieve it' he snapped.

 

'We don't know enough about this place' Johnny said calmly 'We shouldn't tamper with anything until-'.

 

The Baron raised his hooked hand to Johnny's face, letting it slowly dig into his cheek.

 

'I have waited too long to claim what is mine! I have survived death again and again! Not even the Re-Gou ruby could destroy me!' he snarled.

 

'You will retrieve it, or your beloved friends will be slaughtered'.

 

There was a sudden flapping sound, as a gust of wind blew past the two.

 

Two large shapes swirled around the ceiling, circling Johnny and the Baron. As they approached their strange twisted, winged forms came into view.

 

'Elder things' Johnny whispered.

 

The elder things landed close to Johnny, raising their metallic spears towards the Baron and Johnny.

 

They began to speak, a throaty, grated voice emitting from their starfish like mouths.

 

Thoygh Johnny couldn't understand, he knew that they were warning them not to retrieve the crystal.

 

'we should go' Johnny said.

 

'Bah!' the Baron retorted 'I have faced worse!'

 

The gunshot echoed through the temple as the Baron fired his pistol. Hitting one of the elder things in the chest and causing the creature to scream in agony.

 

The other elder thing hissed and took flight, aiming it's spear at the Baron.

 

The Baron fired several shots, all of which the creature avoided with ease. It swooped down towards the Baron, yellow bolts crackling from the tip of the spear.

 

The Baron fired another shot, hitting the creature and causing it to lose focus. As it tumbled towards him he grabbed it with his hooked hand, the creature writhing and twitching in pain.

 

'Pathetic' the Baron growled, tossing the creature toward the nearby wall.

 

The creature collided with the wall, slumping down weakly. It raised an appendage to the wall, pushing a large symbol that hummed to life with purple energy.

 

A strange mechanical clicking reverberated through the temple, the floor shuddering as it did.

 

Johnny stumbled towards the other fallen elder thing, it's five eyes turning their gaze towards him.

 

Weakly it began to mutter a phrase.

 

'Tekeli-li'

 

Suddenly a bright pillar of purple light erupted from the hole, shooting forth through the temple and into the sky.

 

The floor of the temple started to fracture, as veins of glowing energy snaked across.

 

The Baron staggered towards the pillar of light, as he did several dark tendrils erupted from the ground.

 

A hideous, blood curdling scream filled the temple.

 

The beacon pulsed as the temple shook further.

 

Johnny staggered out into the flurry of snow. Sliding down towards the other adventurers. As he did, two large tendrils erupted from the ice and snow, twisting and wrapping around both of the slybots, who screeched as their metal forms were crushed so effortlessly by the tentacles.

 

'We need to go now!' Johnny cried, ushering the others to the rope bridge.

 

Kilroy stepped on first, followed by Jing Lee and then Harry, every now and then Pippin tried to take another photo. But was hurriedly moved by Johnny.

 

As Johnny turned around to check on the temple, he came face to face with the barrel of the Baron's revolver.

 

'No, not this time' The Baron grated 'It ends here Thunder'.

 

But before the Baron could fire, another tentacle emerged. Constricting around the Baron and snapping his arm in the process.

 

As Johnny watched in horror, the Baron was lifted from the ground, and swooped into a waiting, gnashing maw covered in rows of thin, rotting teeth. Gelatinous gums oozing and glistening with blood and mucus.

 

And then, he was gone. Over a decade of conflict with him just erased in the blink of an eye.

 

Johnny began to run towards the bridge, as more and more tentacles burst forth. The shrieks and moans from the creature ringing through his mind.

 

He turned around, only to be struck with the foul horror that stood before him.

 

The base of the temple began to crumble, revealing multitudes of eyes, mouths, faces, teeth. All twitching and screaming and blinking incessantly.

 

The temple was falling, as more and more tendrils wrapped around the structure.

 

He could not move, only state at the gelatinous mass that began to consume the temple. The eyes turning to look at him. As the mouths all screamed a familiar phrase.

 

'TEKELI-LI!'

 

He began to breathe faster, beads of sweat trickling down his face.

 

Suddenly, everything paused. The shoggoth stopped moving, the temple was at a standstill.

 

'Okay, I think we've reached the climax of the trauma'. Arthur said calmly.

 

'It's more vivid than before' Johnny gasped.

 

'We're looking at the true memory' Arthur said, peering into the image.

 

'What happens now?' Johnny asked worriedly.

 

'I need you to think, think about a happy memory' Arthur said.

 

'How will that help?' Johnny asked.

 

'Trauma, negative memories, painful moments. They all exist within us'. Arthur replied 'We hold onto them as much as we do with any positive memory'.

 

'Over time we can adapt, we can learn to rebuild ourselves. You just need to learn to cope and adjust'.

 

'By thinking happy thoughts?' Johnny said.

 

'By using what we already know' Arthur said.

 

'Think of a moment in your life, where you truly felt happy'.

 

Johnny thought for a second, his eyes still closed.

 

'I guess probably the first archeological discovery I made'. He said, smiling slightly.

 

The memory started to appear.

 

'Good, tell me about that memory' Arthur said.

 

'Well, it was during a summer holiday I spent with Uncle Kilroy here in Britain. He had been showing me ancient Roman sites in the countryside'.

 

'What was the weather like?' Arthur asked.

 

'It was warm, it had been for weeks. The sun was slowly starting to set. And I had been digging for nearly an hour'.

 

The image of the mountains shifted, a warm amber glow of a summer evening came into view.

 

'And what did you find?' Arthur asked.

 

'An old Roman coin' Johnny smiled 'Kilroy was so proud, he put it in a frame for me'.

 

Two small hands appeared in the image, clutching excitedly around a large metal coin.

 

'How did you feel at that moment?'

 

'Happy, excited' Johnny said 'It was the first time I had really smiled since losing my parents'

 

'I guess, that first discovery is what motivated me to pursue archeology. There was so much I wanted to know'.

 

'And look how far you've come' Arthur smiled.

 

'You mean going insane?' Johnny laughed.

 

'You've travelled the world discovering hidden temples and precious artefacts, you even ventured into a lost Island and found dinosaurs. You've fought undead warriors, treasure thieves, mythical creatures. Hell you've just encountered an alien civilization whilst exploring one of the most inhospitable places in the world'.

 

'I never thought of it that way' Johnny said, exhaling slowly.

 

'You've inspired so many' Arthur added, smiling softly. 'Even when I was a child I used to read all the articles about your latest discoveries'.

 

'But how does that help me now?'

 

'It shows what you're capable of, think about it. Your past sparked the start of your career, from that coin you began to do remarkable things'.

 

Johnny turned to look at Arthur, dissipating the memory.

 

'Hold onto that memory, not just because of what it started. But because of how it made you feel. The mind is a powerful thing, we can do incredible things with our minds'.

 

Johnny half smiled, seeming more relaxed within himself. Though the memories of the Antarctic lingered in the darkness of his mind. The thought of holding that coin on a warm summer evening seemed to shine brighter.

 

'So what now?' Johnny asked.

 

'We rebuild' Arthur smiled, extending his hand.

 

After helping Johnny up, the two walked towards the doorway.

 

'I've got to ask, have you ever used this therapy on yourself?' Johnny said.

 

'A few times' Arthur shrugged.

 

'You must have some pretty good memories then' Johnny smiled.

 

'Just one' Arthur replied, holding onto the golden ring that held from his necklace.

Done