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Okay, so I’ll admit that I wasn’t planning on becoming this friendly with the boys. It just happened.
I’m still tense with Jake, and I watch Ming and Brian closely but, honestly, the others weren’t too bad. Considering that they kidnapped and sold people.
Anyway as we trekked through the woods, we chatted about many things. We were talking about TV shows when we heard it.
Humming, but not people humming, vehicle humming. We looked at each and almost simultaneously ducked.
We slowly crawled towards the noise. We peeked through some bushes and saw the origin of the noise. A van.
The words on the van made me stop suddenly. TechOne was stamped on the side.
Two men, both with pistols, were fixing something.
I look at Jake. I can tell we’re thinking the same thing, attack. With nods to the others, me and Jake sneak around.
Then we jump into action. I tackle the man on the left, Jake gets the one on the right.
I begin to pumble to man on the chest and occasionally on the head. But then he does something, knocking me off. He gets up and points his gun at me.
Suddenly someone hits him in the head with a big stick, knocking out. Buck looks at me and nods.
He helps me up. I look around. Chris and Jake are dragging the unconscious men under some bushes.
Then we all freeze as something, or someone moves inside the van. I walk over slowly and press my ear against the van.
I hear nothing, so I decide to open the back doors. I do so slowly. But nothing could have prepared me for what was inside.
In the far corner sits a small child. The child whimpers and curls into a tighter ball.
“What are you guys looking at…” I hear Jake ask as they come back. “Whoa…” I hear him gasp.
Then for some reason I get in the van. It’s like my head is saying to leave it alone and walk, but my body refuses.
I sit down across from the child. “It’s ok, we’re not going to hurt you…” I whisper to the child.
The child lifts its head revealing a small, round face, streaked with tears and covered in bruises.
It’s a girl. Her blond hair is all tucked into her shirt, hiding it. Her eyes are bright green. She looks about eight years old.
She wears black stretch pants and a grey sweater. Despite the warm clothing she shivers uncontrollably.
I slowly come towards her, making soothing noises. Soon, I’m only a foot away.
“Hi there, I’m Jay. What’s your name?” I ask her. She looks at me and swallows. “Noel” she whispers so quietly, I almost don’t hear her.
“That’s a pretty name,” I tell her.
“Are the bad people gone?” she asks. I nod.
Suddenly she shoots herself into my arms sobbing. I rock her back and forth soothing her.
By this point the others have set up camp.
After about an hour I ask her if she wants to get out. She nods, holding her arms up for me to pick her up. I comply, only because it looks like she’s been through heck.
We sit down by the fire and she stays with me. I mean literally, she sits on my lap and if I go to the bathroom or to grab something she follows.
She only speaks to me. She answers the others my nodding and shaking her head. She especially avoids the boys. The only she seems to feel okay with is Matt.
Of course she does, Matt definitely tries to make her at least smile. He brings her things, makes jokes, and tells her stories.
Soon both she and Matt are yawning so much we send them to bed despite the complaints.
“She has to be a Type One.” Jake comments. This of course sends my blood pressure soaring.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Please tell me that you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.” I say tightly. He shrugs.
“I was just saying, I mean, why else would they have her?” he replies.
“Anyway, what about the van? The path seem wide enough for it, at least for now.” I say changing the subject.
“I agree, I came with keys, too. We could drive until we run out of fuel, or we actually find the lab.” he says.
We all agree, making plans on how it fit everything in the van, and figuring out how we’ll divide driving time.
We put up the food and get ready for bed. Chris takes first watch tonight.
Instead of going to bed I find a full water bottle and use the water to wipe off the dirt on my arms and legs.
I hear rustling behind to I turn around. Noel stands there watching me. I wave my hand over inviting her to come.
She does, so I begin to clean her up. All around us the sound of nighttime fills the air. Its June, so it’s not too cold.
As the dirt disappears, I see more a Noel. She has fair skin, and is very skinny. I dry her off and carry her to bed.
I don’t know why but I feel overly protective of her. I feel like a must protect her from the world.
I put her right between me and Ming. She falls asleep quickly, so I sneak out and sit by the fire.
By this time Jake is on watch.
I sit down across from him. I think for a moment before I start talking.
“If we discover that she is a Type One, you will not go near her. If you even so much as touch her, I will hurt you. Understand?” I warn him.
He nods, and then says “Know this, I’ve dealt with worse than you. You don’t scare me, your threats don’t scare me either. Understand?”
I glare at him and go to bed.
Chapter 3 --"Devil's Crucible,"
Perils of Nyoka (Republic, 1942). Starring Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore, Lorna Gray, Charles Middleton, William Benedict. Directed by William Witney. Wonderful Republic-style artwork of Aldridge
From 1942, this is still another great Republic classic. (I suppose I could have started these reviews with tired, lifeless serials like PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO, but why not have fun first?) It has a terrific cast with a half dozen of my all-time favorite actors, a credible storyline, some really impressive sets and imaginative 'Perils', and finally, an epic-sounding main theme by Mort Glickman. This would go in the top dozen serials on my list.
PERILS OF NYOKA deals with the struggle for possession of another hot potato that everyone covets-- in this case, the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates, on which the ancient physician recorded his great medical secrets (including a cure for cancer). Not only are gold tablets valuable for their knowledge and the metal itself, they were hidden with a treasure. So it's not surprising to find the sinister Vultura and her gang of renegade Arbabs trying to seize the darn things. Vultura is played by the exotic Lorna Gray, who is a bit ripe looking for my taste but her sneering performance and long long legs have must have gotten many young boys in the audience a bit hot and bothered. (There's something about a Bad Girl...)
Vultura's main henchman is Cassib, played by the same Charles Middleton who made life interesting for Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy. Middleton has that sour, unhappy expression that makes his villainy as believable as the sort of old man who chases kids off his lawn. As if that's not enough, there's also the treacherous Torrini who poses as an ally of Nyoka. Tristram Coffin as Torrini gives an okay performance, just showing enough shiftiness to make his loyalty obviously doubtful to the kids in the audience. As good as Coffin was as a villain, I always wished he had done more heroic roles like his Jeff King in KING OF THE ROCKETMEN.
And as if THAT wasn't enough trouble for Nyoka to deal with, Vultura has a pet ape named Satan, who had never heard Diane Fossey's findings that gorillas are peaceful, gentle vegetarians. Satan was played by Emil Van Horn in a rather weak portrayal that doesn't seem to give much effort into moving like a real gorilla. And although you have to give 1940s film makers some slack with their robot and apes costumes, the way Satan's chest skin looks like shiny black rubber detracts from its credibility. This is where you have to crank your
suspension of disbelief up a few notches.
Whew! What a crew. Luckily, not only can Nyoka handle herself perfectly well, she has a partner in Dr Larry Grayson who is (for a physician) an astonishingly tough two-fisted sword-fighting gunslinger. My doctor's not like that. Clayton Moore is always convincing as hero or thug, and he seems agile and energetic enough to have been a stunt man himself. (At first, it seems a bit odd to hear that wonderful, familiar Lone Ranger voice coming from this character.) Moore goes through the serial in the classic Doc Savage outfit of riding boots, jodphurs and heavy white shirt, although this does not end up torn into tatters with the right cuff still attached.
Finally, Nyoka herself is completely likeable as a cliffhanger heroine. ("That Nyoka gal's got plenty of moxie.." one character explains.) Daughter of the missing Professor Gordon, she is well educated (one of the few who can translate the Tablets) but also completely at home in the saddle or jumping on a gorilla's back with a knife in her hand. I love Kay Aldridge's performance as Nyoka. She's serious when in danger, taking the 'perils' straight-faced but at the same time, she's obviously having a lot of fun when things are going well. It's very believable, not a grim warrior-woman sort of portrayal. Aldridge herself is appealing and gorgeous in her 1940s pin-up girl way-- her clunky culottes are not flattering at all (although admittedly practical for the situation) and she seems to be notably gifted under that big-game hunter blouse. Nyoka also seems to have two different accents going on, for some reason.
My copy of PERILS OF NYOKA is a re-issue titled NYOKA AND THE TIGERMEN, apparently because some of the Arab raiders wear striped robes. C'mon, that's stretching things a bit, Republic.Nyoka Gordon (Kay Aldridge) leads an expedition into the most remote part of the Libyan desert in search of her father, Professor Henry Gordon (Robert Strange), who disappeared while seeking out the long-lost golden tablets of Hippocrates. The tablets, among other attributes, are reputed to contain the cures for any number of deadly diseases that still plague mankind. Nyoka and her father are the only two people in the world who can translate the papyrus giving directions to the hiding place of the tablets. Her allies in her search include: Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore), a young physician; Torrini (Tristram Coffin), an Italian adventurer; Professor Campbell (Forbes Murray), a colleague of her father's; and Red Davis (Billy Benedict), their driver. Opposing them is Vultura (Lorna Gray), the leader of a deadly desert cult, who regard the tablets as sacred and will do anything -- including committing murder -- to prevent their discovery and removal. Aided by her ally, Cassib (Charles B. Middleton), and the Taureg tribesmen, Vultura and her cultists lay all manner of deadly traps, involving everything from burning pits of fire and tunnels filled with hurricane-like winds to just plain getting crushed by the embrace of Vultura's trained gorilla, Satan (Emil Van Horn). Meanwhile, Nyoka and her expedition also face the danger of treachery from within. Nyoka must first secure the papyrus and avenge the murder of Major Reynolds in the opening chapter, and then get past the opposing Taureg tribesmen -- and little does she realize that the leader of the Tauregs is far closer to her than she ever could have guessed.
The action in Nyoka and the Tigermen moves at a breakneck pace across 15 chapters, most of which are as exciting as anything in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels (each of which drew a lot of their inspiration from this and one other Republic serial, Secret Service in Darkest Africa). Beyond its genuinely exciting plot, which intersects with reality just enough to keep even adults interested (there really are a North African people called the Tauregs), Nyoka and the Tigermen contains some delightful twists in its casting, production, and writing. Nyoka Gordon, as played by Kay Aldridge, is no typical movie heroine. She's beautiful, athletic, and resourceful, enough so that in the first chapter, she rides down Arab horsemen. She's perfectly capable of fighting, climbing, or diving her way out of trouble, a kind of 1940s American precursor to Emma Peel. Additionally, Lorna Gray's Vultura was, if anything, even more beautiful, and they make an enchanting pair of antagonists, especially when they mix it up physically. Both put 100 percent effort into their work here, assisted by one of the best directors and some of the best stuntmen in the business. Clayton Moore looked, if anything, better here than he did as the Lone Ranger at the other end of the decade and he made a dashing hero in his own right. Watch him in action here and see if he doesn't look like he would've been the perfect Bruce Wayne/Batman of his era. Even Emil Van Horn, in the silliest role in the movie -- as the gorilla Satan -- has a kind of visceral impact as this constantly menacing beast. Working from one of the best scripts that the studio ever devised for one of its serials, director William Witney and a crew of top stuntmen (including David Sharpe and a young Jay Silverheels), made this one of the most exciting serials ever to come out of Hollywood. More than that, the resulting chapterplay has an appeal that cuts
across the ages, as demonstrated by the debt owed to it by the Indiana Jones movies.
Another take on Nyoka and additional back ground info.
Perils of Nyoka aka Nyoka and the Tigermen
Republic, 15 Chapters, 1942. Starring Kay Aldridge, Clayton Moore, Billy Benedict, Lorna Gray, Charles Middleton, Tristram Coffin, Robert Strange, Forbes Murray, George Pembroke.
As Perils of Nyoka opens, Prof. Douglas Campbell (Forbes Murray) and his expedition arrive in the small North African town of Wadi Bartha; they are seeking an ancient treasure trove that contains–among other priceless artifacts–the Tablets of Hippocrates, on which are inscribed ”the only cure for cancer the world has ever known.” Campbell and his colleagues, including Dr. Larry Grayson (Clayton Moore), are principally interested in the Tablets’ value to humanity, but Count Benito Torrini (Tristram Coffin), the Italian colonial official attached to the expedition, has more mercenary ideas in mind and is conspiring with the devious Arab queen Vultura (Lorna Gray) to seize the treasure. After being joined by Nyoka Gordon (Kay Aldridge), the daughter of an archeologist who vanished years ago looking for the Tablets, the expedition sets out in search of the Tablets and Nyoka’s missing father, journeying into the hidden valley of the sun-worshipping Tuareg tribe while fighting Vultura and her ally Cassib (Charles Middleton) every step of the way.
Well-written, well-directed, and well-cast, Perils of Nyoka represents Republic serial-making at its absolute peak. Writers Ronald Davidson, Norman Hall, William Lively, Joseph O’Donnell, and Joseph Poland utilize a “quest” structure for their screenplay, one which keeps the characters on the move from one location to the next. The heroes must first translate an important papyrus before beginning their journey to the Tuaregs’ valley, where, upon arrival, they have to deal with the hostile natives and their chief–Nyoka’s amnesic father Professor Gordon (Robert Strange). Then, they must rescue Gordon from Vultura and restore his memory, unmask Torrini’s treachery, return to the Tuaregs’ valley for another important clue, locate the treasure, and recover it in a final showdown after it’s stolen by Vultura. This storyline not only provides plenty of opportunities for action scenes, but also gives the serial a strong sense of steadily focused progression towards a definite goal, making its overall narrative much more interesting than the loosely connected plots of many other Republic serials.
This well-paced narrative plays out in an impressive variety of indoor sets and outdoor locations–the honeycomb of tunnels in the Tuareg valley, Vultura’s mammoth palace and the cliffs nearby, numerous caverns, and various rocky hillsides. Of all Republic’s serials set in foreign realms, Nyoka manages to be the most successful in creating a believably exotic atmosphere; it helps that arid Californian locales like Iverson’s Movie Ranch and Corriganville can more convincingly double for the North African hills than they could for other African locales, like the sub-equatorial jungles or the Sahara desert.
The serial’s action scenes are handled with gusto by William Witney and his star stuntman David Sharpe. One of the many action highlights is Nyoka and Larry’s invasion of Vultura’s palace in Chapter One, which has Clayton Moore’s Larry (doubled by Sharpe) practically flying around the throne room in a combination swordfight/fistfight and eventually being attacked by Vultura’s pet gorilla Satan (Emil Van Horn), who pulls down several stone pillars on our hero and heroine. The pursuit of Nyoka by Cassib’s horsemen in Chapter Two is another memorable action sequence, as is her subsequent chariot escape from Vultura’s camp following a fight with the evil queen. There are far too many additional standout scenes for me to describe them all, but among them are the fight in the lava caves, Larry’s battle with hostile Tuaregs in their cavern temple, Nyoka trying to escape down a cliff on a rope while Satan tugs on the other end, the Tuaregs’ primitive hand-grenade attack on the expedition, and the final showdown in which Larry fights Cassib and his men while Nyoka grapples with Vultura.
The cliffhanger sequences are consistently imaginative and include one of the best-known chapter endings in the Republic canon, the sequence that has Kay Aldridge dangling over a Tuareg fire pit. Equally memorable chapter endings have Aldridge and Forbes Murray being forced towards a ceiling of spikes by an ascending floor, Aldridge about to be sliced in two by a lethal pendulum, and Aldridge being inexorably blown towards the edge of a cliff in an impressive wind tunnel.
Dave Sharpe not only doubles Clayton Moore, but also fills in for Kay Aldridge on all the really dangerous stunts. Stuntwoman Babe DeFreest doubles the heroine in other sequences, with Helen Thurston filling in for Lorna Gray; Tom Steele performs most of Charles Middleton’s stunts, while Ken Terrell, Duke Green, Duke Taylor, Henry Wills, Bud Wolfe, and Johnny Daheim make many contributions as well. Most of these stuntmen, of course, also do acting duty as various Arabs throughout the serial.
Perils of Nyoka’s action is complemented beautifully by Mort Glickman’s score, which is distinctive, memorable, and very well-suited to the setting, with a persistent but not overdone “Arabian” motif dominating both its fast-paced “action” theme and its slower opening-credits music.
The serial’s cast is filled with appealing performers, although its ostensible star, Kay Aldridge, is probably the weakest thespian in the group. Her line delivery is very energetic but awkward at times, and her face is frequently expressionless during dialogue scenes–although she does a fine job registering alarm in cliffhanger sequences. Still, Aldridge is so beautiful, and so likable despite her stiffness, that her presence really has no negative impact on the serial.
Clayton Moore contributes an enormous amount of energy to his part, continually taking the lead in both dialogue and action scenes. He delivers his lines with both seriousness and a certain swashbuckling enthusiasm, and rides and runs with an admirable athleticism that matches well with the dynamism of his double Dave Sharpe in the fight scenes. He, far more than Aldridge, comes off as the actual star of the serial.
Lorna Gray is haughty, viciously bad-tempered, and gleefully evil by turns, but never hammy or over-the-top. Her good looks contrast so startlingly with her convincingly appalling behavior that she commands attention when on-screen; her Vultura is probably the most memorable of all female serial heavies.
Charles Middleton has less time in the spotlight than in his 1930s serials, but his Cassib is still an intimidating figure, glowering grimly at Vultura’s enemies and infusing his Arabian-Nights-style dialogue with both menace (“If you let her escape, you will find death a pleasant relief from your punishment”) and dignity (“What brings you to this humble huddle of tents, Gracious One?”)
Billy Benedict, as the Campbell expedition’s driver and mechanic Red, provides low-key but amusing comic relief, stealing scenes with a single facial expression or a bit of incongruous slang. His scenes with his pet Capuchin monkey Jitters (played by “Professor”) are much more appealing than most such animal-sidekick interchanges; the monkey is not only cute but genuinely helpful to the good guys more than once, and Benedict seems to have a genuine rapport with the little creature.
One of the additional joys of Perils of Nyoka is the unusually large cast of interesting supporting characters; in sharp contrast to many Republic outings, Nyoka features meaty speaking parts for characters besides the hero, heroine, villain, action heavy, and sidekick. Robert Strange, as Nyoka’s amnesic father, has the most important supporting role and does an excellent job in both aspects of his part, dropping his grim, slow-talking, and crafty Tuareg-chieftain personality for a more kindly, upright, and brisk manner when his character’s memory is restored.
Forbes Murray is authoritative but genially avuncular as Campbell, the expedition head, and surprisingly gets in on quite a bit of action. George Pembroke, as a British expedition named Spencer, also takes part in many fights and shootouts, and provides some mild but entertaining comic relief through his verbal interchanges with Billy Benedict’s Red, in which the English scientist and the American mechanic confuse each other with their very different approaches to their common language.
Tristram Coffin, as the treacherous Torrini, is given high billing but has relatively little screen time; however, he handles his interactions with the unsuspecting heroes with the same slickness and smoothness he displayed in his similar part in Spy Smasher. Distinguished Herbert Rawlinson is killed off far too early as Major Reynolds, another expedition member, while the enjoyably hammy John Davidson has a much larger role as Lobar, the fanatical Tuareg sub-chief. Davidson rolls out each line in his inimitably resonant voice and manages to look positively pop-eyed with rage at times, particularly when defying the recovered Professor Gordon as the latter vainly tries to exercise his old authority over the Tuaregs.
Kenne Duncan has a good role as Nyoka’s tough and loyal follower Abou, while George Lewis is noticeably sinister in his small role as Cassib’s lieutenant Batan. George Renavent is enjoyably hammy in his few scenes as Vultura’s oily major-domo, Forrest Taylor pops up as a translator in Chapter Fourteen, John Bagni plays another one of Nyoka’s Bedouin friends, and John Bleifer has a brief but vivid turn as a villainous Arab street merchant in the first chapter. Jay Silverheels, star Clayton Moore’s eventual companion on the Lone Ranger show, is frequently credited as playing one of the Tuaregs, but I’ve never been able to spot him under the tribe’s burnouses and face-paint.
Ace the Wonder Dog, who also played Devil in Columbia’s The Phantom, adds a nice touch to the serial as Nyoka’s faithful dog Fang, going through some clever paces as he assists the heroine–particularly in Chapter One, when he tips over a basket, barks at two Arab guards, and then ducks inside the basket while the guards run past. Vultura’s gorilla Satan, played as an unruly and barely controllable beast by Emil Van Horn, also brings additional color to the proceedings; Van Horn’s rowdy anthropoid antics are great fun to watch.
Just as William Witney’s Spy Smasher–made the same year–represented the acme of Republic’s crime-fighting serials, so does Witney’s Perils of Nyoka represent the acme of Republic’s far-flung adventure serials. Later chapterplays like Secret Service in Darkest Africa or The Tiger Woman would try to recapture some of Perils of Nyoka’s glory, but few of them could match Nyoka’s large and interesting cast of players or its varied assortment of action scenes–and none of them boasted a story that could compete with the appeal of Nyoka‘s archetypal but enthralling treasure hunt.
This the ceiling of the Chapter Room at York Minster Cathedral. I laid on my back to take this and still could not capture the whole thing. I brought the wrong lens with me for this kind of photo but the beauty and symmetry of this architectural work of art had to be captured as best it could with the lens I had. The Cathedral Chapter is like a Vestry or board of directors who take care of the business of the cathedral.
I haven’t known Jay that long but she already seems to know how I think.
The fact she thought she scared me with her threats was adorable. Just adorable.
Anyway, the next morning we packed up camp, put everything into the van and set off. The only seats were the driver's seat and the passenger seat. I sat in the driver and Brian sat next to me.
The girls sat along one wall, and the boys sat across from them.
Jay was holding Noel in her lap, Ming was reading, Buck works on his drawing of Ming, and Chris was showing Matt how to sharpen a stick with a knife.
So far, Noel had only talking to the girls and occasionally to Matt. She wouldn’t say anything about her past, so far.
I wondered where her twin was.
In case you're wondering… yes, I’m planning on selling her, Jay, and Dale at the end of all of this.
Nothing has changed absolutely nothing. Well, maybe something. For some reason I don’t feel the usual joy, I have when planning.
At least, not when it comes to Jay.
Jay, the only Type One to cause me this much trouble. The only one to make me feel this way…with her beautiful brown eyes, and a sweet smile.
Oh my gosh, what am I saying?!
Pretend I never thought that. It never happened.
Back to what’s important. After an hour we ran out of gas.
We grab our things and walk once more.
“Where in the world is the stupid lab?! I mean, how big could this stupid woods be?!” I hear Jay shout.
I roll my eyes, “did you think that we’d find it after a day or something? These woods are huge! It might be another week before we find it.” I tell her.
She glares at me, and keeps walking.
“How do we know that we’re even going in the right direction?” Brian asks. This question stops Jay.
“Well, the truck was heading this direction, so we should probably keep heading in this direction, until we no longer can.” Jay replies.
“So, technically, we’re lost. That’s just perfect.” Chris says startling everyone.
“Well, in a way, it was inevitable.” Brian tells us.
In the corner of my eye I see Matt mouthing the word, trying to figure out its meaning. I lean over, and whisper “It was going to happen no matter what.” He nods in response.
I start paying attention again to discover that the matter has been resolved. We go with Jay’s idea.
As we walk I think about Matt. He was only ten, and yet, he believes fully in our business and me. For someone so young, he was insightful and brave.
I cared for him. I cared for all my boys. Each one of them, in some way, hold a special place in my heart.
Crap. I’m being soft again, aren’t I? It’s the woods. All this walking is giving me too much time to think.
I stop suddenly. Everyone sees me stopped and does likewise. “What is it?” Buck asks me.
I put my finger to my lips and shush him. One by one they hear it too, well, except Matt and Noel.
“Water. It sounds like a river.” Jay whispers.
We walk towards the sound and sure enough, it’s a calm river.
“Why don’t we stop for the night and take proper baths for once?” I suggest.
Everyone agrees eagerly. We all begin to set up camp, discussing how we’ll do this.
It ends up that the girls go first, with one of them always blocking the path to the river. After that I let my boys go before me. Soon I’m the only one left.
I finish up and pull on my pants, and then hear a gasp. I turn around and find Jay staring at me.
“Crap. I thought you were done. No one was blocking the path. Sorry.” she says quickly.
“Nah it’s okay, I have to do is put on my shirt.” I smirk, loving how uncomfortable she is.
Thankfully, my chest is hairless and smooth, showing off my well-defined abs.
Jay collects some water in some bottles she brought with her. “Need some help?” I ask her, while walking over by her.
I reach for a bottle and accidentally brush her hand. She jerks it back and looks at me. I don’t see the usual hatred in her eyes, instead I see something I don’t identify.
She quickly stands up, I do to. She looks so beautiful, standing there in the moonlight. I slowly start to lean in. We’re very close.
Before either of us know whats happen our lips meet. Jay puts her hand on my neck, and I slide my down to her mid back.
My mind is exploding right now. I can’t think straight. What’s happening?
Suddenly Jay pushes me harshly away. “No… no, I'm sorry. We can’t, it would never work.” With that she runs back to camp.
I sigh, the memory of our kiss is already fading from my lips. I sit down on the cool grass.
I had failed. I had let my emotions win for a second. I just made things harder on myself.
The boys must never find out about this. Never. They would think I was weak and pitiful. Not worthy of leadership.
I vowed to myself right then and there I would never let my emotions win again. Jay was profit, not someone I felt something for.
We needed to finish this soon, I needed to forget soon.
I put my hand on my chin and discover angry tears. I wiped them away quickly.
I stand up, and look around. No one in sight, at least from what I can tell.
I head back to camp. Jay avoids me, and Brian stares at me, probably wondering why we weren’t talking again.
He would never know. Never.
_____
POSTED TONIGHT INSTEAD OF TOMORROW, BECAUSE I HAVE JOB TRAINING TOMORROW.
Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia Chapter ODOT Annual Meeting, Salem, OR, Feb. 21, 2020.
Prophesy of the Final Son
Marta found her parents' lack of concern disturbing. Her dear brother was lost in the forbidden forest, out of which he will likely never return, and her parents were going about their business as if nothing was out of place at all. At the evening meal, she confronted her father even though he disliked being disturbed while eating. "Father, Kieran is not here, have you not noticed?", she said making solid eye contact with her father.
"Yes, of course, Marta, but there is nothing we can do about it.", he said, but did not appear troubled at all.
"How can you not be troubled by this?", Marta asked quietly.
"Oh, Marta!", her mother placed the dessert dish on the table, and finally sat down at the table with them. She had a habit of not sitting down to eat until everyone else was nearly done eating. "We will have to tell her, I suppose, dear.", she said looking over at her husband.
Marta's Father solemnly nodded. "It is such a secret to bear, to be sure. Of course we must, now that it seems clear the prophesy must be true." His big hands pushed back his plate and he put his elbows on the table and crossed his arms. His eyes betrayed a deep, inner excitement coupled with a relief, as if a long and troubling story was about to come to an end. Marta began to listen as her father began to tell the story; it had none of the usual embellishments his customary stories had, he had obviously never told this one before.
"When I was your age, child, my father told me a story much like the one I will be telling you now. For my entire life I have been the keeper of this information, and I have only shared the story with your Mother, once. My father, and his father before him, and I have been told many generations of my family before him. My father did not know exactly how many generations, nor how many years the story has been kept alive in this way. Certainly it happened before recorded history, and it has been kept entirely secret. Only we will know, us three, when I have finished the telling." Marta's father paused for effect.
"Now, this story has been passed through so many ages and so many people that the original truth has likely been lost. Indeed it doesn't seem to make much sense to me, but I will try to remember how it was said to me. I was on a hunting trip with my father. I was the only male child in my family, as you know, the rest being your aunties. Father had asked that only I accompany him on the trip, and when we were alone on the second day of the trip, he sat me down on a stump. I was afraid I was in trouble for something, as it was unusual to talk to my father about anything besides my own wrongdoings. He explained to me that he was going to tell be a secret, and I must tell no one besides my future wife and my son. Alas, I fear my own son will learn of his own accord about the prophesy, for it is his fate. But I tell you now, Marta, because the story is at an end." He reached out and clasped Marta's small hand in his. The image of a caged bird flashed in her mind. But he let go again, and continued.
"My father told me that in the far distant past, our land did not exist. Instead there was only fire, and nothing could live upon fire. One day, a great being, outside our realm, decided to create a sanctuary out of the fire and sent enough water to quench the fires. Once the fires stopped burning, and the raging floods had subsided, he populated the lands with creatures of his own design. Then he created man and woman, and made them caretakers over the lands and all of its inhabitants." Marta was quite sure she had heard this story before.
"Father, I have heard the creation myth before. We learned it in our first year of school.", she remembered her crabby old teacher telling her the same story.
"Yes, of course, it is the same story told to everyone as children. However, my father continued to elaborate. He said that the original man had been given a great gift by the being from the nether realm. In his very blood was a message that would be passed down through the generations of his direct male bloodline. The first woman was given the prophesy that one of her distant sons would be holder of the keys of the sanctuary and would be the only one allowed to enter, and that he would become ruler of not only this realm, but the next realm as well. The keys would be given only to the first son of the first son, and his first son, and so on down the line. And so our family has held this secret, not only that we are descendants of the first family of our realm, but that our blood line has been unbroken in all that time. It is as if our family has had a strange charm placed on it, protecting the firstborn sons from harm." He looked at Marta, and continued.
"We were told that one of our family would enter a forbidden forest, and be the first ever to return from it. Marta, I suspect you know something about the fate of your brother that you have not shared with us." Marta's father looked at her hopefully.
"Yes, father. He has sent word to me in the most amazing way. He has been sending messages to me by way of a raven!", she said with excitement.
"As I had suspected." her father said, without reproach in his voice. "I believe him to be the prophesied son. The fact that he has not been consumed by that dark forest, that he has survived and learned its ways, is confirmation enough that he will pass its tests. I believe that, soon, we will know that he has succeeded in winning the final test."
"In his last message, he mentioned he was nearing his destination, however I had not written back as he bade me to. The bird is staying close to the edge of the forest in case I wish to send him a reply, I'm sure." Marta said.
"Then we shall write him together, and tell him we are proud of him." Marta's father seemed to radiate, he had a smile on his face and his deep blue eyes twinkled brightly. Her mother looked similarly proud, as they wrote a response together. After they had all finished their letter, they rolled it up and tied it with a small piece of twine. The large black bird dutifully came when asked to convey the message to Kieran, picked up the message in its shiny beak, and flapped its wings in takeoff.
***
Kieran had not yet reached the door when he heard the wings of the messenger bird behind him on the path. He turned in time to see the bird set down the parchment it had been carrying in it beak. Marta had written back! He excitedly unrolled the message to find the crowded script of his father's pen.
Dear Son,
Your mother, Marta and I are writing you with excitement in our hearts. I hope that you have, by this time, passed the feline guardian, and are walking toward the door in the hill. I, myself, made it as far as the gate to be turned back, for it was not my destiny to enter that glowing doorway. But, I was told by the guardian that it would be you who would be accepted. Somehow she could tell. I want you to know how proud I am of you! Whatever is to come, take at least that with you. Guard it, and always remember.
I dearly wish I had had a chance to talk to you about your destiny before you had committed to embarking on it. But of course, now you know the most of it. The secret of the hill will be yours, and yours alone, for knowledge of it has been lost in the depths of time. Guard the secret well, but I hope you will let at least us know of it.
I hope you will come home soon, so you can tell us the full story of your adventure. Our love will always be with you.
Mother, Father, and Marta.
Kieran read the note twice, and smiled inwardly. So, he thought, they had known. That explained why they had seemed not to care. They were holding this secret all along, waiting for him to be brave enough to embark upon the path that has now led him to this place. They were proud of him. That in itself was a salve to his wounds. He felt powerful emotions welling in him, and he paused before the open doorway and its glowing symbols. With a sudden flapping, the crow took flight and entered the doorway and suddenly it was if all of the feathers on the bird suddenly left its body, evaporating into the darkness itself. The bird had disappeared entirely!
Having seen stranger things on this adventure so far, Kieran decided to continue walking through the doorway. He found himself in a corridor, leading to a large chamber within the hill. He was quite certain it must be some sort of haunted, burial chamber. As he walked into the chamber, a single chair became lit from unseen fire from above it. The chair was not ornate, and was constructed out of what looked like a black metal. A female voice, that he recognized as that of the fairy Tess, came to his ears from an unknown source, and simply bade him to sit in the chair. He walked over to the chair, and sat down. Immediately the light above his head dimmed, and the dark walls disappeared around him, and became the forest. He could see the gateway he had just entered through, and the pathway beyond that, upon which he had traveled. As he questioned what was happening, his mind was filled with answers as if his head were a reservoir being filled from an unseen aqueduct. It was a strange feeling to suddenly know the answers to all of the questions he'd had along the way, but not only that knowledge was made available to him. He was now aware of the complete nature of this hill, and all of its secrets. He knew everything he needed to know about its operation, and how it came to be here in the first place. The grand design was laid bare, and he sat in awe for a long while absorbing these facts.
He decided that it was time to visit his old home, not just to say goodbye, but to satisfy his curious father before he left. He stood up and as he did so, the chair disappeared behind him, and through the break in the trees in front of him he could see the little cottage that was his home. Walking through the trees was easily done this time, there was no resistance because he was not really there. He was still inside the hill, being shown what his projection was doing. His projected self continued to walk toward the house, and then it knocked on the door. His mother answered the door, and immediately hugged him. He was amazed that he could even feel her arms around him, and feel her wet cheek on his, and for a long while he forgot he was being projected and immersed himself entirely in the projection so that he could experience it for himself. To his mind, there was only one difference, and that was that he knew he could instantly be back in the hill whenever he wanted to. Otherwise, his parents and sister would never know he was not really there. To them, the illusion could not be discerned.
His father was very happy to see him, and put his huge hands on each of Kieran's shoulders looking him deep into the eyes. He said, "So, you have made it through the gate and into the hill, I can see." They all moved toward the table and sat around it.
"Yes, father, I have. I must be going back to the hill again to complete my journey, but I wanted to come home and say farewell before I do." Kieran replied.
Marta looked shocked, as did his Mother and Father. "You are leaving?" Marta asked sadly.
"I'm sorry, I must. What I have discovered is so incredible I really must use it. And when I do, I will not get another chance to say what I want to say." Kieran sounded torn.
"Go on, son. Tell us what you can." his Father encouraged.
"Alright, even though I know you will not be able to fully understand, I have been given a great gift of understanding inside the hill, and will try to explain what I know in such a way that you will someday be able to understand." Kieran paused to collect his thoughts, and then continued. "Inside the hill lies an ancient ship, Father, but not a ship build for traversing the seas. It is a star faring ship, left here by the ancient builders of our planet. Yes, incredibly, our entire realm was fashioned in some way by the hands of countless tiny machines, mechanisms so small they cannot be seen by our eyes. Through their effort over many, many years, our lands became fertile, and the animals came to live here. I cannot explain this any more simply, I'm afraid."
Kieran's father did not look confused, but instead looked like a great light had gone on inside his head, and he was eager to know more.
"After I passed through the gate guarded by the feline sentinel, I walked into the hill and found a room with a chair. I was asked to sit in the chair and I felt a great rush of information directly into my head, Father. It was as if I was instantly given a lifetime of information. I was curious about all things, and immediately satisfied. I understood such things as Terraforming and Interstellar Travel and even though I can't explain these things to you directly, I can say that it all confirms the creation myths we've all been told as children. I will be the first of us to be able to go back and meet our cousins from the stars. They have waited many generations for this visit, as you know. I can hardly wait to meet them!" Kieran looked genuinely elated.
"Son, what an honour has been bestowed upon our family. I am certain you will make a great impression on our distant cousins. I can hardly believe what you have told us now, it seems so unreal. However, what can I do but wish you well? This day was foretold, and destinies can not be stopped." After his father had said this, he stood up from the table latched his hands again on Kieran's shoulders, and stood him up. When Kieran was standing, his father embraced him tightly and quietly said, "Goodbye, son. Journey safely!"
"I will." Kieran replied. He hugged his mother, and then stood before Marta and said "Goodbye dear sister. Remember when you accused me of not being real? Strangely enough, if you had accused me this time, you would have been right. I must go, do take care of Mother and Father." Kieran smiled.
"I will, brother. Be well." Marta said, with a tear in her eye.
With that, the image of Kieran disappeared from their home, quickly and silently. They all looked at one another with amazement. Kieran had wished himself back at the hill, and so he had instantly gone there. Back in his own body, standing near the black chair. He sat, reached into his mind to send the command to leave, and the hill erupted sending the ship into the sky, tearing a rent in the atmosphere itself, and finally leaving the realm far behind in both space and time.
We don’t go in the house through the front door. We don’t go in through the door in the garage that opens onto the family room, either. Not right away, anyway. First we stand on the threshold of the garage entrance, the three of us, huddled together, and my sister and I call for our dog in increasingly strident tones.
His name’s Rex. He’s a poodle who’s never passed up on the chance to run away. Never once. Now we’re asking him to run away, begging him, but he’s nowhere to be seen. We listen for the familiar clink of his dog tag, but the house is silent. So very silent.
We go in.
The heavy drapes drawn across the sliding glass doors give the family room an oppressive, funereal feel. I smell the ever-present stink of stale smoke and the mustiness of the boiled potatoes from last night’s pot roast. I feel sick, disoriented. My heart is hammering.
In the kitchen, I arm each of us with a knife. I take the biggest, the butcher, and lead the way into the entrance hall, where I open the front door and the storm door. We call again for Rex.
“Here boy!”
“Come on, boy!”
“Where are you?”
He trots into the hall, as if it’s just another day, and stops. His eyes cut from us to the open doors and back to us. He cocks his head.
Pointing to the outside, to freedom, I say, “Go on, boy!”
His nails clack-clack-clack on the hall tile as he runs in place for a second. Then he shoots out the front door like a black bullet. The three of us cheer.
I let the doors close.
Then, for reasons I will never understand, we turn toward the stairs, ours knives at the ready.
To be continued…
The ceiling in the Chapter House at York Minster. A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which larger meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there.
The last one and a half decade, I have visited Greece many tmes. In cultural holidays with a teacher of ancient Greece and Latin as a guide, we have visited many archaeological sites in Greece, but also learned a lot about the Byzantine and Ottoman period, as well as modern Greek history. Very interesting!
In this picture, we are in Delphi at the archaeological museum, with the giant statues of Kleobis and Biton. Read their story by Herodotus here: www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.0...
The original picture was taken in May 2019, the two self portraits and the post-processing are of today.
HSS!
52 weeks of 2019 - Week 42: Autobiography in four parts
Sliders Sunday (27-10-2019)
Chapter 9 of the Eurobricks Star Wars Forums Mysteries RPG Story: Raiders of the Lost Art. Check out the full story in the Eurobricks forum:
www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/199551-q...
You enjoy Star Wars, stories and building Lego? Join Mysteries, a global brickin' RPG in the Star Wars universe! Choose a side, create your Star Wars character and start building. Together with your teammates you score points, unveil the mysteries and rule the galaxy. Builders and storytellers of any size and level welcome. Mysteries main page:
www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/forum/201-myst...
Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom
Westminster’s Chapter House looked liked a giant, octagonal tent, with a beautiful large vaulted ceilings and numerous stained glass windows. This was one of the earliest structures of the abbey, where monks gathered frequently to pray and discuss important matter in the 13th century. I enjoyed very much the old wall paintings in the house, themed around the Apocalypse outlined in the Book of Revelation.
"Twelfth-century quadripartite vaults" - that's something we don't hear every day. And this is something we don't see every day, though I wouldn't mind. I'd like to live in a room with this many arches.
(four shots stitched)
(more info here)