Mobius

Edward looked back over his shoulder as the sun came up on the third day. He wasn’t any closer to finding HER than he had been on day one. He was moving along the shoreline, looking desperately for the cave that was supposed to contain the prophecy and the instructions on defeating it. All the while distracted by noises, or perceived noises from what seemed like everywhere. When he turned to investigate, there was nothing to be seen.

“Five days, no more!” The words echoed in his mind. This was an impossible task. Not only was he to find “HER”, but he needed to find the cave in order to find the prophecy in order to find a way to find “HER”. The one partial map the old man had given him led him here. The sun was near midway in the sky and he was nearly out of beach when he finally stumbled upon an opening just under a small outcrop of rocks. Easing his way in he found a very shallow cave with a carved out portion on the back wall. There lay a parchment, carefully rolled up and standing on end.

“That must be it!” Edward exclaimed, more for his own satisfaction than anything else as there was no one around.

Untying the ribbon from around the parchment, Edward took his flashlight from his belt and attempted to read the scroll. It was written in a language he wasn’t familiar with, however, after a few seconds, the words appeared to dissolve and reassemble. In a matter of seconds it was entirely in english.

“Not of this earth, SHE must be found, the end of time is coming. HER home is the end of creation, where sky and land and water are one. Death is the jouney which takes you there and life is waiting your arrival. Give up and all is lost. Too late and all is lost. Succeed in the search you must offer that which is most precious or all is lost. This cannot be removed from it’s home”

Carefully rolling the scroll he moved to leave the cave. As he stepped out on to the sand, the papyrus began to glow and slowly dissolved in his hand.

“No no no no!” he tried moving back into the cave, but it was too late, it was gone. There was no time to mourn the loss, so he began the walk back to his boat, all the while trying to remember the exact words, “The end of creation, where sky and land and water are one! What else could go wrong??”

By now it was late afternoon, and he began to feel the desperation. By the time he arrived at the next point on the map it was well after dark. This island was uninhabited and incredibly rocky. Noting a small trail, he unloaded his atv and headed inland. The trail was just barely wide enough to squeeze the atv through between the craggy rocks and brush. The old man had told him to go to the end of the trail and perform a specific ritual He was fearful that he wouldn’t remember the exact steps. Rounding a curve that seemed way too far inland for the size of the island, he came upon a sheer wall of stone, and barely stopped before crashing into it. On the right was a small altar, lined with glowing stones, so there was no need for his flashlight or the headlights on the atv.

Walking slowly, he approached the altar, knelt before it, held the jewel the old man had given him in both hands and, to the best of his recollection began the incantation.

“As rises the sea, so rises SHE, goddess of creation, Empress of all, Creator of Earth, and all creatures therein. Direct me goddess, to the end, and embrace me with your grace!”

He then placed the stone on the altar and stepped back. At first it appeared that nothing happened and he began to second guess his memory of the chant. It had been in an ancient language that he was not familiar with and the old man had translated.

After a few minutes he realized that he was having difficulty breathing and it was getting worse by the minute, struggling to get back to his ATV, he just placed a hand on it and collapsed. Edward died.

Looking back and down, Edward could see his body on the ground next to the ATV and tried desperately to return to it. Forces unknown, however, had a grip on his astral self and he felt himself rising above the island and heading out to sea. After what seemed an eternity, he slowly descended to an outcropping of rocks that appeared to be made of water, with a steady gust of wind carrying droplets into the air.

“Where sky and land and water are one” Edward remembered the words from the scroll. Then just as suddenly, he awoke, still gripping his ATV, still panting trying to breath. Panicked, he stood up and tried to wrap his head around the event. His first thought was about how much time he had left to solve this. Looking at his watch, he realized it was 24 hours later than when he arrived at the altar.

That meant he had but a few hours left. There were no glowing stones on the altar now, not even the one he had placed there, so his flashlight was welcome. Since the experience with death had brought him back here, he was certain the key to HER was here somewhere.

A distant rumble caught his attention, and a few seconds later the ground began to move beneath his feet. “Earthquake!” Panic gripped him as he could feel the island coming apart. Jumping on his ATV, he headed back down the boat. He was only halfway back when he saw the wave. Fifty feet high at least. He turned around and headed back inland, knowing his boat wouldn’t survive.

Water was a few feet behind him when he arrived at the wall with the altar. He had just made it.

Edward searched his memory of the encounter with the old man, trying to remember if there was a step or a reminder that he had skipped over. He did remember as he left, the old man telling him “SHE does not want to be found, and may hide in the most obvious of places.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Edward was tired, and, knowing he was running out of time, was hard pressed to concentrate on riddles right now.

Off to his right, and just beyond the altar, Edward thought he saw movement. It was slight, and just caught his peripheral vision, but he was almost positive it was there. Moving to investigate he slowly walked to the altar and inched his way around the back. About halfway to the top was a small round indentation, with a symbol he had seen before, but where? It took a few minutes to remember, but the amulet the old man was wearing bore the same symbol, the head of a woman with stars for eyes, branches covered with leaves for hair, and stars surrounding her. He placed his hand over the symbol, and the altar began to move. The sheer rock wall adjacent to the altar made a piercing noise that forced Edward to cover his ears. The wall separated and the two halves began to move apart. The light that shone from the gap was too intense for him to look at, and the rush of air nearly knocked him over.

“You are too late!” the voice was in his head, not something he actually heard, but manifesting in his head only. Baffled, he looked at his watch....it was 30 seconds to midnight on the fifth day. “I am everything, yet I am nothing! My time is over, and I will now sleep!”

At the stroke of midnight, SHE was gone, Edward was gone, and the old man was gone!!

Bryan woke up in a cold sweat, his breathing was labored and he felt woozy. He eased his way into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and did his business. Stepping back into the hallway he grabbed a couple of towels and went back to take a shower.

“Wow...that felt so real...I’ve never had a dream that felt so real!” Bryan was talking to himself in the shower, so he didn’t notice the bathroom door slowly opening and the aging hand that reached in over the vanity. A few seconds later the hand drew back and the door slammed shut.

“What the fuck???” Bryan opened the shower curtain. “Who’s there??”

If there had been a response, he wouldn’t have heard it, as he found himself in front of an altar, an old man sat cross-legged in front of it. He held out a jewel.....

Bryan looked back over his shoulder as the sun came up on the third day. He wasn’t any closer to finding HER than he had been on day one. He was moving along the shoreline, looking desperately for the cave that was supposed to contain the prophecy and the instructions on defeating it. All the while distracted by noises, or perceived noises from what seemed like everywhere. When he turned to investigate, there was nothing to be seen.

“Five days, no more!” The words echoed in his mind. This was an impossible task. Not only was he to find “HER”, but he needed to find the cave in order to find the prophecy in order to find a way to find “HER”. The one partial map the old man had given him led him here. The sun was near midway in the sky and he was nearly out of beach when he finally stumbled upon an opening just under a small outcrop of rocks. Easing his way in he found a very shallow cave with a carved out portion on the back wall. There lay a parchment, carefully rolled up and standing on end.

“That must be it!” Bryan exclaimed, more for his own satisfaction than anything else as there was no one around.

Untying the ribbon from around the parchment, Bryan took his flashlight from his belt and attempted to read the scroll. It was written in a language he wasn’t familiar with, however, after a few seconds, the words appeared to dissolve and reassemble. In a matter of seconds it was entirely in english.

“Not of this earth, SHE must be found, the end of time is coming. HER home is the end of creation, where sky and land and water are one. Death is the journey which takes you there and life is waiting your arrival. Give up and all is lost. Too late and all is lost. Succeed in the search you must offer that which is most precious or all is lost. This cannot be removed from its home”

Carefully rolling the scroll he moved to leave the cave. As he stepped out onto the sand, the papyrus began to glow and slowly dissolved in his and.

“No no no no!” he tried moving back into the cave, but it was too late, it was gone. There was no time to mourn the loss, so he began the walk back to his boat, all the while trying to remember the exact words, “The end of creation, where sky and land and water are one! What else could go wrong??”

By now it was late afternoon, and he began to feel the desperation. By the time he arrived at the next point on the map it was well after dark. This island was uninhabited and incredibly rocky. Noting a small trail, he unloaded his atv and headed inland. The trail was just barely wide enough to squeeze the atv through between the craggy rocks and brush. The old man had told him to go to the end of the trail and perform a specific ritual He was fearful that he wouldn’t remember the exact steps. Rounding a curve that seemed way too far inland for the size of the island, he came upon a sheer wall of stone, and barely stopped before crashing into it. On the right was a small altar, lined with glowing stones, so there was no need for his flashlight or the headlights on the atv.

Walking slowly, he approached the altar, knelt before it, held the jewel the old man had given him in both hands and, to the best of his recollection began the incantation.

“As rises the sea, so rises SHE, goddess of creation, Empress of all, Creator of Earth, and all creatures therein. Direct me, goddess, to the end, and embrace me with your grace!”

He then placed the stone on the altar and stepped back. At first it appeared that nothing happened and he began to second guess his memory of the chant. It had been in an ancient language that he was not familiar with and the old man had translated.

After a few minutes he realized that he was having difficulty breathing and it was getting worse by the minute, struggling to get back to his ATV, he just placed a hand on it and collapsed. Bryan died.

Looking back and down, Bryan could see his body on the ground next to the ATV and tried desperately to return to it. Forces unknown, however, had a grip on his astral self and he felt himself rising above the island and heading out to sea. After what seemed an eternity, he slowly descended to an outcropping of rocks that appeared to be made of water, with a steady gust of wind carrying droplets into the air.

“Where sky and land and water are one” Bryan remembered the words from the scroll. Then just as suddenly, he awoke, still gripping his ATV, still panting trying to breathe. Panicked, he stood up and tried to wrap his head around the event. His first thought was about how much time he had left to solve this. Looking at his watch, he realized it was 24 hours later than when he arrived at the altar.

That meant he had but a few hours left. There were no glowing stones on the altar now, not even the one he had placed there, so his flashlight was welcome. Since the experience with death had brought him back here, he was certain the key to HER was here somewhere.

A distant rumble caught his attention, and a few seconds later the ground began to move beneath his feet. “Earthquake!” Panic gripped him as he could feel the island coming apart. Jumping on his ATV, he headed back down the boat. He was only halfway back when he saw the wave. Fifty feet high at least. He turned around and headed back inland, knowing his boat wouldn’t survive.

Water was a few feet behind him when he arrived at the wall with the altar. He had just made it.

Bryan searched his memory of the encounter with the old man, trying to remember if there was a step or a reminder that he had skipped over. He did remember as he left, the old man telling him “SHE does not want to be found, and may hide in the most obvious of places.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Bryan was tired, and, knowing he was running out of time, was hard-pressed to concentrate on riddles right now.

Off to his right, and just beyond the altar, Bryan thought he saw movement. It was slight, and just caught his peripheral vision, but he was almost positive it was there. Moving to investigate he slowly walked to the altar and inched his way around the back. About halfway to the top was a small round indentation, with a symbol he had seen before, but where? It took a few minutes to remember, but the amulet the old man was wearing bore the same symbol, the head of a woman with stars for eyes, branches covered with leaves for hair, and stars surrounding her. He placed his hand over the symbol, and the altar began to move. The sheer rock wall adjacent to the altar made a piercing noise that forced Bryan to cover his ears. The wall separated and the two halves began to move apart. The light that shone from the gap was too intense for him to look at, and the rush of air nearly knocked him over.

“You are too late!” the voice was in his head, not something he actually heard, but manifesting in his head only. Baffled, he looked at his watch....it was 30 seconds to midnight on the fifth day. “I am everything, yet I am nothing! My time is over, and I will now sleep!”

David woke up in a cold sweat, his breathing was labored and he felt woozy. He eased his way into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and did his business. Stepping back into the hallway he grabbed a couple of towels and went back to take a shower.

“Wow...that felt so real...I’ve never had a dream that felt so real!” David was talking to himself in the shower, so he didn’t notice the bathroom door slowly opening and the aging hand that reached in over the vanity. A few seconds later the hand drew back and the door slammed shut.

“What the fuck???” Bryan opened the shower curtain. “Who’s there??”

If there had been a response, he wouldn’t have heard it, as he found himself in front of an altar, and old man sat cross-legged in front of it. He held out a jewel.....