The Last Guardian

Hell of a Night

Lisa finished reading a part of the diary and looked at Billy.

"Interesting-" she said.

"Keep reading" he replied.

Lisa turned the pages and read the next entry-

"Aut c*m scuto aut in scuto"

"Sahib! They've broken the front gate and will be coming inside soon... What to do... Sahib... I am very much afraid!",

cried out a very shaken Ram Babu as he came running inside the room.

Prof. Carey was checking his notes one last time and stuffing his bag with all his journals.

"Fear not man, they still have to break into the building through the door which I can assure you will take an elephant to crash in", said the professor confidently.

He has only been in India for a few months as a professor of archaeology to study the ancient monuments and relics, but his stay was cut short with the outbreak of the rebellion of the sepoys. For the last few weeks, he has been working on deciphering a curious inscription that he found carved in a wall inside a cave. The carvings were strange with a mixture of Sanskrit and pictograms and an ancient undeciphered dialect. The professor was sure these were those mythical scripts of a map that led to the fabled city of Agartha in the freezing Himalayas- the place of the Yeti and immortality...

"My God! These men have gone mad -Quick! Grab that bag and come with me," said the professor looking out of his window of the first floor only to see hundreds of bloodthirsty rebels with torches in their hands and all types of weapons running across the great courtyard shooting- the guards didn't stand a chance.

The two men hurried down the stairs and rushed through the backyard which led to a thick forest on the south.

"We are almost there Sahib! Once we reach the jungle they won't find us..." cried Ram babu as he ran along with his master with the bags in his hands.

"Look out Sahib!" Ram Babu cried out.

Suddenly a man jumped out of nowhere blocking their path and drawing out a sword.

"Give me the Kalachakra map, or die!" threatened the six-foot-tall masked man.

"The what -" asked the professor in surprise.

But before he could say any more the giant punched him in the gut took the map out of his coat and disappeared as quickly as he came... there was a weird silence now, the guns have stopped blazing and the cries of the madmen grew distant.

"Sahib! Are you ok?" asked Babu as he helped the professor.

"Ah! yes ..yes... I'm fine", replied Carey trying to recover from the pain.

He had lots of questions in his mind and these rapid turn of events made him realise that he had in his possession some very valuable object which unfortunately was now in the hands of his unknown assailants. Nevertheless, they had to get out of that place. He quickly gathered his scattered belongings from the ground and instructed his scared assistant to follow him with the bags towards the commander's bungalow - silently hoping it was fortified enough to fend off the attacks of the riots. He took one last look at his bungalow as flames burst out of its windows and drew a long breath as both of them headed towards the jungle where a secluded path would lead them towards the outskirts of the village.

Professor Carey looked at his watch - it was 5:30 pm. The thick canopy of the forest gave away to less dense foliage ahead.

"There must be a river crossing somewhere around here..." said the professor...

She finished reading it and turned to the next-

Somewhere in Siberia, far from civilization, by the side of a frozen lake, Yuri placed his tent. It's been a while since Yuri had fresh fish for dinner and the frozen lake had plenty of them underneath that thick layer of snow. Mika, his husky dog, was his only friend and companion in this god forsaken place.

"It is time", said Yuri in his thick Ruski accent, "we need to reach the hunting spots, before the other hunters take the loot... Come Mika!"

And both of them went speeding towards the lake on their snow mobil, the dog on the front sticking out his tongue and his master with his fishing gear driving as fast as he can.

" I wish I see my beautiful Katya today"-

thought Mika as he dreamt of the beautiful female husky who came to the lake for hunting with her mistress Alina. Mika's eyes shined as he thought of her velvet brown fur and dark blue eyes. "But master never allows me to get close to her...but today I shall", Mika almost choked with excitement and desire and also because he swallowed some snow...

"Nyet!"Yuri cried as he stopped his mobil, "that thief has taken our spot".

Mika jumped off the vehicle with his master and saw Alina preparing her fishing gear.

"That's my spot" said Yuri aggressively, "I don't see your name on it!" argued Alina. Yuri hated his competition and the two began arguing while Mika sheepishly tried to approach Katya wagging his tail. "Stay away from me" said Katya proudly. Mika's heart sank. Suddenly he saw something approaching slowly in the snow, the air filled with foul scent. Mika began to growl.Yuri and Alina stopped arguing, their throats dried up as they saw a big ugly wolf slowly walking towards them grinding its teeth,saliva pouring down his scared mouth. "It is the killer wolf of the mountains, be careful!" whispered Alina as Yuri pulled out his hunting knife.

Both of them stepped back as the dogs rounded up the wolf. But the wolf suddenly took a giant leap at Katya trying to choke her neck. Mika's blood boiled as he jumped on the wolf to save his love and bit his back sinking his teeth in deep.

The wolf growled in pain trying to shake the dog off his back. Suddenly a loud bang knocked Mika almost unconscious. Alina shot the wolf in the head and it whimpered and lay still on the snow as Mika still held on to its back. "Let go now Mika, its dead! ", Yuri said. "I will tear it to pieces!" thought Mika before finally letting it go. "You have a brave dog", said Alina "we should have a drink in my tent". Yuri agreed and they both went towards the tent with their sogs behind them. "Thank you for saving me" whispered Katya wagging her tail. Mika's heart pumped with excitement,it was the best day of his life.

It was past midnight- I stepped out of my house and looked around, the rain had stopped and all I could hear was the shrilling sound of the cicadas and toads singing monotonously all over the swamp. I saw the faint moon in the night sky-as though it were fast asleep upon a pillow of clouds while the stars sang lullabies. The cold breeze was a welcoming relief after a day of scorching heat. I sat down on the porch and drew a long breath...

A single candle in my room burned slowly on the table- its flame swayed in the light breeze that came in through the window cracks. On the table were scattered papers and maps of the town. I have been writing for hours until the rain stopped and I decided to take a break. The outside air soothed my headache and all my worries slowly melted away. I looked at my watch- quarter past two, it will be dawn soon.

" She should have been back by now,"

-I thought.

"Maybe the Yorks got to her first !"

-my heart began to race at this thought and I quickly got up and rushed to my table. I opened the old map and tried to figure out where she might be at this ungodly hour.

"Old Pike road...New County... Yorkshire..."

- I mumbled reading the names of the places from north to south.

"Old man's tavern....no...Shadow hills... that's too far away... Eagle mountains... hmm..wait what's that?..looks like a road..."

I took the candle in my hand and looked closer at the map.A small marking that read 'abandoned' and marked by a cross and some faded letters underneath. I tried to read them and held the candle closer - C,R,O...A...T..O..N. The name sounded familiar but very old."CROATOAN!", I jumped with excitement as I recalled the name - the letter 'A' got faded on the hundred year old map, but soon I felt a sense of imminent danger lurking around. If she's isn't back before sunrise then I couldn't imagine what was going to happen next. I clenched my fist and wished that only if she had let me come with her, but she made me promise that I'd stay and wait for her return and she kissed my cheek as she rode away on her horse into the sunset... Her voice echoed in my head as I recalled the events leading upto this moment-

"I have to go back Michael, my brother's life is at stake...'' - she said holding my hands.

"You have a brother?" I asked surprisedly as she never mentioned about her brother before.

"Yes, his name is Jeremiah...and he's held captive by the Yorks and they demand the diary in exchange for his life..." she said with sadness and fear in her voice.

"But how do they know about the diary it's just been two days since we found it...and why do they want it? It's nothing but a historical relic..." I asked her.

"I don't know Michael, I really don't know - I just care for my brother..." she began to sob.

" Well let me come with you then, you know the Yorks are ruthless bandits, how do you know that they won't harm you..." - I replied looking into her deep blue eyes.

" They won't cause me any harm, I will take two of my father's men with me...I will meet them at the tavern at high noon, they wouldn't dare to harm me before so many spectators.... I swear I will find a way to bring it back to you...Oh Michael please trust me..."

She sounded convincing enough for me and so I handed over the diary and bid her goodbye.She kissed my cheek and asked me to wait for her at dawn as she would hopefully return with both the diary and the journal.

Looking back, I thought what a fool I've been, I only met her a few days ago while excavating with my crew at Chesapeake bay. She was a gorgeous young blonde in her early twenties, said her father was the owner of a rail road company and heard of my archaeological expedition and came to meet me owing to her own interest in history and archaeology. I didn't mind her attention and I was too absorbed in my work but she would come visit me everyday and asked me about the day's work.

One day we found a old box buried deep in the mud, filled with old utensils and coins and a well kept diary belonging to the famous English governor John White - the one who established the old English colony in 1573 in America called 'Roanoke' - which mysteriously disappeared a few years later alongwith all its settlers. Nobody knew why- could have been the shortage of food, the hostile native tribes or a pandemic.But rumours were that they relocated to a nearby island called CROATOAN and established a secret and powerful society. John White was thought to have finally found these settlers and was surprised at the wealth and power they possessed, they were said to have found an unlimited source of gold and natural treasures and said they could harness the power of the island and make themselves immortal. John White returned to England a few days later, nobody knew why but he had written all about it in his diary - the same diary that we dug out of the ground.The locals believed it to be cursed and that's why it never deteriorated even after a hundred years. I didn't believe in all these fantastical stories and for me it was an important piece of history but what an i***t I was to let the diary out of my sight! Fortunately, I only gave her the diary not the map...

John White was known to be an excellent artist and a painter, so he made elaborate sketches about everything he saw, many maps and diagrams we're lost, but I was lucky enough to have found the last remaining map, a map of the places as they were about three hundred years ago. And going by that logic he would definitely have made some reference to the island of Croatoan, a place of myth and mystery- a place of immense power and wealth, atleast that's what the bandits believed...

My candle burned out and I waited alone and worried in the dark, I sank into my chair, I was tired and soon I fell asleep.

Lisa closed the journal and looked at Billy...

" I promise I will bring it back...."

" Let me come with you then..."

" They won't do me no harm..."

"Look out!!" I cried as I opened my eyes and realised that I was dreaming.

"What in the world!" I said to myself wiping my face.It was a terrible dream, I saw her arguing with the bandits and one of them pushed her off a cliff, I tried to grab her arm but she fell screaming into the dark abyss.I looked at my watch it was almost three in the morning- a few minutes of sleep did me no good. I was worried about her perhaps more than the diary, more than anything else in the world I wanted her to be safe, to come back to me.I decided that I had to do something but I had no idea what- should I wait for her or go out looking for her?

The room was still dark and I had no spare candles but the moonlight fell through the window on the table and my eyes fell upon the peculiar map as I noticed that something was glowing on the map, a dim green glow. I reached out and opened the map. To my amazement the entire map was filled with random glowing dots which lit even brighter as the moonlight intensified. I was awestruck and took the map closer to the window and let the moonlight fall directly on the map. It was a series of dots from the southern part of the map leading all the way upto a certain point on the north east part of the map. The final point was shaped like an island!

"Well I'll be damned.... this is what the Yorks are after...the location of the secret island of Croatoan..."

I remarked trying hard to put together the facts. But why is it glowing green?How did Mr. White incorporate glowing substances into the map? I scratched my head as I stood beside the window which was pouring bright moonlight onto the map. But then I suddenly felt upset.I gave her the diary without the map and that made me feel uncomfortable. If the bandits knew about the map and asked her about it, she would have no idea what to tell them. I felt sorry for her but I had to get to her before anything bad happened.

The map was John White's most accurate description of his last findings . Apparently he never took the diary back with him to England, maybe he was forced to hide it here in America. I hadn't had the time to read his diary but I bet that both the map and the diary together would lead to Croatoan. I went through the map again, this time the illuminated dots made the landscape clearer.

It was a map within a map! For instance Old pike road, which previously seemed to end at a narrow crossing by the river was actually a longer stretch of road which went north, straight towards where the tavern was supposed to be.And so were other spots I thought were accurate but the glowing stuff pointed out a different map altogether.

Suddenly i recognised something familiar in the pattern of the glowing spots. I tried to join together all the points in the map as I held it out into the moonlight with my arms stretched.It looked familiar...like a bow, like a belt...I tried to recollect images in my mind of the pattern- I have seen it somewhere. My eyes went up into the direction of the sky- towards the stars-and I then it struck me. The glowing pattern on the map was an exact replica of the stars - the constellation of Orion- the hunter! I stood there for a moment and tried to make sense of it all. The constellation in the sky was now shining brightly in the east , where the eagle mountains were supposed to be in the map...

With all this mystery and secrecy inside one three hundred year old map, what else could it be hiding and what other mysteries lay ahead - perhaps the legends about the island were true?

It was almost dawn now and I heard the sound of hooves approaching- I quickly folded the map and put it inside my pocket. I was relieved as I saw a familiar figure approaching on my horse. She came back! I was overjoyed and ran outside to welcome her. But I hesitated as I noticed five other men on horses following her. They all stopped a few feet in front of me. As they got off their rides, a grizzly looking man took out his gun,pointed at me and said-

"You're one lucky son of a gun you know..."

"Who are you?" I asked in a commanding voice.

The man smiled through his tobacco stained teeth, spat on the ground and came towards me rolling his Colt in his fingers-

"I am the one who put this girl to spy on you...and I am the one who knows about the map and the diary...and I will be the reason you die today if I don't get what I want..."

Those words struck me like thunder, she worked for these York bandits? I was starting to like her...

The man pulled her by the arms as the rest of the crew giggled me mischievously -

" Tell him ... tell him the truth...and ask him for the map..."

She was shaken with fear and guilt and said-

" I am sorry Michael... please give him what he wants..."

I held her in my arms and wiped her tears and told the bandits to go to hell. But the leader giggled and pointed his gun on me and said-

" Even John White's ghost can't stop me from getting what I want...I was being polite but ..."

*Bang*

He fired, but she stood in front of me and the bullet hit her left shoulder.I couldn't believe my eyes as I held the collapding girl in my arms soaked in blood. I cursed the bandits and tried to take her into the house to help her. She was semi conscious- asking for my forgiveness. The leader stood in front of me and demanded the map again. I hastily took out the map from my jacket pocket with my blood-soaked hand and gave it to him. They all broke into laughter and prepared to ride off while I held the poor girl in my arms and picked her up. She was light like a feather, her beautiful face had gone pale, her long hair was untied and flowed down to my feet, her white dress stained in crimson red. I had to stop the bleeding somehow...

Suddenly it became all windy, the horses began to whine and jump as if some unseen force spooked then. The gang tried to calm them but it didn't work, one of the men caught his leg in the saddle and was dragged away by his horse! The others watched in awe as the winds grew stronger and dust and leaves flew everywhere. The leader held on to his map and asked his men to take cover inside the house. I quickly rushed in and placed her on my couch and locked all the doors and windows. The men rushed in as the winds grew stronger and they yelled at me to open the door and threatened with their guns. They tried to firce the door open but I put my back against it with all my strength. They kept banging and yelling, the leader even smashed the window glass to pieces, but I held on to the door - I pushed back so hard that I thought I had passed out for what happened next was beyond my comprehension-

As I held on to the door I saw a white light through the cracks of the door, it seemed to get brighter and drawing closer.The men outside were yelling and screaming frantically as if something was out to get them- I heard a few gunshots- but I couldn't be sure because of the howling wind.It was so chaotic outside, I fell the entire room was shaking, I closed my eyes and pushed back till at the door as hard as I could and a few moments later- Nothing!!

I found myself passed out on my writing desk with the open map on my hand. There was nobody, no bandits nor the girl.I raised my head and looked at my watch it was four in the morning- the candle had burned out and I could see the faint glow of the morning sky through the window. I looked around and found the bloodstained couch but I couldn't find her- the door was cracked a bit and the broken window panes were on the floor. I was shocked!!

Was I dreaming?

But it couldn't be a dream for there was evidence of what had occurred.For instance- the empty bullet shells, the foot prints on the ground...

But where's everybody?

I strolled across the front porch like a mad man.It seemed as though I skipped an hour of my life.I didn't know what to think! Then I saw her standing besides a rock staring at the open sky above. She seemed to be in trance. I ran towards her and hugged her. Her blood stained dress slowly turn back to normal. She seemed calm and peaceful and everything around me seemed to br simply turning back to normal again. I looked towards the sky, I could still see the constellation slowly fading out in the sunlit sky.

Who or what helped us? What happened in the past hour of my life? I still think it was just a dream.