The Anomaly

He placed me on the mattress in the corner next to the fireplace. My calf was bleeding and it was infected. I had to stop the bleeding before I bled to death. I told Calvin to get some rags in a box on top of the dresser at the wall near the foot of the bed. I also told him to get two long pieces of wood and an iron stick that were in the other room. I grabbed some matches and made a fire.

He came back and looked confused. I told him to put the iron in the fire and to break the two long wood sticks in half. Then to have them ready as well as the rag ready.

Well, this had to be done. The wound was infected. I told him to hand me a stick and for him to get the heated iron over to my leg.

“What are you going to do?”

“Just trust me. I want you to run this iron stick, the heated end, on my scratch. Once you run it down ONCE, put the two sticks on either side of my calf and wrap them in the rag and tie it. Can you do that for me?”

“I’m not sure. What does the part of the wood that you have, have to do with this?”

“You’ll find out. Just do it. I’ve been through this before.”

“Okay.”

I put the stick in my mouth and he ran the iron down my leg. I almost snapped the stick in my mouth. It hurt so badly, but it stopped my leg from bleeding out and spreading the infection. He put the splints on my leg and wrapped the rag around them. He tied it and helped me sit up.

“Thanks, Calvin,” I said. I was breathing heavily now.

“Your welcome. Now will you answer my questions? Are you an outlaw in this place? And where are we,” he started to ask.

“Calvin, this is the future. I’m from this ‘place’. I’m an outlaw because I am trying to change this future. I can’t remember all of it, but I think I know why I ended up on San Diego beach,” I explained.

“Oh. This is the future. I was thinking of more technology.”

“Most people do. But this is another Dark Age. We are mostly running from Zar and the Jackal.”

“Well then. How am I going to get home?”

“There is only one way,” I answered.

“How?”

I grabbed a backpack I had left before and stuffed it with rags and food. Then I got up and waved my hand. The Vortex opened and it was sucking in the air around us.

“That way. But you’ll have to hang on to me.” I extended my hand out to him.

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” He was looking at my hand and at my face disgustedly.

I sighed. “This is how I’ve been escaping from Zar and that Jackal. How can I risk someone else’s life when the stakes on mine are higher? Heck, I would risk my life on someone else if I could.”

“Okay. Okay. I get your point. But, when do we know when to get off?”

“The Vortex will stop on the date you want to go to,” I slung the backpack over my shoulder, “Just jump out on that date and you’ll be fine. I have to go a little farther than you.”

“Why?”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Have you been paying any attention? I still have a job to do. To change this future. I don’t remember why it is like this, but I do have to look for those crystals.”

“Then I’m coming with you. You are definitely going to need help. You can’t walk without support.”

“I’m fine,” I insisted and tried to prove my point.

I started to walk around, but after a few steps, my legs collapsed under me. This was so unfair. He walked over to me casually and grabbed my waist with his left arm while his right went for mine. He picked me up, but he never let go of my waist.

“No. You’re not.” I couldn’t argue with that, I thought. I raised my right arm across his shoulders for support and he flinched. He was probably thinking that I was going to snap his head.

“I’m not going to kill you, Calvin,” I assured him.

“I know. It’s just weird,” he admitted.

“Calvin. You don’t have to. I’ll be fine. I told you, I’m still on the run.”

“I’m coming with you. Even if you are an outlaw. It’s like Robin Hood actually.” He smiled at me.

“Who’s Robin Hood?” Okay. I did forget a lot.

“He’s an outlaw who steals from the rich and gives to the poor in England.”

“Oh. Well, we best be off.”

“When are we getting off,” he asked. I heard a little rustling and some yelling like, “Check over there.”

“Let’s go to a time in Ancient China, I have feeling about it. I hope you know a date to go to.”

“Yeah. During the construction of The Great Wall of China should be the best place to look in. Around 300 A.D.”

“Nice to know you are brushed up on your history.”

“I told all my history teachers I wouldn’t use any of the things they taught. God must have put me to the test.”

Then a gravely voice muttered, “I hear voices over there.”

“Let’s go,” I insisted.

This was going to make me anxious. We limped into the Vortex, with one arm over Calvin’s shoulder and having his arm around my waist. Then we began to whiz through dates. Calvin was intrigued by the visions of historical events like the Revolutionary War and the time when the Spanish came to claim the New World. Times started to whizzing past us.

1776, 1492, then we came to 400 A.D. 399 A.D. Then as it got closer, I yelled at Calvin.

“We get off soon! Jump when you see 300 A.D.!” Calvin nodded.

As soon as he saw 300 A.D., he grabbed me and yanked me as he jumped.

* * * *
We landed on our backs on sand. That didn’t help as people started to crowd around us. One somewhere to my left said something in Chinese that translated, “Where in the heavens did they come from?”

I don’t know how I understood them. I am willing to bet you it was from my memory.

I thought of not looking like an idiot and said something in Chinese that translated to “We are not from the heavens. We are from the future.”

“Bah! The future? Yeah right,” said another to my right.

“Hey! Back to work!” A guard ordered. The workers dispersed and the guard came to us. “Who are you?”

Calvin was stunned. Didn’t understand why until… “You can speak their language?”

“I’m Zoë and this is Calvin,” I introduced ourselves in Chinese. “Yes. I can apparently speak Chinese.”

“ What are you doing here? This is a construction site for the Great Wall. It’s almost done. You kids shouldn’t be here. You should be in the city,” the guard said as he pointed to a city a couple of miles away, “Now go!”

“What is he saying?” Calvin asked.

“Alright,” I said to the guard, “Calvin, help me up. We need to head to that city over there.”

“Okay.” He got up and helped me. We limped to the city.

Okay. Ancient Chinese Palaces. I seriously don’t know how to describe them. Let’s say they look elegant and graceful but also intimidating. They had Chinese letters etched into the sides.

When we got to one, one Chinese letter caught my attention. That one letter translated to… “Dragon,” I muttered.

“What?”

“Dragon. That letter represents dragon and this one,” I pointed to one next to it, “that means keep. As in dungeon. The crystal we are probably looking for is in the Dragon’s Keep.”

“Great,” Calvin muttered, “We’re going into another mythical monster hideout. But where is this Dragon’s Keep?”

“Let me read the rest,” I hissed. He is a very impatient person in my book.

The rest said that the Dragon’s Keep may only be found by those of pure heart (Of course) and those who have been taken to unusual things. This is when I began to think. Who was a pure heart and has been through unusual things? What an easy question. Calvin.

“Calvin. It’s you.”

“What’s me?”

“I just read the rest. It says ‘To find the Dragon’s Keep only one may find it if he is pure heart and has been through unusual things.’ It’s you.”

“Whoa! No! I’m not going into a Dragon’s hideout. Even if it means changing the future.” He folded his arms.

“Calvin. It’s the only way. The future needs to change. It has to be better or I’ll have nothing to return to.”

He sighed. I knew I won. “Fine. But where do we look?”

“Hang on. I’ll ask.” I started to limp to a market cart a little ways from the wall.

Calvin was about to stop me, but probably realized that I was fine as I leaned against the cart.

I asked the owner of the cart, “On the wall, it says Dragon’s Keep. Do you happen to know where it is?”

“Ah. You too. Well, it is a dungeon under the Great Wall.”

“Who else has asked?”

“Oh. A very young treasure hunter. Looking for artifacts and gold.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said and turned to walk to Calvin.

“Hey! Wait a second!” The clerk yelled when I was halfway to Calvin.

I limped back to him. Calvin expression looked a worried. The clerk’s face gave off the impression that he had forgotten something.

“Do not go looking for the stone.”

“What stone?”

“A stone with a mark on it. We believe it was brought with the dragon to create peace when the Great Wall was being made for the first 1,000 miles. Do not touch it or you might bring demise to yourself and whoever else is with you. Just like the wall said, ‘Only those of pure heart and has been to unusual things can find and touch it.’”

“Thank you sir. Again. We’ll be careful.” He nodded.

I limped back to Calvin who was leaning casually on the wall, waiting for me. He tensed a little as he got off the wall.

“Well, how’d it go?”

` “We have to go back to the Great Wall.” I tried to smile encouragingly but my smile felt fake to me.

“It’s in the Great Wall? Well, that settles it.” He rolled his eyes.

“Settles what?”

“The Great Wall is about 3,000 miles long. How are we to find a Dragon’s dungeon in that?”

“Calvin. You are the only one who can find it. Look at things that are obvious and go beyond that. Let’s go back to the wall, and walk away from the construction site.”

* * * *
We headed back the way we came. Back to the construction site. We headed right, down the sand path that ran along the neatly constructed wall.

“Look for a symbol or a certain marking. And touch it,” I said.

Calvin started to run his hand on the side of the wall and began to walk. In the blazing sun, Calvin finally stopped.

“Found it?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

I leaned against the wall while Calvin ‘investigated’ the area he felt the mark. He leaned over and blew dust off the mark. It was a small print of a Chinese dragon.

“Go ahead. Touch the print,” I said encouragingly.

He hesitated at first, then he put his palm on the mark. At first, nothing happened. Then a blaze of light started to erupt from the mark.

“Advert your eyes, Calvin.”

“Why?”

“Just do it,” I yelled at him.

I looked away, but I could feel the heat from the mark scorching on the skin of my arms. The light died away and revealed a passage.

“Calvin. Look,” I exclaimed. He kept his eyes closed and away. “Calvin! You can look now!”

“What?!” He yelled back.

I pointed to the passageway.

“Oh. Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was… Never mind. You go first.”

“Why me?”

“I think the one with a ‘pure heart’ should go first.”

“Fine.”

Then a voice in Chinese said, “Ah. So this is the way to the Dragon’s Keep.”

I turned around to see a young guy in a robe looking outfit that kind of sparkled in the sun light.

I became dizzy again. I saw the silhouette of two men. One was shorter than the other. The taller one disappeared and the other was taken by shadows similar to the goblin looking henchmen. He was screaming my name. I yelled back fighting the tears in my eyes. He was so similar to me and I couldn’t save him from them. He felt like a brother to me in my dream. The vision disappeared and the young gentlemen’s face flashed in the front of my mind.

He had a military hair cut with brown hair. He looked like a mirror image of me if I was a guy. I started to remember who he was.

“Barry,” I mumbled under my breath. I slid down the side of the side of the Great Wall. I still felt dizzy

“Zoë! Are you alright? Who are you?”

“Who are you, two,” the treasure asked.

“I’m fine Calvin,” I answered, “I’m Zoë and this is Calvin. And you are?”

“I’m Liu Kwan. Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire,” he introduced himself.

“Okay,” I looked up at Calvin, “Calvin, go and look for the crystal. If you meet the dragon, be polite and ask for the time crystal. You got all that?”

“Yes. I got it Zoë,” he answered and smiled.

“Also, don’t take anything but the crystal or you will be cursed.”

“Right,” and he headed down the stairs.

The treasure hunter followed but I couldn’t stop him. Now I knew more. I had a brother who was taken away by the same henchmen that captured me. But I’ll probably never know what has happened to him. But I was most intrigued by the other figure. The taller and more mysterious one. But then my mind drifted off into what was happening now.

* * *
The ground began to rumble underneath me. Calvin came out but Liu didn’t.

“What did you do?”

“I did nothing. I saw the dragon, asked, got the crystal and the treasure hunter touched a piece of gold lying around and the dragon chased him all through the dungeon. He chose his demise. Being eaten by the dragon,” Calvin answered sourly, “Let’s go to another place. Preferably safe.”

“Well, we’ll have to find the other six. One is going to be in Greece, one in Rome, one is England, one in Egypt and two are in America. We’ll have to try Greece in ancient times. I think we’ll be hitting all the mythologies except maybe Egypt and America.”

“How do you know all that?” He probably thought I was a computer.

“ I don’t, but important things happened in those countries. Hand me the crystal.” He handed it over and I stashed it in my backpack and slung it over my shoulder again.

“Let’s go to Ancient Greece. You guess the date though,” I insisted.

“Around 500 B.C. Maybe we should go to the time when Theseus took down the Minotaur in the Labyrinth in the Island of Crete,” He guessed.

“Good idea. Now you’ll see the real minotaur and not the fake creation of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve got a weird feeling that a true human being is under that minotaur skin. The real Minotaur is a son of two people, like a titan and mortal,” I explained, “but don’t forget that the real one is a man-eater.”

“Great. Why can’t we help like Prometheus or something?”

“Be grateful. Rome might be harder and so will America.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out. Anyway, let’s hit Greece,” I said excitedly.