STORY - The End Result... (Chapter 12 - The Old Ones)

[dragondream]

The End Result

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Chapter 12 – The Old Ones

Robert battled against the storm as he was trying to follow the stranger. The alien trudged through the snow almost unaware of the howling wind and pelting snow and hail around him. He turned around briefly to signal to Robert that they were near to their destination and continued marching forward. After ten minutes Robert could make out some lights in the distance of a small cottage-like building. The alien still carrying Saria on his shoulder opened the door wide and waited for Robert to go inside. After Robert entered the cottage, the alien shut the door behind them and gently lay Saria on a nearby chair. He shouted several words in his language and a minute later a female alien – obviously his wife – came into the room with a bucket of warm water and a cloth. After handing it to her husband she turned to Robert and attempted to speak to him. Robert signalled with his hands that he could not understand and the woman immediately stopped talking and sat by the fire in the middle of the room.

While the alien man tended to Saria, using the cloth soaked in the warm water, Robert was trying to fix the translator device. He opened up the device and groaned when he saw the wires were completely cooked. Taking his Polarized weapon, he cut out the main wires used in the weapon and went to the fire. Using the fire to heat up the ends of the wires he cut out, he welded it to the translator device. After welding in all the new wires he turned the device round and switched it on. He put it on a table and sat in a chair, hoping that the gadget would work.

“Hello there,” he said to the alien, to see if the device worked.

The alien man sat up straight away, surprised to hear Robert speaking in his language.

“Don’t worry,” Robert said reassuringly. “It’s a translation device. With it we can both understand each other, while still speaking in our own language.”

The alien man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He hesitated for a while and then spoke. “So, you can understand me now. I am correct?”

“Yes, yes. Exactly, we can understand each other with this device now,” Robert answered excitedly. “Although now my weapon will not work anymore, since I had to cut the wires out of it to make this thing work.”

“Most interesting and peculiar device I’ve ever seen,” the man commented. “My name is Keldak and this, my wife here, is Cantalle.”

“Pleased to meet you, my name is Robert. So let me see what language the translator device says you are speaking,” Robert said leaning forward.

He picked up the device to see what language Keldak had been speaking so he could identify their race. He dropped the device and drew back, his mouth wide open in disbelief.

“The Old Ones. You are the Old Ones!” Robert exclaimed.

“No actually,” Keldak told him. “We are quite a young couple.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Robert said impatiently. “You belong to a race we call the “Old Ones”. You were the ones that built the Sohnen.”

Cantalle withdrew into a corner of the room, eyes wide open and hands grasping the floor in fright. Keldak stood up with a fierce expression on his face. His teeth were bared from the rage that boiled up inside of him.

“Never,” he hissed to Robert. “Never, mention the Sohnen again. Never mention that name in the company of my race or anywhere for that matter. The Sohnen is an everlasting nightmare to our race and we have desperately been trying to forget it.”

Robert cringed from the rebuke he received from Keldak. “I...I am sorry,” he stuttered. “I had no idea that it was like that.”

“I know,” Keldak responded more calmly. “I only warn you to save you from harm from the others. They might have not spared you for the same. For now we must rest until tomorrow. Then I will help you find your friends.”

“Wait a minute,” Robert said confused. “How did you know about my friends?”

“The same way I knew when you were in danger from the machines that roam the ice,” said Keldak mysteriously. “Now, let’s rest until dawn.”

* * * * * * * * * *

“Look! Up ahead,” Terry said to the rest of the group. “You see that?”

In the distance they could all make out an opening or entrance of some kind. The tunnel gradually became more lighter as the group slowly journeyed towards it and the light from the entrance streamed in.

“What is it?” one person asked.

“It looks like a massive doorway,” said Harold. “But we have been travelling only further away from the surface level. Perhaps it is a massive cavern.”

“A cavern?” Terry asked sarcastically. “Come on Harry, how would that explain the light coming from it?”

“I’m not sure. Let’s check it out anyway.”

As they entered the cavern the strong transition from light to dark nearly blinded everyone, but soon their eyes adjusted to the brightness of the cavern. The view was truly a magnificent sight. The light source was made up from thousands and thousands of crystals that sprouted from the massive ceiling. Where the group was standing there was a sharp drop to the bottom of the huge chamber, but round the sides of the cavern were steps that descended to the bottom. Finally, at on the floor of the cavern were humongous stones, all with ancient alien writing on them and in the middle of the whole setup, lay a giant map of the entire galaxy, carved out of the ground. Everyone stood wordlessly at the amazing view for five minutes.

“Well enough gazing around,” Terry said eventually. “Let’s go have a look around.”

Harold and Terry led the group carefully down the steep stairs to the bottom and then attempted to read the alien text. Both gave up straight away when they realized they did not understand a word of it.

“It’s no use,” Harold said. “Robert’s got that translator device we could have easily used, but he’s not with us.”

“Just leave it then and just focus on getting crystals.”

“What?” Harold exclaimed. “Well, at least take a picture of the map then.”

“Here,” Terry said handing him his camera. “Take it with this and let’s get our crystals and get out of here.”

“Where were you planning on getting the crystals?” Harold asked with his eyebrows raised.

“How can you ask that when we are standing in a cavern full of them?” Terry said pointing towards the ceiling.

“And how were you planning on getting to them when they are so far up?”

Terry laughed. “Leave that to me.”

[Technojerk36]

Can't wait for the next chapter! How 'bout updating twice a week instead of once? You know, satisfying your fans

[dragondream]

Thanks.

Next chapter posted, and as usual warn me if I have made any typos - as I am notorious for those ...