The Time Stone (30 page)

“
We better get out of
here” she said pointing through the front window at the small army
of culto warriors approaching them.

“
Punch it” yelled Tina
grabbing the time stone from him and holding it in her
lap.

“
No keys” James yelled and
then as the culto warriors began jumping onto the hood and pouncing
on the doors, he spread his arms, and the doors locked shut and
then he clasped his hands together and the car started and then he
rubbed them together and it went forward knocking the culto
warriors onto the pavement behind them.

“
Whew, that was close”
yelled Mercedes as the van sped across the streets zigzagging every
step of the way.

“
Try focusing, James” said
Tina “narrow and steady.”

James closed his eyes and imagined the
road before him curving slightly and maintained a narrow and steady
path as she advised him. The van narrowed out and maintained a
steady path smoothly.

“
Awesome, how do you do
that?” Asked Mercedes dumbfounded.

“
Long story,” replied
Tina. “This is funny how your powers are growing; they seem to be
getting stronger, James. But it is still confusing how they only
work on objects not people.”

“
Yeah, it’s like I can’t
affect living things.” Said James pointing to a dog on the street
out of the window as they passed by and nothing
happened.

“
What are you guys talking
about? Inquired Mercedes.

“
Oh just, even longer
story.” Said Tina. “My name is Tina Prescott by the way. This is
James Timewalker. That was impressive how you handled yourself back
there.”

“
Thanks, I’m Mercedes
Gonzalez. I can’t believe they found me here. I thought all those
guys were dead but I didn’t expect to see them here.”

“
Friends of yours?” Asked
Tina.

“
I ran into them before
and it wasn’t friendly. You?”

“
We have as
well.”

“
Wow, I noticed the green
rock. Is that what they referred to as the time stone?”

“
We think so, it’s an
ancient legend worshipped by the ancient Aztecs or something.” Tina
holds it up, the five orbs glistening brightly within
it.

“
That is uncanny. I have
one too.” She pulls it out of her purse and compares it up close to
the one in Tina’s hands, the five orbs within both glistening
brightly, and as soon as they touched, a bright flash of hot white
light at the center of a yellowish haze struck their eyes, the
points of a starry image nearly blinded them as both stones
disappeared and reappeared merging into one.

“
Wow!” Screamed Mercedes
and Tina almost simultaneously.

“
That never happened
before!” Exclaimed Tina.

“
We never had seen two in
close proximity before,” said James. The single time stone remained
within the hands of Mercedes and Tina. Mercedes let go and said
“amazing!” The van drove forward with them in it as far as it could
from the capture of the daring culto.

CHAPTER 66

The sunny skies and winds submit to
the air and blueness of the ocean overlooked by the loft of the
corporal towers hotel in the neighborhood of Wealthier Excelsior,
Florida. Milton Drax stood on the veranda of the hotel suite where
he stayed courtesy of his company and he sipped a margarita mix
drink. He held his glass firmly as he veered over the distance and
smirked.

“
Beautiful view” said a
voice behind him echoing far ahead. Drax turned around and saw the
stunning form of Elizabeth Peters, her long flowing blonde hair and
voluptuous figure mesmerized him as she stood near a table with an
umbrella. She uncrossed her arms and approached. “What are you
doing here?” She asked inquisitively and rhetorically.

“
I work here don’t I?” He
asked impetuously as he approached her and put his drink down on
the table.

“
After what you did in
Turkey, I am surprised to see you here and that you have the guts
to show your face. But it is also quite … fortuitous.”

“
How so?” Drax
asked.

“
Because we won’t have to
go out and find you.” She snapped her fingers and out of the hotel
room behind the backdrop of swinging curtains in the breeze, came
three culto warriors who stood before her holding their daggers out
at Drax. Two armed guards also came out and grabbed Drax by the
arms and twisted them behind his back as one applied a pair of
handcuffs to his wrists.

“
What is this?” He
exclaimed.

“
Poetic justice, perfect
harmony for a traitor.” She laughed as she turned around and
marched out followed by the two guards escorting Drax into the room
and out of the hotel, the three culto warriors following them with
their daggers pointed outward fixated on Drax as they
marched.

In the darkness of a large-scale
office room, the floors, walls, and ceilings lit up with red, pink,
and purple lighting slightly illuminating the black opaqueness of
the room. A group stood in the center with a large conference room
table and chairs surrounding it, a large gilded throne like seat
occupied the far end. Broad Staffnight, Elizabeth Peters, Mark
Cumberberry, and Chief of Police Brent Hightower stood near a man
with a large black hood with silver emblems of stars and moons and
curves around it, his face completely concealed and his clothing
like the armor of a medieval knight, purely in black, and hard and
metallic. They stood in the room surrounded by dark figures in the
distance and a with a monitor on the far end of the table opposite
the throne and a visage of the dark figure that guided them and
their predecessors in all prior meetings since the founding of the
company three hundred years ago.

“
I have not lived so long
without knowing the risks involved in the actions I recommend. We
must remember the scourge of the last time is upon us and we are
quite frankly running out of time. Your chances to find the relic
are growing slim and you must find it before it is too late.” His
hoarse crinkled voice made shockwaves throughout the room shivering
the spines of many as he pointed around them on the small screen
and revealed the dark figures surrounding them.

“
We cannot act alone
anymore” said Broad.

“
We were never alone…The
mighty culto de la piedra tiempo.” He pointed as they came forward
and all stood at attention, dozens of them in synchronistic
formation. “They are the proud servants having served and ready to
lead the fight against those, only known as the five chosen ones in
the course of time, those who would threaten our mission, our
purpose … our destiny!”

“
So we would do it” said
Broad and the others stood quiet. The visage on the screen nodded
and then faded out. Then two guards entered with their prisoner,
Milton Drax in chains. He wore a blue jumpsuit and full leg and arm
restraints.

“
Unhand me” he
screamed.

“
Well, well, well” said
Broad. “My old protégé has fallen deep indeed.” He crossed his arms
as he smiled to Elizabeth and said “good job.”

Mark quickly transformed to his true
form and snarled wildly readying to charge his foe.

“
Calm yourself Satyr.”
Said Broad. Drax jumped back in the arms of his captors.

“
You?” He said
angrily.

“
Well, Drax, now what do
we do? We can’t use you anymore but can’t free you. This pains me
to see you like this as I was hoping to groom you for my
position.”

“
I could never be as cold
as you.” Drax replied. “I see you even have Janus El Trufio by your
side” beckoning to the man in the cloak, “you could groom each
other.” The man in the hood turned his head slightly still
concealing his face, and his hood vibrated glowing orange and white
in a sudden sequence of colors.

“
Our friend wishes that we
do whatever is necessary” said Broad.

“
Justice will prevail. Law
and order always win, even over ultimate evil like you.” Said Drax
determined.

“
Just tell us where the
time stone is and we will spare your execution” said
Elizabeth.

“
That green rock? You will
never find it. I saw the harm you can bring and won’t help you
succeed at it.” Said Drax.

“
You don’t get it, you are
done, you’re career, and your life with Temporo, Inc., your dreams,
your life in general as you knows it.” Broad said.

“
We’ll see about that,”
said Drax.

“
Damn you Milton, you
leave and you are through with us. We will never rest until you are
disbarred, convicted, and living in a shelter.” Broad screamed at
him pointing.

“
Your connections may have
helped you ruin others and maybe you’ll succeed in doing the same
to me but… I know things about you…” Drax’s eyes were as clear and
thoroughly determinative as ever as he glazed at his former mentor
proudly uttering those words. “You use people for your own personal
motives; you are an abuser and a malcontent.”

“
You’re wrong. We aren’t
the ones who abuse people. It is about pursuing the highest
ideology of success and control. The true power.” Said
Broad.

“
Is that that you will
tell those two homeless kids you set up back in Chronix Bay and the
countless others who became pawns in your perverted cosmic game of
chess … you are gonna get yours Broad!” Drax pointed to him with a
stern look.

“
Well,” Broad angered but
calmed down briefly “I have taught you well but I have not taught
you all that I know. Take him out of my sight.” He lifted his hand
up and turned as the guards dragged Drax out of the
room.

“
This isn’t over Broad.
Not by a long shot. This is not over.” He yelled and was heard
through the hall and heavy doors slamming shut as they escorted him
outside.

“
Too bad this will be the
last time we see one another, old friend.” Broad muttered as he
looked at the empty screen before them and saw five figures
standing, darkness became them, and they stared into him
menacingly. “The five chosen ones??? It can’t be.” He frowned
looking into the darkness thinking of his own mortality and dooming
past and fate, despair.

“
You know we need that
time stone. That is the third we lost. There are no others.”
Elizabeth spoke sternly to her boss.

“
That we know of, my
dear,” Broad looked straight with a determined grin.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the deep, dark dungeon basement of
Central Prison in the middle of Seneca Falls, Florida, Drax sits in
a solitary jail cell thinking about his life and his failures, his
successes, and his dilemma. He knew he was going to be killed in
prison because he knew too much about Broad Staffnight’s operations
and the true purpose of Temporo, Inc., and he welcomed death. He
felt he had nothing else to live for as he slumped his head between
his legs and slightly wept. All his knowledge of the law and
experience couldn’t save him from the conspiracy of a thousand
corrupt officials, prosecutors, and judges bought off and becoming
pawns in the system owned by his former employers who work and
deliver beforehand scripts for trials and discovery, and waiting to
rubber stamp his conviction and order of execution regardless of
the facts or the rules. He fell asleep thinking tomorrow would be
his last day on Earth and forever certain of what destiny truly had
in store for him as pure and utter oblivion. In the dungeon, Drax
sits and wonders with his face cupped in his hands. His hands then
slumped into his legs as he knew that Temporo, Inc. was with a
fevered revered out machination that had its own private police
force, could buy justice, and could buy government politics. He
knew they could set up anyone in town and frame others. He knew it
because he had done it before himself as he was one of them and he
also knew of their vast resources.

The next morning, Drax was taken up to
the decks of a loading area for trucks and cargo vans. He was being
prepared with the usual chains and restraints to be placed in a
transport wagon to head on a long trek to a prison in the far
northern part of the state. He covered his eyes in the light,
having grown accustomed to the darkness of the dungeon below and in
an instant he saw an image, a silhouette of a man, a shadow
protruding in the corner of his eye like a nemesis watching and
waiting for him to reach some point in his life.

“
Huh?” He shook his head
and figured he was going crazy. They begin to escort him to the
back of the van when suddenly the door swings open from the back
swung from the inside and strikes one of the guards in the face
rendering him unconscious as he drops to the ground. The other
guard and Drax were suddenly stunned in shock and as the guard
reaches for his sidearm he was quickly struck and subdued in the
blink of an eye as Drax saw nothing but a blur of red and yellow
light. Then the light faded behind him and he felt someone
materialized behind him, large hands gripped his and with one
reflex action touch ripped the restraints right off his wrists and
legs as they unlocked themselves and flew off of Drax’s wrists and
ankles striking the ground meters away from him. “What the hell?”
Said Drax as he turned around to acknowledge his benefactor but
there was no one there. Drax looked around surrounded by the empty
hangar and looked again at the unconscious forms of the guards and
knew he was now a fugitive. It didn't matter what or who set him
free but it was a miraculous intervention. He had to act on his own
to get as far away from here as possible. He picked up the
revolvers from the floor near the guards. He shut the back doors to
the transport wagon and entered the wagon that had the keys ready
inside. He started the engine and drove out of the already opened
hangar door as he knew where he needed to go, where he stashed his
emergency sleeping bag with the relic that Elizabeth and Broad
prized as the time stone.