Lost and Forgotten Ch. 04

"St. Elmo's Fire..." Dworkin whispered. "I can see it in my head so clearly."

"Dehydration and frostbite..." Jynx murmured. "It is like he was stuck out in the arctic or Antarctic long enough without water or protection to suffer but not perish. How did he get on board?"

"Star Gate?" I joked but everyone locked onto it. "No."

"If the other story is true then why not." Dworkin suggested. "It is fun to think about. Alien technology that transported him through space and time. That was years before the Lost Isle incident." He continued, and I felt a twinge of panic when I heard the word alien. "You okay John?"

"Yeah. I guess I was just imagining too hard there. What a brutal ride. If the insides of the gate were that extreme. He was lucky to survive if, and I damn well mean if, the gate exists."

"I didn't mean to upset you." Ginger apologized but I waved her off.

"You didn't upset me. It is just that this conversation has taken an unusual turn." I said, and everyone agreed or at least said they did. "I need some fresh air. Jynx?"

"Shopping!" She chuckled as she got to her feet. "Ginger?"

"Really? Sweet! I mean yeah. I haven't seen much of the town. I spent most of my time editing that video I posted and then doing all the follow up."

We shopped. Well they perused every store in town. Ginger and Jynx chatted while my thoughts went down a different avenue. I replayed the last tutorial or parts of it repeatedly. I was seeking clues or in the case of the disk-shaped chamber Easter eggs. I found one. I froze the memory and walked around the crystalline sarcophagus examining what first appeared to simple decorations. They weren't. A part of the last memories I was given was this woman's language both spoken and written. I crouched down and traced the swirling characters pronouncing them as discovered them.

"Ashan... Tu'ar... Shay..."

"John?" Jynx said her voice bringing me back to reality.

"Huh?" I said and looked around. "Sorry. I got caught up in my own thoughts. What were we talking about?"

"Edging." Ginger said blushing lightly.

"Oh. My aunt had a great garden and..." I began and then fell silent when they started laughing. "Not that kind of edging... okay I admit it I have no idea what the hell you are talking about."

"Maybe you should show him." Jynx offered.

"Here? Someone might walk by." Ginger purred looking around.

"Over there," Jynx said taking her by the wrist and tugging her to a spot between two buildings. "Lift that skirt and show him."

"O-kay." Ginger moaned as she squatted down, lifted her skirt, and revealed her naked pussy. "Damn, I am already soaked."

"She likes being watched. Enjoy the show I'll keep watch." Jynx said kissing my neck.

"MMMMM..." Ginger whimpered as she spread her labia and went to work. "Can you see?"

"Yes. You are a natural redhead." I remarked at the well-trimmed patch of scarlet pubes.

"MMMHMMMM... I take my finger and slowly tease my clitty. Edging is when a girl or guy teases themselves up to the point of climax and then stops. They wait a bit and start all over again. UNNNNN... two fingers are perfect. You do that until you can't take it anymore. When you finally come it is literally explosive."

"I've done that with my cock buried in a girl before." I said, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Are you imagining my dick deep inside of you?"

"Uh... huh... so good!" She whispered. "See how soaked I am. It could slide in so easily now."

"Keep going." I ordered and that seemed to affect her more than anything.

"So close." She shuddered. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"We are done for now. Stand up and we can go see my buddy Warlock."

"Bastard." Ginger giggled with a glint in her eye.

Her face was still a little flushed when we arrived at Warlock's store. I opened and held the door for Jynx and Ginger, so they could enter. Warlock was dressed far more casually than at any time I had seen him. He was wearing faded jeans, a plain black shirt, and aviator sunglasses. He was filling his pipe as he winked at me seeing that I had two ladies with me on this occasion. Warlock didn't miss Ginger's crimson cheeks.

"Somebody is clearly tense." Warlock deduced as he struck match to plant material. "This'll take the edge off." He said offering the pipe once he had taken two deep lungsful of the pungent smoke in and blissfully released it.

"Thanks. I will." I said and followed suit. "Just what I needed."

The pipe made the rounds in our little group as the only thing that broke the silence were sighs of relief and stifled giggles. We finished it off and he reloaded immediately. As he tamped down the weed he asked what was up.

"Ginger has been edging all morning." Jynx blurted out.

"You don't say." Warlock replied with a raised eyebrow and a sly grin. "Poor thing. John, I am disappointed in you unless of course you have things in 'hand'."

"Actually, Ginger has things well in hand, both of them." I fired back, and the redhead blushed but stood her ground.

"Round two?" Ginger whimpered weakly. "I do love an audience."

"Shall I turn the sign?" Jynx asked but Warlock just lit his pipe and shook his head.

"Nah. More exciting this way." He purred. "Go on sweet thing... show us what you got."

Ginger sat on the edge of one of the display cases and giving the store a cursory glance lifted her skirt. Warlock made a naughty noise while Ginger let her fingers work their magic. I told her not to climax. If she did I was going to have to spank her. I could see the battle between obeying me and the thought of being spanked in front of the others. Jynx rubbed the front of her jeans when she believed no one was looking. I enjoyed the raw display of lust Ginger was sharing with us.

"So good. All these people watching. So wet. So close." She whimpered and as she reached the crest she found the strength to stop. "Third one will be the charm." She said between gasps.

"Impressive!" Warlock said licking his lips. "So, what really brought you here?"

"I found something." I said being deliberately vague.

"Not surprised," Warlock said his voice a cloud of euphoria. "Quit being an ass and tell me what your found."

"A book. Inside a wall." I said. "It appears to be a genuine copy of the Mal Contentis."

I've never seen anything or anyone mess with his calm before, but those two words wrecked it. He sat down, and I could perspiration break out across his forehead. He was damn near hyperventilating. Jynx took over and told him to breathe. Was it just the mention of the book's title or was it something else?

"Warlock?"

"Yes." He said his voice low and emotionless. "It is Sutekh all over again."

"Sutekh?" Jynx asked even as Jacen whispered in my mind.

'Sutekh. Mythological figure of ancient Egypt. Corresponding to the deity known as Set or in the Judeo-Christian belief system... Satan.'

"It is your turn this time." I said as reassuringly as possible.

"Gods. It was a lifetime ago. I was a young man barely out of his teens. My dad got me a gig digging in Egypt. It was 1963, Kennedy was barely cold, and he showed up at the dig site."

"Who?" Jynx asked clutching Warlock's hand.

"Smith! It was Missouri Smith, that is what he was calling himself. He had forged identification and he was a little older than me. He looked like a wreck."

"That can't be right. He was dead by then." I muttered. "It must have been an imposter."

"I said he was calling himself Smith." Warlock snapped angrily. "Sorry. He signed onto the dig and at the time I was wary of him. Who knew that it would be him that saved our lives and in the long run did a whole lot more." Warlock lit his pipe and took a hit off it. "He looked like Missouri though. I had grown up watching the news reels of his exploits, we all had. That was before the fire destroyed the film archive holding a shit ton of war memorabilia. What a loss. Where was I? Oh yeah... he was a one-man digging team. He was versed in history, linguistics, and even spoke Arabic fluently. He told dirty jokes all day long and sang with the local diggers like he had been born there. I hated him instantly. I was jealous. There was a local girl." Warlock said and didn't need to explain. "We found the pyramid two weeks later. The black pyramid of Sutekh and that is when the nightmare began. Two diggers died that very first night. We thought they had run off, but we found the bodies a week later. On the third night the sand storm hit, and we were forced to take refuge in the pyramid. We should have died. He saved us. I was so afraid."

"What does any of that have to do with the book that John found?" Jynx asked.

"Sorry. The Mal Contentis is a translation of a much older work. The original is a collection of first dynasty tablets that were taken from a predynastic culture." He said, and we stared at him. "Too vague? Fine. Missouri called it Anjat Tal Dur. He said it meant the Living Shadow of Darkness. He said the original was put down before the fall of Atlantis. I thought he was full of shit. That was before we found the inner chamber. That was before we woke up Sutekh. He saved us all. Him and that damned lighter of his." His lip was trembling, and tears streamed from his eyes. "I have seen the personification of evil and know its name. Sutekh. No more. Get out and leave me alone!"

Dead Dog Party:

I took Jynx and Ginger by the hand. They looked devastated by Warlock's emotional state as I guided them out onto the street. They clung to me as we walked.

"I came here thinking the worst thing I'd be dealing with is trying to convince you to let me climb alongside of you." Jynx blurted out nervously.

"You know how to climb?" I asked completely blindsided by her revelation.

"My dad taught me. Before he disappeared, we went mountain climbing and freeclimbed all over the world. He was a marine but was reported missing in action near the Iraq border. I just know he's alive."

"So, you're a military brat." I said, and she smiled. "Better. I prefer you smiling. I hope he is alive too for your sake. So? What are you keeping secret?"

"Me? Well... I... um..." Ginger stammered as she stared at the ground. She was saved when Jane Goddard raced up out of breath and called out to us.

"Mr. Morgenstern! Hurry! She is calling for you!" Jane begged. "It is Theresa. She's taken a sudden turn for the worse."

We raced to the edge of town. A middle-aged man was walking out as we arrived.

"I swear she's crazy." He muttered under his breath.

"Who is that?" I asked Jane as we hurried to Theresa's bedside.

"The lawyer. I think she changed her will."

The house smelled of roses. Lighted candles filled the air with their scent. The elderly woman had been moved for her comfort to the guest bedroom on the first floor. I stepped in alone and stood next to her bed. Theresa looked like she was in a great deal of pain. She pointed to the spot next to her. I sat, and she took one of my hands into hers.

"I kept the faith." She gasped as she fought to speak. "It all goes to you just like we planned all those years ago."

"Me?" I said, and she continued.

"The house. The vineyard. The key to the basement is in the nightstand drawer. No one has been down there since you locked it."

"She must think he's Missouri." Ginger whispered behind me.

"Typical." Theresa chuckled. "You never could resist a redhead. I remember after the war you brought home that Irish tart. God's what a tongue she had on her. I thought she was for you... damn she could eat pussy like nobody's business."

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, and she pointed at the nightstand urgently. "Take out the notebook. Read it to me. Prove to me it is you."

"Okay." I said and used my free hand to pull the drawer open. There was an antique key sitting atop a spiral notebook. I pocketed the key before opening the notebook. I let out a gasp of surprise when I saw that the passage she wanted me to read was written in Smith's curious code. I translated it on the fly. "Darkness cannot quench her flame. Time falters in the face of her beauty. Incarnate her voice calls to me unwavering..."

"Stop! It is you! I knew it. I may be dying but I'm no idiot. You remember the code I made just for you... for us." Theresa rambled on undeterred and shared how she had met Missouri during her duty as a member of the military intelligence and a codebreaker. She was as brilliant as she was beautiful. The image of her framed in silver was stunning. I guessed she must have been in her twenties when the photo was taken. "You always liked that one best of all."

"I think you are getting better looking as time goes by." I told her as I squeezed her hand.

"True. Is she strong?" Theresa asked locking gazes with Jynx. "Can she endure your philandering ways?"

"Yes." Jynx growled. "I only want him to be happy."

"Hold onto that when he breaks your heart repeatedly. He can't help it you see. He is a prisoner of his hormones." Theresa chuckled. "Wait until her wakes you with that gorgeous cock of his pressing against your face. He never says a word but then he doesn't need to. You open your mouth and let him ravage your throat. I think I just came. Even dying you get to me."

She talked, and I listened. It was as if she were desperate to tell me all the highlights of her life with Missouri Smith. As she spoke it felt like the spark of life in her was fluttering against a breeze. She took a momentary pause but passed between one heartbeat and the next. I barely knew this woman and yet her death broke my heart. I closed her eyes as Theresa's doctor walked into the room.

"I'm sorry. I did my best." He offered. "She was happy at the end. All she did was talk about you... well about Missouri. She loved him to the end. I just wish I had been here earlier." The doctor informed us.

"You weren't here for the festival?" Ginger asked, and he shook his head.

"No. Can't stand it. All that mirth about a guy dead for half a century. They blew his entire life out of proportion."

"Sometimes people need heroes that are larger than life." I said, and the good doctor glared at me. "Look at the time he arrived. The world was engulfed in war. The people needed something or in this case someone to believe in. Today isn't much different. People are scared and what's the harm in a little hero worship. As you said, the guy has been dead for fifty years. I found his body... well his bones anyway." The change that came over the doctor was profound and a little unsettling.

"I should have warned you." Jane chimed in. "Our good doctor here has a rather unusual business on the side. He sells articulated skeletons. Whether they are animal or human the man knows his bones. Don't ya."

"I do indeed." The doctor practically purred. "Tell me. What kind of condition were the remains?"

I looked around and seeing the expressions of the ladies I acquiesced. I closed my eyes and shared what details I could recall. Doctor Rainwater seemed confused and even got a bit agitated at my description of the remains. He argued with me that there were clear signs that the man I found was the wrong age as well as, and these are his words, the wrong god damned ethnicity. The skeleton I described belonged to an elderly black man not a Caucasian that should be in his mid to late thirties. The skull was the key and it screamed Negroid not Caucasian. I told him the dental records confirmed the identity. He went silent after that. Angry and bewildered at the near violent exchange between the good doctor and myself I thrust my hands into my pockets.

"The key." I whispered. "Maybe there is something in the basement that will put this entire thing to rest."

I took the beer that was offered by Jane after Rainwater had left and went straight to the basement door. The first attempt to unlock the door failed but after a good dose of WD40 the lock turned like butter. A second dose of the lubricant, this time on the hinges, let the door open and close silently.

"Lubricant... he he." I chuckled feeling a sudden sense of whimsy. "Damn, she wasn't kidding! This thing hasn't been opened in forever."

Cobwebs, dust, and dirt covered everything. Jane appeared and offered a broom, a professional looking breath mask, and worn blue coveralls. I accepted all of them. I stripped down to a t-shirt and underwear before donning the coveralls. I slipped on the mask and with broom in hand attacked the layers of dust. There were no footprints or in fact any signs of disturbance in the pristine layer of dirt. The basement was in fact a wine cellar. There were bottles as well as casks of wine that bore her name Chateau Whitacre. The latest date was 1988 and it was on a single bottle set on what looked to be a handmade oaken desk. The only other thing that stood out was a sealed letter addressed to Missouri Smith.

I picked up the letter and turned it sideways allowing most of the dust to slide off forming a small cloying cloud in the air. I tapped the edge of the envelope against the desk disturbing things further. I was about to open the letter when the loud whine of a vacuum cleaner broke the silence. I glanced over my shoulder to see Jane dressed in matching blue coveralls and mask with a backpack vacuum on her back attacking the dust. I grabbed the wine and the envelope and retreated up the steps. Ginger and Jynx were waiting. They took the wine and letter from me as I stripped down to shower. My hair had been a dust magnet. It was filthy with dirt and debris.

"Weird." I muttered in the glass and steel shower. It felt strange showering in a dead woman's house. "I can't possibly..."

"Talking to yourself now?" A feminine voice said startling me.

"Deputy?" I called out recognizing the sultry tone of the cute police officer.

"Yep. We were called to investigate and remove the body. Can I ask you a few questions?" She asked giggling.

"While I'm naked and in the shower?" I replied and then relented. "Fine. Go ahead."

"When did you learn about her Last Will and Testament?" She asked her voice rising as I caught her peeking in on me.

"Less than an hour ago." I said facing her so that she got a clear view of my body.

"MMMM... I mean... her relatives... damn it!" She said distracted as her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Well, that changes things up a bit. She didn't leave a will."

"Thank god," I admitted. "I didn't want to have to go through a stranger's things and separate them for the family. Did she even have family?"

"A single surviving nephew." The deputy answered with another lewd noise escaping her lips. "You are not off the hook. Ms. Whitacre didn't leave a will, but she did leave a trust. Can you guess who is the single solitary trustee?"

"Aw hell!" I cursed. "Are you going to stare all day or are you going to join me in here?"

"Duty calls Big Ten." She said as she left.

"Thank god that is over." I said as relief flooded my body.

"Big Ten eh?" Jynx purred.

"Get in here." I ordered, but she walked away and the edging for me began. "Jeez... really?"

I called after her gesturing at my erection. I sighed and accepted my fate. There were rules and even I had to abide by them. Trembling I reached for the hot water and switched it off. I cried out and heard the echo of her sadistic laughter. I smiled as I let the icy water hit my body and drive out any thought of lust. Ten minutes later I was dressed in period costume that dated back to the second world war. They fit surprisingly well. I returned to the basement and found it not only dust free but clean. Every surface was free of dirt and dust. As I looked around I waited for and was disappointed when Jacen remained silent. Normally when something odd, strange, or unusual occurred she chimed in.

Silence.

I walked around examining the wood paneling that covered the walls. Before she died Theresa had mentioned a few things that stuck in his head. It was those very clues that led me to believe that there had to be at least one secret compartment or room. I found the wall safe behind a large framed map of an island archipelago. The safe was stout and had a combination lock. On a whim I tried using my birthday to see if that would work, it did.