the serpent of the spheres

the serpent of the spheres

It was the chance of a life time they told us. A trip to Puerto Rico paid for by our school. Our teacher, Mr Muconle apparently spent months and a lot of his personal money to put it all together. He was a very odd teacher, only having recently joined the collage's staff. Everyone else was excited, but I felt like it seemed too random. So much so I decided to confront him about it.
“Of course it seems random. That is the best way to hide something when you don't want people to know what you are planning.” he explained with a wolfish grin. His response only made me more afraid of him and the trip. I wasn't going to go but Heather, my best friend was going. I couldn't leave Muconle alone with her.
I spent days trying to talk her out of it. I begged her, but she wouldn't hear any of it. I tried bribing her, and still she refused to change her mind. On the day of the trip I trembled all the way to the air port. Getting through security is by itself nerve wrecking, but it was worst for me. Every few minutes I found myself looking back checking on heather, and on Mr. Muconle.
Once we were on the plane I felt slightly better, if only because I couldn't see Muconle. It was not until the plane was in the air that I realized the most dangerous wolf is the one you can't see. Heather was too excited about going to Puerto Rico to be the least bit nervous I started wondering if somehow she was being influenced by something. I felt stupid thinking that, but the concept was rooted into my brain.
I started to nod off when suddenly the airplane jerked. My eyes became wide and I looked around. Heather was laughing, amused by my frightened reaction. Then the air craft jerked again. Heather stopped laughing and also looked uneasy. Again the plane shook and kept shaking. I saw Muconle coming from the front of the plane rubbing something in his hands.
I felt like I was leaning forward and the pressure in the plane became more noticeable I could feel blood oozing from my nose. Then there was a incredible loud sound, like a explosion and everything went black. I opened my eyes to find myself on the sand of a beach, all around me there was chunks of broken metal smoke and fire. I saw no one else from the plane.
I was frantic as I called out for Heather, or anyone else for that matter. Deep down I think I would even have been happy to see Muconle. I wondered carefully around the wreckage and found foot prints leading from the plane deeper into the island. It was then I saw how odd this island was. It was just sand, no trees, no plants, there were no birds ether. I suddenly felt very alone and very exposed.
Walking on the sand, following the foot prints I saw the markings started changing, from just foot prints to a depression in the sand. It was like someone was walking with something being dragged behind them obscuring their tracks. I didn't care to stop and ponder what this meant at the time. All I cared about was finding the other people. The island seemed to go on forever just more and more white sand. I could still hear the ocean and smell the salty water, but I couldn't see it.
I stopped walking when I came to a empty space in the island it was almost perfectly square. Inside was a blackness just emptiness that went down for seemingly all of time. The tracks in the sand went right to it, but there was no sign of anyone around. I wondered how long I had been out for. Could I have been asleep all through the night while everyone else braved the island in darkness? Suddenly I thought of Heather plummeting into the blank space.
Through my sobbing and tears I thought I heard something. I looked around thinking I would see someone, but I was alone still. Again I heard the voice, a low muttering voice that seemed to be saying one thing over and over. I shuttered realizing it was coming from the empty plot of space before me. Timidly I looked over the edge and still saw only darkness.
I reached my hand in and pressed where the edge of sand should have been. I pulled my hand away when I felt chilling cold stone. I reached again and felt the stone it was smooth but I could feel edges that met more stone like bricks that had been laid out. I peeked over the edge and suddenly felt a pressure against me I looked over my shoulder and saw a glimpse of someone behind me, with a mask. Then I fell into the pit screaming.
My fall was only for a second then I was laying on the cold stone. My hear pounded in my chest so hard it hurt. I looked around and the square opening was now on the side of a wall. My head hurt, I felt like I was going to throw up in my dizzy spell I saw a figure walk through the opening. They paused and looked down at me.
It was a man, wearing a mask that covered the upper half of his face. It looked like a wolf, and draped over his shoulders was a heavy fur cloak that also looked golden. He smiled and reached his hand out to me. I gazed at him for a moment, even with the mask hiding part of his face, he looked beautiful. And the way he stood was so regal, but then I looked at his smile. It was cold, and bitter it seemed to lack any sort of joy. I inched away from him and then I was able to see his eyes under the mask.
They were the same color as Muconle's. Maybe it was paranoid but something told me it was him. This was all a plan of his? My head hurt again trying to understand. I didn't know what else to do so I just scrambled to my feet and ran. I looked back once and saw the masked man just standing there looking at me.
I kept running until I was sure he wasn't following me. Feeling slightly safer I started looking more carefully at my surroundings. Massive halls of carved stone, some had glowing markings that tingled with shades of purple and dark blues. None of the markings resembled anything sort of character or letter I remembered. The markings frightened me, so I decided to risk drawing attention to myself and started calling out for heather again.
I think deep down, I didn't expect or even want to get an answer. Sadly I did, a low muttering sound from around a corner. I trembled as I turned and looked. A man dressed in rags was carrying a large stone block all the while muttering “Phobatha.” He seemed to be in a sort of daze or in a trance. He didn't acknowledge me, just shuffled on with his block muttering that one word over and over.
I watched him wonder down a hall way into shadows and knew that I had to get Heather, if no one else. And get away from this place I turned to run down the hall way and froze seeing a massive work of art dominating a wall. I was frozen looking at it, it was beautiful but so detailed that it was frightening.
A gathering of orbs or spheres with a cobra coiling its way through and around them with it's head turned to the viewer. Lining it's hood were long spikes that bent like the legs of a spider. The piece seemed to be done with the same paint that the markings had been. It glowed and shimmered with purple and blue shades. But it's sheer size and the detail in the art was disturbing like who ever made it had a living model.
I turned and ran again trying not to think about the piece. I kept going, feeling tears start to dampen my face as the strange place's massive halls and weird markings just kept going on. Even though I didn't want to I finally was forced to stop and look around again. My surroundings didn't seem to change, just more stone work. I started thinking I would never leave I would just be trapped her forever.
I don't know how long I sat there crying but it seemed like hours. Suddenly I heard distance faint footsteps. I panicked and rushed down a hall and smiled seeing at the end of the hall was an opening. I didn't care where it was anything was better then the halls. My exhaustion was for a moment forgotten and I raced for the opening, a high archway.
I stumbled through the opening, breathless and sore. I gasped in shock looking at my new surroundings. It was like a vast empty plain of grass, with huge stone monoliths. There didn't seem to be an order to them just random pillars of stone jetting from the ground.
“There you are. I've been looking for you.” I heard someone say. I got chills as I realized it was Muconle and he was behind me. “ you always did give me trouble, but now you can be someone else's problem.” I turned to face him and screamed seeing him in that mask and cloak. I am not sure why I screamed but I did. I demanded he tell me what was going on, and why he brought us here. He smiled. “my dear child... I had a payment to make. You can't get something for nothing you know.” slowly a rumbling sound started up and from beyond the stone monoliths a massive serpent rose baring it's hideous long fangs. And unfolding a hood lined with wriggling spider legs. It towered over Muconle and I. I was frightened but it was so pretty I couldn't scream, it's scales twinkled like stars in a see of dark purple shades.
“Phobatha. The serpent of the spheres.” Muconle muttered. “it's simple girl. Our friend here is stuck. She needs pawns to help construct her wondrous keep which will bridge this place with our world. I give her these pawns and she in turn is my pawn.” hearing Muconle say that, my heart froze. I refused and tried to run back through the opening but he grabbed my arm. He pulled me close and glared into my eyes.
“you will do as you're told. And stop calling me that stupid name. Muconle was a fool, a dope I used like any other. I am Lobalis, and I am god.”