The Five Sacred Stones of Geraptiku: Part One

Deep in the jungles of Mystery Island is a deserted village named Geraptiku. It was destroyed centuries ago by an unknown force. The ruins still lie on the northern shores of the island. They were hidden until very recently, when a team of intrepid explorers rediscovered the crumbled buildings and abandoned homes. Shadowing the dilapidated buildings was a sprawling tomb filled with booby traps and a rumored treasure.

     What stumped the archaeologists, however, was what happened to the citizens of Geraptiku. They couldn't tell if they deserted the town, or if something killed them off. They found many remnants broken and shattered, which led the scientists to believe there was a struggle. But they couldn't figure out why they were attacked or by whom, for it seemed like the people of Geraptiku were peaceful before this struggle. There simply wasn't enough evidence to show what happened. So the archaeologists gave up and left. The town still stands deserted today, the mystery of what happened all those years ago still left unsolved.

     That was the mystery of Geraptiku. I was the one who solved it.

     ***

     Bitter cold waves washed over my body, waking me from my afternoon nap on the beach. I coughed as the water filled my mouth, and I sat up quickly. The water rolled back into the sea, now flecked with white. My fur was drenched, leaving me shivering. I leaped up and scampered back into the jungle, hopping over the sharp shell pieces half-buried in the dark brown sand.

     As I traipsed through the thick jungle, I tried to shake off as much as water as I could from my rosy red Gelert body. Despite what I did to dry off, I was still freezing down to the bone, which just goes to show that life on Mystery Island doesn't always leave you warm.

     To be honest, my life here was amazing. I would never leave it for as long as I live. It'd be like leaving my soul. I never had to worry about anything here. I had a small shack, but truthfully that was all I needed. When I wanted food, the strange berries that populated the island were always just outside my window, and I could take as many as I want. And best of all, I never had to work.

     Most of my days were spent on my own private beach. No one had ever ventured through the dense jungle on the side of the island I lived on, and therefore the beaches were bare. In fact, almost all of my life was spent alone. Although many people can't live alone for whatever reason, I thrived in the solitary way of life. I'm a very introverted person, I guess.

     The only thing that bothered me was this sense that I got from time to time. Every so often, a feeling would well up in the pit of my heart, telling me to go out and do something out of the ordinary. I felt I had to do something to make my mark on the world. Living alone on a beach was all well and good, but now and then, this emotion would scream at me from the inside. Usually, I'd just suppress it, but it still comes back occasionally.

     I made my way to my small but ample shack and entered through a sliding screen door with a long rip down the length of it. I grabbed a light red towel that was hanging from a clothesline draped across the two-room hut and dried my matted fur as much as I could. I instantly felt warmer now that I was dry. I went outside and picked a basketful of assorted berries. I grabbed a lot of Starberries, as I was especially partial to their taste. I ate on a hammock outside my hut, as usual, watching the sunset and the stars rise overhead. I fell asleep; all the while thinking life was wonderful.

     ***

     I awoke the next morning refreshed and energized for another day of relaxation and all around laziness. I replaced the fruit basket in my hut and walked through the jungle, still deciding what to spend my day doing. I settled on taking a small day trip to Geraptiku to check out the Deserted Tomb.

     Every so often I would venture into the more civilized part of Mystery Island. I didn't make a habit of it, though, because the idea of large cities made me sick. Even the small arrangement of huts that housed the Tombola and tourist shops was too large for me. I did go to Geraptiku more often, however, as it was deserted. I liked to explore the Deserted Tomb and see what came of it.

     So that's what I decided to do today. I grabbed a small pack and hiked through the rain forest towards the city on the northwestern part of the island. The walk was easy, as it was flat terrain with a lot of moisture. And I was used to it, of course. I arrived in the dank, gloomy town after a few hours, and immediately entered the empty tomb.

     After a few years of living here, I had a general idea where not to go, and avoided all the booby traps I had committed to memory. However, the tomb was so intricate and dark that I promptly got lost after losing the light source from the entrance, just a few minutes after entering. I slid my paw across the walls as I searched for anything that might be of interest. Every so often, the wall would disappear, indicating a doorway, and my hand would involuntarily fall forward, causing me to stumble a bit.

     I continued this slow search process until I saw something I'd never seen so far into the labyrinth: light. There was a light source flowing out of a room up ahead. Intrigued, I walked forward to examine. I entered the room slowly to find a small piece of the ceiling had collapsed and fallen through, leaving a bright light shining into the room. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, I found a small pedestal in the center of the room. Lying on the platform was a small, almond-shaped stone.

     I picked it up and examined it closely. There were engravings all along it, and they seemed to say something, but what I had no idea. There was a different colored circle on one side of the almond shape, and when I looked closer, I realized the whole stone looked like an eye.

     And as soon as I discovered that, the circle in the center of the eye burst into light, as if it knew what I was thinking. Shocked, I dropped it onto the podium. The light coming from the stone was changing colors, and as I looked around, I noticed that the light was shining onto the wall. I watched it, and suddenly I saw a scene in the light. The stone was trying to show me something!

     The image became clearer, and I realized it was showing me Geraptiku. But there was something different about it. I noticed after a moment that people were living there! This was the Geraptiku of centuries past.

     After another moment of transfixed watching, I saw that there was something wrong in the scene. The town was on fire, and people were screaming as loud as they could, but I didn't hear anything. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The village was being destroyed before my eyes, and I couldn't do a thing to help. It brought tears to my eyes, which surprised me. I'd never been so emotional before. I continued watching the scene, becoming profoundly saddened by what I was watching.

     And then, something happened which interrupted the scene on the wall. The colors streaming in from the hole in the ceiling changed, and I heard a scream from outside. Simultaneously, the stone's scene flickered a bit, and suddenly it shut off completely. The stone was just a stone again, nothing more. I glanced up, and heard more screams and then an explosion, which shook the tomb. Something was happening outside. I grabbed the eye stone just in case I might need it later, and hurried to find the way out.

      I noticed in the process of finding the way out of the labyrinth that something was different. It was lighter inside the tomb, and there was much less ivy growing along the walls. There were hardly any cracks in the ground, and places that had caved in before now stood solid. Something was amiss. After a short while of searching, I found the exit. It wasn't too difficult, as I listened for the screams and followed them. What I saw when I exited the building shocked me.

     The scene I had watched on the wall in the tomb was now playing out in front of my eyes, destruction and all.

To be continued...