The Keeper of the Stones

Chapter 2



14th August – Harry West’s Garden – Lichfield



“Oh my God!” shouted Harry, as the ear-splitting roar that resounded once the boys opened the box made him lurch forward and drop the plant he was holding. He raised his arms instinctively to cover his head, ducking down as low as he could. The earth shook violently for a split second and Harry recoiled as if he was under attack, curling his entire body up into a ball. For the briefest of moments he panicked. Time seemed to stand still, sweat began inexplicably to bead on his forehead, and his hands began shaking uncontrollably. His mouth was so dry it felt like he’d been chewing sand. He tried hard to swallow but he couldn’t.

A few terrifying seconds later, everything seemed to have returned to normal in the garden and he raised himself slowly and cautiously to his knees.

Harry West was no stranger to fear. It should have been like a reunion with an old friend to him, he’d experienced it so many times before. But that was all a long time ago now, in what seemed like another lifetime. Then he had been a young man, fit and eager, prepared for everything that came his way. But now, things were completely different. He knew immediately what the heart-stopping, deafening noise meant. He understood fully the dangers associated with it. And the thought of them now ‘scared him to death.’ This was the last thing he’d expected, or ever wanted to hear. He was in shock. It had taken him completely by surprise. And Harry hated every minute of it!

“Oh no!” he screamed, as a second almighty roar made him turn around sharply to look at the top of the house. “No, no, no! The box. They’ve opened the box!” he shouted in dismay.

An awful sense of dread and foreboding consumed his being when he caught sight of the light that was now emanating from the skylight. It confirmed that his worst nightmare had come true. “Damn! No! It’s all my fault.” he raged. “Why did I let them enter that attic? No! They should never have gone up there. Not alone. I should have foreseen this, I should never have...”

He stopped shouting in mid sentence as he suddenly realised something.

“The light. It’s still there! Oh my... Why is it still there?” he asked himself, frantically trying to clear his mind so that he could think straight.

‘The boys. They haven’t shut the box.’ he thought, realising with alarm the answer to his own question. ‘Of course they haven’t. They’re just kids. They have absolutely no idea what it is they’ve just done. They’re completely unaware of the horror they’ve just invited into their lives. Into all our lives! ou



Harry’s eyes widened as he was suddenly overcome with grim determination. His mind cleared and his senses came alive. His heart began to beat rapidly as he decided upon his immediate priority.

“The box. I have to shut that infernal box!” he yelled at the top of his voice. He rose to his feet and began sprinting towards the house as fast as his legs would carry him. “I have to try to limit the damage that has already been done.”

He raced through the kitchen and up the stairs, his ageing lungs were burning fiercely and struggling to capture the oxygen he needed to maintain his pace. He stopped at the foot of the attic ladder and gasped violently for air. His chest felt like it was going to explode. He coughed and wheezed his way up the steps, forcing himself onwards and into the attic, even though every muscle in his body wanted desperately to give up.

“Jake, Ben! Where are you?” he screamed at the top of his voice as he entered the roof space. “You have to shut that...”

Harry was shouting at no one. He could see nothing but boxes and crates before him. But above them all, in the far corner of the room, was a bright ascending light. He ran towards it, weaving his way as best he could between the objects, until he reached the boys. They were both kneeling over the box, staring intently into it as if mesmerised and waiting for something else to happen.

‘You stupid pair of... Innocent fools!’ Harry thought. ‘You’ve probably done for us all. And you don’t even know it.’

He pushed them both aside and grabbed the box. He placed his palm over the two halves of the crest one by one and the beam of light retracted into the centre stone, retreating as rapidly as it had formed. Then it divided into the four coloured beams once again and they each simultaneously returned to their own corner stone. As they reached it, each stone lost its brightness and they were all once again in their original dormant state. The centre stone then descended into the middle of the box until it came to a halt. Once again, it was mysteriously suspended in mid air with nothing appearing to support it. The side layers of wood each returned to their original starting points, one by one and in rapid succession, until only the two top pieces of wood remained outstanding and they in turn slid effortlessly back into place, to reform the original cube.

Everything was quiet now in the attic. The only sound that could be heard was Harry’s frantic attempts to catch his breath. The boys were still sitting on the floor, too stunned to speak or move. Harry stood above them facing the box for a few minutes with his hands on his hips, trying to let as much air as possible into his overworked lungs. After a short while, he let out a huge sigh of relief. Then he remembered that the two young boys were still behind him. He turned around quickly to find them both staring at him, open mouthed and wide eyed, with disbelieving, astonished expressions on their faces, looking for all the world like rabbits caught in headlights.

‘Look at them,’ he thought, ‘they’re as scared as I am. And yet, they really don’t know the half of it. Oh what have you done?’ he asked himself, the thought of what had happened and the possible consequences of what might follow, overwhelming him. ‘Maybe we could get lucky?’ he tried to convince himself. ‘Maybe nobody saw the light? Stranger things have happened. Maybe they didn’t hear the sound?’

‘No.’

He knew it was forlorn hopeld There can be no escaping the fact that the box has been left open for some considerable time. The thunderous roar to the heavens has twice been heard. The shaking of the earth was certainly real enough. And the light has shined out of the box and up to the sky so brightly, and for so long. No. I can’t evade the truth, however terrifying it is. I have to face it. They will be coming! They’ll probably come in force this time. They must have seen the light. They surely must have heard the noise and felt the tremors. I have to accept it, no matter how much I don’t want to. They’re coming alright. The world we all know will be changed forever. And now, I have to prepare my young grandson for the fight of his life.’

Harry looked at Jake with a grandfather’s loving eyes. The moment he’d tried to avoid for so long, the one he’d hoped and prayed would never come to pass, had finally arrived. For a brief moment he didn’t know what to say or do. He couldn’t think straight and his mind went blank. Then, he had another moment of clarity. One solitary thought entered his brain like an express train.

‘Jake!’

It wasn’t about him now, it was all about his beloved grandson. ‘It’s all so simple,’ he thought, ‘there’s no real choice to make here. There’s nothing else I can do. I have to explain everything to Jake and fast, if I’m going to give him a fighting chance. I have to tell him everything I know, to arm him with a little knowledge that may just make all the difference when the time comes. But how? Where should I begin? What can I possibly say? How can I recount this story, one so fantastic and unbelievable, but true? How can I tell it to my only grandson after all these years?’

Harry had no wish to expose Jake to the truths he was about to learn. He loved him dearly and he definitely didn’t want that life for him. A life that could see Jake have to go through the same heartache and pain that he himself had experienced. A life which would always be fraught with danger. One that would be all-consuming, precarious, and take away his innocence and youth. But despite all of his many worries and concerns, Harry had quickly come to realise the awful truth he was now faced with. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that now the box had been opened he no longer had a choice. He could protect his grandson and his family from the truth no more.

Tears began to form in Harry’s eyes as his emotions overcame him at the thought of the magnitude of what he was about to say, and how it was going to change his grandson’s life forever. He fought them back and composed himself. He looked down at his hands to find that they were still shaking violently. His heart was racing and his mouth was still dry, his whole body was aching furiously from the short run to the attic, and his lungs felt like they were on fire. He knew that his ageing body was reacting to events exactly as it should have done, as any normal man in his sixties might react. But this was not how Harry had expected to feel. It was not how he was used to feeling. It shocked him to be so tired from one short burst of energy and it only confirmed what he’d been dreading all along. A pained look of forced resignation overcame his face as he finally succumbed to the realisation and fear that this was a battle he could no longer wage.

‘I’m in no condition for this fight.” he thought. ‘My time has come and gone. I have to accept that for everyone’s sake. Everything now depends upon Jake. It’s all down to him. This is a young man’s game, and I can no longer play.’

But Jake was still so very young. And Harry ’t know if he could handle it.

‘Is he strong enough? Mature enough? How will he react?’ he asked himself. He really wasn’t sure. His thoughts turned briefly towards Graham, his son, but he dismissed the notion in an instant.

‘No,’ he thought, ‘it’s Jake who’s opened the box. They’re probably already aware of his existence, but they know nothing of Graham. Maybe I can keep it that way? And in any event, Jake, despite his obvious youth, is probably the stronger of the two.’

Harry placed his right hand firmly on Jake’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

“Jake,” he said, “I think we have to talk!”