The Perfect Blue

Set in the same world as: Deep Dive & Ferula Blau

Disclaimer and content warning: This story features topics of being lost in the maze and being pursued. These topics may be disturbing to some readers.

**************

The morning sun gently tickled and warmed her pale, wrinkly skin. She admired the rays of light beaming through the dusty window.

A sickly cough escaped her lips, she reached for a cup of water, but the cup was empty.

“Ugh… useless… so frail and useless… come on Sam! Remember the old days.” She clenched her fists and pushed herself up on her trembling arms into a seating position.

She swung her legs over the bed side and hunched over weakly. Tired.

In that moment, a familiar squeak resonated through the room, and then the door swung open. “Mother? I asked you not to strain yourself. Call for me if you need anything.” Spoke a gentle voice of a young, fit man as he rushed to her bedside.

“Charlie… my dear boy. I’m still capable of…” But he interrupted her. “I know, climbing mountains, kicking ass, and of course, finding treasures! You’re the best that ever was!”

She cackled playfully and then coughed again. “Ahh.. if you wouldn’t mind…” she extended her hand toward a book.

He reached for it and glanced at the title as he picked it up, Indigenous myths of the rocky mountains. “What are you studying?” he inquired.

“Oh… there’s a myth that I wanted to show you.” She took the book into her frail, shaking hands, and opened it to the bookmarked page.

He read the chapter’s title. Secret whisperer of the purest blue. And proceeded to scan the page, picking out key phrases and ideas. A talisman that is said to whisper secrets of the world. Worshipped by the Indigenous tribes back prior to the colonization. Said to grant the people ability to find harmony with nature. Found originally in a pool of the purest water known to man.

“Hmm…” he pondered over what he had read. “Interesting.”

She nodded. “Isn’t it? Indigenous artifacts are not something our family ever mingled with.” Her voice was filled with excitement. She smirked at him. “You’ll inherit the family’s treasury… but before I can entrust it to you, you’ll have to prove that you’re ready.”

He gave her a stern nod. “Yea. I’m ready.” His gaze fell back upon the book. “Do you want me to seek that talisman out?”

Days of rushed research followed.

He discovered as much as he could about the mythical talisman. However, records of it were rather sparse as the tribes that lived around the Rocky Mountains were not too keen on sharing their myths and cultural beliefs with the occupants and invaders. His tickets were booked, and his destination was set.

Her phone buzzed. She picked it up. “This is Tomas. Calling in regard to our business matter.”

With a pleased smile in her tone “expedition is underway, and your order will be fulfilled in due time.”

“Greatly appreciated.”

The call was over.

Charlie was at the airport. Holding a small peanut in his fingers. On the top of his hand sat a chipmunk, curiously eyeing the peanut. The chipmunk inched ever closer to the peanut, then suddenly jumped and turned. Its small snout pointed in a direction of a man with a suitcase handcuffed to his hand.

“What is it peanut? That guy?” The chipmunk turned and glanced at him, then gestured something, and then fell over, playing dead.

“A threat huh…” Charlie glanced around the airport as to not seem conspicuous, then got up calmly and walked right past the man with suitcase, giving him a confident and friendly nod, as passengers normally would.

He made his way to the security post and informed them of something being suspicious with the man. As some may know, the US Airport security does not take such things lightly.

A few minutes later the man with suitcase was apprehended.

The following day, Charlie read headlines of newspapers while resting at a hotel. “A man with home-made explosives was apprehended at the … airport.” He grinned, glancing at his chipmunk.

“Well done buddy!” His attention then shifted to his notebook. He went through his notes, trying to figure out where to begin his search, and how to go about it. A good starting point was ‘sports and hunting goods’ store where he found himself the next day, packing a large hiking backpack.

“Where ya heading?” inquired the store clerk during the checkout.

“Uhh… just a hike into the mountains.” Charlie responded, pondering if he had missed or forgotten anything. He was a licensed archeologist, an experienced hiker, and a trained treasure hunter. He was confident that his pack was perfectly packed but doubt still lingered on his mind.

The next step was an interview that his connection set up for him, a descendant of a tribe’s chief that lived in these areas during the colonization period. He met the middle-aged Indigenous man at a café few hours after delivering his backpack to his hotel, and tried his best to acquire any additional information from a hesitant man who did not seem too keen on answering questions from a tourist who was inclined on exploring their lands.

After pestering the man with his questions, he got caught off guard with a question he never expected.

“What do you fear?” inquired the Indigenous man.

“Pardon me? Me? As in my… fears?” The man nodded at Charlie with a steady and slow bob of his head.

“Yes. Are you fearless enough to undertake this trip?”

The man then proceeded to explain that there’ll be sounds at night the young hiker wouldn’t be accustomed to, that might frighten him, in hopes of preparing, or scaring, the tourist away. Charlie wasn’t quite sure of the intent, but he certainly took notes of certain things to be better prepared.

Cougars, elks, and black bears were among the most notoriously threatening animals in the mountains that he had to look out for.

By the end of the discussion, he had learned of threats to be weary of, and the fact that the myths of the purest water well to have ever been discovered, has been passed down for generations in their tribe, but the secret of its whereabouts remained enshrouded in history. When the occupants forced the tribes out of their territories, they sealed and hid entrances to preserve the well and its purity from the ill-intentioned invaders.

His alarm rang at the break of dawn. His journey had begun. He took a bus ride to the outskirts of the city and began marching down the gravel hiking path that soon sloped up gently and before long, turned into a basic dirt path. He marched onwards, with his pet chipmunk, Peanut, keeping him company, and making it more difficult for him to traverse, when chipmunk’s tiny claws keep digging into his skin and crawling all over him.

After half a day of travelling, he sat down for a break. The sun was still quite high up and the forest swiftly turned barren. Only sparse trees now decorated the vastness, but the views were spectacular. Off in the distance the town was growing smaller. He had a protein bar, and then smirked.

“Peanut? Find something edible.” The chipmunk glanced him in the eyes, then sniffed around, and then ran off. Charlie followed slowly, weary of the unfamiliar lands.

Peanut led him straight to a few mushrooms that Charlie identified as plain white mushrooms, delicious, simple, and can be eaten raw. This certainly made the quick snack during his break a little more enjoyable for him.

That night he learned that albeit mostly barren and empty, the mountains are quite lively at nights. He was awoken in the middle of the night by a howl that could be described as a banshee’s scream. Bone chilling, terror inducing howl, which was responded to by an inhumane screech. Peanut sat upon his head, trembling in fear, clinging to his hair.

The bushes behind his tent rustled. He clang onto his knife, petrified and weary. The rest of the night he spent jumping at every sound he heard. The morning after he discovered a mountain lion’s tracks that circled his campsite, and the howls he heard he concluded to must have been coyotes. In a sense, he was grateful that the mountain lion was in the area, it warded off the coyotes that would’ve been a lot keener on exploring his campsite, as opposed to a cautious feline.

In the following days, he grew more used to the nightly silence that was occasionally interrupted by bone chilling sounds. On day four of his trip, he found himself exploring crevices and potential cave entrances. Past mid-day, something caught his attention, a distant sound of running water, underground somewhere.

He followed the sound to the best of his ability, assisted by his trusty companion Peanut who took the lead when Charlie lost his track. He followed his chipmunk over the rocks and into a crevice that led to what resembled a large crack in the rock, all signs indicated a cave entrance, but a caved in one.

The cave-in did not appear natural. The rocks that blocked the entrance had symbols carved into them.

He planted his hand on a cold large stone at the center of the pile, his fingers fell into a groove of the carved rune. He traced it carefully with his index finger. The symbol vaguely resembled runes of which he was aware. Loosely similar to a rune that would have be used for ‘protection’, frequently associated with religious places, and used as protection from evil. The other runes carved into rocks around it did not have any semblance to anything he was familiar with.

“Check inside.” He spoke softly, and the chipmunk leaped off his shoulder onto the rocks, then proceeded to sniff around as he searched for an opening to squeeze into, between the rocks. Although densely packed by centuries of settling, Peanut succeeded in disappearing between the rocks.

In the meantime, Charlie went to collect his pack and supplies to set up a temporary camp near this entrance.

He returned to the entrance roughly an hour later, but his companion was still missing. Another few hours passed in peaceful silence as he rummaged through his pack for tools and a couple of dynamite sticks that he had brought along just in case of a troublesome situation, such as this.

A squeak caught his attention, when he turned his gaze, there, on a rock beside him sat Peanut. The chipmunk nodded eagerly, this seemed to be the place, the talisman awaited him.

The following morning was a loud one. The sound of a dynamite’s explosion echoed through the morning. Awaking all that would have been engulfed by slumber. The blast cleared most of the blockage and loosened up the rest that remained intact, making it easy for Charlie to create an entry path for himself. He set a piece of fractured stone that had a piece of rune carved into it on the side and sighed. “Sorry… I… have no time to take this slow.”

He grabbed a small travel pack out of his backpack, threw in a bottle of water, few snack bars, some mixed nuts, a snorkel with diving goggles, head mounted lamp, a spare flashlight, and a camera to document whatever he may encounter that may be worth recording, and into a dark, damp cave, that had been blocked off for a century or two. They ventured in.

The air was stale, and an odd, unfamiliar stench accompanied him for hours until he finally grew accustomed to it enough to ignore it. The walls of the caves were rough, and it was pitch black. First fork, the path split into three.

“Peanut?” the chipmunk pulled him by the ear till he faced the path to the right.

“Alright!” He took a few steps down the right path and marked the direction with chalk, drawing an arrow pointing toward the exit.

Each step he took echoed through the otherwise silent cave, reverberating through the massive cave system. His breathing was steady, but the silence of the cave made him aware of every breath he took, every sniffle, cough, and step. Something about this experience was unsettling for him and made him desire to be as quiet as he could be. He came to an opening, a room of sorts, with five paths leading out of it.

Once more Peanut guided the way. He could hear soudns of water, somewhere off in the distance, dripping water, and faint semblance of running water.

Excitement grew as the sounds of water grew closer and louder, masking the sounds of his breathing, and his steps. He picked up pace, eager to reach the waters, eager to learn if he’ll make a discovery of the long-lost artifact or not.

He turned a corner, his light reflected off the surface of a mostly still body of water, blinding him for a moment. When his eyes adjusted, he marveled at the beautiful naturally formed pool at the center of the room he found himself standing at the entrance of. Water dribbled down into it from a tiny stream, coming out of the wall.

In an instant, Peanut jumped down from his shoulder and rushed for the water. Then came to a halt and leaned closer to it. Charlie took a few steps closer to watch as the chipmunk sniffed the water and then gave it a lick, and then proceeded to drink to his heart’s content.

A soft titter escaped his lips. “A natural spring…” He knelt beside him and reached into the water with his hand. It was cold, his fingers tingled, but he still scooped up a bit of the natural spring water to taste it for himself.

As he brought it up to his lips and slurped it, his eyes shot open. “WHOA! So good!” He scooped up some more and slurped it once again. “It’s so clean and refreshing.” It was the purest water he had ever tasted. Muffled by the sound of dripping water and his own joy, he thought he heard a faint scream off in the distance, quite far, barely audible and muffled by the water, it could have just been a play of his imagination.

He paused and listened carefully. Silence. Only the echoes of the water persisted.

But the chipmunk seemed alert. “What is it buddy?” The chipmunk’s fur raised up, its snout pointed up, sniffing the air. Something was amiss. He contemplated, diving in search of the artifact did not seem like the best choice now. He scooped the water into his empty flask. “Alright… Lead us out, we’ll be back tomorrow.” He remarked. Instinctively his gaze darted between the two entrances into the pool’s room.

The chipmunk took a hesitant step toward the entrance from which they originally emerged, and then suddenly dashed off toward the other entrance. “W…WAIT!” Charlie called out, but then he heard a step. A quiet step, that came from the direction where he had entered from. He gasped, a chill ran down his spine and erased all hesitation.

He followed his companion in haste.

His steps were heavy and loud, echoing throughout the cave. Whoever, or whatever, it may have been, has now been made plenty aware of his presence, but he had no desire to meet whatever it may have been. His only desire was to not lose track of Peanut, who was his best shot at finding the exit, especially now that he ran in the other direction from the one he came from.

He reached to the strap of his travel pack and pulled off his second flashlight, trying to keep it focused on Peanut who was sprinting off as if being pursued by a cat. The muffled stepping sounds echoed from behind him. He struggled to tell if they were his own sounds, or whatever may have been chasing him, if it was chasing him, but he didn’t care. At the moment, getting out of the cave was his top priority.

After five or so minutes of chasing after Peanut, Charlie noticed that he had now ran past an arrow he drew earlier, but it pointed in the opposite direction of where Peanut was taking him. Peanut did not ease up for a second and kept dashing, he rounded the corner into a different path, an unmarked path, and then few more turns at various forks and then suddenly the chipmunk came to a halt.

Charlie fell to his knees, gasping for air.

“Hahh!!! Wa…wait…”

But Peanut did not wait. He leaped at him and tried to cover his head mounted light with his body, as if calling for Charlie to turn it off. Charlie rushed to turn the light off, and the handheld flashlight too and pushed himself against the cold and rough, stoney wall of the cave. His breathing was still heavy and panicked, but Peanut’s tiny paws on his lips were enough of a hint for Charlie to shut up and keep quiet. ‘What the hell is it that frightened Peanut so much? What dwells in these caves?’

Quiet, careful steps closed in, and then a gasp, and a bone chilling voice send his mind into a disarray. Distant, hesitant, fake, it spoke slowly, clunkily “Wa…it… It’s…c… lean!” Charlie’s body froze from fear. ‘W…wha…t the fuck is that…??? Who…? Is somebody playing pranks on me??’ His mind battled his fears, seeking to find reason, an explanation for what was happening.

He stayed put for a brief moment that felt like hours of intensely pressing himself into the rough wall behind, too afraid to move a muscle, or to even take a proper breath. He held his breath. A bead of sweat formed on his eyebrow.

“Wa…it…” The screechy voice called out, seemingly not moving for the time being.

No steps were heard. Charlie prayed in his mind that whatever, or whoever, it may be, will take the wrong turn. That it, whatever it was, would not find him by smell or anything of the sort. “So…clean…It’s…so…”

A gentle step in the opposite direction echoed through the silent cave, or so it sounded, and then another. Yet Peanut’s paws remained firmly planted on Charlie’s lips, keeping him hushed, and put. When sounds were distant enough, he allowed himself to breathe out at last. His panic set in again as he scrambled to find the way to turn his light back on.

Head mounted light on low, he shakily pushed himself up, leaning of the wall for support, too afraid to turn the flashlight on to scan his surroundings, he whispered softly.

“Come on buddy… let get out of here.” The chipmunk hesitantly crawled down his body and then the ground, stopping every few steps to sniff and listen.

Everything seemed fine. Slowly but steadily Peanut picked up his pace, and Charlie eagerly matched it. Desiring to leave and never return. He followed his companion in track.

As he rounded a corner, his hand impacted on something and he dropped his flashlight. “Shit…” He turned around, momentarily contemplating to search for it.

But his consideration was washed away the instant he saw a pair of inhuman, boney, long legs, in his sight. His body froze for a moment, contemplating between looking up at the rest of whatever it was, running, or staying still and praying.

“Shit…” Its screeching voice said.

His heart skipped a beat, before he had a chance to think any more, his instincts kicked in and he dashed off, without a care in the world for the direction, or anything else, he just dashed off.

Time was nonexistent, not any more at least. It didn’t matter. The only metric he was concerned for in the moment was the distance between himself, and whatever that thing was.

Seconds quickly turned to minutes. Echoes of footsteps, occasionally multiple sets thereof, and desperate gasps for air were all that entertained his mind. Occasionally it would seem as if that creature stopped its pursuit, just to suddenly hear it call out “wai…t” behind him once more.

Scratched up and bruised by the cave as he mercilessly threw himself around corners in desperate attempts to escape and find the exit, his legs gave in at last. His body succumbed to exhaustion as he fell after stumbling against a rock. The pain of rough ground tearing at his skin did not matter. He pushed himself over and turned to face his fear, but only darkness greeted him.

“Gah…Ah… Hahh!!!” he gasped, his lips trembled, upon realizing that the creature was not in fact fast on his tracks. In panic he swiveled his head around, shining light around the empty passage. “Ahhhhhh! Ha…hh… F…fuck..” By now, his entire body trembled. He was gasping, panting, desperately trying to catch his breath. ‘No time to waste… come on!! Let’s get out of here!’ He clang to his will to live, and the chance that seemingly presented itself to him.

When he finally managed to get back up on his feet, his gaze focused on an arrow that pointed behind him, an arrow that he drew. ‘Alright… easy now…’

He removed his head mounted lamp and pulled his shoes off. The rough ground dug into his soles through the socks but at least moving will be quieter. He clenched the light in his fist to hide it but still give himself at least a bit of vision and followed the arrow. ‘Straight… no turns… Follow the arrows.’

As he reached the first ever fork, the first arrow he drew, a pot he rejoiced to recognize, the screeching voice echoed through the cave.

“Buddy… Wa..it…Bud..dy.” Realization settled in at last, Peanut was distracting the creature while he made his escape.

For a moment he considered rushing back into the darkness in hopes of finding his companion, but he knew full well that Peanut had a higher chance of escaping than he did, so he rushed for the exit, for his temporary camp site. Spare boots, quickly threw what he could into his track pack, leaving behind his main supplies, he began his descend.

“The coordinates have been submitted. The Ferula mountain is yours to explore. Our part of the bargain is complete.” Said Samantha.

“Funds will be transferred. Blau corporation appreciates your business, as always, Miss Chrome.”

She hung up, her gaze fixated on the notes that her son passed to her before leaving with his chipmunk to an undisclosed location, never to be seen, or heard from, again.

“NEVER! GO! THERE!” Were the last words in his notebook.