By Thomas N., text copyright 2000
By Thomas N., text copyright 2000
"This is boring Dr. Washington," yawned out Anthony.
Anthony Woodson was a tall 12-year-old boy. He had voluntarily gone to church with Dr. Washington, his old, scruffy friend. A friend of theirs was having a baby baptized. Another one of their friends, the muscular Father Theodore Johnson was head of the church and was of course running the baptism.
Father Johnson walked down the aisle with an earthen jug full of holy water. Ceremonial music was playing in the background. All of a sudden, a supernatural scream was heard. Father Johnson dropped the jug and it shattered into a million pieces. Everyone was speechless. The jug had fallen to the floor, but the holy water had not. Another boy named Andy Powell stepped in. A few other kids did that, too.
Father Johnson canceled the baptism. Two days later Dr. Washington summoned him.
"BLACK MAGIC, I tell you!" screamed Father Johnson. He looked at Dr. Washington as if the world was going to end.
"But Theo, you know magic is all an act," said Dr. Washington. He had to tell a little white lie to calm Father Johnson.
"That was totally supernatural I tell you, Al. So please shut up while I explain," interrupted Father Johnson.
"Listen closely," he continued. Then he began his tale. "Way back in 1459, the high priest of England was having a ceremony in honor of the King. George, whatever. Well, he got mad during one of his church services and slammed down the jug containing the holy water. Same thing as last Sunday as a matter of fact. A demon was unleashed, and it possessed the king. The king shut himself in his room and was never seen again."
"Spooky!" said Andy Powell as he walked into the door. Anthony had come in with him. They were good friends.
"How dare you…" said the obviously infuriated Father Johnson.
"Chill down, dude," replied Andy in an audacious tone of voice.
At the moment Andy gasped and turned white. Then he breathed a sign of relief for he did not notice the strange change that had occurred. Andy had suddenly turned into an albino.
"Albino," said Dr. Washington.
Father Johnson was in another world.
"There must be some magical reasoning behind this?"
"Okay, back to earth, Father Johnson," said Andy in an even more impudent tone of voice than before.
"Let me explain to you confused group," said Father Johnson in an especially saucy tone of voice directed at Andy. "Well, if my thoughts prove right, Andy has inherited a quite powerful magical gift. Evil spirits were in that area of evil, as I said. Well of course, good spirits were there too. They gave you a power to fight the evil and hope you will. And you stepped in that pool of floating water."
"Now, recite after me," and he told him the spell he had learned. As he was interested in magic, just like Dr. Washington. "Well, a sign should appear and tell what your magical strength is." Everyone left to see what would happen.
Two weeks later Anthony was listening to the radio. "And now we report a natural incident has occurred at Mt. Rushmore. Opposite of the presidents' faces the word "LEVITATE" has been mysteriously carved."
"That's IT!" exclaimed Anthony.
He invited Andy, Dr. Washington, and Father Johnson over. Once they came, Anthony eagerly began his story.
"And so I am pretty sure Andy can levitate!" Anthony said, happy to be done.
"Wait, why not all you people come to my house?" said Dr. Washington. Off they went to his house.
"Andy," said Dr. Washington seriously. "Go outside, close your eyes, and think that the house is in the air. Open your eyes and hold your hand out."
"Got it," said Andy. Still secretly in his mind, he thought that this explanation was balderdash.
"Okay, think of this house in midair, close your eyes, open them and hold your hands level with the house," he recited out loud.
"Ah-Ha," but he stopped short. He moved his hands to the sky. Up went the house and he flung it back down.
"Cool!"
He entered the house. It looked as if an earthquake had struck.
Dr. Washington went up to him and said, "Don't ever do that again."
Then he fell. Everyone left as hastily as possible.
Andy was happy about his new power. He could float in the air to his house; moreover, he thought he could move the universe. This definitely was a useless thought.
Still he had a feeling that deep dark evil was eager to pounce on him. It would excruciate him. The thought gave him a chill. He had hallucinations seeing himself alone. Then a blackness would approach him, and he would see a door. It was not extremely far away. Then he would flee in terror, but the door remained in the same spot.
One day, Andy was walking home after a tough school day. He had only finished second at the state geography trivia contest. It was held at his school. Anthony finished first. Every year, they came in either 1st or 2nd.
While thinking over the tie breaking question, Andy noticed a fleeting figure following him. It seemed to be only black. To see what it was, Andy stopped in an alley. The figure, probably not having a very high I.Q. kept on going, not seeming to notice.
Andy could not breathe. The creature was floating in midair. It had no shape whatsoever. Then a whistle was heard. Straight down went the beast but it had time to give Andy a look. In its eyes black paint seemed to nave been made into an endless circle.
Perspiration was pouring down Andy's face. He tried to walk up to the spot where the creature had disappeared as casually as possible. He strolled to the spot and gasped lightly. There in the spot was a sign.
Running until he was out of breath, Andy ran to his house. Once he was there, he resolved to call Dr. Washington. Dr. Washington came over immediately after that conversation.
"That was a demonic force," said Dr. Washington in a calm tone of voice. He had listened to Andy's story with anxious interest. "That thing wanted something, something important enough for it to show itself."
"Levitation!" yelled Andy.
"Alan A. Washington how could you be so ignorant!" screamed Dr. Washington and he slammed down an authentic 1903 Kearney-Smith into smithereens.
"You're lucky you figured that out, Andy. Something will come tonight. I'm positive. the diabolical spirits want your power."
Just as he finished something stirred outside.
"Probably the wind," said Andy.
"Ha, Ha, Ha!" said a pale, mysterious man. He was outside.
"Come shadow, we must prepare for the feast."
He mumbled a prayer. Out of the dirt, the Shadow of Death appeared. Then in midair, it formed the all too familiar sign of… DEATH.
"He, He, He. In no time, the cradle of humanity shall be mine." cackled the figure.
Chapter 3: The Mansion of Destruction
"Anthony!" screeched Mrs. Woodson.
"Coming, Mom!" No way, am I going he thought in his head.
"It's Dr. Washington."
Coming he thought as he totally reassessed the situation. He slipped into a pair of jeans and a shirt and sped downstairs.
"Hi!" he said as he got to the telephone.
"About time!" harrumphed the doctor.
"What do you want to tell me?" said Anthony.
"I've been thinking," Dr. Washington said as if Anthony was a little child. "All this stuff must have put a lot of pressure on Andy and you. So I definitely was pleased when my brother, Urban, invited us up to his mansion in Waterville, Maine."
"Sweet!" went Anthony. "Can I come?"
"Ask your mom if you can come."
With no persuasion, Anthony's mother let him go. She trusted Dr. Washington.
Meanwhile, last night, something had happened to Andy.
Late at night, Andy was awakened by a sound. He peeped up and saw a frightening sight. There was a man in the moonlight, and he did not look friendly. Andy stood there numb with fear. Nothing in his body could move.
"Come," said the man in a mischievous tone of voice. "Let me show you the wonders of my world."
He beckoned to Andy who went forward like a robot.
"Ahhhh!" a little voice screamed in Andy's head.
There in the floor a crevice opened. Andy screamed still only heard by the man and himself. Andy did not stop to breathe.
Everywhere bones were strewn about. They were yellow and musty with age. Demons jumped out of the corners. Andy was filled with an inconceivable fear.
Then he remembered his only weapon… Levitation. He thought of himself in midair. Suddenly the spellbinder spell was broken.
"Why did this happen? Nevertheless, let me get out of here," thought Andy.
Although Andy was saved from the horrors of beneath, he still had the most horrible nightmares.
The next morning, after hearing the good news, Andy and Anthony met at Dr. Washington's house. They were prepared for the trip.
Andy explained his whole tale not leaving out any details. The car ride was going to be quite long. Dr. Washington was amazed with the story.
"We are on to something," he said. "Andy, you are more powerful than we think. In fact, you can probably lift up this car and get us to Waterville."
"I will," replied Andy in a confident voice.
"NOOOOOOOO!" The pressure drowned Dr. Washington's voice out. The car sped forward. They were there in a jiffy.
"Don't worry," squeaked the pale Dr. Washington. "Urban knows about magic."
Urban Washington walked out.
"Ah," said Urban. "I see you've developed magic, Alan."
"Nope, my little friend did."
"Anyway, dear brother, welcome to my humble premises."
"Not humble, magnificent," Anthony said staring at the mansion.
"Wow! That is the coolest house I have ever seen," Andy said doing the same thing as Anthony.
"Now, I will have Presto carry your bags."
Urban clapped, and a muscular, Hispanic man came out. He took all the bags at once and still carried them as if they were pencils.
Later after a detailed tour of the house, they decided to take a short walk in the garden maze. It was quite large.
"Great, everything we want," they both said after Urban invited them on a tour of the house. They immediately began to go in the maze since it was quite late.
"Hey Andy, I feel something bad is going to happen," Anthony said. They had only been walking for 15 minutes. He sensed something wrong.
"Okay, let's go," replied Andy.
Then the sky turned black. They heard a hissing noise in the bushes. Anthony saw a shadow move.
"Andy, the area we are in, seems to be getting smaller," he said warily.
"What's wrong?" said Andy.
"Runnnnnnn!" hollered Anthony.
Out of the ground came the all too familiar figure.
"Ha, ha, ha!" cackled the menacing figure. "Welcome to my reign. I am Mattheus Mergal, Jr. Now you may come, Shadow, my little pet."
Right into thin air a shadow appeared. It headed straight towards Andy.
"Anthony, do something!"
Then it struck Anthony. He had an amulet.
"Ah-ha take that you dirty urchin," Anthony shouted aggressively. He jerked up the amulet.
"Uh-oh!" said Mattheus Mergal, Jr. as he began to writhe and twist in pain. The shadow simply disappeared with a hollow glance that said, "I'll get you back."
"That was a close one," said Anthony.
"Yeah," Andy replied as they walked out of the maze.
"Aaah!" Andy jumped up in surprise.
"Gotcha!"
"So."
After that, they walked home.
"Very interesting," said Urban. He had just heard the account of the scary event.
"You see I sensed something wrong."
"What?" Andy replied quizzically.
"I performed a spell. After reciting it, I dropped holy water."
"Right, right and it floated," Anthony cut in.
"But…" Urban was shocked.
"You see, brother, our priest also dropped holy water."
"Yes and it floated," added Andy.
"And about Mergal."
"Our friends Johnny Dixon and Roderick Childermass told us about the dead necromancer Mattheus Mergal," answered Dr. Washington.
"Amazing, you think you know everything," Urban said. Then he started chuckling and chuckling. He did not stop. It sounded very strange.
"Something is very wrong, Dr. Washington," said Anthony.
"Dr. Washington, it is a trap," Andy said using a little bit of reflexes.
"Sanco, Patorium, Luna, Nebula!" recited Dr. Washington.
Like a pale moonlight reflection "Urban" shimmered then disappeared.
"I hope we are not too late," said Dr. Washington in a concerned voice.
They flew up the stairs. Urban's door was locked. They rammed it open. There on the floor was Urban, in a semi-faint and breathing very heavily.
"A sin is made. Repel the enemy. I will block it all. Zeppelin destroyed. Over the entire world. Need be where I am hidden. Apocalypse." With those vague strange words, Urban shut his eyes.
Anthony, Andy, and Dr. Washington just stood there. They did not understand the situation.
"He is gone," said Dr. Washington as he burst into tears. "He's really gone."
What seems a little strange about Urban's poem? This is very instrumental in this book.
Chapter 4: A Creep Near the Crypt
After Urban's death, Dr. Washington had his funeral arranged. Everyone just assumed he died from natural causes.
Two days later…
"I think we should go back," said Dr. Washington.
"No, we came here to have fun, so that's what we are going to do!" exclaimed Andy.
Over the next week, they went skiing at Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Stowe. The conditions were great. Dr. Washington had not skied in 20 years, but he still did fine.
One the last day of their trip, they stayed in Portland. Little did they know that their lodging was near Mattheus Mergal's crypt.
"That was fun," Anthony sighed.
"I'm worn out," said Andy.
Soon everyone had drifted off into lala land. Late in the night, Andy heard a noise.
"It's nothing," he thought.
In Anthony's room, a hovering shadow went through Anthony. He kept on sleeping. Then at midnight, Anthony woke up like Frankenstein.
Out the window went Anthony, but he floated softly to the ground. By chance, a policeman was making his rounds and saw Anthony.
"Hey, kid! What are you doing?" said the bewildered officer.
Anthony picked up a rock and threw it at the car's window. It shattered.
"Kid!" the officer now had taken out his gun. The kid was nowhere to be seen.
Anthony had been mysteriously sent to Mattheus Mergal's crypt. Using his own will, he held out the amulet. He returned to his senses.
Out loud, Anthony yelled, "What am I doing here?!?!"
Suddenly, he looked down. There on the floor, was the sign of death in a circle made of distinctively yellow sand. "Strange," he thought. He backed off from the crypt.
"GOD BLESS ARIZONA!!!!!!!!" he burst out loudly. Anthony knew where the villain was. Urban's sentences were a clue.
Anthony walked back to the hotel.
"Well, I'll be darned," said the policeman as he saw Anthony skipping merrily along at 12:17.
He woke up the others and told a vivid explanation of his experiences.
Next morning, Dr. Washington took a sample of the of yellow sand from the crypt to an expert. The expert told him the sand had come from Arizona.
"We hafta go. We really hafta," said Andy.
"I know. This proves our villain is in Arizona," Dr. Washington said drily. In his head, he knew he was going to go there. He also knew if he told the two A's, they would beg to go. "I'll just tell them, "he thought.
"I'm going to Arizona," said Dr. Washington in a strained voice.
"We are going, too!" said Anthony and Andy in perfect unison.
"Uh… drat! You two can come along," said Dr. Washington in an even more strained voice.
"Pack your bags. We're going to Arizona!" said Andy, in an even more cheery voice.
During the five-day trip, Andy, Anthony, and Dr. Washington stopped in Louisville, Kentucky. There they enjoyed the best-fried chicken any of them had ever had.
After that short stop, they flew to Houston, Texas. There, the trio stopped at a restaurant serving only spicy food. Right after that, they watched a baseball game. Sadly the Cardinals were killed, which happened much too often. It was a 12-1 blowout against the Cardinals. Stan Musial drove 2 out of the park and made the pitcher, Dick Farrell, finished the season with a 10-20 record though he complied a 3.01 E.R.A. Two days later, everyone flew to Phoenix.
"Quite a trip," said Anthony. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Dr. Washington had vetoed the weather forecast. The doctor was wearing a thin, tweed coat along with a fancy pair of khaki pants. He was quite a scene, considering all his sweat wet pouring down could have filled a milk jug.
They had rented a Thunderbird and felt quite comfortable with the AC blowing in their faces while speeding down the highway in Dr. Washington style. He liked driving at 60 miles per hour even in the city.
"We are staying in Clarington," said the refreshed Dr. Washington. "Right next to the desert."
They drove along never bothering to look up. They would have seen Matthew Mergal, Jr. hovering above them not looking quite human.
"Falling into the trap," said the arrogant man. "They're doing the work for me." He laughed at his own joke which showed no taste whatsoever.
Anthony was now awake. They were at the hotel. Now he was having second thoughts about coming along.
What if this guy was dangerous? Would he ever come out alive? He fell asleep dreaming.
Anthony was walking through the maze at Urban's house. He looked around. Corpses, not skeletons, were on the floor. Then he walked into an enclosed room. He did not notice anything.
Out of a sudden opening came a walking skeleton. Anthony couldn't see its face. The thin face peered at Anthony. It was himself. Anthony screamed. The creature took him away in an unshakable grip. He was dragged into a secluded door that concealed an endless black chute. Anthony was falling…
"Anthony, chill down!" said Andy.
"You're alive," said Anthony. "I'm alive. We are all alive!" Then he started dancing.
"Who wants Belgium waffles? If you don't want them, what do you want?" interrupted Dr. Washington.
"Let me think…" said Andy. He was annoying Dr. Washington on purpose.
"Room service is waiting!"
"I'll have those," said Anthony.
"I'll take French toast," said Andy.
"They say it will be 25 minutes," said Dr. Washington. He was wearing his bathrobe and still clutching the telephone with his right hand.
After a good breakfast, during which Dr. Washington was furious when the service was delayed 2 minutes, Dr. Washington eagerly motioned to Andy and Anthony.
"Come look at this," he said.
There in the parking lot, was a new jeep. In the back of it were the things you'd need on a typical trip to the Arizona desert.
"That's what we're traveling in," said the proud Dr. Washington.
"Wow!" said Andy and Anthony in exact timing.
"Let's go!" said Anthony.
So off they went on the open road. Dr. Washington had 20/40 vision, so the ride was bumpy. They were getting nothing accomplished going through the desert aimlessly. They had to find something. Anything! Fortunately, once they thought they had hit rock bottom, they found something.
"Okay, we're five miles away from civilization," said Dr. Washington.
"I'm thirsty," said Anthony.
"Man, I'm seeing a mirage," said Andy. "It looks like a house, quite a big house."
"That's no mirage. I see that," said Anthony.
"Same here," said Dr. Washington.
In a cautious manner, Dr. Washington gave everyone a little bottle full of holy water.
"We may need this," said Dr. Washington. "Just remember to use it when necessary. We might need some later."
They drove on again and didn't notice the sky was turning black. In the sky, a shadow appeared. It was Mattheus Mergal, Jr. and he was holding a book.