Mystic Forces

Chapter 8

"Lets come back tomorrow Kai." Charles said. "It's getting late."

"Yeah." Sarah chimed in.

"Why are you guys giving up so easily?" Kai said sternly, still engrossed with his inspection of the engravings on the floor.

"We aren't giving up." Tea gracefully stated and pointed at his watch.. "But we need to rest for a while now. "

"Goodness, it's 5 o' clock." Kai was mad at himself for not considering his friends' safety. They were new to the place and as such it was easy to get lost.

He looked up at his friends. They were weary and tired, their skin clouded with dust.

He was about to apologize, but he was stopped by Tea. "Don't worry about it, Kai. It's okay." The supportive look on the faces of friends fuelled his spirits again. 'To hell with the mystery', he thought. Certainly no mystery could matter to him, more than the happiness of friends.

Tom made a comment about some 'neighborhood squirrels' which made all of them laugh their hearts out.

They headed back to the hotel, only to face an anxious mom waiting for her son and his friends.

"I was so worried. Kids, are you alright?" Mrs. Seto had a ruffled hair.

"We are really sorry, mom." Kai said. "We had to switch off our phones back there."

"Thank God you are okay." Mrs. Seto breathed a sigh of relief. "I gotta call your dad. He was also worried. He said he was going to cancel his meeting to come over."

"Yeah, sure mom." Kai gave a reassuring smile.

They took her leave and headed off to their rooms. After a hearty dinner, they decided to get a good deal of sleep so that energies were revitalized for the next day.

Kai had a strange dream where he was constantly shifting from one place to another. He heard strange noises...that were sometimes shrieks, sometimes calm collected voices. He decided to focus on that faint calm soothing voice. He was whirling around in super fast motion as his vision blurred and the voice gradually grew louder and audible. He landed on a familiar spot.

"It's the same circular engravings from yesterday!" Kai exclaimed.

What thrilled him the most was that he could understand part of what the voice was saying.

"Don't lose hope. Only the purest of hearts shall pass through. Open up your heart, look where the sun shines!" The voice repeated itself again and again.

Kai found his vision again getting blurred as he drifted back to a delicious slumber.

When they woke up the following day, the first thing Kai did was that he disclosed about his dream to his friends.

"I knew there was something peculiar about those engravings. I felt like I was hold by some charm. I couldn't take my eyes off it." Kai proclaimed.

"It's like a puzzle. Yippee! This is going to be really exciting." Tea cheerfully clasped her hands as they proceeded downstairs for breakfast.

Kai repeated what the voice stated in his dream. "Don't lose hope."

Tom answered without intimidating anyone. "We definitely didn't."

Kai was somewhat surprised at his comment. He was one of the first to give up the day before. He continued, "Only the purest of hearts shall pass through. Open up your heart!"

This time Sara spoke up. "It could mean that we put our trust in something that holds a power which could be beyond our imagination. "

Kai and the rest nodded. Meanwhile Charles added, "And not to forget pure intention. That has always been a key to so many mysteries."

"You're right, Charles." Kai finally disclosed the final message.

"Look where the sun shines."

"I'm sure we'll find out about it when we reach the site, right Cynthia?" Tea asked of her.

Just then they recollected what Cynthia had told them the other day and understanding dawned upon them.

"The Egyptians used it as a sun dial. It could be related with the position of the sun." Kai strenuously said.

"That's awesome." Tom winked at Cynthia, receiving a blow on his back from none other than Maria.

"Learn some manners. A thank you would suffice." She glared at him.

"No one gave you the position of disciplinary in-charge here." Tom shouted back.

Their argument began.

"Oh no, not again!" Sara gave up trying to control them.

Kai stood up between them, taking a blow from Maria, which eventually led to the end of their argument.

"I'm sorry Kai. Will you forgive me?", Maria asked apologetically, rubbing his cheek with cloth damped in cold water. She wasn't hitting with much force but because of the close proximity, he got hurt.

Kai was looking away from her.

Kai could never remain angry for too long. He smiled at her his most amazing smile and said,

"There's nothing to forgive. Your repentance is enough for me. Please don't try to fight again, buddy."

"I'm trying my best, but you know that idiot always spoils my mood." And they both laughed, interrupted by someone clearing his throat.

It was Tom.

"I'm sorry Kai..." But he was cut off by Kai.

"Hey, what's with you guys apologizing every time. We are best friends, right? Am I clear?"

He looked at the two of them with gracefully.

"Yes boss!" They nodded playfully.

After a while, they headed off to the ruins. The teenagers gleamed up with greater determination and looked very serious. They inspected each and every marking on the floor. Charles used a thermoscope to check where the sun's radiation hit the most. He found a peculiar spot, a place where all the scriptures pointed to.

They had correctly guessed that they would really benefit from checking out the place at mid-day since the sun would be at its highest intensity.

They were startled at first by what they saw. It was like a mirage, the image being constructed like that in a mirror. It was of a solid rectangular stone box as huge as a two-storied building. When the radiation dimed the mirage faded and they decided to look around the surroundings.

"Woah!" Kai gasped. Had he found it. He noticed that same structure at a distance, half covered with sand.

"Are you sure this is the one?" Genus timidly asked.

"We can't tell unless we check it out." Tom stated. They headed towards the structure.

"I have a feeling that this is what we are looking for." Maria chimed in.

A/N: "There's going to be lots of action in the following chapters. Will they be able to solve this mystery? And what was the voice all about? Find out in the preceeding chapters. Stay tuned, readers.