Musings From A Demented Mind Read online

  “Mankind,” she said sadly.

  “Mankind respects nature.”

  “Unfortunately not for long. One day mankind will want to venture further into the world. Progress they will call it. First the forests will disappear, then the animals, and then mankind. I need someone; a gentle soul and a warrior all in one; who can protect what I’ve worked so hard for my whole existence to protect.”

  “Am I the first to be worthy?”

  “There have been a few others, but they chose to return to your tribe instead of staying on as protector. Only one chose to be my champion.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He died many years ago. He was my champion for a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Longer than you could possibly imagine.”

  “If I take the offer, what do I get in return?”

  “You will be blessed by the gods and have fortunes beyond your wildest imagination in the afterlife.”

  He stared at her for a few seconds and then at the cave. Alzina began to play her harp as she waited for his decision. A lion ambled over to him and sat down at his feet. He had never been close to one before and was amazed the lion wasn’t a threat.

  “Animals are friends to my kind and they will be to you if you accept my offer,” she said as she played on.

  He cautiously put his left hand on the lion and began to pet it. The lion slowly looked up at him and yawned. Rastus laughed in disbelief. He looked over at Alzina and smiled.

  “Enter the cave and become my champion.”

  He walked into the cave. There were glowing blue diamonds along the walls brightening up the passageway. Carved into the wall were depictions of a muscular man wielding a sword, surrounded by wild animals. He stopped for a few minutes to admire the carvings before venturing further into the cave. At the end of the passageway was a large boulder that was flat on top with an outline of a sword etched into it. Taking out his sword, Rastus placed it on the outline. It began to glow bright red and then vanished, reappearing a few seconds later. What once was a silver sword was now gold. He picked up the weapon admiring its new beauty.

  “You alone are the wielder of this magic sword, as long as you follow an honest path. Follow a dark path and it will turn on you,” Alzina warned.

  “What do I do now?”

  “Venture forward into the world. What lies ahead is nothing compared to what you’ve encountered so far. There is a different world beyond the forest. Listen to the animals. They will be your guides. Until we meet again.”

  Alzina vanished.

  He re-placed his sword in the familiar leather-bound scabbard, suspended from the strap across his right shoulder. He followed the passageway out of the cave. The forest looked very different. The leaves on the trees were colored red and orange and the ground was littered with the fallen leaves. When he entered the cave it had been spring and now it seemed to be fall.

  How long had he been in the cave?

  Next to the cave entrance there were markings carved in a large stone. These were ancient symbols his grandfather taught him to read. Cave of Time. It didn’t have a meaning to him for now. He changed direction to his village. He reached the end of the forest where he had learned to swim in. A canoe he’d left tied to a rock was nowhere in sight. He jumped into the water and swam across. On the other side, he sat down and rested. He had a couple of hours of daylight left, so he grabbed some sticks and a couple of rocks and built a fire. The sun disappeared and he watched the stars before falling asleep.

  The sound of something splashing in the water awoke him. He opened his eyes to find a saber-toothed tiger asleep at his feet. A large, multi-colored fish repeatedly jumped in the river. On the other side of the river were four beautiful white horses, each with a golden horn on the top of its head. He had never seen anything like them before.

  The tiger raised its head and stared at him. As Rastus stood up, so did the tiger.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The tiger ran for the forest, stopped and stared at him.

  “You want me to follow?”

  Rastus pulled his sword out of the scabbard and followed the tiger into the forest. He could hear the sound of a large animal struggling up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard somebody ordering to attack. He saw a mammoth in the distance. Three men in brown leather armor had a rope tied around one of its tusks.

  “Subdue the beast! His tusks will make great weapons!” their leader yelled out.

  Two men wrapped a rope on the same tusk and pulled, trying to force the mammoth to the ground. Rastus jumped forward and sliced one of the ropes with his sword. He violently pushed three of the men backward with his left hand.

  “Kill him!” their leader commanded.

  Rastus cut the other rope. The men carried carved wooden clubs, long and heavy. One young man swung at him. Rastus deflected the blow with his leather armor on his left forearm and swung his sword with his right, slicing the club in half. Another man rushed at him while the third unsuccessfully tried to stop the mammoth from escaping.

  Their leader watched the fight in awe. His men’s clubs were no match for the strength of Rastus’s sword.

  “I want his weapon! Take it from him!”

  Rastus fought the group of three until each of them lay on the ground unconscious. Their leader began to run away, then stopped, and turned around and stared at him. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against a warrior like Rastus.

  “Who are you?”

  “Rastus, protector of the animals.”

  “Another time, Rastus.” He nodded his head in respect and walked away.

  Rastus lowered his sword and looked at the tiger who was standing over the men ready to attack if they regained consciousness.

  “We better go before they wake up. My village is not far from here.”

  The tiger followed him. They reached the end of the forest and entered a clearing. Rastus stared in disbelief. His village was in ruins. All that remained was the large well that used to be the center of the village.

  “Your people have been gone for a long time,” Alzina said from behind him.

  “What happened?”

  “This village was one of many destroyed by the Zentlox.”

  “Where are these Zentlox?”

  “Like your people; they were conquered. You’ve been away from this land for hundreds of years.”

  “Why am I in the future?”

  “Because this is the time when my forest and the animals need you most. This will be your first test, your first journey. Return the balance between nature and mankind.”

  “If I fail?”

  Alzina’s eyes turned a dark red. “Do not fail!” Her eyes returned to their natural shade of blue. “If you fail, my animals will disappear from this world one by one.”

  Rastus looked over at the tiger licking its left paw and then back at Alzina.

  “I won’t fail. This I promise you.”

  “Your quest begins north,” Alzina said and disappeared.

  He could see a large mountain off to the north. He walked past the well and into the forest on the other side with the tiger following behind him. He looked back at what was once his village with sadness. He thought about his parents, his grandfather and the other people of his tribe. He had outlived them all. He said a prayer and continued to walk forward.

  Alzina watched him from a distance.

  “He has a strong heart which sickens me, but even strong hearts can be broken,” a large, muscular, red-skinned creature with a head similar to a lion said as he appeared next to her. He was a demon from the underworld who despised nature and wanted mankind to destroy it.

  “Tyles, I have faith in him. He will succeed.”

  “We shall see,” he said as he sat down next to her. “He’s heading for my land. You know I will have to stop him.”

  “He will defeat you.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Alzina, to my victory,” Tyles said arrogantly and disappeare
d.

  “Arrogance will be your downfall.”

  The End

  The adventures of Rastus will continue in the novel “Beast Within” by Derek Ailes coming in 2016.

  SHELANA’S QUEST

  Shelana stared out the window of her hut watching a unicorn drinking out of the pond by the large tree. It was beautiful with its white fur and the golden horn on its head. She didn’t want to venture outside because she was afraid she would startle it into running away. Her sister, Melody, walked over to her curious about what had caught her attention.

  “She’s magnificent,” Melody said while braiding her long, black hair. Once finished, she put her hands on Shelana’s reddish hair.

  “I don’t want my hair tied up today,” Shelana said as she moved her hair away from her.

  “You have the most beautiful hair in the world. Why must you go about with it so messy?”

  “Melody, I love the way it flows in the wind.”

  “You are a warrior, remember?”

  “Just because I’m an elf, doesn’t mean I have to be a warrior,” she said, pointing at her pointed ears.

  “Even warriors must look their best. We never know who we will encounter.”

  “Hoping to find an elf prince? Not too many venture this far into the forest. At least, I have never seen one here.”

  “Shelana, you never know.”

  “Face it, we are isolated out here as the guardians of the forest. Our only friends are the animals and the butterflies. Occasionally, we encounter a fairy, but that’s it.”

  “Shelana, your unicorn just ran away. Want to go outside where that wind of yours is?”

  She moved her hand toward her hair again.

  “Melody, stop!”

  “I’m just playing with you,” she said with a big smile. “The last one out must kiss a frog.”

  “Probably turn me into a frog instead.”

  Shelana walked over to the pond and admired her reflection. The wind caused her hair to flow backward. The sound of the birds chirping calmed her.

  Melody walked over to her holding something hidden in her hand. “I found your frog prince.”

  “Put him down.”

  “Fine. That’s probably the only chance you’ll…”

  A tiger roared in the distance.

  “There’s danger nearby,” Shelana said as she ran into the hut to retrieve her bow and arrow. Melody followed her and grabbed her sword.

  The tiger continued to roar.

  “Sounds like it’s coming from the middle of the forest. Melody, prepare yourself.”

  “I’m always prepared.”

  They ventured farther into the forest. The only sounds they heard was from the tiger warning them of imminent danger.

  “Do you smell that? Could it be?”

  “Shelana, I can smell something rotten. Definitely a reptilian. I suggest an aerial assault.”

  Melody climbed a thick, green vine up the side of the nearest tree. Once she was at the top, Shelana grabbed the vine and climbed. Melody grabbed another vine and swung across and landed on a large branch of the tree several feet away. Shelana waited for the vine to return and then swung across.

  Melody pointed at Shelana’s hair. “Maybe you should have let me tie it.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to be tree hopping today. Can you see anything?”

  “Not from here.”

  Melody grabbed another vine and swung over to another tree. She released the vine and kneeled down on the large branch and surveyed the forest below. She could see the tiger locked in a large wooden cage surrounded by several reptilian warriors. They were all dressed in thick metal armor with helmets aligned with animal bones. Their leader stood taller than the rest and, unlike the skinny, grey skeletal appearance of the other reptilians, was muscular. He held a large club made out of an elephant’s ivory tusk.

  “How many?” Shelana asked as she landed on the branch.

  “I see eight including their leader.”

  “What do they want with the tiger?”

  “Whatever the reason, it can’t be good.” Melody grabbed a dagger from her left leather boot. “Prepare for battle.”

  She threw the dagger and it embedded itself into one of the reptilian’s necks. It fell forward dead.

  “Who threw that? Show yourselves!” the reptilian leader commanded.

  “Take out the smaller ones and I’ll get their leader,” Melody ordered.

  She grabbed a vine and swung toward the leader. He deflected her sword attack with his club causing her to lose her grip on the vine. She fell to the ground hard.

  “An attack from a girl! Now that’s hilarious!”

  The leader swung his club toward her. She rolled out of the way avoiding its impact.

  Three of the reptilians fell dead from Shelana’s arrows.

  Melody jumped up from the ground and swung her sword toward the leader who deflected it with his club. The other three remaining reptilians fell dead from Shelana’s arrow attack.

  “Give up. All your friend’s are dead,” Melody ordered.

  “Never. Your sword is no match for my club.”

  As he held the club upward, an arrow penetrated his hand causing him to drop it. Melody swung her sword across his neck. He grabbed his neck as he fell to the ground. She pulled his helmet off and swung her sword downward slicing his head off.

  Shelana swung down from the tree and landed on her feet. She walked over to the wooden cage and released the tiger. It stared at her as she put her hand on its head.

  “You are free now.”

  It raised its head in acknowledgment and walked away.

  “Thank you for saving my tiger,” a voice from behind them said.

  They both turned around startled. Standing before them was a tall female with long, flowing, red hair dressed in a glowing yellow garb. She held a silver harp in her hand that played without her plucking any strings.

  “Who are you?” Shelana asked.

  “My name is Alzina.”

  “My name is Shelana and this is my sister, Melody. We are the guardians of this forest. How come we have never encountered you before?”

  “I’ve never had a reason to reveal myself to you until now. The world is changing. The reptilians are advancing farther into the forest and extinction now faces my animals. As you can see from the animal bones aligning their armor and the club made from one of my elephant’s ivory tusks, how much of a threat they are. As their numbers grow, my animals diminish. This has to stop before it’s too late. I may be one of great magic, but my magic is useless to the animals that have perished. I can heal those that are injured, but it is forbidden for me to use my magic to resurrect the dead.”

  “How can we help?” Shelana asked.

  “There is a magic crystal which can save my forest. Find it and place it on top of the oldest tree in the forest. Once the task is completed, the reptilians will never be able to venture in here again.”

  “What about the animals that don’t live in the forest?” Melody asked.

  “There is another chosen for that task. A warrior named Rastus. Your task is protection of this forest. Find the magic crystal for me. There is an artifact hidden in the ancient ruins of Klytrinxs that will guide you on your quest.”

  Alzina vanished. Melody stared at Shelana in shock.

  “We better head back home to pack supplies. We have a long journey ahead of us,” Shelana advised.

  “Klytrinxs. I heard legends about that place. They say a great warrior was born there centuries ago, but still lives.”

  “He was the warrior she was talking about.”

  “So the legend is true.”

  “I hope all of the legends about Klytrinxs aren’t true.”

  “Shelana, why not?”

  “They say the place is guarded by a monster. One that can’t be killed.”

  The adventures of Shelana and Melody will continue in the novel “Beast Within” by Derek Ailes coming in 2016.

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sp; The Stories Behind The Demented Mind

  I hope everyone enjoyed the musings from the demented minds of James Coon and me, Derek Ailes. I was sitting in the office at work when I found out about JC’s passing. Even though no autopsy was performed, his death was ruled complications from diabetes. Five days later, I met with his sister, Linda, and his niece, Amber. I asked them if they could locate a couple of notebooks filled with stories he had been writing from the 1990’s until a week before he passed away. To my surprise, not only did they find the two notebooks; they found his whole school writing file that included stories going all the way back to the 1960s.

  I had already decided minutes after finding out about his passing that I was going to write a collection of short stories based on all of the conversations we’ve had over the past fifteen years. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell. I wanted to include his story “Sirens of Lake Station” and I wanted to finish the story he started a week before ─ “Travelers”. With receiving his writing file, I found several other stories that I decided to also include in this anthology. There are a lot more stories of his in the file, but these were the ones that fit this anthology perfectly.

  Here’s a little background on James Coon:

  He was born on July 5, 1952 in Connersville, Indiana to Lloyd Coon & Mary Phyllis Teller. He was preceded in death by his parents and infant brother, Danny.

  He graduated from Wheeler High School in 1972. He had been working overnights in the produce department of Strack & Van Til and Wiseway Foods in Valparaiso, IN for twenty years and had previously served as an insurance representative. He enjoyed bowling in leagues, but relished the challenge of searching genealogy records. He was a diehard White Sox fan. He was a serious reader and I mean serious reader. Everywhere you turned in his house were stacks and stacks of books. He loved mysteries, science fiction and books on haunted houses and alien abductions. He was also one of the biggest DC comic book fans I have ever met. He spent a lot of time at Galactic Greg’s Comic Book Shop along with Barnes & Noble in Valparaiso, IN. He would have me order numerous books through Amazon for him on a regular basis. Back when I used to sell used books on eBay, he would give me a long list of books to look for him when I was out hunting the resale shops for rare and out of print books.