The Forbidden Temple of Khyber Gorah – Chapter Nine: The Omnisphere

Zoey Walker could feel herself falling but there was little that she could do to stop it. She watched as fragments from the bridge danced around her, sharing her fate. She reached out, trying to grab anything that might slow her decent. To her surprise, her hand grabbed onto the left slope. Zoey gritted her teeth as the rocks bit into her fingers.

Fortunately, a small outcrop of rocks was large enough to support her weight and stop her decent. For a moment, Zoey didn’t know what to think. She just held onto the rock face with all her might and said a small prayer. When she got her breath back, she slowly took a look around. The two sides of the chasm tapered inwardly, allowing Zoey her chance to grab onto the wall.
“Sara!” shouted Zoey. “Sara!” There was no response.

Zoey started to become aware of the coldness around her. She was far away from the heaters up on the surface and was beginning to feel the sub-zero temperature even through her multiple layers of clothing. She quickly put on all of her equipment. She then looked at her right hand, the same hand that had initially slowed her descent. Her fingers had only minor cuts, but the glove was ripped up and would not give her hand proper protection. She shoved her exposed hand into her jacket.

Gaining a little confidence in her precarious predicament, Zoey started to sidle across the edge of the wall, hoping to find a way back up. While this did not look like a promising prospect, she did find a large pipe sticking out of the wall. Cautiously lowering herself, Zoey planted her feet on top of the pipe. Slowly, she walked across to the end of the pipe. She lowered herself into the pipe. The pipe itself was large enough for her to fit into as long as she remained on her hands and knees.

Zoey had no idea where the pipe went to, but wherever it was, it had to be better than where she was now. The pipe sloped upwards but luckily there was only snow and no ice lining the pipe. After what felt like twenty minutes later, the pipe ended at a long shaft that was at least twice as tall as Zoey was. Pushing her back against the shaft, Zoey used her legs to push her way up the shaft. Her large boots gave her a firm grip against the stony surface of the shaft.

“Ow!” said Zoey as her head unexpectedly hit something. The shaft had ended abruptly, something which Zoey couldn’t see in the pitch black darkness of the shaft. Zoey carefully examined the ceiling with her free hand. She could feel her legs start to tire as she felt what seemed to be a small hinge. Her right hand, still safe within her thick coat, removed a hidden section of her specialized belt. Junior gave her this belt which contained a small piece of explosive material, just enough to unhinge most doors.

She pushed the explosive out of the top of her coat and patiently set it up on the hinge. She then slid down the shaft and waited for it to blow. Surprisingly, the explosion was quiet. The lid came falling down, followed by a pile of snow. With her way unblocked, Zoey slowly climbed back up the shaft. As she pulled herself out of the hole, she thought she hear some voices. She briefly saw two figures enter a door behind a large altar covered in ice.

She looked back down at the hole she had just climbed out of. It must have been a trapdoor at one time. She quietly walked by the sleeping creature and followed the elusive figures into the next room. There, Lee and Sara stood at the top of the stairs, unaware of the falling panel of spikes, but Zoey, still at the bottom of the stairs, could see the shaft above their head.
“Look out!” shouted Zoey. Sara reacted instantly, pushing Lee and herself against the wall, letting the panel of spikes landed harmlessly in the middle of where they were standing.

“Zoey! You’re alive!” said Sara as Zoey made her way up the stairs. “Thanks for saving us.”

“It’s all in a day’s work, right?” replied Zoey.

“How did you get back up here?” asked Sara.

“Time for that later,” said Lee, as he managed to open the next door. “Whatever it is we came here for, it should be in the next room.”

Lee was not wrong in his assumption. There, in the middle of the room, was a large sphere, twice as tall as a human. Its surface was smooth with an oily texture to it. It was the only object not covered in ice or snow. The reason became apparent as they approached the alien object.

“It’s radiating heat,” said Lee.

“But what is it?” asked Zoey turning to Sara.

“I’m not sure,” replied Sara. “But don’t go near it.”

“It’s amazing,” said Lee. “There’s no seams, joints, or hinges. It’s one solid object.”

Zoey heard something neither of the others could. It was there, a mere whisper, familiar to her like a forgotten song. Her enhanced mind latched onto something underneath the surface of this mysterious sphere.

“It’s a computer,” said Zoey. “I don’t know what it’s for, but it’s some kind of computer.” Without thinking about it, Zoey reached out to the sphere, focusing on its strange music.

“Don’t!” said Sara, grabbing Zoey by the arm as Zoey’s fingers brushed the surface of the sphere. There was a blinding light and a rush of warmth greeting them.

Sara and Zoey opened their eyes, only to find themselves lying on the ground. As they slowly got up, they realized that all of their winter gear was gone. This was not so much bad news since they were now in the middle of a desert.

“What happened to us?” asked Zoey.

“You touched the sphere,” said Sara.

“How was I going to know that it’d do this to us?”

“Plenty of time to worry later,” said Sara. “We need to find some civilization.”

“How about that?” asked Zoey, pointing at a stagecoach coming towards them.

“Works for me.” They started to wave and shout at it.

It continued coming towards them, but showed no signs of slowing. “What’s wrong with them?” asked Zoey.

Sara didn’t have time to respond as the stagecoach barreled straight towards them. Little did they know that the driver was dead.

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Written by J M Emmons. The story and all characters are copyrighted by J M Emmons.