Respites of Power: The Soul Alliance, #1

By Charles Streams

Roger Torrents is amazed when he runs into a mysterious white-haired man in Mexico, who takes him to Chanulville, a world where the inhabitants shoot red, yellow, orange, blue, green, or purple lasers out of their fingers called zaps, and round lights from their stomachs called soulbeams. Roger loves the idea of being able to teleport to a secret world whenever he wants, but he is also informed that he and other Chosen Ones are needed in Chanulville to form the Soul Alliance and heal the life-giving Central Orb.

As Roger leads the Soul Alliance in fulfilling the Respites of Power Prophecy, an ancient Chanulano artifact is stolen, inexplicable colored shapes appear in the sky, booms shake the entire land, and a Chosen One is attacked. When the truth behind the sinister events is unraveled, each member of the Soul Alliance must decide to face his or her destiny in Chanulville or return to the outside world…forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Streams
• Release date: Oct 9, 2014
• ISBN: 9781502287342

Book preview

Respites of Power

By

Charles Streams

Copyright © 2007 Charles Streams

All rights reserved by the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Respites of Power is book 1 in The Soul Alliance Series.

Printed version ISBN

ISBN-13: 978-0-9818818-0-5

ISBN-10: 0-9818818-0-7

To Juan Manuel,

the hobbling Mexican travel guide

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Tingling Sensations

Chapter 2 A Destined Handshake

Chapter 3 Chanulville

Chapter 4 Soulbeams

Chapter 5 Zaps

Chapter 6 Root Beer, Swamp, & Chickens

Chapter 7 Respites of Power

Chapter 8 The Soul Alliance

Chapter 9 Slides & Snarfalogs

Chapter 10 Graffiti Grumbles

Chapter 11 Yellow Forgetfulness

Chapter 12 Otto’s Secrets

Chapter 13 Slick Versus Gor Round #1: The Green Helmet

Chapter 14 Masters of Zaps

Chapter 15 Mick’s Business

Chapter 16 Taci Comes of Age

Chapter 17 Souls Identified

Chapter 18 Compliance

Chapter 19 The Spring Equinox Festival

Chapter 20 Pensive Souls

Chapter 1: Tingling Sensations

The late night sky was very beautiful, but very normal. The full moon and numerous stars filled the sky, and scattered, wispy clouds floated along pushed by a warm breeze, but rarely passed in front of the moon. Amidst the darkness, a structure towered over the trees of the surrounding jungle. A tremendous sight in itself, but on this night it wasn’t the ancient structure of the building, the four steep staircases that led to the top of the building on each of the four sides, or the column of moonlight that lit up the open-mouthed serpent heads at the bottom of the main staircase that stood out.

The long staircases led up to a square structure, and on this night what stood out was the man who stood at the very top of this pyramid, even atop this square structure that stood twenty feet higher than the staircases reached.

He was a rather short man, about five feet five inches in height, but with a stocky build. The mild breeze softly blew his unkempt, fluffy white hair as he stood in the middle of the top of the pyramid. His arms and legs were lightly tanned, sticking out of his tan shorts and red T-shirt. Even though it was obvious that he couldn’t see very far in the darkness, his blue eyes scanned and searched the night horizon as he looked out over the trees as if hoping to find something.

After a few minutes, his face took on a very worried and lonely look, his head dropped down in defeat, and he removed a device from the right pocket of his shorts. The gold base of the rectangular device glowed ever so slightly, but on the top there was no light at all because the six circles that lay in a single row were all as black as midnight. Glancing quickly at the device, the man dejectedly slipped it back into his pocket. The only other movement the man made was to bring his feet and legs together, in an instant he was gone and the top of the pyramid was bare.

* * *

An eight-year-old boy was playing with his toy cars in the living room of his house. Taking two cars at a time he let them roll down a blue ramp to see which car landed right-side up. When one landed on its tires and the other didn’t, it was put in the winner’s pile and the other in the loser’s pile. He excitedly reached for two more cars when all of a sudden he felt a lurch in his hand. He had absolutely no idea what happened, but suddenly he saw a bright, red light shoot up toward the mantle and a statue of a man fell and broke into pieces on the ledge that he had the ramp on.

Shocked from the occurrence, the boy froze as he heard his mother’s footsteps race into the living room.

How many times have I told you not to play with the things on the mantle? his mother scolded, reaching down to pick up the pieces of the statue. Just wait till your father gets home!

I was just playing with my cars, Mom. I didn’t touch anything on the mantle, the boy said timidly, shrinking back from her yell.

The statue didn’t just break by itself! she said strictly.

I’m not lying! the boy said with more fervor this time.

The young boy started to shake because he was getting so worked up. He hated when he was accused of things that he didn’t do and how unfair his parents were sometimes. He started to shake more and more until it was almost uncontrollable.

Suddenly, a fourteen-year-old, stocky young man with light brown hair and blue eyes jerked awake and elbowed the man in the seat next to him on a turbulent airplane.

The middle-aged man had a chubby belly, brown skin, a round head, and wore glasses.

"Pesadilla? he chuckled slightly, which Roger understood as meaning nightmare" in Spanish. He was learning Spanish in school and was a natural at learning languages so he could understand and speak reasonably well.

No, I just jerked awake from my nap, he responded. He thought about apologizing for elbowing him, but his mind quickly wandered to how annoying it was that airlines had to fit the seats together as tightly as humanly possible.

It’s your first time to Mexico City, Juan Manuel said. Are you nervous?

Yes, Roger responded before looking out the window of the airplane.

It was his second time on an airplane, and he liked the window seat because that meant he wouldn’t have to get up to let anyone out of the row. He was now trapped though because if he looked out the window for too long he would definitely be reaching for the barf bag very soon, so he knew he would have to turn and accept having a conversation on the airplane.

The high school Roger would be attending the following year had planned a trip to Cancun, and he had actually gone to the meeting at the request of his parents, but even though it was exciting that a large group of students was planning on going from the junior high and high school of his area, once the teacher leading the trip explained the plans, Roger was totally against it. The plan was to spend most of the time visiting different touristy places, and then the teacher added in that to make the trip educational, they would spend one day at some ruins. Roger loved the beach, but there was no way he was going to the Yucatan Peninsula and only seeing one set of ruins.

His parents had finally agreed to let him go to Mexico with Juan Manuel, a friend of the family. After his few days stay in Mexico City, he would fly to the Yucatan Peninsula, where one of Juan Manuel’s cousins was going to help him get to a hotel and find a tour group to visit some of the ruins. His mother had been very against the idea, but because of the conflicts that had existed they finally decided it might help serve as a reform trip for Roger. Roger couldn’t care less what his parents considered the trip as; he was just excited to visit Mexico.

You do realize that Mexico City is the most populated city in the entire world, right? Juan Manuel said.

Yes, Roger replied.

You’re lucky to be traveling with me. The travel book you have there in the pouch on the back of the seat wouldn’t have gotten you anywhere in Mexico City.

Roger had realized this, especially coming from a city with only 100,000 inhabitants, but his guidebook was his main source of reading about places in Mexico he knew he would someday visit.

"I’ve already talked to my brother and he’s going to get someone from the taxi company he works for to take us around to some of the tourist sites. You’re going to love it, güero."

Roger was used to Juan Manuel referring to him as güero, referring to the fact that he had blue eyes and light brown hair.

Well, güero, you look tired so maybe you should sleep some more, and hopefully you won’t have another nightmare this time, Juan Manuel said.

Roger immediately saw his escape from the conversation trap and nodded affirmatively with a small smile. He then turned his head toward the window, where the dark night seemed to lead into nothingness.

Roger closed his eyes, but he didn’t fall back to sleep yet. His mind finally wandered back to his dream, or maybe it really was a nightmare. He enjoyed going on camping or other trips in large part because he liked to have time away from his family. Upon returning, home was always a happier place. His relationship with his parents had always been a little strained. The occasion in his dream was the first time, but not the only time he had seen a red laser-like light near him, causing a reprimand from his mother or father because of some broken item. How could he ever tell anyone that he saw these weird red lights shoot out around him every so often? No one would ever believe that, especially not his parents. The incidences had almost completely stopped in the past couple of years anyway.

Roger quickly opened his eyes and reached up to turn on the air from the airplane ceiling. He hadn’t thought about the red lasers for a while but thinking about them made his temperature rise. He closed his eyes again and with the cool air blowing on him, he immediately drifted off to sleep.

* * *

In a small square room there was nothing more than a stone table with six stone chairs around it. The walls, table, and chairs were a charcoal gray color and with only one light on the ceiling the room was rather dark. Around the table sat three men and two women. All of them had solemn expressions on their faces.

Does this stupid device really even work? I keep it with me all the time and it never does anything but let off that annoying glow, the white-haired man sitting at one end of the table said gruffly, motioning to a gold device with six black circles on it.

Yes, we know it works because it’s worked in the past, a man with glasses sitting on the right side of the table said calmly.

It worked, but that was like forty years ago, the white-haired man replied.

We must have patience, the handsome man sitting directly to the right of the white-haired man said. I know we always talk about it each month, but it really is the only thing we can do besides look for any important signs or information.

I’m sorry I’ve been so frustrated lately, but sometimes I can’t help thinking what will happen if things never start to happen after all this time, the man with white hair said in a very worried voice.

We know what might happen, but no matter what happens, we’re always grateful for what you’ve done for us. The abductions and attacks have stopped, color relations are slowly getting better, and life is much more enjoyable and prosperous, the same man to the right said sympathetically.

I know, I know, the white-haired man said unenthusiastically.

A few minutes later the white-haired man made his way out of the room and down a dark corridor. Entering another room, he placed the glowing device on the nightstand and covered it with a handkerchief. He changed into a pair of red pajamas and sat on his bed to write in his journal. The room was furnished very modestly with a bed, wooden desk, and green sofa. The desk looked like a hurricane had hit it and messed up all the books and papers; a bunch of them were covered with some type of green goo.

The man slammed the journal and placed it on a random pile on the desk.

Maybe I’ll organize this dumb desk tomorrow, he said out loud to himself.

He turned off the light and climbed into bed facing the nightstand as he normally did. He gave an annoyed look at the glowing object under the handkerchief, abruptly turned over onto his left side, and stared into the dark corner of the room.

* * *

Roger awoke as he heard the ding of the airplane followed by one of the stewardesses announcing that the plane would be landing in about twenty minutes at the Mexico City International Airport. He turned groggily toward the window and the moment he looked out any sleepiness that remained immediately left.

Miles below, all the lights of Mexico City flooded out over the land, creating different patterns. The headlights of all the cars made it seem as if they were going in super-speed motion and the awesomeness of the view had completely made Roger forget that he should be getting motion sickness for looking out the window.

It’s a beautiful city at night, right? Juan Manuel said.

Yes, I had no idea a city could look like this from the sky, Roger replied.

Roger settled back into his seat, but still left his head tilted toward the window so he could see the lights. As the plane got lower and lower it was fascinating to see how the different streets and sections of the city came into clearer view.

The Mexico City airport was so big, the airplane took more than half an hour to pull up to the gate. As soon as the ding of the seatbelt sign sounded, there was a mad rush of passengers standing up even though they would have to wait anyway. Roger and Juan Manuel just sat there and let all the people exit who wanted to get off the plane one minute sooner.

At last they had their chance to get up into the aisle and Roger got both their suitcases down. Juan Manuel limped his way down the aisle and Roger followed.

Juan Manuel led Roger out of the airport to a rundown light blue car. The car puttered along as they left the airport, shaking as Juan Manuel shifted gears. Roger was relieved that Juan Manuel was such a slow driver as other cars sped by them, swerving in and out, and completely ignoring all the signs that read CHOOSE YOUR LANE.

The smell of the air was very different from the valley Roger lived in, but he was happy to just be in Mexico. Juan Manuel didn’t spare a moment to start acting as tour guide, pointing out different buildings and talking about different places they could visit.

Juan Manuel lived in a small, square house made of cement in a place called Iztapalapa. When they arrived, he honked the horn loudly until someone opened the garage door so he could back the car into the driveway area in the middle of the house.

Juan Manuel was quick to get out and introduce Roger to his family. Roger was very impressed with their hospitality and probably would have felt right at home if he wasn’t naturally uncomfortable and quiet around people he didn’t know.

After everyone greeted Roger, Juan Manuel led him a couple of blocks to some food stands where they sold tostadas, quesadillas, and tortas. Juan Manuel headed straight to a kiosk and ordered two tostadas with pig feet and two with chicken. They sat down at a little plastic table and Juan Manuel gave one of each kind of tostada to Roger. Roger was very hungry so he quickly downed the tostada with chicken. When he looked up he noticed that Juan Manuel was grinning right at him.

I was wondering if you’d really eat authentic Mexican food, he said.

Roger gulped and, trying not to think about the pig’s feet and the fact that Juan Manuel was still observing his eating, he bit right into the second tostada. The pig’s feet had a very rubbery texture and didn’t have too much taste but Roger got it down.

How is it? Juan Manuel asked immediately.

It’s good, Roger responded politely.

After Juan Manuel ordered some quesadillas and they finished their meal, they returned to the house.

Our house is much smaller than yours, but hopefully you’ll still be comfortable, Juan Manuel said.

Roger didn’t mind at all. He was very excited to have a true Mexican experience firsthand. Juan Manuel led Roger up a shaky metal staircase to the upper floor and along a walkway.

This will be your room. Make yourself at home, Juan Manuel said.

Thanks for everything, Roger said.

Roger got ready for bed and laid down on the small bed. Even though he was only five feet eight inches tall his feet pressed up against the wall. Though he was drowsy, he kept his eyes open and scanned around the room for a moment. He was amazed that even though he didn’t feel fully at home, in reality no matter where he went people always took care of him no matter where he went.

Outside the bedroom window, a car sped by and in the distance there were various honks; the sounds of Iztapalapa mesmerized Roger and he quickly fell asleep.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Roger awoke to the sound of a rooster and for a moment he felt very confused until he remembered he was in Mexico. He headed down the metal staircase and Juan Manuel motioned to Roger from the kitchen. Juan Manuel had already made chilaquiles for breakfast and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was the first time that Roger had ever even heard of the platter with fried tortillas, onions, red or green chilies, and some herb that Roger didn’t recognize.

"I talked to my brother last night and he’s going to schedule a taxi for us tomorrow that’ll take us out to see the pyramids of Teotihuacán. I was thinking today we could go to the Zócalo to see the Government Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Templo Mayor.

On Thursday, I thought in the morning we could go see the floating gardens of Xochimilco, and that way you’d still have plenty of time to get to the airport to take your flight to Cancun, Juan Manuel continued.

Sounds great, Roger said. He had previously read that most Mexican cities had a central plaza that was called the zócalo.

After breakfast Roger grabbed his backpack and camera from his room. They headed out of the house and walked a few blocks to the Mexico City metro. The metro was packed with people and Roger was very careful to stay close to Juan Manuel. There were so many different metro lines and stops that Roger couldn’t keep track of them at all and they got off when they reached the stop named ZÓCALO.

The zócalo was amazing and the architecture of the buildings was incredible. Unfortunately, the Templo Mayor was closed that day so they weren’t able to enter, so they decided to take a ride on the Turibus that would take them all around the different parts of Mexico City.

As they took the metro home that evening, the darkness was already approaching and Roger knew he had fallen immediately in love with Mexico City. In spite of the huge difference from his home city, the different smells and crowds didn’t bother him at all. Arriving back at the house he also realized how lucky he was to be in this remote part of Iztapalapa because he doubted many gringos had ever been there, so far away from the touristy areas.

Roger was exhausted that night, but felt completely content as he went bed, imagining the pyramids he would be able to see the following day.

The taxi driver will be here in about an hour, so we better eat, Juan Manuel yelled, knocking on the bedroom door.

Roger had already been awake for an hour because of the annoying rooster, so he quickly went down for breakfast. There were already some huevos rancheros waiting for him at the table with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Roger also had to ask for a glass of milk because the eggs had a little too much chile on them and his tongue was burning. Juan Manuel just laughed as he handed him the glass of milk.

The drive to Teotihuacán lasted just over an hour, and Juan Manuel and the taxi driver talked most of the way about the political situation in Mexico. They were using a lot of words that Roger wasn’t familiar with, but he tried to learn new vocabulary.

They arrived at Teotihuacán close to ten o’clock where the taxi pulled off to the side and the driver said he would wait outside the entrance for them. After buying the entrance tickets, they walked in and started along the path that led to the pyramids, where they were immediately attacked by salespeople.

As they rounded the corner of the Pyramid of the Sun, they dodged a few more salesmen and headed straight for the stairs. Roger helped Juan Manuel up the first set of stairs, but after that he said he thought it would be better to wait there.

As Roger started up the next set of stairs, he suddenly felt a huge tingle in his stomach and hands.

Are you all right? Juan Manuel asked.

"Yes, I think I just had a little too much picante this morning," Roger said, smiling.

Juan Manuel chuckled as Roger continued up the stairs.

What the heck is going on with my stomach? Roger asked himself. He had had stomach problems before, but this wasn’t the same. He continued to the top of the pyramid and the tingling in his stomach increased, but wasn’t necessarily painful so Roger tried to ignore it.

As he headed back down, the tingling in his stomach decreased. They headed down the Avenue of the Dead toward the Pyramid of the Moon as Juan Manuel explained about the Teotihuacano culture.

Juan Manuel decided to stay at the very bottom this time, so Roger started up the pyramid along with a school group that was there all in uniforms of blue pants and white shirts. Once again his stomach dropped and he felt this strange sensation, and even though it still wasn’t painful it distracted him enough that he tripped slightly on one of the stairs. He felt really embarrassed and hoped no one saw him trip, but of course a bunch of the schoolgirls kept glancing at him anyway so it was hard to tell if they saw him stumble or if they just thought he was cute.

After enjoying the view, he headed back down where Juan Manuel was busy haggling with a salesman. They walked back to the entrance, haggling on the way with many salesmen and buying some statues and T-shirts.

On the drive back to Mexico City Roger couldn’t forget about the odd butterfly-in-the-stomach feeling that had so suddenly arrived and gone.

That night Roger drifted off into a deep and relaxing sleep. He was on top of the Pyramid of the Sun and there was a group of Aztec men in a circle. Roger kept asking himself why they were there when the ruins weren’t even Aztec ones. He finally decided to ask them.

Hello, I’m the ancient Aztec inventor of the taco. Eat this, the Aztec kneeling in the middle of the circle said.

Roger took the taco and tried to eat it, but his stomach kept tingling and he couldn’t eat the taco because he knew he would throw it up.

Why won’t you eat my taco? the taco inventor yelled.

Roger knew they wouldn’t understand if he told them about the tingling in his stomach so he walked toward the stairs to go down the pyramid, but the Aztec men saw him and moved forward to push him off the pyramid.

* * *

With the right side of his hair sticking straight up, a man in red pajamas rolled slowly out of his bed. He sat for a moment on the edge of the bed and glanced over at the alarm clock. Seeing that it was ten o’clock already, he made a lazy grunting noise and stood up.

Maybe if I do this while I’m still tired it’ll be less painful and I’ll actually get it done today, he said out loud.

He walked to the desk, moved the journal to the nightstand, and started moving books and papers. After about fifteen minutes, he spaced out as he worked and suddenly thought he saw a red glint out of the corner of his eye. He turned slowly and looked over at the nightstand but just saw the same old annoying shine that he saw every day. He walked to the nightstand and yanked the handkerchief off the device. The device had the same six black circles on it. As he turned back to the desk he again thought he saw a red twinkle so he turned quickly and his mouth dropped open. The very left of the circles was shimmering a dim red color. He brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes, but sure enough, the one circle was still red. He grabbed the device, ran to the wall where a door slid open, and hurried out without even changing out of his pajamas.

* * *

Roger opened his eyes. He was very hot and threw the covers off him.

What a weird dream, Roger said to himself.

He put his left hand on his stomach as if to see if it felt normal, rolled over onto his stomach, and fell quickly back to sleep. A couple of hours later, the rooster crowed multiple times and though Roger still felt very tired he quickly got up.

Juan Manuel was already down in the kitchen again and had some tamales and orange juice ready on the table.

After getting ready, Juan Manuel and Roger set out once again and took the metro to the light-railway station. They took an early train to Xochimilco, where they floated along on a little boat as a man rowed it. As they went along they ordered food and a marimba band on another boat played La Bamba and some other Mexican songs. The scenery was gorgeous and it was very relaxing after walking around so much the day before. After the boat ride, they hurried back to the train station because they wanted to get back and make sure they had time to visit the Templo Mayor.

After taking the light-railway train back, they took the metro to the zócalo station and hurried across in front of the National Palace to the Templo Mayor. Roger was extremely happy walking along the path of the original Aztec capital. He couldn’t help chuckling to himself since he wondered if an Aztec man would be waiting around to force-feed him a taco. When they turned the corner on the path down the middle of the ruins it wasn’t Aztecs that caught Roger by surprise, it was a lurching feeling in his stomach.

Tamales? Juan Manuel asked, chuckling.

I’m fine, my stomach is just acting weird because I’m so used to greasy American food, Roger said, blushing.

Roger had the same tingling sensation for the rest of the time in the temple and even as they walked through the museum that went along with the ruins, his stomach was bothering him. They stopped to look at one statue called a Chac Mool. The statue looked like it was a man lying down holding a bowl on his stomach with his hands. Juan Manuel explained to Roger how the Aztecs would put the hearts of their sacrificial victims in the bowl so it would go directly to their gods.

Although many of the Aztec’s practices were different and disgusting to Roger, he was still very fascinated by their culture.

They returned quickly to Juan Manuel’s house where they ate dinner. Roger then went upstairs and, double-checking he hadn’t left anything, grabbed his suitcase and they set off for the airport so Roger could catch his flight to Cancun later that night.

I’m really glad that you stayed with us, Juan Manuel said as they arrived at the security checkpoint. My cousin will pick you up at the airport and show you where the hotel and buses are.

They gave each other an abrazo and Roger headed off to the airport gates.

* * *

Sitting around a stone table were six people. At the head of the table was a short, middle-aged, fat man draped in a purple robe, with a gold crown on his head. Clockwise from the king sat a mostly bald man in his late thirties with a perfectly round head, and he was wearing a yellow sweater and glasses. To the left of this man sat a very handsome man in his late twenties, obviously the tallest of the group, wearing an almost completely blue, plaid button-up shirt. In his usual spot sat the man with white hair, still in his red pajamas even though it was in the afternoon. To his left was an older woman with gray granny hair, wearing an orange apron. In between the granny and the king sat a woman in her late thirties who wore a purple skirt and jacket with a white blouse.

He must have been mistaken, the king said, addressing himself to the man sitting to his left.

I’m right here! Stop referring to me in the third person, the white-haired man said.

Right now all six of those circles are black! the king exclaimed, still looking only toward the people sitting on the sides of the table.

I know what I saw! the white-haired man said.

The king looked really nervous, very quickly glanced at the man with white hair, and finally stopped talking. The other four people who sat on the sides of the table looked nervous as well and kept glancing at an object on the table.

The white-haired man opened his mouth to say something more, but the man who was sitting to his right spoke first.

Let’s not waste any more time discussing this. We need to be ready whether anything happens or not. Besides, it took us so long to gather under such short notice that anything could’ve happened.

Who put you in charge? I just might have to reconsider coming here unprotected! the king said arrogantly.

Your Majesty, I in no way meant it that way. I just thought that just in case, we should be ready, the man responded.

The king looked furious and was giving the handsome man a sharp look.

Now, now, began the grandma wearing the orange apron. If you two can’t get along, I might have to tell Berta about this.

The king’s stern look changed to a much more nervous one.

Your Majesty, the woman with the purple jacket said, there are definitely preparations to be made. The last thing we need is to be caught off guard.

The king gave a respectful, approving nod at the sensible statement the woman had just made.

"You’re right. You five should make sure everything is ready. I have royal business to attend to and I don’t have time for these boy-who-cries-wolf situations when I have a kingdom to run. I deserve..." the king responded in a haughty voice.

Although the crown wearer kept talking, no one paid any attention to him because at that very moment the left black circle turned a dim red. Everyone around the table stared closely at the device and the king finally shut up and noticed the red circle. He immediately blushed and made sure he didn’t make eye contact with anyone around the table. The white-haired man took a quick glance at the wall to his right, but other than that no one took their eyes off the device. If anyone had looked at the man with the fluffy white hair, they would have seen a rare occurrence. For the first time in many years his face showed the slightest bit of relief.

* * *

The darkness had already settled in as the airplane landed at the Cancun airport. Roger exited the airport doors and was hit with a wave of humidity. He ignored all the taxi drivers calling to him and walked toward Juan Manuel’s cousin, who was waving. They both got into a taxi the cousin had waiting and sped off.

Half an hour later the driver dropped them off at a hotel close to the bus terminal. The hotel wasn’t expensive, but still looked clean and safe. Juan Manuel’s cousin talked with Roger outside the hotel for a while and explained how she had found a tour group in Mérida for him to be a part of to go to the ruins.

The hotel room was actually very comfortable. As soon as he walked in, he turned on the air conditioner to fight off the hot, humid air. Since it was late and he didn’t know his way around yet, he just got ready for bed. After watching TV for a few minutes, he thought how lonely he felt all of a sudden. Back at Juan Manuel’s house, he was focused so much on staying in a stranger’s house that he hadn’t even gone through the lonely phase that he usually had the first days away from home.

One of the biggest reasons that Roger had fallen in love with traveling was because it was a way for him to escape into a world all by himself where he didn’t have to worry. At least once or twice on every trip though, he longed for home. Not wanting to feel homesick, he quickly brushed his teeth and went to bed.

* * *

Your Majesty, we do not want to tell everyone yet because we don’t know enough yet, a handsome man sitting in the lower right-hand corner of a gray, stone table said.

This council has no respect for authority, just as I thought when it was organized so many years ago. That’s why I insisted on appointing the purple member myself! the king said.

The man with glasses sitting to the left of the king finally spoke as he picked up the object that now had six black circles again and looked at it as if giving it an examination.

The thing is, he began, the red circle was lit up for a reason and even though it was just dimly lit, it still must mean that something is going to happen.

Exactly! the king said.

Still, the circle was only lit for a very short time, and maybe we should start making the necessary preparations. If the circle keeps turning red, then we can make the official announcement. Your Kingship, I’m sure everyone here will promise that they’ll let you be the one to make the announcement, the white-haired man said convincingly.

Fine, but I’m going to keep the device with me until then, replied the king.

Your Majesty, that’s one discussion we are not going to have again, especially tonight. Besides, you already know that’s never going to happen, the white-haired man said, catching the device as the man with glasses slid it down the table to him.

The king had a furious look on his face.

How dare you talk to me like that? You’re lucky I’m not in the mood to take command of this situation because it’s time for my before bedtime bath. If any word about this meeting gets out before my announcement, you will all pay!

* * *

Roger woke up a little later than the past couple of days because there was no rooster to interrupt his sleep. He jumped up and quickly got ready because he was so excited for the upcoming days when he would be visiting Mayan ruins.

Juan Manuel’s cousin was waiting in the lobby and they walked the few blocks back to the bus terminal where Juan Manuel’s cousin helped Roger purchase a ticket to Mérida. The bus ride was smooth and Roger watched the movie Cats and Dogs, which he was grateful for to take his mind off the four-hour drive. The tour guide was waiting for Roger in the bus station and took Roger to the hotel a block away.

The next morning Roger got up early and joined the tour group in the hotel lobby to board the bus to the ruins of Uxmal. As soon as he entered the ruins a familiar sensation erupted in his stomach, but he easily ignored it because the buildings of Uxmal were absolutely incredible. Roger stayed with the tour group, reading about the ruins on the map he had picked up at the entrance. Each time he climbed on one of the ruins, his stomach and hands quivered or tingled.

At the end of the tour, the group stopped at the biggest structure in Uxmal, the Pyramid of the Magician. When Roger climbed up it, his stomach really started bothering him. As he reached the top he was sure that everyone kept staring at him and wondered what his problem was.

Roger descended the pyramid quickly. A worker was walking around telling everyone that it was time to clear out from the ruins so they could get ready for the night show, so Roger and the tour group exited to the waiting area

Once it was dark, they reopened the entrance and the spectators filed back in to take a seat on one of the ruins. The full moon was out and the ambience felt perfect, but as different ruins were lit up with different colored lights and the narrator told Mayan legends, Roger’s stomach became really unsettled. He was sure his stomach was making a humming sound along with the tingling he felt.

As soon as the show ended, Roger quickly headed out of the ruins because he felt completely exhausted. He quickly boarded the bus, and rested his head back on the seat, trying to fall asleep.

* * *

An older man sat alone in a room at table with a small stack of papers and books in front of him and a strange-looking device in the middle of the table.

Are you obeying the king completely? a man with light brown, semi-wavy hair said smiling, entering the room from the back corner.

Whatever makes the king happy, the older man said.

I’d stay longer, but you know the rules, the man who had just entered said. I guess I’ll have to get some more fishing done, and in a few more hours everyone else will be back here.

Nice excuse to go fishing, the white-haired man replied.

The man continued reading over some of the papers and glanced at the device every so often. He fidgeted very often in his chair and as time passed he looked more and more restless and grumpy.

Later that evening four people came into the room and sat down around the stone table. The white-haired man put all his books and papers into a stack, and a few minutes after everyone had settled into their seats, the left most circle blazed red.

That’s a strong one, but what does it mean? the man with white hair asked.

It’s really hard to tell, we’ve never seen the device act like this before, but as far as I know it can only be a positive sign, the man with glasses responded.

After so long you’d think I’d be ready, but I’m extremely nervous, the white-haired man said.

You’ll do just fine, the gray-haired woman said in a grandmotherly tone.

We’ll see. I don’t want to ruin everyone’s hopes, he replied, averting his eyes from the others and looking toward the device.

You definitely won’t ruin anyone’s hope, the woman in her late thirties said with a smile. That’s why it’s so wonderful that we have this extra time to take the necessary precautions and make sure everything is ready.

Everyone smiled and looked at the bright red circle on the device. As they sat around talking about different scenarios and preparations, they all realized that the circle had maintained its color for the longest time yet.

The following morning, everyone came early to sit around the stone table and accompany the white-haired man as he watched the device. Late last night the red circle had finally gone out and hadn’t done anything else since. The white-haired man looked very tired because he had woken up off and on during the night to check the device.

The two women had brought pancakes for breakfast and everyone was having a good time as they ate. The white-haired man didn’t say much, but he listened to everything everyone said. As they got ready to pass around the last of the pancakes, all their faces were suddenly showered with a red glimmer and the left most circle on the device wasn’t only a burning red color, it was emitting a six-inch-long red beam.

Everyone around the table exclaimed and the plate of pancakes dropped to the table and knocked over the bottle of syrup. The white-haired man looked frozen for a second, but he reached over the table and grabbed the device right before the stream of syrup was about to envelop it. Without looking at anyone he raced from the room.

* * *

Roger woke up around eight o’clock the next morning. He had slept very soundly even after the tingling sensations from the night before. He felt very excited that he would be visiting Chichén Itzá that day and was the first one in the lobby waiting to leave. They left right on time and getting out of the city the bus started driving through the jungle, which was a beautiful feeling because it felt like the ruins were much more excluded from civilization.

Roger was at the back of the bus and had to wait till everyone else got off, but he was very anxious to start his trek around Chichén Itzá. After buying their entrance tickets most of the tour group hurried over to some vendors who were calling to them, but Roger decided he would stop by later after seeing all the ruins.

He walked through the entrance onto the path that led to the ruins and after his first couple of steps his stomach surged so much that he fell to the ground.

Chapter 2: A Destined Handshake

Roger quickly jumped up and kicked a rock to blame it, in case anyone had seen him fall. His stomach was all in knots and he figured he must have a bug from something he had eaten earlier. He walked slowly down the path to where the ruins began, and a sensation of excitement came over Roger, masking the throbbing in his stomach, as he saw the Pyramid of Kukulcán for the first time.

Not able to control himself, he headed straight to the pyramid and began his ascent up the ninety-one stairs. His stomach and hands tingled uncontrollably as if they had fallen asleep and the blood was trickling back into them. When he reached the top, he looked out over the exhilarating view of the surrounding jungle and ruins.

Roger turned to walk around the top of the pyramid, and as he did so, a man with white hair looked at him from the doorway. Roger kept walking, wondering why the crazy-looking old guy was staring at him. He walked around the edge of the pyramid and as he passed by the opening on the opposite side, he glanced a shade of white out of the corner of his eye. The white-haired man was turned toward the corner looking down at something. When Roger reached the side of the pyramid he had walked up, the white-haired man suddenly stepped out in front of him and forced him into a handshake. The man’s hand was shaking nervously and before Roger could even put his confused expression on his face, the man anxiously but quietly blurted out, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.

* * *

A girl with brown bushy hair that fell down just past her shoulders was sitting at a desk in her bedroom. She wore glasses and was lost in a book. In the corner of the room there was a large pile of stuffed animals. After a few minutes the door to the bedroom opened and a woman entered carrying a plate of dainty cookies.

Evelyn, are you sure you don’t want to go and do something today? the woman asked, setting the plate of cookies down on the desk.

Like what? responded the girl in a frustrated teenager tone.

Whatever you want. You haven’t gotten out at all during spring break.

Well, whose fault is that? Dad’s the one who isn’t here. Besides, I’ll be gone for a whole week once school gets out, Evelyn said.

Your father won’t have to be away so much all the time. You know he’s helping start up the business program in California and you didn’t want to go there. I just thought you could at least hang out with some friends or there has to be a spring break party somewhere, right?

Mom! Evelyn said abruptly. I am not having this conversation again!

Her mom had a very frustrated look on her face as she walked out of the room. I was only trying to help, she muttered under her breath, closing the door.

Evelyn looked back to her book and then slammed it shut. She sat there staring at the cover for a moment; it read Pride and Prejudice. She stood up and flopped herself down on her bed.

* * *

Roger had a very confused look on his face and just stood there frozen at the top of the Pyramid of Kukulcán.

I know that sounded weird, but please let me explain, the man with white hair continued, who was still giving Roger a shaky handshake.

Who are you? Roger asked with a bewildered face.

I’m Mick, he replied. What’s your name?

Roger Torrents, Roger said, wondering why Mick hadn’t said his last name.

Is it all right if we walk around as we talk? That way no one will hear us, he said, finally stopping the handshake.

I guess, Roger said hesitatingly.

Sorry about how I started the conversation. I’d gone over what I’d say for so long by the time something happened I was so nervous that I just couldn’t think. Anyway, let’s get off the pyramid, Mick said, looking a little calmer.

Roger and Mick headed down the stairs of the pyramid. Roger went slowly, keeping one hand ready in case the steep stairs played a trick on him. Mick on the other hand, walked down steadily and looked out over the area, and the steep staircase didn’t even faze him. About halfway down they caught up with a couple and their two children. The little girl was crying and kept asking her mom to wait while the boy kept telling the girl not to cry. Roger and Mick passed them and made their way to the bottom.

Roger turned and looked at the pyramid.

It’s an amazing building, Mick said thoughtfully.

Roger just looked at him and nodded his head. Mick led Roger along a path off to the left, and once they were away from any tourists or vendors, Mick stopped.

I really can’t think of a subtle way to start this conversation, but please, please promise to listen to what I have to say, Mick pleaded.

Okay, Roger said, confused.

Although he had decided inside himself that he would listen, he wasn’t exactly sure if he really should, but he decided it would be another interesting experience he could tell that had happened to him in Mexico.

Mick just stood there thinking for a moment, which made Roger feel even more uncomfortable.

Let me just show you this first. It will make my explanation easier, Mick said.

Mick pulled a device out of his pocket and showed it to Roger. The device glowed slightly and there were six circles on it which were all black. As Mick held it closer to Roger, one of the circles turned red and without being able to control it Roger felt a warm sensation in his stomach. He quickly looked down and saw a red sparkling circle shining through his shirt. He moved his hands to quickly cover his stomach, but Mick was already staring right at it.

* * *

A small brown-brick house sat quietly at the end of a cul-de-sac. The grass was covered with various toys. On the right side of the yard a pine tree stood between the house and a wooden fence that blocked off a rugged area that was just dirt and long, dry grass.

Two girls were inside the living room of the house completely redecorating it. They had pushed the two brown couches against the wall and were now taking down older-looking decorations and putting up balloons and ribbons. A big green banner had been hung up with SPRING BREAK DANCE written in yellow letters.

As they worked they gossiped about the latest happenings around the neighborhood mixed with exclamations of how the makeover of the house was turning out beautifully.

When the doorbell rang, the girl with dark brown wavy hair dressed in a new pair of blue jeans, and a tight blue shirt walked over and answered the door. Opening the door, a tall, blond-haired guy strutted in.

Hey, babe, this is going to be so great. I’m so glad that your parents left town for spring break, he said.

I know, Eric, and now that you’re here, this party doesn’t need anything else.

You got that right, Jessica, and I do say you’re looking especially hot today.

They both hugged each other as if they never wanted to be separated.

I’ve got all the sodas and food out in my car, Eric said.

He walked back out the door and headed off to his black truck. Jessica turned back to her girlfriend and they giggled about how dreamy Eric was. They continued to make the final preparations for the party as Eric carried in boxes of different kinds of soda, multiple bags of chips, and other candy.

After they had set the food items up, Jessica asked Eric if he could pick up all the toys that were around the yard that her pestful younger brother and sister had left there.

A while later, as they stood back in the living room admiring their great work, Jessica called both of the others over and although she sounded happy, she did have a semi-worried look on her face.

Eric and Mindy, I know this is going to be the greatest party ever, but I really need your help tonight to make sure everything goes smoothly. No one can bring any alcohol or cigarettes inside this house. If my parents ever got word of this party, I’d be dead, Jessica said.

Eric struck a pose trying to make himself look taller and stronger.

No worries, babe, this is one party that will be as smooth as your cheeks, Eric told her, caressing her right cheek with the back of his hand.

Mindy let out a string of giggles as Jessica shook her head so her dark brown hair waved behind her, but there was no longer anything close to a worried look on her face.