Singapore and the Supernatural: The Weight of Fate Rests Great on Those Who Must Relate

By REGINA LONG

Beautiful Singaporean Model, CJ Bell begins to see ghosts as predicted by the neighborhood Malay witch doctor. This is an ability she was born with and had always tried to deny. She finds she can deny her destiny no longer when two men enter her life; the American banker, David Lee, who comes to claim her heart and the adventurous Archaeologist, Tanki Solo, who, without anyones knowledge, shares with our heroine the same dark secrets of an invisible dimension that existed in sixteenth Century Greece. What has our heroine inherited from a
long forgotten civilization that returns to demand her participation? How many more people must die before she finally realizes what the spirits from point purgatory are trying to tell her to do, and once she realizes, will she have the strength to keep her dark date with her supernatural fate?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475904628

REGINA LONG

Singaporean born, Regina Long wrote short romance articles for Singapore Magazines when she was a teenager and always wanted to be an author. As the sixth child in a family of ten, that loved reading, she grew up pondering the English language her English speaking father used. She was enthralled by the Singapore lifestyle and its unique use of Singapore English. (Singlish). Now, divorced, living in Japan for fifteen years, she encountered many misconcepts regarding language from her native country. One of the reasons for writing this novel was originally to share with the world, how delightfully entertaining, Singlish can be. Her first short story was written at the age of seventeen, entitled “Castles in the sky”. She lives now in Hokkaido, Sapporo, enjoying the Japanese culture and its language.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

TEN years of research paid-off as the lone archaeologist made his final and successful dive. He had completely forgotten that on this day, July twenty-second, 2009, an eclipse would soon happen to darken the skies. His fatigued and faithless crew rested in exhaustion on the chartered barge adrift on the Aegean. They were there to keep away the prying eyes of the hounding commercial treasure salvers who had been following the archaeologist for the latter part of the past decade.

Image24125.EPS    It was strange how the waning of the sun could play tricks on the tired and the lonely. The man dived deeper into the blackness illuminated by the refractor beams strapped to his head; he heard the ocean talking to him. He wanted badly to rub his eyes, but all he could do was listen to the voices as they enticed him… as a flute charmer to the snake.

Come closer— They echoed in his brain. Turn left—yes— He never thought to disregard them. He believed those voices as they sighed, Between the rocks—

It was rare perseverance that led him on to the momentous discovery and his dream was finally realized in the chasmic depths of that uncharted seabed, he saw it—covered by millennia of debris; the desolate outline of a Sixteenth century Greek trireme had a figurehead of two mermaids. The lower part of their wooden bodies joined at the tails. In their hands the mermaids held a blue orb. Frozen in time; delivering an ethereal message as they lay enshrouded in their murky aquatic setting.

The deck looked almost gothic. There were three other levels. The structure jutted out of the sea floor like a huge green iridescent rock.

In shock, the archaeologist began to tremble as he took note of the bowsprit and mainmast looming upward as if spindly antennae encrusted with barnacles and marine vegetation.

Still attached? His mind screamed. How could it be?—Intact after all these centuries? It was in perfect condition… as if—it had been sunk… recently.

The lone man dived downwards to the inky calm of the ancient sepulcher as if in a trance, and reached the mastodonic hulk. One rubber-gloved hand breaking mud and algae; he exposed old engravings on a rusted bronzed plaque set on decaying teak. Carved words in Greek hieroglyphics—Σαντορινη—appeared under his fingers.

—The Santorini—. The echoes of his bemused mind whispered against the pounding of his heart.

Image24131.EPS    Somewhere on the opposite side of the world, two beautiful models tolerated the rigors of a callisthenic workout in the private gym of their famous modeling agency, Sinderella’s Halo. One balancing on a wooden horse, the other, sprang on a trampoline. The gym was deserted except for the two that studied their reflections in the full-length mirror on an adjacent wall.

Up and down, the girl on the trampoline jumped. A pendant between her almost non-existent breasts bounced with her. Moonbeams from a nearby window reflected off its tarnished gold.

Image24137.EPS    The archaeologist directed himself down into the silent darkness. The sunken ship had four vast wooden levels—the deck; the quarters, and the other two were the tiers for the rowers. He entered through the deck’s galley into the gutted belly of the seemingly innocuous age-old juggernaut.

His progress, blocked by part of the decaying staves that had fallen into his path, was cleared as he gripped tight and pulled. As if pest-infested; the stave collapsed in slow motion, and disintegrating in his hands, floated silently down to the black and viscid bottom.

Image24143.EPS    Simultaneously, in another side of the world a small square window near the ceiling of the gym hall flew open, wrenched off its hinges as though by unseen hands and falling fifteen feet to the ground, crashed as it made contact with the floor. The girls turned in surprise. The one on the trampoline called out, What was that, as she bounced precariously near the edge.

—Broken window— The other panted unfazed.

Image24149.EPS    The lone explorer made his rapine progress into the desultory dimensions that seemed to know of his coming. He entered the ship from the top deck through broken floorboards. His light peered down to the two other levels some twenty feet below. He decided to start his search from the very pits of the wreck upwards. The underwater current must have been strong even in that small harbor of the wrecked vessel, for the voices in his head began to sound evil.

The very first objects the beams of his light fell on were the remains of the ship’s unfortunate crew nestled below, within its dark and rotting, slumbering innards. His heart pounded fiercely as the torchlight shone in the fathoms of the watery grave. He counted six gruesome, fleshless frames.

Like a zombie, he sailed down, descending upon the weed-enshrouded specters. A sudden glint from a nearby skeleton drew his attention. On the chest of the grinning wraith, lay a pendant-like object. Unable to deny the urgency, one hand outstretched to remove it from the bones. Lifting it over the death mask, bringing it towards the light, he gently fingered the marine slime away to uncover a chain with a golden nugget in the shape of a long-tailed mermaid attached to it. Whilst appraising his find, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye that made him turn abruptly.

Barracuda swam freely in and out of the gaping hiatus in the last bottom chamber. It had been the death of this magnificent vessel.

Although it was less than four degrees below freezing, the man felt a heat course through his veins.

It was not the casual passing of a curious great white shark that stopped him in his tracks. It was the sudden appearance of two commercial treasure salvors that brought him back to the moment.

NO! The archaeologist cursed. They had been following him all this while. They had managed to find him. He thought they were on the other side of the island, and now he had led them all the way to the location of his discovery.

As he watched in angry surprise, the invaders calmly relieved him of the pendant he held. Their insolence broke his reserve, and he tried to grab it back. One of the men pushed his hand away and the diver nearest, took out a knife from his belt and lunged. The blade pierced flesh and penetrated into the decaying hull of the boat. Fiery agony exploded in the archaeologist’s mind and the steel rendered him immovable, as a butterfly pinned in a wooden box.

In pain, the wounded archaeologist realized that not only was he nailed to the boat but his breathing apparatus had also been damaged as tiny bubbles forced their way out of the tubing. The immobilized man frantically clutched at the rubber hose with his one good hand, trying to stem the escape of oxygen.

The two other men, seeing his plight, waved in mock salute, and leaving the victim to his fate, swam up to the second level of the trireme to search for more booty.

The pain was excruciating, but archaeologist turned around… even in his pain, his attention had been distracted yet again.

Directly, opposite him, near the jagged hole, frothy bubbles of hot air began flooding the boat. The ground seemed to be shaking… earthquake. From out of the hole in the boat he saw the earth on the seabed moving, bubbles coming out of an eight-foot hydrothermal vent that was widening by the second. Worse than that—a creature was crawling out of the fissure. The creature looked male and as if it was made out of granite. It was followed by another shadow, a female one. Shocked, he realized the figure was half fish, half human. He squinted, thinking they were sharks. The refractor torch still strapped to his head shone directly onto the path of the entities. A rock-like human form followed by a mermaid!

The two divers, on the second level above him, were absorbed in their plunder. They did not seem aware of anything but the treasure they searched for.

The archaeologist watched stunned as the mermaid doubled in number, grayish and scaly. On the sides of their necks were large dilating gills. They crawled out of the crack in the seabed and swam up to the boat. The two divers still had not seen the creatures that had just entered the hole in the shipwreck.

Image24155.EPS    On a different part of the globe, back at the gym, the girls continued their paces as something equally strange unfolded. It started with a low rumble, as if the very bowels of the earth had begun speaking in guttural tones. The exercise equipment had begun trembling. The girls ignored the movements until a deafening roar ripped through the evening air.

In shock, they stopped, glancing fearfully around, slowly becoming aware of the growing vibrations.

Image24161.EPS    Back at the bottom of the sea, the water around the archaeologist was quickly losing its coldness. Hot bubbles accompanied the specters as they entered. The giggling got louder in the trapped man’s brain as the entities turned red eyes to leer at the archaeologist. They seemed to know he could not escape and so they passed him on the way up to the two divers above.

The female forms had rotting limbs that merged to form tails which they swished like fish to propel their scaly breasted bodies forward. They reached the divers whose shocked countenance could do nothing more than stare in horrified disbelief. The mermaids began pushing the men back and forth as if they were toys. One man grabbed the spear gun strapped to his belt, but before he could fire it, the rock figure reached out and snapped his arm in two as if it was a twig. The spear gun fell from one useless broken hand and from the other, something gleaming, spilled out; it spiraled gracefully down to land next to where the archaeologist watched, trapped.

The diver let out a silent scream and collapsed. A mermaid slashed the diver with long talons attached to her webbed hands and seconds later, the diver’s intestines spilled out from a large visible gash to his stomach. Blood and gore instantly stained the water.

It looked like a feeding frenzy as the mermaids crowded their prey. One caught hold of a diver’s head and banged it onto a nearby rock, splitting his face as though it were a coconut. The monstrosity plunged its claw-like hand into the cranium gorging out gray matter to hungrily stuff in its mouth. They sucked down the innards of the still not-yet-dead struggling second man and soon his flailing arms too, fell lifelessly to his sides.

One mermaid left the group and floated down to the trapped and watching man. His eyes widened in terror, knowing that his time had come. It reached him.

The fish-like mouth of the mermaid gaped expectantly open, exposing a row of razor-sharp teeth bloodied with bits of the diver’s innards still hanging from it.

He tried to pull away from the knife that skewered him to the boat. He tugged at his hand, and his brain seared in agony as he felt the knife slice into more muscle.

He was a seething mass of fear as the wraith wrapped itself around him, embracing him, its jagged teeth biting into his shoulder, and he began thrashing around hysterically. His fingers clutched at something hard on the ground. It was the pendant. He grasped at it as though it could save him. He screamed and gurgled out of his last breaths for any god to help him.

Then he heard the other voice—If we help you. You are indebted to us. The murmur echoed its demand. In his heart, he desperately conceded.

All at once, the mermaid flew back from him with such force that the knife and his arm dislodged, and although he was once again free, his mouthpiece had been wrenched off as well. It fell to the ground severed and useless… . The battle for time had begun.

The mermaids and the rock figure, distracted by the commotion, had left the two divers, now reduced to an unrecognizable mangled heap. They advanced upon the archaeologist. He tried to preserve whatever air was left in his lungs and willed his heartbeat steady, backing away from the transgression, trying to find his way out, but the monstrosities were blocking the front exit. He bumped into the vessel’s rib cage. It was a dead end. Light exploded in his brain as he battled to maintain consciousness, his lungs near collapse. His knees had doubled and were useless. He began dragging his legs painfully, losing strength.

Maybe it was a trick stratagem of this murky, unholy haunt, but he saw the sedentary skeletal figures rise, dragging ivory bones to stand in between him and the advancing demons. The skeletons swayed upright, like drunken debacles in the path of the evil entities that halted, seeming to fear the fleshless bones for they screeched in a frustrated crescendo of anger.

One skeleton turned to his direction, and lifting a bony index, pointed into the dark. His feverish gaze followed and saw… another hole! Another exit!

Through the dimming fog of his consciousness he struggled, grasping at his one chance of escape.

With superhuman force born of his will to live, he commanded his body to swim out of the blackness, through the hole in the boat, away from the Luciferous Lear. By the mercy of unknown angels and almost breathing water, he headed straight for the light at the end of his tunnel vision.

Image24167.EPS    Back at the gym, the girls cringed as the roof shook over their heads. The suspended fluorescent lights came crashing down. Splintering into a million pieces as it smashed onto the floor, plunging the hall in darkness. The girl on the trampoline was thrown like a doll onto the floor, as she rolled, the pendant broke, detaching and skidding across the room to land with a thud next to the smooth surface of the mirrored wall.

Image24173.EPS    The archaeologist broke through the ocean’s serene calm. He sucked precious life-giving air into his tortured lungs. The noise alerted the crew on the boat two hundred feet away. They started the engine of the barge and headed towards him.

At that moment, the archaeologist felt his treading legs caught in a grip, and he was pulled back into the water. He thrashed to resurface, opening his eyes. He saw the gilled opaque face of a mermaid trying to drag him into the darkness, but before he could, a skeletal hand caught at the mermaid’s face… yanking it sideways

Aaadddoooieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. A hideous high-pitched scream bubbled out of the marine monster’s mouth. It released his legs and dived down into the depths. The freed man cleaved quickly up to the surface again as he breathed in water. The water around him began to fume with hot white smoke. A skeletal head appeared out from the boiling sea, even as the man choked in horror. Diaphanous blood vessels; red muscle, tendon and skin were forming over its ivory death mask. Ethereal eyeballs with see-through pupils appeared in its sockets, staring at the man.

Do not forget your promise… Solo—

The archaeologist heard the specter’s eerie rasp. Transparent skin like cobwebs completed a human face that breathed out the words as it sank and disappeared once again back into the water.

The barge reached him. Apparently, no one had seen the spectacle. They fished him out of the water and pulled him over the side of the boat. He landed on his face against the rough wooden floor. An object flew out of his hand and slid to a halt next to a glass-tank of fish. The archaeologist raised his head. In bemusement, he saw the pendant was still with him!

Mirrored by the glass-tank, as he reached for it possessively, the last thing he remembered before the sun totally eclipsed was an eerie sparkle of gems on a long familiar tail.

And then the sun totally eclipsed just to remember that moment.

Image24179.EPS    Back on the other side of the world, the gymnasium ceased its violent shaking as suddenly as it began. The girls picked themselves up as the indoor generators restarted the existing lights.

Incredulously, they turned to each other. It had been an earthquake in this region of Asia! This was one of the safest on the map! They shook their heads in disbelief.

Dazed, they did not notice a door open silently. Newly formed gossamer skin glinting in the moonlight; a male figure, in a sixteenth century pirate garb appeared. The gaze of the pirated figure shifted from the girls to a trail of watery footprints that appeared on the ground and slowly made their way towards the two unsuspecting women.

CHAPTER ONE

Sat.8th May, 2010

AN exquisite pert-nosed beauty walked into the office and waiting room of the famous model agency, Sinderella’s Halo. She sported a healthy tan under her shiny black China doll crown—a vision of polished elegance with slender, long bronzed legs that flashed from under a pure white, cotton halter dress almost covering her knees. Fifteen other beautiful models and clerks were already there mingling with a group of men. As soon as she came in, a nearby fax lit up, beeping noisily as if protesting her proximity and an antique juke-box switched on making clanging noises as if someone had put a rusty dime in it. The noise interrupted the laughing crowd which immediately fell into silence. She could have sworn the group sniggered after her.

What the hell are they laughing about? She mumbled to herself, eyes downcast. Even though she looked the picture of confidence, rarely was that ever the case as it was especially now as she walked away.

It was an unspoken understanding that those who came late should not interrupt the good fortune of the earlier ones if they were already engaged in conversation with a client. A blond American man in particular stood out from the crowd; he had the cutest cleft on his rugged chin. He was being entertained by the agency’s personnel. She cursed herself for coming in so late.

She felt the fashionable group’s eyes on her as she moved. She could understand why the other models felt the need to flirt with business. Competition was tough and someone was going to a lot of trouble to embarrass her for some reason. That someone had rigged the office machinery to start up each time she passed.

That’s her, CJ… A stunning red haired model stifled a snicker and murmured to the tall blond man with the cleft on his rugged chin. She was talking about the passing pert-nosed beauty with the China doll hairstyle.

That’s the girl Raj says is possessed… The redhead whispered.

The man whispered something back and the group burst out laughing again.

The girl with the pert-nose pretended not to hear but turned a pinker shade as she walked through to the reception in search of her boss in the foyer. As she flung herself on the sofa, she spied her boss, a beautiful tall blond; who was loading a plate with food from the breakfast table next to the receptionist when a handsome Malay male model in jeans, approached the seated girl and breaking her concentration, spoke to her.

Wa lan, mina chantek orredy, Cute Malay chick!

She looked up at him, actually relieved that someone was at last flirting with her and out of the corner of one almond-shaped eye, lifted her chin, and placed it on one bare shoulder. She wore no makeup and parting her full lips, crossed the legs on her mannequin’s figure, and winked at the ogling boy who was about to make his way to her when he bumped into his blond boss returning from the breakfast table. She curtly dismissed him as she sat down unceremoniously in an empty seat placing the plate of food on the table.

"You are still worrying about your pendant, aren’t you, CJ?" Angela, the pretty freckle-faced forty-five-year-old blond asked.

Cindy J. Bell, the pert-nosed Eurasian model with the China doll hairstyle moaned. It’s been almost ten months since I lost it last year in July! You told me yesterday that Raj found it… has he given it back to you yet?

We’ll speak of your trinket later, right now we need to discuss a few pressing points. Angela replied, draining her tea and pursing her beautifully made-up mouth.

Alright CJ, She counseled, Tomorrow, Saturday, five in the evening, you have Aillah’s fashion show at Raffle’s, Long bar, and the next day, early at six a.m., the beauty contest, don’t be late! The StudBalor people are finicky about time. Sleep early. This is your schedule.

Angela handed over a typed paper to the younger girl.

Aillah’s catwalk for the next two weeks and then we have a little over a month, or so to polish you up for the finals… and speaking of shadows CJ… have you seen the last batch of pictures? Yours and Rahina’s have bombed! Angela looked highly irritated, as she placed a pile of eight by ten glossies on the table.

There had been friendly competition between agencies and they had a photo-shoot for this year’s 2010 spring collection last month, April; the pictures had just come out today. The models showed off the latest swimsuits at Sentosa beach and indeed, the prints were marred by discolorations. The fuzziness only appeared on one other model’s photos, and that was Rahina bin Rasyid. She too had taken photos that were aesthetically unacceptable. The rest of the other twenty models’ photographs were unblemished.

"The photographer said