Passage

By Ogburn Charles

Ten years have passed and the heart wrenching pain doesn't get any easier nor does it stop the tears from flowing. No matter how many times I inquire of his whereabouts I get the same answer, "National Security and "Classified Information". I am no longer satisfied having these phrases ring in my head like the damn Liberty Bell. I am going to find my son out there in those mountains where the strange lights dance about at night. The locals tell me stories of these ancient lands. Stories filled with Skypeople, Gods, and magic. One thing is sure, only time will tell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ogburn Charles
• Release date: Mar 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201056537

Ogburn Charles

Ogburn Charles is a traveler of the world. He has lived with and seen the many cultures and beliefs of Indigenous peoples, from North America to the middle east and beyond. Here he presents some of what he has learned and seen in these places. 

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A dedication to the country and people of Ukraine You courage is an example to us all  May God give you peace

Chapter One: Regret

As I sat there in my study, I could see those mountains where it all happened. Most of my time was spent with thoughts of my son and what might have happened to him.

I had spent the better part of my life in a uniform. After his training accident, I called the base asking questions. I was rewarded with two men at my front door. One of them, the Chaplain told me how he was a good soldier and a credit to the service.

I asked for his body back for proper burial; I never got one. They said he was lost, and a body could not be found. When I called the base to ask questions, my calls went unanswered. When my call was finally returned. all I got was stonewalling A favorite tactic of the armed services when something befuddles them or has national secrets attached to it.

I kept Ken's journal here on my desk. Every day I took it out and searched his words for clues as to what might have happened to him on August 10, 2017.

Hi, Dad! I am keeping this as a record of the dumb things I do. I might want to look back on this someday and laugh at myself. Well, I’m here, Finally, the great white north, Alaska! It’s winter up here, ice everywhere. The guys I came up with, Derick and Josh, are in my unit. I guess where one goes, we all go - ‘Three Musketeers’! It’s five o’clock local time and we’re just getting into the base right now. The guys they sent to meet us had no, zero sense of humor. Well, we’re here I’ll write more in this later. All my love, I miss you and Uncle Frank a lot. Hey, I am a man now; Got to make it out here!

At times, a few tears of mine fell on the pages of his journal. My brother Frank always seemed to know when and tried to cheer me up. Still, I missed my son, and it hurt sometimes so bad that I couldn’t sleep or eat much.

Going through Ken’s journal again? Frank asked as he walked in through the door.

Yeah, looking for anything that might point to what happened.  

Look, Bret... Concern flooded across Frank’s face.

I know, Frank, I know. It is an obsession. He’s alive; I know it. I can almost reach out and touch him.  

Bret, you have got to let this go. It’s been ten years. We have both been up in those hills as far as we can go looking for clues.  

I know...We found nothing except a few blisters and some weird lights in the sky I said with an air of defeat.

Exactly, now put it down, and let’s eat. Tomorrow is another day to look for clues.

Frank put his arm around me, and we marched off into the kitchen, where the scent of fresh coffee wafted through the air. After a short time, a loud clap of thunder was heard in the distance.

I looked up at Frank. His look betrayed what he was thinking. We both got up from the table and went out to the front deck facing the mountains.

Yup, they’re back, Frank!

I looked out over the mountains in the distance.

Three orbs of light could be seen as they danced to some unheard melody. They floated up, then down, and around each other as if they were celebrating something. The lights were blue, red, and yellow in color. From where we were, we couldn’t make out their sizes clearly.

Every time they appeared, there was a roar of thunder like a huge horn or crashing to announce their presence. The procession would last almost forty minutes. Then they simply faded slowly away. This happened mostly in the spring and summer months but once in a while it occurred in mid-winter as well.

We had some UFO researchers up here on occasion. One guy even went missing up there someplace, we had heard. The natives - it was their land - searched for him for weeks. They found nothing.

It had gotten late in the evening now and the lights began to fade as they always did. Then there was nothing but a crystal-clear night. Stars filled the heavens as far as you could see. I wondered if one of them was my son as he looked down on us.

My thoughts were broken by Frank who had tugged at my shirt.

Come on, bro, it’s late. Let’s get some sleep.

We both made our way upstairs to our bedrooms. 

Goodnight, Bret.

Goodnight, Frank I replied tiredly.

Then darkness and the sound of wind came through the forest outside. In my bedroom, I stood sometimes for hours. I looked out of my window into the forest. I listened to the wind as it passed through the trees in the night.

Are you, there, Ken? I asked an empty room. A tear always came to my face when I spoke to the wind.

Somewhere out there I could almost feel him. I guess it made me believe he’s okay and still out there somewhere.

I laid down finally, almost at the point of exhaustion.

I closed my eyes slowly, and finally drifted off into darkness, with only the winds song through the trees for company. In the morning, the sound of coffee percolating and the fresh scent of it and fried ham, pervaded my very essence. Some things are just worth getting’ up for! A moment later, I heard, Bret, get your lazy ass out of bed, food’s ready! 

Yes, Mother, I’m coming I yelled back at him, laughing, because I know he throws fits when I do this to him. A few minutes later, I got to the kitchen and found the cat eating breakfast at my place on the table. Frank just looked at me with the evilest grin.

You Asshole! I screamed at him. You fed my breakfast to the cat? He put down his spatula and stepped aside. I saw my full breakfast plate resting on the counter behind him. 

Gotcha! Frank yelled gleefully. I just murmured something to the effect of, You f’’n A-hole as I moved over and claimed my plate. Frank laughed his ass off at me the whole time. The rest of the morning went as it usually did. Firewood had to be chopped, the chickens had to be fed, and, of course, eggs collected.

Alaskan homesteads need a lot of work to keep them going. The highlight of most days was the trip into town to collect the mail and say hello to our friends. It usually took a half hour to get into town by the dirt road we used. On most days, it was a pleasant ride in the truck, but in the stormy season, it might take a while to get into town for the supplies that we needed. Today is like any other. Nothing special as Frank went into town to get our mail. I milled about in my study, trying to reinvent the wheel yet again. An hour or so later,

Frank came back with the mail and a package for me. As we don’t get many packages, this was something of a rarity. Frank put it on my desk as I was preoccupied with the chores around the homestead. It was well into the afternoon, and I was covered in sweat from the day’s work before I got into my study to see the package. There was nothing special about the package, just a plain paper wrapper. I picked it up and noticed that it had no return address. That was curious. Just a postmark from Wichita, Kansas, posted a few days ago. Okay, I thought, as I sat down. I heard Frank banging away in the kitchen as he always did this time of the evening.

A few seconds later, a rush of fur flashed by. Teach, my calico, was on my desk. He purred like a lion.

Okay, Teach, what do you want now? I asked him.

Teach had to be the neediest cat in the world! He just wanted to be petted and snuggled endlessly. Time went on, Teach got bored, and away he went, hopefully to bug Frank.

A second later, I was rewarded with a large crash of pots and pans and a loud screech from Teach!

You! I heard Frank shout at him.

I caught myself laughing at what that cat did to him. Bingo, Go, get ‘em, Teach I yelled.

I turned my attention back to the package now and examined it from one end to the other. Whatever was inside was not hard. It was kind of floppy.

Opening it, I found papers with writing on each side, fully covering each page. There were about twelve pages, total. Then I realized; These were the missing pages from Ken’s journal! I gasped for breath and sat down as this was a shock to me and totally unexpected.

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Frank, get in here!

It must have been a second or two later, but it felt like a year went by before Frank got into the study.

What, happened? he asked me.

I pointed to the papers on the desk. Frank looked at them and turned white as a sheet. Is this what I think it is? he asked.

I just nodded.

But how? he asked.

I don’t know how, I replied somewhat agitated.

As I picked up the papers, a letter fell out onto the floor. Frank bent over and picked it up.

Here you go he said, turning the letter over to me.

I looked down at the letter and read:

Mr. Towers, I am sorry it took me so long to find you and send you these papers from Ken’s journal. I was a close friend of his in the military. We were all together the day he went missing, as they say up there. He tore these pages from his journal just before it happened and told me to find you in case. What happened next was unbelievable, we were told never speak about it to anyone, we never saw Ken again after that. We all went back, time after time, and never found any clue or sign of him. I hope these pages help to figure out what happened to him. I am sorry not to leave a return address or a name, sir. I hope you find him.

A wave of anxiety swept over me, and Frank could see it.

Calm down, brother. It might not be anything. 

Okay. I said as I handed him the pages. You read it first.

He fumbled through the papers and barked, Get me Ken’s journal from the desk.

I opened the drawer and handed the journal to him. He opened it and matched the pages exactly to the ones we had just gotten in the package today. 

Well, there it is alright. There was no mistake. It belonged to his journal.  

Well? I asked somewhat impatiently. 

Okay, brother, I am getting to it. Hold on.

The look I shot him must have said, Read it, or I am going to kick your ass and read it myself!

After a few minutes of me pacing around in front of the fireplace, I turned and saw him looking at me.

Well? Did you read all of them? I asked him.

Yeah, there’s some things in here that you need to read.

A wave of anxiety came over me at this point. I felt like I was going to pass out at any second.

Frank handed me the pages, and I begin to read the passages my son had penned all those years ago.

Dad, we’re out here in the middle of nowhere looking for something. Yeah, looking, but no one tells us what we’re looking for. They just said anything odd, just report it. It’s been a full day since we were sent here, some land owned by the natives. The maps don’t even register this place. It’s like this place dropped out of time somehow, lush green. There’s a feeling we get here, like were being watched. Nothing real we can put our hands on, but we all feel it. My friends think I am looney for keeping a record of this, but Dad, this is weird stuff.

What was he doing up there, Frank? I asked not really expecting an answer.

I don’t know, Bret, but there’s more there.

I put the one page down and began to read the next. The page was so water-soaked you could only make out two words clearly: ‘Cords’ and ‘Hello.’ The rest was so badly damaged that it couldn’t be read.

The last page said in clear print, They’re here and then nothing.

What was he doing up there, and what was the damn military hiding up there?

The letter from his friend said he went missing. Maybe he’s still alive, Frank. 

After all this time and no sign or words from him or his friends? I don’t know, Bret, I don’t know.  

Frank, we need to get back up there and find my son!  

Alright, Bret, but first I’ve been talking to some people in town about those mountains. They say there’s a lot of odd and strange things going on up there.

You mean like those lights and that thunder we keep seeing up there?  

Yeah, like that, only more stuff.

Okay, so what else did they say, Frank?

There’s a guy they’ll point us to; A man named Martin Macahey, a tribal elder or shaman. He’s in town, and I sent word we would like to speak to him about this ‘phenomena’ a few days ago. When I was in town today, one of them stopped me and asked us both to come to the house on Twelfth Street later this week to meet with Martin. I said we would be honored to meet with him tomorrow there. 

Alright, I am not happy about this, though if it helps, let’s try it I conceded.

The rest of the day I was in my study looking out the window and up at those mountains and wondering. I must have dropped off to sleep in my easy chair somehow. In a few moments of time, I was speaking with my son.

Dad! Wake up, Dad!

I opened my eyes, and there he was. I was shocked to see him. I tried to speak to him, but before I could utter a word, a yellow haze began to gather and engulf him.

Don’t worry, Dad, I am okay! You’ll see. Then he was gone into that yellowish haze.

I woke up, still in my chair as if nothing had happened. 

Teach was on my lap, nuzzling me as he always did, and hot tears were rolling down the cheeks of my face.

He was here! Ken was here! I am convinced Ken’s alive. My son came home, if only for a moment in time.

As I sat here in the darkness, I looked out over those mountains, and made a promise to him, one I would die before breaking. I love you, my son. Whatever happened to you, wherever you are, I will find you. 

Dawn was coming now. I could see the sun beginning its climb up over those hills to the east. The colors were magical; blues, red hues, and a majestic purple crept across the land. It was if the mythical gods of old had returned to seek their majesty once more.

I got up from my chair and Teach began to protest as usual. 

Frank came down the stairs towards the kitchen again. He passed my study and stuck his head in as I turned on the desk light and rubbed my eyes.

Did you sleep down here last night?  

Yeah, I did. I fell asleep in that damn chair again.

I know, it eats you, right?

I looked at him and grinned. Yeah, you know, it’s just one of those things.

Frank just looked at me and grinned before he headed off to the kitchen to create another of his morning surprises.

The morning passed slowly. I couldn’t help but think about everything that’s been happening as of late. Was it Ken’s spirit reaching out? Or was there something else going on around here?

From time to time, we heard what sounded like screams of old women coming from out there in the forest somewhere. Nothing ever came of it though; it was just another kind of animal that’s pissed off over something or another.

Hours passed as we tended to the homestead. I looked up at the sun. It had gotten low in the sky, and we had a meeting in town tonight. I gathered the chickens back into their roost and herded the cattle back inside the corral where they belonged.

The road into town at night could be tricky at times. Shadows from the setting sun and your headlights, could make you think you see things out there, moving around. We had been more careful as of late. Every once in a while, we got a bear or a wolf pack running through here. When they did, we would just watch things a little more carefully for a few days until they moved on.

Only once did I ever have to shoot at a wolf. The pesky thing wouldn’t leave the chickens alone. I would never kill one unless it came down to them or us. Fortunately, it never did.

We finally got ourselves together. It had grown late in the day. Both of us went to the gun safe and pulled out our favorite revolvers. Here in the bush, you could never be too careful.

Frank slid behind the wheel of our Ram truck, and I settled into the passenger seat. As he drove us down the road, we spotted a storm starting to come up from the west. The speed it tracked was odd. It was going to be a bad one.

We had gotten about halfway to town when it caught up to us. High winds buffeted the truck as the trees swayed back and forth violently. Lightning and claps of thunder were all around us as we drove closer to town. The road at one point was so bad we moved at a snail’s pace with the truck slicing through mud as it poured off the hillsides towards the valley below. As I looked up towards the hillside, I could see rivers of mud come crashing down the slopes, bringing small trees and brush as it, went with it.

We might have to turn back, Frank I warned.

But we’re this close. We’re only a mile or so from town now, I’m not turning back now.

There was a huge crash of thunder and lightning to our left side. It emitted a pinkish kind of light, like when something got hit. We saw a fireball go up as a tree crashed down towards our truck!

Frank punched the gas and managed to get ahead of the falling tree. It just missed the truck by a matter of inches.

Frank stopped for a moment while we managed to catch our breath.

A moment later there was another clap of thunder and a flash of lightning to our right. We both looked and, for the briefest of moments, it looked like there was a man, half-dressed in animal skins. He carried a staff in his right hand and looked right at us. The next moment, he was gone from sight.

Frank punched the gas again, and we flew the last few miles into town.

We came across a police officer as he assessed the damage to the road. He stopped us and asked what the