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The Red Skull of Aldebaran
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GEMMA; Chapter 1
‘She still sleeps beneath the black pinnacle, deep buried in the sand.’
‘What?’ Cathy’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as she looked across at me. I was curled up in an armchair on the other side of the living room, concentrating on my magazine.
‘What what?
‘What did you just say?’
I peered back at her over the top of my reading glasses. ‘I never said a word.’
‘Yes you did. Something about someone still sleeping under a black something.’
What was she going on about? Now it was my turn to look a bit bewildered. ‘No, I didn’t. You must be hearing things. I’m too busy battling this bloody Sudoku, and it’s driving me nuts.’
‘Honestly, Gemma, you did speak. And it didn’t sound like anything much to do with Sudoku to me.’
I leaned forward towards where Cathy was sprawled on the sofa, and pointed accusingly at the small empty glass on the floor beside her. ‘How much of that sloe gin have you had?’
’Less than you!’ she retorted indignantly. ‘You did, you know.’ Cathy was adamant. ‘Say something I mean. Quite loudly too. It was something about someone sleeping. I wish I could remember exactly what it was but I was miles away and it didn’t really register.’
‘I know. You already told me. Something about someone still sleeping under a black something. Why on earth would I come out with something like that? I haven’t a clue what it means. I still think you were hearing things.’
‘Oh I don’t know. But I definitely heard it, and you definitely said it. Otherwise how would I be able to repeat it?’
‘She still sleeps beneath the black pinnacle, deep buried in the sand.’ What the…? This time I had heard it too. What shook me up most though was that it had been my voice uttering the words – and I had no idea where they had come from or why I had spoken them. I stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Cathy, fear lurching up inside me. ‘Cathy,’ I was struggling to keep calm, forcing my voice to stay level – and losing the battle – ‘why did I just say that?’
‘That’s it! That’s exactly what you said just now.’
‘Well I didn’t intend to. I haven’t a clue what it means. It didn’t even feel like it was me speaking.’ I didn’t understand what was happening and to say it was scaring me was an understatement of some magnitude. ‘But… it came out of my mouth! Cathy,’ I could hear my voice rising as the fear inside me surged forwards towards full-blown panic, ‘WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?’
By now Cathy was sitting bolt upright looking excited -maybe I should mention here that as well as being my best friend, Cathy is a psychic whizz and fount of knowledge on all things spiritual and esoteric - a curious expression spreading across her face as understanding slowly dawned. ‘I think,’ she said slowly, ‘that you’ve just channelled someone. Or something. The skulls maybe?’ She wasn’t put off by my obvious scepticism. ‘Well, why not?’
‘Because I don’t do that. Does anyone?’
‘Yes. Lots. Although most of them keep quiet about it in case they get labelled basket cases.’ Yes, just like I would. She leaned across and squeezed my hand reassuringly. ‘Look, the skulls have been contacting you through your dreams for a long time now. Well, that’s a form of channelling in itself. But because it’s happened while you’ve been asleep you haven’t been resisting it. You’ve willingly accepted their messages. You’ve done what you’ve been asked to do. Maybe this is the time they want to step it up a notch? You know, make it more direct. Maybe now they want you to let them speak through you. To use your voice to relay their words.’
Honestly? That freaked me out even more. ‘You’re saying I’ve been possessed? Oh, come off it. That’s just horror film stuff and nonsense.’ I was NOT going there.
‘No, not possessed. They aren’t taking over your body or your mind or…’
‘No, just my vocal chords.’
‘That’s exactly it. They’re just using your voice as a transmitter. You know, like when a radio picks up a signal and sends it out as sounds we can understand.’
‘No way!’ I wasn’t having any of that. I was not going to be anyone’s radio transmitter. ‘Anyway,’ I was puzzled, ‘why now? It’s never happened before.’
‘Who knows? Perhaps they feel you’re ready to take the next step. Look, just think about it for a minute. You were in the perfect place. With your conscious mind preoccupied with solving your puzzle, the other, more intuitive part was open and receptive to them coming in.’
‘Well they can damn well go out again. Come on, Cathy. You know that I’m really happy to do what I’ve been doing, receiving these stories in my head and writing them down. I’ve got my head around that. I can cope with that. I enjoy it even. But anything more? Not a chance.’
‘Well, they’ve probably picked up already that you aren’t ready for this. Your reaction would have given them a big clue. It might be worth spelling it out to them clearly though.’ She paused. ‘Don’t shut the door on it for good, Gemma. I tell you, if it was me I’d be beyond excited. To be able to channel verbally like that? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.’ She was almost bouncing up and down in the sofa, her eyes sparkling at the idea. Then, with a sigh, she brought her thoughts back to the question in hand. ‘What do you think it means?’
‘How on earth do I know? I’m still dealing with the fact that something has just hijacked my brain, so frankly, right now I don’t give a toss what it means.’
Cathy was finding it hard not to burst out laughing. ‘Poor you. It was a bit of a shock, wasn’t it? You look so indignant...’ She couldn’t hold her amusement back any longer; the rest of her sentence was lost in a gurgle of stifled giggles. I scowled, which only made things worse.
‘Oh come on, Gemma. You have to admit that things have been getting weirder and weirder ever since this business began. This is simply one step further down the weird path. Why not just run with it and see where it goes? It’s got to be somewhere pretty exciting and unbelievable. And don’t you dare leave me behind.’
A weak smile signalled my surrender. ‘OK. But no more freaky speaking. I mean it.’ I was determined to forestall Cathy’s enthusiasm for buying me into this whole new scenario. ‘I’m happy to carry on the way things have been going but no-one is going to use me as a ventriloquist’s dummy. Do you hear?’ I tilted my head until I was looking up at the ceiling and repeated my last words in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘Do you hear me? No dummy!’
‘That’s telling them!’ Cathy laughed. ‘Right. Down to the important stuff. What does it mean?’
‘I have absolutely no idea. I can only think it has to be linked to the skulls. What else could it be? But other than that… This could be another case of wait and see.’
‘Somehow I get the feeling that you won’t have to wait too long to find out.’
As usual, Cathy was right.
‘What?’ Cathy’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as she looked across at me. I was curled up in an armchair on the other side of the living room, concentrating on my magazine.
‘What what?
‘What did you just say?’
I peered back at her over the top of my reading glasses. ‘I never said a word.’
‘Yes you did. Something about someone still sleeping under a black something.’
What was she going on about? Now it was my turn to look a bit bewildered. ‘No, I didn’t. You must be hearing things. I’m too busy battling this bloody Sudoku, and it’s driving me nuts.’
‘Honestly, Gemma, you did speak. And it didn’t sound like anything much to do with Sudoku to me.’
I leaned forward towards where Cathy was sprawled on the sofa, and pointed accusingly at the small empty glass on the floor beside her. ‘How much of that sloe gin have you had?’
’Less than you!’ she retorted indignantly. ‘You did, you know.’ Cathy was adamant. ‘Say something I mean. Quite loudly too. It was something about someone sleeping. I wish I could remember exactly what it was but I was miles away and it didn’t really register.’
‘I know. You already told me. Something about someone still sleeping under a black something. Why on earth would I come out with something like that? I haven’t a clue what it means. I still think you were hearing things.’
‘Oh I don’t know. But I definitely heard it, and you definitely said it. Otherwise how would I be able to repeat it?’
‘She still sleeps beneath the black pinnacle, deep buried in the sand.’ What the…? This time I had heard it too. What shook me up most though was that it had been my voice uttering the words – and I had no idea where they had come from or why I had spoken them. I stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Cathy, fear lurching up inside me. ‘Cathy,’ I was struggling to keep calm, forcing my voice to stay level – and losing the battle – ‘why did I just say that?’
‘That’s it! That’s exactly what you said just now.’
‘Well I didn’t intend to. I haven’t a clue what it means. It didn’t even feel like it was me speaking.’ I didn’t understand what was happening and to say it was scaring me was an understatement of some magnitude. ‘But… it came out of my mouth! Cathy,’ I could hear my voice rising as the fear inside me surged forwards towards full-blown panic, ‘WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?’
By now Cathy was sitting bolt upright looking excited -maybe I should mention here that as well as being my best friend, Cathy is a psychic whizz and fount of knowledge on all things spiritual and esoteric - a curious expression spreading across her face as understanding slowly dawned. ‘I think,’ she said slowly, ‘that you’ve just channelled someone. Or something. The skulls maybe?’ She wasn’t put off by my obvious scepticism. ‘Well, why not?’
‘Because I don’t do that. Does anyone?’
‘Yes. Lots. Although most of them keep quiet about it in case they get labelled basket cases.’ Yes, just like I would. She leaned across and squeezed my hand reassuringly. ‘Look, the skulls have been contacting you through your dreams for a long time now. Well, that’s a form of channelling in itself. But because it’s happened while you’ve been asleep you haven’t been resisting it. You’ve willingly accepted their messages. You’ve done what you’ve been asked to do. Maybe this is the time they want to step it up a notch? You know, make it more direct. Maybe now they want you to let them speak through you. To use your voice to relay their words.’
Honestly? That freaked me out even more. ‘You’re saying I’ve been possessed? Oh, come off it. That’s just horror film stuff and nonsense.’ I was NOT going there.
‘No, not possessed. They aren’t taking over your body or your mind or…’
‘No, just my vocal chords.’
‘That’s exactly it. They’re just using your voice as a transmitter. You know, like when a radio picks up a signal and sends it out as sounds we can understand.’
‘No way!’ I wasn’t having any of that. I was not going to be anyone’s radio transmitter. ‘Anyway,’ I was puzzled, ‘why now? It’s never happened before.’
‘Who knows? Perhaps they feel you’re ready to take the next step. Look, just think about it for a minute. You were in the perfect place. With your conscious mind preoccupied with solving your puzzle, the other, more intuitive part was open and receptive to them coming in.’
‘Well they can damn well go out again. Come on, Cathy. You know that I’m really happy to do what I’ve been doing, receiving these stories in my head and writing them down. I’ve got my head around that. I can cope with that. I enjoy it even. But anything more? Not a chance.’
‘Well, they’ve probably picked up already that you aren’t ready for this. Your reaction would have given them a big clue. It might be worth spelling it out to them clearly though.’ She paused. ‘Don’t shut the door on it for good, Gemma. I tell you, if it was me I’d be beyond excited. To be able to channel verbally like that? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.’ She was almost bouncing up and down in the sofa, her eyes sparkling at the idea. Then, with a sigh, she brought her thoughts back to the question in hand. ‘What do you think it means?’
‘How on earth do I know? I’m still dealing with the fact that something has just hijacked my brain, so frankly, right now I don’t give a toss what it means.’
Cathy was finding it hard not to burst out laughing. ‘Poor you. It was a bit of a shock, wasn’t it? You look so indignant...’ She couldn’t hold her amusement back any longer; the rest of her sentence was lost in a gurgle of stifled giggles. I scowled, which only made things worse.
‘Oh come on, Gemma. You have to admit that things have been getting weirder and weirder ever since this business began. This is simply one step further down the weird path. Why not just run with it and see where it goes? It’s got to be somewhere pretty exciting and unbelievable. And don’t you dare leave me behind.’
A weak smile signalled my surrender. ‘OK. But no more freaky speaking. I mean it.’ I was determined to forestall Cathy’s enthusiasm for buying me into this whole new scenario. ‘I’m happy to carry on the way things have been going but no-one is going to use me as a ventriloquist’s dummy. Do you hear?’ I tilted my head until I was looking up at the ceiling and repeated my last words in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘Do you hear me? No dummy!’
‘That’s telling them!’ Cathy laughed. ‘Right. Down to the important stuff. What does it mean?’
‘I have absolutely no idea. I can only think it has to be linked to the skulls. What else could it be? But other than that… This could be another case of wait and see.’
‘Somehow I get the feeling that you won’t have to wait too long to find out.’
As usual, Cathy was right.
GEMMA; Chapter 2
Callum’s latest email had intrigued me. It was concise and cryptic: ‘Hot on the trail of you know what. Can’t tell you more now, will be in touch soon.’
His words chased themselves round and round in my head. It was too mysterious. What was he talking about? Was ‘you know what’…? Could he possibly mean one of the skulls? No, that was just crazy. Much as I wanted to believe in the reality of it all in the way that he did, I was still finding it impossible to find a way past my scepticism. In spite of all the pretty bizarre things that had been happening for some time now, the possible implications of that email were just too off-the-wall for my rational mind to accept. Or was I just reading too much into it?
I wanted to know more and my chance to find out came more quickly than I expected when a second email pinged in only a day after the first. Again it was brief but this time to the point: ‘Flying back to the UK on 28th Aug. Essential we meet up. Lots happening. Progress! Will ring you from my hotel when I get in. C.’ 28th August? That was just over a month away. Why the delay, I wondered. Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The last time I had received an email from Callum asking to meet up, I had heard absolutely nothing more about it. If he had information to share though…
Callum, the tall, slim, grey-eyed and long haired maverick archaeologist and skull hunter who believes that all the information I am getting through is one hundred per cent genuine and accurate. A dangerously charming and flirtatious man whose eyes melt me into a little puddle. I could try to fool myself that the flush I felt hot on my face and the increase in my pulse rate were due to excitement over Callum’s mysterious news. I would be lying. The prospect of seeing him again sent my emotions and, let’s be brutally honest here, my whole body into a complete tailspin. My logical, sensible mind was doing its best to hold my infatuation (because let’s face it, that’s exactly what it was) in check – and failing miserably as the rest of me leapt on it, wrestled it rudely to the ground, and squashed it flat.
His words chased themselves round and round in my head. It was too mysterious. What was he talking about? Was ‘you know what’…? Could he possibly mean one of the skulls? No, that was just crazy. Much as I wanted to believe in the reality of it all in the way that he did, I was still finding it impossible to find a way past my scepticism. In spite of all the pretty bizarre things that had been happening for some time now, the possible implications of that email were just too off-the-wall for my rational mind to accept. Or was I just reading too much into it?
I wanted to know more and my chance to find out came more quickly than I expected when a second email pinged in only a day after the first. Again it was brief but this time to the point: ‘Flying back to the UK on 28th Aug. Essential we meet up. Lots happening. Progress! Will ring you from my hotel when I get in. C.’ 28th August? That was just over a month away. Why the delay, I wondered. Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The last time I had received an email from Callum asking to meet up, I had heard absolutely nothing more about it. If he had information to share though…
Callum, the tall, slim, grey-eyed and long haired maverick archaeologist and skull hunter who believes that all the information I am getting through is one hundred per cent genuine and accurate. A dangerously charming and flirtatious man whose eyes melt me into a little puddle. I could try to fool myself that the flush I felt hot on my face and the increase in my pulse rate were due to excitement over Callum’s mysterious news. I would be lying. The prospect of seeing him again sent my emotions and, let’s be brutally honest here, my whole body into a complete tailspin. My logical, sensible mind was doing its best to hold my infatuation (because let’s face it, that’s exactly what it was) in check – and failing miserably as the rest of me leapt on it, wrestled it rudely to the ground, and squashed it flat.
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