1

the beginning

 When Jedediah Brown woke up six feet under he looked to the heavens, wondering who lost his ticket for the deli line into paradise.  Heaven was a big place.  Surely there was room for him.  He didn’t need a four season’s accommodation.  A cheap motel in paradise would have sufficed for Jedediah just fine.  After breathing dirt for more than a few minutes Jedediah knew something was wrong.  He remembered drowning in the Nile River in Egypt.  He was traveling the world in his old age.  A last tribute to a love lost and an attempt to remember what it was to be young again.  Young again.  Why did that resonate in him so deeply?  After realizing the angels in charge of souls claims forgot to check him onto the flight he dug his way out of his resting place.  Looking about he saw dense forest all around him.  Jedediah looked back to examine his plot.  An unmarked grave?  He remembered giving specific instructions that he be buried next to his wife, a very honorable place in the ancient tombs at Longtou Mountain, a burial site which held the royalty of the Balhae Kingdom.  After Jedediah had done a considerable favor for the Emperor of China he was granted this honor.  Well, technically it was “President” of China but Jedediah thought Emperor had a better ring to it

 

 

      Jedediah Brown had led a very rich life as a retrieval man.  People hired him to find stolen or lost artifacts.  No matter how far he had to go or how long it took him, he always found what he was looking for and returned it to its rightful home.  Sometimes that meant going against the men or women who hired him.  And now he himself was a walking artifact.  Strangely Jedediah felt empty inside, as if he were devoid of any real emotion.  He could recall certain memories of his past but associating the emotion that went along with the memory was nearly impossible for him.  Coming to the realization that he had evaded death for the time being, he picked up a broken tree branch and began a trek into the jungle.  After a few minutes of hiking amidst dense overgrowth Jedediah realized he was being followed.  It was getting dark and the growing sense of a predator was beginning to make his blood boil.  He dropped down low and listened, waiting for a leaf to move or a twig to break.  Nothing.  His heart rate was strangely very slow, only ten beats per minute.  Jedediah figured his dead man’s heart was in need for an oil change. 

“Jedediah Brown, stand up,” a voice boomed from above him.  He looked up to see nothing but the trees.

 

 

      “You cannot see me Jedediah.  My name is Henry Pennbrook.  I’m your oldest mate and colleague.  I traveled with you to find a lost artifact for a rich American a few months ago.”

Jedediah was remembering now.  He was sailing along the coast of Africa looking for something…..what was it? 

“Having trouble remembering Jedediah?  I’m not surprised.  This kind of thing doesn’t happen every day you know.”

Jedediah looked again but there was still nobody there.

“What doesn’t happen every day Henry? And why can’t I see you?”  Jedediah asked.  It had seemed like ages since he had seen Henry. 

“First of all Jedediah, let me save you some trouble, you can’t see me because I’ve been dead for a while now.  Secondly, reviving dead men, that’s what doesn’t happen every day my friend.”

 

    The surrounding forest was suddenly darker, and things Jedediah could never possibly perceive before started to come into focus.  Shadows moved through the treetops, a faint cracking noise echoing and bouncing from tree to tree finding it's way to the forestry overgrowth below.  The sky was gray and cast a foreboding shadow of terror over Jedediah's head.  The life that flowed through any normal human like a waterfall now felt like a black hole to Jedediah, devoid of anything real.

 

 

      Jedediah stood up.

“Henry, I’m the dead one.  I just crawled out of my own grave for peat’s sake!” 

Jedediah counted to ten hoping the voice of his close friend would go away. 

“I’m not going anywhere Jedediah, and also, you crawled out of your grave because I revived you! On your very own instruction no less!”

Jedediah had a faint recollection of Henry holding a dead animal over his face and could recall an unpleasant odor knocking him out cold.  He was unsure if the animal was an animal at all. 

“What do you mean my instruction?”

Jedediah heard Henry laughing. 

“You really don’t remember anything do you?  Well that’s great, because I only remember a little.”

Jedediah thought hard for a minute, but the thought process of his zombie brain was limited at best.  The only thing that came to mind was a chalkboard, which did not help him at all.

“Henry, what did I tell you to do?  If you could tell me exactly what I said it would help.”

Jedediah saw the tree branches shift and wondered how Henry had a physical presence.

“Seconds before I died, you said I had to bring you back.  You said you knew you were going to die.  You believed that I could bring you back.  Well you were right, it worked Jedediah, and you’re not dead!  Mission Accomplished is the phrase I’m looking to hear right about now.”

 

 

       Jedediah knew he wouldn’t try to escape death for no good reason.  There had to be a motive. 

“Why did I believe you could bring me back from death when you were seconds from death yourself?”  Jedediah asked.

A few moments went by without an answer.

“The item we were hired to find, it was a book.  A very old book, full of ancient Egyptian curses and blessings.  One of the inscriptions was the power of immortality.”

Jedediah was waiting for the angel of death to pop out of the bushes with a party hat on. 

“Now I know it sounds barmy, but you believed when I died I took with me the power to give immortality to the dead, because I read from the book,” Henry said.

Jedediah looked up at the stars, night had finally fallen.

“Why would I want immortality Henry?”

He wanted an answer but at the same time was afraid of the truth. 

“We had found something important, don't you remember? And you needed me to bring you back so we could finish what we had started.”

Jedediah tried to remember but the memories were unclear. 

 

 

       Jedediah knew that immortality was a myth and could not believe that he was given the power.

“Henry, am I really supposed to believe that you read an inscription from an old Egyptian book and was given the power to grant immortality to the fallen?”

Jedediah heard Henry sigh. 

“You’re not seeing the big picture Jedediah.  It wasn’t just any book my friend.  It was the Book of the Dead.  The curses and blessings in the book were never meant to be read by the living.  They were meant for the dead.”

Jedediah felt the cold of night start to grip at his heart.  

“What do you mean they were meant for the dead?”  

By the sound of leaves rustling it sounded like Henry was coming closer. 

“It means that I was on the verge of death when I read the words.  Do you remember me telling you about Quantum Immortality Jedediah?”

Amazingly Jedediah recalled the lecture Henry made him sit through. 

“Yeah, the theory is that if you die in this verse you exist eternally in another with Immortality.  Henry, you don’t actually believe that hogwash, do you?”

A cold  hand slapped Jedediah across the face. 

“Not at first Mr. Non believer, but look around!  You’re not dead!  I’m somehow still around.”

Jedediah knew Henry had a valid point. 

 

 

      Jedediah looked up and now saw Henry bright as day. 

“Henry, I can see you!”

What Jedediah saw was not what he expected.  His friend’s appearance was normal, as if he were healthy as an ox. 

“The once parallel life zones are now converging because of us Jedediah,” Henry said.  He was going too fast for Jedediah’s liking. 

“What do you mean converging?”  Jedediah asked.

Henry came closer, and Jedediah noticed his friend seemed to be glowing.  Henry noticed it too and frowned. 

“This isn’t good Jedediah.  I’m not even supposed to be in this world anymore.  When I revived you I must have broken the rift between the two zones.  This means I won’t be the only thing coming through.” 

Now it was Jedediah’s turn to frown. 

“What do you mean by that exactly Henry?”

Henry’s eyes looked burdened with a fear yet unseen by the world. 

“There are evils in the place I ended up when I died, that will not be eager to join the ranks of this world Jedediah. They’ll look to punish someone.  And I’m afraid that might be you.”

Somehow Jedediah knew Henry was going to say that. 

“So not only do I have to solve the mystery of why I escaped death, but I’ll have to do it with the heart of darkness on my tail.  This should be a bloody spectacle.”

 

 

      Henry looked to be deep in thought. 

“What is it Henry?” Jedediah questioned, wanting as many answers as he could get.

Henry pondered for a minute.

“Best I can figure is that as I was dying I read the words from the book.  However, at the same time I was preparing my mind for the Quantum transference method.”

Jedediah laughed aloud. 

“There’s actually a ritual for the Quantum immortality theory?” 

Henry gave Jedediah a serious look. 

“Not in the scientific sense, but rather a collection of afterlife preparation ceremonies from different cultures I’ve concocted throughout my many years traveling the world.”

Jedediah was impressed. 

“Well old boy, you’ve certainly found something because we’re both still walking the earth….Jedediah paused.  Henry, where are we?”  Henry looked at the surrounding forest.   “I haven’t a clue to be honest.  I can tell you one thing for sure though.  We’re definitely not in Africa anymore.”

 

 

    The trek continued into the heart of the jungle for hours with complete silence.  Jedediah liked it that way.  Trying to come to terms with what transpired was one thing, doing it while trying to theorize on possible explanations was another headache altogether.  So the silence continued until Jedediah saw a structure in the distance, a man made one at that. 

“Do you see that Henry?” Jedediah asked.

Henry looked ahead and nodded to his friend.

“It appears to be an old stone fortress of some kind.  And from the tree and plant life I’ve observed in the past few hours, I’d say we were in the rain forests of Peru.”

Jedediah wondered how his body traveled from Egypt all the way to Peru.  Another question for the mountainous pile of unanswered ones. 

“I thought the rain forests were under joint government control between Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil,” Jedediah said.

Henry looked impressed and excited.

“Jedediah, I’ve read about this structure.  I had the rare pleasure to read an old manuscript found in the archives of the Jesuits from Rome.  It dated all the way back to the year 1600.  It was written by a missionary; Maria Lopez is her name I believe.  There are passages in her manuscript that describe the structure we’re looking at right now.  Now bear in mind we should both be dead right now so have a little faith when I say this.  I believe this is the legendary lost city of Paititi.”

 

    Jedediah was skeptical; then again he was back from the dead so he figured he had to have an open mind for just about anything. 

“I thought the city of Paititi was a legend made up to immortalize the hero Inkarri?”  Jedediah said.  Henry stood up. 

“I thought the same thing, even after I read the manuscript with the account of Maria Lopez.  But now here we are, and I remember looking over the manuscript many times.  This is definitely Paititi.”

The sky opened up and it began to rain. 

“Let’s get out of this weather!” Jedediah yelled over the noise of the torrential downpour.  Henry followed and the two friends stepped over the threshold and into Paititi.

“Something else that might interest you Jedediah, supposedly the reason nobody has ever been able to find this city is because the Vatican kept its location hidden, wanting to keep the wealth of the city for the church.   Maria Lopez states in her account she made the city known to the Pope.”

Out of nowhere a skinless cat jumped out from behind a large boulder, followed by three black cats. 

“Well that’s something you don’t bloody see everyday!” Jedediah exclaimed. 

Henry looked afraid. 

“It’s starting old friend.  The darkness is coming through.”