Miles from Nowhere

I feel paralyzed, deaf, blind, and hotter than hell. For the moment I don't know where I was, or where I was going... or where I am. As I regain my senses it feels like someone dropped me out of a plane and into Death Valley. My face is burning, at least one side of it. I can hear the others moaning.

"Fuck me running." I straighten up to a sitting position and shield my eyes. It is so bright that I can't see a damn thing.

"Holy shit... are we dead?" Lou tries to look at me through shaded eyes, but has to cover them.
"Hot, hot, hot." Mike brushes the soil off of his legs and feet and then tucks them beneath him under the robe.
"Phew... that's better. These robe thingies shield this heat, don't ya think?"

We follow his lead and before long each of us has their legs tucked under the robe. All except Ollie, who is still out of it.

"Ollie... come on, big boy, time to get up." Lou calls to him. He picks up a small stone and takes aim. Right then I see an eye barely open.
"Don't do it, Lou." I put my hand up.
"Ollie, better sit up and get your legs up under that robe before you fry yourself."

The big Aztec sits up and nearly topples over the other direction. As he steadies himself with his hands he lifts them immediately as though he had set them down on a hot grill.
"Caliente!"
"No shit."

As we sit, our vision collectively becomes better until we can actually look at each other and our surroundings without shielding our eyes. We are not on the boat, that's for sure. It looks and feels like high desert. Could be Nevada, or Arizona. Scrub, rocky in areas, a craggy mountain range juts into the sky in the distance. I am processing this and come up with an answer as I spot the stubble of saguaro cactus in the distance.

"Arizona... Sonoran desert." Lou interjects, "Saguaro don't grow in Nevada."
There he goes again, thinking what I'm thinking.
"Knock that shit off."
"What, Nancy, you don't think I've been places?"
"No, I know you're an idiot."
"Crabby fuck."

Andy gets to his feet and stands in the shade cast by his robe.
"Does anybody else wonder how in the hell we get here?" He steps from foot to foot for a moment or two.

We all look down at the Clarok sitting in the middle of our calming circle. It looks dirty and dull, like the life is gone from it. On the ship it looked like a shining museum exhibit. Now it looks like it has been laying here on the desert floor for centuries. Mike reaches out and gives it a little jiggle.
"Well... I guess it works."

As we digest that simple statement we look around. It is hot, probably high nineties, maybe even in the hundreds. I know, don't say it, but it is a dry heat. One that you feel when you breath in. We are in a broad valley between two rocky outcroppings. Not really part of the mountains in the distance.

I stand and do the foot to foot thing. The ground is hot and from the looks of our surroundings there is no relief.
"We can't stay out here."
The rest of the guys stand. For a moment it looks like a lame disco, foot to foot. All we need is some finger snaps and a little hip movement.

Antonelli scoots some of the dull sunset colored earth at his feet. He takes a step and pulls his foot up quickly.
"Oh hell no, we can't step on this shit. Even if it wasn't hot... it's like walking on broken glass."

"Pussies." Lou looks around, hand shading his eyes like a constant salute. When he sees what he is looking for he starts off. I know he is burning his feet, has to be, but he won't cry out or show pain. He steps out about forty or fifty feet to a squat cactus.

"That's a barrel cactus."
He ignores my call and looks around at his feet. When he spots what he is looking for he picks up a large, sharp rock and goes about uprooting the beachball sized plant. Once he has it up, he flips it over and works on the underside of it, the one without any needles. He splits it open, scooping out the stiff pulp and setting it aside.

"So what the hell is he doing?" Andy has that familiar sour look on his face.
"I... don't know. You can get moisture from that pulp, it actually stores water that way."
"So, he's thirsty?"
"Hell, I don't know." I shake my head and call out to Lou, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Nothing, he just keeps on working.

"Well, he's not answering."
Andy just looks at me.

Lou breaks each half into two pieces, then goes about stripping the spines off of the outside. When he is done with the outside he takes the sharpest edge of the rock and cuts three long strips of the hull, leaving them connected at the front.

"Maybe he's making something to eat." Mike says, watching him cutting the thin strips from the edge of each piece. I shake my head.
"No, I think he is the desert version of Martha fucking Stewart and he is carving some center pieces for our dinner party."
"We're having a dinner party?"
Andy tisks behind me.

Lou has finished cutting and is now braiding the three pieces into one. It becomes apparent after he has them setting at his feet as he works the last one.
"No shit... shoes, you're making shoes out of cactus?"

I watch him as he slips them on and ties the braided husk. Then he scoops up the other pair and casually walks back and drops them at my feet. The rock he drops in front of Andy.
"Did you see how I did that?"
Andy nods.
"We will go and get two more barrel cactus and you guys can make your own."

I put my cactus flip flops on and tie the braided husk. It's like walking in a watermelon. I don't need to tell you how stupid I feel walking around the desert in this robe and slippers. But as I spot the next barrel cactus, I have to give kudos to Lou. Not the first time he has come through, not the last.

Once we have two more cactus for the boys to work on we drop them off and head up to higher ground for a look around. No one is trying to pin down what has happened and how, where we are or how we get back to the ship. No need to start a panic at the beginning of this "trip". It will all work out... I hope.

It is tough going up the side of the small rise. We will need to get some real shoes or boots before we go to far. I crest the top and Lou steps up beside me. We hear the muffled scream of a woman and we immediately crouch down.

Below us about a mile out is a silver snake of a river. At a wide bend there is a lot of action. Men on horseback, a wagon, and debris in the water and on the banks. Whatever happened here happened before we appeared. The men on horseback have done their worse from what we can see. There are bodies in the river and in the rough terrain.

We lay in the rough of the summit and wait until the men ride off. Whatever they have done, it is over and within minutes they are gone. The wagon is in flames, the horses have scattered... those they haven't taken with them. I don't say it, but I think those were Indians.

"Apache."
"Goddamnit will you stop that."
"What?"
"Reading my fucking mind."
"I can't read your mind, Nancy. I can see. I have eyes."
"Oh yeah, well try to read what I'm thinking."
"Fuck you, too."

We stay on the rise for a moment or two, scanning the horizon for any more of these men on horseback. We turn and head back down the hill in our cactus shoes. It is more like skiing than walking.
"Don't mention the Indians."
"They'll find out before too long."
"Yeah, but we don't need to put them in overload. Just keep it between us."

When we get back to the boys, they are all in cactus shoes and each of them have a hand-sized piece of pulp they are sucking on.
"You get a lot of water out of these things." Antonelli says, chewing some of the pulp.
"We gotta go." I look at the Clarok, "and we have to take that thing with us."
"Well, that goes without saying." Andy says as he reaches down and grabs a handle. He lifts and just gets his side off the ground a little.
"Well hell, does this thing come with a set of wheels or something. This is going to suck if we have to haul it around by hand."
Ollie reaches down and gets a purchase, lifting the whole thing off the ground. Andy lets go of his side and Ollie swings it around and puts it up high on his back like a turtle.

"You got it, big guy?" Lou asks him.
He nods.
We all take the small hill that Lou and I had descended minutes earlier. Lou is behind Ollie to make sure the Clarok does not hit the dirt.

We take the hill and the boys survey the scene.
"Nice fire, eh" Mike says through a mouthful of cactus. Andy nods.
"Yeah, but what's burning."
"Whatever is was it's already burned up."

Antonelli shields his eyes from the light, "Are those bodies?"
The group falls silent and we start down the hill. It is hard going with the cactus on our feet. Half way to the river we help carry the Clarok. Even though Ollie is a bull of a man, the heavy Clarok is more than he can shoulder. By the time we reach the bank of the river we are all exhausted.
"Well this isn't going to work... dragging this fucking thing around." I say, throwing my hand off the handle as the rest of them set it in on the bank.

"We can't very well leave it here, can we." Chris says, dropping to the sandy bank.
"We need to hide it somewhere." Mike says, walking over to something sticking out of the water where it meets the bank.
"I think it's too early to stash it. We need to make sure we can find it and no one else can." Lou says, watching Mike as he reaches into the water and pull up his find.

Mike stands there and looks at it for a moment, then turns and holds it up.
"I found an arrow."

Andy, Chris, and Ollie look at it for a moment and then Mike starts back over.
"An arrow? Like a bow and arrow arrow?" Andy asks.
"What other kind of arrow is there?" Chris remarks.

We need to get across this river. By the look of the current it isn't too deep. Where the water ripples is where we cross. It is knee deep at this point, except for an underwater chasm that Lou jumps over and I am lucky enough to find. The water feels nice and I am reluctant to climb out when the hand is extended to me.

Once we are all on the other side, along with the Clarok, we walk to the smoldering heap that had been a buckboard. There are three dead men, young... twenty-somethings. The tops of their heads are a bloody mess.
"Oh... SHIT, these guys are... they don't have any... " Antonelli can't seem to find the words.
"Scalped." Lou tells him as he strips the boots off of one of them.
"Scalped? Who the hell would have scalped them?"
Mike pulls another arrow out of the grass, "Indians?"
"That didn't take long." Lou says, yanking the pants off of the shoeless guy.

We find four men near the burned out wagon, another in the water. Antonelli realizes the "musical chairs" aspect of the situation and goes in the water after the larger of the gentlemen and begins to remove the man's boots. Mike, myself, and Ollie do the same, leaving Andy standing there with nothing to do.

"These are uniforms." Mike holds up the pants he just removed.
"You better rinse those in the river." Lou tells him. Mike just looks at him.
"Your man, he shit his pants. You got a little staining there."
Mike turns the pants around and then lets go of them like they are on fire.
"You better pick them up before Andy takes them."
Mike uses two fingers and then climbs into the river with his new pants and starts to rinsing.

My comment didn't escape Andy.
"What the hell am I supposed to wear?" He looks passed the burning wagon for any more bodies.
"You better look."

It takes some doing, but we end up with pants, some shirts and uniform tops, and boots that fit and some that don't. Lou finds a machete in the pile of burned wagon. He tears some of the bloodier clothing into strips and wraps them around the missing handle. With a couple of quick hits, he cuts the top of the smaller boots at the toe and they are wearable for Ollie, Chris, and me. Mikes boots fit fine.
Andy is still in his robe looking in the rubble when we are all dressed in our massacre clothing.

"ANDY... what did you find?"
He stands with his hands on his hips. Even though his back is turned you can tell he has that look on his face. We all walk over to where he is standing and look down. There is a light blue bonnet and a pile of what must be the screamer's dress.

Lou picks it up and gives it the once over.
"That is some good fabric, like what blue jeans used to be made of." He tosses it to Andy, who lets it fall to the ground.
"Put it on... let's get out of here before those Indians decide to come back."

Andy looks down and then up at Lou, "You put the fucking thing on. I'm not wearing it. And what about these "Indians"? What the hell are you talking about... Indians? Like red-skins? That's ridiculous."

Mike walks over to some of the paper debris that must have been thrown to the ground when they tossed the wagon. He picks of a piece of it and looks for a moment, then runs back to us.

"LOOK... look at this, look." He is out of breath, almost sounds frightened. I take the paper and Mike points to the date.
"What is it?" Andy asks.

I hand it to him and the others gather around to see.
"It's a bill of lading. That must have been a supply wagon."
Andy looks for a moment, then shrugs.
"So?"
"So look at the date."

He looks, along with the rest of the guys. Lou looks up at me, already knowing.
Andy reads the date outloud, "October 18th, 1881."
Antonelli's palm comes up to his forehead and all of a sudden it looks as though he has climbed out of a car crash or something.
"Oh my God... oh God." He sits down in the grass, "It worked, it really worked."
The paper is passed from hand to hand. Not a word is spoken.
Andy looks at Lou, "We are in the year 1881? Is that possible?"
"It is what it is." Lou tells him.

There is silence for a short time, and then we hear the horses whinny. There are three of them about two hundred yards up river. They have returned to drink.
With this new development Lou springs into action.

"Andy, get some clothes on. Jake, you and Ollie grab the Clarok and get it away from this shit in case those Indians do come back. Mike, you and Chris come help me get these horses."

Andy picks up the dress once more. "You're kidding, right?" He holds up the denim frock. "I'll just wear what I have on."
Lou doesn't even turn around as he heads toward the horses.
"And stick out like a soar thumb? No, we need to blend in as best we can. It's only until we can find something better. Hell, we don't even know where we are yet."

Andy's head sinks between his shoulders. "And who in the fuck made you king of this expedition?" He says under his breath. I just look at him and smile.
"You want to ask him that for real? Just put it on. You get first dibs on the next clothes we find."

Within a short while the boys have the horses gathered. As we decide which direction we are going to head, there is a strange sound of clattering metal. Before long we can hear a harmonica being played, interupted only by the sound of a song being sung.

We draw the horses back away from the river and try to hide as best we can. Before long a man appears, leading a donkey. He is on the other side of the river. He stops playing the harmonica and now all we hear is the song.

"Seed are buried deep deep deep." He lifts a pack off the animal and lets go of the reigns.
"In the soil they sleep sleep sleep." Looking in both directions, he settles on the smoldering ruins of the wagon.
"Yellow sunbeams bright bright bright." He slings the pack on his own back and starts across the river where we had crossed earlier.
"Raindrops falling light light light." When he reaches the other side, he jumps across where the water becomes deep and then sets about getting the animal across.
"Gentle breezes blow blow blow." He gets the reigns drawn tight and then gives an encouraging yell and pulls the donkey with a yank and it leaps the deep void and climbs out on the other side.
"Little seeds begin to grow."

As he approaches our position, Lou jabs me.
"He's no threat."
Lou stands, "Hey there, fella."
The man reaches one arm behind his head and comes out with a scattergun. Lou immediately puts his hands up, a funny look on his face.
Obviously the man is a threat.

Trippin'

Something is vibrating, a low constant hum that has been part of my dream for some time now. It is me, Lou, two girls in grass skirts, a blender, rum, vodka, coconut, something red, six bottles of vegetable oil, and a plastic shower curtain. We try to get things going but the girls keep asking about the vibration. It really seems to be bringing things to a grinding halt. It isn't until there is a constant knocking on my stateroom door that I realize it is all a dream.

"Sir... Senior Jake? It is time to be up. Briefing... there is a briefing."

I can hear the key in the lock... although I don't remember locking anything. The door opens slowly. I squeak one eye open and try to focus. It's one of the ship's company, probably some special assistant to Antonelli's mom.

"UP... I'm UP for Christ's sake." I bark at the man and he retreats.
"There is a clothing for you to put on hanging on the back of you door." He tells me as he closes the door.

My feet hit the floor and I stay seated on the bed. What a night, I think. I remember getting here and seeing everybody, but once they started with the "special" drink, I can't remember shit.

I do remember Lou pissing out of a porthole, and the ship's engineer coming in ready to duke it out. Turns out that quite a few of these portholes go out to the deck and not the ocean. But being the honored guests we are the engineer was calmed and escorted out of the party by Antonelli.

"You up?"
It's Lou.
"Up but not up."
The door opens and Lou walks in and I laugh... it hurts.
"What the fuck are you wearing?"
It looks like a long night-shirt made of some kind of shiny material.
"Put yours on, Nancy, and we'll see who is laughing."

He closes the door and I see mine hanging there on the hook.
"Fuck that, I'm not wearing that thing."
"Try finding something else to wear."
I look around the room. I don't see the clothes I was wearing yesterday, or the bag I brought with me for that matter.
"What the fuck?"
"I don't know. Do you think I would be wearing this thing if I didn't have to?"

I don the frock and Lou and I step outside my cabin. The boys are standing there as well, all robed up like choir boys.
"They took my underwear." Andy says, his expression that of a drenched cat.
"I think they're comfy." Mike rubs the fabric on his chest, then his legs. "It's like silk or satin or something."
Andy looks at him and tisks.

We all stand there outside my room, like we are waiting for a bus or something. Before long we are all rubbing our right arms just below the shoulder. Lou looks at the four of us and then examines his arm a little closer.
"I do believe we have been inoculated."
He probes the area and focuses on one spot. "I can feel something under the skin."

"It's a tracking dot." Antonelli walks up in his silk night-shirt accompanied by Ollie, also in the same garb. They both look extremely hung over.

"A tracking dot?" I ask, rubbing my arm. It seems to really hurt now that I know it's there.
"It will all be explained in the briefing."
"Let's hope so. I got busted by Angelica while I was looking for my clothes." Lou says with a smile.
"You were walking around naked on this boat and ran into Angelica? You're lucky she wasn't with my mother."
"It took me a while to find her. I made sure she wasn't with your mom."
"You sick fuck."

Once Antonelli joins us we make our way down into that special room. Every step is jarring. Whatever it was we did... or they did to us last night, is not translating well into this morning.

We walk in through the security personel. They wand us like we are at the airport, then they have us step on this light panel and it flashes at our feet. Each time it goes off it looks like the person is standing there naked.

"What the hell is this all about?" Andy says in protest, turning away as Ollie is flashed. This is a total offense to his modesty.
"They just want to make sure you have nothing with you." Antonelli tells him.
"Nothing with us? Where would we put it? Up our asses?" Lou says.
On that cue a young lady down the line dons a rubber glove.
"Nope... no, not gonna do it. Tell her, Chris." Andy steps out of line.

"Come on, guys. This is really important. I mean, REALLY important. Please, just get through this. It is all part of the preparation."
Andy shakes his head and stands his ground.
Ollie is up in the front of the line. He talks to the girl in mother tongue and she smiles at him. Cute girl... kind of a fucked up profession, but a cute girl. He turns around and starts to bend over, we all turn away, guaranteeing his privacy.

After it is all said and done, we all go through the line and the little sweety has her way with us. Turns out she is actually applying some kind of conductant. Not something I wanted to know, to be honest with you.

When we are finally seated, not so comfortably after that slight violation, Antonelli's mother, Angelica, and one of the scientists enter the room. It is cleared of security people and the window panels become opaque.

Mrs. Antonelli looks at each of us as she stands there, both hands resting on the thick mahogany table.
"You are all truly good friends... of my son Christopher, and of my late husband. What you are about to do is historic, an adventure of epic proportions."

Mike looks at Andy and smiles like they are first in line for the Cyclone at Coney Island. The rest of us are a little less excited and much more hung over.

"Gentleman, you know my personal assistant, Angelica." As she speaks Angelica looks at us each in turn. When she gets to Lou he winks at her and she blushes, a bit of a smile surfaces.
"And this is Dr. Nelson Adams. He has taken over where Montoya left off, interpreting the notes and glyphs that were left behind."

"Gentlemen, I too appreciate the courage you are displaying by participating in this undertaking. I myself would love to be in your shoes for this adventure. I fear I would not survive the journey, however."
That comment gets a sharp look from Mrs. Antonelli, and pretty much drops our jaws.
Mike raises his hand.
"There is no need to raise your hand, sir."
"Oh... okay. Why wouldn't you survive the journey? What journey? We are already here, aren't we?"

Mrs. Antonelli stands, "Gentlemen, you are all here to take part in the use of the Clarok. We are not sure what will happen, if anything, but we want you to be prepared."
Dr. Adams interjects, "From what we have been able to ascertain from the glyphs and translations that Montoya has passed on to us is that the Clarok works off of concentrated sunlight and resonance on its base. The robes you are wearing are straight from the glyphs in their dimensions, the silk fabric, the fact that you are naked beneath them. What we have been able to determine is that once the Clarok is active you will either be guided into a group trance, or quite possibly transported altogether."

With that statement the room falls silent. We all stare at this guy. His comfort level takes a dive.
"This is why you were prepared last night... and the conductant this morning."
"Prepared last night?" Antonelli asks. I feel slightly better that even he isn't up on all of this.
"The beverage you all consumed last night at the assembly. It was not just an alcoholic beverage. There were special additives, agents that are meant to give your internal structure commonality. If you indeed are transported we want to assist this process by making sure that your being is moved as a whole."

It occurs to me that we ARE guinea pigs and these guys don't know what they are doing.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I look at Antonelli, "is he fucking kidding?"
Chris gives me a sharp look and then gestures toward his mother, like my language is out of place here.
"Fuck that, Chris, fuck this whole thing. Are you kidding me?"
Lou stands up and puts his hand on my shoulder to keep me calm and in my seat.

"Hey, let's do this thing."

He has a look on his face that I don't think I have seen before. Probably the same look that Alan Shepard had as that Mercury rocket fired up under his ass.
He looks right at me, "Come on, Jake... let's do it. What can happen? They gonna take away your birthday?"

"Most likely, yes. They are going to take away every birthday we were ever going to have."
"Pussy."
I look at the rest of the guys and they have the same look as me... that "what the fuck" look. Only Lou is on the edge and ready to jump.

"What did we come down here to do, gents?" He asks the group, panning the room and settling his gaze on Chris. Antonelli feels compelled to justify all of this.

"Come on, guys, we are here, we are ready. Let's not bail out now. Nothing is going to happen that hasn't happened before."

Dr. Adams tries to put a better light on the whole thing. "Gentlemen, according to the glyphs and translation of ancient script the Mayan's used the Clarok on many occasions."
"And they are gone... off of the planet. Not a shining review for the ole' Clarok." I tell him.

Lou sighs heavy and waits until the room is quiet. He musters a rather stoic look.

"Boys, I have been at the gates of hell a few times, even held them open to let more than one dirty bastard pass on through. We are all going to die some time, so if that is what is bothering you then get over it. Can't outrun it, believe me I have tried. Sometimes when you are faced with your mortality, you just have to stare right back until it blinks."

Pretty eloquint coming from Lou.

"We are being asked to do this thing. Yes, it's dangerous. Yes, we may not live through it. But if we let that possibility dictate our actions, we would never have taken to the skies, never have had manned spaceflight, never reached the depths of the ocean... or scaled the tallest peaks of the Himalayas. It is our chance at history, boys, and I for one am ready for the challenge. Let's do this for Bear. Let's do it for ourselves."

I half expect the Michigan Marching Band to take the field.

There is quiet for a moment, then...
"Is there a bathroom close by? Too much coffee, I think." Mike is jiggling his leg a bit under the nightshirt.
Mrs. Antonelli allows Mike to make the quick run to the bathroom. When he returns the door is once again closed and now we are escorted from this room to another. Inside is the Clarok. It is set on top of a stone pedestal.

"Oh, hey now, that is a nice bird bath. We have one in the garden... birds love it."
Mike says, admiring it.

We assemble around the Clarok, which is the only place to go since the room is circular. Adams joins us along with Chris' mom.

"Gentlemen, you have been injected with a location device. It is not meant for us to track you, but for you to track down the next piece to this ancient puzzle."

As he talks we all look at this Clarok sitting there. It is made of some kind of host metal with lots of jade, very ornate. There is an in-lay with the diamonds in a proportional and centralized pattern, the gold that I would assume is the gold that Antonelli removed from the cavern in the Amazon, and then spots for other gold in-lay as well.

"We think the Clarok gathers strength from a certain purity of gold that can only be found in certain places. The information we have garnered from the glyphs and temple writings is not specific, but refers to four "keys". We should have the first key with Christopher bringing back the small idol offerings from the cavern in the jungle. This is enough to send you on the first journey. It may be enough to bring you back... we just don't know. What we have concluded is that where ever you end up, it is predilicted by the Clarok. According to the glyphs, each destination has a reason to be, and that reason is the gold that is needed for the in-lay. It seems that each time there is gold added to the Clarok, the more power it has."

"Why not fill the whole thing with gold from that cavern, he brought enough back." I interject.

"Each in-lay comes in pairs. There are eight in-lays, so four sources are required. Each source has different geological properties. The tracking dots will interact with the properties of the ore you are seeking. You should feel heat, or maybe tingling when you are close to a source."

The six of us find ourselves rubbing our arms. This all seems so fantastic, like some sci-fi flick you see on a Saturday afternoon. All of a sudden I don't feel afraid or anxious. I just feel as though this is a horrendous waste of time.
"Well... what do we do?"

Dr. Adams flips between pages of his notebook. "What happens, gentlemen, is that each of you holds the Clarok with their right hand, and the left is placed on the shoulder of the man in front of you."

With that, we each firmly grasp the Clarok with our right hand and place our left hands on the man in front of us. The Clarok is loose on the pedestal and we move it slightly as we grasp it. Adams re-centers it once we are all attached.

"Now what will happen once I leave the room is we will focus light into the center of the Clarok, intense light like that of the sun. Once that is in play, the six of you lift the Clarok up about a foot off of the pedestal... then let it drop so the resonance will begin."

"That's it?" Chris looks at Adams.
"You must hold on with all your might. If you loose your grip on the Clarok or each other the effect will be lost."

We all nod in agreement and reset our grips on the jade and gold inlayed handles. Dr. Adams exits the room with Mrs. Antonelli, who stops at the door, "Good luck, Gentlemen."

Now we are all alone in this circular room, standing in silk night-shirts, hands on each other, hands on the Clarok. It almost feels like we are victims of some practical joke, the film of which will be on YouTube within the hour. But no, this is real.

The light comes on, intense and focused... like a white hot laser. Lou tries to look at it, but turns away.
"Ready boys? On three. One... "
I reset my grip a second time on the handle and squeeze Ollie's shoulder for good measure.
"TWO... "
I feel the same from Andy behind me, a reassuring hand on my shoulder."
"THREE."

We all lift the Clarok with our right hands. It is heavier than it looks. It is all we can do to get it up a foot off of the pedestal before we let it crash back down. There is a deep tone that emits from it as it makes contact with the pedestal. The vibration starts in our hands quickly, making it harder to hold on to. The vibration builds, coarsing through our bodies.

"HOLD ON... " Antonelli calls.
With every ounce of strength we hold. The light in the center, once concentrated, now builds and begins to engulf the Clarok.
"HOLD ON!" Lou yells over the building tone that is becoming greater as the vibration increases.
Now the light is growing to encompass us as well, the vibration so intense that I don't know if I am still holding on or not. The sound is deafening, the light so bright that even with my eyes closed it is blinding me.

Then a sound, like a giant cork being popped from a bottle, and we are no longer standing in the room aboard the ship.