(SSSC) Apophis, the Eater of Souls.

The darkness was all pervading yet somehow seemed chaotic.
Momentarily there was a sound, as of a great slithering rasp, it could be heard if ears were present to hear.
A small point of light existed for a moment and was then extinguished.
A thought railed against an invisible barrier, then exhausted gave up. If time existed here an eon would pass.

Michael raced eagerly through the foyer of the antiquities section, barely acknkowledging the various greetings that were thrown his way. A maniacal smile spread across his unshaven face, fierce blue eye's agleam beneath bushy black unkempt hair. In his arms he carried a small box covered in red "fragile" and "handle with care" stickers.
Once within his office he lay the box gently on a large work bench which ran the full length of one wall, cluttered with all sorts of odds and ends which he swept indignantly to the floor. He turned quickly and locked the door before returning to the bench and with shaking hands began opening the box.
Michael reached gingerly within the box and removed a small book cocooned in bubble wrap. Pulling over a stool he sat down at the bench and dragged a desk lamp with a large magnification glass attached in front of him and placed the book beneath it.
The cover of the book seemed to be made of some kind of leather, Michael knew better, it was made of crocodile skin and was approximately four thousand years old. It had been looted from an Egyptian tomb during the time of the Middle Kingdom around 1900BC. It had ended up being hidden in a cave atop Mount Athos by a sect of mysterious warrior priests during the seventh century AD.
And then barely a week ago Micahael had been contacted by a friend in Greece who dealt in black market antiques, a book had been passed onto him by a monk from the Mount Athos region who had left the order, he had discovered the book along with some other valuables in a small cave near the summit of the mountain and was after some quick cash.
And now the book was in his hands, the moment his friend had described it to him he knew exactly what it was, he also had some inkling of the power it contained.
Instead of Egyptian heiroglyphs however the title on the cover was inscribed in ancient Mycenaean , it read, 'Apophis, the Eater of Souls'. He opened the book and began to read.

Again the darkness was disturbed, but now there was something else.
This time the thought was stronger and it pushed against the barrier.
The barrier, unseen, bent but did not break.
But still, the thought felt more powerful than before when the barrier had not bent.
The thought slithered again and this time the sound was of two mountains grating against one another.
This encouraged the thought even more, and so it decided to take shape once again, after millenia it began to once again pull matter together into a shape.

Rachel Kemp also hurried through the foyer of the antiquities department, but for a completely different reason, she was late. Her boss was away fortunately but she needed to complete the cataloguing before he returned tomorrow morning and at this rate she would be here all night.
She passed Michaels door and thought to stop by and quickly say hello but then changed her mind and raced on, if she stopped she would end up talking to him for ages. She was fascinated by the brash, intelligent and slightly eccentric professor and was particularly taken with his complete contempt for every other academic within the building.
"Bunch of stuck in the mud, fuddy duddy's", he would exclaim loudly whenever in their presence, it always bought a smile to her face to see the frown of annoyance on her boss's face.
They had been lovers for the past three months and Rachel had never been happier.

Much later Michael looked up from the book and rubbed his eye's, a quick glance at the clock above his desk confirmed his worst fears, it was almost 8pm. His stomach growled in annoyance at his seeming ignorance of the need to eat.
As much as he wanted to continue translating the last page of a section entitled 'The Apocryphal', he knew that if he didnt have something to eat and drink he would get nothing else accomplished. He didnt think anyone else would be around so he left hurriedly through the side entrance, it took him two attempts to remember his code for the alarm.

Rachel slumped exhausted in the chair in front of a similar sized workbench in an office the next floor up from Michaels. As if mimicking Michael she also rubbed tiredly at her eye's, slightly smudging her eyeliner, giving her a demon haunted appearance.
She stood and stretched and decided she needed a break too, leaving the office she walked slowly down the corridor towards the stairs. As she passed a large mirror she stopped and wiped away at the smudged mascara.
She had a round honest face, large blue eye's and full soft red lips all framed within raven black shoulder length hair.
Soon she stood outside of Michaels office and noticed with delight that his light was still on. She knocked gently on the door and then opened it when there was no answer and entered.
"Hmm, no sign of Michael", she thought " but he wouldnt leave without locking up". She decided to wait.
As she wandered about the room she noticed the book on the desk. Rachel was also an expert on ancient Mycenaean and her face lit up when she saw the script within the open book.
So this is what had Michael so excited for the past week, he had refused to tell her why he was so happy, she had secretly hoped that he may have been planning to propose to her, but no it was his work. She still managed a slight smile as she was also as immersed in her work as he was. Typical!
She sat before the book and began to read.

The thought now had form, the shape barely seen in the darkness was of a horned serpent sixteen yards long with a head made of flint, its tongue flickered and sparks flew from its mouth.
It extended its thought against the barrier once again and felt great pride at the sound of a large crack which reverberated across the ether.
The other Gods awoke in surprise at the noise, it took some time for their thought's to remember what such a noise meant.
By then it was too late.

Michael walked back into the office wiping the last remnants of a six inch subway from his mouth. The book was on the desk exactly as he left it. In his rush to get back to work he failed to notice the slight scent of lavender in the air, a perfume he should recognise as Rachels.
Once again seated before the book he began to finish the translation.

" and upon this page, written in the blood of Bast when he was defeated by mighty Apophis are the spells of invocation. Beware for speaking the words aloud shall open a fracture in the ether allowing Apophis entry to the mortal world again where he shall rule over all without mercy. His enduring hunger shall never be sated ".

'Avris setem pekh, setem Apep nur, sekh ka Ammit'.

Apophis pulled together the form he had decided to take and stepped up to the creature seated in front of him.
The creature turned and exclaimed in an unintelligble language.
It stood and wrapped its arms about its shoulders and kissed it lightly on the cheek.
Apophis wrapped its arms about the creature in return and rested it's head upon its shoulder.
It looked down at the book and smiled, a small sharp tongue flickered from between full soft red lips, a small spark fluttered momentarily in its eye's and then was extinguished.

Excellent Mojo! I want to hear more, please?

Nice!

I envy your writing ability,

Excellent story,

I was getting ready to whip up something for the Halloween season,

After reading this I am back to the drawing board....

I'll just say,

Your submission is Inspiring!

Sweet my little Mojo Monkey...now i gotta polish up my #1 story...stiff competition.

Awww thanks you guy's, but seriously i threw this together in about 2 hours this morning and i'm already not happy with it. I always rush myself.

Cheers though, you guy's (and gals) are gold.

In case anyone was interested here is some background and research to the story. I did mean to link it in the story but forgot.

Apep, Apepi, Aapep, Apophis, the evil demon

The Middle kingdom of Egypt

Mount Athos

Ancient Mycenaean language

Bast

Apocryphal and its meaning in this context

The word "apocryphal" (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied, in a positive sense, to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered too profound or too sacred to be disclosed to anyone other than the initiated.

Interestingly, i found after writing the story that Apophis is also a near earth asteroid, which tied in nicely depending how you interpret the story.

mojo

reply to post by mojo4sale


Thanks for the info Mojo!! Great story also!!

I was doing some research last night about this and was very chilling enough as it stands! You threw in that extra punch..

reply to post by zysin5



Thanks zysin, yeh it freaked me just a little bit when i came across that info regarding the near earth asteroid just after i finished writing as it seemed to fit into the story perfectly depending on how you interpret certain parts.
2029 and 2036 have been marked on my calender.

It looks like the Avengers have some talents other than just superpowers.


[edit on 6/10/07 by mojo4sale]

reply to post by mojo4sale


Of course we have many talents ,some that should remain hidden...

Man now thats a story! My favorite so far!

DAMN fine piece of work mojo4sale!! I taught you well... LMAO thats a joke of course hehehe...

I loved it... i hope there is more?
More! MORE?! We want MOREEEEEEEEEEE??!!



[edit on 8/10/2007 by shearder]

Thanks tetsujin420, glad you liked it. I'm still not all that happy with it, but hey what can ya do.


reply to post by shearder


Cheers mate, i'm still waiting for yours you know teacher!!
I'm not sure this one was either scary, disturbing or sickening enough so i plan on fixing that with my next attempt.

mojo

Oh i have an idea for a story. I am busy with a debate and other story comp so i won't get to it just yet. However, I will leave you with the name - Platform 19. Has to do with spirits.

What i liked about your story is that you didn't try to shock outright and was subtle leaving a question. OK i hate questions LOL i am the type that likes a story to not end in the usual ways hehehe but then again, i also like to leave a question at the end

reply to post by shearder



Ghost train? loaded with Jack Daniels. = Platform 19.

I prefer the subtle endings too were your left to devise the finish within your own imagination. I guess the greats like Poe, Shelley and co are what i read as a youngster and the more modern gothics like Robert Bloch who liked to keep you guessing. If i ever get even 1/4 that good i'd be happy.

But then i had to try my hand at pure shock/horror with my second story.

Look forward to reading yours mate.

mojo

Great writing, creepy and loaded with menace. Left me panting for more. I'm looking to my Laurels already

reply to post by ubermunche



Thanks uber, coming from you that is pretty .
I might have to revise my original estimation of this story, i thought it was a little lacking and could have done with a bit of a polish.
But hey as long as others enjoy it makes me feel better about posting it.

Cheers mojo.

reply to post by mojo4sale

Polish smolish...Don't you dare.I love your writing MOJO!

reply to post by AccessDenied



Awww you, come here

More, more, more...

I loved the atmosphere and the slow build up Mojo, as well as the description of the characters and their interplay.

Don't worry about polishing, you can always do that later -- stories are supposed to be urgent, right?

Good luck in the contest and I hope to read more!

Awesome work my Monkey friend.

I want my own ancient creature beast to play with!

MonKey