21. CRACKING SKULLS IN PORTISHEAD
Pt Five
By Tony M Richards
Portishead: November Saturday 20th 1982.
"How did it make you feel Tony? Quite a horrific sight for you to have witnessed? Yes?" Dr Unsworth placed a blanket over Antonio's shoulders as he came around... ..... Once again....
"You've met my fellow brother Tom, whom I believe you already know? Yes?"
Antonio stared up and blinked, unable to quite comprehend what had happened.... Antonio nodded in reponse to Dr Unworths question.....
What the fuck was going on?
Antonio was wondering if this was reality or some sort of horrific nightmare he was unable to awake from.....
Dr Unsworth lifted him up, placing him back on the chair......
Antonio was reminded of the stark reality: He wasn't dreaming....... If only he was.....
...... If only he was dreaming..... .... He wasn't.....
Antonio looked around the room, taking in snapshots of the hell he was now trapped in.....
"She's gone now Antonio.... We've removed her. You have to understand that this a sacred ritual and it was a necessity for you to witness I'm afraid," stated Dr Unsworth, handing Antonio another thick metal chalice, "rules are rules. But nevermind my son..... Drink my boy! Drink!"
Antonio lifted the heavy chalice to lips, unable to stop his hands shaking as he gulped down the sweet liquid spirit.
Dr Unsworth smiled:
"Good, eh?...... That rum is a over one hundred years old my friend! We took it from a ship that was....."
Dr Unsworth paused, thinking how to finish his explanation:
"How should I say this?... Taken into our care.... Yes.... Some of those heads you saw are the very Sailors who made the sacrifice to the brotherhood... As will you Antonio...."
Antonio gulped the sweet rum, unable to believe his ears.... The alcohol once again soothing his nerves at a time of deep crisis.....
Antonio wondered how many other poor souls had had sampled the rum under the lighthouse before making the grim sacrifice to The Fourth Order.....
Antonio observed the room again; this time he saw something he had seen previously but not paid much attention to......
Dr Unsworth was walking towards it.....
It looked to be some sort of large box, covered in a long, black sheet...... ..... Antonio noticed movement.....
Somebody or something was inside the box......
A strange, painful moaning sound confirmed this........ The box was in fact a cage.......
"THE ANGELS ANTONIO!" Dr Unsworth shouted from across The Head of Zeus, "DIDN'T ALWAYS FOLLOW THE WORD OF THE LORD MY BOY!"
Antonio was stumped.
What was the doctor talking about?
His burnt out, frazzled brain was unable to comprehend what the good doctor was trying to communicate to him......
Dr Unsworth motioned to Antonio to stand:
"ANTONIO! THE CHAIN AT YOUR FOOT IS LONG ENOUGH TO STRETCH AROUND THE HEAD! PLEASE! STAND MY BOY......"
Antonio felt dizzy as he stood up- His legs felt like jelly; his brain was spinning and whirling around inside his cranium.....
Dr Unsworth could not contain his excitement any longer:
"PLEASE ANTONIO!! TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT ONE OF LIFE'S WONDERS! PLEASE! ANTONIO! AT ONCE! COME AND VIEW THE HISTORY OF OUR WORLD! SOMETHING SO AWESOME! SOMETHING.... THAT... ANTONIO! PLEASE!"
As Antonio reached Dr Unsworth, he started to feel sick..... Very sick......
Antonio knew that whatever was inside the box would change his life forever.....
"Nephilim Antonio?" Asked Dr Unsworth, with the mischievous smile. "Fallen angels?" Antonio shook his head.... Totally lost....
What was the man going on about?
"When god created man, he created woman..... Yes?" asked Dr Unsworth. Antonio wearily nodded, confused.....
Dr Unsworth continued on:
"The angels gazed from above and admired the beautiful females roaming the planet below them.... God warned them: Do not touch these females! They are for man and man alone! Not for you! Antonio...."
The good doctor shook his head in utter disgust:
"They disobeyed their master..... The very one who gave them life..... And, as a result, they were banished from the kingdom of heaven.... The offspring bore to the earth woman were giants....
These giants roamed the earth before the flood.... Before Noah built his ark......."
Dr Unsworth pointed at the concealed box, taking a deep breath:
"Antonio... What you're about to witness.... Most mortals could never in a million years imagine such...... A sight..... A true wonder of modern science....."
The doctor paused and took another deep breath:
"This is the work of god... And I, as a scientist.... Have brought the past back to life!" Dr Unsworth removed the black sheet slowly......
Four thick, electric bars crackled at the top of the cage............
Dr Unsworth was grinning from ear to ear, bursting with excitement; he could hardly contain himself......
There he was......
Antonio could hardly believe what he was seeing..... This was surreal and yet not a dream.... But....
.... There he was....
A boy, but not a boy.....
Some sort of giant, a freak of nature......
Antonio gasped in horror. The figure in the cage had his back to Dr Unsworth and Antonio. His legs were about six foot long alone......
Pale and shaking, the boy looked how Antonio felt: Broken.... Scared.... Doomed....
"He's only twelve Antonio! Can you believe it?! He's real Antonio! He's Nephilim..... He's a giant......"
Antonio and Dr Unsworth stared at each other for a moment before the good doctor continued, taking in another deep breath before he did so:
"... I had bought the remains from a private collector in Antwerp. The black market.... Naturally...
The original remains had been found in East Africa some years ago.... I still have the original remains that I used to... Make the boy... All these years Antonio, I have worked so hard and I have became good in my field of science... Now.... I have created life Antonio. There he is!
Proof!! Wonderful, isn't it?!"
Antonio nodded.... Unsure what else he could do.......
"Would you like to meet him?" Asked Dr Unsworth rhetorically. "Pegasus! Pegasus! Turn around!"
"Its okay, if he doesn't-"
"Nonsense! Pegasus!! PEGASUS!! TURN AROUND! DO WANT THE HOSE AGAIN?!"
Pegasus shook his head and slowly turned around, visibly shaking..... ...... There he was.
Pegasus: Long, sad face with pale blue eyes; bright red hair- Limp and greasy..... His skin the colour of snow.......
Antonio hobbled closer at the request of Dr Unsworth.....
Pegasus hissed at first..... But soon calmed down......
Pegasus saw the injuries on Antonio and was stuck in a long gaze..... Slowly trying to put it all together in his head.....
"Reach through the bars Antonio, he won't bite," urged Dr Unsworth.
Unsure, Antonio did as he was told......
Pegasus was cold; his attention was firmly on Antonio, focusing on the dried blood stuck to his lower face and his painful, swollen black eye......
Two victims, Antonio thought.......
Stroking the boys face felt odd to Antonio..... The boys eyes we open wide, full of wonder and affection. He was frozen as Antonio ran his fingers up and down the side of his long, thin face. Antonio could feel his his sharp cheekbones- Malnutrition, Antonio diagnosed.......
What had they been feeding him?
There was no time to think too deeply about it- There was no time to think about anything in fact......
The boys mouth suddenly dropped open, exposing his brown, decaying teeth.......
"The wonders of science Antonio!" Dr Unsworth exclaimed. "We can build bombs, create cures for all kinds of ailments... And we can bring the dead back to life! Pegasus is merely a clone... He originally existed thousands of years ago...... Quite something eh?"
"How old is he?" Came Antonio's mumbled response. "What's his age?"
"He's twelve Antonio.... Twelve years old....." Dr Unsworth said proudly, passing a water bottle through the bars to Pegasus. "This is the problem Antonio. He's reaching puberty and he is growing too big for the cage. The electric bars above him are a necessity to stop him escaping...
Breaking the cage..... He's never been above the surface to the outside world. It's time-"
Dr Unsworth was cut of by Dr Lister:
"Ah, I see you've got the freak out. Why not put him on a leash Richard?"
"Antonio, please... Be seated once again," Dr Unsworth instructed, visibly irritated Dr Listers cruel remark......
Pegasus sprung up on his legs, only to smash his head into electric bars above him. He let out a sickening shriek and dropped to the ground twitching.... Moaning to himself.....
"We need to kill this freak of nature sooner rather than later," Dr Lister stated, looking disdainfully at the cage- Disgusted as Pegasus involentarily urinated. "The time has come.... Enough is enough."
Dr Unsworth reached through the cage and stroked the boys hair:
"For what?! For you to stoke your own, overblown ego?! This is the work of god Tom! This is history!"
"This is the work of the devil! This has nothing to do with The Fourth Order Richard! And you know this! This whole saga must end! We have now run the risk of incurring the wrath of the gods for such a wicked act!"
Antonio lifted the heavy chalice to his lips and drank, the alcohol burning the spaces where his teeth used to be....
He watched the two doctors continue their dispute.....
"We are the Fourth Order! And we are the people who live with purity! We are the true puritans in this world! We live how the gods intended us to live! I have proven we have the power to create life as well as take it away! This is monumental Tom! We are The Fourth Order and this! This! Is progression sir! This is the work of the gods! Conducted through us! We are conductors! This is our destiny sir!" Dr Unsworth angrily stated, lifting his hand in the air, index finger pointed upwards to the gods and all of heaven.
Dr Lister shook his head and folded his arms:
"Don't talk such rubbish man! It's true what they say! You've really lost your fucking mind! You haven't considered the consequences for one moment! It is written in our scripture: Should The Fourth Order defy the gods, we shall be burnt alive inside our statues! Reduced to cinders and ashes! You stupid man! You have not considered anything, you've been too caught up in your outside world work to even think of the implications! You have-"
"I HAVE CONSIDERED EVERYTHING!" Dr Unsworth exploded, losing his control of himself.
"THIS IS OUR DESTINY! THIS IS OUR FUTURE! WE CAN BUILD AND TAKE THE FOURTH ORDER TO ETERNAL EXISTENCE! PEGASUS IS JUST THE BEGINNING! YOUR OWN JEALOUSY AND OVERBLOWN EGO IS BLINDING YOU FROM THE TRUTH! YOU HAVE NO HONOUR SIR! I'M ASHAMED FOR YOU! WAKE UP MAN!"
Dr Lister laughed and shook his head:
"It's really is true what they say about you.... You've actually lost your fucking mind man.
Look!...... I can give the boy an injection.... We can end his life peacefully... We can burn the remains and hope the gods see this as a mere blip... A bad mistake we shall repent for over the course of many, many years....."
"I shall decide when and if we pass Pegasus over to the other side!" Said Dr Unsworth, crouching down and gazing the boy with the long limbs. "I will decide....."
Antonio sat, staring at the ground beneath him..... His head still spinning from fatigue, blood loss and alcohol....
Dr Lister turned to face Antonio:
"Antonio.... Antonio..."
Antonio looked up, Dr Unsworth continued:
"Its been a big day... And tomorrow it ends....."
Dr Lister turned back to face Dr Unsworth:
"I take it you can prepare the Head for tomorrow's festivities?"
Dr Unsworth nodded, wiping his glasses with a cloth. "Yes.... Yes I can..."
Dr Lister walked briskly out of The Head of Zues- Cursing Dr Undsworth under his breath....
The good doctor stroked Pegasus through the bars; he then placed the sheet over the cage and Pegasus... He walked towards the doorway but stopped in his tracks, spinning around to face Antonio:
"Tomorrow is just the start..... Our masterpiece will be completed... Until then Antonio."
Antonio sat silently....
Dr Unsworth walked to the gas pipe feeding the lamps... Bringing the light to a dull, orange glow:
"Try to get some rest Antonio. You will need it for tomorrow...."
Antonio lay his back, staring up at the cranium as the Doctor exited The Head Of Zeus....... ..... Pegasus groaned in pain as the electric bars crackled once again.