Beyond The Stone

Chapter 2

The same place in England, 2020

Ava Berkley shone her torch at the map again. As an amateur explorer and treasure hunter, she'd come to this far-flung corner of the country to explore some old castle ruins. The hike up the mountain had been pleasant enough during the day. However, she'd spent so longer than planned trying to find the little treasure trove hinted at in the ancient documents that she'd found at her local library more than a fortnight ago. She'd found the hidey-hole, but all that it had yielded to her was some sort of trinket. She couldn't even tell what it was exactly – it was so marred by the ravages of time. The darkness of night didn't help her to discern more either. However, she was pleased with herself, knowing that it would likely prove to be at least somewhat valuable once it was cleaned up and examined.

Unfortunately finding her way down the hillock again in the dark was proving more troublesome. The ruins she had visited were so old and tumbled down that there were no clear trails leading visitors to them. She'd had to blaze her own trail to them using GPS and maps, and now she was forced to create a second trail home since the darkness had hidden the first one from her.

"Ow!" she grunted as she stubbed her toe on a rock.

Her cellphone spotlight wasn't especially powerful, and the growth was thick. The battery was low too, what with it having been used for light until the early hours of the morning.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't packed dinner for her unexpectedly late little adventure. She struggled on in the darkness, fumbling over rocks and tree roots, until she took a small tumble and found herself strewn out on a bed of soft leaf litter in a sort of natural opening. She groaned with annoyance and made to get up. Something crunched underfoot. With dismay she realized that her cellular phone had broken in the tumble.

"Freaking great! With my luck the pendant won't even cover the cost of getting a new mobile!" she grumbled as she helped herself up on a nearby rock. A firefly buzzed past her, then another. Ava glanced up to realize that her tumble had disturbed the quaint little insects. She delighted in the sight of them dancing in the air all around her as she stepped forward haphazardly. They were lighting the way for her somewhat, but the bush was dense and the moon was waning. She let them guide her feet as she felt her way along in the blackness, feeling strangely comforted by their presence. Her hand fell on another rock. This time she realized that it was carved and standing on end. The insects seemed to swarm around her, giving her enough light to see that she'd stumbled on some sort of ancient, druidic circle.

"It's like a mini Stonehenge," she breathed to herself with glee. "I wonder if there are any fables about it at the local town library?"

She blundered into the circle of stones, intrigued. With the help of the soft light of the fireflies, she could see that there were runes carved into the central stone. Plant thicket and moss covered much of the stones in the circle, but it was still very much apparent as it stood quietly in its little hollow.

"I wonder if anyone even knows about this place. I might be able to get a grant or something for listing it with the historical society..."

Ava reached towards the center one and lightly brushed some of the dirt off of it, then laid a reverent hand on it to try and make out some of the runes through touch. Suddenly everything got really bright, then really dark. Then there was nothing.

Not quite the same place in not quite the same time....

Ava groaned and opened her eyes. Her head was throbbing, but the sensation as quickly subsiding. Her mind felt... stuffy? Cramped? She wiped her eyes with her fingers and fought for control of her senses. Something felt... odd. Different? There was a vague sensation down below, like something tugging at her. She lifted her head to look down and froze.