Killer Koala Bears From Another Dimension Part 14

Miss Yortsdayle's smile faded along with that glistening look in her eye.

"We don't mean to be rude," Joana b.u.t.ted in. "But we were hoping you could help us."

"Yes... the stones." The old lady nodded. "Of course... of course."

"We want to send them back," Tim said. "How do we do that?"

"You mean the Arktos ?" Miss Yortsdayle sipped from her mug. "The best way to have done that would have been to never bring them here."

"Well, that wasn't exactly planned." Tim cringed, looking away from his friends.

"Of course not, Timothy. Of course not. You didn't intend on any of this to happen when you came asking me all about the Geomancy rituals. Had I known you were going to steal the stones from me, I would have never told you how they worked. The multi-verse isn't something you can just toy around with, dear."

"You stole them from her?" Joana hissed.

"The multi-what... the geo-what... What the h.e.l.l are these stones?" Frank looked fl.u.s.tered.

"That's how this all started," Joana said, looking up at him. "You know this. We went over some of it in the truck. The stones... you know."

"Yeah, but I don't see how a handful of stones could do something like this. Something like what I saw her do with that one around her neck." Frank pointed at Miss Yortsdayle. "And what the h.e.l.l is the multi-whatever."

"The multi-verse," Tim breathed, taking a sip of his tea.

"That's right," Miss Yortsdayle said, looking up at Frank. "You have heard of a parallel universe, no? It is one and the same."

Frank nodded.

"Well..." Miss Yortsdayle continued, "The multiverse, or meta-universe, is more than just a hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise everything that exists and can exist. It's more than that, because it is... that, you see? Yes... the entirety of s.p.a.ce, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them are all comprised of the multi-verse. Worlds within worlds that are in turn within worlds. The possibilities are endless. Humans on one world. Talking bears on another. Whatever your mind can fathom is a possibility."

"So those bears out there are from another universe?"

"Something like that." Tim nodded.

"And the stones? I just don't see how that could ever work? Magic stones... come on."

"Oh no, my boy. They are more than just magic. Magic is just a force. The stones are much more than that. They all are. Stones have power over our names. Over all things."

Miss Yortsdayle stood from her chair. The wooden legs screeched against the tile as she pushed it back. She eased herself away from the table and made her way over to the stove. Frank, Joana and Tim watched as she set her mug on the counter and proceeded to pour herself another cup of tea.

Frank leaned over within earshot of Tim, and said, "Dude, your aunt is nice and all, but I don't see how going over all of this s.h.i.+t is getting us anywhere. We need a freaking game plan. Not only for how to get rid of those f.u.c.ks, but for in case they decide to show up at her front porch."

"Hey..." Tim whispered, throwing both hands in the air. "You're the one that keeps asking her questions. Not me. And the whole multi-verse is kind of her soapbox, so... I don't know what to tell you there."

"Do you really think they're going to show up on the porch?" Joana asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Before Frank could answer her, Miss Yortsdayle eased her way back to the table.

"Now, where was I? Oh, yes... yes... of course. Of course," she said with that old and fragile voice. "The stones."

"Miss..." Frank started to interrupt, but she didn't pay him any mind and kept on with what she was going to say.

"Have you ever read the Bible? Well, I guess it doesn't matter. The stones. They're in there too. Even Jesus of Nazareth talks about them. And who was Jesus?"

Joana raised her hand as if in grade school.

"Yes, dear?"

"He was Christ, right?"

"True. Very true indeed, but not the answer I was looking for." Miss Yortsdayle smiled, watching Joana lower her hand. "He was and is the corner stone. Do you see? Do you see?"

Miss Yortsdayle's excitement increased while she sat there letting it sink in for her visitors.

The three stared at her blankly.

"Oh, me, oh my. Yes... yes," the old woman said, starting to get back up. "Where are my manners? Who else wants some more tea?"

"I would," Tim said.

Frank stepped forward, not letting the old woman stand, while waving at Tim and shaking his head no. "We're fine, really. Please... we are thankful for the hospitality. But we need to get to the meat of the situation. A mob of monstrous creatures from another world. The multi-whatever. I'd like to get around to the part where you tell us how to send them back to wherever the h.e.l.l they came from."

"Of course... of course." Miss Yortsdayle nodded, sinking back into her seat at the table. "The stones. Yes... I was getting to that."

"Good." Frank bowed, stepping back a little to give the woman some personal s.p.a.ce back.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."

"And what does that mean?" Joana asked, setting her empty mug down on the table looking into it emphatically.

"Well, it means..." Miss Yortsdayle continued, "stones have power. This we know. But how do they have that power? Christ Jesus, son of G.o.d, was made the corner stone by his father. With him as the first living stone, an omnipotent force, the rules were changed. If you possess the stone, you have access to worlds beyond this one. He isa foundation. The foundation on what all facets of reality are built on."

"The afterlife," Tim chimed in.

"Yes... yes." Miss Yortsdayle smiled. "For those who have made it, taking possession of the stone that transports them to the new realm he has given them new stones. Imagine thousands of stones, one given to each of us who make it to the new realm, or Heaven. Holding individual powers all their own. A name that is only known by the beholder. You see... do you see? There is power in the names. Names hold power."

Frank stepped away from the table, walking over to the kitchen sink and looked out the window. The darkness in Miss Yortsdayle's backyard was still there, the stone she had used still keeping the field of energy at bay by a few hundred feet. Beyond her backyard he could see the orange hue or light eager to surge forward consuming them again. Letting those creatures in. He thought of the highway and how those cars were piled up, unable to move past the field. He knelt forward, looking up through the window at the sky. It felt good to see the stars overhead. He sighed, still trying just to wrap his mind around it all.

"So, how the h.e.l.l do stones and names have anything to do with the situation now?" Frank turned around leaning against the sink.

"Like I said before..." Miss Yortsdayle stood from her chair and waved at the two kids to help themselves to more tea. Making her way to the pot of warm water, she said, "Imagine that there are many stones with many different uses and powers. Somewhere down the line, stones were lost, stolen, or worse... taken by force."

"And the stone around your neck?" Joana asked, walking up behind the old woman and pouring herself a fresh cup of tea.

Miss Yortsdayle patted the stone hidden under her s.h.i.+rt and smiled. "All things come with a price, I suppose."

"h.e.l.l, that reminds me." Tim snickered. "How you pushed back the field like that. What is that orange field all about anyway?"

"The Arktos have stones of their own. Yes... yes they do. It was not them that penetrated our world. It was us that imposed upon them. The field is a safety they have set into place. Keeps them from being out numbered during the extermination."

"Extermination?" Joana gasped.

"Well, yes," Miss Yortsdayle said, turning to make her way back to the table, her mug filled to the brim. "The portals will close when they leave. And they will leave when there are none of us left. The Arktos aren't the only ones who have ever been invaded. There are many others. Sad... sad business it is, if you ask me."

"Sad? What the f.u.c.k are you talking about?" Frank demanded. We aren't the ones slaughtering them by the hundreds."

"True." Miss Yortsdayle sipped her tea. "But we are the ones whose government have known about these stones for quite some time and have used them to enter other worlds more times than I can count. Where do you think our rapid technology comes from? Other worlds. What do you think Stonehenge is? A portal. The stones are the key. We don't know where or why it was built, but that is because the government wants to keep it hidden."

"Bulls.h.i.+t." Frank rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Don't believe me," Miss Yortsdayle hissed. "I don't care. Nope... no I don't. Not one bit. I don't need to tell you how to stop them anyway. It's just all make believe. Frank, you think I don't know how you feel about all of this? Kathie is smart to trust in me. To trust in what I know. Because what I know is the truth!"

Both Tim and Joana looked on, stunned and wide eyed. They had never thought of hearing such a harsh tone from such a little old woman.

"And furthermore," she continued, staring up at Frank with beady eyes, "we are running out of time. The Arktos and their minions will soon be at my porch. We need to act... and fast-"

Frank's cellphone rang out loud, both vibrating like crazy in his pocket and cutting Miss Yortsdayle short.

When he reached past his coveralls and yanked the phone from his pocket, his heart raced. His palms began to sweat and his knees began to buckle. The magic trick that the old lady had done, pus.h.i.+ng back the orange field, must have given him signal reception once again.

It was Kathie!

"h.e.l.lo? Kathie? Baby..."

18.

Frank paced the kitchen floor, the phone glued to his ear. The smile plastered across his rosy cheeks told Joana that Frank was happy. It made her feel good to know that his girlfriend was okay. She hadn't heard anything coming from her end of the conversation, but from the way Frank was acting it was all good news.

Joana breathed a sigh of eager relief. Seeing Frank like that reminded her of humanity and nearly losing hers in her fight for survival. She was going to make it and she sure as h.e.l.l was going to maintain moral values in the processes. She sat there watching him pace back and forth smiling from ear to ear between every word he spoke.

"Why don't you take a picture?" Tim rolled his eye, resting his chin on his fist, his elbow planted on the kitchen table. "It'll last longer."

"Oh, come on, Tim... really?" Joana said. "Jealous much?"

"Well, yeah. What of it? You've been ogling him since we ran into him on the highway. Don't pretend like I'm wrong. I've been watching you. And it hurts my feelings."

Joana looked to Miss Yortsdayle, who sat across from her and observed all of them, then back to Tim. "You suddenly want to talk about feelings?" She rolled her eyes. "That's all I have ever wanted was for you to pay attention to my feelings. You never do. And don't deny it. You know I'm right. And that's that."

"What are you talking about? Don't turn this around on me. You're the one holding that dude's hand."

"You always do that, Tim. Once you get shoved in a corner, you try to turn it around." Joana shook her head. "I hate to tell you, it ain't working this time. No sir. You know what the sad thing is?"

"What's that?" Tim asked.

Miss Yortsdayle looked on, her smile never wavering as she sipped her tea. Frank was still on the phone pacing in front of the sink.

"What's sad..." Joana continued, "is that I know the exact day that you stopped caring."

"Oh, yeah? And when was that?" Tim leaned into his chair, crossing his arms.

"The first day we had s.e.x. Once I finally put out it was like you finally had what you wanted and had no need to work toward our relations.h.i.+p anymore."

Miss Yortsdayle's eyes went wide. "Getting deep in here... yes... yes it is."

Tim rolled his eyes at his aunt and lifted his mug to his lips, awkwardly avoiding what he would have to say to defend himself.

Joana could tell, he was working through it in his head, trying to come up with words that would somehow, without fail, turn it all around and make it her fault and not his. Well, if you would have... if you could have... I'm not the one who... She knew those phrases all too well. She just shook her head. And wasn't having it. Not this time. She had wanted to have this conversation with him for a long time. It had just come down to total chaos and turmoil to force it to the surface. While she sat waiting for him to reply, she realized something. She had been changed. She was so used to getting into it with him and then just giving up as soon as the argument got going. He always won. But now, with all that had happened, her eyes were open. She was her own person. No one, not even the love of her life, was going to stomp all over her feelings and get away with it. If killer koala bears from another dimension weren't going to get away with pus.h.i.+ng her around, then why wouldn't that be the case with anybody else?

"She's okay! Thank G.o.d! She's made it out!" Frank proclaimed, stuffing the cellphone back into his jeans under his coveralls.

"That's good news. Yes... yes it is. Of course... of course." Miss Yortsdayle nodded from her spot at the table.

"h.e.l.l yeah it is," Frank said, his spirit obviously lifted high from hearing the good news.

"So where was she?" Tim asked, turning his attention to Frank, but not before getting glared at by Joana.

"She'd already made it out of town before everything went all orange and s.h.i.+t." Frank smiled, breathing heavy. The weight just seemed to peel away from his shoulders as he leaned against the sink. "She said she's been trying to call me all night. The field-thingy must have been blocking my phone signal. And when your aunt..." he pointed at Miss Yortsdayle, "did that thing with the stone around her neck, my signal must have come back. G.o.d, it felt good to hear her voice!"

"I bet..." Tim agreed.

"Like you know what it means to care about someone," Joana snipped under her breath.

Not even paying her any mind, Tim said, "So, did she say what was going down on the other side? You were on the phone for a hot minute."

"Yeah," Frank nodded. "She said the entire town is encased in a huge dome and it's so bright that it's already all over the television. The government has already stepped in, claiming a bunch of nonsense, trying to explain it away. She said that the last she saw on the TV there was a bunch of military and stuff surrounding the dome. They're going to try dropping a bomb on it or something."

"A what?" Joana gasped.

"Don't worry, my child," Miss Yortsdayle a.s.sured. "They won't get through. The only way for them to get though is-"

A deafening sonic wave flooded the kitchen cutting the old lady's words short. It was so loud that it wasn't even audible. It was just a wave of pressure that pressed against the face and ears like surge of energy.

Wuv... wuv... wuv... wuvvv...

"What the h.e.l.l is that?" Frank shouted, almost unable to hear the words come from his own mouth.

"I don't know!" Joana yelled, covering her ears and looking around.

Miss Yortsdayle, not seeming to be affected by the booming sound, rose from her chair and grabbed her cane. She nodded at the others and pointed back toward the front of the house, mouthing the words, 'They're here.'

As she scooted her way across the kitchen, Tim, Joana, and Frank gathered together. Following the old woman back through the fortune telling room, past the door of slithering beads, and into the storefront living room, they could see them.

All of them.