THE GATE KEEPER (7 page)

‘Your
claims are senseless and baseless.’

‘We
shall be the judge to that.’ Harley responds.

Tony
slowly approaches me and said, ‘Resistance is futile.’

‘Surrender
to our demands is the only option.’ Joey says as he makes his move from my
side.

‘Option
to meet your cost….’ Harley says as he slowly moves from joey’s opposite with
me in between.

‘Cost
of your liability….’ Ryan says as he close on me from behind.

‘Liability
towards us…’ Allen says as he copied Ryan movement from the other side of my
back.

They
surround me and close the circle I was in. I close my eyes and listen to my
surrounding. I filtered the sound of echoes of horn, vehicle’s engines and the
different voices. I focus my mind on the sound of the gang’s movement. Their
footsteps and voices was enough to certify their actual distance with me.

‘Are
you mute now?’ Tony amusingly said as he carries on to slowly close in.

‘Gentlemen,
somehow we’ve manage to fed his tongue to the dogs.’ Ryan blathers as he laughs
and closes in.

‘Frighten
is the word for it.’ Harley derides as he also laughs and walk towards me.

‘Indeed,
I can sense it as well.’ Allan said as he mimics his gang’s movement.

They
were all close enough. An arm’s length was all I needed. I open my eyes and
react by quickly moving backward into Ryan and Allan’s trap. They both take the
opportunity to seize me by my arms and lock my shoulders. Joey and Harley make
a rush for their prey.

I
instantly produce a side kick for Harley’s belly which throws him off the ground,
pushing him backward and finally, landing him on his butt. I quickly retaliate
to the second oncoming threat by producing an immediate sidekick to my opposite
flank. Joey went down in surprise as the blow fully made contact to his ribs.
He folds in half and lay down on one knee trying to catch up with his normal
breathing pattern.

‘Impressive
Phil but you’re not going to get away.’ Tony said as he watched the defeat and
humiliation of two of his friends. He opens both hands and makes his fingers
crack under tension as he close them into firm fist.

Then
he strides towards me and prattles angrily, ‘Hold him firm boys. It’s about
time to fracture those healthy bones of yours!’

Ryan
and Allan had interlocked their grip within my shoulders. They intensify their
grip at the command of Tony. He head for me like a mad bull. I made a jerking
motion with the arm which Ryan was holding. It slightly upset his balance that
his upper body quickly head towards me. I head butt Ryan with a sweeping blow
to the head.

Dawdle,
he plod away with his head in his hands. There was a slack which compel me to
act urgently. My arm was loose.  Immediately I use it to throw Ryan in
front of me. I kick him in his belly and the abrupt force sent him rolling
towards Tony. They both flow backward hitting the waste bin.

Allan
had lost control of his grip. He was trying to find a flaw in my technique for
him to make an attack but it all happened too fast. I move in front of him. He
insists on not releasing the firm grip. With an open hand armed with rigid
fingers I execute it firmly at Allan’s throat to upset his oesophagus flows of
air. He puff, release me and hold his throat with both of his hands. I fully
extend a fast and effective one eighty degrees, axe kick to his face. The powerful
blow of my heel drop him to his knees and he fall to the ground.

I
ran to my bicycle at the wall near the waste bin and ride it out of trouble. I
was happy that I manage to empower all of them.

‘Wake
up boys! He’s getting away!’ I overheard Tony shouting as I cycle off of the
alley.

‘Come
on let’s get him, his getting away!’ Joey infuriately screams out.

At
the end of the alley I made a right turn and cycle on a tarmac of secondary
road. I follow the single carriage way of two lanes and made a left turn. I
follow it as it snake its way through a dense forest. Behind me, the bullies
behave like hooligans as they howl, scream and shout.

The
old man came out of the meditation and opened his eyes. He looked at his watch
and notice that it was time to move on. He had waited for it for his whole
life. The future and his destiny were at stake.

His
frail body struggle as he stood up. He stares at the edge of the horizon
enjoying the splendid complex of colourful sunset.
It could be the last one
I ever see
he thought
.
He felt sad but he had to take control of his
emotion.

He
trudges to the far left side corner of the plateau. Then he turned around,
facing the path which led to the single carriage way and glance at his watch
for the crucial time. Quickly he dropped to his knees, rest and wait for the
present outcome to re-occur.
The future is uncertain
, his mind dictates.

‘Come
on boys!’ Tony bark at his gang as they try to catch up with me.

      ‘We’re
coming Tony!’ Joey responds as he rides fast behind Tony.

‘He’s
not
gonna
get away!’ Harley said aloud.

I
tap the gear lever underneath the brake to a higher one, cycle harder and
faster. The gang slowly drop back. The road was swallowed by dense forest which
provides fresh air and proper sun shade. Farther down the road I could see a
pathway at the side of the road.

I
furiously ride towards it. Then once I was at the pathway I stop. I notice that
thick white and rocky sand covers the pathway ahead. Thick vegetation on each
side of the footpath accommodates it. I went through it slowly while I try my
best to avoid the uneven, bumpy holes and rocky stones. Keeping the bicycle’s
thin tyres in its natural undented state was important.

After
all I had an ethical obligation to hand it back to its owner. Honouring her
kind generosity was a must as I felt bad in the way I had asked her to lend it
to me.  She had no choice except to accept the harsh proposition of
lending. 

As
I move on through the pathway I notice that I was exposed to an open ground.
The thick forest slowly disappears. I look at the time on my digital watch as I
cycle near the end of the path. It was time to get in before mum begins to
think that I am missing. The open ground seems to have a dead end. Something
caught my attention as I cycle off at the end of the lane to the open ground
which seems to also have an end. I turn towards it and a man dress in black
lays silent on his knees. I get off the bicycle, rest it on the grassy ground
and look at him.

‘Do
not come any closer…; just… pretend that I’m not here!’ He said in a frail and
quite loud, but at an exhaustive tone.

It
seems I was expected
. ‘Your face looked familiar.’ I said trying to
figure a match for his face.

‘Indeed
it does.’ The frail man said.

‘We’ve
met this morning at your place. You saw me by the window. I believe the answers
are…’ he pauses and carries on, ‘…. in the letter which I led you to it this
morning.’

I
look at him and realised that he was the old man I saw this morning. He slowly
and frailly stands on his feet by using his hands to help him crawl upright.

‘I
believe it’s in the back of your back pack.’ He said as he slowly moves towards
me.

‘Please
do not mind me as they are coming for you. Save yourself!’ He said aloud in a
worrying tone.

Confusion
was for certain.
How did he know that there was a gang coming for me? How
did he know where I’ve place the letter I received from the mail box this
morning?
I have no option but to try and eliminate the first problem. He
was right, it was only now that I realise that they were coming for me but I
could not hear them.

I
turn around and see Tony cycling fast towards me. Stealthily with
uncontrollable speed he went through the bumpy path and behind him his gang
follows. I slowly move backward and prepares for the outcome.

7

Tony
jump off the moving bicycle and quickly head towards me. I step aside and
Tony’s bicycle went pass by, off the dead end of the plateau. At the corner of
my eye I could see him lunge a powerful punch to my face. I have to move into
another side step while I seize his wrist.

         
Immediately I move Tony in the same momentum his body was heading for. This
allows his body to pick up more speed while I easily twist his wrist into three
hundred and sixty degrees. Tony’s body went off the ground by the momentum of
his own body force and applied technique. He found himself moving with the same
angle his wrist got diverted. After a quick outburst of cry, he fell down and
lay motionless on the ground.

His
face demonstrates the agony and the emotion of confusion he was in. Joey
aggressively flings a right hook in my face as he dashed towards me.
Automatically my hands went up at a ninety degree angle guarding my face. The
block fully absorbs the blow while injuring his fingers.

From
there I knew that joey must have been an inexperience fighter.
A good
punch
does not crack
. I immediately step outside his arc of fire. Allowing my
opponent to move in the same direction he was heading. Then deliver two
powerful kicks at the left side of Joey’s rib cage. He went down on the ground
falling on his side. He holds it as he curls in agony.  

Ryan,
Allan and Harley were there in time to see their friends and leader on the
ground. They made an obtrusive semi-circle while they simultaneously glance at
Tony, Joey and me. The teenagers nervously move back and forth as if waiting
for an order to attack.

‘What…What
are we waiting for?’ Allan asked nervously.

‘Yes,
what are we waiting for?’ Ryan also asked nervously.

‘Fools,
we’re three and he’s out number?!’ Harley responded with some confidence while
trying to boost morals of his friends.

‘Why
don’t you go first?’ Ryan said still nervous.

‘Yes,
you should be the first one to attack.’ Allan convincingly said.

‘No,
we attack all together and prevent him to recover until he’s down.’ Harley
said. Instantly after the few words of encouragement they charges on me like a
pack of hungry wolves.

‘Punch
him in the head.’ Allan said as he and his friends run towards me.

Two
punches headed for my face while one head for my chest. I found myself force to
elude the punches by quickly moving backward. Then I immediately made a move to
the one closer to my face by seizing it by the wrist. At the same time I made
half a turn while I put immense power in pulling the wrist in the same
direction it was meant to go.

Harley’s
body picked up an abnormal speed which slightly upset its own momentum. Without
delay I release his wrist. At the same time I generate a powerful blow from my
open palm to his solar plexus. This immediately changed the course of his fall.
The blow in Harley’s pressure point sent him sideways and backwards onto Allen
and Ryan. All three end up colliding with each other and collapsing on top of
each other.

At
the corner of my eye I could see something dodgy moving. I quickly turn to it
as I sense danger. Tony had recovered but he was holding something above his
head and he was about to throw it at me. Behind him the old man stood firm and
give him a tap with one hand. Tony acknowledge to the old man’s tap by turning
his face sideways while he hold the rotten log firmly above his head.

He
seems surprise as if wondering where the old man comes from. The old man unleashes
fury by whacking Tony with a full contact blow with his open palm at one side
of his ear. The brawny teenager lost his sense of equilibrium and drops the log
on his own head. He quickly went down and collapse.

I
move closer to the old man and ask, ‘who are you?’

‘Not
to close! And an explanation you shall have!’ He said nervously.

I
stop as he has requested and wait for a response from him. He slowly walks to
me as he rolls up the left side of his suit.

He
raises his arm up and said, ‘Do you see it.’

On
his arm slightly a few centimetres above his wrist an old stitched scar
stretched horizontally towards the edge of the elbow. The closer he walks to me
the more apparent and evident it becomes for me. Strange as it was, I notice
that the mark of stitches was fading as if it wasn’t there in the first place.

‘Magnificent,
isn’t it?’ He said as he appreciates the healing process of his skin.

I
was speechless. I stare at the scar as it disappears leaving the proper primary
skin unscathed. He rolls his sleeve back down. Then he glances at Tony’s
unconscious body. Joey who was still on the ground nearby caught his attention
as he moan.

‘He’s
going to be fine.’

‘Yes
I know I’m just making sure that they’re not going to disturb us,’ the old man
said.

Ryan,
Allan and Harley seem to concern him. He shows interest in them. As if he had
sense something wrong. I trace his eyes to them and understand his curiosity.
The three were on top of each other but they moan as they struggle to come out
of the dizziness and unconsciousness. 

‘We
don’t have much time.’ He said as he turns and walk away from the injured boys.

He
head for the opposite side of the plateau and says, ‘Please follow me. Listen
attentively and make sure you don’t touch me.’

Confuse
and in doubt I needed to know the truth, ‘What do you mean?’

‘Which
one did you fail to understand?’

‘The
reason behind the touching part,’ I seek for reasoning.

‘It
shall all come into place in a few minutes but you’ve got to stay with me.’

His
back was facing me as he strolls along and gaze at the sun set over the
horizon. Glancing over his shoulder to see where I was as I follow. A few
metres to the edge of the plateau he comes to a halt. He glances sideways only
to keep his face still.

‘Does
my face look familiar to you?’

‘Yes,
of course and from this morning.’

‘You
mean that you’ve live with a face that you haven’t figure out how it shall look
like in the future,’ he derisively says.

What
did he mean? Is he crazy? Does he mean it? No it can’t be?
My
mind fought to come to terms between science fact and science fiction.
Is he
for real? Who is he really and where did he come from? Or is he a sham.

‘What
are you trying to tell me?’ I seek for confirmation.

‘We’re
not dumb,’ he pauses and carries on, ‘What would you do if you had the chance
to fix the past and present?’

‘I
would try to fix some of my past mistakes.’

‘If
I told you that we’ve manage it. We have accomplished the impossible but it’s
in your lifetime in the future. Perhaps I may say in my present.’

‘Impossible,’
I curt out in deny. Baffle I defy the truth,
how could this be?

‘What
would you do if I told you that you are talking to yourself at this instant?’
He calmly persuades as he faces the horizon.

I
walk towards him speechless and stare at his face in disbelief, ‘I would say
that you’re insane.’

‘Insane
is the word use by the ancient fools who couldn’t understand and wouldn’t
accept progressive thinking. The Catholic church even helped to suppress our thoughts
for centuries.’

‘What
do you mean?’

‘Let
me enlighten you a bit,’ he pause to catch his breath. ‘Have you ever heard the
term scientific revolution?’

‘Yes,
I have.’

‘So
what do you understand by it.’

‘It
goes way back somewhere in the seventeenth century when it came to an end.’

‘Partially
correct,’ he pauses and carries on, ‘…from what I have gathered, it is made of
the aspect of facts from a time of renaissance, the age of enlightenment and
the age of reflection.’

‘I’m
lost but, what do those events have to do with our meeting today?’

‘Patience,
for it all shall fall into place. To be convinced and accept the fact, one must
understand the factual concept ahead of your actual time. May I please move on
with my story?’

‘Yes,
please do.’

‘Renaissance
has to do with Leonard Da Vinci who was fascinated by flying. The age of
enlightenment promote science and intellectual.’ He pauses, look at me for a
while and slowly move a few steps away from me making sure that I was far
enough.

‘Satisfy
with the distance.’

‘Yes
I am indeed, it’s for our safety. I shall get to it later.’

Gap
of two metres was kept between both of us. Doubt clouded my mind as I wonder
about the real reason behind the distance we must keep apart. I had no
alternatives but to come to terms with the baseless ideology of a pathetic
lunatic.

Some
of his words made sense from the garbage he had spit out. A part of me wanted
to leave the crazy man alone. My curiosity beg my other half to stay and listen
to what he was about to say.
After all maybe he might make some sense out of
the science fiction
.

‘Please
can you get to the point?’

I
wanted to believe in him but there was no hard evidence to support his fact…
Maybe he had something in the end, something small and futuristic...

I
wanted him to stop beating round the bush...

Patience
he had told me….

Maybe
he was saving the best for last and perhaps it was worth waiting for….patience.

‘Yes
I shall get straight to it. I can see that you’re impatience for the truth but
nothing come easy in life as you had already noticed. Anyway back to the
cultural movements.’

‘The
cultural movements are the renaissance, the age of enlightenment and the age of
reflection, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,
Phil. Now let us take another famous scientist whose work also inspired us.
Isaac Newton…’ He paused and asks, ‘do you know which field he developed?’

‘Yes,
it’s all about gravity and its effect on the orbits of most planets.’

‘Indeed
you’re partly correct. The mechanics and its gravitational force were what he
contributed in physics. It fully came into good use two centuries later after
being improved into the three universal laws of motion. This brought the smooth
use of the industrial revolution at the start of the twentieth century. Without
it we were all doom for headway.’

It
becomes interesting and educational as the story progresses with a mixture of
history and science. Eager to understand the concept of the story I didn’t want
to miss anything.

As
he took a breather I asks, ‘what movement was he part of?’

‘Newton
belonged to the age of enlightenment. Lastly the age of reflection also known
as romanticism is a combination of important subjects, such as organic
chemistry and astronomy. William and Caroline Herschel are the two astronomers
who defined the milky ways, also known as the solar system.’

He
takes a breather and carries on, ‘…of course they are all histories but they
all are relevant to the top secret project known as black bird. It shall take
place thirty years from your time. I and two colleagues had to study those
people’s work to materialise the project. It took us ten long years but we
finally did it.’

‘What
was the project?’

‘I’m
afraid you already know the answer to that question young Phil.’

I
had assimilated everything that he had told me but I wanted to hear it from
him. The study of famous and vital ideologies that goes centuries’ back in
time. Astronomy, the universe, organic chemistry, flights, gravitational and
mechanical advances, all was a perfect ingredient for a perfect space ship.

‘A
space machine of some sort which can travel very fast,’ I said uncertainly.

‘We
simply call it the time machine. The army call it operation black bird.’

The
frail, old man said, then he exhale and inhale slowly.

‘Who
are you really?’

‘Let
me tell you about me. I was young and in love with a girl which I had gone to
school with. The first time I laid my eyes on her was at crèche. Though I was a
child I had never seen anything as beautiful as her. She sat in a circle with a
group of other kids outside the school’s playground. I was passing by and
playing with some other kids but somehow could not resist by not staring at
her.’

He
pauses and took a slow breather. The story seems similar to mine.
Who are
you? Patience he had said…

‘She
pretended to be a dentist and her friends became her friendly patients. Those
of her friends who had wobbly milk teeth she took it out with a piece of
thread. As we grew up and went to primary school I fought my way to sit near
her. I became rude to other boys who sat near her. Yet the pet love I had for
her was pure and innocent. Inside the feelings which I could not yet comprehend
built up and become stronger as we grew up. Then at fourteen I could not hold
it in.’