The Lights Over Jupiter Point: Book 1 Page 4

  "Mom. I can't see you," Mateo's soft voice echoed. A shattered cry escaped Camila's throat.

  "Hold on a little longer, baby! I'm coming for you!"

  Suddenly, Camila turned to Leonardo.

  "I'm going to go in after your brother. Run back to the house and get my jacket and the long rope on the back porch."

  "But mom…"

  "Do as I say, Leonardo! We don't have much time. Go!"

  The boy took off running through the weeds. Camila kneeled at the edge of the hole.

  "Mateo, can you hear me?"

  "Yes, mommy."

  "Don't be afraid of the dark. Nothing will hurt you."

  "I'm not afraid, mommy. God is with me."

  At that moment, a blast of yellow smoke exploded from the hole with such force that it knocked Camila back. She fell onto the ground and began coughing; her eyes watered as if the air had ammonia.

  "Mateo! Are you okay?" Camila asked as she crawled back to the edge of the hole. She could hear him coughing.

  "My eyes are burning, mom!"

  "Stop praying. Don't say anything about God. I think this thing gets mad when you do."

  "What?"

  At that moment, Leonardo ran out of the bushes.

  "Here is your coat, mom."

  Camila stood and wrapped herself in the coat. Next, she searched for a small tree strong enough for her to tie the rope. After spotting a small sapling, she quickly ran to it and tied the rope around its base.

  "Are you going in there, mom?" Leonardo asked with a worried look on his face.

  Camila didn't speak. She threw the rest of the rope over into the hole and yelled out to Mateo.

  "Can you see the rope?"

  "I see it, but it's very high up. I can't touch it."

  "That's okay. I'm coming down."

  Leonardo ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around her.

  "Don't go, mom! Please!"

  Camila knelt and looked into her son's eyes.

  "I have an important job for you. I need you to run down the road to the neighbor's house and tell Senor Ruiz to come and help get us out. Okay?"

  "But…"

  "Look, Leonardo! I'm not leaving your brother down there alone. In a few more hours, it'll be dark. Listen to your mother and go get Senor Ruiz, okay?"

  Leonardo didn't respond. Slowly he backed away as he watched the hole. Finally, he turned and ran into the weeds.

  "Okay, Camila. You can do this," the mother whispered to herself. After carefully brushing the hair off her forehead, she sat on the ground. Aware of what had happened to Mateo as a baby, she looked around for fire ants. Slowly, she rolled onto her belly and pushed herself into the black hole.

  As Camila inched down the rope, the thought of her falling to her death flooded her mind. What would the boys do if she fell? Mateo would die in the dark hole alone next to his mother's corpse. Leonardo would be forever traumatized. After being a part of such a horrifying thing, he would indeed have emotional issues. Alcohol would play a role. Maybe crime. Ultimately, his story would end with suicide or death.

  These thoughts brought Camila such sadness that she almost wanted to crawl back up. Maybe she should find men to help them.

  "No. These are my children," she whispered as she continued to lower herself into the chasm. Inch by inch, she went lower and lower until the hole above her was only the size of an eye. She could feel the strength in her arms leaving, so she wrapped her bare thighs around the rope for more support. She looked down and could see Mateo's face peering up at her.

  "Can you see me, baby?" she yelled.

  "I see you, mommy. You're halfway." Mateo responded. Camila looked down and saw how much rope she had left.

  "God!" she whispered. It wasn't a lot. Once she made it to the end of the rope, she would have to let go and drop down 20 feet to the ground.

  Suddenly the rope began to shake furiously. Camila let out a small yelp as the shaking caused her to start to swing from side to side.

  "Mom! What's happening?" yelled Mateo.

  "I don't know!" Camila said as she looked down at him. Suddenly Mateo screamed and pointed towards the hole above his mother's head.

  "Mom! Look!"

  Camila looked up towards the hole and saw piles of red ants climbing down the rope towards her. Her heart pounded with fear as she began descending the line much faster, burning her thighs in the process.

  "Mateo! Get away from underneath me!" Camila screamed. She focused on getting to the end of the rope as quickly as she could.

  Suddenly she felt excruciating pain on both her hands - it felt like she had dipped them in boiling water. She looked up to see both her hands covered in red ants.

  "My God!" she screamed out. Her hands looked like they were inside two red boxing gloves. Camila could feel the bite of each ant, chewing her fingers like they were disassembling a dead animal in the forest.

  Suddenly, there was a whoosh of hot air and then silence.

  Camila never felt herself let go of the rope. Her eyes had been too preoccupied with the ants attempting to eat her hands. The sight of the plump voracious creatures snapping at her skin surprised her so much that she temporarily forgot that she was dangling perilously above the ground. Within a second of her drifting away into blackness, she realized her folly, but it was too late. She fell.

  Camila's uncontrolled descent into the hole escalated. Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid of the fall. There was no panic or "life flashing before my eyes" moment as she had heard so many people mention. There was only an eerie and unreal - silence. The fall felt like one natural drawn-out movement, like removing a hand from a cold doorknob after it closed. She watched as the circle of light above her drifted away and became smaller and smaller. Camila lifted her left hand to her face and watched as the ants drifted away. The ants didn't seem to be committed to the task of causing her destruction. She lifted her right hand only to witness the ants behaving in the same disconnected fashion; they floated upwards and away from her towards the entrance of the hole. It was as though something had unwound her hands of the insects and left them floating above her. The pain was gone. She inspected each hand. Each hand seemed unaffected.

  As her speed increased, Camila closed her eyes and prepared for impact.

  Chapter 7: The Origin of Mateo Pt. 2

  Mateo awakened suddenly and sat up. It took him a while to gather his faculties, but he finally remembered his location after looking around for a few minutes. He laid back down on the cold ground.

  "Mom? How long have we been down here?" he asked as he pulled himself close against his mother's bosom. Camila didn't respond. Instead, she stayed lying on her back, staring into nothingness. Mateo rested his head on his mother's chest.

  "I guess we've been down here a few hours now. Why hasn't Leonardo returned?" he asked. After a while, Mateo raised himself on one arm and stared at his mother's face. One of her brown eyes stared up into the darkness while the other eyeball had fallen from her upward gaze and looked toward the other side of the cavern, giving Camila an evil, cross-eyed demonic look. Mateo guessed this must have happened when he was sleeping and quickly placed his hands over her eyelids.

  "Don't worry, mommy. I'll take care of you," he whispered. After applying pressure and pushing downward against her eyelashes, both of Camila's eyes closed.

  "Mommy," Mateo whispered. His warm tears fell upon her lifeless purple lips. With one finger, he reached out to touch her cheek.

  "You're cold, mommy. Try to hang on. I'm sure someone will be here soon," he whispered. He fixed the woman's coat around her and covered her breasts. Suddenly he burst into tears. He knew she was dead, but he didn't want to accept it. He couldn't take it. She was his everything, and now she had left him alone in the cave, her body just a lifeless reminder of the wonderful mother she had been.

  "I'm sorry, mom. It's all my fault," Mateo cried. "You tried to warn us, but we didn't listen. We should've stayed away from the hole. We should've listened."
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  The guilt of his mother's death was smothering. Now thoughts of suicide came into his mind. He considered the possibility that no one would find him. The sun would rise and fall, and he would remain trapped forever. But something deep within him told him that God didn't like what he was thinking, and so he tried to pretend his mother was alive. But after seeing the enormous purple crook in the middle of her neck, the reality of her death came rushing back.

  Suddenly, Mateo stood and looked towards the barely visible opening in the cave above his head.

  "How did I survive that fall?" Mateo asked. He'd fallen from a much higher position than his mother. And yet, he didn't even have a bruise or a scratch. It was almost as if something had caught him and lowered him to the ground.

  Mateo turned to look at his mom. Unable to accept the hopelessness of his situation, he started pretending she was alive.

  "I guess you want me to look around a bit, right, mom?" he whispered to her corpse. He waited for his mother's response, but there was none. As his eyes combed the cave, Mateo tried telling himself that he wasn't afraid. But he couldn't lie to himself about what he was feeling inside. Within that moment, Mateo was a scared little boy in a dark cave with the corpse of his mother lying at his feet. And although he said a prayer internally, nothing could take away the fact that his mother was gone.

  Mateo walked to the wall in front of him. Although it was a smooth black stone, the rock seemed to shimmer in the darkness. He took his index finger and gently wiped it across the wall.

  "Oh!" he yelled as he jumped back. The rock he touched suddenly changed to a bright fluorescent red. Mateo leaned closer and watched as the red color slowly returned to the original color of the black glass-like stone he'd first seen. Curious, he slid the palm of his hand across the surface once again. This time the entire wall of rock began to glow. Suddenly the temperature of the cavern started to rise.

  "What is this?" asked Mateo. He backed away from the wall and ran back to Camila – but she was gone! Suddenly he began to panic.

  "Mom! Mommy!"

  But there was no answer. Within seconds the temperature in the hole became so hot that Mateo could barely breathe. He fell onto the ground, hoping to find some cooler air, but there was none. He stumbled to his feet again and began sliding along the wall, searching for a way out. The room was so hot that Mateo's lungs began to burn. As he took deep labored breaths, his vision blurred, causing him to stumble around the cavern. It wasn't long before his muscles gave out, and he collapsed on the ground. Soon his eyes rolled back in his head, and Mateo started to convulse. Finally, he lost consciousness.

  Chapter 8: The Origin of Mateo Pt. 3

  "Wake up, boy."

  Mateo stretched and sat up in bed. He couldn't believe it. As the sunlight poured into his bedroom, Mateo squinted and fell back onto his pillow; the whole thing had been an awful dream. He pulled the bedsheets to his nose and breathed deeply; the scent of his mother's freshly washed laundry never smelled so good.

  "Do I have to go to school today?" he yelled out. He paused as soon as the question escaped his lips; it seemed like he'd asked his mother that same question not too long ago.

  Camila walked into the room and snatched the blankets off him.

  "Yes. You need to hurry. You know I have to walk you and your brother to school and then walk to work. We don't have a lot of time for your laziness."

  Mateo frowned. Something wasn't right. The whole situation was playing out like a movie he'd seen 100 times. Quickly, he tried to tell his mother that something wasn't right, but suddenly he paused. Somehow, the words coming from his lips made Mateo feel strange.

  "But mom, I'm twelve-years-old. I can walk myself to school."

  Nervously, Mateo started looking around the room. Something was wrong.

  Camila laid his freshly ironed school clothes on the bed. Before she uttered one word, Mateo played the sentences inside his head.

  I don't have time to argue with you.

  And then his mother spoke the same words.

  "I don't have time to argue with you. Get dressed."

  Mateo saw his bible sitting on the nightstand beside his bed and tried to reach for it. He was horrified to discover his arms wouldn't move in the direction he wanted them to go. Once again, his mouth opened, and he spoke the words he'd previously spoken to his mother.

  "Seriously, mom, Leonardo, and I can take care of ourselves."

  Camila walked over to Mateo and kissed him on the forehead. Her kiss felt cold and mechanical. As she stood looking into his eyes, Mateo became terrified; something was moving just behind the iris of her brown eyes. He might have missed it if she wasn't so close, but now he could see – this was not his mother.

  "Just do as I say, please. You know I've had to work two jobs ever since…"

  When Camila spoke that line, Mateo knew what was happening – the whole scene was a replay of what had happened hours earlier. Somehow, he was trapped, replaying the tragedy of the day's events!

  Camila's voice trailed off. Unable to stop his movements, Mateo reluctantly hugged the entity. Although he couldn't move, he felt the burning urge to vomit; this wasn't the way his mother smelled. On most days, Camila smelled of fresh violets and lavender. On the days she worked two jobs, she usually came home smelling of bleach and soap. And that was the point – she always smelled clean. The entity that was pressing his face against its bosom smelled of burnt almonds and gasoline. The smell was so strong that it burned Mateo's eyes. With all his might, he tried to push the thing away – but he was trapped, forced to replay the events of the day.

  "It's okay, mom. I'll walk with you," Mateo said. "But one day, you're going to have to make things easier on yourself. Dad is gone. You have to stop being afraid. You have to let us grow up and help you."

  Mateo noticed that although he couldn't move away from the being, tears had begun pouring down his face. He could cry. That meant he had the power to control the opening and closing of his eyelids.

  Camila placed her hands on each of Mateo's cheeks.

  "How did you get to be so mature? Okay. I'll let the two of you walk to school alone today. But remember to be safe. No stopping to play along the way. Do you understand me?"

  Mateo smiled at his mother and closed his eyes. It was time to end this horrible movie. He closed his eyes and kept them shut.

  Chapter 9: The Origin of Mateo Pt. 4

  "I don't care what mom says. I'm going to see the hole!"

  Mateo's heart pounded with happiness because he recognized the voice – it was Leonardo's! Mateo opened his eyes, expecting to see his brother standing in front of him. Instead, he was on the back porch of his house, watching as two children took off running into the tall grass.

  "Leonardo! Wait!" Mateo yelled as he gave chase to the two kids. He had to warn his brother about the hole. As he gained on the kids, he heard them talking to one another.

  "I don't give a shit about what mom said. I'm going to see the hole!" yelled Leonardo.

  "I'm going to tell mom you said that. You know you're not supposed to be cursing," the other child responded. Mateo stopped running. He recognized the other child's voice - it was him!

  As the two children disappeared in the brown weeds, Mateo began slowly walking after them. Within a few moments, he could hear them talking again.

  "I had a dream, Mateo. It told me to come here."

  "Come on, Leonardo. Let's get out of here. I don't like this place."

  "The dream was so real. I couldn't get it out of my head."

  "What are you saying? What dream?"

  "It told me that I had to do it."

  "Do what?"

  Mateo could see the two boys now. He was terrified. It was him and Leonardo standing at the edge of the hole. Once again, he got trapped in a replay of the day's events. Leonardo continued talking.

  "The voice told me to bring you here."

  Mateo felt the same coldness in his stomach that he'd felt earlier when Leonardo had
first spoken those words to him. He wanted to run out to stop his little brother from going through what was about to happen, but he couldn't move. He just couldn't take his eyes away from the disgusting replay.

  "Stop playing, Leonardo. You're scaring me."

  Leonardo turned to look at his older brother. As Mateo watched the two boys from the weeds, his stomach began to hurt worse. Now, being able to watch the day's events play out from a spectator's perspective, he could see that Leonardo hadn't been himself when he did what he did. Leonardo's eyes were wide and wild as if he were possessed. Leonardo walked to the boy.

  "Don't be afraid, Mateo," he said. Suddenly Leonardo looked past Mateo into the weeds.

  "Look, there's mom."

  As soon as Leonardo pointed towards the bushes, Mateo turned to look. Just as he did, Leonardo gave him a hard shove. The boy stumbled back and fell into the hole.

  Seeing the events replay was too much for Mateo, and he screamed. He remembered the fall into blackness and how it felt, like the earth opened its mouth and swallowed him, the vast space of silence as he descended. He remembered wondering how he would die. Would it be painful? Would his skull be crushed on impact, or would some other tortuous outcome steal his soul? Maybe he would slam into an ice-cold lake of water hidden in the blackness; there, he would try to stay afloat utilizing only novice swimming skills and a love for his mother and brother. Mateo remembered thinking all of those things as he fell, sure of his death, yet wondering how death might choose to take him.

  "Please…please," he mumbled over and over. Mateo closed his eyes again and fell on his knees.

  When Mateo opened his eyes this time, he was lying on his back outside the hole. Although the sky still had a tinge of gold to it, he could tell it was almost dark. He raised himself to his knees and looked around.

  That's when he saw it.

  There was the rope leading into the hole. Frantically, Mateo crawled to the line and peered into the blackness.

  "Mom!" he yelled. There was no answer.