A Shaolin Easgter to Remember
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"Peter, are you sure this is where they went?"
Peter, still dressed in the saffron robe and black sash came face to face with the past. Looking up towards the cliff, the ruins of the temple were lit from the morning sun. Memories good and bad rose to the surface. Peter discovered he missed those times. The things he learned while growing up here he found he could only read in books elsewhere.
Peter recalled a time when he asked a question regarding one of the lessons he had in high school while living with the Blaisdells. The teacher had presented a lesson on ancient China. The facts that the teacher presented had been incorrect. Peter questioned the teacher about it and proceeded to correct him. The teacher in turn proceeded to lecture Peter on who was the teacher and sent him to the principal's office. But Peter had been right. He learned that particular lesson from his father just two years prior before the temple had been destroyed. That had been one of the more pleasant memories. He could see his father's eyes as he taught the lesson and how each child in turn was absorbing the information. Peter recalled when it was his turn to answer the quiz for that day, he was correct. His father's face showed great pride for him at having learned the lesson.
Now Peter faced the moment of truth. It was still difficult for him to face this place without thinking of that horrible day. This time, however, would be different. He had a purpose here. Somewhere along the lake there was a marker. He was not ready to face that particular marker, yet. Someday he would, but not today. The place he needed to go was not to the temple itself but somewhere below. Even though it would lead to the ruins, both he and his father were in no condition to face what laid there. Perhaps some day they would come back here to face the truth together.
Scanning the cliff area, Peter Caine soon spotted the opening. He had only been there once when he was 10 years old. He had been curious about the place from hearing other initiates talking about it. Deep within the cavern was a series of tunnels. Within the tunnels held various obstacles that the young monks had to face. Some were the obvious. Others were less so. They had to enter through the cave. If they were successful, they would end up within the great hall. If they were not, they would end up back where they started.
Peter had heard stories how the initiates were sworn to secrecy. Each year his father, Master Khan, and three other monks would go down into the tunnels for several days. Some said it was to change the tunnels in some way so they were never the same. Peter did remember that five older initiates had gone down into the tunnels. Only one came out in the great hall. The other four had failed. Peter could not recall if those other four tried again.
Peter also remembered the day he tried to explore them. His father had been away, or that is what he thought at the time. He did not know that his father was down in the tunnels setting up for the next initiates. Peter entered the cave. It seemed benign at first but soon he was running into obstacles he had never encountered in his life. He found he had gotten through about five of them. A sixth obstacle loomed in his path. Though Peter was barely able to over come it, he had become badly injured in the process and would have died if his father had not found him. Peter could recall the deep fear in his father's eyes. That was enough for him to realize to never again try something he was not ready for. Peter had learned a valuable lesson that day. Curiosity can sometimes get you into deep trouble.
As Peter and Kermit approached, a feeling of dread and despair came over him, not for himself but for another.
"Kermit, I appreciate you coming all this way with me but I have to do this alone."
"I'm not letting you go in there alone. Your shoulder isn't healed enough. You need someone to watch your back," Kermit argued. "Blaisdell wouldn't forgive me if I let you go in there by yourself. As it is, he's going to be pissed when he finds out."
"You let me worry about Paul." Peter said. "Besides, he'd understand more than you'd think. I just don't want you getting hurt. This is my fight, not yours."
"I'm not letting you go in there alone. May I remind you that every minute we stand out here arguing, your father is still in danger."
"Don't tell me about my father, Kermit. I know the amount of danger he's in. But you don't know the kinds of things we may run into in there."
"I'll take my changes. I'm not leaving."
Kermit continued to stare at Peter through his protective shields, not giving an inch. Peter could be just as stubborn, but this time, he had to admit having Kermit with him might increase their odds in rescuing Caine.
"All right, you win. But stay behind me."
Peter started toward the cliffs when Kermit tapped him on the shoulder. "Shouldn't you change first before you go in there?"
Peter looked down at his clothes and smiled. He had forgotten he was wearing the robe. During their time traveling, the robe became a part of him and that was causing Peter to question just where he really fit in. Being a cop had been his way of helping others. It was also a way to put the past behind him, a past and a future that he thought was denied him when the temple had been destroyed. Was that past slowly becoming a part of the present again and soon to be a possible future?
Kermit interrupted Peter's train of thought by handing him the backpack that he brought. Inside was a shirt and jeans. Peter found a secluded spot and changed. He did keep one thing, the sash. He felt it could come in handy. Peter, however, did not want to admit that Kermit was right. But Peter felt that if Kermit did go in there, he would not come out alive. Somehow Peter knew that Nelson had altered the tunnels, making them more deadly.
"All right, but stay close. The last time I was in here was when I was 10. Things have changed since then and I am sure for the deadliest."
"I've been through obstacles before. They don't scare me."
"If I am right, some of the obstacles in here won't be ordinary. I'll go first."
Peter and Kermit entered the tunnel. Torches had been placed along the wall. 'It feels strange being back here,' Peter thought. The tunnels felt smaller than he remembered.
"Where do you think your father might be in all this?"
"I'm not sure. I do know there is suppose to be a very large cavern with a small lake in it. More like a pond. I remember overhearing one of the students talk about it. There's an island of rock in the middle of it. The lake, however, contains some level of acid just enough to cause irritation to the skin. If I am right, Nelson would have placed him there."
"Why would Nelson do that?"
"My father may be blind, but he still has other ways of seeing. Plus, my father would know these tunnels. He's been in them I don't know how many times. By placing him on that island, Nelson is trying to insure my father does not go anywhere."
"But if that's the case, there is sure to be a trap."
"I'm hoping there is one. It may be our only way to rescue him."
"If we do get him off that island, how do we get out of here?"
"There are two ways to go. Back the way we came or . . ." Suddenly a rumble could be heard behind them. Rockslide! Peter and Kermit rushed back up the tunnel. The entrance was no longer there. It was covered with at least a ton of rock and other debris.
"You were saying there was a second way out?"
"The other way is coming up through the great hall. I just hope that isn't blocked either. There was a lot of debris from when the temple was destroyed. Well, we better get going. It's a long walk."
*****
"Your son has arrived."
Kwai Chang Caine turned toward the voice. "He will stop you."
"I don't think so."
Caine could hear the man approach, his boots crunching on the loose dirt and rock. A hissing noise rose up and the smell of burning acid reached his nostrils. Caine paled at what had been done. The pond was an obstacle that was never meant to be lethal. The acid had always been there but from natural causes. The acid came from the natural herbicide given off by certain pine trees. It had leeched through the soil and into the underground pond over time. The pond, however, was not stagnant. There was a small opening under it that was part of an underground stream. That way the level of the acid had always remained the same. Something had caused the level to rise. And it would seem the size of the pond had also changed. Slowly the island was being covered. After discovering just where he had been taken, Kwai Chang Caine reached out with his senses and discovered that the island was not the same size from the last time he had been there. That was two weeks before the temple had been destroyed. His memory of the place had not faltered over time. He had been there several times over the course of the years. There was no way he would forget such a place as the pond.
Nelson smiled as he saw Caine's face pale. There was no need for him to tell him the full truth. All he needed to do was allow Caine to believe in the worst. That was all part of the game, a psychological game where his victims would end up believing in most anything, for now.
"In a few hours the island you are on will become smaller and smaller. If Peter doesn't get here in time, you will die. And even if he does, there is no way he will be able to cross the pond. All he will be able to do is watch you die."
"You do not know my son. Even if I was to die, he will stop you. He will avenge my death."
"We shall see."
Kwai Chang Caine could hear the man's footsteps getting fainter as he started to leave.
"Before you go, tell me why you are doing this?"
"Isn't it obvious? You and your kind were not wanted here. The place that you called the temple was supposed to be the location of a new secret base of operation for the Army. It was to be a training ground. That's what my father told me. He was approached by General Dao. He wanted the Shaolin off the land. My father hated you heathens. He wanted to be rid of you. There was no way you would have left so he arranged it so I could come inside and find out all your strengths and weaknesses. He arranged it with another monk who also wasn't satisfied. And well, the rest was history."
Kwai Chang Caine could not believe how this young man had been used. The temple had been destroyed but not for the same reasons this young man thought. His father also may have been used. Dao was not a general but the very same monk that was dissatisfied. In truth, he was Tan. He played on the fears of Nelson's father and in so doing murdered the innocent. Because of this young man, the temple had been destroyed from within. Many innocent children and monks died and a young boy had been used to achieve it.
Caine felt sick to his stomach that because of this man, both Peter and him suffered for 15 years the loss of each other. Not only that, Caine was denied the opportunity to see his son grow into a man. Anger rose up within Kwai Chang at those lost years; anger at the young man who would even now try to take away any more years that father and son might yet have. Caine at that moment forgot his Shaolin training and as a father wished his son would beat the crap out Nelson.
End of Part 9
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2001.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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