The Story Of The Windlenot Museum Chapter 9 (Kolchak)

Attention: Shivers is property of Sierra. Richard Cale is my character, and is used in other fics with my blessing. Michael McNeal is a creation of Mike N, who has fics posted on fanfiction.net as well. Carl is Carl Kolchak from the Kolchak: The Night Stalker franchise.

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The Story of the Windlenot Museum

Chapter 9: Gods And Demons (Audio)

Michael McNeal entered the room, following Carl Kolchak. At first, the snake had startled him, but he had gotten past it. As Carl and Richard Cale looked at various displays, he pressed the button by the door. He quietly listened as the recording mentioned that the displays were devoted to many of the theological beliefs that people had in the past.

However, as it continued, he started to feel disturbed. The recording had mentioned how some believed in blood thirsty gods. It boggled his mind how people could believe in such a diabolical concept. When the recording finally finished, he was stunned. “How could anyone believe that?”

He turned and saw Carl come from around a corner. “Believe what?” He looked over at the man, who by his own claims, had encountered many unusual things. He wondered if Carl was likely to believe what the recording had said.

“The recording for this room said that people used to believe in blood thirsty gods, ones that demanded human sacrifices.” He heard Carl chuckle at that, almost like he thought the very thought was humorous. “Do you honestly think its funny?”

He was stunned when Carl shook his head, mainly because of the words Carl said. “No. It’s your reaction. Many cultures had believed in ancient gods and goddesses. Some were even more blood-thirsty than others. What do you know about Greek Mythology?”

Michael stopped for a moment and thought. He knew a few of the stories. Some had even been mentioned in his one World Literature class, but other than that, he didn’t bother to find out more. He had been interested in the stories of Odysseus and Heracles, but those were about it. “Not much. I just stuck with the stories of the heroes.”

He heard Carl chuckle at that. “I think everybody knows of those. You probably even know enough to know some of the main Pantheon. However, have you ever heard of the goddess Hecate?” He shook his head, and saw Carl was about to answer that question.

Before Carl could say a single word, he heard Richard shout from around the corner. “Hecate was one of the more dangerous goddesses. Very vengeful. I think there are some tales were some women had made ‘deals with the devil’ with her.” He noticed Carl pointed behind him, and nodded.

Michael then closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t tell me you encountered her? She can’t be real.”

Carl just nodded. “Every legend is based off a grain of truth. Luckily, my encounter hadn’t been with her directly, especially since I destroyed a temple to her. She had bigger fish to fry.”

Before he could even mention another thing, he heard Richard shout from around a corner. “Hey, you two better get over here. I found another skull dial.” Michael inwardly cursed as both he and Carl started to run over to where they heard Richard’s voice. He wondered if Richard had forgotten that they should stick together.

When they finally reached him, Michael was surprise at what he saw. His friend was turning another skull dial that was next to a giant head with two faces. They appeared to look in opposite directions, and he couldn’t tell which one was the main face.

When his friend stopped turning the dial, he heard him say, “That is Janus. The god of beginnings and endings. However, the plaque says it’s from Celtic folklore, but I believe he was Roman.”

He heard Carl laugh, and then saw the reporter look at the plaque. “Well, they can’t all be perfect. He might have been wrong about the basilisk fragments as well. Heck, even deities make mistakes.”

It was then that Michael noticed the door to his right. As he looked over the red double doors, he quickly tried the handles. He wasn’t surprised when they didn’t open, but he did notice a small panel on the wall by the door.

When he pushed it, he wasn’t surprised to see it open, revealing a panel, and about twenty or so pieces of a puzzle. He glanced at it, and then at the door. “Another one of those puzzle locks. Think you two might have a clue on how to open it?”

He stepped back as both Carl and Richard walked over. He watched as Richard took a closer look at the puzzle, while paging though all the things they had found. Finally, he watched as Richard waved Carl back. “This is related to the image in Beth’s address book. Give me a moment to figure it out.”

He watched as Carl moved back to where he was standing. He then watched as Richard started to move the pieces in to place. As his friend worked, he could tell that the long night was taking a toll on him. He was even starting to feel fatigued. He glanced at Carl for a moment. “Hey Carl, what was the deal with Hecate?”

He heard Carl give a chuckle. “Well, long story short, a dating group had been formed in Chicago a few decades ago. It had been formed by Helen of Troy, who managed to stay young by making a deal with Hecate. By the time I had found out, she was going to have Hecate take my life, but I told her the one sacrifice she set up wasn’t perfect. Turns out Hecate turned Helen to stone for that.”

Michael felt his eyes go wide at that information. It was proof of a vengeful deities existed. He wasn’t sure what to think after that, but he was glad he didn’t have to. When Carl had finished his tale, he noticed that the red double doors had opened up. However, he noticed a stunned look on Richard’s face, as if his friend had just noticed something behind them.

Carl Kolchak started to worry when he saw the look on the face of Richard Cale. He was familiar with it from the many times he had seen it on other faces. It was a look of utter disbelief. However, when ever he knew it crossed his face, it meant that something dangerous was coming towards him. Of course, not seeing it was both a comfort, and a danger. He quickly turned around, hoping that none of the Ixupi were behind him.

He was thankful when all he saw behind them was a large shrine like structure. None of them had noticed it when they entered this part of the room, but then again, they were only focused on the door, and displays near the door. He snapped a quick picture with his instamatic camera, and then said, “Any clue what’s in that?”

He watched as Richard Cale stepped forward and said, “No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we find one of the Ixupi pots in there.” He then watched as the teenager was about to rush forward into the place, but saw the other teen grab his arm. He watched as Richard looked at Michael, and then nodded. “I almost forgot. We should stick together.”

He saw Michael nod. “Yes. Until we catch more of those Ixupi, and learn where they are hiding, we should stick together.” Carl noticed that Michael seemed to wince a bit everything he mentioned the Ixupi, as if he didn’t believe that was their name.

He then stepped up behind the teens. “Alright, let’s check that shrine area out, and then check what’s beyond the red door.” They all walked forward, and into the door of the shrine-like display.

Carl could see there were two main items in the display. The first was a big thing that looked similar to a harp. The second was what looked like a statue of a bull. He walked over to it, and saw it had what appeared to be a blanket over it. He walked over, and rapped on the blanket. What he heard, when he did that, was a hollow sound. He took a closer look at the bull, and noticed that the blanket appeared to be separate from the bull.

When he tried to lift up the blanket, he wasn’t totally surprised when he couldn’t lift it up. He then glanced down, and saw what appeared to be some cords between the two things. The two were obviously linked together. He turned to face the two teens, but was surprised when he heard a tone come from the harp. “Hey, I think these two things are linked.”

He heard another tone come from the harp, and watched as Richard tried to mimic the tune. Soon, all the harp cords were going off. He looked and saw Richard shake his head. “I hate puzzles that are follow the leader. Especially like this.”

He saw Michael look at the frustrated teen. “Richard, haven’t you done puzzles like this before, in that one game you have?”

Richard shook his head, and Carl could tell that the teen was sure of that. “That one is picking out tones. This one is playing them out, and remembering them. If it was like Simon, I might be able to do it.”

He had to admit that it did seem difficult. He then watched as the African-American teen stepped up to the harp, saying, “Let me give it a try then.” He then watched the flustered teen step back, taking off the glasses he wore to rub his eyes.

Carl stepped next to the boy. He waited until the boy had put his glasses back on before he spoke. “You know, I may not know much about puzzles like this, but it seems to me that anything that seems mysterious has a lot to figure out in it. They aren’t always easy to solve.”

He watched as Richard looked at him. In the background, they both heard the ever expanding tune from the harp. The boy then sighed. “I’m always interested in a mystery. It’s part of what got Yvette and I together. We would spend hours trying to figure out mysteries like the Loch Ness Monster, The Bermuda Triangle, and various legends. It’s also why she had been reading your stories.”

Carl had to blink when he heard that. He remembered the boy mentioning about the stories before, but he was even more curious now than he was before. “Richard, how exactly did you two get to read my stories?”

As the harp tune continued to lengthen, Richard closed his eyes as he thought about it. “Well, Yvette first got the stories before we met. Her Uncle Ron, who works with you, said he could get her many stories about strange and unusual things. He even said that when it came down to it, they were done by a good reporter, who had a remarkable instinct.”

Carl had to laugh at that. To be honest, he and Ron never had a amicable work relationship. They didn’t truly hate each other, and they weren’t real rivals, so it was surprise that Ron would actually talk nice about him. It just seemed out of place for the man.

Before he could question Richard any more about the topic, he heard a joyous sound coming from the harp. He looked up to see Michael smiling at them. “The tune didn’t make sense in the end, but I solved the puzzle, and look.”

He turned around in time to see the blanket rising up. The action revealed what looked like the top of one of the Ixupi pots. His thoughts were confirmed when Richard look at the top and said, “I think that the top of the Wax pot in that puzzle in the Funeral Rites room.”

A thought crossed Carl’s mind at that moment. He looked at Richard, remembering how the Ixupi attacks had cause premature aging on each of the teens. “Hey, if you want to go back and put the thing together so you can catch the Wax Ixupi, we can do that.”

He watched as Richard shook his head, and he then heard Michael say, “Right now, we should continue the plan. Besides, once we know where every pot and it’s matching lid is, we can handle things in a more efficient way.”

Carl couldn’t argue the logic in the choice. He then motion to the doors, which lead to the next section of the museum. “Well, let’s head to what’s beyond the red door.” He watched the others nod, and then they all headed through the red door that had been opened earlier.

One of the first things Carl noticed in the room was book bag on the floor. He reached down and picked it up, and glanced at the books. One he noticed was about Ancient Astronauts. He briefly remember a story he followed about aliens, mainly ones you couldn’t visibly see.

He looked up from the book, and turned to tell the two teens about it. He stopped when he saw them looking at some sort of elaborate device. He then saw one of them push a button, and music started to play. He also heard some gears turning, and wondered if the thing was a music box. Those thoughts stopped the second he saw Richard Cale jump back in fright of something.

Richard Cale jumped back when he saw the spider scurry across the stage. When Michael had told him it was the one the jukebox had mentioned, he forgot about the spider being related to it. The sudden appearance of the spider made him jump back in fright. It was also then he realized that Carl had come up behind him. That didn’t scare him, mainly because so far the Ixupi only attacked head on.

As the music played, he saw a curtain on the device go up, and was stunned by what he saw. Before he could say anything, he heard Carl say, “Richard, are you ok? Did an Ixupi attack?”

Richard shook his head, and he heard Michael answer the questions. “No, I think he just reacted to Anansi the spider. Remember his fear.” He glanced back to see Carl nod, and then realized that Michael was now looking at the object that was behind the curtain. “Damn, I think we just found another lid.”

He looked at it, just as the others gazed in awe at it. Just from a glance, he could tell they hadn’t seen its shape before. In fact, it didn’t appear to match up with any Ixupi pot that they had seen so far. It was a complete unknown to them. Carl finally broke the silence. “Any idea what that may be for?”

Richard stepped back, and shook his head. He then looked past Carl and Michael, and his attention was drawn to two items in the back of the room. One was a Egyptian sarcophagus. Something told him to open it, and he was sure their wasn’t a real mummy in the sarcophagus.

As he headed for the sarcophagus, he noticed that Carl and Michael were gazing at the snake statue that was near it. He glanced briefly at it, and a feeling crossed his mind that an Ixupi might be lurking in it. When he reached the case, he looked at the two and said, “Don’t get too close. I feel that might be the hiding spot of an Ixupi.” Both stopped, and looked at him. The thought must not have crossed their minds.

He then opened the sarcophagus, and jumped back when a skeleton fell out of the casket. He wondered if it had been rigged to do that, but he quickly put that out of his mind. What now occupied his thoughts was the lid on the bottom of the casket. He kneeled down, and looked at it.

Carl was the first one looking over him. “Did you find another lid?”

Richard just nodded. Michael walked over to his side and looked down at it. “Hey, doesn’t that shape of the lid look familiar?” He nodded again, and Michael said what he suspected. “It fits the one we saw in the library.”

He got up, and said, “Yes. When we go back down there, we might want to grab them.” He then looked through the door to his left and said, “Let’s check out the next room. It looks like it’s full of items of folklore.”

They started heading through the door, and were amazed at what they saw. There was a likeness of a Cyclops in the room, and what looked like a lifelike Pegasus. Judging by the wood laying next to some of the statues, they must have been unpacked before the Ixupi had escaped.

They continued through the door near the cyclops, and he felt Carl freeze, as if the reporter had seen something from a nightmare. He quickly glanced around the room, until Michael said, “Damn, that werewolf is almost realistic.”

The reporter started to move, but kept a wary eye on the statue. “Almost realistic, that’s what they really look like.” He heard Michael stifle a laugh, but he remembered reading that tale. It was one of Yvette’s favorites. A werewolf lurking on a cruise ship seemed a bit funny, since it wasn’t where one figured a werewolf would be, but he pushed that out of his mind.

What entered his mind was the dial next to the werewolf. He ran over to the dial, despite Carl urging him to be careful. As he started to turn the dial, he said, “Carl, I know you’ve seen one of these up close, but the dial is the important thing. After this one, there is only one more left to find.” Of course, he wasn’t sure where that one was, but he was sure it was in a room they hadn’t seen yet.

Once the dial was turned, he turned around, and saw a normal door. It was near a mural of a vampire. He looked at the others and said, “Should we leave the room?”

Both nodded, and Michael said, “Yea. I think this particular room isn’t Carl’s favorite place.” He noticed how the reporter seemed to be staring at the mural, and decided not to ask, or point out anything. He quickly opened the door, and was thankful when he saw a normal hallway. Almost instantly, he started to wonder how everyone was reacting at home.

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Yvette Davidson sat in the room, and tried to stay awake as her Uncle Ron talked about the stories he covered. She wished her uncle would cover more stories like his fellow reporter, Carl Kolchak, would cover. Those were always more interesting than some flower show, or some social event. She was initially thankful when her mother called her out of the room. She left the room, and headed over to her mother. “What did you want, Mom?”

Her mother looked a bit worried. “Yvette, Mrs. Cale just called. She wondered if Richard was here. Did he stop by?”

She shook her head, and started to worry. “He hasn’t been here. I thought he would be home by now. He usually walks up to the old museum on Friday.” She didn’t want to tell her mother that she might have gone up their with him tonight if her Uncle Ron hadn’t shown up.

The worry on her mother’s face deepen. “I hope he’s all right then. Maybe he met up with that other friend of yours, Michael.” The thought did cross her mind, but she doubted it. Outside of school, Michael was usually with the others, who thought she and Richard were ‘spooky’.

She then remembered something for a moment. She had thought she heard a bell toll earlier. The sound seemed faint, but irregular. She looked at her mother and said, “Mom, I might have the number of one of Michael’s friends. Let me check in my room.”

When her mother nodded, she ran up the steps, and went right to her room window. The window of her room looked right at the clock tower of the old Windlenot museum. She had even shown Richard the view once. However, this time, the view was different. She never remembered the clock changing once, but now it had changed. Instead of reading 12:00, it read 5:30. It was then she realized that Richard wasn’t home, but might be in the museum. However, the big question was how he ended up in there.

Before she went down, she stopped. How could she be sure Richard had ended up in the museum. No one had ever entered the museum before. She thought about it for a moment, and decided to hope for the best. She then grabbed the number of one of Michael’s friends, a girl named Paige, and hoped she could tell her that they knew where Richard was.