Frozen Hours

It was an accident, but the ramifications were catastrophic in what became known as those frozen hours. Alright, let me explain.  Let me start at the beginning.

I was part of a team of archaeologists on a dig near the Cradle of Civilization which was a tricky endeavor since this area has been under siege for almost forty years.  Still in the name of science, we were admitted since our team was from various countries around the globe with the intention to ferret out some deep buried secrets in this area.  We did not openly represent a hostile political agenda despite the fact three of us were from the United States universities.

We met Arash Ahmadi at the Erbil International Airport in Iraq.  Fluent in English and of a glib tongue, Arash pointed out many things on our hour drive to Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. 

“I am Dr. Roger O’Hearn from Berkeley University in California.” I introduced myself, “Team leader.” 

“Pleased to meet you, Dr. O’Hearn.” He nodded as he avoided some treacherous looking pot holes. 

The others did the same as we rolled along the highway toward Mosul.  

“Karl Staggert from Frankfurt University Germany.” He said with a thick German accent.  

“Professor William McDougal Universityof Dublin.” He said in thick Irish brogue. William and I would share a room for the night in Mosul before staking out the dig site. “This will be my fourth excavation.” 

“Welcome yet again.” Arash nodded.  The traffic was not as bad as I remember it in my first visit here, but then Iraqi forces were getting ready for an invasion of American forces after the 9/11 terrorist attack in America, but as I looked around, I noticed not much had changed since my last visit. 

“Dr. Kamau Kikuyu from University of Nairobi, Kenya.” She held out her hand, but Arash did not shake it as it took both hands on the steering wheel.  Even so, it was not considered proper etiquette to shake a woman’s hand.  

When we finally arrived at the hotel, it did not resemble the glossy photographs in the brochures, but we would only be spending one night before traveling into the field.  

“Place has all the charm of a snake.” William broke out a bottle of whiskey from his luggage.  He held it up to me.

“No thank you.” I shook my head.

“Suit yasself, mate.” He chuckled, pouring himself a dirty glassful, “Do these folks believe in cleaning?” 

He held up the glass and puckered his lips before taking a swig.

“This place has a lot of sand storms.” I opened my map with the marking of the excavation site marked in ink.

“You’re the leader of this charade, what exactly are we looking for?” He finished off his glass of whiskey.

“There are some tombs concealed in a temple about fifty feet under the sand.” I pointed to it on my map.

“Great dead people and their burial places.” He grunted.

“William, why on earth did you agree to come on this expedition in the first place?  You sound quite disgruntled.” I raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m quite grunted.  Naw dis about it.” He chuckled. “My stipend is quite generous and the department head made it quite clear that it would serve me well to tag along.  Ya see, I’ve had a few quarrels with him.  I figured a few months in the field would improve my stock.” 

One of the things I’ve always insisted on is teamwork, but it sounded like William was not interested in playing with us on the site.

There was a knock at the door.  When I opened it Dr. Shevani Kumar smiled and said, “I was wondering if I could talk to you.”

“Sure.” I nodded.

“Alone.” She glanced over at William who was finishing off his second glass of whiskey.   

“Shall we talk on the patio?” I suggested.

“That would be fine.” She nodded.

“Excuse me Dr. McDougal.” I walked into the hall with Shevani as William smacked his lips and poured himself another glass.

“There is a strange feeling I am having.” She sat down in one of the chairs on the open patio in front of our room.  A couple of military vehicles rumbled by as she bowed her head. “I have a strong foreboding about this expedition.” 

“I wish I could assure you that nothing will happen, but you know how things are during an excavation.  We have accounted for everything, though, so I do not share this feeling of dread.” I lit a cigarette and offered her one, but she shook her head.

“I know we are a superstitious lot, but I have spent a lot of time in the university to turn all of that into logical thinking.  I still have twinges of those old Hindi superstitions.  My mother was full of them and she wished to impart them on me.” She turned her head to make sure we were alone, “I have done my best not to fall into her beliefs that we are merely playthings of the gods, but there are times…” 

“What exactly have you seen?” I asked.

She sighed deeply before answering, “A clock.” 

“A clock?” I blew out some smoke.

She nodded and then met my eyes with her own black stare, “A clock that once controlled the time.  It was said if the clock stopped, time would freeze.  Granted, I have nothing to base this on, but…” 

“What did you find?” 

“Where we will be excavating there is such an instrument.” She whispered.

“A clock?  I have never heard of this.” 

“Shiva, for whom I am named, put it deep into the earth where no one was supposed to find it, but upon my departure from New Delhi, a pujari came to me to warn me of what we might find.” She kept her eyes focused on the red tablecloth.  “I must go.  I’ve said enough.” 

She walked briskly back to her room without a backwards glance.   

We left as the sun was just beginning its ascent over the horizon.  Using two vehicles with large tires that would tackle the forbidding terrain, we began to drive to our site.  The dirt roads that led us to the banks of the Tigris River was a bumpy jolting journey that took well over an hour.  Haus Kreiger had his crew setting up what would be our home for the next few months next to the banks of the river. Speaking in German, Haus told me that the soil was as hard as cement in places, but his crew had done the best they could.  

As we began to unpack the vans of all of our gear, I caught sight of Dr. Kumar who still appeared quite distressed.  I had the pleasure of reading her paper in an archaeological journal, noting how she really investigated her subject about prehistoric customs of the ancient people from India. 

A clock?  What sort of clock had she seen? 

William was already wading in the waters of our ancestors as the sun’s heat began to bake us already at midmorning.  A couple of the team joined him as he splashed around near the shore. When I looked closer to those splashing in the river, I saw Dr. Kumar had joined them.  For someone who had a disturbing premonition, she was not showing it at all. 

As the day wore on, the sun beat down on us unmercilessly, but having spent time in places far more hostile than this place, I did my best to ignore my own discomfort. 

"This heat is unbearable." William complained as we took A break under the main canopy.  Even completely sheltered from the baking sun, inside and under the canvass, the relief was minimal at best. "I had forgotten how inhospitable this place is."

"Your complaining does not make it any cooler." I quipped, but when I looked up from my charts, I saw Dr. Kumar was staring at me, appearing quite distressed. Before I could say anything, she darted from the tent. Three members of the team walked in carrying A plastic container that was placed on an empty folding table. 

"We dug near the river where it was A bit cooler." Karl said as he snapped open the container, "Not much to show."

I peered into the open container, "What is it?"

"Old bones." Dr. Kikuyu suppressed A smile.

"I can see that." I held my arms up, flabbergasted by discovery, "Remember, the artifacts are important since they offer clues as to what these people valued."

"It's all worthless if you ask me." William strutted over to the open case.

"Nobody asked you." I muttered.

He glared at me as he drank from his hip flask, "Orange juice."

"And what else?" I leered. 

"None of your business." He took another hit from the flask.

"Dr. O'Hearn, I think you better have A look at what we found." Haus came into the tent all out of breath.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I think you better have A look." He jerked his thumb toward the dig.

"Very well." I grabbed my hat and followed Haus.   

"Dr. Park found it." He led me to the four diggers.  Dr. Park was one of the men straining to extract the item from its grave.   

"Professor O'Hearn." He bowed, "We found this."

He pointed to an object that looked like A stand alone clock. My mind flashed to Dr. Kumar.  I could almost feel her staring at me.

"What do you make of it?" I asked the Korean scholar from Seoul.

"It is ticking." He pointed to the unearthed artifact.

All I could think about at that moment was the old Timex commercial, "Takes A licking and keeps on ticking."  

Dr. Kumar wore an expression of horror filled with trepidation and alarm. I walked over to speak to her.

“It is just as she said it would be.” Dr. Kumar spoke in an odd tone, her eyes wide in terror. 

“It’s alright, doctor.” I assured her.

“No, no, this clock was to remain buried and we have unearthed it.” She pointed, her voice bordering on hysteria. “Put it back.  Put it back before it is too late.” 

“It is too late, I’m afraid.” I replied as Karl and a few others pawed at the clock with delight.

“Still works.” I heard William exclaim as he bent over to look at the face of the clock.

Ancient Mesopotanians had no concept of workings of a clock like this one which I estimated was assembled in the Eighteenth Century at the latest. The gears and weights were all made with precision that the ancient civilizations simply were not capable of.

“What do you make of it, Dr. O’Hearn?” William asked as he put his hands on the wooden encasement. 

“I don’t know.” I shook my head.

“It does not fit with what we found buried with this thing.” He shrugged. 

“Do not touch it!” Dr. Kumar shrieked.

Her voice caught me by surprise that made William and me take a step back.

“It is evil.” She declared, “Let me show you.” 

She stepped forward and put her finger on the minute hand after opening the glass.  Colors swirled all around us.  Voices sounded in an explosion of a cacophony wall of sound.  The entire team stopped whatever it was they were doing and with jaws open gawked at the strange display surrounding us.

“Lawdry, it is as if the cellar door of Heaven has opened before us.” William uttered, unable to close his mouth as he stood there in complete awe.  

“It is what you are seeing.” Dr. Kumar replied in the same type of distant voice William had used, “I see Vishnu and I can see she is not happy.” 

“What does that mean?” I asked, but was not really wishing for an answer.

“We have opened the forbidden portal.” Her voice was steady.

“It was a mistake.” I shook my head as the voices above swelled into a syncopated chorus. 

“We were warned.” She said in a voice that was not her own. 

“Who am I speaking to?” I asked as the colors began to dance all around me.

“I am Kali, the first of the ten Mahavidyas, guardian of time and death.” She said, but her eyes were blank and vacant.

“What is happening, mate?” It was the first time I had seen William frightened.  When I read his resume a few months ago, I was impressed with some of the places he had gone in the name of scientific research. He reminded me of a real life Indiana Jones, but at this moment he was overcome with fear.  Dr. Park was hiding in one of our containers with the lid shut most of the way so he could peek out.  A few others had fled the area. 

“I am speaking with Kali.” I said as I watched Dr. Kumar’s eyes roll to the back of her head. “What do you wish for, Kali?” 

“I want you and your people to leave this area, never to come back.” Her voice deepened.

“Agreed.” I nodded knowing that anything less would bring the wrath of Kali, Hindu god of death.

Dr. Kumar fell to the ground.  The sky cleared and the voices ceased.

“We need to put the clock back.” I turned to William.

“Are you nuts?” He snapped.

“No, I promised.” 

“Who?” He scowled.

“Kali.” I answered.

“Do you know how powerful we will be if we control time?” William asked, putting his hands on the clock.

“It does not belong to us.” I insisted.

“The hell you say.” He opened the glass exposing the face of the clock.

“You have no idea what you will do if you touch that.” I took a step in order to prevent him from touching the inner workings.

“I will do as I want.” He put his hand on the hour hand. I reached, but he pushed me aside.  Just as his finger lit on the hour hand, I heard him scream.  When I looked up, I saw Professor William McDougal dancing in the flames that engulfed him. 

“Oh my God!” I shielded my eyes as Professor William McDougal was reduced to ashes. 

Dr. Kumar’s eyes fluttered and she sat up.  I was by her side in an instant.

“What happened?” She rubbed her eyes.

“We were visited by Kali.” I answered.

She gasped, “She is the worst of the Mahavidyas.”

“Yeah, I found that out.” I stood over the pile of ashes that was once Professor McDougal. “She focused her weather on William. This is all that’s left of him.” 

She put her hand over her mouth as she gasped, “I saw Kali in my dream.” 

“I saw her up close and personal.” I shook my head, “We are breaking camp. I do not feel safe at this site any longer.” 

“What about the clock?” She asked, finding her way to her feet.

“I’m going to put it back.” I jerked my thumb toward the river as I closed the glass encasement. “Haus, come give me a hand.” 

Haus nodded and began walking toward the clock.

“We are going to put this back where we got it.” I instructed.

“Seems a shame.” He shook his head, “But what happened here was enough to convince me.” 

He put his hands under the wooden housing.  I did the same.

“On the count of three, we will lift.” I instructed.

“Ja.” He nodded.

“One, two…” Before I could say three, the heavy housing tipped to one side before falling to the ground with a crash.

“What!?” I cried out.  It was too late.  The housing split in two, the glass shattered and the hands on the face of the clock were torn off.  I stood there looking at the wreckage.

“We have destroyed the clock.” Dr. Kumar squatted down to examine the pieces.

“What does this mean?” I asked in desperation.

“Time will be frozen.” She answered in a monotone.

“What do you mean?” I had a sinking feeling about this whole escapade.  

“Time will no longer move forward.  We have entered the frozen hours.” She explained.

“Is there nothing we can do?  Fix it?” I noticed the sky had turned a dull black. All color began to drain as we entered what Dr. Kumar, called the frozen hours. 

“Do you know how to repair this?” She asked, holding the broken pieces so I could see them.  I put my hand on the broken pieces she was holding in front of me.

So, the frozen hours have become what we know as reality.  Time neither goes forward nor does it repeat as we are now living in a permanent stalemate.  I wish I could say it doesn’t matter, but the fact is it does matter.  It matters very much.