Chapter 1

It was blisteringly hot that day in August 1984 in Houston, Texas. For the red-headed teenage boy of fifteen, he had no idea why his parents had him go with the three other kids from their street to the local amusement park that day. His parents complained that he had spent the summer too busy studying and working on his projects instead of socializing.

As he walked towards the fake mountain of fiberglass at the western part of the park, his expression became even more dire. “The ride is gone,” he muttered.

Where once there had been track and vehicles, it had all been removed by the park it seemed from a distance. Even standing in the fake European village that had once hosted a jovial wizard, it was obvious that the ride was no longer there. A young boy walked by clutching some bagged gummy bears out of a candy shop that had that cartoon rabbit on the side of it now. Two years ago, the jolly wizard had been painted on the side instead.

The olive-skinned teen girl with long raven hair laughed breaking the teenage boy out of his thoughts on how much that boy had overspent on the gooey candy inside an amusement park. “We told you the Alpine Sleighs were gone, but you are so determined to always be right, Ashton.” Despite the laugh, there was no malice in her demeanor. She wore a loose green t-shirt with pink shorts.

“But it was here two years ago!” said Ashton in his blue polo and blue jeans. “Why would they get rid of the yeti in the ride? Let’s go back to that new roller coaster with the rail above the train. Wasn’t it Accelerate or something?”

Coming from beside the girl, a muscle-bound teen severely shorter than Ashton but seeming built like an ox in a green t-shirt spoke up. However, he meant every word of ridicule that was about to come out of his mouth. He sneered as he spoke which emphasized his paper-thin mustache that he was growing before the school year started. “I remember chucking a coke can at that Yeti. That was the most fun I had on that ride. We should go ride the Cyclone. That’s the best ride at this dump.”

“We already rode the Cyclone, five times, Jesse. Ashton is right that we should probably try Accelerator again,” said the teenage girl.

Ashton did not respond as he mulled on the disappointment. “I could have been reading more about the ideas from Erich von . . .”

Jesse laughed and slapped the back of Ashton. “Hear this one, Mary. Always going on about his books on UFOs and psychics, and you think he is cute.”

That caused a blush of red to appear on both Mary and Ashton when the fourth member of their group followed up in verbally talking down about Ashton. He was a bit heavier than the other three with a slight bulge at his waist. Whereas Jesse’s arms were muscle bound and clearly defined, the ebony skinned teen boy in the orange t-shirt had bulkier arms. They were not fat or muscular just bulky. His voice did not seem sure when he spoke either. “Come on Jesse, it could be Atlantis as well.”

Then he added with more malice in his voice. “You know like that old lame sci-fi show with the kids that could jump really high.”

Ashton tried to correct the other teenage on the show being about humans from another solar system that were related to the Atlanteans or the Olmecs, but it was Jesse who answered. “When you are right, you are right, Bill. Even ABC cancelled that show, and they are a baby channel with that dumb show with Tony Danza being a nanny or something. He should just be ruling that blonde white woman with just a look. Time Traveling makes your clothes white as well. Yeah, right.”

Mary spoke up to distract the other two. “Well, let’s go to the mountain anyway. Maybe there is something cool there now.”

Ashton then looked over the horizon towards the newest coaster made of steel with the inverted trains, but then suddenly Jesse smiled as he realized that Ashton longed to ride the steel inverted coaster again.

“Sister, when you are right, you are right. Let’s go to the mountain. Maybe I can chuck a can of something at someone.”

So once more, the foursome moved through the kiddie area that had cartoon characters in it which distracted from the European Village themed kid’s area. Few could even find evidence that a strange wizard had once danced around. However, when they reached the fiberglass mountain, what had once had been a ride had become instead a glorified jungle gym. A rope course and various activities including a strange round plastic circular object with an electrical field behind it filled the space where the ride had once been.

For some odd reason, Bill and Jesse drew near it like flies to a glorified bug zapper as many little kids were playing with it. Large and round, the circle probably worked with a Tesla coil behind it. It stretched from a bit above ground level and had a radius of three feet all around. Kids still were laughing and playing with the controlled lightning despite Jesse and Bill taking up a good chunk of the circle.

“Look at this great thing. Good job, Ash. You found something fun,” Jesse stated as he laughed like a child playing with the circle.

Ash just shook his head as the two giggled touching the plastic circle. Children shrugged their shoulders and avoided it after a bit since the two were hogging so much of circle. Ashton watched as they looked dejected only to run over to the rope course.

Mary tried to console him. “You know I use to have fun here as well on the sleigh ride, but you really need to get out of your house more. I know that you are trying to build a computer.”

“Do you know how Steve Jobs and Steve Woznick were able to make Apple? They created a computer in their own garage. I could be somebody as oppose to . . .” Ashton muttered off as he noticed something seemed off with the circle. For a moment, he thought that he saw stars behind the lightning.

Mary smiled at him. “You know you are better than you give yourself credit. My twin brother is going to end up hopefully joining army as oppose to becoming like our uncle. Bill will probably follow Jesse there considering those two are joined at the hip despite him being your age and so timid without Jesse, but you, Ashton, could be so much more.”

Ashton tried to smile at Mary, but the strangeness continued as sparkling stars seemed to appear and disappear repeatedly around the giant circle. Shaking his head, the strangeness disappeared and he answered Mary as he hoped that he was not acting strange to her. The teen also hoped that he wasn’t going mad.

“What I could be a General?” he joked.

Mary chuckled. “No, you just have time to be something like that Jobs guy, but I have heard that he has done things that are horrible to his own daughter.”

Ashton shook his head but the sparkling stars started to form again. “There is no proof of that.”

Mary laughed. “Yeah, I doubt that. He just can’t face the truth that he fathered that woman’s daughter. I hope that you are a better man than that.”

It seemed to be at that point that the fake electricity started to swirl next to Bill and Jesse. The new tempest of electricity did not seem to follow their hands like the rest of the giant circle. They barely noticed while still playing with the circular object by touching their hands to the plastic and watching electricity crackly next to their fingers. They never seemed notice the odd new swirling electricity.

Little kids who had wanted to play with the interactive exhibit started to back away with fear as they noticed something. A little girl in pigtails cried out screaming and running from the object. Ashton just watched in disbelief as the swirling whirlpool seemed to be growing and changing from a white color to something purple. Mary also started to worry.

“What is that?” she asked.

“It looks like a whirlpool of purple electricity is forming which shouldn’t be possible.”

Then they saw an employee run by as fast as her feet could carry her. “This isn’t normal, and I’m not sticking around to find out what it is.”

Bill and Jesse finally realized that something was happening before them. “Why is everyone running?” asked Bill.

At that moment, Jesse felt his right hand pulled into the swirling whirlpool. “What the hell!”

A force started to pull him further into the whirlpool. It had him by the elbow by the time that he had already spoken. Bill had already pulled his hand off as he somehow knew something odd had occurred. The black teenaged started looked around when he noticed his friend slipping into the pool of what appeared to be silvery liquid and purple energy at the same time.

“Ash . . . Mary, Jesse is getting pulled in,” said Bill as he tried to keep his friend Jesse on their side of the swirling portal by grabbing him.

Jesse was already half in the portal by that point. His mouth barely above the opaque liquid that did not seem to injury him.

“I’ve got one eye on the other side, and it’s incredible . . . It is full of stars . . .,” Jesse’s head engulfed cut him off from saying more.

Ashton had his arms around Bill’s waist at that point with his feet braced against the stones below. The pull was stronger than anyone would expect. He wanted to tell Mary to run off to try and possibly get that attendant who had run by.

“I’ve got you, Ashton,” said Mary.

Ashton realized that Mary had started to pull on his shoulder. He struggled to twist his neck around to her. “Mary, you have to let go and get help.”

However, by that point, the pull of the whirlpool continued to draw Jesse to point only a bit of his waist and part of his feet were still outside it. And then Bill felt fatigue. His resolve left him, and suddenly his legs gave in. Jesse was gone, and Bill followed quickly through the whirlpool of electricity and strange liquid.

Bill yelled pushing his head back before fully getting engulfed. “You better not drop me nerd!”

Ashton did everything that he could to hold him back. His muscles strained as the red headed teen continued to resist the pull. Continuing to brace his feet on the stone work below the swirling portal of strange energy and liquid, he strained his neck to look at Mary again as his pelvis absorbed most of the pain of the pull. He did not have much time.

“You need to run, Mary. I don’t know how long that I can hold those two.”

Ashton prophetic words doomed them maybe, or maybe it was just the weak concrete. The park had probably wanted the concrete to be softer for children. It started to break and crack. And before Mary had time to let go, the stone broke, and Ashton flew into the portal pulling Mary in as well.

And suddenly Mary and Ashton were in a waterslide of strange energy and black liquid. Light like stars swirled and flew around. It did not feel wet, but it seemed to be getting less fast.

And just as it had begun, Mary and Ashton suddenly felt wet and under water, and both swam toward surface.

Coming up out of the warm pool of water surrounded in a stone well, Ashton realized that wherever they were it was night time instead of the middle of the day. The crackling flames of fires wafted in the distance coming from torches around the stone well. Further out, a large jungled surrounded the stone well torches. There was buzzing insects all over the place as Ashton and Mary got out of the pool. The stone pool seemed to have been recently built, but fresh burns scoffed the stone.

There were shouts of something in an odd language from men in the far distance near part of the jungle. Getting out of the pool seemed to be the worst part for Ashton. He had worn a polo and jeans to the park. Now even his underwear was soaked.

A fist to the face pushed Ashton to the ground getting his clothes muddy as well. “You loser. You brought Mary through the whatever the hell that was. You puto!”

Bill standing there next to Jesse and just as drenched. “It was a portal. We could be on Gor. . . Hopefully.”

Jesse loomed over Ashton as he began to try to kick the other teenager. Ashton had gotten out of the way, but Jesse continued to try to punch and kick the white teen. Then they both saw in the distance a looming figure that lumbered towards them.

Mary spoke first and got between Jesse and Ashton. “Brother, we can’t fight amongst ourselves. Whatever that is coming towards us. We have no idea where we are other than a jungle. And I doubt this is some sort of ride.”

Bill then spoke up as he pointed towards something in a different direction. “I think we are in Egypt.”

Ashton quickly looked towards what Bill pointed at. Bill was wrong. The Pyramid in the far distance instead of having flat sides had layers and steps. It appeared to be Mayan. “This is the Yucatan not Egypt, Bill.”

And then turning his head, he looked at the massive looming figure walking slowly toward them. “And that’s a stone statue that’s walking.”

And for a moment, Ashton looked at the face of the looming figure, and he remembered what he had read in Chariots of the Gods. The puffed-up lips of the looming figure and almost circular facial structure. The flickering light of the torches appeared to be ancient as well.

“The Olmecs were aliens,” esthetically stated Ashton. He started to smile like someone who finally had seen what he had always dreamed of being in front of him.

“Whatever an Oman is, we need to get out of here,” stated Mary. Bill had already started to run with Jesse running closely behind him.

“Jesse, Bill, hold up. Ashton is too distracted.” said Mary. That finally got Ashton to notice that the giant loomed closer, and he took Mary by the hand.

“I am sorry that I got distracted, Mary.”

The night air felt muggy and warm also seemed to indicate that the area was humid and closer to the equator. However, following Bill and Jesse lead to the dense jungle woods where a large python appeared. Mary squealed with fear.

Ashton took a stick from the jungle floor. Quickly, the teenage boy pushed the snake away that allowed Mary’s courage to swell. Bill and Jesse had come back to see Ashton leading Mary.

During that moment, another one of the giants divided the four suddenly as it brought it’s hand down. Bill, Jesse, and Mary were on one side divided from Ashton who for a moment before he rushed off noticed that the clay was superficial. The clay had been added unevenly. These uneven patches revealed in parts a metallic skin with circuits exposed.

Sprinting off, Ashton knew that he would have to get back to the others. However, the only way to get back to the others was to run back through the jungle. And despite knowing it might be a death sentence to run through the jungle, he started to try. Being careful to avoid insects since none of the teens had antimalarial medicine.

Vines and strange animals greeted Ashton. Avoiding them another giant came behind him. And then strangely, he ran into some people from the Yucatan, but instead of being greeted by spears, they appeared to hold weaponry that he did not expect.

One held what appeared to be a long cylinder tube with what appeared to be a missile on it. Others held what appeared to be modern rifles. They shouted something in a language that Ashton had no way of knowing, but he decided to drop to the ground as the shouting continued. That is when the missile flew towards a lumbering giant along with blasting of rifles.

The missile impacted perfectly in the center sending it back as explosions rocked the metallic giant. Ashton turned his head to see the clay skin shattered revealing more of the robotic body as explosions occurred across the body. The head of the being shattered as well revealing the clay head was nothing more than a narrow triangle with what appeared to be camera eyes.

The giant fell over at that point as explosions died down. Ashton got up with a bit of dirt on his clothes. Looking around the other warriors appeared to be holding something akin to modern assault rifles and wearing fatigues, he did not notice one came behind him with what appeared to be piece of stone with a prickly mouth on it.

In an instant, Ashton fell to the ground after he had been tased.

Bill, Jesse, and Mary continued to run still in the large field. Other giants had appeared. Mary kept trying to make a point.

“We have to go and help Ashton.”

Her brother laughed. “The nerd is on his own, but . . .for the life of me, I think that he knew what was going on.”

Bill who seemed to be always on the verge of exhaustion over running looked back at Mary. “Listen to your brother, Mary . . . That damn nerd is probably dead now, and I wasn’t the first to die like every movie that I watch. That giant stone man probably already ate him like my Hawaiian Uncle Vic eats crawdads when he visits.”

Mary who was behind them shook her head. “We are just abandoning him because you are afraid.”

Jesse was about to turn to yell at his svelte sister when men with jaguar helmets caught them in a net. Jumping out of the grass, they had gone unnoticed by the three. The two warriors quickly got the three tied up as the giant walked behind them slowly now.

Speaking in a tongue that none of them knew, the three looked flustered. Jesse tried to speak to them as one of the Jaguar warriors came up behind them and pulled on the net to make it secure. The warrior then added a piece of rope to the rest of the net. Another warrior held out the rope to the giant. The stone giant gripped the rope.

Bill began to panic. “I am too young to die!”

Mary just shook her head.

Jesse tried to speak up to the warrior. “Hey dude, I know that Bill might not look it, but he is my bro. And you look like some of our distant cousins. You could be our cousin you know, bro.”

The man ignored them as he quickly bound each of their hands in separate rope as well. Shouting again in a language, he then spoke one word towards the giant in a language that he did not speak well, but it was clear the message. “Go.”

Mary continued to shake her head as the giant lifted them up by the rope connected to the net. None of the warriors seemed too concerned with the trio. However, the three continued to dangle as the giant walked through the jungle to another clearing in the distance.

The three heard an explosion in the distance that caught the attention of the trio. Jesse laughed. “Well maybe in a minute the dweeb will pop out and destroy this giant as well with secret explosion powers that no one knew that he had.”

The minute passed, but instead time continued to count. Mary sighed as she shook her head. There was no help coming.

Bill laughed. “Well at least, I won’t have to be thankful to that dweeb, but if he had, that would have been better than this sorry situation.”

The trio dangled as the giant walked across the field. It felt long and tiring. Soon the giant who held them in a net brought them to a modest podium at the far end of the field. And the trio were greeted by a smiling man in a loincloth wearing a Jaguar pelt on his right shoulder. He waved and seemed a lighter skin color rather than the other warriors. More tanned than naturally dark. He looked more like Ashton as well only with blond hair.

“Cousins welcome to the great battle against the gringos. I am so glad that its cousins that were brought here along with a friend hopefully.” He signaled others to cut them down and untie them in some other language after speaking into a strange rectangular device that he had attached to a belt. The tall strong man put out his arm as they were let down by the machine man. Oddly, Mary noticed that he appeared to have eyes like Ashton as well.

Mary looked shocked at the man’s words as she got untangled, but it was her short yet strong brother who locked his formally bound hands with the taller man that had greeted them. “You call me cousin, and talk about the fight against gringos. Where are you from?”

“I am from Los Angeles, bro. Born south of the border though. I was brought to this time by a bunch of old men who spoke of many things. Then an old gringo came and promised much. He is nothing but a lying grandfather gringo. So, I stole his stuff with my allies, and I brought them to serve what he feared most. For you see we are in the past, and we will make a better tomorrow by working together.”

Bill first responded. “Wait, so we are in the dark ages. I didn’t expect it to be this dark.”

The man laughed. “No, you just arrived in the middle of the night, friend.”

Releasing the grip, he took the obsidian blade from a belt and he released the ropes on Jesse personally. “I am called Juan Marco De Anna.”

Mary’s brother spoke up. “And I am Jesús De La Santa Cruz or Jesse.”

Her brother pointed out Bill. “And this is my good but a tad slow friend, Bill.”

He nods towards Bill. “Welcome to the struggle.” Bill just looked confused.

And then Jesse pointed at his sister. “And this is Mary, my sister.”

There was a bit of sparkle in the blue eyes of Juan. “Senorita, this is not a place for a beautiful flower, but the grand scheme will make a better world for you.”

Three giants than walked behind them. The chests of each of them seemed to open, but the one that had brought them opened fastest revealing a figure inside. The figure had a shapely feminine figure wearing a leathery uniform with a helmet. A strange device attached to her back seemed oddly humming like a small backpack. Another of them appeared to be one of the natives, but something seemed wrong with him as he fell over from pain. The feminine figure glanced over for a moment at the man in pain. Shaking her head, she lowered down with some sort of winch device from the opening in the chest.

She did not take off her helmet as she was lowered from the mechanical giant, but she spoke through an electronic voice around her neck. “Juan, you are trying to charm another woman when you can’t even charm this immortal flower. Your friend Joe still seems afraid to get out of the worker machine man.”

Juan didn’t strike the masked woman, but he continued to speak. “And the woman in the masked helmet and more mysterious air is the Lady Circe. My liaison to the Aztecs.”

With a gasp of air, the woman took off her helmet to reveal a mocha skinned woman with deeply purple eyes. Her pitch black hair was not curly but straight and long.

“Welcome you three, but I am not that mysterious as Juan tells it. I just tell tales to those who will listen and heed what I have to say.”

Mary then remembered a reading from the previous year in school. “You aren’t the same Circe who made men pigs with godlike powers.”

The woman chuckled. “I merely let out the truth, Little Mary. And no, I am not a goddess, just an old witch trying to recapture lost ages. As for those men, they were probably going to be pigs anyway.”

Juan looked at the woman after looking at the other one who had come out of the giant that continued to be in pain. “You told me that he’d survive controlling the giants.”

Circe laughed. “I said that our Aztec allies could pilot the working machine men of the Murau for an hour, but you had them in there longer. Their bodies are rejecting the adjustments that I made. However, it seems that you might have found two others with Murau blood. And that gives you five total work machine men including mine.”

Juan looked at the strange woman who claimed to be Circe. “You promised me that it wouldn’t hurt them. I gave my word to the emperor that I could get his people to control the machine men.”

“And you did, love. However, I told you that it would at best work an hour before the security measures in the machine detected the lack of Murau blood. You forced too much stress on him by having him fight in the giants for three or so hours.”

Juan looked angry, but he smiled despite it. “Can you do anything to help him?”

Circe laughed. “I told you this would happen, but then again, our allies the Aztecs were just going to sacrifice him anyway. Besides, give me a moment. There is nothing that I can do for the man.”

Circe pulled out a device from pocket as the man continued to wither in pain. “Now, I need to analyze you three. Get in a line.”

At was at that point that Mary realized that when Circe spoke, it was not coming from her voice. There was a metallic quality to it. It was coming from the base of her neck from a speaker still.

All three lined up. Jesse proudly flexed his muscles and puffed out his chest while standing. Bill stood next a bit confused. Mary just stood there slouched and frustrated at the end. Mary noticed that the strange woman pulled out a crystal while taking another moment to fiddle with a flat screen that was attached to it via a rope.

Circe smiled at Jesse as she slides the crystal across his forehead. The crystal shifted from clear to blue. She did the same thing to Bill, but the crystal turned red. She frowned, but she spoke to Bill with encouraging words.

“Not to worry, child. I think that our greatest ally has a good solution for you to help. It is a great destiny.” There was an attempt to be reassuring to Bill, but Circe seemed to be covering up something with her words as her smile turned to a frown when she turned from Bill.

At that point, Circe clinically did the same to Mary with a simple flick of the wrist, and there was a shift to blue as well.

“Well, I expected that, and you should have a bit more pride.” The witch’s smiled didn’t fade when looking at Mary.

Circe walked over to Juan. “You have two potential pilots, and our other ally has a plan for the African child. He may be the most important of the three that we have found today thanks to our enemy.”

Juan nodded and raised his hands and shouted into a device that he had attached on his belt that appeared to be a radio microphone. He spoke, and it instantly translated it into the language of the Aztecs.

The warriors raised their hands in celebration, but Mary didn’t like the strange place that she had somehow gotten stuck in. However, was it all a nightmare? And would she see Ashton again?

Ashton began to wake in a metallic and decorated room. There was a cold breeze. On a couch of some sort, he pushed up trying to remember how he had gotten here. However, the last thing that he remembered was just something butting against his head and a shock.

Then he noticed that he was wearing what appeared to be a silvery flight suit. Shaking his head, he noticed a pale skinned man sitting in a chair flanked by two darker skinned men holding the rifles in outfits like his own only colored like army jungle fatigues. The man sitting in the chair had silver-like hair with a not a hint of a beard. And he was wearing a similar outfit like his own but with a long robe covered in stars around him.

“Ah, I see that you have awakened, lad.”

“Where am I? Wait did you speak English?” asked a confusion Ashton.

The man nodded touching something in his ear. “You heard English, but it’s a device more than anything that transformed my speech to be understood by those that my eyes land on. Eventually, I pick up the language as well thanks to you and others that I have spoken to from what I assume is your time. For now, it’s great to keep a conversation between us two since the device only translates for us. I’ll probably teach the chief guard to speak a bit as well as I get more familiar with it.”

The man looked with purple eyes at Ashton. “As for the language, it is odd to hear that the language of my once pupil has shifted to a mix of Latin, Greek, and German from where you and others like you come from.”

“Pupil?” asked Ashton.

“Yes, you might know of him. I foresaw that he’d be known for a long time before his last battle where he died unfortunately.”

Ashton looked at the man. “Who are you?”

The man chuckled. “I have had many names, but I am most commonly known as Merlin.”