"Pedro lost his temper then, and the beating began. It did not stop until long after Jade had lost consciousness and Pedro had run out of breath..."
Alone in the world, Johnny Roberts has to face his worst fears, and overcome his greatest obstacles...
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As the old man reached the top of the pyramid, Johnny smiled kindly and held out his hand. To his dismay, the old man fell to his knees and prostrated himself. Embarrassed, Johnny hurried over, took the old man by his hand, and pulled him up back onto his feet.
He started speaking rapidly in a language foreign to Johnny. He seemed frantic with excitement, and kept touching Johnny's face and arms, as if to reassure himself that this was no dream.
By this time, other people had arrived at the top of the pyramid as well, but strangely enough, although the old man was white, the others were Indian in their features; darker skin, hair and eyes. Some bore unmistakable characteristics of a mixed race; a beard here, blue eyes there, but one young girl stood out from the crowd, with startling white skin, blonde hair and blue eyes.
Johnny wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He figured the ship could probably help, so he took the old man by the arm and led him up the ramp and inside. The old man left the rest of his people outside as he followed Johnny, completely overcome with awe. Johnny took him up to the third level and sat him down in the dining area. He gestured for him to stay where he was, and then walked over to the control interface.
Placing his hands on the controls and closing his eyes, Johnny asked the ship what to do, that he could not understand the old man, and that he did not understand his behaviour towards him. To his amazement, the ship downloaded a series of impulses into his mind at a nearly supernatural speed. It felt like he was staring at a series of lightning flashes occurring every second, or a strobe light flashing in a dark room; Johnny felt like his mind was about to burst.
After a few seconds, it stopped, and Johnny fell back in the chair with his mouth hanging open. Sweating slightly, he got up from the chair and returned to where the old man was sitting.
'What is your name, old father?' Johnny asked, surprised at his word usage. I don't talk this way! he thought.
'My name is unimportant, my Lord. I am known by my people as the Guardian. I keep the ancient secrets.' The old man held himself with a frigid dignity, yet kept his gaze averted. Johnny was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the ship had somehow taught him to speak the old man's language in a matter of seconds!
'But by what name am I to call you?' he asked again.
'You may call me servant, my Lord,' the old man replied.
Johnny paused. The old man obviously retained the memory of the blonde gods that had once occupied the ship, and had mistaken him for one of them.
Johnny leaned forward. 'I will call you the Guardian,' he said. 'My name is Johnny Roberts, and I have only recently come to have possession of this craft. It has brought me here on a quest, and if I am to solve this mystery I will need your help.'
Johnny sensed that the old man had started to thaw out slightly – even though he was still reserved and subdued – so he pressed on.
'Guardian, who are those people outside? Who is the young girl? Who are you, and how did you come to be here?'
