Immorternity - Chapter 39: The Game Called Chicken
Created | Updated Aug 12, 2023
Chapter 39 - The Game Called Chicken
After having tea, Ava decided she needed some fresh air, so she walked out into the garden and sat down with her back against the solid wooden fence.
Some hesitant clucking and squawking noises on the other side of the fence crescendoed into a eardrum-shattering racket ending in several solid thuds that shook the fence.
Little pointy yellow bits were protruding from the wood all around where Ava had been sitting.
'Oh no, not again!'
Getting up as silent as possible, she peeked over the fence to see her neighbour's suicidal chickens flailing helplessly and failing to get their beaks out of the other side of the wood, except for one that looked at her defiantly.
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Ava decided that enough was enough. She walked back into the kitchen, about to complain about ballistic poultry when she saw that Eddy and Caoilinn were about to lift a large and shiny golden chest from their newfound cellar.
'Does that look like the Ark of the Covenant?' Ava asked the world in general.
'It does, doesn't it.' Caoilinn and Eddy answered in unison.
'Jinx!'
'Counterjinx!'
'Jinx squared!'
'This whole story is going mythic, if you ask me,' Mom said in disbelief. 'Let's hope we don't get into trouble with the Church for this! We are still behind on our donations quota.'
Caoilinn shrugged 'At least I seem to have some direct connections with the Head of the Church of England, so we'll probably be safe.'
'You'll talk to the King on our behalf?' Mom asked.
'Well, as far as I know I am still Prime Minister, so yes, that is a viable option. What day is it today?'
'Good question.' Dad said. ' I haven't the faintest idea anymore, with all these happenings happening.'
They managed to haul the chest onto a solid piece of the floor. Eddy passed two long poles up from the cellar, which appeared to fit through a set of rings on each side of the chest.
As soon as they stuck in the poles, a set of winged cherubs folded up from cavities in the lid accompanied by a soft humming sound.
'Definitely Ark material,' Dad concluded 'Do you think it is safe to have a look inside?'
'According to Google, Chronicles 13 verse 7 to 11 says you'll die if you touch it, but you'll never know until you have tried it.' Eddy said. 'Go ahead Dad! It's your turn to do something weird today.'
Walking around the Ark, Dad noticed some sort of protrusion with a lot of strange marks around it. He gave it an experimental prod. It completely failed to kill him. So far so good.
The two cherubs started flapping their wings, lifting the lid up in the air, as a rather unimpressive robotic voice said 'Welcome, John William Harold Walker Pearez, Guardian of the Ark! Please enter your password or be destroyed.'
Dad frowned and then punched something into the keypad that now protruded from the inner workings of the Ark.
'The code is... Correct! Congratulations on your continued existence as a guardian!'
Dad sagged with relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Eddy was just in time to prevent the stone tablet from shattering on the ground as it was expelled from the depths of the Ark.
The cherubs gave up and dropped the lid with a mighty thud, locking it in place and then flying off with it into the night through the open kitchen door, leaving everyone in the gloom again.
'That went well,' Dad sighed.
'But how could you possibly survive that? It's not that you are some Levitic priest or something, are you?'
'Not that I am aware of it. But I must be, since I am still alive. You could have told me up front about that requirement though...'
