The Shattered Gates by Ginn Hale

beneath his feet was too real. It just would have been so much easier for him to accept if it were a dream. He might be able to enjoy himself, instead of feeling slightly sick and stupid.
    He heard Laurie trudging up the incline, talking.
    “See, what did I tell you? It’s freakier in the daylight.”
    John glanced back to see Laurie and Bill picking their way between the shattered stones.
    “Yeah,” Bill said. “It seems kind of screwed up to see the same thing when you’re tripping and when you’re sober. These rocks are huge.”
    “So what is it?” Laurie asked John.
    “I don’t know.” John gazed down at the keyhole again. His hand closed around the key.
    Bill crouched down beside him. “Well, what do you think it is?”
    “I told you, I don’t know.”
    Laurie sat down on the other side of him. She leaned over the stone’s etched surface. “You know, that kind of looks like a keyhole.”
    “Yeah, it does.” Bill leaned forward as well. “That’s kind of cool and kind of creepy.”
     “Do you have any more Sugar Babies?” Laurie asked Bill. He dug through his pockets, then shook his head.
    “You ate them all?” Laurie asked. “You had, like, ten packs.”
    “I left them back in the jeep.” Bill squatted down and then lay back against the ground. “Man, the sky looks beautiful today. Calling in to work was definitely the right thing to do. You just shouldn’t have to work when it’s this nice out.”
    “We should camp out tonight.” Laurie smiled and leaned back on her arms beside him.
    Neither of them were rational thinkers, John realized, so they couldn’t be as shaken as he was by the sight of these stones. Both Laurie and Bill believed freely in a multitude of ludicrous and fantastic things. It made them unfazed by the outright impossible. After all, huge, inscribed monoliths appearing from nowhere weren’t all that exotic if you already accepted the idea of angels from other planets manifesting as household pets and leading the way to a higher spiritual resonance. If that was the reality you lived in, then this was an almost pedestrian occurrence.
    Still, all of Laurie and Bill’s other beliefs were just that—faith without evidence. Their cat had never actually floated through the house telling them to resonate. But these stones were solid. Very real. And John noted that neither Bill nor Laurie had touched the yellow stones either.
    “So, what do you think it is?” Laurie asked him again.
    “I really don’t know.” John stared at the circle of moons. It was a common symbol. But was it just coincidence that the identical design appeared on the envelope of Kyle’s letter? It probably fell well within the realm of probability. The key almost felt like it was burning in John’s hand.
    “Yeah, but what’s your theory?” Laurie flicked a bug away from her face.
    “I don’t have one,” John answered. He wished he could just think quietly for a few minutes. If he could just get a feeling for all of this, he might be able to figure his way through it.
    “Could it have been buried, and some kind of earthquake pushed it up?” Laurie looked slightly distressed.
    “No. That would have pushed everything above it up and out of the way. The marble wouldn’t have passed straight through the wolf rock.” John nodded his head in the direction of the granite outcropping.
    “Jesus!” Bill suddenly sat upright. “I didn’t notice that last night.”
    “Oh, poor Wolfy!” Laurie lifted her hands to her mouth reflexively. “It looks like it’s been speared.”
     John opened his hand just a little and studied the key. It was dull gold and warm against his palm. A moon marked one side. He turned it over. Tiny lines of flowing script etched the other side. He had to find out if it fit. If it didn’t, then he’d feel stupid and gullible for a few days and if it did… He didn’t know what then. But at least he had to try it.
    Laurie glanced over to him.
    “What do you have