The Must-See Tomb
Author: Carew Bartley
After the dusty, scorching heat of the Via Flaminia, I looked forward to the cool silence of the tomb I had read so much about before my trip. Originally buried in a Central Italian necropolis, the tomb had been assiduously reconstructed in the basement of Rome’s National Etruscan museum, a trove of ancient art and artifacts housed in a sumptuous Renaissance palace. It was the highlight of the collection, Frommer’s Guidebook to Rome proclaimed: it must not be missed.
When I arrived at the museum, I was enthralled by the rustic yet sophisticated charm of the Etruscans, Rome’s peninsular predecessors. But as I drifted through the soaring galleries, my attention was wrested away by an unusual object amongst the ceramics and coins. It was a grave artifact unlike that of any civilization I had ever encountered: a figurine, hand molded from some pliable metal rather than ceramic or bronze. It resembled a human, but it had six arms ending in barbs rather than hands. Its skull was insect-like, with sharp mandibles and gaping eye holes. And in place of a navel, it bore a rough hewn oval of yellow quartz. I glanced at the plaque that ought to describe its origin, but there was no text, only a ghostly white swirl.
I soon found other alien creations: insect warriors armed with curved knives grinning madly through protruding fangs, insect charioteers palled by straining snakes or birds, insect priests presiding over altars strewn with animal viscera. All were inset with chunks of milky yellow quartz and labeled only with white swirls. Themes emerged: violence, submission, sacrifice; an unknown, otherworldly religion being rendered tangible.
Pulled deeper and deeper into the bowels of the museum by the sinister magnetism of these objects, I reached the entrance to a rough basement that appeared to have been carved out long ago. I hesitated at the top step, wondering for the first time how long I had been here and where the other visitors and employees had gone. But looking down, I saw a white line on the floor leading down the steps into the dim hole. I followed it into the earth.
The tomb was lit by candlelight from each corner. Shimmering streamers of metal like that comprising the figurines hung from the walls. The white line entered from the steps and spiraled like a whirlpool around a stone dais bearing a heavy knife and a large log. I drew inexorably forward, grasped the knife, and set to work. After an unknown time, I knelt before the altar that now bore an insectoid idol hacked and carved from the wood. But it was not done. His blank eyes told me what must lay on His altar. I pulled myself onto the dais in the center of the white swirl and set to work with the knife once more.
The following year’s edition of Frommer’s Guidebook to Rome made no mention of the tomb under the museum.
The Past
365tomorrows launched August 1st, 2005 with the lofty goal of providing a new story every day for a year. We’ve been on the wire ever since. Our stories are a mix of those lovingly hand crafted by a talented pool of staff writers, and select stories received by submission.
The archives are deep, feel free to dive in.
Flash Fiction
"Flash fiction is fiction with its teeth bared and its claws extended, lithe and muscular with no extra fat. It pounces in the first paragraph, and if those claws aren’t embedded in the reader by the start of the second, the story began a paragraph too soon. There is no margin for error. Every word must be essential, and if it isn’t essential, it must be eliminated."
Kathy Kachelries
Founding Member
Submissions
We're open to submissions of original Science or Speculative Fiction of 600 words or less. We are only accepting work which you previously haven't sold or given away the rights to. That means your work must not have been published elsewhere, either in print or on the web. When your story is accepted, you're giving us first electronic publication rights and non-exclusive subsequent publication rights. You retain ownership over your story. We are not a paying market.
Voices of Tomorrow
Voices of Tomorrow is the official podcast of 365tomorrows, with audio versions of many of the stories published here.
If you're interested in recording stories for Voices of Tomorrow, or for any other inquiries, please contact ssmith@365tomorrows.com