The Helmet of Nero

Instructions

The date was June 15, 2022. It was the perfect summer day, there was not a cloud in the sky. It was unusually perfect, I thought. The past week has been horrible, with thunderstorms and non-stop rain! It was odd. “Well”, I figured, ”Why not take advantage of this great weather and take a hike?” I began to ride my bike to the woods, but then the air started to turn muggy as if it was going to rain. I looked up, but there was still no sign of rain. Everything just seemed… off. I then noticed a huge flash of light to my left. I figured it was just thunder, but it wasn’t raining. I put it off and began to bike back home when I saw another flash of light, this time right in front of me! The sky began to darken as if the sun was already setting, even though it was only one o’clock. This started to creep me out. “If there was an eclipse today, I would have heard about it,” I quietly whispered to myself. I looked around, wondering what was going on. Then I saw something move off in the distance. Did it look like… a person? “No, it was too big to be a person, ” I thought. “I have to be hallucinating”. I traveled as fast as I could towards my house. It was running faster than I could bike! I became extremely worried as I pedaled rapidly to safety. The creature boomed, “Don’t be afraid! I need your help!”. I wondered why it would need my help. I slowed down, curious about what it needed my help with. It ran until it was about 20 feet in front of me and said, “I am Vulcan, Blacksmith of the Gods. I need your help to retrieve an ancient relic.” I asked, “What relic?”. I wondered what sort of relic I would need to retrieve. I can’t find anything on my own, let alone an ancient relic! Vulcan said that it was an easy task, and the relic was a helmet. It is located in a museum about 5 miles from where we are standing, he said. My mind could barely comprehend what was going on, so I biked back to my house. The skies started to darken as if it was about to start raining. I wondered if this had anything to do with the paranormal meeting I had just 15 minutes ago. The clouds gently began to rain, and then it turned into a downpour. I pedaled faster and faster, anticipating the warmth of my bed. I awoke and sat on my bed, trying to remember the bits and pieces of the event last night. I was hoping that it was all a dream, but I had a feeling that everything was real. I ate a nice breakfast of pancakes and toast and then raced to my room to begin searching for information about the helmet that I was asked to retrieve. I looked up “Vulcan” on Google. I read through a few pages, but all I could find was that he was the god of metalworking and fire. I pondered why he would need to retrieve a helmet. All I could think was that it was special, but nothing on the internet gave a clue to my mystery. I then searched for “Ancient Roman Helmet”, because Vulcan was a Roman god. Still, I could not find anything! I searched for museums near me because there supposedly was one close by. Even though I have been living in the same town my whole life, I never knew about a museum. Maybe he had the wrong person, I thought. I hoped this to be true, but I doubted it. I scrolled down to the bottom of the page on my computer, and there was something that stuck out to me… There was a tiny Roman museum exactly 5 miles from my house! I asked my mom if I could take a bike ride, and she said I could go as long as I was back by 3. I glanced at the clock, and it showed 12:34 pm. I figured I had plenty of time; It was a ½ hour bike ride so I would have 90 minutes there. I grabbed my bike and began the trip. The ride felt like it took hours, but I eventually made it to the museum. The windows were boarded up as if it was closed, but the door was half open. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked inside. It didn’t seem like anybody was there, which made me nervous. “Hello”, I said aloud. The light flickered for a split second, and I almost jumped. I walked down the aisle, looking at the display cases. It seemed to have legitimate relics, so I was positive I was in the right place. At the end of the aisle, I found what I was looking for; A rusty, gray helmet. “Is this really what I was sent for?”, I wondered. ⬇Next Portion Below⬇