by Tara Ellis
“There are twenty elders on the council,” Zurtish explains. “The five of us here are convinced that RA needs to be removed, something that has never before happened in our history. Unfortunately, most of the council are a part of RA’s new religious order, which believes we are our own gods and therefore should not be bound by the constraints and order that our forefathers put in place for us. Since leaving Earth, RA has been declaring that its demise upon our return is proof of his power. When word of your existence made it to the elders, he then proclaimed that this was the opportunity to finally break free from the last of the ties from our past. He plans to not only defeat you and make you submit to his power but to take your mutated DNA and have our scientists use it to cure our race of its infertility. I fear that he has gone mad and not only will he lead our people into another civil war, but will ultimately cause its complete destruction.”
An older looking Nephilim sitting to the right of Zurtish leans forward eagerly on the exotic table. “Law dictates that if a ruler is challenged by an elder in a matter of epic significance, and found to be in the right, then he will rightfully take the ruler’s position. In the past, this has helped curb inappropriate behavior.”
“But we failed Nator,” Zurtish continues. “We should have stood in his favor when he challenged RA so long ago. But we were a young and foolish council, easily swayed by our charismatic and power-hungry friend. However, the five of us here all agree that what has transpired since that time is proof of Nator’s rightful claim to RA’s position.
“There are a lot of supporters among the people. The stories of Nator’s bravery and acts of valor on earth during the time we were there have grown over the years until they themselves are nearly legends. The excitement has grown as we’ve gotten closer to Earth, as has the expectation of Nator’s return at the hand of the prophesized leader, to free us from RA.”
Shaking my head, I look at each of the elders. “The last time I spoke to Nator, he seemed extremely content to stay where he was.” I don’t want to seem too negative, but Benuk must have already told them that it was going to take a lot to persuade Nator to have anything to do with them.
“Which is why we need you to come back with me to the biodome,” Benuk says, reaching out to pull the scrolls across the smooth surface of the table. “When he hears what has happened, and sees your DNA, as well as reads the Scrolls of Life, he will no longer be able to deny his destiny.”
“So what does it say in these papers that makes them so important?” I ask, looking at the hieroglyphs.
“Oh! We have not read them,” Zurtish says in alarm. “That is not allowed. Only the ruler has the right to read the scrolls.”
“So you’re telling me that you don’t even know what’s in them?” I ask, exasperated.
“We have faith that what is meant to be, will be,” the older elder says.
I look at the Nephilim sitting next to Zurtish for a moment, wondering at the surety in his voice. His poise and demeanor remind me of another man, a chief on earth from long ago who had the same faith, and whose words reached out across time on more than one occasion, to help guide me. We have faith. Three small words, but when believed by many, is enough to move mountains.
Reaching out, I respectfully gather up the precious relics and then stand to face the aliens that really aren’t so alien after all. “How do I get off this ship?”
THIRTY NINE
So it turns out that getting off the ship isn’t quite as easy as we hoped. In spite of Benuk’s accuracy in leading me to the secret meeting, he’s never actually been on Nibiru before. This becomes apparent when we end up at the same intersection three times before finally making our way to the ‘transporter’ room, or whatever the heck they call the thing.
Upon entering, we encounter the expected guard. Although he’s much larger than we are, it doesn’t take much to subdue him. Our training and fighting abilities far exceed his. I almost feel sorry for him as we tie the pretty gold sash around his mouth.
Approaching the massive crystal, I hesitate just a little in anticipation of the burning pain I know it’s going to cause. “What should I do with these?” I ask Benuk, holding the scrolls out to him. I need my hands free to place on the rock’s surface.
Acting quickly, he removes his shirt and makes a sort of sack out of it by placing the scrolls in the middle and tying the arms around it. He then slips this onto his shoulder. I can’t recall ever seeing Benuk without some sort of shirt on, at least a tank. I need to remember to talk to him about whatever workout regime he follows because the guy has an eight-pack I would die for.
Pulling my eyes back to his face, I see he’s blushing slightly. I’m glad my cousin really is on our side.
“Let’s do this!” I exclaim, and we both step forward and position our hands onto the well-worn device.
Nothing happens.
I’ve squeezed my eyes shut in expectation of a blinding light, and when it doesn’t come, I peek out cautiously. Benuk is looking around, confused, and then back at the crystal.
“It must be locked or something,” he says in frustration.
“Locked? What do you mean, locked? Didn’t the elders say anything about that?”
Shaking his head, Benuk starts looking around the room, but neither of us can find anything that looks like a control panel. We’re running out of time.
“You stay here,” he finally says. “I’ll have to go back and try to find Zurtish. Maybe he’ll know what to do.”
The thought of Benuk leaving to hopefully locate the elder doesn’t sound like a very good idea.
“Follow the vulture, Alex …”
I’m so startled by the familiar, whispered words, that I look frantically around the room for its source before realizing I won’t find it. Taking several slow breaths, I wonder why my dad would suddenly choose now to speak to me again. Or maybe I’m finally losing my mind.
Okay, Alex, I tell myself, think. When this all first started, the vulture was symbolic for the glyphs that dad left as clues for me. Hieroglyphs. Staring back at the radiant, orange rock, I’m drawn to the hieroglyphs around its edge, the only thing that’s different from the other, similar devices that I’ve seen.
“Wait!” I call out to Benuk before he gets through the door. As he turns back with eyebrows raised, I pull the old script from my back pocket, the one Grandma Mubarak gave to Jake when she first reached us.
Shaking it open, I hold it out to Benuk. “You said before that these symbols are numbers. Don’t they match the ones carved onto this?” I ask, gesturing back at the transporter.
“You’re right!” He urgently approaches the crystal. Spreading the cloth like paper, he finds the matching hieroglyphs and then touches them in the same order that they are written down.
The room immediately becomes brighter and I pick up on a faint hum I didn’t notice before. Grabbing the ancient paper that I now know is an access code, I put my hands out and this time I’m rewarded with the expected searing pain.
It feels like it goes on for minutes, but in reality, I know it’s not any longer than five or ten seconds before the light fades and I’m standing back in the now-dark woods.
Before I finish rubbing my eyes and shaking my hands, I hear the distinct sounds of numerous weapons being racked. Looking up in alarm, I see that Benuk and I are surrounded by nearly a dozen of our own men and women. They don’t look happy.
Chris is standing directly in front of me, and I watch in disbelief as he aims his rifle at Benuk and prepares to fire. There’s no doubt by now they’ve determined that Benuk not only used Jake to contact the ship but arranged this decoy battle in order to kidnap me. They will have labeled him a traitor and won’t hesitate to kill him.
I react instinctively, doing the only thing sure to save Benuk’s life. Breaking a promise I always intended to keep, I reach out and envelop Chris’s mind. He still bears the trigger that allows me to control him but I’ve carefully refrained from ever doing it again. Until now.
The difference between his consciousness and that of a Shriner is shocking, and I gasp at the raw, uninhibited emotions that wash from him and through me. I’ve become very good at delving into the psyche of another’s brain, and I don’t have the time to weigh the consequences of doing it to Chris.
Maneuvering my way to the part that controls his actions, I latch on and force him to lower the weapon. This all happens in the span of a second. As I compel him to take a step backward and then raise a hand to call off the rest of the troops, his features twist into a mask of rage.
Raising my own hands, I step toward him and try to reason with him, while at the same time withdrawing my psychic link. “It’s not what you think!” I yell, trying to get through to him. “Benuk is still with us. He did it to help us.”
Free of my control, he comes at me, throwing the rifle at my feet. Before I can react, he grabs me roughly by my bare shoulders and propels me back until I slam against a nearby tree. “Don’t you ever do that again!” he snarls, close to my face. “You have no right! I’m not one of your filthy Shiners, so stay the hell out of my head!”
Stunned at his reaction, I let him manhandle me. I could have easily broken away from his attack, but in a way, I don’t blame him. Benuk and Seth come into view behind him and I put out a hand to stop their interference.
Focusing on Chris’s face, still hovering close to my own, I look into his dark brown eyes, and question how we ever got to this point. We’ve both done what we have to do in order to survive. But at what cost?
Bringing my outstretched hand back to touch his cheek in a gesture we shared many times before, he flinches away from me. “I’m sorry,” is all I can manage to whisper, knowing there is nothing I can say that will ever make up for what he sees as an extreme violation of trust and privacy.
“I need help moving the crystal from the ley line,” Benuk states loudly, “or else RA’s men will be able to come after us.” The rest of the soldiers are looking at each other awkwardly, with their rifles lowered, unsure of how to proceed.
Pushing off of me, Chris turns away, and I know without a doubt that it will take a lot of work to salvage our friendship. He picks his rifle back up and barks out orders to several of the largest men, and they move to help Benuk pull the sizeable rock from the ground, relieved to have something to do.
“Are you okay, Alex?” Nate asks, approaching cautiously. Kyle is behind him, still limping slightly. At least my other friends still care.
“I’ll be all right,” I answer, making a point not to rub at the marks Chris’s fingers left on my skin.
“Well, what the hell happened? Where did you go?” Kyle questions, ignoring the call for more help from the guys struggling with the stone.
“Why don’t we make sure this scene is secure first,” Seth interjects, coming up behind me. “Before we start the hundred questions game.” Agreeing reluctantly, my friends make themselves useful and I turn thankfully to Seth.
“Don’t let it get to you, Alex. It’s a pride thing,” he offers, referring to Chris.
Nodding silently, I kneel down to greet Baxter, who just ran up to me. It’s a good thing he wasn’t here a moment ago. I’m not sure how he would have reacted. Sensing my emotions, he licks my face enthusiastically.
“Okay, okay!” I exclaim, trying to push him away. “I’m smiling now, see? Enough of the slobber.” Content, he sits back on his haunches and grins a big, doggy grin.
“You did what you had to Alex,” Seth presses, not as easily swayed as my furry friend.
“I know, Seth,” I sigh, standing and wiping at my now damp face. “It’s okay.” We both know it really isn’t, but it won’t do anyone any good to acknowledge it.
Steeling myself, I step forward to join the activity. Stopping Chris was just the first hurdle. We still have to get back to the base and convince Zane to go along with our plan. And then we have to convince Nator.
I take the scrolls that Benuk set them down when we returned and look up at the starry sky. Staring into its vastness has always helped put things into perspective for me but tonight, I feel instead like I’m the one being watched.
FORTY
The camp was already mobilized in our absence, so we’re able to double-time it back to the base. It still takes us nearly twelve hours and we roll through the main gates at dinner time later that same day.
Chris has been in communication with Zane throughout all of it, so we’re greeted by not only him and his entourage of generals but also my mom and an apprehensive Jacob. We all go straight to debriefing, but along the way, I focus all of my attention on reassuring Jacob that he didn’t do anything wrong. I guess he realized his mistake immediately after hearing about the crystal and our disappearance. He went straight to Zane to confess and they’ve been able to determine that Benuk’s message was definitely directed off-planet.
Everyone assumed the worse, so it was a shock when they got word that I had returned, safe. Of course, I told Chris and the others what happened on Nibiru on the way back. But none of it was relayed over the radio. Even encoded, the information is too valuable to take the chance of it being intercepted and deciphered.
As we pile once more into the large and welcoming meeting room, everyone is eager to listen to my report. Although this is considered a military debriefing, Mom is allowed to join us, but I don’t see Lisa or Cindy here. I’ve talked with Cindy and Natalie while visiting Missy, but, other than the times Lisa checked in on me while I was a patient at the hospital, I haven’t spoken to her much in the past six months. This thought causes me to seek out Chris, and I wonder how much he’s seen his mom. I immediately regret it.
Chris is sitting in between Nate and Kyle, across the table from me. Although the three of them are talking, he’s looking in my direction. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, or maybe guilt, but he looks like someone who’s expecting an attack and is prepared to try to get out of the way. Like the abused child who flinches when their parent raises a hand.
I’m relieved when Zane calls everyone to order. After a brief rundown, gives me the floor. I do my best to describe everything that happened in as much detail as possible, with Benuk contributing wherever necessary. There’s an eruption of questions when I finish, and I really can’t answer many of them. I finally just raise my hands in defeat and then motion for Benuk to hand me the scrolls.
Setting them down on the table, I turn to Zane. “I have to take these to Nator. I know you might see the trip and everything as an unnecessary risk, but really, what have we got to lose? If the pyramids are as close to being done as RA says they are, then we really have lost the bigger battle. Once those get going, it’s only a matter of time before the destruction they cause is irreversible.”
“I agree with you.”
Zane’s response is so unexpected that I start to give him my next argument before realizing I’d already won. “What?” I ask, needing to hear him say it again.
“We already got confirmation two days ago about the pyramids,” he explains. “But that isn’t why you need to see Nator. I think you’re forgetting, Alex, that the real war is still about what matters most: humanity.” He waves at a guard posted by the door, who responds to Zane’s gesture by stepping outside and then quickly reappearing with Professor Hassan. There are some rumbles of protest, but Zane quickly shuts them down and then has the professor join me at the front of the room. “Professor Hassan made a breakthrough in the last couple of days. I think it best if he describes the details.”
Happy to hand the spotlight over, I sit down and wait for the professor to explain what’s going on.
“Before you all left a couple of weeks ago, Benuk was kind enough to supply me with some of his blood. I needed it to test a hypothesis of mine. I will spare you the technical data, but essentially, since this virus was manufactured using components of Nephilim DNA, it is necessary for me to have a clean source of it in order to create a cure.
“However,” he continues, looking at
Benuk. “Benuk is only half Nephilim as is Seth’s father, Nossor. While I have gotten closer to our goal, I will not be able to attain it without a pure sample. I need the blood of a Nephilim,” he concludes, looking now at me. Apparently finished, he makes his way toward an empty seat next to Mom. While he sounded like the professor when talking, his lack of rambling is yet another indicator that his personality is altered.
Baxter has been watching him closely since he entered the room and now whines slightly as he approaches. He hasn’t been with me to see the professor since we got back from the rescue mission, and I won’t force him. I know it’s hard for him to be near loved ones who are infected. Seeming to notice Baxter for the first time, the professor pauses and then slowly kneels down in front of him. He’s put on some weight since he’s been with us but is still frail.
“Baxter, my old friend. It is good to see you.” I study the professor’s face as Baxter noses forward and then finally allows his first owner to pet him. I notice a distinct change come over the professor. Is it possible he’s still in there?
Standing again, he turns to my mom. “Katie. I regret that the last time we met, it was at Adam’s funeral.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Susan,” she responds. The lack of reaction on the professor’s part to the remark about his wife dampens my hopes, but I’m still excited at the prospect of being close to a cure.
“So you want us to get a blood sample from Nator?” I ask Zane when it’s obvious the professor is done speaking.
“Well, shit, if we’d known that a day ago, they could have just gotten some from those elder guys,” Kyle states. He’s right. I’m sure Zurtish would have been more than happy to help us.
“Going back to the ship after what just happened isn’t an option,” Nate points out. “RA will make sure nobody gets on or off Nibiru without his permission.”
“Thanks for the explanation, Captain Obvious,” Kyle retorts. “That was my whole point.”