The White Book

by George Shadow

  “I was praying to Yahweh,” Rachel revealed. “Sadly, He didn’t help me then.”

  “Like I said, the two books are not from God,” Oxana reminded them. “No way Yahweh would have helped you.”

  “But the cross defends us,” Kimberley pointed out.

  “The symbol you call the cross will always protect against the devil and his demons,” Oxana said. “Just be yourself, Aiden.”

  “And what will that do?” Aiden wanted to know.

  “That’s the key to unlocking most of the secrets in the books,” Rachel said.

  “Okay,” Kimberley said. “Good to know you have a Bookbearer’s tutorial.”

  “That’s the much I can do, Kim,” Rachel said. “The rest is up to him.”

  The white book’s filaments sprang out from its cover and pierced all sides of the car around its flustered occupants, shattering side windows and the two windshields in its way. The car’s interior became warmer despite the frozen extensions emanating from the book.

  “That was close!” Kimberley said, eyeing an extension that had broken the front windshield.

  “Is the dome still a half moon?” Rachel wondered aloud, looking at a side window for signs of it.

  “No,” Oxana said. “The Ice of Masada has taken the car’s shape.”

  “Cool,” Aiden said. He could hold the book despite its very low temperature. “It’s getting warmer,” he said.

  “It will be warmer to you,” Rachel said, “but actually its getting colder, and anyone who holds it with you will feel the bite of this cold.”

  “That it’s colder means they’re ready to attack us,” Oxana deduced. “Hold on.”

  The strands around the artifact had frozen up to become strong extensions that could keep it suspended in the space before Aiden, so he wriggled out beside Rachel and tried to break off an extension as a weapon, to no avail. Lonely road stretched out before the car and he found himself wondering where they were going.

  A thud above signaled the beginning of the attack, but the car remained steady, eating up the miles before it. The Gray Ones appeared on both sides of the moving vehicle, floating alongside as if they wanted to make the journey with the car’s occupants. Another thud came from the roof, seconds after the first one.

  “Carl Bain,” Kimberley said, looking up.

  “He must be trying to get in,” Aiden said.

  “Sure he’s the one?” Oxana asked.

  “As sure as hell,” Kimberley replied, staring out her side window. “Here they come!”

  The demons edged closer to the vehicle on both sides of the road, until their numerical strength prevented light from penetrating into the car’s interior and the Ice of Masada gave out its characteristic bluish glow. The infernal beings formed a hollow shell around the car, blocking Oxana’s view of the road as they did so.

  “We’ll crash into something,” Rachel cried.

  “The road is a straight one to Pripyat,” Oxana said, flooring the brakes, “but I can’t drive blind from here to Pripyat.”

  “Why are you going to Pripyat?” Kimberley began.

  “You’ll know when we get there,” the nuclear physicist told her.

  “They don’t want to touch the car,” Kimberley realized, looking at the demonic shell all around them through the magical icy structure surrounding the Volga. “Like they’re scared of touching it.”

  “They should be,” Oxana said. “The Ice of Masada is stronger now, thanks to Aiden.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Aiden protested.

  Another thud on the roof. This time louder and heavier than the last two.

  “What’s he doing?” Kimberley wondered aloud.

  “Like he’s flinging something at us,” Oxana said.

  “Guess he’s throwing heavy rocks,” Kimberley said. “He’s run short of ideas.”

  “I hope he never comes up with any good ideas again,” Rachel said.

  “Time to create the boom, children,” Oxana told the two at the back.

  “What if we go deaf or something?” Kimberley warned.

  “Nothing of the sought, Kim,” Aiden assured her. “You’ll love it.”

  He touched the book, feeling its warmth rush through his body before Rachel’s hand joined his on the thick cover as she braced herself for the cold emanating from the book. A feint whistle escaped from the ancient artifact and the next instant, a jarring boom reverberated in the car, shattering the Ice of Masada and blowing away the tightly knit shell of hellish demons blocking Oxana’s view. Just as quickly, the book spewed out new strands that formed a new defense against its enemies around the car. Oxana floored the gas as a fourth thud hit the roof.

  “You guys alright?” Kimberley asked the children behind her.

  “Yeah,” Aiden said, looking at Rachel lying beside him. “Just very tired.”

  “I think the boom drains energy from its initiators, especially if they’re children,” Oxana aired. “Next time I promise to help.”

  A fifth stone hit the mysterious ice protecting the car’s rear windshield area.

  “He’s our only headache now,” Kimberley noted, drawing a cross on her left palm. “And he’ll never stop coming until he’s stopped.”

  “Shelf whatever you have in mind until we get to Pripyat.” Oxana kept her eyes on the road. “His friends will not be able to help him near the plant. We won’t even need the boom there.”

  * * *

  Carl Bain watched the car from a distance, his senses still trying to assess the damage his opponents’ new strategy had caused his masters. The gale had dispersed the Booklords, freezing many into ash and reducing him to a mere mortal. This meant he could not fly anymore. This also meant he could not attack his targets the way he had been doing with his supernatural powers. Angrily, he lifted a heavy rock from the roadside and hauled it at the car, sweating from the effort. This huge stone struck the Ice of Masada at the rear windshield area as the Volga sped away.

  The American hustler stopped a vehicle driving by and pulled out its female driver. He took control of the vehicle and went after his opponents after realizing that he had no weapons to fight with if he succeeded in stopping their car. He just hoped his powers would return as soon as possible like it did several minutes after the two kids first attacked his masters. He saw a pocketknife on the car’s dashboard and took it just in case.

  * * *

  “Someone is driving like a madman behind us,” Oxana observed from her side mirror.

  “It’s him, alright,” Kimberley said. “And I’m ready for him.”

  “How’re you gonna fight him, Kim?” Aiden asked. “We have no weapons except the Ice of Masada.”

  Kimberley smiled. “That will do.”

  “He’s not flying anymore,” Oxana noted. “Something must be wrong.”

  “Maybe he has lost his powers,” Rachel reasoned.

  “That must have happened the first time we held the book together,” Aiden said. “No wonder he didn’t show up several minutes after that.”

  “If that is the case, then we won’t need the Ice of Masada to defeat him this time,” Kimberley said. “Fasten your seat belts, kids.”

  “How come we’ve seen no cars?” Aiden asked, obeying the directive with Rachel.

  “That is because the authorities completed the city’s evacuation many days ago,” Oxana replied. “Except for the soldiers on guard in the city, we’re definitely alone here.”

  “Here he comes,” Kimberley announced.

  Oxana increased speed, but the car behind matched her speed and bumped into her rare. “Hold on tight,” she urged her passengers, steering to avoid another hit. “I can’t shake him,” she complained.

  “We’re too heavy,” Kimberley said. “The Ice of Masada is weighing down the car and reducing our speed.” Their enemy’s vehicle pulled up beside their car and she saw their headache grinning through the clean ice covering her side window. She placed her left palm on the ice in order to display the c
ross sign on it, but the human servant to the Gray Ones appeared to be laughing at her. “It’s not working,” she admitted in frustration, pulling back her hand.

  “What do we do now?” Rachel cried as she held on to Aiden’s left hand.

  “Don’t worry,” Oxana said. “We will find a way.”

  Carl Bain swerved into their car, creating a jarring sound of metal on metal. He repeated the action and Oxana tried to control the Volga. She now slammed into the other car before its driver could perform his dangerous maneuver a third time. She watched with satisfaction as the crazy fellow almost went off the road.

  The American thug caught up with the Volga once again. This time he edged ahead before leaning into the space before the other car.

  Oxana swerved away from her opponent. The Volga careened off the road and went downhill for some time before it started tumbling. It tumbled four times and pieces of the Ice of Masada broke off when it landed on its four wheels at the foot of a tree bordering a forest near the valley’s flat floor.

  Carl Bain got out of his car and looked around while listening to make sure that the road was devoid of any living soul. He started walking towards the edge of the route’s asphalt surface.

  Across the road and down below, inside the damaged Volga, Kimberley held her head with her right hand. She withdrew the blood-stained hand and felt the gash again. “Everyone alright?” she asked. “Aiden, still there?”

  “Sure, Kim,” Aiden replied

  “We’re both fine,” Rachel said beside the boy.

  “Just bumped up a bit,” Aiden said.

  “Okay.” Kimberley turned to their driver.

  “I’m okay, Kim,” Oxana said, checking her dosimeter for signs of damage.

  The Portwood police sergeant unfastened her seat belt and tried to open her door. It didn’t budge. “We need to get out now,” she said, pushing the door with her elbow. Her third try broke off part of the icy sheet covering the door before she could fling open the structure.

  “Yes, of course,” Oxana said, effortlessly opening her door since the protective ice covering it had cracks already. Aiden and Rachel got out of the damaged Volga from Rachel’s side. The boy had the white codex tucked underneath his right armpit.

  “The car’s gone,” he said, looking at the wheels of the Volga, which faced different directions. “What now?”

  “We must go on,” Oxana urged. “We’re very near our destination.”

  Up above them, their nemesis stopped at the edge of the road and peered down the valley’s slope. He cursed when he realized that the car he had run off the road was empty. Spotting its occupants making their way into the forest, he unfolded the pocketknife and hurried down the valley in pursuit.

  “Good that we had our seat belts on,” Oxana said, looking back now and then as she walked beside Kimberley and the children. “Can’t even imagine the outcome if we hadn’t put on our seat belts.”

  “Serious injury?” Aiden helped.

  Kimberley looked at the many trees covered in red leaves before them and sighed. “I don’t even know where we are,” she said.

  “We are still in the outskirts of the city,” Oxana said. “Very soon we will…”

  “Listen,” Kimberley interrupted, frowning. She turned and spotted the American hustler running down the valley. “He’s coming,” she said. “Aiden, get into the woods with Rachel and hide.”

  “What of...”

  “Just go.” Kimberley looked at Oxana. “We’ll stop him together.”

  “Okay.” The nuclear physicist picked up a stick on the ground and raised it with both hands. “I’ll do my best.” She watched Aiden run off with Rachel. “Just don’t touch anything, Aiden.”

  “Right,” Aiden agreed as he ran.

  “Get ready,” Kimberley told Oxana. “Here he comes.”

  The man they waited for stopped at the damaged Volga. “Hey, Kim,” he shouted, stepping forward a bit more cautiously. “Must we do this over and over again?”

  “Just leave us alone, Carl,” Kimberley returned. “You don’t have to be following us around, you know?” She didn’t care how the fool got to know her name.

  “You still have something that belongs to me,” the thug said. “I intend taking it back; and then there’s the little issue about the white book.”

  “I lost your tiny silver box in Germany,” Kimberley said. “As for the other problem, we can’t solve it now.”

  “Not true,” Carl Bain pointed out. He stopped before the two women, pocketknife in hand. “I saw my package with the boy here in Chernobyl.”

  “You saw something else,” Oxana said.

  “Ah, the Bookmaker,” Carl Bain began. “Count yourself lucky that my powers have refused to come back.”

  “Count yourself lucky that you’re still standing right there,” Kimberley returned.

  Carl Bain lunged at her and she side-stepped. He swung his weapon as he rushed past, dodging Oxana’s swing at the same time. The American hustler kicked the nuclear physicist when he turned around and she lost her balance. He dodged Kimberley’s intended right fist punch before drawing blood from her right flank with the pocketknife. A hard kick to the wounded area saw the Portwood sergeant crumble to the ground in pain. Oxana attacked the thug again, swinging her dry branch in wide arcs. Carl Bain avoided these vicious swings, spun round and stabbed his attacker’s side in one smooth movement. He followed this achievement by landing a blow squarely on her jaw, which sent the scientist crashing to the ground on her back.

  The human minion rushed at Kimberley, his pocket knife ready to end it all. She interlocked her legs with his, twisting to her left and causing him to lose balance. The American hustler crashed to the ground, breaking his fall with his right hand.

  “Oxana, now!” Kimberley shouted.

  Despite her wound, Oxana stood up and stepped up to land a convincing blow with her dry branch on their sole enemy’s head. The man with the pocketknife blacked out just as quickly.

  Kimberley seized his pocketknife.

  “Don’t,” Oxana said, having read her new friend’s mind.

  “Why not?” the other woman wanted to know. “He’ll keep coming for us until he kills us.”

  “Don’t kill him, I know that’s not who you are,” Oxana persuaded. “You can break his legs, though.”

  “What?”

  “That will slow him down and give us a head start.” The nuclear physicist turned and walked back to the Volga. She opened its trunk.

  “What are you doing?” Kimberley asked, untangling her legs from the unconscious man’s and standing up with some effort.

  “Getting a leg-breaker,” Oxana replied, pulling out the damaged car’s battery from its trunk.

  “And how will that do the job?” Kimberley picked up Carl Bain’s pocketknife and Oxana’s dry branch.

  “Watch and learn,” Oxana said, bringing over the battery. She knelt beside Carl Bain, turned him on his back and smashed his left knee cap with the heavy electric-generating device.

  The man on the ground sprang out of his unconsciousness screaming expletives, and Kimberley knocked him back into it with a blow from Oxana’s famous dry branch. Oxana broke his other knee cap and he woke up again, cursing everything in sight.

  Carl Bain’s two opponents towered above him as he sat on the ground in unspeakable pain. Smiling, he thought his powers were coming back. His disappointment showed when he tried to spit fire out of his hands. Nothing happened and he frowned as his smile faded away. He only felt reenergized and nothing more. For some reason he could not ascertain, his infernal powers had not returned. He looked around angrily, wondering why his masters were yet to come.

  “Looking for your friends?” Oxana asked him, spitting out blood. “They won’t come. The radiation level is way too high, and since they avoid defects and disease, they cannot come near any of us right now.”

  “That’s why you came to Pripyat?” a surprised Kimberley asked Oxana. “That’s why we’r
e risking our lives? Are you mad?”

  “No, I’m not,” Oxana replied. “You and the kids are currently getting 2 Sieverts of radiation and your bodies are no longer palatable to the Booklords. That’s a win in my opinion.”

  “And what of the long term scenario for us?” Kimberley snapped. “Did you consider that in your scientific calculations, genius?”

  "We won’t be here for long, I promise.”

  “You want us to die here?” Kimberley was visibly angry. “Is that what you want?”

  “That is not true,” Oxana said. “I needed to talk to you uninterrupted by the Booklords. That is why I chose to bring you here.”

  “Okay,” Carl Bain told the two. “Now that you’re done arguing, prepare to die.”

  “With which power, fool?” Kimberley asked him.

  “This time I’ll go for your throat,” he replied, feeling for his pocketknife on the ground.

  “Looking for this?” Kimberley asked him, displaying the weapon.

  Carl Bain tried to get up and his knee pain shot through his spine. “Curse you!” he muttered, realizing what his enemies had done. “I will heal and I will find you no matter how far you go and no matter how long you hide.”

  “Let me see you try,” Kimberley returned. “No need for words.”

  She knocked him out again.

  “Come out, children,” Oxana said, and Aiden came out with Rachel. The boy immediately went to the man on the ground.

  “What did you do to him?” he asked the women standing over the unconscious fellow.

  “No need for that now,” Kimberley said. “Let’s leave this place.”

  “We need a car,” Rachel said.

  Kimberley bent down beside Carl Bain and searched his pockets. She withdrew a bunch of keys from one of them. “We have one now,” she said.

  Chapter 20: Shurabi

  THEY got to the deserted city of Pripyat that evening. Aiden and Rachel hid under a pile of clothes on the back seat before Oxana stopped at a checkpoint. The nuclear physicist brought out her identification card for the soldiers on duty to scrutinize. The pile of clothes on the back seat got a cursory inspection from one of the soldiers through the car’s side window.