“And with Lucifer’s help, the angels imparted the spell of Shurabi into invisible Hebrew words they inscribed on the pages of this strong book, thereby transferring the spell to the book,” Professor Goldenberg said.
“How did you come about the second book?” Aiden demanded.
“After the first book was made, the Sikama’s Inner Circle realized that Constantine was not our main problem, because the Romans knew how to kill off their emperors.” Professor Goldenberg paused for effect. “And even if we removed this emperor, who knew the kind of person the next emperor would be? This meant that our people might never be set free from the tyranny of Rome.”
“And even if we were finally free of Rome, who knew the kind of barbaric kingdom that would rise up to subdue us again?” Mariah continued.
“Hence the thirteen original Bookbinders who formed the Cult or Inner Circle of the Sikama decided to ask the Booklords for something that would guarantee a better Jewish future as well,” Benjamin Haddad said. “The angels had to turn again to Satan for help and this supreme demon leader imparted a second hellish spell of Shurabi, which could show the future, on a second book.”
“The devil told the Sicarii Kabbalah Masada that both books could be merged after a third and final ritual. He also said that the wielder of the third book would be able to control his or her destiny,” Mariah narrated.
“This made us forget Emperor Constantine as we mobilized all our resources towards obtaining the third book within a given time frame,” Ben Haddad murmured. “Unfortunately, our angelic helpers fell from heaven after Yahweh discovered their betrayal around this time. They decided to get back the books from us and return it to God.
“But Satan, seeing that the Booklords could no longer help him destroy heaven, decided to prevent these former co-conspirators of his from getting the book by unleashing the Wind of Hell, which we all know as the Fire and Ice of Masada, on the ancient scrolls in order to protect them until we could conclude the ritual for the third book.”
“In a way, Satan was helping your people?” Aiden wanted to know.
“So it seemed,” Mariah agreed. “However, before we could organize the third ritual, the Booklords increased the frequency of their attacks on the Mine.”
“Twelve of the Bookbinders except Jehoash and I decided to flee into the future after fearing for their lives,” Ben Haddad continued from where his junior colleague had stopped. “Jehoash agreed not to reveal the twelve’s whereabouts to the Sikama if the twelve agreed not to take the white book into the future with them. He had a hard time convincing the Sikama that the Romans were to blame for the disappearance of the twelve.”
“So how did they escape then?” Jeremy wondered.
“They divided a leaf from the white book amongst themselves,” Mariah replied. “You met some of them during your journey up to this point,” she told Rachel.
Rachel felt sad. “I-I guess so.”
“I tried to convince Jehoash to destroy the books owing to the danger surrounding us during this time, but he refused,” Benjamin Haddad said. “If only he had listened to me.”
“I don’t believe you, Uncle Ben,” Rachel snapped, chin up.
“He’s saying the truth, dear.” Mariah put her hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “We would never lie to you.”
Benjamin Haddad smiled at Rachel. “Of course, I would never do that to you, my dear.” His smile became a frown. “Satan was about to reveal more steps for the ritual to your father when the Booklords attacked the Mine the same time that Emperor Constantine’s army broke into the old quarry, my dear. Your father just had time to send you, his only child, into the future with the white book before the Gray Ones killed him and the Romans captured his wife and the remaining Sikama members along with the black book.”
“So, leaving Emperor Constantine out of the picture was a grave mistake,” Kimberley concluded and the old scientist nodded.
“He proved to be our undoing.”
“What we should do next is a puzzling question that remains?” Aiden pointed out.
“Like I told you guys, the other book is still here on Earth,” Mariah said, glancing at her fellow Bookbinder. “Now, we have someone who knows how to retrieve it for the sake of our cause.”
“You’re talking of the two theories concerning the hidden Hebrew words in the white book?” Kimberley began.
“Well…eh, not exactly,” Mariah stammered.
“The black book is still on Earth,” Mr. Haddad said. “Whoever told you otherwise lied to you.”
“So, you believe the Second Theory is wrong, Uncle Ben?” Rachel asked him.
Benjamin Haddad nodded. “Yes,” he said. “We just need to rest now and make history tomorrow.”
“Sadly, not for us,” Kimberley let out.
“What do you mean by that?” Mariah asked her.
The Portwood sergeant looked away. “We’ve risked our lives enough for this cause of yours, Mariah. I think we should be leaving the scene at this point, no matter which theory is correct.”
Aiden looked up. “Are we going home, Kim?”
“Yes,” Kimberley told him, taking his hand. “I think we’re done here.”
“And what of Rachel?” Aiden began.
“She will stay with us,” Ben Haddad said. “So should you two...for a short time?”
“Not happening,” Kimberley said. “We’ve done our part, Rachel. Now, you need to let us go back to Portwood.”
“Come, my friends,” Jeremy began. “No need for that now. We’ve won, remember? Stay as our guest for just two days, okay?”
Kimberley rolled her eyes. “Rachel?”
“I-I think I should stay,” the little girl said, staring at the people cleaning the lab. “Father would want me to remain, because it’s the right thing to do.”
Aiden looked lost. “I-I don’t know if I should stay,” he said. “I do want to go home, but I don’t have anywhere to go to.”
“You’ll stay with me,” Kimberley told him. “That’s settled already.”
“We still need you, buddy,” Mariah told Aiden. “Remember we still have to find the black book and perform the ritual. Who knows what other surprises you could spring for us?”
“Yes, Avigdor,” Ben Haddad agreed. “We cannot afford to lose you now.”
Kimberley noticed Aiden looking at Rachel. She knew what that meant. “We’ll stay not more than a week under one condition,” she said.
Aiden brightened. “Thank you, Kim. Oh, thanks.”
Ben Haddad grinned. “And what’s the condition, if I may ask?”
Kimberley smiled. “That we spend time with Rachel?”
“No problem,” the old man said. “I will make arrangements for your quarters immediately.”
“We’ll be staying with Jeremy,” Kimberley told Mariah. “So, no need to make space for us. We’ll pay you guys a visit tomorrow.”
“I’ll miss you, Kim,” Rachel said. “I feel it already.”
“I’m still here,” Kimberley chuckled, hugging the strange little girl whose presence on a lonely icy road one snowy day had started everything.
“I’m still sorry about Jim,” Rachel told her. “I-I still feel all those deaths were my fault.”
“Don’t be,” Kimberley soothed. “Yes, I lost Jim hours after finding you that fateful day, but I must admit that I’ve been grieving well for some time now. This spooky adventure finally coming to an end in the best of ways have helped me to remove my thoughts from my personal tragedy. More so, I’ll soon be back home rebuilding my life with those friends of mine still alive and that is more than any average person could ask for.” She turned to Aiden and took his hands.
“Kim, c’mon,” Aiden protested. “Please, don’t cry.”
“Aiden, I must ask for your forgiveness,” Kimberley whispered between tearful sighs. “Please forgive me, I beg you. I-I didn’t know what came over me back in Brazil. I was a fool to have said all those horrible things I told you.�
�
Aiden felt overwhelmed. He hugged the sergeant before his tears choked him. “Kim, I-I don’t have a better friend,” he stumbled over. “You’ve always been my family since…since Mum died.”
This brought fresh tears to Kimberley’s eyes. Professor Goldenberg handed her a blue handkerchief and she murmured her thanks.
Jeremy stopped beside her. “Look, Kim, I know you guys have been through a lot, but we need to go now. Got some things I need to do before sleep time.”
Kimberley nodded and took Mariah’s hands. “Take good care of Rachel, Mariah. We’ll come visit. Promise.”
“Yeah, sure Kim, old friend,” the female Sikama assured. “And thanks for your help. You know I won’t be here if not for your help.”
“Time to go,” Kimberley told Aiden and left the lab. She noticed the institute’s remaining workforce commencing the removal of the bodies in the passage. Ben Haddad, also known as Baruch Goldenberg, shook her hand on her way out with Jeremy and the boy.
Rachel continued to stare at the laboratory entrance long after her friends had gone.
* * *
Benjamin Haddad turned to the little girl still staring at the entrance to his laboratory and cleared his throat. “Your room is being prepared, my dear,” he said. “Tomorrow we get down to business after you must have rested well enough.”
“It’s all happening so fast,” Rachel murmured.
“Come, my dear,” Mariah said. “I’ll spend the night with you.”
Security Officer Rewder approached the trio.
The professor turned to him. “Yes, Rewder, what is it?”
“Concerning the news we received today, sir, about the Kannibals planning to attack Bravery, we’ve strengthened the number of night sentries around the city.”
“Good, though there’s nothing to fear,” Ben Haddad said. “They can’t win a fight with us, if they can even find a way to get in first.”
A female staff stopped before him. “We’re ready, sir.”
“About time,” a smiling Mariah quipped.
“Good.” The professor turned to Rachel.
“What do you do here, Uncle Ben?”
The elderly Sikama never anticipated that question, but he had a ready reply. “The Red War affected our way of life, my dear, especially the natural process that helps us to make the bulk of our food.”
“Photosynthesis,” Rewder helped.
“Photosynthesis is very important in maintaining life on Earth, my dear,” Ben Haddad continued. “After the Red War, the dust reduced this process, causing the amount of food available for animals, as well as other organic matter on Earth to drastically reduce. Most animals vanished after this, and the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere fell to very low levels.”
“Consequently, carbon dioxide removed from our atmosphere to make carbohydrates during photosynthesis millions of years ago is now returning faster than ever,” Rewder pointed out.
“This phenomenon is already having a major implication on our climate,” Mariah chipped in.
Rachel appeared attentive. “So, how do you help the situation?”
“No need for that,” Mariah began. “We will leave this place and time very soon.”
Professor Goldenberg glared at her and turned back to Rachel. “We’re simply trying to genetically modify our common crops so that they can photosynthesize in a very limited amount of light, my dear. Now, you need to go and rest. Tomorrow, we’ll begin.”
“I can help you keep the book if it’s a burden,” Mariah suggested.
“Don’t worry, Aunt Mariah,” Rachel said. “There’s no pressure on me now that the Gray Ones have been destroyed for good. I can handle it.”
The little girl left with the female staff and Rewder went back to handling the institute’s present problem of dead bodies.
Benjamin Haddad looked at his female protégé and frowned.
Mariah sighed. “What?”
“That didn’t go well,” her master said. “You have to be careful from now on. We cannot afford to lose her trust right now. You can’t continue to make such mistakes. It will destroy everything we’ve worked for all these years.”
Mariah nodded. “I erred. Please forgive me. I won’t do that next time.”
Chapter 35: Kidnapping a Kannibal
JEREMY glanced at his fellow X5 occupants and shook his head in disbelief. What a day it had been for all of them, most especially for him. Who knew that angels and demons actually existed in real life? That unearthly powers and spiritualism really existed in Man’s world? People believed these things back in ancient times, but the major religions had disappeared a long time ago, leaving philosophers and psychologists to take their place.
The Resilience resident looked at the boy and female sergeant in the unit with him and wondered aloud, “I guess our mission was a success?”
“Kind of,” the woman said. “Though I thought a lot of things were way off today.”
“Like what?” the boy wondered.
“Well, like the fact that Mariah never hesitated when we met Benjamin Haddad.”
“I don’t get that?” Jeremy confessed.
Kimberley shook her head. The good fellow in the X5 with them would understandably be confused. “Aiden, I don’t know if I’m taking things too far here, but I think Mariah is keeping some things from us.”
“And why would she do that, Kim?” Aiden asked.
“I don’t know,” Kimberley let out. “This talk of Sikama factions fighting each other for the book, I just don’t get it.”
“The Kannibals running the Slums never talked of Ankh and Cross Sikama factions when I was there as their prisoner,” Jeremy said.
“You were their prisoner?” Aiden blinked twice.
Kimberley had her eyes fixed on Jeremy. “Wait, you had this piece of information all this time and you kept it from us?” She clenched and unclenched her fists.
“Your friend interrupted me when I wanted to tell you at my shelter,” the Resilience resident defended.
“And which friend of mine is that?”
“Mariah.”
“Has Rachel been telling us the truth, as well, Kim?” Aiden whispered. “Everything she said about me could be a lie?”
“I know,” Kimberley said. “Especially the reincarnation bit. Why don’t you have alternate memory if you’re this Avigdor guy?”
Aiden frowned. “Kim, do you think Rachel lied about me to protect me?”
Kimberley stared at the boy. “Protect you from what? Is she protecting you by saying you’re someone from the Mine?”
“I don’t know,” Aiden stammered. “I’m just…”
“Can’t understand you guys,” Jeremy cut in. “I can only contribute to this conversation if I can follow you guys?”
Kimberley turned to him. “You’re following us, aren’t you?”
“What of the Boom, Kim?” Aiden asked her. “How did we achieve it when we were in the professor’s laboratory?”
“I heard no boom back there,” Kimberley countered. “Did you?”
Aiden paused. “I don’t think I did,” he said. “So, why would the professor and Rachel lie about that?”
“Well, I think if Rachel smells something fishy, she would want to make things happen by proclaiming she knows something or someone formidable so that the suspects will come out of their shadows.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” Jeremy commended.
“But she’s putting herself in danger by doing so,” Aiden pointed out.
“Rachel can communicate with us through TelepathyG7 if she finds herself in certain situations, and I advised her to play along until she does so,” Kimberley said. “I also told her to come to a conclusion about her new hosts before thinking of handing over the white book to that professor.”
“So, you both planned this?” Aiden wondered aloud.
“No, this was Rachel’s plan. I just helped her along,” Kimberley said.
“Still lost here,” Jeremy ann
ounced.
“We even put up a tear-filled show back there to convince our friends of our blissful ignorance should they finally turn out to be frauds,” Kimberley said. Aiden coughed and she turned to him. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“I think so,” the boy lied. “Did you mean what you told me back at the lab, Kim?”
“Yes, I did,” Kimberley said without looking at him. “I am so sorry, dear.”
“Are you?” He teared up.
Kimberley turned to him. “Yes, I am,” she told him in a shaky voice. “That wasn’t a script. I meant every word with all my heart and soul. I just need your forgiveness and will continue begging for it until you do so.”
Jeremy shook his head. “Still lost here,” he repeated.
Kimberley smiled at him, trying to regain her composure. “Our next mission is to kidnap a Kannibal,” she announced.
“You out of your mind?” Jeremy began.
“Good, you understand that,” the Portwood cop chuckled. “And no, I’m not out of my mind. We need to know what’s really going on in the Slums with the Sicarii Kabbalah Masada.”
Jeremy appeared confused. “And who are they?”
“The Sikama,” Aiden whispered.
“Okay, never knew it was an acronym,” Jeremy confessed. “Why would we want to kidnap a Kannibal when you guys have actually been held at a human farm?” he wondered. “You can’t just forget everything that happened there, you know?”
“The Kannibal will help us remember since we’ve been there before,” Kimberley said. “Remember the bigger picture, Jeremy.”
“Which is?”
“We’re from the past?” Aiden pointed out.
“And Mariah kept talking about good Sikama and bad Sikama,” Jeremy tried again, ignoring him. “How am I supposed to differentiate between the two groups?”
“Very simple,” Kimberley told him. “Good Sikama don’t eat humans.”
* * *
They met that night in Professor Goldenberg’s study, a large room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves holding volumes of all shapes and sizes. The man now also known as Benjamin Haddad relaxed on a big swiveling chair behind a huge mahogany desk on which sat an advanced TelepathyG7 monitor, a traditional keyboard and several case files and hardbacks. Mariah, on the other hand, paced around the room, visibly anxious and annoyed.
The White Book Page 43