The Final Reality (Alex Pella, #3)

by Stephen Martino

  Even so, she knew this fight foreshadowed a much more dire confrontation soon to follow.

  Chapter 18

  Chapter_18

  The room continued to rumble as the floor shook in response. Water began to trickle through walls and the potted plants hanging from the ceiling fell to the ground. A decorative stone pillar against the wall crashed down, barely missing two islanders as it tumbled.

  The whole room reverberated as shock waves continued to assault the area. Chips of stone began to crumble and fall on Alex along with the others. Fine stone grit created a fuzzy haze that was slowly engulfing the room.

  “What’s going on?” William asked. Standing up and looking all around the area, he anxiously searched for any viable means of escape.

  Other islanders in the room were just as terrified. Looking nervously towards their leader, each awaited her next command.

  “It’s Julius Windsor,” Alex replied. “He’s found us.”

  Alex shook his head in disgust. As he placed the shield over his fiancée’s head for protection, he realized that it was his fault they had been found. Jules obviously had a lock on the shield and was able to use it to determine their location. Whether it was a ploy to let him steal the shield or just a stroke of good luck for Jules that he had stolen it, Alex could not decide. However, he realized one thing: The shield was both a detriment and an advantage.

  “What do you mean he found us?” William asked. “We were under stealth. Even the fumes from the jet engine were supposed to be untraceable. How could he possibly…”

  Marissa realized the answer was above her head. “It’s the shield,” she said, trying to keep her footing. Jules must be able to track it. Unless Alex can cloak it, Jules will know our exact location as long as it’s in our possession.”

  Alex knew that cloaking the shield would not be possible at the moment. Somehow, he needed to distance himself from the rest of them so that he did not jeopardize all their lives. His friends were his family. They were with him throughout The Disease and Jules’ takeover of The New Reality. They all had risked so much and suffered just as much as a consequence. As fugitives to The New Reality, they were forced to hide from not only Jules but also from their friends and family. Sequestered for over a year, they plotted to restore their names and rescue humanity from The New Reality’s tyrannical oppression.

  While peering into his vedere contact lens, Alex watched as Jules exited an elite striker craft that had landed on one of Nan Madol’s manmade islands. Another striker craft soon accompanied it.

  It was a third ship, hovering overhead, that was causing the commotion. Sending electric shock pulses above their location, it demolished more and more of the stony island with each burst. The intensity of the blasts was great enough to obliterate the once forty foot stone structure above them and create at least another ten foot hole in the ground. With each new pulse, more destruction ensued. Alex grasped that it was a short matter of time before this entire area would be destroyed.

  “Follow me!” Orisihpa said hastily. “We will be safe in the Mukulian Hall.”

  The island natives along with Alex, William, Terzin, and Marissa followed the island leader.

  “The hallway is beyond that fallen rock!” Orisihpa shouted as the rumbling in the room grew louder and more intense.

  Climbing over a large fallen stone deterring their progress, the group splashed down on the other side and ran into the open hallway.

  Orisihpa’s agility surprised Marissa. As they followed, she commented, “Spry for such an old lady.” “Maybe it’s the mud that she drinks!” William bellowed over the noise while still attempting to get that earthy taste out of his mouth.

  The further they followed, the cooler it became and the less they could feel any sort of rumbling. There was no longer any water trickling through the floor, nor were the walls or ceiling cracking. Only a distant reverberation could be heard far off down the hall.

  Alex watched on his vedere lens the action unfolding above ground. While the pummeling continued, he noted the increasing numbers of WOGs pouring out of the ships. Nan Madol was under full assault.

  The elite striker craft overhead appeared to be changing weapons. The black satellite-dish appearing armament that had already reaped so much destruction on the island retracted into the ship’s underbelly while a more sinister cannon-like device appeared in its wake.

  The momentary cease-fire provided Alex with no relief. Realizing the arsenal of weapons aboard the ship, he knew something more destructive was in store for them.

  Alex tapped on his auricular chip, signaling to his pilot Tom their circumstances. Specifically tuned into his cerebral frequencies, Alex had specially designed this chip to translate his thoughts into words.

  As he followed Orisihpa further down the passage, the image on his lens disappeared. He blinked a few times and even tapped it to ensure that it still functioned. Additionally, the signal on his auricular chip went silent. His only hope was that Tom received his full message before it was too late.

  As Alex entered the great hall, he understood why the transmissions had been lost.

  Terzin dropped to her knees upon entering. The site was too great for her to handle. She had heard tales of this place from her mother and even great grandmother but never expected to behold its magnificence in person.

  Orisihpa proudly stood at the edge of the large circular room. It was as if the room breathed both life and vitality back into her. “Behold,” she announced, “the great Mukulian Hall.”

  Terzin marveled at its magnificence. In the center stood a large white marble pedestal with a stunning bull’s head ornately engraved at the top. Along its side were intricate scenes ranging from the mundane such as farming or fishing to the more intense scenes of man to man combat and siege warfare. Pregnant woman with bulbous bellies fluted out from the pedestal’s base, creating a ring around its perimeter.

  A massive, sparkling crystal floated above. Unlike that which she had kept watch over since her initiation as a Keeper, this massive stone dwarfed anything she had ever seen. It stood at least five feet tall and glimmered in the light. Crystals, similar to the one she had kept watch over, rotated around this central stone like planets orbiting a mother sun. There must have been at least fifty of them, each moving in harmony with the other.

  Alex felt the shield in his arms suddenly become weightless. He instinctively let go of it as a fine white light sparkled around its perimeter.

  “Do you see that?” William asked, pointing at the ceiling. “Those are the same as the constellations on the shield.”

  “I knew bringing you would prove useful,” Alex jested to his longtime friend.

  “I’ll give you useful,” William rebutted.

  Alex smirked while looking up at the ceiling. Just like the shield, the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and Ursa Major spanned from left to right. The V-shaped cluster of five stars making the bull’s head in Taurus were much larger and more brilliant above them than on the shield. Additionally, they were prominently located in the center of the ceiling.

  “What do you make of the Hyades star cluster in Taurus?” Marissa asked, also making note of the V-shaped display.

  “It represents the cradle of civilization,” Terzin explained, now standing next to them.

  Still in awe, Terzin continued to marvel at the room as she spoke. Highly polished marble formed the floors, walls, and ceiling. Along the room’s circular perimeter were twelve separate ornately engraved and intricately colored scenes with a unique emblem above each one. The chiseled emblems sparkled and glimmered in the light.

  “That is why the bull is so revered in our ancient legends,” Terzin continued explaining. “My grandmother told me on many occasions that all life sprang forth from the cradle and populated the Earth.”

  That sounds like a bunch of bull, William grumbled to himself. But out of his growing affection for Terzin, he nodded his head as if truly interested in her legend.

 
; Alex wished he could inspect the area further. But he was unsure if this room could sustain further assaults by the elite striker craft. “Orisihpa,” he asked, “is there a secure way to get out of here and back to our ship?”

  “Relax,” she responded with a smile. “We are secure enough down here, protected by the ancient power of the Marks.”

  Skeptical, Alex noted two well-lit hallways at the other end of the room. But without any of his gadgets functioning at the moment, he could only fathom their destinations.

  “Let me show you the magnificence of the Maternal Mark,” she said, gesturing to the largest crystal in the center of the room.

  Terzin gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. The first of the group, she followed Orisihpa across the floor.

  As they walked closer to the Maternal Mark, Alex felt increasingly weightless with each step. His bodily aches and pains slowly dissipated in the process. While grasping the shield, he took a deep breath as his lungs rejoiced at the incoming air.

  “I feel great,” Marissa said. “It is like these crystals are rejuvenating my entire body.”

  “Don’t touch that,” Orisihpa scolded as William attempted to poke one of the crystals floating by him.

  He quickly retracted his hand as if he had been scolded by his mother for sneaking a cookie. “You are not going to believe this,” he then blurted. “My mother—her face is in the crystal. The way I remember her from when I was a child.”

  Orisihpa smiled. “You have made a connection with this Mark. It can see what’s on your mind. Only a good and pure soul can make such a union.”

  Alex stopped walking as an image of his own mother then appeared in the crystal next to him. William’s revelation must have triggered an inner memory. Alex was struck by her beauty and once again wished she was still living. Since losing both his mother and father as a child, he never went a day without thinking about either of them.

  “Stay focused,” Marissa nudged. After having long conversations with Alex, she knew the sight of his mother could distract him. It was certainly his weak point, and she did not need for his mind to wander at this critical moment.

  The image vanished and was replaced by that of Jules Windsor. Alex clenched his teeth and continued walking, focusing on the two hallways at the other end of the room. “Thank you,” he responded to Marissa.

  The only other person Alex felt as much love for besides his mother and father was his fiancée. The bond between the two grew even stronger during their time together isolated from the world. Though Alex spent endless hours tinkering on his inventions, he always made time for her and the rest of his colleagues-in-hiding.

  As they walked closer to the Maternal Mark, an image of the Earth came into focus. Located in the center of the crystal, the three-dimensional representation became much crisper until its brilliance matched that of the Mark itself.

  Sparkling white dots blotted each continent, creating a large maze that had an interlocking triangular configuration. The majority of these dots blinked while but a small few remained solid.

  “Take a gander at South America,” William said. “Looks like half of it’s gone.”

  Terzin held back the tears. Her home and her people were all gone. The momentary feeling of bliss was lost. Not even the positive power of the crystals could negate the mounting sensation of remorse building inside her.

  As a few of the crystals floated by her, they each turned black and cloudy until they moved past her position.

  “I know you hurt,” Orisihpa consoled. “But you did the right thing by bringing the Mark home. You have saved the planet.”

  Marissa placed a comforting hand on Terzin’s shoulder. As the crystals passed by the two of them, they soon no longer darkened in Terzin’s presence.

  “The single red dot,” Alex pointed at the globe. “What does that represent?”

  Orisihpa peered closer. Never had she’d seen such a sight. “I do not know,” she admitted. “The blinking white dots represent the location of where Marks used to be located across the globe while those not blinking are the ones still maintained by an active Keeper. But the red dot?”

  “Looks like it’s somewhere in Pennsylvania,” Alex commented.

  “Philadelphia,” Marissa chimed in.

  “I think we must go investigate this spot next,” Alex said. “It may represent a problem.”

  “What about getting safely to our hideout?” William implored. “Wasn’t that the goal all along, after we acquired the shield?”

  Alex pointed to Bolivia. “Don’t you see what happened to South America? What if the same thing is about to occur in Philadelphia, or worse? Who knows what could potentially happen? The entire East Coast of the United States could be heading for a watery grave under the Atlantic if we don’t do anything about it. Think of your family, your friends.”

  William bit his lip. “Ok,” he capitulated. “You win.”

  The entire room suddenly shook with one massive thud. A few of the crystals fell to the ground and broke into countless pieces in the process.

  Orisihpa cried out, “This can’t be!” She looked up at the ceiling, pleading, “You will destroy us all!”

  A faint sight flickered into Alex’s vedere lens for a brief second. No longer on Nan Madol, Jules now stood on the Island of Pohnpei’s shore facing the manmade island situated in a lagoon adjacent to it. The immense stones once intricately stacked upon one another all lay in ruin. The entire site had been transformed to rubble.

  Alex lost sight of the image before he could examine it any further. “We have to get out of here.”

  “What’s going on?” Marissa asked.

  “Jules completely decimated the island,” Alex explained, “and there is much more to come. I caught a glimpse of it on my lens.” He turned to Orisihpa. “Where do those two hallways at the far end of the room lead?”

  “They all lead to death,” Orisihpa lamented.

  Definitely not taking one of them, William thought.

  “But do they lead out of here?” Alex insisted.

  “Yes,” Orisihpa responded. “But where will you go? If the Maternal Mark is destroyed, so will be the entire planet.”

  Chapter 19

  Chapter_19

  Jules let go of the small Achilles Shield medallion hanging from his neck. Its glow faded as Jules buttoned it behind his well-ironed starched, white shirt. Though the temperature was now almost ninety-five degrees, Jules barely had any sweat on his brow.

  “I can’t seem to find it anymore,” Jules said.

  “It’s highly unlikely that it was destroyed,” Drew concluded.

  “Agreed,” Jules said, “the location of the Achilles Shield is somehow being blocked, and the key can no longer identify its location.”

  “Do you think this is Alex’s doing?” Drew asked.

  “I sincerely doubt it,” Jules answered. “Though my sly foe is mentally equipped for just such an endeavor, I believe that we took him off guard with this attack. There must be something deep under Nan Madol that is cloaking the shield.”

  “Probably the same thing that disabled your weapons under Pumapunku,” Drew concluded.

  “Right again,” Jules noted.

  Standing on the Island of Pohnpei, they examined the decimated ruins of Nan Madol. The once towering stone edifices were now but a pile of fragmented stones—it’s architectural glory lost forever.

  WOGs surrounded Jules and Drew. Brandishing their weapons in full battle regalia, they stood alert for any sign of trouble.

  “Do you think Alex and his friends are still alive?” Drew asked. “That was an intense pummeling the island took.”

  “Surely you don’t believe that these mere stones represent the entirety of Nan Madol?” Jules scoffed. “What you see before us is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The true magnificence of the city lies far below its aboveground facade. I have no doubt that Alexander is somewhere down there hiding, plotting his next move.”

  Jules slamm
ed his hand into his fist. “Let us therefore not provide him the opportunity to make the next move.” He turned to Drew. “If you could do the honors?”

  Drew placed his hand against the auricular chip in his ear. Speaking to the striker craft hovering within eyesight above the island, he instructed, “Captain, I believe the sonic burst we used was the correct frequency.” A holographic depiction of a stone from Nan Madol appeared above his wrist along with a readout of numbers and figures around it. “However,” he said after further analyzing the schematics, “increasing the intensity of the electrostatic pulse by 24.5 percent while maintaining it at full capacity the entire time would maximize the zero-point energy effect I discovered at Pumapunku.”

  “Yes, sir,” a voice echoed in his ear.

  “On my signal,” Drew commanded, scanning the analytics once more.

  He waited a few seconds, correcting his calculations. “Start the sonic burst at twenty-five percent and escalate it to full power, increasing it at a gradual intensity over twenty seconds. At that point discharge the electrostatic charge at full capacity for ten seconds before terminating.”

  “Yes, sir,” the captain responded.

  “Three, two, one,” Drew counted down. “Now!”

  A low hum reverberated throughout the entire area. As it increased in intensity, the sound made not only the stones on Nan Madol but also the bones in Drew’s body vibrate in response. When it reached its maximal intensity, a faint visual distortion on the island let Drew know the striker craft discharged the electrostatic charge.

  The entire aboveground stony edifice of Nan Madol arose from the ground and levitated over 200 feet above sea level. Water dripped from the stones as they hung weightless in the air.

  “Good show!” Jules applauded. “This is by far much better than your prior attempt.”

  Drew agreed. Previously, the stones only levitated a mere ten feet into the air. Now, the zero-point antigravity effect was significantly stronger.