Song of Ariel: A Blue Light Thriller (Book 2) (Blue Light Series)

by Mark Edward Hall

  Ariel was still sleeping when Doug brought the visitors in. The entrance chamber was a large cavern twenty feet wide by at least thirty feet long that narrowed at the back into a smaller tunnel. The ceiling was perhaps sixteen feet tall, spotted here and there by hanging lights. There was a double stainless steel sink with an old fashioned hand pump set upon a makeshift cupboard on one wall. There were more cupboards and comfortable overstuffed chairs on the opposite wall. The visitors stood surveying their surroundings appreciatively.

  “Very nice,” Dr. Seth Randal said. “This must have taken an enormous amount of effort.”

  “You might say that,” Jennings replied.

  “I still can’t believe you never told us about this,” Laura said. It was a rhetorical comment. She now understood clearly why he hadn’t.

  Inside the air was cool and refreshing, like stepping into an air conditioned building, a relief on this, one of the hottest days of the summer. Annie greeted everyone cordially, even Nadia, which was a surprise, and a relief, to Doug. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. A large round table dominated the center of the chamber, surrounded by mismatched chairs. Doug and Annie invited everyone to take a seat and offered cold drinks. They accepted gratefully. As Annie retrieved iced tea, water and lemonade from the large, white ice box near the sink cupboard, Dr. Randal mopped his brow with a handkerchief, removed his glasses and wiped the fog from them. He had noticed a foggy mist emanating from the smaller tunnel at the back of the chamber. “Interesting,” he said, directing his comment at Jennings. “I suspect there’s ice somewhere down there?”

  “Mini glaciers,” Jennings said. “Even in summer it’s cool all the way up here on the surface. Down near the glaciers it’s always 32 °F or below.

  “Exactly,” Randal replied. “The cave’s cold zone. These types of caves are a rare but not entirely unknown phenomenon. How deep into the earth do they cut?”

  Jennings grunted out a laugh. “Deep,” he said. “My father discovered them back in the 1940s. Over the years Doug and I have explored them and done some mapping, but they’re just too vast to explore thoroughly. Obviously it was the perfect place to set up housekeeping.”

  “Yes,” Randal said. “Fresh water, air conditioning, and I would imagine even in winter there isn’t much of a temperature variance.”

  “Not much,” Jennings said.

  “So, with all of this why bother with the cabin?”

  “Easy access to the pond for resupplying. Getting up that mountain, especially in winter would have required the use of vehicles like snowmobiles, which would leave trails. Couldn’t risk it. These caverns were plan B, period. That’s why we’re here now. This is plan B. But enough of the small talk. What are you people doing here?”

  “We told the truth,” Nadia said. “We came to protect the child.”

  “What a joke,” Annie said coldly. “We’ve done fine without you. We don’t need your help.”

  Nadia glared at Annie. “When you hear what we have to say I think you’ll change your mind.”

  “You’ll never touch my child,” Annie said.

  Doug gently put a hand on Annie’s arm.

  “I don’t intend to harm Ariel,” Nadia said. “And I can assure you, this is no joke. As you are well aware, Ariel is a special child. She is being hunted, and I, along with my organization have been tasked to see that she is not harmed and that her full potential is realized.”

  Annie bristled. “And I suppose you know more about her potential than I do.”

  “We know quite a lot actually,” Nadia said. “We believe everything that’s going on in the world right now is directly linked to Ariel.”

  “Really,” Annie said. “So the weight of the world rests on my daughter’s shoulders?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  Nadia’s face flushed. “I’m saying she’s important, not just to you and to Doug, but to the entire planet. Perhaps you’ll allow me to explain.”

  “Yes, please do,” Doug said. “But first maybe you could fill us in on what’s happening out there?” He looked around the table from face to face. “We haven’t had any communication with the outside world in more than three days.”

  “It’s some sort of pandemic,” Jennings volunteered. “From what I’ve gathered, half the people in the world have died.”

  “Governments and economic markets are in chaos, and predictions are that more people will die before it’s over,” Nadia added. “Some from hunger, some from violence. Most infrastructure, communication and power plants are down, but there are protected teams, especially here in the U.S., working on getting some of it restored. Rumor is that the President and some of his cabinet survived, along with enough military and congressional leaders to reform some semblance of government.”

  “How do we know you haven’t brought this virus with you?” Annie said.

  “That’s the strange part,” Dr. Randal said. “The pandemic seems to have halted as abruptly as it began. No one knows why. Perhaps the virus mutated. Perhaps it contained a gene or a trigger that was preprogrammed to shut itself down at a specific point. There are people inside the Brotherhood working on answers.”

  “A gene? A trigger?” Eli, who had been silent and thoughtful up until now, said. “That would mean it wasn’t just some random event.”

  “We don’t think it was random,” Nadia said.

  “So it was planned?” Eli persisted. “Tell me, who took it upon themselves to kill half the people on Earth, and for what reason?”

  “We’re not sure,” Dr. Randal answered. He was gazing at the strange little man who’d asked the questions as if he was seeing him for the very first time.

  “We have some theories,” Nadia said, “but nothing concrete.”

  Doug looked at her but she averted her eyes. He continued to stare at her, willing her to meet his eyes head on. Finally, when she could bear his burning scrutiny no longer, she did, and there was something about the look of them that disturbed him. “We all deserve to hear the truth,” he said.

  Annie stepped up close to Doug and put her arm around his waist. It was a move designed to convey possession. It said ‘he’s mine, and you’ll never touch him again.’ “Yes, Ms. Zeigler,” Annie said, her voice cold, “we would all very much like to hear what you have to say.”

  Nadia looked around the room at all the staring faces. Finally she said, “All right, but at this point we only have theories.”

  “Understood,” Doug said.

  “The most common one, and this came from a fairly reliable government source, is that the virus did not originate here on Earth.”

  “No?” Laura said. “Then where did it come from?”

  “Somewhere other than Earth,” Nadia said again.

  “You mean like alien or something?”

  “Yes, I suppose that is what I mean,” Nadia said, drawing stares from everyone in the room.

  In that moment both Doug and Annie remembered what Ariel said in her sleep not long before all these people had come crashing into their lives: “They’re wrong,” Ariel said. “Everybody’s wrong. The visitors didn’t do this.”

  “I don’t think so,” Doug said.

  Nadia looked strangely at Doug. “You don’t think so what?”

  “I don’t think the virus is alien. At least it wasn’t set free by aliens.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Ariel told us . . . in her sleep,” Annie said. “She’s very intuitive. She picks things up, and sleep is when she’s most open. She’s sometimes cryptic but rarely wrong. Doug and I both trust her.”

  “What exactly did she say?” Nadia asked.

  “They’re wrong. Everybody’s wrong. The visitors didn’t do this.”

  “And you think she was referring to the virus?”

  “Don’t you? She’s never said anything like that before.”

  Jennings and Laura both looked
at Eli.

  “What?” he said.

  “Aren’t you going to tell them?” Laura said.

  “Tell them what?”

  “What you heard on the way up here.”

  “Actually, no. I wasn’t going to say a word about it. My . . . intuition is a private matter. If you think it’s important you tell them.”

  Laura sighed in exasperation. “Sometimes you’re such a pain in the ass, Eli. You’re damn right I’m going to tell them. It might be important. Okay, here goes, Eli heard Ariel dreaming when we were down on the trail. He repeated those words exactly.”

  Now all eyes turned to Eli. The little man blushed.

  “Interesting,” Dr. Randal said. “Do you often hear other people’s dreams?”

  “Sometimes. When the dreams mean something.”

  “It appears you have a gift,” Nadia said.

  Eli exhaled wearily. “I’m not sure it’s a gift. I don’t like to talk about it because people are too judgmental.” He looked over at Wolf. “Danny and I both have something a little . . . extra.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Has to do with the place we grew up,” Wolf said. “It’s a long story, and it’s not all cake and ice cream.”

  “You’ll have to tell me about it sometime,” Nadia said.

  “Yeah, maybe. If we get out of this alive.”

  “So, who are these visitors?” Laura asked Nadia.

  “That’s another story. And it too is a long one.”

  “We have time,” Jennings said. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while.”

  Nadia turned her attention back to Doug and Annie. “You know I will have to speak with Ariel.”

  “Yes, I suppose you will,” Annie said. “But there will be no interrogation. Understand? It will be under the strictest supervision.”

  “Absolutely,” Nadia agreed.

  An alarm sounded from the control room. Doug and Jennings looked at each other before jumping from their chairs and rushing back to check the monitors. They were stunned by what they saw. When they came out Nadia was on the phone talking to her security detail.

  “Don’t do anything,” she said. “Just stand by and keep an eye on them. Try not to spook them.” When she hung up she said, “You’re not going to believe this.”

  “Yes we are,” Doug said. “We saw them on the monitors. Looks like Noah’s ark out there.”

  Dr. Randal wanted to have a look so Doug took the others into the control room and showed them. It seemed every species of animal in the forest had gathered out there, hundreds, maybe thousands of them.

  “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” Randal said wide eyed. “It has to be some sort of miracle.”

  Annie came in at that moment and said, “Ariel’s waking up. Please, everyone go back to your seats at the table and I’ll bring her out.”

  Annie’s biggest worry, as was Doug’s, was how Ariel would react to all these strangers. Other than her two parents and Rick Jennings (Uncle Rick) Ariel had never met another human being.

  They needn’t have worried. When Annie brought her out Ariel’s eyes lit up at the sight of so many people.

  She went to her father first, hugging him fiercely. “I was so worried about you, Papa. I thought we might lose you.”

  “No worries, little one. I have to be here for you and Mama. You know that.”

  “Yes, I know. Please, always be here.”

  “I’ll never let you down, love.”

  Next Ariel jumped up into Jennings’ lap hugging him like there was no tomorrow. “I’ve been waiting for you, Uncle Rick. I’ve been waiting for all of you.”

  “Have you,” Jennings said. “How did you know we were coming?”

  Ariel wriggled out of Jennings’ arms and dropped to the floor. “I just knew,” she said. “Sometimes I know things.”

  “Yes, you do. That’s one of the things we love about you.”

  Ariel laughed at that, and her laughter charmed everyone. It was high and sweet and delicate, like tiny wind chimes ringing in a soft summer breeze. “Have you come to help me?”

  “Help you with what, sweetheart?”

  Ariel looked as if Jennings had just posed the most ridiculous question ever. “Help me save the world, of course.”

  “Well, sure, little one. What do you want us to do?”

  “For now just be here. We’ll figure it all out. There are some people missing, but they’ll be here soon enough. I hope.”

  “And how do you know others are coming?”

  “I made the arrangements.”

  Jennings looked at Doug and then at Annie. They both shrugged their shoulders. Jennings’ smile was so big he thought his face might break. “When did you do that?”

  “Couple of days ago.”

  “How?”

  The child smiled conspiratorially. “The same way I arranged for you to be here, of course.”

  Ariel went around the table, politely introducing herself to the guests. She took Laura’s hand first, turning it over and placing the palm against her cheek. “I like you,” she said. “You’re a good person. Uncle Rick loves you and trusts you.”

  “Yes,” Laura replied, totally charmed by this beautiful little person. “And Uncle Rick means the world to me.”

  Ariel released Laura’s hand. “I know. He means the world to me, too.”

  Next she took Nadia’s hand and held it for a long moment while Nadia introduced herself. “You’ve known my papa for a long time,” Ariel said.

  “Since we were children.”

  “I feel your pain,” Ariel said simply, releasing Nadia’s hand and moving on to Dr. Randal.

  Nadia was so moved by Ariel’s remarkable intuition that tears welled up in her eyes.

  “You’re a scientist,” she said taking Randal’s hand.

  “Yes, I am, Ariel.”

  “I like scientists,” Ariel said.

  “Good.”

  “You’re also a man of great faith.”

  Randal was fairly beaming with pleasure. “That too.”

  “Excellent,” Ariel said. “Both could come in handy.”

  When she reached Eli she leaned forward and gave the deformed little man a delicate hug, holding him for a long time. “I know you,” she said in a gentle voice. “I know what you’ve suffered and I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” Eli said. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m okay now.”

  “Yes, I feel it. Your soul is at peace. You’ve experienced a form of enlightenment. Zen Buddhism?”

  “Correct.”

  “I thought so.”

  “How do you know about such things?” Dr. Randal asked.

  “I read a lot. And I’m smart.”

  Randal was staring at Ariel as if enraptured. “But how do you know what people feel from just touching them? It’s such an amazing gift.”

  “It is not a gift,” Ariel said. “We all have the capacity to do so. We just have to open our hearts.”

  Ariel moved on to Danny Wolf. She stood before him for a long moment before reaching her small arms up and encircling them gently around his neck.

  “You’re a special one,” she said. “I know you too.”

  “How, Ariel. We’ve never met.”

  “The heart always remembers,” replied the child. “You and Eli are connected to me through something extraordinary. You have both suffered the same pain, the same loss, but through it you were cleansed.”

  “Cleansed?” Nadia said. “How were they cleansed?”

  “By something wonderful.”

  “Are you talking about religion?” Dr. Randal asked.

  “It depends on what you mean by religion.”

  “God?”

  “Religion is not God,” Ariel replied with exasperation. “We invent religions because we have minds capable of invention. We invent religions because we feel so lost and alone. But mostly we invent religions because we are trying to understand God. We believe that God exists to
serve man, but God does not belong to man. It belongs to the universe and to the countless universes out beyond this one. Everything we see and do and touch is God. It is in the wood of the trees and in the beating heart of the fish; it is in the tongue of the bleating lamb at slaughter and in the bedrock of countless worlds hurling endlessly around their burning mother stars. Everything is connected in ways no lifeform has yet to determine, or even imagine. God is in our hearts and our brains and resides deep within our souls. It is woven into the very fabric of the universe, therefore It resides within our DNA. The human quest for knowledge is to understand the origin and purpose of the universe, which is to know God. We are still asking the same questions the earliest humans on this planet asked: Who are we? Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where are we going? God has always given us a chance to know It, to transform ourselves and become one with It. Despite what is taught in churches and temples and mosques around the world we cannot know God until we know peace and compassion, the definition of true love.”

  Ariel stopped. The only sound following her speech was the slow dripping of water somewhere back in the cavern. There was not a dry eye in the room. Doug and Annie were both beaming with intense pride as tears slid down their cheeks.

  Dr. Randal finally broke the silence. “Interesting that you speak of God as an It, Ariel.”

  “God does not have a gender,” Ariel said. “It is not male or female. I speak of God as an It because humans do not possess a language capable of adequately describing God.”

  Dr. Randal fell silent. There was nothing more he could say. He understood clearly that he was in the presence of something extraordinary.

  Ariel was still standing in front of Danny Wolf. She reached her tiny hand up and stroked his cheek. “I feel music in you,” she said.

  Wolf smiled. “Do you like music?”

  “Oh yes, very much. The universe sings me to sleep every night.”

  “That’s wonderful, Ariel. I like to believe it sings to me as well.”

  “It does, Danny Wolf. Trust me. There is something very special about you. You are capable of hearing the music of the spheres. Only you bring it into you and make it your own. You turn pain and joy into song. I think you are a great composer.”