Levels of Ascension BoxSet

by Amy Proebstel

  They got out of the car and went to the entrance. Amanda could not help but feel the door would be locked and this trip would have been a waste of time. She put her hand on the handle and pulled the door open. She waited for her mother to enter first while she held the door open.

  A reception desk was the first thing they encountered. A woman, probably the same one Amanda had spoken to earlier, sat at the desk. They walked up to her and Amanda leaned on the credenza type desk to say, “I called earlier about taking a tour of the facility.”

  “Yes, I remember. I thought you said you were coming tomorrow?” she asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

  “Change of plans,” Amanda said brightly.

  “Suit yourself. Put on these badges. Be sure to return them to my desk before five o’clock, or you will be locked in the building all night,” she answered sharply.

  “Okay,” Amanda said as she picked up the two badges and handed one to her mother. She turned and addressed her mother, “Are you ready for this?”

  “As ready as you are!” Diane answered. She could tell her daughter was nervous and possibly afraid. She clipped the badge on her shirt and followed her daughter down the long corridor.

  They stopped at an elevator and waited for it to open. Amanda was trying to decide if she wanted to investigate the basement or the fourth floor first. She was more afraid of the basement so she thought she would rather get that out of the way first. Besides, she only had one room in which to look in the basement. There were several places on the fourth floor which held her interest.

  The doors opened, and they stepped into the large enclosure. The doors closed and Amanda picked the button marked with a B. They waited for several seconds as they felt the elevator drop down the shaft and come to an abrupt stop at the bottom. The doors opened to the dark hallway, exactly as Amanda remembered it being.

  Amanda took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could go back up to the daylight. She marched down the hall until she reached the last room she remembered from this dreadful facility. When she reached the room in question, she pushed the door open and peered inside before committing herself to entering the space.

  Once she was satisfied the room was empty, she tentatively stepped inside. Most of the equipment had been removed; however, the chair to which she had been strapped was a prominent feature in the corner. She shivered with the recollection of being involuntarily strapped to the chair before having electroshock therapy administered.

  She pulled her stare away from the chair and began to methodically search the room for any clues. She opened the empty cupboards and drawers without any success. It was a relief, really, since it meant they could get out of the creepy room. She could not get over the sense of being watched the whole time they were in there.

  Diane had stood in the doorway, making sure nobody shut them in the room. She watched as Amanda searched everywhere and was glad when she was done.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Amanda said as she marched past her mother to head back to the elevator. She punched the elevator call button and was even further relieved when the doors immediately opened. Amanda stepped in first and waited for her mother to join her. She pressed the button for the fourth floor and did not breathe until the doors clunked solidly shut on the view of the basement corridor.

  She let out her breath loudly and said, “I had to get that over with first. I’m glad it’s over now.”

  “Was that room like you remembered?” Diane asked.

  “Exactly like my memory. Of course, there was more equipment, but the chair was the same,” Amanda replied and shivered again.

  “I’m sorry, Amanda. I don’t know what this is all about but seems like you had some pretty scary dreams while I was sitting with you at the hospital. If I had known, I would have tried to comfort you more.” Diane felt helpless to help her daughter through this venture.

  “It’s enough that you’re here with me now, Mom. I’m really thankful not to be doing this alone,” she said as she reached over and hugged her mom with one arm over her mother’s shoulders.

  “Me, too,” Diane agreed.

  The elevator door opened to a well-lit corridor. The two of them stepped out and looked first one direction and then the other. Amanda could see the nurse’s station and thought it was as good of a place to begin as any. She walked confidently toward the desk until a powerful force hit her and stopped her dead in her tracks.

  Diane bumped into Amanda since she had stopped so suddenly. “What is it, Amanda? What’s wrong?” She looked around them with wide eyes, anticipating danger from any direction.

  “Don’t you feel that, Mom?” Amanda whispered.

  “Feel what?” Diane demanded.

  “That power! It’s so strong! How can you not feel that, Mom?” Amanda turned her body until she was facing the direction where the pull felt the strongest. She began walking slowly to keep her senses trained on the source of the energy reaching out to her.

  Diane trailed after her daughter. She could see Amanda was concentrating intently and did not want to disturb her concentration with unnecessary questions. She smiled at herself because she knew if Chris had been there, he would have been seeking answers to a million questions and talking non-stop.

  Amanda stopped walking when she came to a patient room. She looked up and almost laughed when she saw it was room 426. The very room from her dreams. With a small push, the door slowly swung open to show the small cot still in place on the far wall and the small table next to it. She had spent so many hours sitting on that very bed. She had also relearned how to use her crystal on that last fateful day.

  Amanda took a couple of steps into the room. She turned around to say something to her mother when her attention was caught by the comic strips taped to the wall. It had been a small detail she had written about in her journal, but now it seemed important. The facility did not have any decoration whatsoever. These comics had no place on the wall. She reached up and pulled them from off of the wall.

  “What do you have there, Amanda? Is it a clue?” Diane asked as she came up beside her daughter to see what she had found. “Comics?” she asked with a puzzled expression. She looked back at where they had been taped to the wall and gasped out loud. She pointed to the hole in the wall, but could not manage to say a single word.

  Amanda looked over to where her mother was pointing and could not believe what she was seeing. Inside the wall was one of the missing samaras. She stepped forward and reached in and took hold of the samara.

  As soon as her skin came in contact with the ancient crystal, Amanda began to see visions. There were too many of them going by too fast to be able to really understand what she was seeing. By instinct, she concentrated her own crystal’s power to try to direct the flow of information. Several minutes passed as Amanda stood transfixed by the samara. Finally, the trance dissipated.

  Amanda turned and looked at her mother with wide eyes, “I know now what I have to do next!”

  Ascension Seekers

  Book Six

  of

  The Levels of Ascension

  Preface

  VISIONS, PROPHECIES, AND intuition are all used to allow the people to have dreams, hope, and perspective throughout life’s complicated situations. Not every individual will be able to access all, or even one, of these skills. However, those who do are well able to use their talents and knowledge to enhance the lives of others. It has been my desire for the people with these abilities to share their talents with their fellow citizens. Likewise, those without these talents should seek to assist, nurture, and protect those who do.

  Visions often come to people as a dream while they are sleeping or as a waking inspiration. Most people dream at night. If they were to pay more attention to these dreams, they would have more clarity of purpose in their lives. I have often sent dreams to people with the hope they would take action on their innermost desires. However, I have also given free will
to my people so they must choose on their own.

  The waking visions are often seen as more accurate or special simply because of the timing and impact on the person having the revelation. The waking dreams may have more impact simply because the person experiencing it is fully alert and aware. This aspect may allow the person to stop and take notice of the details rather than discount them as a fancy of the subconscious. While waking dreams are more unique, I do not believe they have any more validity than the sleeping visions. Keep this in mind when you are directing your students and subjects.

  Prophecies are also available to all people, yet only some will allow the words to be known. Those who hoard their knowledge of things to come will not find favor or even satisfaction with their own lives. They will discover, in time, the withholding of information will actually negatively impact the prophecy they were gifted to share. Encourage your subjects to have open communication with you so you may direct them to do the right thing. This will create a bond with everyone in the community which will only make the people closer. They will feel a connection with the prophecies and will work together to bring about their fulfillment. Hope for the future will make the populace inspired to do great things for the greater good.

  Finally, we have the greatest gift of intuition. I have instilled this quality into the hearts and minds of all of my children. Intuition directs people to gravitate toward some people and away from others. This allows the people to know who should be trusted and who should be avoided. It is not intended to alienate people, quite the opposite, it is designed to allow people to know how they should change themselves to adapt and be able to fit in with society. When the mindset of the people is of one accord, greatness can be achieved.

  My most fervent wish for the people of this world and of all of the others I have created is for the people to work together, combining and encouraging one another’s unique strengths, to make everyone healthy and happy. There is enough talent and resources to achieve greatness for all, where everyone would feel appreciated, useful, content, and fulfilled. When this can be accomplished, then we will have the perfect world. Only at this point will all become one.

  Excerpt from the Elder’s Instructional Guide

  Chapter One

  AMANDA HELD THE samara in her hands as she turned and looked at her mother. She had seen so many visions of what was to come and now she knew what her next step should be in her journey.

  “What is that thing, Amanda?” Diane asked. She had been worried when her daughter had remained immobile for so long while holding the strange clear, crystal skull.

  “This is a samara, Mom,” Amanda said as she continued to hold it in both of her hands, completely amazed because she had found it in the first place. Coming to the Cannon Memorial Asylum had merely been based on a hunch from her memories on which she had followed up. She had hoped to find a clue to lead her to a samara, instead she had found the object itself.

  “What is a samara?” her mother asked with a skeptical expression on her face. She looked up from the strange object to her daughter’s face. Amanda looked positively radiant, healthier than she had looked since before her seven-year coma, in fact.

  “There is a legend in Tuala about there being thirteen of these skulls. Each samara was given to a different individual to hold through time to keep it safe until they would be needed again. We believe with the revelation of the new prophecy that these samaras are the keys to the success of accomplishing the prophecy.”

  Amanda had tried to simplify the complicated task for her mother, but she was sure it would only lead to more questions. At the moment, she knew the stone in her hands was the reason for her coming to this facility. Since she had custody of the object, they should probably leave before someone questioned them. “I think we should get out of here, Mom,” Amanda said as she reached for her voluminous purse which was hanging from her shoulder. She carefully placed the samara in her bag and took a step toward the door to the hallway.

  Diane seemed to think Amanda’s suggestion about leaving seemed a rather perfect idea. She had not liked the feel of the building since the moment they had parked in the parking lot and looked up at the imposing brick structure. It was hard to imagine people had actually been kept here, both voluntarily and involuntarily, while they were being psychologically evaluated or studied. She followed Amanda into the hall and matched her pace as they walked back to the elevator.

  They left their visitor badges with the unfriendly receptionist and walked out the front door. They both took a deep breath in relief as they exited the building and crossed the parking lot to their rental car. There was an uneasy sense which both of them could feel even as they were getting farther from the building.

  Amanda dug the key out of her purse and brushed her finger against the samara as she did so. She received another burst of energy, more intense than a static shock, but not painful. It was more surprising than anything and she swiftly grabbed the key and withdrew her hand. She clicked on the remote to unlock the doors even as they were still approaching the economy class car.

  As Amanda dropped down into the driver’s seat, she tossed her purse onto the back seat. She put the key in the ignition and started the engine before she even had the front door closed. As soon as she saw her mother’s door shut, Amanda shifted the car into reverse and backed out of their parking space. The sooner she left the premises, the better she would feel.

  She pulled onto the main road leading away from the asylum and drove without any regard for direction for a good five minutes. Suddenly she pulled on the blinker and turned off of the road.

  Diane was shocked at the sudden change and gasped, “What are you doing, Amanda?”

  “I needed someplace private, away from the asylum, to check out the samara a little closer,” she replied even as she pulled into a parking space and turned off the ignition. Amanda had chosen a small playground in which to stop the car. She reached back and pulled her purse into her lap.

  She did not want to risk any further revelations from contacting the crystal with her skin so she folded the bag down until the sun sparkled on the smooth surface of the top of the skull. Something had been nagging at her mind since she had first touched the stone. If her husband were correct, then she could find out who should be the correct owner of the samara by checking the color of the aura surrounding it.

  She looked down on it in concentration. As her mother-in-law, Nena, had instructed, she focused her thoughts around the object instead of staring directly at it. Within a few moments, a rainbow of color shimmered from the surface and then one color dominated all the rest: vibrant green.

  Amanda nodded confirmation of her original idea, and closed her bag back up over the crystal. She returned the purse to the back seat and started to reach for the key still dangling from the ignition.

  “Wait a minute, Amanda. Before we go anywhere, I want you to answer some questions,” Diane spoke suddenly.

  Amanda was surprised by her mother’s outburst. In actuality, she had been so focused on the samara she had forgotten how much of this story her mother still either did not know or did not comprehend. She had to spare some time right now to help her mother understand so she would remain an ally. “Sure, Mom. What do you want to know?”

  “What did you do just now?” She had not planned on asking that question first, yet it was the first thing which came out of her mouth so she had to go with it.

  “I was checking to see what color of aura this stone has.”

  “You can see auras now? Since when?” Diane began and then interrupted her own question to ask, “Wait! Do you have another stone?”

  “Yes. Riccan had one handed down through his family line from the seventeen hundreds. Then, together, we found another one on our trip to New Orleans. With the addition of this one from the asylum, we have found three of the thirteen.”

  Diane simply nodded as she added this new information to all she had recently assimilated from reading Amanda’s diary. She was sti
ll trying to wrap her mind around the idea of there being an alternate plane of reality on Earth which was called Tuala. Amanda insisted she had met people there while she had been in a coma for seven years.

  Then when she had finally awoken, she had found Riccan who was someone whom she said she had met in her dream. The facts about Riccan had been too accurate to refute. Riccan admitted he was from Tuala which verified all of Amanda’s ideas about her supposed dream. This was becoming quite complicated.

  “What will happen when you find all thirteen?” Diane finally asked.

  “You read the prophecy, Mom. We are going to follow what it says,” she said slightly annoyed because her mom could have such a hard time understanding all of this.

  “Please tell me the prophecy again.”

  Amanda sighed and then closed her eyes to remember it exactly before she spoke,

  “From a far-away land,

  There will come in time,

  Intuition is in hand,

  Strange details known,

  With ties to the people.

  From one of my own,

  There will be a sign.

  Those born to this one,

  Will transform all.

  Lucinden will pursue,

  Elders will fall,

  Then all made new.”

  Diane stared at her for a moment before she said, “I don’t see how the skull thing fits into the poem.” She looked into the back seat uneasily as she spoke about the samara.

  “To be honest, Mom, neither do I. When I met with Jehoban, He told me to use my intuition to solve the riddle. I had a hunch about room 426 at Cannon Memorial Asylum being so specific in my dream memory. The idea led me to find this samara. I think if Riccan and I can find all of the stones, then we will be one step closer to solving the mystery.”

  Amanda waited several minutes to see if her mother had any more urgent questions before she said, “I think we should start driving back to Charlotte. We have to catch the 8:15 flight this evening to get back to Miami. We still have just over two hours of driving before we get to the airport. Can you ask me questions while I drive?”