“If I should live dat long,” she stated sarcastically.
“Hopefully you will,” he said, attempting a reassuring smile.
“I don’t buy into everting you’ve said, but you have given me a lot to tink about,” she said after a few moments.
“Akwen, I have one more final point,” he said, leaning closer to her. “Joseph was able to forgive his brothers, and it brought healing to his whole family. I’m afraid that if you do not forgive the men who killed your daughter, the bitterness will destroy you. It will consume you. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, including you and those men. Pray that He will help you forgive.”
The woman snorted derisively. “Dat would be impossible.”
“With God, it is possible,” he said, then moved slowly over to where Lisa sat, leaving Akwen to her tumultuous thoughts.
Several hours passed uneventfully. Lisa, Akwen, and Dr. Eisenberg slept fitfully on the cold stone floor, awakening intermittently whenever another tremor would roll through the building.
Sudden footfalls echoing down the corridor outside their cell roused them. A Naphil soldier appeared at the door to their cell, unlocked it, opened it, and motioned for them to follow him. Surprised, the three prisoners climbed to their feet and did as commanded, wondering at what new fate awaited them. Two other guards fell in behind the prisoners as they walked down the corridor.
After travelling down several more hallways and through two more locked doors, the group entered a medium-sized room that appeared to be some sort of guard room. The prisoners felt their hearts leap with excitement as they looked upon the other occupants of the room.
“Doc! Thank God you’re okay!” Rebecca called out as Dr. Eisenberg, Lisa, and Akwen entered the room. Although she wanted to run to embrace him, the Naphil standing behind her put a restraining hand upon her shoulder. Next to her, Jeffrey, Jerome, and Mack stood silently, surrounded by three more of the twelve-foot Nephilim soldiers.
“We’re all fine,” Dr. Eisenberg said as he, Lisa, and Akwen were herded into the center of the room where the others waited. Before the friends even had a chance to welcome each other, the Nephilim began leading the prisoners out of the guardroom and up a flight of stairs.
The guards led them down several deserted hallways; the dim artificial lights mounted on the walls created an eerie atmosphere full of shadows and darkened alcoves. Glancing out a window, Dr. Eisenberg could see that the first rays of sunlight were beginning to make their ways over the horizon. This is it. This is the day the Flood will be unleashed, he thought in concern. Lord, even if I don’t make it, please save these young people. Help them to get back to their families.
A nudge from Jeffrey broke into his prayers. “Doc,” he whispered, “something’s wrong here. Did you notice the way the guards are looking around anxiously? It’s almost as if they’re trying to keep us from being seen. And there’s something familiar about these hallways.”
The Naphil guard behind Jeffrey smacked him in the back of the head. Taking the hint, Jeffrey said nothing more. After nearly ten minutes of walking in silence through the darkened hallways, they finally reached their destination. Two double doors opened into a large cube-shaped room over one hundred feet in each direction. To the prisoners’ utter shock and amazement, the majority of the room was taken up by a large, two-story pyramid.
“It’s the Pyramid of the Ancients!” Mack said, dumbfounded. “But…but how?”
Before anyone could even venture a guess, the door of the pyramid opened. At the sight of the figure that walked through the entrance and down the steps toward them, each of the travelers felt a terrifying sense of recognition pierce through them.
Sucking in a panicked breath, Mack stuttered, “D..dear God, help us! Is…is that who I think it is?”
Jeffrey swallowed hard, trying to hold back his own fear. “I’m afraid so. It’s the alien corpse from the workshop…the designer of the pyramid!”
1. Romans 8:28
23
Mysteries Revealed
The prisoners watched as the figure strode toward them confidently. As the being drew closer, Jeffrey felt his stomach clench into knots. There was no mistaking it now. He recognized the large brows, deep-set eyes, sharp teeth and ape-like appearance, for it had haunted Jeffrey for many nights after he had first discovered the body in the dusty chamber. And now, here it was, moving and breathing like a creature risen from the dead.
Stopping to stand in front of them, the ape-like man crossed his arms against his chest. As he did so, Jeffrey noticed that he wore the exact same robe that they had seen on the dead body, the deep purple and silver colors shimmering in the light of the large room. The man’s coarse, brown hair was combed straight back and covered the sides of his face and neck, but left the pinkish skin of the cheeks, mouth, and eyes untouched. Staring up at the seven-foot-tall being, Jeffrey could tell from the look in his eyes that this was no brute. The dark brown orbs resonated with a shrewd intelligence, as well as a disturbing malevolence.
The doors behind them suddenly opened again and two other figures entered the room. The sight of the twelve-foot-tall beast-like men sent another shiver of recognition through Jeffrey’s brain. The creature on the left had the same contorted, wolf-like features and wore the same finely-crafted leather armor as the other alien that he, Jerome, and the rest of the team had discovered along with the pyramid. The other figure had two, five-inch curved horns sprouting out of his head and a snout similar to a bull. The creature’s overall features reminded Jeffrey of some kind of mutated Minotaur.
As the two newcomers entered the room, the ape-like man called out an order to the Nephilim guards and waved his hand at them in dismissal. Turning on their heels, the seven soldiers exited the room, leaving the prisoners alone to face the robed man and his two henchmen.
The man with the ape-like features studied each of them in turn, a wicked smile splitting his grotesque features. After a few moments, he spoke, his voice coarse and grating. When Mack didn’t translate immediately, Jeffrey nudged him. “What did he say?”
With his face pale from fright, Mack stuttered, and then fell quickly into his role as translator. “He…he said, ‘Welcome, travelers.’”
The figure frowned at the sound of the strange words. He spoke again, focusing his attention on Mack. “Why do you use such odd speech with your companions?”
“My…my friends developed a different set of words to use,” he said nervously, remembering his failed encounter with Odin. “It has been so long since they have used the original words, they have forgotten them.”
The man stared down at Mack ruefully, and then began to laugh, the harsh sound reminding the visitors of nails scraping against a chalkboard. “You do not have to lie to me, little man,” he said, amused. “For I know where you came from, or should I say, ‘when’ you came from!”
When Mack finished translating his pronouncement to the others, a new wave of shock and confusion flowed through them. “How do you…who…who are you?” Mack stuttered.
Clearly relishing the surprise on the prisoners’ faces, he bowed slightly to them as he introduced himself. “I am Arngrim. And I would like to offer you my sincere thanks for completing my pyramid and bringing it back here to me.”
“What?” Jerome said breathlessly once he and the others had gotten the translation from Mack, who had nearly fainted at the ape-man’s statement. “His pyramid?”
Drawing immense pleasure from their confusion, Arngrim let out another laugh. “Although I must admit, you are much shorter and weaker than I had thought you would be. But that will just make it that much easier…” he said, more to himself than to the others.
“We don’t…we don’t understand,” Jeffrey said. “Noah told us that you were his friend and that you might be able to help us fix the pyramid. How did you get it here?”
“So, I have my cousin to thank for sending you to my shop,” he said. “I will have to make sure I express my apprecia
tion to him for doing me that great service. I was quite distressed that you had not arrived where I expected you to.”
“Your…cousin?” Jeffrey repeated in astonishment.
“Yes,” he said. “His grandfather and my grandmother were brother and sister. Only his foolish grandfather continued to hold to his outdated religious notions and failed to embrace the wonders that genetic enhancements could provide. My grandmother, and my parents, had no such convictions, for which I am eternally grateful.”
Jeffrey stared ahead blankly, his forehead becoming lined with confusion and disillusionment at the man’s revelation. Next to him, Jerome gave voice to the words that were repeating themselves over and over in Jeffrey’s mind like a broken record. “He’s not an alien at all, but a genetically altered human!”
With crushing certainty, Jeffrey realized that he had been wrong all along. The bodies they had found in the hidden chamber had not been aliens. The pyramid was not some space ship that had brought those creatures from another galaxy. The last bastion of his belief in evolution had been destroyed. Rebecca was right. He could deny the evidence no longer. God did exist, and His judgment was about to be poured out upon the planet.
At that moment, Jeffrey knew with certainty that when he died, he would have to face Him and give an accounting for everything he had ever done. The thought was like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of him.
Misinterpreting Jeffrey’s inner turmoil, Arngrim continued. “It appears that the thought of genetic modification unsettles you. Yes, it was one of the greatest gifts that the gods handed down to us. They showed a select few of their ‘disciples’ how to do it, and we have been busy playing around with the knowledge ever since. Although they wouldn’t allow us mortals to experiment with their bodies, we got to watch as they altered the structures of their own offspring,” he said, pointing to the two animal-like giants that stood guard behind the captives.
“This new breed of Nephilim are magnificent, aren’t they?” he continued, his face beaming with a sickening pride. “They are not just a mixture of gods and humans. They also contain the best elements from the animal kingdom. Some they made more beautiful, and some they made more…useful.”
Glancing back at the two monsters, with their twisted faces, yellowed teeth and blood-shot eyes, Jeffrey felt the bile rise in his throat.
“You said…you said that we didn’t arrive where you expected,” Rebecca said, her voice trembling with fear. “How did you know we were coming?”
“Have you not guessed yet?” he replied once Mack had translated Rebecca’s question. “Obviously not. Well, then, let me enlighten you by starting at the beginning.”
As he began to speak, he walked in circles around the captives, his eyes studying their expressions. It was almost as if he knew his words were bound to produce shocked reactions in his captives and he didn’t want to miss a single one of them. “Noah and I are nearly the same age. I can’t say that we grew up together, for his family shunned mine because of our superiority,” he said with a sneer. “But over the years, we developed a…a working relationship.
“My brilliant mind eventually attracted the attention of Loki, who brought me under his tutelage,” he continued. “I became one of the few men who were taught the secrets of the gods! Under their supervision, I was allowed to tamper with the very building blocks of nature itself! I became like a god! With my knowledge, I altered regular, imperfect humans and helped to create entire races and strange creatures.”
Jeffrey shivered at the words, remembering the Blood Drinkers and the monstrous human soldiers they had hired.
“After several hundred years of study, Loki gave me permission to share some of the more primitive technological devices with the masses. So, I opened up my shop in the city. I believe that it brought Loki no end of enjoyment to watch how the foolish humans used the technology to destroy each other. In particular, he received great delight in watching them use the swords that discharged energy. He savored the times when he could witness their bodies squirm and convulse as the current shot through them.”
Disgusted, Rebecca let out a soft groan, which only served to bring a smile of pleasure to her captor’s face. “But I digress. One day, Noah came to me to ask for help with his little Ark project. He, of course, had no knowledge of the fact that I had been given access to some of the gods’ secrets. In his simple-minded innocence, he still believed that I was just a genius inventor. Intrigued by his own highly developed intelligence, I decided to help him build his vessel.”
Arngrim paused in his narrative, his expression hardening. “I worked with him for over half a century, forced to constantly listen to his ravings about God’s judgment. At first I simply laughed at him and dismissed his preaching, content to use the money I earned from him to finance my own endeavors. But as time went on, I realized that Noah was no fool. He truly believed that what he said was true. His careful, detailed construction of the Ark was proof enough of his sincerity.
“And then, one day, I came to the shocking conclusion that he was right,” he stated with simple finality.
“What?” Dr. Eisenberg said in surprise. “You…you believe that the Flood is coming?”
“Yes,” Arngrim replied coldly. “I had been talking to one of the astrologers who had been studying with the gods and he told me of a great falling star that he had observed in the heavens that was heading directly for the earth. When he told me approximately when it would strike the planet, and that it would fall in the ocean, I realized that it coincided directly with Noah’s prediction. Furthermore, I have overheard the gods on several occasions cursing Yahweh, the Creator, so I knew He was real as well.”
“Dear God,” Rebecca said in sudden understanding. “You created the pyramid to escape the Cataclysm! The pyramid is your version of the Ark! You plan to travel into the future to a time after the Flood!”
Arngrim smiled wickedly as his prisoners reeled back in shock from the revelation.
Mack stopped translating momentarily as he turned to face the others in shock. “That’s why the pyramid was designed with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms. And that’s why the beds were so big!”
“The beds!” Dr. Eisenberg exclaimed in horror. “He’s going to take women with him to breed with! In time, his children would easily overpower Noah and his family! He’ll conquer the whole world, subjecting Noah’s descendents to slavery!”
“And wit his technology, he will be unstoppable!” Akwen added.
“I see you are beginning to understand the depth of your folly. Perhaps you aren’t as stupid as you look,” Arngrim said, grinning perversely as he continued with his explanation. “I realized that if I was to survive, I would have to begin work right away on my own project. Besides, by this time Noah had learned of my involvement in other unsavory business ventures. Naturally he disapproved, and we had a…a disagreement.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Jerome added sarcastically under his breath.
“Fortunately, during the time that I had worked with my masters, I learned where they kept their most hidden secrets,” Arngrim said boastfully. “It was there that I learned how to break through the very boundaries of time and space. In their arrogance, the gods have discounted Noah’s warnings. They foolishly believe that with their combined power they can prevent Yahweh’s judgment. I’m not willing to take that chance. If they succeed, then I will just arrive and continue to serve them. But, if they are wrong, then I will become the master!”
“That means that the ‘gods’ don’t know that he has created this pyramid!” Dr. Eisenberg said softly, a tiny sliver of hope working its way into his heart.
“That’s why we were put in a different cell than you!” Rebecca added. “We were captured by Odin, who seemed to know nothing about the pyramid, but you were captured by Arngrim’s men!”
“Which is how dey were able to open da outer doors of da pyramid,” Akwen stated. “Dey must have had some special access code given to dem by Arngrim. But how did d
ey get da pyramid here?”
“Mack, ask him that question,” Jeffrey said, the small hope beginning to take root. “Perhaps if we can keep him talking, Odin’s men will come looking for us. If we can’t escape ourselves, we have to at least stall long enough until the Flood occurs.”
Swallowing his fear, Mack translated the question.
Arngrim answered confidently, thoroughly enjoying the moment. “Simple: they flew it here.”
Akwen stared in shock. “How is dat possible? Da pyramid wouldn’t power up! Da controls were locked!”
Crossing over to stand in front of her, Arngrim leaned down to look intently at her. “And who do you think locked the controls? I am the one that set the pyramid to return here to me and I am the one who set it to lockdown once it arrived.”
“But why?” Jeffrey said in confusion after Mack had finished translating Arngrim’s statement. “I don’t understand. What do we have to do with all of this?”
The man’s ape-like features darkened. “That is the regrettable part of my story. You see, everything was going according to plan until I started working on the core. The design turned out to be trickier than I had expected. I failed several times to create a core that would be strong enough to withstand the strain of time travel.
“Finally, when I had solved the problems, I realized too late that I had used up all of the materials I needed on the failed cores,” he sneered. “A new shipment was set to arrive weeks ago, and I would have had enough time to complete the project. However, as fate would have it, the shipment was attacked by a contingent of Tiamat’s soldiers.”
As he related the incident, the prisoners could see his anger beginning to rise. “The fools had no idea what they had done to me! When I discovered that the shipment was gone, I realized that there wouldn’t be enough time to wait on another shipment. I was left with only one option.
Escaping the Cataclysm Page 22