“We can do that,” the officer said, pulling his gun out and training it on Keegan. The other agents followed suit.
Keegan looked at each of the agents individually for a moment, then relaxed his aggressive stance. “Guys,” he said, “where’s your humanity? You’re doing the wrong thing.”
“Take a seat, Dr. McIntyre,” the officer said, motioning with his gun to the chair behind Keegan’s station.
He put his head down, his diminishing options running through his mind. He wondered if they would be willing to put him down if he decided to act aggressively, or if they’d just subdue him. He was a powerful guy, and knew that he at least had a minimal chance of making it to the door if he tried to force his way there. The question was what he would do once he got there. The corridor outside the control room was long and would make for nice target practice for them. However, if he could get to the adjacent corridor, approximately 150 feet to the right, he could lose himself in the catacomb of hallways that comprised the SATP science facility. He’d already taken one for the team once today, but this one was infinitely more important.
Before his mind had even fallen on either side of the decision, he felt his muscles tense, preparing to spring into action. His immediate strategy was to take the officer – who was much smaller but assumedly well-trained, so surprise would be key – by the shoulders and use his strength to hurl him into the other agents. If he could create even a minimal amount of chaos, he could get enough of a jumpstart to give himself a chance. Then he’d have about fifteen minutes to figure out if there actually was something he could do to help.
Surprisingly, and then not surprisingly, his mind went to Claire, which made the decision for him. He braced for the altercation.
Instead, the door to the control room slid open, catching everyone’s attention. Through it, a dozen soldiers in navy blue military gear stormed into the room, automatic weapons drawn. Keegan glanced at the agents who had been guarding him and realized that, like him, they were trying to rapidly determine if the intruders were friend or foe. Instinctively, Keegan put his hands in the air. The agents, playing it safe, turned their weapons from Keegan onto the newcomers.
Instead of coming for him, though, the soldiers approached the agents with far greater numbers, quickly disarming them without resistance. Hurriedly, they led them out of the room.
No sooner were they gone than Keegan saw a familiar face appear in the doorway.
Senator Maggie O’Neill.
He laughed out loud. “Senator, what are you doing here?”
“You need my help,” she said.
“Those were federal agents,” he said. Surely, she couldn’t just come in and stop the President’s attack on SATP.
“Well, these are North Carolina National Guard,” she said. “Enough jibber-jabber. What do you need from me?”
He looked back at the portal. “I need to get down there and close that portal, or they’re not going to be able to get back.”
“How long do you have?”
“Not long,” he said, talking quickly. “Ten minutes.”
“And what needs to happen up here?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Just monitoring. The machine is set to work autonomously.”
Without taking even a second to think, O’Neill pointed at four of the soldiers. “Take Dr. McIntyre down to the portal, and get him there fast. I don’t want the situation to devolve to violence, but he needs to get there in less than ten minutes. Use whatever force you think is necessary.”
Wow, Keegan thought. What unexpected power. He started quickly toward the open door, but paused briefly in the threshold. He leaned back into the room and made eye contact with the Senator. “By the way,” he said, “I’ve always had a secret crush on you.”
“I know,” she said without smiling. “Go.”
Keegan turned and broke into a full sprint down the corridor, his personal phalanx with him stride-for-stride.
CHAPTER 56
The evidence was mounting on Claire that perhaps she’d misjudged the situation. The appearance of the mysterious woman standing and watching them with no clothes on was too much for even her to deny. And though she was standing right there in front of them, Claire’s stubbornness still would not let her admit the possibility that it could conceivably be Eve from the Bible story with whom they’d now come in contact.
Yet, she couldn’t bring herself not to, either.
In fact, the wave of awe that spread through her even caused her to forget that Keegan had disappeared in the melee with the lions. Leaving the naked woman standing in the brush, she turned and took several steps into the forest, yelling, “Keegan?!” Her colleagues quickly joined the effort and spread out in a rescue formation into the trees. He was nowhere to be found.
“You’d think if we didn’t find him, we’d find something,” Robert said, kicking around the tall grass. The sun was exceptionally bright, so despite the canopy of trees, shadows were not a hindrance to their search. “Sorry, Claire,” he said, realizing it was clear he was searching for maimed body parts. “I’m not trying to be gruesome. The lions weren’t attacking, though. He must have run off into the trees.”
“Yes, why didn’t they attack us?” Claire asked.
“There are a couple possible explanations,” Landon said, peering up into the trees since Keegan was nowhere at eye level. “The first, and the easier of the two for us to digest, is that we are not a threat to them, and they have no experience attacking or eating humans.”
“Island of Dr. Moreau,” Davies said, finishing his thought.
“Yes, exactly,” Landon said.
“And the second?” Claire followed. She was experiencing so many different emotions simultaneously that she only now realized her heart was still pounding from the stampede.
“We’re in the Garden of Eden,” Davies said before Landon could respond. “There’s no death here. Only life.”
“That seems a bit far-fetched,” Reilly said, catching up to them. “They’re lions.”
“You saw it the same as the rest of us,” Landon said.
They searched for a minute more, scanning the area and peering deep into the trees. “He’s not here,” Robert said. “He took off. That’s going to make returning more difficult. We’ll have to find him.”
They’d been looking skyward, but now Claire heard a rustle behind her. She turned, then everyone else turned with her.
The woman was standing there, investigating. She was 10 paces away. “Why are you here?” she asked. In English.
As if in a sitcom, they all glanced at each other, unsure of how to react or respond. Here was this woman, who was likely the woman they’d only read about in the Book of Genesis – Claire wasn’t ready to cede that she was the first woman ever yet – and she was real. They were interacting with her. And she was naked. But even in that, Claire sensed something different. There wasn’t anything sexual about how she was presenting herself. It was natural. Calming, even. Of course, she couldn’t speak for any of the guys on the team; the woman was very attractive. But the vibe she gave off was one of comfort and peace. And how couldn’t she in a place like this?
After a moment, Claire realized that none of the boys could handle having a conversation with a naked woman, and spoke, assuming she could also do so in English. She didn’t know what French, German or Chinese would get her, but she had them in her back pocket if she needed them. “We don’t know why we’re here,” she said. “We’ve traveled a long way to get here.”
“Where did you come from?”
Strangely, Claire considered that lying to her might possibly constitute the first sin in history – if she was playing by Landon’s rules, of course. But rather than chase that title, she opted for evasiveness. “Further than we can describe,” she said. “Have you seen our friend?”
“No,” she said. “I saw the lions run toward you, and then this woman climb the tree.” She pointed to Amy. “I don’t understand why you’re here.
And why have you covered yourselves?”
“We’re trying to find the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,” Reilly said, taking over the conversation.
“Why?” the woman asked, first the first time taking her focus from Claire and putting it onto someone else, Reilly.
“It’s a long story,” he said impatiently. “Do you know where it is?”
“Yes,” she said, but offered no other information, simply staring at the General.
Claire realized that Reilly was ready to move on without concern for who might be left behind, so she jumped into the conversation. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “We’re not leaving until we find Keegan.”
From behind her, Landon spoke slowly. “I think we might have to accept the fact that Keegan’s not here with us,” he said.
She turned to face him. “He’s not dead,” she said. “Chester said it – there’s no death here.” She realized she was using whatever arguments worked for her at the moment, no matter the theology behind them. “And besides, the lions’ attack happened way too fast for them to have gotten him or for him to have run off any significant distance. We would’ve seen something. It’s impossible.”
“No, you’re not hearing me,” Landon said. He shook his head. “I don’t think Keegan was ever here.”
CHAPTER 57
Doubt had begun to creep into Landon’s mind even before the lion attack, and he wished he would’ve been able to watch Keegan during the stampede, when everyone was escaping in various directions. Claire’s assessment of the situation was accurate. Had Keegan been killed or mauled during the rampage, there would be some evidence close by. Had he survived, he would have turned back and rejoined them.
For Landon, the realization had happened almost immediately at that point. He’d been struck with confusion when Keegan couldn’t remember details of his research paper, the one they’d discussed less than 48 hours before when talking to Reilly. Here was one of the smartest people on the planet and he’d suddenly forgotten? Then, when they were talking about what needed to happen to get them back to their present time, was he just playing dumb? Or did he genuinely not know? Landon’s bet now was that he was simply in the dark on the matter.
“Well, then who was that?” Claire asked, but the words didn’t even have to finish leaving her mouth before there was an audible realization among the group. Even Claire, herself, the disbeliever, got it. She quickly dismissed it, though. “That’s insane.”
“Is it?” Landon asked. “If you believe the story, and I think we’re all starting to have at least some level of buy-in, there’s someone in this Garden who has the capability of changing his form to manipulate people. I believe ‘beguile’ is the word that’s used in the Bible.” He realized he was talking about the woman who was standing right there, naked – describing an experience that she hadn’t yet had. The conversation was the textbook definition of awkward, but it was one they needed to have. “Claire, I think you were beguiled.”
“Are you kidding me?” she said, turning and herself taking a precautionary look at the woman. “The devil? What kind of paradise is this where the devil can walk around like he owns the place?” She was hot.
“Landon, if that’s the case, why didn’t Keegan… he… know what we were talking about?” Robert asked, having calmed down from his altercation with Reilly.
“Remember,” Landon said, shaking his head, “Satan is not omniscient. Only God is. Obviously, he learned something about us somehow, and manifested himself in a way that would make us trust him. I don’t know-”
“He touched me,” Claire said.
“What’s that?” Davies asked.
“He touched me,” she repeated. “He touched my head when we woke up.” A look of realization crossed her face. “When we woke up from that darkness and the blinding light. I felt someone touch my head and looked up to see Keegan there. That’s when it was.”
Davies laughed. “That’ll about do it.”
“Hold on,” Reilly said, physically moving himself him between Claire and Landon. “You believe that the devil impersonated Keegan and used that to get us to trust him, so we would do what?”
“I believe we told him exactly what he needs to do,” Robert said, then sighed. “We told Keegan about the Tree. He got all he needed from us.”
“And given the context of the situation,” Landon said, continuing Robert’s thought. “Why is it so unbelievable? He turned himself into a serpent, didn’t he?”
“Serpent?” the woman asked, interjecting herself.
Landon turned to her and nodded. “Yes, a serpent. Do you know it?”
“I do,” she said. “I can take you to him. He’s very wise, and may be able to help you.”
Landon glanced at Robert, the one to whom he currently felt the greatest level of kinship. Robert’s face was ashen with either confusion or fear – Landon couldn’t tell – but he nodded and shrugged a mutual understanding that following this woman might be their only way home.
He turned back to the woman. “Do you have a name?” he asked. She looked at him, confused, so he simply nodded. “We’d appreciate it if you would take us.”
She turned and started walking in the direction that she’d come, and they followed her.
CHAPTER 58
Dipin had a few options upon leaving the control room leading a pack of U.S. federal agents through the maze of SATP. He considered them as he walked.
His choices had nothing to do with himself, though. Each one had plusses and minuses related to preserving SATP as best as possible, and ensuring the safety of his friend Robert and the rest of the team. No matter what he did, personally he was not going to rid himself of powerful people trying to get him. So, his decision-making was fully focused on what would be the best scenario he could create for the rest of them.
With an almost deafening sound of synchronized footsteps marching along the tight SATP corridors, Dipin weighed his possible courses of action. The Attorney General and agents with him had no idea where they were going, otherwise they wouldn’t have needed him along. On one hand, he was free to lead them anywhere in the complex that they would follow him. There was benefit to that, as he could waste enough time that the team could return and have at least a few minutes to do… something, though he wasn’t quite sure yet what that might be. There was also risk to that plan – first, that someone might realize he was stalling; second, that intentionally misleading the AG might end up putting everyone in harm’s way, instead of just Robert. The alternative was that he could lead the team directly to the time portal, setting up the showdown that everyone was waiting for, and then hope that the good guys could possibly find a way to win.
There were wild cards, of course, that tipped the scale in either direction. Keegan was one. Dipin wasn’t sure what Keegan would do next, or if he’d understood the cryptic warnings he gave before leaving the room. If he had, then delaying was the right move, certainly. The mission itself was a wild card. What the team would encounter 10,000 years in the past was still a mystery, so their return may or may not carry enough weight to influence the Attorney General, the President or the public. And thirdly, the Attorney General had seemed lost when Keegan was describing the current mission to him, suggesting to Dipin that not everyone the President had involved was privy the whole plan.
The problem currently, though, was that the Attorney General continued to talk to him as he was trying to think. Small talk, even, about where he’d been since he’d left the program, what he was doing with his spare time, etc. It didn’t seem to Dipin as though he was prying or attempting to build any case against him, and after a few minutes, he determined that the AG was intentionally keeping him distracted so he couldn’t plot as they walked. Quite clever. While Dipin had been through enough at SATP and before that he knew not to underestimate anyone, he realized quickly that it was in his best interest to keep on his toes with this man.
“I didn’t specifically ask,” the Attorney General said as th
ey walked, “but you never told me where they were going on this mission.”
Another decision. Tell him, or not? He decided not, shaking his head. “I’m not sure,” Dipin said. “It’s been a whirlwind since I got here.”
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t been involved in the program for months.”
From his tone, Dipin believed he truly didn’t know. As smart as the AG seemed to be, he didn’t understand that he was being set up. Or, he was just starting to realize it now.
Dipin settled on his strategy, and immediately felt much more comfortable engaging in conversation. “Let me ask you something,” he said. “If you could get into that time portal and time travel somewhere, anywhere, where would you go?”
The man laughed at the question. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
They turned down another corridor heading toward the first set of security doors.
CHAPTER 59
The walk was slow as they continued to follow the brook they’d seen, which was widening into a full-blown river the further they went. The grass was high, and the brush was thick, but they continued on in what felt like no specific direction at all. The sun remained high overhead, continuing to be useless for navigation.
The woman was several paces ahead of them. Amy and her colleagues were lagging, while trying not to appear as though they were lagging. It would have appeared to anyone watching that they wanted to talk amongst themselves. Which they weren’t doing, of course. For Amy, herself, listening to Landon’s theory, which made all the sense in the world, for the first time in her time travel career was terrified to knowingly or unknowingly influence change that would upset the balance of things. Strangely, here in this place, so far removed from everything she’d ever known, the danger of it seemed so much more real than on any of her previous missions, though she’d experienced a number of specific instances where she could have altered history with a simple gesture. Here, she’d considered, the danger wasn’t in altering history. It was in halting it altogether. Which scared her enough that she was even entertaining doubts about the importance of getting home herself, when weighed against everything else that was at stake.
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