by Rai Aren
Mitch frowned, surprised. “That’s a Djinn block?” He noted that it had the right general shape and dimensions, but none of the outward craftsmanship. It simply looked like another natural feature of the sandstone cliffs.
Dr. Khadesh nodded his understanding of Mitch’s reaction. “It is not commonly recognized as a Djinn block, because early in its creation people were too afraid of its effects. Myths sprang from the experiences people had inside of it. It was feared. Avoided. Some thought a kind of evil was at play.”
The four of them listened intently, eyeing the formation.
“Eventually, it was decided that it should be abandoned, for fear it would cause more unrest than it would provide benefit.”
“What kind of effects are we talking about?” Alex asked, feeling intensely curious.
Dr. Khadesh looked around. He did not see anyone in the vicinity, but he was still feeling cautious. He lowered his voice. “You recall when we told you about the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid being initially created around a naturally occurring electromagnetic energy source?”
They all nodded their heads.
“Well, this is another such location.”
“No way,” Alex remarked, looking up at the sandstone formation in awe. She felt her pulse quicken with anticipation of what was to come.
“Cool,” Mitch said, an enraptured grin spreading across his face.
“There are many such places around the world,” Khamir added. “Places where natural laws seem to bend, to no longer apply. But they are just regions of natural laws that are not yet known. Except by a few,” he said, winking at them.
“These areas, once detected, became focal points for ancient people.” Dr. Khadesh paused, feeling reflective. “Such areas were utilized, but as we have learned from the past, not always with enough caution or protection.”
“Then, why isn’t this protected?” Jack asked, looking around. There were no barriers of any kind. “Seems kind of foolish to leave it unguarded.”
Bob readily agreed, thinking on past events. “No kidding.”
“We have learned the hard way, that sometimes the best protection we can offer is to leave something in plain sight.” Khamir continued, “The less attention that is drawn to something specific, the safer it often is.”
Alex nodded. “That makes a lot of sense. We’ve never heard of such a place existing inside Petra. Not including the Djinn myths, of course.”
“Yes,” Khamir replied, “when something takes on a mythical status, it is next to impossible to suppress. But, fortunately, myths often have more skeptics than believers. That fact affords another level of indirect protection.”
“Clever,” she said, twisting her blonde ponytail.
“You’d never know anything was here,” Jack said, squinting behind his sunglasses, trying to spot something, anything, out of the ordinary.
“So what exactly can we expect here?” Bob asked, suspicion creeping into his voice. He was having second thoughts about going through with today’s field trip destination.
Khamir looked to Dr. Khadesh to answer.
“I think we should discuss that inside.”
Khamir nodded.
“Inside?” Alex asked, looking it over. She didn’t see any kind of entrance.
Bob looked at Jack. A worried expression crossed both of their faces.
“Yes,” Khamir answered. “Follow me.”
Alex felt her heart start to pound in her chest.
Mitch came up beside her and whispered, “I hope I’m not the only one who’s nervous about this.”
“Nope,” she said, “you are not.”
“Good.” He let out a nervous laugh. “You’d think we’d be used to this kind of thing by now.”
“I doubt we’ll ever get used to the places these two take us.”
The two guides led them farther up the slope, to the base of the lower cliffs. They stopped where the two end sections met, in front of what looked like a natural fissure between the two formations.
Both of them turned around for a moment to look over the surrounding area to make sure no one would see them. They couldn’t see any tourists nearby.
Khamir pointed. “This fissure you see before us is the way in.”
Bob scoffed at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Have we met?” He rubbed his large belly. “That thing isn’t even a foot wide. My head might fit, but that’s about it. Not even Alex nor Jack are that skinny.”
Jack pulled a face.
Alex frowned, but stayed silent. Bob was right. Even her slender frame wasn’t going to squeeze in there, and she was game for trying out most any ancient passageways.
Khamir smiled. “It is an optical illusion.”
Their eyes went wide.
“Watch.” He slid his arm through, into the darkness beyond. Then, to their utter astonishment, he simply walked into the very narrow fissure.
Jack took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. “What the heck?”
“Khamir?” Mitch called out.
No answer.
“Khamir!” he called again.
Still no answer.
“What happened?” Bob asked, panic rising in his voice. “Why isn’t he answering?”
“Calm yourself, Bob,” Dr. Khadesh said. “He is fine. He has just moved beyond the barrier, into an inner chamber.”
“What kind of barrier?” Jack asked, feeling goose bumps forming on his flesh, in spite of the desert heat. “What’s it going to feel like?”
“You will hardly feel a thing,” Dr. Khadesh said. “Only a change in the air surrounding you. It will feel like the slightest breeze, then you will move into a dark, cool place. It is a pleasing sensation. Especially in this heat.”
Alex clutched her ankh pendant. She felt no response from it, which comforted her. “I’ll go next.”
Mitch looked at her, smiling. “Why am I not surprised?”
She mustered a smile in return, trying to look braver than she felt. “Wish me luck.”
“Always.”
She took a deep breath, and copied what she’d seen Khamir do.
She disappeared.
“Alex?” Mitch called after her.
As before, no answer.
“That’s it, I’m going in next.” Without waiting for anyone’s reply, Mitch followed her.
Jack looked to Bob. “What do you think, Buddy?”
Bob didn’t answer at first. He just stared at the strange fissure. His mind couldn’t make sense of what he’d seen. His instincts were telling him to stay away from it, as they usually did in strange circumstances.
“It will be fine, Bob,” Dr. Khadesh said. “I assure you, it is safe to pass through.”
“Yeah, come on, I can go first if you’d like,” Jack said, offering his friend a reassuring smile.
Bob regarded him for a moment. “You know better than anyone that these things don’t always end well.”
“Different times, different places,” Jack replied, shrugging his shoulders. Then he had an idea. “Why don’t you grab onto my backpack? We’ll go together.”
Bob shook his head. “I must be crazy.” But he did as Jack suggested.
Together they passed through.
Dr. Khadesh followed.
A short distance away, someone lying flat on the ground, head covered, watched intently through a set of binoculars.
Once they were all inside, having passed through the barrier, their eyes adjusted to the darkness. The four friends were relieved to see that everyone was safe and accounted for. It was cool and dry and dark inside. They were in a cave-like space. The ground, though natural stone, was relatively smooth.
“We made it,” Jack said, almost surprised. He let out a nervous laugh.
Bob had paled. He finally let go of Jack’s backpack.
“Come,” Khamir said, fishing out a flashlight and turning it on, “let us continue. We are almost there.”
Dr. Khadesh again brought up the rear.
“Watch your step, please, and stay close to me,” Khamir said, lighting their way. He walked on a ways, then rounded a sharp corner and disappeared.
“Hopefully no one follows us inside this time,” Jack said, anxiety starting to get the best of him. “Remember what happened to the last two guys who tried that. Obliterated!”
“Yeah, and that could’ve easily been us,” Bob said, purposely ‘forgetting’ the precautions Dr. Khadesh and Khamir had taken to ensure their safety that day.
“We don’t have the Pharom with us, remember,” Alex replied. “That’s what did it, so nothing of the sort’s going to happen.”
Bob remained unconvinced. He wasn’t cut out for these situations. Jack’s comment had just made things worse. It brought up terrifying memories. He was growing completely unnerved.
They followed Khamir’s path. After turning the corner, they found themselves stepping into a large, empty, stone chamber, lit by Khamir’s flashlight, much bigger than the area they’d first stepped into.
The effect was immediate.
Alex’s head swam, her vision blurred. Her ankh pendant started to buzz against her skin. Suddenly, there seemed to be a lot of noise all around her. Voices. People talking. It was growing louder. She couldn’t make sense of it. It was a cacophony. She shook her head, then rubbed her eyes. She looked over at the others. They seemed to be struggling with the same effects she was feeling. But no one was speaking. They were all too overcome with the weird sensations of the mysterious stone chamber.
She placed her hand on the cool stone wall to steady herself. Then, through the noise swimming all around her, she heard a voice ring out clearly. “Alex, focus on my words, my voice.”
She inhaled sharply. She looked over at Dr. Khadesh, who was eyeing her intently. She tried to speak, but her words would not come. It was as though she was underwater, her voice was muffled, her vision still blurred. She shook her head again, trying to clear her mind.
“Focus, Alex. You can do it.”
She again glanced at Dr. Khadesh, wanting to reply, to ask what she was experiencing. As she looked at him, something strange happened. He held her gaze. She heard him say, “Calm your mind. Listen to my voice.” But his lips did not move. She squeezed her eyes closed for a few moments, then re-opened them.
“I know you can hear me,” he said, but his words were not spoken aloud.
Her eyes widened. Her heart started to beat even faster.
“Stay calm,” he said. “Do not panic. Everything is fine.”
“What is happening?” she heard herself ask. But she hadn’t spoken those words. She had only thought them.
“Inside this place, we become more deeply connected. A point of convergence is present, which allows for that to occur.” His voice was calm, steady, as he imparted this ancient knowledge. “What we have access to here is but one of a myriad of threads connecting our existence.”
Alex just listened, trying to understand, trying to make sense of the experience and not give in to fear.
“The King’s Chamber was another such place. This is why I wanted you all to have a quieter day today. To clear and prepare your minds for this.” He paused, assessing her. Her curiosity seemed to be overtaking her rising panic. “Go easy, but reach out and listen to the others. One by one. Hear their thoughts.”
“What?” she asked, confused and startled by the question.
“Thoughts are simply another form of energy,” Dr. Khadesh continued. “This place, with its natural electromagnetic energy flows, allows us to hear them. Like an amplification. You only have to listen.”
She looked around the room at the others. No one was speaking. She gripped her pendant, which was warm to the touch and giving off an energy of its own in response to its supernatural surroundings. She took a deep breath. Then, she focused on Mitch.
He was leaning with his back against a wall. He’d taken his glasses off and appeared to be focused on his breathing. She heard his voice, “I don’t understand what’s going on. I need to get out of here.” He started to move away.
“Mitch,” she said, reaching out to him with her thoughts. Spoken words still would not come.
He suddenly looked in her direction, surprised.
“Stay here.”
He heard her. He tried to answer.
She felt his confusion, his frustration, his fear.
“Mitch, it’s all right. I think I understand what’s happening. Inside this chamber, we can hear what each other is thinking. Words aren’t necessary.”
She was met by an immediate wave of denial, his fear intensifying.
“It’s ok, don’t be afraid,” she said, as much for her own benefit as his.
He frowned, his expression one of disbelief. He looked at the others.
Khamir caught his gaze. “She speaks the truth.”
“I can’t believe that,” Mitch wanted to say, but he could only think it at the moment.
“Your eyes do not deceive you, Mitch,” Khamir responded, but his lips were still.
He felt panic rising in his chest. “Jack, Bob!” he called out with his mind.
They both jumped, startled, looking in his direction. Sheer confusion etched on their faces.
Inside the chamber, Bob’s senses had been immediately assaulted by the noise of the voices. But instead of trying to focus on them, his mind spontaneously started reliving what had happened in the King’s Chamber inside the Great Pyramid, when the men trying to steal the Pharom cornered them. Reliving it in excruciating, traumatic detail.
Just then, Alex detected another voice piercing through the noise. It was not familiar to her. At once, she felt a great wave of fear and anger and malice surging in their direction. A jumble of thought and emotion spiking hot. Then, she perceived a name. “Rosalie.” Out of seemingly nowhere, she had suddenly sensed this woman’s presence, sensed her thoughts, her intent. She could feel the woman’s rage. She was dangerous, very dangerous.
Alex spun around in the direction of where they had entered the chamber.
She saw a cloud of dust being kicked up, pebbles spilling down.
Dr. Khadesh and Khamir quickly stepped in front of her in a protective instinct. They had also sensed the stranger’s presence.
The woman’s aura began to fade as suddenly as it had appeared. She was gone.
“We must leave,” they heard Dr. Khadesh say.
The six of them all dashed up and out of the chamber. Once outside, the bright sunlight blinded them for a moment.
They put their sunglasses back on. As their eyes adjusted, they looked around, scanning their surroundings, but did not see anyone.
Khamir looked at Dr. Khadesh. “I think we have a new problem.”
The older man’s expression darkened, his voice grave, “We do.”
CHAPTER
3
Rosalie ran.
A couple of minutes later, once she got back to where the tourists were, she slowed down, trying to blend in and act nonchalant. But inside, she was vibrating with a maelstrom of emotion. She tightened her headscarf and put her sunglasses on. She needed to get out of there. Fast.
She hadn’t realized how far into Petra she’d traveled, she’d been so focused on following the group of six, and staying out of sight. She hurried her pace, tripping on an uneven part of the path. She hit the ground, scraping her hand. A stranger came over to help her up.
“Are you ok?” the man asked.
She wiped the dust off of her arms and pants. “Yes, yes, thank you.”
“Your hand, it’s injured...” he started to say.
“It’s nothing,” she replied cutting him off. She had scraped her palm. She picked some pebbles out of it, then wiped the blood off on her pant leg. “I must go.”
He was about to offer more assistance, but she was already hurrying away.
She was shaking as she walked at a brisk pace
. Her hand hurt and she’d hit her knee pretty hard. It was throbbing. But she needed to get away. The woman in the chamber suddenly knowing her name had badly startled her. It made no sense. There was no way she could’ve known who she was. The whole experience had shaken her badly. What had happened there was impossible, she told herself, from the strange barrier to get inside, to the bizarre experience she’d been confronted with inside the chamber.
Before hearing her name, Rosalie had nearly fainted when she’d heard what they’d said about the two men who’d followed them into the pyramid’s chamber. She’d known deep down in the core of her being that one of them was Sebastian. Then, she’d had the vision. She couldn’t explain it. But she’d seen it clearly. She saw Sebastian and Thomas in the stone chamber, with the six others they’d followed inside. The two men were holding the group at gunpoint. There was a strange object glowing in the center of the room. Then violent winds, followed by a blinding flash. And then nothing. Both Sebastian and Thomas were gone. But the others remained, safe and unharmed. She had no idea what had happened to cause it. Nothing made any sense.
Tears streamed down her face. She knew then that he was dead. The man she loved, and envisioned a future with, was gone. Her heart was shattered. Along with all of her dreams. She couldn’t help it, she wept.
Attracting more attention due to her tears and now noticeably agitated state, she pulled her scarf over her face, trying to wipe away the tears that would not stop falling.
When she got back to her hotel room in Wadi Musa, she placed a ‘do not disturb’ sign on the door. She opened her luggage and pulled out a bottle of vodka she’d bought at the duty-free shop at the airport. She poured herself a generous glass. She was rattled, she needed a salve to calm her nerves. She then took the bottle into the bathroom and cleaned the scrapes on her hand, first with soap and water, and then with alcohol. It stung. She checked her knee. She’d torn her pant leg, but her knee was only badly bruised. She touched it gingerly. It was sore and a large bruise had already formed.
After she freshened up, she changed into a bathrobe and put her long, brunette hair up in a clip. She poured herself another glass of vodka.