Worlds Without End: The Prophecy (Book 3)

by Shaun Messick

  Everyone stood in stunned silence as Eli pondered over the words. “John,” he pronounced just as Private Howell, Captain Smith’s communications specialist, ran up behind them.

  “Sir,” Private Howell said, panting. “Th-there’s an incoming message from Scott Air Force Base.”

  Eli sprinted past the private without a word toward the communications tent. Captain Smith and the others quickly followed.

  After a few minutes, they were all gathered around the computer monitor, with Eli seated in the center, ready to begin their video conference with the man whom Eli believed could decipher the unknown writings. Eli pressed the button on the monitor that would connect them to whomever was trying to contact them from Scott Air Force Base.

  The image of John quickly flashed on the screen. “Eli,” John said before Eli could give him the exciting news, “have you seen any sign of Gnols down there?”

  “Gnols?” Eli questioned, confused. “Uh, no. Why?”

  John shook his head, obviously worried. “Is Captain Smith there with you?”

  Captain Smith stepped forward so that John could see him through the monitor’s camera. “I’m here, sir.”

  “Good. Captain, put your team on alert. You may be getting unwanted visitors very soon.”

  Jennifer gasped. “The Gnols are going to attack again?”

  John shook his head again. “I’m not sure. But I have just received recent intel, suggesting that one of the leaders of the Gnols, Dorange Gar, may be searching for the same relic that you have been charged to find. And now he knows it may be somewhere in Central America.”

  “Hold on, John. Before we go any further, I think it’s time that you let us in on what it is that you and President Thompson wanted us to find,” Eli demanded.

  John nodded his agreement and began to tell them about the three gold plates hidden on three worlds. He also explained the significance of the plates and how they pertained to the destinies of Earth, Terrest, and Gnolom. He went on further to explain that the only one that would be able to decipher the plates was the Chosen One, the one that would unite two worlds and two peoples.

  The mention of the Chosen One caused Eli to sit straight up in his chair. “Well, then. I think you need to see what we have found.”

  “You have found it?” questioned John.

  “No,” Eli replied. “But we have discovered unknown writings of unknown origins on the bottom of an ancient Olmec Colossal Head.”

  “Unknown?” John asked.

  The smile that Eli always expressed when he was about to discover something historic spread along his lips. “Yeah. In Olmec, it states that only they who have not tasted of death will be able to read this message. And naturally, sir, you’re the only man we know of that hasn’t died, at least not yet.”

  John chuckled. “Let me see these writings.”

  “Private Howell is uploading images of them to your mainframe as we speak.”

  John stood up from the seat in which he was seated, in front of the monitor, and walked to the center of the room where a circular table rested.

  “You should have them now,” Private Howell said.

  John waved his hand across the table and, immediately, a holographic image of the colossal head appeared in front of him. Using his hands, he manipulated the head, turning it so that the bottom, which contained the engravings, faced him.

  Eli leaned forward to get a closer look at John as he read the writings. John paused for what seemed like an hour. “Oh my,” he said, manipulating the 3D image again with his hands. He expanded the image and turned it to face the monitor so that Eli and the others could get a better look at the inscriptions.

  The anticipation was killing Eli. “What does it say, John?”

  John rubbed his hand over his clean-shaven chin. “These are writings that I haven’t seen in a long time. Only a select few have been ordained with the privilege to read them. I, for one, not being one of them. But this message . . . this message seems to have been written to me personally or for one of the three others that are still alive on this Earth.”

  “Others?” questioned Captain Smith.

  John waved his hand, still staring at the writings with intrigue. “It doesn’t matter now. What matters is that I can read it now.”

  “What language is that, John?” Eli asked. “I’ve never come across writings like these before.”

  “It’s the pure language of God, Eli,” John replied. “Or as we know it - the Pure Adamic Language.”

  “The Pure Adamic Language?” Sergeant Scoefield asked. “What’s that?”

  Jennifer responded before Eli could. “It’s the language that Adam and Eve spoke in the Garden of Eden and the language spoken by mankind before the confounding of language at the Tower of Babel.”

  Sergeant Scoefield, obviously not raised with any religious knowledge, grunted, venting his frustration. “Don’t tell me you buy in to all of this religious crap, Professor.”

  Sam Scoefield’s ignorance and hillbilly attitude toward everything they were working for finally brought Eli’s patience with him to the breaking point. Turning his chair around to face the man, he gave him an ice-cold stare before he spoke. “Sergeant, with everything that has happened in the world recently. Contact with an alien species that resemble us in every way except for their powers, and John revealing himself as John the Beloved, an original apostle of Jesus Christ. You still question the existence of God!” Eli pointed back to the screen where John stood silently observing the entire spectacle. “You were there, Sergeant, when this man called down the powers of Heaven. You were there to witness the miracle that drove the Gnols from overtaking the entire planet!”

  For the first time in a long time, Sergeant Scofield didn’t have a snappy comeback. The arrogance that dripped from his face disappeared, replaced with embarrassment. “I-I’m sorry, s—”

  Eli waved his hand, letting the ignorant sergeant know he had enough of the man’s lack of faith as he turned back to the screen. He leaned forward intently. “What does the message say, John?”

  John sighed and began to read:

  “For whom this is written, for my beloved John or the three Nephites of old. For in that day, it shall surely come to pass that my children from the Telestial glory shall visit my children upon this earth for their iniquity. For they shall appear as gods with power on high to usher in the second coming of the Son of Man. A great evil will arise among them. One that has never been witnessed among my mortal children. An evil so powerful that none can overtake them. Thus sayeth the Lord.

  “But I am a merciful God. A God of love. A God of hope. Just as I have provided a Savior and a greater redemption to atone for the sins of mankind so that man may have eternal life, so too have I provided a second redemption, a lesser redemption than the first. This redemption will be for two worlds and two peoples. My children that reside upon other worlds for which I have hereto created. Just as they are saved from their sins and eternal damnation in the Atonement of Christ, their temporal freedom will come forth by another. The holy spirit will reside in physical form, freeing these people from the evil that groweth and spreadeth like a virus throughout my creations. For all creations are known unto me. Good will always overcome evil. Light will always overcome darkness.

  “And thus sayeth the Lord, for I give power unto the Chosen One to decipher the plates. The plates of Celestial, Terrestial, and Telestial glories. But unto the location of the Terrestrial and Telestial plates I reveal not. But unto my children upon earth, I give charge unto my servant and prophet Manaseta of the Jaredites the Celestial plate to preserve and protect. It shall be buried within the depths of the earth so that no man knoweth of its location.

  “Once thy mortal calling is complete, the descendants of Nephi shall protect and preserve the Celestial plate, and over it shall build a temple. A Pyramid of the Sun dedicated to the most high God until the time of the Chosen One shall come forth. And thus it is sayeth the Lord thy God.”

&nbs
p; After John finished reading, everyone sat in astonished silence. Eli knew that he wasn’t the only one that recognized the significance of the ancient scripture that John the Beloved had just read. It was a piece of scripture that would change the world. No, not the world; the entire galaxy or universe as he knew it.

  In a whisper, Eli said, “the Pyramid of the Sun.”

  He then stood and turned to the others gathered around the computer monitor. “That’s where it is! It’s hidden beneath the Pyramid of the Sun! Captain, get ready to move out. We’re going to Teotihuacan, Mexico!”

  CHAPTER 5: RENDEZVOUS

  Deep Canyon near Underground Rebel Base, Terrest . . .

  Kevin paced back and forth nervously. He glanced down at his watch once again. “3:17 a.m. Where could they be?”

  “Relax,” Skip said from behind.

  Kevin turned and looked at Skip as he, along with Kylee, Bantyr, Skyler Green, Ariauna Tomwon, and Sage Merrok, loaded the transport that would take them to Earth, perhaps never seeing Terrest again. The Gnols had won, destroying what remained of the rebellion on Terrest and any semblance of hope.

  “Maybe they didn’t make it,” Ariauna uttered with a hint of indifference in her tone.

  Skip turned and gave an icy stare to his fiancée, at least for now. Recently, their relationship had been rocky. “Don’t say that, Ariauna.” He then turned and looked up and out above the deep canyon they were settled in. “They have to make it. The child—”

  “The child?” Ariauna interjected. “The child. What about the child? You really believe that the baby Celeste was about to deliver is the one who will defeat the Gnols and free us all?”

  Again, Skip turned to the woman he had grown to love through the war. A woman who had been through so much. A woman who had hardened. Despite the wall she put around herself for protection, Skip seemed to be the only one that could break it down once in a while, although the task was becoming increasingly more difficult as the war with the Gnols raged on. Moreover, the task to soften her heart would become nearly impossible with the Gnols having won the war. There was no doubt of Ariauna’s mistrust for the Gnols. After all, she had been a slave to them, abused in every way a woman in captivity could be.

  That mistrust was no more evident than in her interactions with Celeste. Celeste was a Gnol, the daughter of the supreme commander. No one could blame Ariauna for her doubt in Celeste’s allegiances. To Ariauna, Celeste Chast was not an ally or a friend; she was still the enemy.

  “You do not want Celeste or the child to live, do you?” Sage questioned.

  Ariauna turned and met the cold gaze of another Gnol who had been instrumental in the rebellion’s cause against the Gnols. She took a step back, obviously intimidated by his presence.

  “Of course I don’t!” she snapped back, regaining her composure.

  Stage stood confident but calmly, indicating neither malice nor anger. “Then why do you question the child’s destiny? You have been with us. You have witnessed just as we have the miraculous raising of Jake and Celeste, and yet . . . you still doubt the prophecy. That this child is the one who will unite our two peoples. The one who will bring peace between the Gnols and the Terrestrians. The one who will usher in a thousand years of peace to the galaxy. The one who will pave the way for the coming of the one and only true God.”

  Ariauna turned and looked at her fiancé for support. Skip looked down. There was nothing he could say. He knew that she needed to hear Sage’s words. She needed to know that Sage and Celeste were truly on their side.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything?” Ariauna pleaded, looking at Skip angrily.

  Skip looked up and met her sad green eyes. “I’m sorry. But it’s true, Ariauna. Think about all that Sage and Celeste have sacrificed to help us. Sage a distinguished military career, and Celeste the rightful heir to the entire Gnol Empire. Why would they sacrifice so much?”

  “Sacrifice!” Ariauna barked. “Sacrifice! Think about all that I have sacrificed. I’ve lost everything and everyone that is dear to me! I’ve lost my home world! I’ve even lost my innocence to these . . .” She pointed at Sage. “These monsters! So don’t stand there and tell me to think about what they have sacrificed!”

  Skip was stunned. Yes, she was stubborn and held a strong intolerance toward the Gnol race. But who could blame her? Nonetheless, he had never seen her lash out like this before. “I-I’m sorry, Ariauna,” he said as he stepped forward to hug her.

  “No!” she snapped, blocking his embrace. She then turned and ran off into the darkness.

  “Ariauna!” Skip yelled as he began to take off after her.

  A strong arm stopped him, wrapping around his chest. “Let her be,” Sage said. “I think you are the last person she needs to talk to right now. Give her some time.”

  Skip nodded, worried that the wall might be just too insurmountable to tear down.

  “Look! There on the ridge!” Skyler hollered.

  Everyone turned and looked up at the ridge of the canyon, where a light flashed down toward them, blinking several times in Morse code.

  “That’s the signal,” Kevin declared. “Sage, get the transport ready to go.”

  When the shuttle landed and the cargo hold opened, Kevin’s heart sank. Jake held Adrian in his arms as they slowly walked down the ramp. With his newfound superhuman strength, Jake carried his father with ease. They were closely followed by Anyta, Nichelle, and Lexis. Celeste walked behind them with her newborn son in her arms. She too looked battle worn.

  As Jake stepped off, Kevin asked. “What happened?”

  “Dad’s got a broken leg. Everyone else is fine, and Celeste’s body will repair itself. She will be at full strength within a few hours. We didn’t have the supplies to set and cast his leg.”

  “Let me down, Jake. I can walk,” Adrian demanded with a hint of humiliation in his voice.

  “No,” Anyta said firmly. “Your son will carry you until we set and cast that leg of yours.”

  “B—”

  “No buts, General. Doctor’s orders.”

  Adrian was about to say something else, but the look on his wife’s face said otherwise.

  “Jake carried him the entire fifteen kilometers,” Anyta continued, turning to face Kevin. “I gave him some morphine for the pain. That’s why he is a little out of it now.” Anyta paused and then turned to face Skip. “How long until we’re ready to go?”

  Concern glossed over Skip’s face. “The shuttle’s not space ready yet. Skyler’s working on it. But it will be in a few hours.”

  “We don’t have much time,” Jake said. “The Gnols are bound to find our location soon.”

  *****

  Even though her body was near immortal, Celeste was exhausted. Calum’s birth had been so painful and drained her even more than her transfigured body could handle. Anyta, with her training in human anatomy as an up and coming doctor, couldn’t explain it either. Anyta had delivered hundreds of babies in her time under Ithel Hopet. While other women experienced unbearable pain and even death at childbirth, the amount of pressure Celeste’s body had withstood delivering Calum was something that no mere mortal could survive.

  Freshly showered on the shuttle, fed, and dressed in fresh black fatigues, she and Jake sat on a large stone at the bottom of the canyon by which they were safely hidden from the prying eyes of the Gnol Empire. She held their newborn son in her arms. Despite their belief that Dorange Gar was dead, they knew better than to think that they were safe. In general, Gnols were ruthless and power hungry, and they knew another Gnol would rise to power, honing his or her abilities in order to control the empire.

  “Look at him, Jake. He seems so peaceful,” Celeste said.

  “I know. He’s beautiful,” Jake replied, caressing the back of the baby’s cheek with his hand. The infant moved his cheek toward the touch of his father and then rubbed his face with his tiny fists.

  Celeste, with tears in her eyes, looked up at the man she loved more than an
ything in the galaxy. Jake also had tears in his eyes. The love they both had for their child who had just arrived into the world a few hours before was something neither one of them could describe.

  After staring at her son for a few more minutes, Celeste looked ahead as the morning sun began to rise above the canyon wall. She watched as Skip, Kevin, and Adrian, now with a cast on his left leg, sat next to one another examining a 3D holo projection of space and the wormhole. Anyta, Bantyr, Kylee, and Lexis stood behind them watching the hologram intently as well. Skyler continued to work on the shuttle, and Sage was nearby, searching for Ariauna. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nichelle sitting on a nearby rock, staring at the ground. A sense of worry stabbed at her.

  Ever since their miraculous return from the dead, Nichelle had seemed strangely aloof. Even though Celeste had asked her if everything was okay, Nichelle continued to state that everything was fine. Yet there was something different about her best friend.

  “What is it?”

  Celeste looked up into her husband’s blue eyes. “I’m just worried about Nichelle.”

  The look on her husband’s face told her he recognized what was going on. “Yeah. . . . Wh-what’s going on with you two?”

  “She’s been different. I don’t know. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but there just seems to be something . . . I don’t know. She almost seems angry with us.”

  Just then, Calum let out a deafening cry, stunning both Celeste and Jake. Jake reached down and rubbed the child’s head as he began to cry uncontrollably. “What’s wrong?”

  “I-I don’t know. I just fed him,” Celeste replied as she held him close to her bosom and began to pat his back. “Shh.”

  After a few minutes, the child settled down.