Neither one had ever thought there would come a day they would be so overjoyed to hear the sound of traffic.
"I can see a light over here that must be coming through a manhole cover," said Nino overjoyed.
They climbed up a metal stairway, pushed up against the cover with all their might, and smacked it a few times in frustration when they couldn't manage to open it. Then they strained even harder as they made a second attempt to push the cover off until their effort was rewarded. The fresh air outside felt pure, clean and unpolluted to them, as if it was uncontaminated by the CO2 emissions of cars, the trash people throw away without a second thought, and the most common waste products found in any city.
"We did it," Claudia whispered in disbelief.
"There were times when I thought we wouldn't get out of there alive."
"So did I but here we are, safe and sound."
"Well, OK, in one piece but with a ton of shit all over us," Nino joked, looking himself over.
"Nothing that a good shower won't be able to fix," Claudia replied with a smile.
"Speaking of showers, I'm really thirsty."
"What do you say we find a cafe, have something to drink and then ask them for directions to the Piazza Archimede?
"Fantastic. What I really want to do is drink something cold, start up the Vespa and get away from here."
"And the shower?"
"When we're far enough away from the city, we can find a place to stay where we can take a shower and spend the night if we feel like it."
IX – Night
The pension was named the Roman Ruins. Located almost fifty kilometers outside Syracuse, it was a charming building in the middle of a field with views of the beach, a place where nature mellowed the mood of the guests and encouraged reflection. The only thing ruinous about it was the name, since everything else about the place would make you consider it an idyllic bordering on perfect getaway spot. The reception area was on the small side and nothing special, but when the friendly owner accompanied Nino and Claudia to their room they were stunned. Designer furniture, yellow curtains that filtered the sunlight passing through to paint the walls in brilliant shades of gold, the parquet floor, sheets with a texture not unlike silk and the bed... the huge bed. The huge double bed.
What did the world and everything else in it matter? Life was to enjoy and savor in the here and now. The shyness, the games, the suggestive insinuations. They were all part of the art of falling in love, but now the time had come to take the next step, to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh that came from two bodies touching one another and flowing together until they united as one.
The setting sun tinted the small bedroom with green, lilac and rose tones, while the aromas of the sea filled the lungs of the two lovers as they embraced and kissed passionately. Their bodies smelled of lavender, honey and milk, courtesy of the shampoo provided by the pension, as they caressed one another with their fingertips as if they feared they might wake up from some deep dream. Their hair, more and more intertwined with each touch, each breath, each sensual, amorous movement, transported them to places the brain often interprets as orgasmic. The forbidden fruit was touched time and time again, caressed and worshiped, their carnal appetites whetted by bodily fluids.
They opened their eyes to find that their seemingly far distant dream had turned into reality. They stopped. Both wished to show their commitment to each other, to make clear without saying a single word that they knew they were no longer alone but were part of each other and complemented each other. Their fingers intertwined and they spoke silently for a long time, telling each other all the desires and emotions that swept over their senses from the moment they saw each other for the first time, revealing all the secrets they had guarded during the time they were together, but separated.
"I love you," whispered Nino. "I loved you from the first day I met you."
"I love you, too," she sighed, caressing his lips until they melted together into a single body.
*
The pleasure of sleep took Cupid's place, who was resting beneath the rumpled sheets at that moment. Overwhelmed by the sight of Claudia's body, Nino struggled to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to miss a single second of that moment, although Mother Nature unfortunately forced him to get up to go to the bathroom.
He looked at his face in the mirror, satisfied with himself, and stretched while he struck out his tongue to look it over. He washed his face and hands, worried that it might wake him from the dream tale he was living, although his heart was pronouncing the reality. It was all true. This wasn't some trick played by his overactive, uncontrolled imagination or an online simulation for minds of little faith, but verifiable pleasure when the reality far outstrips fiction.
"Don't blow it. Don't piss her off," he said to himself in the mirror.
He dried himself off, stretched his arms again and opened the door, fully intending to get right back into bed.
"What the hell is going on here!" he said in disbelief, just before the lights went out and he crashed to the floor.
*
"Did you tie him up?" one of the men asked.
"It's all taken care of," replied the man who appeared to be the leader.
The four men wiped clean everything they had touched in the room, leaving behind no trace of their presence, before rolling Nino and Claudia up in separate rugs. The shortest of the four, the man with the rough, lived-in features, pointed out the places to clean, objects to take and the time on the clock. That was Ernest, a second level master of the Order of the Living Dead. The other three were only soldiers of the lowest level, none too intelligent but quite useful when the time came to carry out these "special" operations, as he liked to call them. They even looked like they came off a factory assembly line: short, dark hair, thin faces, big muscles and long legs. Perfect for doing manual labor, dirty work and other underhanded activities, in other words.
"Be careful not to hurt them," Ernest ordered. "First, I want to know exactly what they know or think they know. Then I'll decide what to do with them."
Like the mixed-blood traders who once loaded up their camels before departing for the market, they hoisted the two rugs on to their shoulders, putting one man in front and two in back, in the event they had to leave at full speed. Thanks to the limp bodies, they had no trouble making their way through the door. It also appeared likely that they had rehearsed the art of kidnapping thousands of times, since the skill they showed in the abduction was just as worthy of admiration as contempt.
"Don't make any noise," Ernest said as they went down the stairs.
The three men obeyed his command to the letter, controlling the sound made by their footsteps to the point where you would swear the soles of their shoes were made with sponges instead of rubber.
They crossed a long lobby, paid no attention to the receptionist who was reading the newspaper, opened the front door and walked out of the hotel as if was the most natural thing in the world.
"Put them in the back of the van," Ernest indicated.
"You don't think they'll come to?"
"I imagine it'll be a pretty long time before that happens. We sprayed them with enough anesthesia to knock out a horse for a couple of hours."
Ernesto climbed into the van, closed the door and started up the engine. Before putting the van in gear, he turned around and looked back:
"You two thought you had escaped but you were wrong. Pretty soon I'll find out how much you know and how far along you were."
X – Nothing is What It Seems
Bound and unable to move, Claudia and Nino awoke from their forced sleep in a place completely foreign to them. The darkness only revealed a few hints about their new surroundings. It was barely lit by the thin slivers of light that managed to slip in through a few slits in the highest part of that room. To their right, they could faintly make out the body of a decapitated man, although they grasped right away that it was only a painting. On their left, the darker side, a series
of wooden scaffolds rose higher and higher until they were lost to sight. The rest of what was there could best be described as objects covered in plastic and junk covered in dust.
"Are you all right?" Nino asked when he saw that Claudia had just woken up.
"My head hurts, but... where are we?"
Confusion and panic set in and frightened her. Her feet nervously tapped the floor and a desperate look came over her face once she realized she was tied up.
"What the hell is going on?" she cried anxiously, trying in vain to free herself.
"I think the men who were chasing us through the tunnels captured us."
"It can't be true, this isn't happening," she sobbed.
"Hey, calm down. If we're still alive, it's because they want something from us. We have to stay calm and act smart."
Claudia lowered her head and clenched her teeth to force herself to concentrate.
"I will be strong, I will be strong, I will be strong," she repeated to herself over and over again.
After a little while, she looked up again, apparently calmer, and said to Nino:
"OK, I'm better now, now tell me the plan."
"What plan?"
"The plan that's going to get us out of this mess, the plan that always surprises me, the plan you're conceiving in your head right now... the plan," she insisted as she shifted her weight from right to left.
"Ahh, right, that plan."
"Yeah, that one."
"Welllll, actually I don't really have one."
"What?"
"You have to understand, I just came to myself and I haven't had time to think about anything. Not to mention that I was worried about you."
"I'm fine, so now you can start to think about how to get out of here."
Nino concentrated. He looked at everything around him, focused intently on seemingly unimportant details like pieces of furniture and statues, and struggled in vain in the chair trying to free himself from his bonds. Then he said:
"I think I have a plan."
"Seriously?" Claudia wondered.
Without saying a word, Nino leaned his body forward, closed his eyes and hurled himself backwards.
The legs of the chair shattered. Aside from taking a hard shot to the ribs, Nino managed to maneuver his legs around, even with his hands tied, and get to his feet before going over to one of the statues. Using a broken edge of the statue as a makeshift saw, he began to work away at weakening the rope until he managed to free himself completely.
"Lean forward," he ordered Claudia.
He bashed away at her chair a few times until he finally smashed it to pieces.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, I am now," she replied happily.
"Now go over to the broken part of the statue and try to free yourself. While you’re doing that, I'll go look for a way out of here."
"OK."
The ceiling in there climbed higher and higher until it was lost from sight in the darkness. That wasn't the only thing. It was built like an inverted cupola, forming an arch that would end in a peak. The outer wall could be identified easily enough since the shuttered windows weren't able to completely block all the light from coming though. The luminous threads of light that settled like sharpened knives on the opposite wall revealed that wooden panels had been used to build the wall.
They are movable pieces, thought Nino, surprised and puzzled.
He pushed one of the panels to confirm it would move.
"If I give this a good shove, I'm sure I can go right through it," he said to himself, absolutely convinced it was true.
Then he realized doing that would almost certainly attract a lot of attention... too much attention. He continued exploring the false wall, heading towards the darkest part of the room.
"Got it! Here it is!" he exclaimed happily.
"You found a way out?" asked Claudia, who had just finished freeing herself.
"Yes, and it's not locked."
When they opened the door, the intense light blinded them for a second.
"Well done, very well done," said Ernest, surrounded by about 20 men. "And now that you've freed yourselves, what do you think you're going to do?"
Once their eyes adjusted to the harsh glare, Claudia and Nino realized the seriousness of the situation facing them.
"Fight!" Nino growled, shielding Claudia behind him. "If we have to die, it won't be without defending ourselves."
Ernest took two steps forward before he spoke.
"Who said you're going to die?"
"You're all members of the church of the dead."
"I can see you two know a lot, maybe more than I figured before," replied Ernest, squinting in the bright light. "To be more precise, we are members of the Order of the Living Dead.
"Oh, my God!” exclaimed Claudia, genuinely frightened.
"But it's not what you two are imagining," Ernest added quickly.
"Ah, it's not?" was Nino's skeptical response.
"Of course not. We belong to an order dedicated in body and soul to the protection of the dead, bringing them back to life, and not to killing people who show they are blessed with the qualities of curiosity and intelligence."
"I don't understand," said Claudia, coming out from behind Nino.
"You two went deep down into the tunnels of the city searching for the Temple of 1000 Crystals, or as you called it before, the church of the dead. The curious thing is you found its ancient location."
"But we didn't see anything down there," Nino interrupted.
"Of course not, because we moved it a long time ago, shortly after I was born."
"Why?" Claudia asked.
"The answer to your question is quite simple. Our order moved it to protect it."
"From who?"
"From vandals, the inclement weather, all the corrupt officials and speculators... from all enemies of knowledge."
"Then your order bears that name because you watch over the dead that you keep alive," Nino remarked.
"Exactly! Didn't I tell you these two kids were worth the effort?" Ernest commented, looking back at his companions.
"For what?" Claudia asked.
"Perhaps you don't realize where you are yet?"
They both raised their heads and looked up. The pillars curved upwards and transformed themselves into a gigantic cone overlaid by windows that enabled the light to enter and envelop the interior. The circular shape of the base merged with the ground, symbolizing the union between earth and heaven, accessible for all human beings. The artificial lights seamlessly blended with the brilliance of natural light, creating flashes very much like reflections in a mirror engraved with images from the outside world: the sky, clouds and horizon.
"Good God!" exclaimed Claudia. "It's like the inside doesn't exist, as if we were standing outside these walls."
"It is the interpretation of a dream, the same one Apollonius had when he built the temple," Ernest said, moving behind them as he put his hands on their shoulders.
"But this isn't ancient."
"No, Claudia, it is not. What is built underneath the Santuario de la Madonna delle Lacrime*, yes, that is indeed the true masterpiece of Apollonius.
"Now I understand," Nino jumped in, "the sanctuary was created to cover the Temple of 1000 Crystals so that the temple wouldn’t lose access to the light."
"Exactly, but our greatest frustration is that we were never able to put the mechanism that Apollonius installed in the temple into operation."
"And what is that?" Claudia wondered, even as her eyes never strayed from that vision of the sky.
"It appears that some kind of key is required, an artifact that will activate the mechanism. We built some gadgets that imitated the shape of the slot, but we still haven't found anything that fits."
"That thing!" exclaimed Nino.
"What are you talking about?" said Ernest, caught up in Nino's excitement.
"We found this thing that looked like a crystal with the map of
human skin."
"Don't joke around with me, Nino. A map of human skin? A crystal?"
"It's a long story," Claudia leaping in to divert Ernest's attention, "but I'm sure you'll be very interested in hearing it while we go back to pick up the Vespa."
*
Two hours later...
The spiral staircase ended at a wooden door with enormous hinges that supported the great weight of that work of art. The engravings were extraordinary. In the upper part, twelve men perched in the clouds pulled on chains anchored in a depiction to scale of the original temple. In the lower part, twelve other men pulled on other chains to bring the temple closer to the earth. It was as if the artist wished to portray a struggle between the divine and terrestrial for possession of this wondrous creation.
"Are you ready?" Ernest asked before opening the doors.
They both nodded, absorbed in their own thoughts.
The central section of the temple almost defied description. Several rows of columns supported the weight of the tiled roof, while several bodies of golden snakes coiled themselves protectively around the columns as if guarding them against harm. The stained-glass windows, colored with the ancient art of alchemy, envisaged suns over copper-colored lands, skies embracing golden wheat fields, and seas surrounding verdant green lands with beautiful color tones and artistic portrayals. The full Creation in all its splendor was displayed for the visual enjoyment of the visitors.
"Now you two have the honor and the duty to preserve our secrets. Now you are members of our order," Ernest said solemnly. "Will you allow me to use the crystal key?"
"Yes, of course," Nino replied, puzzled but happy all the same.
The walls trembled when the crystal was inserted into the slot. The upper section of the columns moved back, sliding along a system of bearings that supposedly still had not been invented in the era the columns were built. The corners of the stained-glass windows changed shape, as if some intense heat source was melting them and the white marble floor began to sparkle with a spectacular shine.
"Oh my God!!!" blurted Claudia, overcome by a feeling of fear mixed with admiration.
The temple was inundated with beams of bright light, bouncing from one side to the other and creating an atmosphere impossible to describe. The statues came to life until they disappeared from sight. The ceiling tiles were changing patterns and colors as rapidly as the scales of a chameleon. And as the columns were enveloped by the coiled snakes, there only remained an altar in the middle of an absolute void.
Tales from the Voynich Manuscript and the Island of Jan Mayen Page 10