The Eye of Madness

by Mimms, John D;

  “Thirty!” Einstein proclaimed.

  There was another louder beep.

  “Forty!” Einstein shouted.

  Cecil’s heart began to sink with each progressive beep. He knew the number thirty started the sequence confirming the doors were back.

  The loudest beep of them all finally sounded, echoing around the hangar. To the Impals it was a joyous sound. To Cecil, it was the sound of the last nail hammered into his daughter’s coffins.

  “One hundred!” Einstein cried. “The doors are back!” he bowed his head and clasped his hands together. “Thank you my friend,” he said to the unseen Tesla. “Thank you my brave friend. Now go … be at peace.”

  The meter beeped one last time in acknowledgement to Einstein, and then it fell silent.

  “We should go through now!” Dr. Winder said, anxious to put an end to his longing desire to move on. He walked toward the platform.

  “No, we should be the last ones to go through,” Einstein said.

  “That’s right,” Lincoln said. “Einstein is the only one of us who understands this, plus he is a familiar face. We are familiar faces,” he said pointing to himself and the president. “As much as Impals might want to move on, there will be many who are distrustful and frightened. Not too long ago, this contraption was viewed as an execution chamber. Now it may very well be the instrument that brings them peace. They will need familiar faces telling them all is well.”

  “Agreed,” the president said. “I have talked to some other world leaders today, and this is a global issue. All the Impals are restless. I have a feeling this country is about to be inundated with Impals since we have the only two Tesla Gates left.”

  “Where is the other one?” Burt asked.

  Cecil knew the answer. His grandfather was interned there as an Impal.

  “Arizona,” the president said.

  Cecil felt as if salt and alcohol filled his already festering wound. He turned and walked outside then toward the forest. When he reached the tree line, he bent over and grabbed his knees, trying to catch his breath.

  CHAPTER 50

  HOPE

  “In this sad world of ours sorrow comes to all and it often comes with bitter agony. Perfect relief is not possible except with time. You cannot now believe that you will ever feel better. But this is not true. You are sure to be happy again. Knowing this, truly believing it will make you less miserable now. I have had enough experience to make this statement.”

  ~Abraham Lincoln

  The major news channels broadcast the announcement in the morning. All the Impals who did not know where they needed to be soon did. Cecil had stayed out late and was just coming in the door when the news broke. Abbs and Steff met him with hugs.

  “Daddy, we know where we need to be. Do you think it is safe?”

  Cecil wanted to tell them more than anything it was not safe. They should stay here with him and Barbara forever. He didn’t tell them though. He thought about it a lot last night. As much as he wanted his daughters to stay, he held a stronger desire to see them happy. He nodded and said, “Einstein and Tesla think so.”

  Cecil wondered where his grandfather was now. He entered the Tesla Gate in Arizona months ago. He had not heard anything since the eye passed.

  “Look for you great-grandfather when you go through the door. I hope he is there with you.”

  Cecil excused himself and went upstairs to check on Barbara. He found her lying in bed and crying into her pillow. The news recapped the president’s speech on the small TV by the dresser.

  Rebekah and Malakhi had the same reaction to Nehemya’s desire to go.

  “I love both of you,” Nehemya told them as he embraced each with a luminescent arm. “But I just don’t belong here.”

  Gestas stayed out of the discussion. He was the only one who understood. Rebekah and Malakhi were heart broken and devastated. Yet, in the end, they agreed to go with Nehemya and Gestas to America.

  Mary was happier than most when she heard the news. She had never felt she belonged and now the feeling was ten times worse. She travelled back to Donna’s house. There, she met them leaving for the base in Gloucester. Donna was as frail and fragile as she did when Mary found her during the eye. Only this time, it was not due to any foreign substance. It was from the grief of losing her parents again. Their reunion was brief and this time Donna knew she would lose them for good.

  Donna was happy to have Mary accompany them to the base. From there, they would soon go to America. They understood each other better than anyone can understand another person. Mary was a godsend for the distraught girl.

  They arrived at the base after waiting in traffic for hours. The line stretched almost three miles at one point. Millions of Impals would assemble through the base in the coming weeks before shipping off to their destiny.

  Over the next week, the Impals already in the United States flooded into Quantico. They entered the Gate with some hesitation, but with determination. They needed to move on. Friends and family stayed with their loved one to the end before they stepped through. This slowed the process down quite a bit. Cecil knew of the issue, but he dismissed it.

  “I don’t care if it takes ten years. They can have their family with them,” he told them.

  Cecil didn’t want all this authority thrust upon him. Representing the United States at the summit was one thing. Now he seemed to be the supreme authority and guardian of the Tesla Gates. He loathed this responsibility. Besides, there were many higher-ranking officers at the base, so why was it put on his shoulders? He knew the answer to the question although he did not want to admit it … his old man. Was this a legitimate confidence in his abilities? Or, was this a punishment for what his father had done? The answer to the question was not an objective one. He carried out his responsibilities, but from afar. He refused to enter the hangar unless necessary. The girls stayed home with Barbara and he came home early every night to be with them.

  Cecil asked the girls to stay with them as long as possible. He used the excuse that he did not want to give the appearance of nepotism by letting his family go first. He knew it was selfish, but he could not help it. He loved his daughters too much. The thought of letting them go ate at him every second of every day. He found himself wishing for death so he could join them, but he was healthy and, barring an accident; he knew it would be fruitless. He would be just another eternal sleeper. No different from the ones who were now gone from the hangar, carried by other Impals as they passed through the Gate. At least he might be free of the pain from losing them, but what good would it be if he couldn’t ever be with them. For all anyone knew, the sleepers were living in their own personal Hell as they slumbered. For two weeks this debate raged in his head until he got a knock at his door one evening. When he opened it he was not surprised to see his friend, Burt, standing there. Abraham Lincoln with Thomas and Seth Pendleton stood behind him.

  “Hey buddy, sorry to drop in on you like this. Mind if we come in?” Burt asked.

  Cecil absently shook his head and shuffled to the side. He was too numb and too shocked to do anything else.

  “Thank you major for welcoming us into your beautiful home,” Lincoln said and extended his hand.

  Cecil stared at it for a few moments as if he were examining an alien object. He reached out and shook the former president’s hand. Thomas stepped forward next.

  “Thank you for seeing us, Major Garrison,” he said as they exchanged handshakes.

  Cecil nodded and then looked down to see Seth beaming up at him. The boy raised his left hand and shook Cecil’s left hand. Seth wasn’t versed in handshake etiquette. Cecil had grown very fond of the boy on their trip back to Arkansas. The mere presence of the child brought a smile to his face. Cecil said, “Hi, Seth. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. Can I play with Abbs and Steboni?” he asked. It seemed his childish pronunciations had returned.

  “Sure, they are upstairs. I’ll call them.”

  Before he
could call out, Abbs and Steff appeared at the top landing.

  “Hi, Seth!” Abbs called. “Come on up.”

  In spite of their outward projection of good cheer, he could hear the pain in their voice. His heart ripped a little more every time he was with them. They were not happy and he knew why. He was the only one who could give them happiness, but he couldn’t bring himself to it. He and Barbara desperately tried to think of some other way, but there wasn’t any.

  Seth raced up the stairs, or more accurate, he floated up. He leapt from the bottom step and resembling a small, luminescent astronaut as he glided up and landed at the top. The girls embraced him and then ushered him into a bedroom and closed the door.

  Cecil’s smile faded when the children disappeared. “So, what brings you here?” he asked.

  “Do you mind if we have a seat?” Burt asked.

  “Okay,” Cecil said and gestured toward the sofa and recliner in the middle of the living room. Burt, Thomas and Lincoln sat on the sofa and Cecil took the chair.

  “You know how we were discussing the storm and its meaning on our way to the Summit?” Burt asked.

  Cecil nodded.

  “Well, President Lincoln has some insight that we thought you should hear.”

  Cecil glanced at each of them in turn.

  “What is this about?” he asked.

  Lincoln leaned forward and gave a gentle smile. “I can only speak for my own personal beliefs, which I believe I share with most people in this room. I do think God allowed this storm to come. It served as reinforcement to our faith that man has a soul.” He paused and then said, “perhaps a reinforcing truth to some and others, a chance of redemption,” he said, nodding to Thomas.

  Thomas smiled and said, “I agree.”

  He did not elaborate; he did not have to because everyone could hear the sincere emotion in his voice.

  “What about the darkness, the eye … how do you explain it?” Cecil snapped. His mind flashed back to the horrific scene of Barbara’s assault by the darkness the day the eye arrived.

  “Well,” Lincoln began cautiously. “I have to agree that God’s intent is not immediately clear, but it did show us two things.”

  “What?” Cecil asked.

  Burt jumped in and answered the question. “It showed there are consequences for evil.”

  Burt stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “It also shows that God is always open to those who want to turn from their wicked ways. I think our friend, Musial, was proof.”

  “How do you explain the millions killed by these dark souls? What purpose did it serve?”

  Thomas shook his head as he answered, “We don’t know. We may be Impals, but we don’t have any more answers than you. I don’t understand everything that happens in this world, but I am certain it is for a greater reason.”

  Cecil rubbed his weary eyes and leaned back in his chair. He was a man of faith, but his faith had been stretched to the limits. He feared the day his girls left would be the day it snapped beyond repair.

  “What about angels, what about demons … what about God? Have you seen any evidence of them?” Cecil asked.

  “No,” Lincoln admitted. “I have a feeling the dark souls may in some way associate with demons, but I am not certain. And God? Well no, not a personification, but I think the very presence of Impals proves his existence. I believe we will find the answers we are looking for when we reach the doors on the other side.”

  “You have to let Abbs and Steff go, Cecil,” Burt said. “It is the only way for any of you to get peace.”

  Cecil flashed an angry eye at Burt. The very suggestion that he should let his daughters go … what nerve. Burt didn’t have any children, so how could he understand? Before he could respond, Lincoln interrupted in a soothing voice. “I know how you feel, major,” Lincoln said.

  Cecil turned his heated gaze to the former president. How the Hell could anyone know how he feels?

  “I lost two of my sons,” Lincoln continued. “When I lived in Springfield, Illinois, my son Edward died of an illness. About twelve years later, my son Willie died after we moved into the White House. The death of my boys almost destroyed Mary and me. I know the pain you are feeling, major and I know the pain you are anticipating. It is hard, but I promise you will make it through. Even though I briefly had the pleasure of speaking with your wife, I can tell she is a strong woman. You will make it through.”

  Cecil’s anger dwindled to shame. He sank back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the tears. He put his chin on his chest and muttered, “I love them so much.”

  “Of course you do,” Lincoln said. “But be thankful, major.”

  “For what?”

  “That you have gotten to spend extra time with them. Because you know for a fact they have gone on after death. They will be in a happy place where they will wait for you to arrive one day, and …” Lincoln paused and nodded to Thomas. “And we give you our word that we will take them through and make sure they get to where they need to go. I promise, major.”

  Cecil sat in his chair and wept with the palms of his hands pressed over his eyes. His friends sat patiently and waited. Finally, he looked up with red and swollen eyes.

  “When?” Cecil asked.

  “Soon, major. We will go with them soon,” Lincoln said.

  CHAPTER 51

  THE OTHER SIDE

  “I hope the end is joyful, and I hope never to return.”

  ~Frida Kahlo

  The next day, the boats from Europe began to dock at Newport News, Virginia. The ships from Asia, Australia and the Middle East began to dock in Los Angeles and San Diego. Regular air travel was still limited, so it wasn’t feasible to transport the Impals by air. Besides, the large cargo ships could carry thousands of them. Phoenix, Arizona and Quantico, Virginia were the destinations of choice in the world at the moment. The government moved thousands of mobile homes to these bases to accommodate family members. Every single hotel and motel in these areas was booked solid for at least a month.

  Mary arrived with Donna and her family on the first boat from Europe. They took a bus up to Quantico and spent the night in a used, but clean mobile home a couple of hundred yards from the Tesla Gate hangar. Donna’s parents would be going through the next day.

  Donna stayed up the whole night with her parents talking and reminiscing. There was a lot of laughter shared between them, but there were also a lot of tears. Mary found herself feeling out of place again, so she went outside and walked. She stared at the hangar, and then at the moon and the stars. She wondered which one she might wind up on when she went through the Gate in the morning. A light snowfall started and she began to walk with her arms spread wide, absorbing as much of the experience as she could. She giggled as the snowflakes passed through her. She began to feel better and her sadness seemed to drift away with the blowing snow. Mary felt more at peace with herself than she had when she was a little girl. She began to glide and spin across the snow as if on invisible ice skates. She leapt over a bush and came down in a graceful spin. Mary stopped when she heard applause behind her. She turned to see Donna standing a few feet away, smiling and clapping. Her parents stood behind her doing the same, and then they joined in with Mary. Three Impals glided and pirouetted across the snow like seasoned Olympians.

  Donna laughed and clapped, then began to throw snowballs. Each time one passed through their body, they let out a tinny laugh. They spent the next hour building a snowman.

  Donna went back to the mobile home to warm up and her mother made her a steaming mug of hot chocolate. She drank it down and sat on the sofa. A few minutes later, she was sound asleep.

  “Shall we go?” Donna’s father asked, looking out the window at the orange glow of the approaching sunrise.

  “Yes,” her mother said sadly. “Are you sure we did the right thing?”

  Her father nodded.

  “What did you do?” Mary said, stroking Donna’s cheek. “Did you poison
her?”

  Her father didn’t know whether to laugh or take offense.

  “Of course not,” he said. “It’s only sleeping pills. She should be up in a few hours.”

  “But … why?” Mary asked, incredulous.

  “Because we didn’t want her to see us step through the Gate. We didn’t want her to experience that finality. We want her to always remember tonight.”

  Mary understood their reasoning even though she didn’t agree with it. There was no point in arguing now. “She wanted to say goodbye,” Mary said quietly.

  “She did,” her mother said. “Tonight is the best goodbye anyone could ask for.”

  She bent down and placed a note in Donna’s jacket pocket and then kissed her on the cheek. “Good bye, baby. We love you and will be waiting for you one day.”

  Her father bent down and kissed her cheek as well. “Goodbye, sugar bear. I love you.”

  Mary felt compelled to leave her a message of some sort. She asked for pen and paper which Donna’s mom produced. She sat down at the table and scrolled out a quick note. She had to concentrate to keep the pen from passing through her hand. When she finished, she held it up and read to herself.

  Thank you for saving me, Donna. You are a bright and noble young lady. I was glad to be able to know you and to save you. Your gift to me will not be in vain, as I move on to what awaits; please don’t let my gift to you be in vain. Stay strong.

  ~Mary Tudor

  Mary placed the note in her pocket. She bent and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Keep strong, love,” Mary said.

  All three of them could not help shedding a few shimmering tears before they left. As the first rays of the sunshine broke through the window, they turned and walked out the door. The line was starting to form for morning departures. Less than fifteen minutes after they left the sleeping Donna, they passed through the Tesla Gate.

  Rebekah, Malakhi, Nehemya and Gestas arrived a few days later. They lodged in a mobile home not too far from the hangar. Rebekah agreed she would not let Malakhi accompany them to the hangar. She didn’t want him to see his grandpa go through a device once hated and feared as an instrument of genocide.