The New Reality

by Stephen Martino

  In the below-deck cabin, Jonathan spent most of the ride in bed fluctuating between fever-ridden sweats and rigorous chills with Marissa at his bedside tending to his needs. One moment she would have a damp cold rag upon his head and the next she would be bundling him in blankets.

  Alex placed his hands on Marissa’s shoulders as they watched Jonathan sleep. “How’s he doing?”

  “At times he becomes lucid and I think the infection has passed, but then he goes into the fever-chill cycle once again.” She turned her head and looked up at him. “He really needs a hospital. There’s not much more I can do for him here.”

  “There’s a medical facility in the town of Skala on Patmos. We’ll bring him there first. They may have something you’ll need.”

  I hope.

  “Isn’t there anywhere better?” she pleaded. Knowing the island had been deserted months ago because of its proximity to Astipalea, she reasoned there would be no medical staff available to fully accommodate Jonathan’s needs.

  Alex knew he had limited options. The UAA would soon discover their ploy and would promptly be in pursuit once again. Plus, there were no other operational medical institutions for at least a thousand miles.

  Before Alex could answer her question, Jonathan pushed himself up to a sitting position, discarding the blankets that once enveloped him. It was as if Lazarus once again rose from the dead. “Do not fuss over me,” he said with a little spunk back to his voice. “I am not dead yet nor do I plan on dying. There will be no going out of the way on account of me.”

  He looked at both of them and extended an arm. “If you would, please.”

  Alex grabbed hold and brought him up to his feet. Before Jonathan could say another word, Marissa handed him a glass filled with a red liquid. There would be no argument as she pushed it up to his lips and watched him drink the entire thing.

  With a little help from both Alex and Marissa, Jonathan slowly walked over to the stairs and grabbed hold of the railing, aiding his ascent up the steps.

  “So nice of you to join us,” William greeted them as they climbed up on deck.

  The warm air and clear blue sky were medicine enough for Jonathan. It instantly lifted his spirits and made him feel alive once again.

  “How are you doing?” Guri asked, still green with nausea.

  Jonathan gave a friendly smile. “There’s no time to stay sick.”

  William took one hand off the steering wheel and pointed ahead. “Welcome to Patmos everyone. Population currently at zero and percent chance of leaving the island alive I estimate to be the same.”

  I hope he doesn’t speak at any motivational seminars, Marissa thought.

  A medieval fortress buttressed by tall stone walls stood prominently on top of the island’s tallest hill. The city of Skala stood at the foot of this hill while the city of Chora surrounded the castle. Both were comprised of white houses, narrow winding streets, and lush greenery.

  William could not help dwelling on the last words Jonathan said before going below deck. It all ends on Patmos. He obsessed on it the whole ride and could no longer hold back asking, “What all ends on Patmos?”

  Jonathan slowly walked over to Alex as everyone listened with anticipation.

  “I have run the code over and over again searching for other clues but could find none. The code has taken us this far but will lead us no further. I neither know what fate has to offer nor what the future will bring. Only God knows what’s in store for us after Patmos.”

  The answer brought William no solace and only proved to increase his angst. Wanting to get as far away from this island as he could, he instead kept silent as he sailed into the coastal city of Skala. Like most cities they’d seen since leaving Neurono-Tek, this once bustling city had been deserted. The harbor was completely empty. Most of its inhabitants must have sailed away on anything they could find at The Disease’s outbreak.

  William adeptly steered the ship into the harbor. Passing sandy beaches, hotels, and numerous resorts along the way, the boat slowly pulled up next to a long, wooden dock lined with metal moorings. Alex secured the ship on two of them but made sure not to tie the knots too tightly in case they needed to make an abrupt escape.

  Guri hopped overboard and laid face-down on the beach. Though usually adverse to sand getting in his clothes or shoes, he was grateful just to get on land.

  “My sailing wasn’t that bad,” William huffed after watching Guri’s reaction.

  Alex and Marissa both took one of Jonathan’s arms and helped him onto the dock. Though he was still wobbly on his feet, he quickly started to regain his strength.

  “So here is where John received the visions that he recorded in the last book of the New Testament,” Jonathan said, admiring the entire island. He made sure not to mention the name of this last book, Revelation, as to not cause William further angst.

  “Where to first?” Alex asked.

  “To the cave where God spoke to John,” Jonathan answered.

  “Not so fast,” interrupted Marissa. “We have to make a quick stop at the medical clinic here before we drag you any further on this expedition.”

  He attempted to argue, but Alex gave him a stern look, “Doctor’s orders.”

  As Alex and Marissa helped Jonathan along Skala’s narrow roads, William assisted Guri off the sand. “Get on your feet,” he said. “This isn’t the time to be playing in the sand. We have some work to do here.”

  “But I was not playing,” Guri attempted to say before nausea interrupted any rebuttal.

  With the return of some energy, Jonathan attempted to walk on his own. However, his leg muscles still proved too weak to carry him alone and he stumbled every time he attempted to free himself from Alex and Marissa.

  “One step at a time,” Marissa cautioned. “This isn’t a race. Keep it slow.”

  A quaint white building with a red cross above its main door caught their attention. It was not far from the dock and they all assumed that the Greek letters on the sign must say medical clinic or something to that nature.

  “This is the hospital?” William commented as they approached the front door. “It looks more like a beach bungalow than any medical facility I’ve ever seen. No wonder there’s no one left on the island. They probably all died from lack of medical treatment.”

  The building’s quaint appearance from the distance turned into a shabby décor the closer they approached. With white paint peeling off the walls, plants growing from its multiple cracks, and a crumbling roof it certainly appeared to be in ill-repair.

  William shrugged his shoulders. “Any port in the storm, I guess.”

  “Alex,” Marissa asked, “do you still have a pocketeer left to break into this place?”

  “Used them both up at Megiddo. Maybe I can jimmy open one of the windows or climb on the roof to see if there’s another entrance up there.”

  Without a word, William walked up to the front door and gave one strong kick. The flimsy wooden planks fell to the ground as its hinge broke upon impact.

  “Pocketeer,” William scoffed. “Climbing on the roof. Maybe we should dig a large hole and tunnel our way in?”

  William led them inside, mumbling to himself the whole way. His first impression of the interior was that a bomb must have hit it. Papers were strewn all over the place. Chairs had been overturned and remnants of medical supplies and wrappers lay haphazardly across the floor.

  “Looks like when The Disease hit,” Alex commented, “people must have panicked and fled with everything in here that wasn’t tied down.

  “I hope there’s something we can still use,” Marissa said.

  “I found something!” William shouted with glee. Bending over, he sifted through a few papers and grabbed a flat, rectangular object wrapped in black foil.

  Marissa rushed over to inspect his discovery. Before she could get a good look, William ripped open the wrapper and began to eat it.

  “It’s a chocolate bar,” William said with his mouth full
. “It’s my favorite candy. I can’t believe I found it on the floor over here!”

  Alex signaled everyone to the back of the building before Marissa had the opportunity to throw the candy on the ground. He and Jonathan walked around the small reception desk and entered one of the four adjoining examination rooms in the rear.

  “It looks like the scavengers didn’t take everything,” he commented, pointing to a small glass cabinet stocked with medical supplies.

  The rest of the room, however, appeared to be otherwise stripped fully clean. Empty drawers, bare shelves, and cleaned-out cabinets were all that remained. Even the pictures that once hung on the walls had been taken. Only squares where the sun had not bleached the walls remained.

  “William,” Alex said, “you and Guri search the other rooms while Marissa takes a look to see if there’s anything usable here.”

  In good spirits after his unexpected snack, William took his favorite companion and set off to investigate the area.

  “Locked,” Marissa said, trying to open the glass case. “No wonder they didn’t abscond with these supplies. They were probably too much in a hurry to find the key.” She knocked on the hard glass. “Bulletproof.”

  “I guess they couldn’t break it open either,” Alex commented.

  Marissa laid Jonathan down on the examination table in the center of the room. Despite some continued insistence, he finally capitulated to her wishes. His legs remained too weak to put up any resistance.

  Alex took a small piece of plastic that he found in an open drawer, wedged it in the glass cabinet’s lock and jiggled it until it clicked open.

  “Thank God they used this old-fashioned lock here,” he said, opening up the cabinet.

  Marissa looked inside and began stocking her black bag with as many medication-filled glass vials, diagnostic tools, and other medical supplies as it could carry. “Jackpot!” she commented like a kid in a candy shop.

  She then grabbed a clear bag of IV fluid and began pushing a few of the vials against the small, yellow plastic circle along its side. The contents of the vials immediately mixed into the fluid creating an orange-tinged solution.

  “I feel fine,” Jonathan insisted, knowing her concoction was meant for him. “You need not fuss over me.”

  Marissa pulled out the IV line from the bag and slapped the infusion patch attached to the end of it on his chest. “This will take about 30 minutes,” she said while hanging the fluid on a nearby pole.

  William and Guri returned from their expedition. While William entered the room empty-handed, Guri carried a stack of supplies, dropping a few on the way.

  “I picked up some things I thought you may find useful,” he said, laying the contents in his arms along the counter.

  Marissa looked over and saw that most of the supplies weren’t even medical and those that were looked to be either trampled or gnawed on by a dog. “Thank you,” she said appreciably, pleased they tried to help.

  “Well, if you all are here on account of me,” Jonathan said, “then I feel I must do something constructive with the time.”

  “You just rest,” Marissa insisted.

  Jonathan gave her a smile. Though he capitulated to the fluids, he certainly would not remain silent during the whole infusion.

  “Patmos,” he went on to say, “was once an old Roman penal colony. It seems difficult to believe now that such an apparent paradise could be considered a prison at any juncture but that is how the Romans used this island in their day.”

  “Was John in some type of prison while here?” Marissa asked.

  “No. He had free reign of the whole island to do with as he pleased. He had been sentenced here around 95 A.D. because of his Christian beliefs and teachings.”

  “I thought they just summarily crucified all the Christians at that time,” Alex commented.

  “That is true. Thus, it is believed John must have been someone of wealth or power to receive this more lenient form of punishment. In fact, he was able to write while here on the island and have his messages sent to different parts of the Christian world without a problem.”

  “Sounds awfully lenient for the Romans,” Marissa said.

  “Fortunately, it was,” Jonathan admitted. “In a cave about half way up the hill between the cities of Skala and Chora is where he is believed to have lived and written the last book of the New Testament.”

  “I guess that’s our next stop,” Alex surmised.

  Jonathan nodded yes but before he could speak William blurted, “I thought we were heading up to the medieval-looking fortress, not some bat-infested cave.”

  “You mean the Monastery of St. John,” Jonathan said.

  “That castle’s a monastery?” William said.

  “Indeed it is. Commissioned in the year 1088 by Father Christodoulos, it was built over the previously destroyed Grand Royal Basilica that once also honored John. He also commissioned in the same year the Chapel of St. Anna, which now surrounds John’s cave.”

  “I still think we should go to the castle,” William huffed.

  To pass the time, Jonathan went on to entertain them about the ancient history of the island when it was referred to as Letois after the goddess Artemis, daughter of Leto. Marissa seemed especially interested and listened intently as he explained how the Greeks believed this island had once sunk into the sea and was brought back to the surface by Zeus. He also went on to relay to them how the monastery was now believed to hold great ancient treasures, most of which have never been shown to the public.

  Once the bag fully emptied, Jonathan sat up on the table and removed the infusion patch from his chest. The IV had definitely done its job as he jumped to the ground without the slightest bit of stumbling.

  Before anyone could take his arm, he briskly walked out of the medical clinic. With a zip to his voice, he looked at the bunch of them and said, “I hope you weren’t planning on standing there idle all day.”

  They all followed Jonathan’s lead and left the dilapidated medical clinic to begin their journey up the winding, paved road to the cave. Along the way, Alex subconsciously placed his arm around Marissa’s shoulder. Before he realized what he had done, he felt her arm reciprocate his affection.

  No words needed to be spoken. There had been an unstated attraction between the two since they met and the gentle grasp each held around the other’s side confirmed what they both had been feeling.

  “Hey, hey!” William said, gawking from behind. “This isn’t any love fest here. I thought we were trying to find a cure for The Disease on this trip, not a date.”

  Both seemed embarrassed that they let their emotions get the best of them. William was right. They needed to keep their senses sharp and put aside any personal distractions.

  Alex removed his arm and looked back at his friend. “So you say that’s the best way to do the Heimlich maneuver now?” he jested as if she were showing him some type of first-aid procedure.

  “Guri,” William pointed, “go help Alex with his Heimlich.”

  Because he felt so embarrassed by the situation, Guri did not know what to say. Instead, he made a few repetitive tics by squinting and pushing up his glasses. William only made the situation worse when he grabbed him by the side and said to Alex, “Is this how it works?”

  Everyone but Guri seemed to get a chuckle out of the situation. Even Marissa, for once, found him amusing.

  Despite his show of affection, Alex had remained attentive to their overall situation. Via one of the videre lenses he monitored the island from a satellite feed, checking visual, infrared, and ultraviolet emissions while on a small portion of the other contact lens he had a direct link to Tom in the Stratoskimmer.

  Periodically since their departure, he had been receiving digital transmissions with an update of his progress. Tom communicated multiple times that the UAA continued to follow his ship. He had made a few stops in Guam and Hawaii to add to their confusion.

  “This whole complex,” Jonathan said as they reached
their destination, “is now a convent full of chapels, gardens, and other sanctuaries built around John’s cave. What started out as a single structure in 1088 has blossomed into this entire network of buildings.”

  The gate to the complex stood wide open revealing the beautiful whitewashed buildings inside. The exquisite shrubbery, flowers of all different colors, and an assortment of palm trees bordering the quaint cobblestone walkways made the area both serene and angelic.

  As he entered, Alex eyed every crevice, alley, and chapel in the convent. He wanted no surprises this time. The satellite view showed the area to be deserted, but due to his previous experience on Crete, it only gave him a false sense of optimism.

  Jonathan continued to lead the group through the maze of buildings and down a few flights of stairs until they reached the Chapel of St. Anna. Its entrance was surrounded by a white stone wall with a fresco of John receiving his visions from God above the door.

  “As dreadful as this place is, it is nevertheless the house of God and this the Gate of Heaven,” Guri said, reading the inscription on the wall.

  “I can tell you all this right now,” William said bluntly. “I am not ready to enter any gate of heaven yet.”

  “Don’t worry,” Alex countered, “the bowels of Hell already have a reservation waiting for you.”

  Jonathan led them down a few steps and through the doorway. Measuring about twenty by twenty feet, the room housed the small cave where John was believed to have written the Book of Revelation. Religious frescos, multiple crosses, oil lamps and other Christian icons decorated the cave’s walls. A few benches had been placed in the center of the room for tourists to sit and hear a guide explain the history of this religious site.

  Jonathan pointed to the crack in the cave’s ceiling. “It is said John heard the word of God through this crevice here.” He then pointed to an indentation in the stone that had been lined with beaten silver. “It is also believed that is the place John used to lay his head while sleeping at night.”