Bar joined her. Holding her flashlight on the area, she was surprised by what she saw: a series of ten circles symmetrically connected by lines to one another to form a six-sided, vertical, elongated figure. “This isn’t a tree,” Bar felt a rush of disappointment.
“Have you ever heard of a Kabbalah Tree?”
It rang a bell. She nodded.
Lilibeth continued, “The Kabbalah Tree was originally a Jewish symbol which contained a grouping of esoteric teachings used to define the relationship between God’s creations and infinity. It attempts to answer questions about mankind’s existence and ultimately assists in gaining spiritual realism.”
Bar had interpreted Ed Leedskalnin’s message literally. She had expected to find an image of a tree, not a symbol. “I don’t know, Lilibeth. I think we need to find the image of a tree.”
Lilibeth regarded her quizzically. “Ed never gives you what you expect. Besides, the Kabbalah Tree was thought to have originated when God revealed secrets to Adam. One of those secrets had to do with the Tree of Life, and one of the circles is called ‘Tree of Life,’ although I can’t remember which one it is. Trust me, this has to be to the Tree you’re looking for.”
“How do you know so much about the Kabbalah?”
“I once dated a guy, Zeke Arbuckle, who was into this type of stuff. He taught me all the Sephiroth of the Kabbalah Tree,” she stopped when Bar looked at her quizzically, so she changed paths, explaining, “Sephiroth are the attributes of the infinite and how they relate to the finite. He used to test me on them. Since I liked him, I committed them to memory, although that was several years ago.”
A scraping noise coming from somewhere back up the corridor drew their attention.
“Stay here,” Bar said, handing the dagger to Lilibeth. “I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”
With her flashlight aimed ahead, Bar drew her weapon and walked back up the inclined path, beyond the switchback, and returned to the first-level corridor. She progressed slowly, alert for any sounds. She arrived at the center room with the four statues of the moon phases, stopped, and listened intently. Silence prevailed.
A chill ran over her. Swallowing a lump, she spun, studying the three other passage entrances. She considered that the sound may have been an animal. Or maybe the two FBI agents had come to help, but she would have expected them to announce their presence.
She wouldn’t feel safe until she was certain no one else was down here. This meant exploring the other three tunnels.
She picked the corridor behind the new moon statue to examine first. As Lilibeth explained, the corridor remained level but did make a ninety-degree-turn to the left before emptying into a circular room, roughly the size of the square room. Bar eased into the room with her gun leveled ahead and flashlight sweeping the circular walls.
She was alone.
As she turned to leave, the ground gave way beneath her feet.
****
“Daddy! Daddy!” Cody wailed, trying to wake his father, but Scott remained still.
Cody saw where the cave entrance had collapsed. The rocks were smallest where the mound reached the tunnel roof. He could see a small shaft of light. Cody scaled the mound, scraping and scratching his skin, until he reached the top. With determination, he began pulling stones away from the opening where the beam of light came through.
CHAPTER 48
It was early morning. The first hint of sunlight stained the horizon. Footman and three other members of the Cult of the End waited inside the van in the hospital Emergency Room parking area.
Their target was Sherri Falco. It was Tina who had provided Footman the information so matter-of-factly yesterday morning when Nash wasn’t around: her mother, Sherri Falco, was carrying another seed. Another seed might give Footman and the other COTE members an avenue to enter Eden and exact revenge against Nash. Although Footman had no idea how he would use the seed, he figured first things first: secure the pregnant mother at any cost.
Footman reviewed the plan with the three others: Lyle, Bennie, and Frank. He was armed with a Walther PPK pistol. The others each carried a knife. Footman’s goal was to avoid attention, so using the gun would be a last resort.
A few minutes after 6:00 a.m., Footman, Lyle, and Bennie climbed out of the van wearing white smocks that resembled hospital orderlies. They opened the back of the van and removed a gurney they had stolen two hours earlier from a hospital in Jacksonville. Frank was stretched out on the gurney also dressed in orderly attire, but his uniform was hidden by a sheet pulled tightly up to his chin. The three men casually drew alongside the gurney and pulled it into the emergency room entrance.
Footman barked at the receptionist, “Dr. Markle wants this one upstairs immediately. A transplant recipient from Utah. Just flew in.”
The receptionist responded, “Dr. Markle? Why are you bringing him through ER? He’ll need to be admitted at the main hospital entrance.”
“He’s already been admitted. We’re supposed to get him upstairs. He’s got a fresh kidney waiting for him. Where is the patient elevator?”
The receptionist seemed befuddled. She pointed behind her down a long hallway. “Second corridor on your left. You can’t miss it.”
Footman, Lyle, and Bennie pushed the gurney quickly down the hall as Frank pretended to be unconscious. They found the patient elevator and boarded. Once inside, Footman pushed the button for the fourth floor.
****
With each swing of the angelic Sword, Cain took larger divots of the Tree’s trunk. Pieces splintered around him and seemed to fuel his intensity. To Curt’s amazement, in the shadows, Cain began to glow. At first, his outline appeared to take on an aura of light. Soon, the man’s entire body blazed, pulsating yellow. Conversely, the leaves on the Tree of Life lost their bright green luster and were fading to a drab brown, the branches visibly withering. Likewise, the vibrant red fruit dimmed and drooped.
Cain was absorbing the power from the Tree of Life, and the Tree was dying.
Tina sat on the ground nearby, shielding her face from the flying debris.
The Tree of Life started to list to the side. The mighty trunk cracked and groaned as Cain furiously assaulted the base with the Sword.
Curt knew that the damage was almost complete. With no other choice, Curt retreated several dozen feet. He had a plan, but he would have to reach the island without landing in the water or the Fish would tear him to pieces.
You can do this, he told himself.
Curt took off. Even as he approached the stream at a dead run, he could see the Fish following him with its glossy white eyes. He reached the edge and pushed off with all his might.
It wasn’t enough.
Curt flew through the air and crashed into the low earthen wall on top of the crumpled paraglider. His chest took most of the impact, and the breath was knocked from his lungs. Draped across the foil, he fought to hang on as his legs dangled in the water. He pulled his right leg from the water onto the island but struggled to gain his footing. When he finally did, he raised his body painfully and slowly. As he was about to lift his left leg from the water, an ungodly force latched onto his heel. Terror gripped Curt. He and the paraglider were ripped from the ledge and yanked violently under water.
****
Tina watched in horror as Curt fell into the stream with the Fish.
Cain paused in his demolition of the Tree of Life to watch Curt’s failed attempt to reach the island. Now, he glanced back at Tina and laughed satanically before resuming his work. Each swing of the Sword continued to jar the entire Garden.
Tina was distraught and furious. She crawled over to Cain, latched onto his leg and bit him as hard as she could. He screamed at her in a boiling rage, “Get away from me!”
Cain reared back and kicked her in the ribs. The pain was intense, but quickly faded. Then she felt nothing.
****
Sergeant Trent Wilson stood at the hospital vending machine on the second floor. The candy bar
had gotten hung up. Smacking the window had proved ineffective, so he deposited a second batch of quarters. The two candy bars spun and fell. Wilson reached in and grabbed them.
Standing guard at the CIA agent’s room along with the FBI agent had been uneventful. Still, Wilson had no intention of being gone more than a couple minutes—just long enough to get a snack.
He returned to the public elevator doors across the hall from the patient elevator where a doctor stood patiently waiting, preoccupied with a chart. As Wilson waited, the patient elevator popped open behind him. He happened to turn to watch the doctor board. Three orderlies were escorting a gurney upstairs. The doors closed, and Wilson heard someone shout.
He rushed to the closed doors and listened. The shout ceased as abruptly as it started.
Something wasn’t right.
Wilson dashed to the stairway door, opened it, and raced up to the third floor. He reached the elevator bank and mashed the button of the patient elevator, hoping to catch the rising car.
He missed it.
Wilson ascended the stairs to the fourth floor two steps at a time. Awkwardly, he tried to fish his phone from his pocket to warn Special Agent Johnsten there might be trouble heading his way. Near the top of the stairs, his phone spilled from his pocket, rattling down the staircase. There was no time to go back for it. Instead, he pulled his weapon. Wilson reached the floor and rushed to the patient elevator bank. The door opened just as he arrived. Two orderlies rushed at him from the elevator, knocking his weapon from his hand. Wilson felt a searing pain in his stomach and, in horror, looked down to see a knife protruding from his gut.
CHAPTER 49
Lilibeth heard the distant shout of Bar’s voice. She placed the dagger on the ground. Using the lantern, she raced from the room, up the incline, around the switchback, and up to the main level, traveling on the right side of the tunnel to avoid the frog. Her boots clomped on the floor as she went. The shout had been brief. As she reached the center room, she heard words.
“Lilibeth, I’m down the new moon tunnel!” Bar’s voice was strained. “Be careful, there’s a hole in the floor, and I’ve fallen through!”
Lilibeth’s concern escalated. She entered the new moon tunnel, barely avoiding the statue at the opening, with the light from the lantern jumping across her path. “I’m coming!”
She arrived at the turn in the wall, slowed, and reached the entryway to the circular room. She stopped abruptly. Near the center of the room was a dark, jagged hole in the floor.
“Agent Tiff?” Lilibeth said, edging to the lip. The lantern’s light reached below. A dozen feet down Bar was crumpled on a natural outcropping that formed a narrow ledge. Beyond that lay sheer darkness. Bar had been fortunate to land on the ledge, as there was no telling how far the hole went.
The agent was breathing heavily, wincing, and holding her leg. A cut on the side of her forehead sent a stream of blood rolling down her check. “My leg; I think it’s broken,” Bar managed as she reached for the flashlight which was wedged between her body and the side wall. She turned it on.
She was too far down to reach. Lilibeth searched the circular room. “There’s nothing here to get you out. I’ll have to go for help.”
“No,” Bar said as she tried to move. She froze in pain as she looked at her watch. “It’s 6:15. In fifteen minutes, at exactly 6:30, you have to plunge the dagger in the picture of the tree to open the portal. You still have the dagger, right?”
“It’s in the room with the image, but I can’t leave you here.”
“I’ve still got my cell. I’ll call for help. The two FBI agents at Coral Castle can be here within twenty minutes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, you must open the portal at exactly 6:30. Now go. I’ll be okay.”
Lilibeth understood what had to be done. “Hold on. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
****
Lilibeth hated to leave Bar in her condition, but she had no choice. Cousin Scotty and the others would be trapped in Eden if she didn’t open the portal.
Lilibeth had been involved with a lot of freaky situations, but this one topped them all.
Un-be-credible.
She returned to the square room with the image on the wall. She picked up the dagger from the ground and waited.
****
Scott gained consciousness as something jarred the large rock off his chest. The ground vibrated and stopped. This happened a second and third time. At first he thought it was an earthquake but then realized the tremors were intermittent. In excruciating pain, he lifted his head trying to recall what happened. He remembered Cody was okay.
The relief was short-lived as he saw the opening at the top of the piled rocks. Cody had gotten out.
With every ounce of energy he could muster, Scott flipped over and began crawling up the rocks. Each breath was torture. Without question, several of his ribs were cracked, and he found himself having to pause frequently to fend off the pain and catch his breath. He finally worked his way to the top and was able to peer through into the Garden of Eden.
Neither Cody nor Curt was in sight. Tina was lying motionless on the island. Cain, his entire body glowing yellow, chopped relentlessly at the Tree of Life. The Tree was black now.
Then Scott saw something stir in the stream against the island.
CHAPTER 50
Mia Jenson pushed Mrs. Bedford to the patient elevator. The woman was being released after an angioplasty procedure. Mr. Bedford was waiting downstairs at the entrance with the car. Jenson punched the elevator call button. Although the display showed the car was stationary on the floor, the doors refused to open.
“Strange,” Jenson remarked, “someone must be holding it.” She continued to punch the elevator call button and the doors finally sprung open. Inside, a startled orderly stood in the corner with blood on his uniform. Two men were crumpled to the ground, their clothes also stained with blood.
Both Mia Jenson and Mrs. Bedford screamed.
The wild-eyed man seemed to panic and rushed forward to punch the button which closed the doors.
****
Link Johnsten was pacing in Tolen’s room when he heard the shrill screams. He dashed into the hallway, pulling his pistol. Another scream told him the commotion was occurring somewhere down the corridor to the right. Several nurses were already hurrying in that direction. He took one step then stopped. Without knowing the source of the trouble, he could not leave Tolen’s room. It could be a diversion to draw him out. He would remain here. Johnsten pulled out his cell phone to call for back-up.
****
Bar’s leg felt like fire. She had managed to hang onto her gun, which she placed on the ledge, then she propped the flashlight against it so it wouldn’t roll off. With great effort and pain, she withdrew her phone from her pocket and discovered to her extreme relief that it had not been damaged in the fall. She looked up the number of one of the FBI agents and dialed. She was surprised she got reception, and even more pleasantly surprised to hear the echo of a ring coming from above. The FBI agent, at least one of them, was already on scene. She quickly hung up. “I’m here! Down here!”
A flashlight beam struck her. Bar shielded her eyes from the light and tried to look up. A dark face peered down at her. “I need help. My leg’s broken.”
“Oui, I would say you do,” a female voice replied flippantly.
Bar’s blood chilled when she heard the French accent. She reached for her gun, knocking the flashlight off the ledge and extinguishing the light. Bar aimed up at the shadowed figure, squeezing off two shots. In the next moment, a dark mass fell toward her and struck Bar with its full weight, knocking the breath from her lungs. Her weapon clattered against the side wall and was gone. Everything went dark.
Bar struggled to push the weight off, straining to catch a breath of air as intense pain shot through her leg. She was operating on pure adrenaline. She realized the object that had fallen on her was human. She frantically tried
to push the body over the ledge.
“Don’t! It’s me, Fawn,” a voice cried out in the darkness as the two tussled.
Bar stopped fighting.
Laval spoke from above, “Don’t worry, mesdames, I have plenty of bullets to end both your lives.”
Bar could make out the dark silhouette of Laval’s arm extending down holding a gun. The blast sounded like cannon fire.
****
Curt experienced unparalleled terror when he and the paraglider were yanked into the stream by the Fish. Yet, after the splashing water settled, he was unscathed and thoroughly confused. He pushed his head to the surface. The Fish no longer had a hold on his shoe, and as Curt searched the water, the vicious creature was nowhere to be found. Above on the island, the decimation of the Tree was almost complete.
The stream was far shallower than he had anticipated—no more than a couple feet deep. He crouched to remain hidden behind the earthen wall. Curt dragged the soggy paraglider by one of its straps through the stream to the left side of the island.
The chopping stopped, and an enraged Cain yelled, “Get away from me!” followed by a thud.
Reaching sunlight, Curt rose, holding the buckle of the strap in the air. He had to take the chance, even with Tina so close to Cain. Only now did he see Tina’s small body unmoving, curled on the ground, and Cain standing over her holding the Sword of Michael.
Bastard!
Cain charged Curt with the Sword raised. “Enough of your foolishness. It’s time for you to die.”
Curt held his ground in the stream.
Cain was about to pass from the shadow to the sunlight when he abruptly stopped. He scrutinized the ground. With a sardonic smile, Cain lowered the Sword to his side. “Nice try, idiot. I’m not about to pass into the sunlight and allow the Sword to become the Bird. That’s not part of my plan.”
“Yeah, you’re much too smart for me.” Curt quickly raised the metal belt buckle on the strap at such an angle that the sunlight struck the gleaming surface. At first, the reflection fell on Cain’s left leg. Curt refocused, quickly aiming the sunlight upon the Sword in his right hand.
End in the Beginning (The God Tools Book 3) Page 25