by J M Hart
Shaun dug his fingers into the man’s eyes. Kevin raced across the room, picked up the knife and hacked at the silk binding, giving it back to the young woman to tie around her waist. Shaun felt the tycoon’s firm hands pulling him over his shoulder and slamming Shaun to the marble floor. Shaun felt happy. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually felt this good. He smiled. Kevin opened the drapes for Rachel; she was safe. It took seconds, and that’s all they needed. Jade clutched the Emerald Tablet to her chest and jumped straight into the translucent waves. Shaun could see that Kevin was waiting for him, keeping the doorway open. He had left this kid for dead, and he still cared, Shaun thought, as he elbowed the tycoon’s face and watched the man’s nose shift across his face in an odd way. He screamed and stumbled backwards. Shaun peeled himself off the floor and lunged for him, wrapping his arms around his neck from behind. The bloodied man ran backwards, smashing Shaun against the wall. Shaun let go and slid off the tycoon’s back onto the floor, gasping for air. He felt like a goldfish out of water. The man’s eyes had turned liquid black; Shaun knew he was about to die. He was okay with that — he was ready to die knowing Rachel was safe.
Rachel, he said in his mind, and smiled as she appeared from between the drapes. The room and the violence disappeared as he locked with her beautiful green eyes. Kevin pulled her backwards into the shimmering liquid and she was gone.
The man smashed Shaun in the face again and again, but Shaun didn’t feel a thing. Seeing Rachel’s smile instantly took him back to that day his father had stolen the tablet. He was a lifetime away, staring into her beautiful green eyes for the first time, and seeing her in her dress and boots sliding under the truck. He remembered the tablet and how heavy it felt. He started to come back to the present. He had flipped over onto his stomach and could feel the gemstones in his pocket digging into his side bringing him all the way back to the present and the pain. He was being kicked, stomped, and screamed at in Russian, Egyptian or Arabic, Shaun didn’t know any more. What he did know was the tycoon was releasing his unbridled fury to break every bone in his body. He didn’t care. Rachel was safe.
He felt consciousness slipping away. The kicking stopped, his head stopped hurting, he couldn’t hear anything. It was quiet. Six wings unfolded before him. They opened up from the feet, the torso and then the face, an angel moving closer, his mother by its side. She too had the beckoning light of an angel. She reached out to him and he reached for her. Suddenly he was drifting; she was getting further and further away. He spiraled out of control, falling, her voice softly whispering in his ear, “I love you, I am so proud of you.” And then she was gone.
A blast of pain erupted behind his eyes. His whole body screamed. Daniel was carrying him over his shoulders. The tycoon was struggling to his feet. Shaun, unaware of what had happened, found himself dangling over Daniel heading for the drapes. He tried to open his eyes. The man was on his feet, rushing in their direction. Shaun could taste the filth of the sewer mixed with the blood in his mouth, but his body no longer ached. The room had disappeared. Kevin closed the portal and the tycoon smacked hard into the stone wall, knocked unconscious. Daniel eased him off his shoulder as if he would still be riddled with broken bones, but he didn’t feel a thing. He was healed again. He was starting to feel like the cat with nine lives. Rachel was standing with Jade’s mom, fussing over her. They apparently knew each other, he thought as he watched her crying and laughing.
Ellen told her not to fuss and said, “So this is the knight in shining armor you said one day would come for you?”
Rachel turned to Shaun. “Yes, yes it’s him,” she said smiling.
Shaun looked at Daniel and offered his hand and Daniel shook it. “Thank you.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you behind.”
“We need him,” Sophia said.
Shaun ignored her and walked over to Rachel. She embraced him so tightly, he couldn’t remember the last time he was truly hugged.
“We have to go back to the cave,” she said in his ear.
“I know. You told me in a dream.”
Kevin cleared his throat and said, “Which way to the cave?” Kevin moved next to Shaun and said, “It won’t hurt,” and placed his hands on either side of his head.
“How do you know it won’t hurt?” he said, feeling awkward.
“I don’t know, I’ve never tried this before. What else I am going to say? I am learning as we go.”
And before Shaun could react, Kevin pulled his head slightly down to his and they touched foreheads. They looked like two Eskimos touching noses in greeting. The energy abruptly stimulated Shaun’s forehead sending a weird sensation into his skull. It gave him a buzz before setting his nerves on fire. He felt his brain smoking like a motherboard with a burnt-out chip.
“Think of the cave, Shaun, not frying computers.”
Shaun focused, letting Kevin hijack the image and then he let go.
“I think I’ve got it,” Kevin said.
Shaun wanted to see if the tycoon was actually dead. While everyone was focused on Kevin, he crawled up the tunnel and peered through the slats of the vent. The man was alone in the room, lying unconscious on the floor by the window. The doors burst open and guards ran into the chamber. The window exploded, glass rained upon them and the side of the building started to fall. The tunnel was caving in. Gravity pulled Shaun over the edge into the room, but he felt hands latch onto his lower legs, holding him back, pulling him into the tunnel.
“We have to go,” Casey yelled over the noise.
“What gives you that idea?” Shaun shouted.
Casey and Daniel helped Ellen to her feet. Father McDonald had been scanning the letters etched onto the Emerald Tablet. He flipped it over and there was an image of ten circles joined together by lines.
Shaun took it from him and shoved it into Kevin’s backpack. “You can study it later. This place is going to come down.”
“K,” Jade said, “send my mom back. Get her out of here.”
“She’s right, Kevin,” Daniel said. “Let’s go home, all of us.”
“Okay, Dad. Stand over there and imagine Casey’s bedroom.” Shaun watched Kevin create an opening big enough for Daniel and Ellen.
The ceiling started to crumble around them and Kevin yelled. “Go, Dad, go now.” Daniel and Ellen had no time to react as Kevin pushed them into the portal and closed it behind them.
*
The tunnel was falling apart. Kevin put his arm protectively above his head and focused his attention on creating another portal to the cave of Shaun’s memory. He was having trouble opening a doorway. He was tired; he needed to feel the sun’s rays. He remembered the day riding on his bike basking in the summer sun; it seemed so long ago, and it had recharged him as if he was a solar panel. Over the past few days he had used up so much energy and now it was catching up. He felt depleted, and desired to be full again, to be illuminated by the light, energized. He sensed Sophia looking at him and he shrugged and managed a stupid smirk and said, “I can’t.” She turned away and looked at Casey. Sometimes those two seem to communicate without opening their mouths, Kevin thought. He felt Jade touch his fingers and clutch his hand; he felt sparks fly between them. Casey snatched up his other hand, then he reached for Sophia’s, and she reached out to Father McDonald who joined hands with Rachel. Shaun reluctantly reached out to Tim. They united in a circle and the energy raced into Kevin. They were all illuminated in a brilliant radiant warm light. The tunnels collapsed around them as they disappeared and they descended into darkness.
Shaun felt the hard ground beneath his feet and let go of Tim’s sweaty hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his torch. “It’s darker than I remember,” he said to Rachel. It was hot and musty with a terrible stench. His skin crawled, he couldn’t help scratching. He moved cautiously, thinking the caves might be saturated with the virus. He preferred to think of it as a virus, rather than the horrifying memory that was pushing into his mind. The th
ought was making him queasy and he felt flushed. He pulled off his sweatshirt and gave it to Rachel to wear.
Rachel took the jumper, turned it the right way and pulled it on.
“It’s darker and the smell is stronger,” Shaun said.
“Because the entrance is blocked. Your father blew it up remember?”
“I remember.”
“There is a story of a secret entrance,” she said and slipped the satin gown down around her waist to create a skirt.
Shivers raced up his spine. “It’s the same as last time.” A faint haunting sound of a bellowing horn could be heard from above. “That sound,” he said.
“It’s ten years to the day,” Rachel said. “It is not coincidence. The master was complaining much about the thousands flocking to Israel, despite his attack. That sound is calling to the terrestrial courts: the lights of Earth are now hidden, and the gates of heaven have been closed. Today is the day of judgement for all mankind.”
Shaun saw Father McDonald eyeballing the Emerald Tablet, and asked, “What are you staring at?”
“The writing looks Aramaic, an ancient language.” He looked at Rachel and said, “They pass like sheep, one by one. The Lord looks from heaven; he beholds all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts alike; he considers all their works. God understands all of our actions and today will make judgement upon us.”
“What are you talking about?” Shaun said, agitated.
“Yes, you’re right, holy man.” Rachel stepped closer to him and said, loud enough for them all to hear, “Above ground, the people are meditating on the sound. It’s the sound of the shofar; that was the first of one hundred and one blowings, so we maybe only have a little over an hour until the final sounding of the horn. It will reach the heavens and awaken the highest patriarchs this world has ever been blessed with in life and death, so they may bestow good judgement on mankind. The war between the good and bad angels has ceased and if the court is in session the heavenly angels and the prince of darkness are reading from the Book of Life. All our actions have been recorded from this life and past lives. Satan is rubbing his fire sticks together, counting our souls, ready to take control of what’s left of Earth.”
Shaun nervously moved his feet as she searched his eyes.
“Shaun, we must close the gate that our fathers opened before the last sound is blown. Then mankind will be blessed by God. He will send his mercy and give us the strength and courage to heal the world, to live in a state of immortality. The negative angels are winning so we must move fast. We don’t have much time.”
Shaun could see Tim shuffling closer and listening as everyone did. Tim cleared his throat.
“That reminds me,” Tim said. “It reminds me of a ‘Doctor Who’ episode — when the world needed to think the same thing to bring his consciousness back. They need to reach a critical mass.”
“This is no TV show — this is reality, the world is dying.”
“Okay, keep your bra on! I get that. But because I saw that episode I sort of get what you’re saying, and I am just saying that I get what you mean.”
“I’m tired, sorry.” She struggled to remember the boy’s name.
“Tim,” Shaun said for her.
Shaun had an epiphany, realizing in that moment that they were all meant to be here together. He knew that now.
“Certainty,” Sophia said. “We need to be certain. Rachel, you said they were meditating, not praying?”
Rachel respectfully bowed her head slightly to Father McDonald. “Sorry Father, forgive me. Most prayers are like a shopping list of what people want. We hear our own voices. Meditating is listening for the voice of God.”
Sophia was leaning against the wall and pushed herself off. “This time there is no second chance. We can do this. We need to have trust and certainty. We can imagine a new reality, take action and live it.”
“It’s all in the mind,” Jade added. “Everything starts with a single thought. Nothing can exist, unless someone thought of it first. We create our futures, good and bad, and we have the power to change it. Free will.”
Tim said, “K can do that. Can’t you, K?”
*
Father McDonald studied the tablet and the ten scripted points. Rachel propped herself against the wall and sat watching the holy man. Sophia and Casey were sitting beside her. The priest did not wear his sacred garments or a cross around his neck, but everyone called him Father. The tablet was obviously hefty for his ageing arms. The metal side of the breastplate glowed upon his face. She looked closer and saw the images on the emerald side. Channels like pathways joining at circular junctions; the Tree of Life. Rachel stood and dusted herself off and knelt in front of the holy man. She studied the partly concealed markings: three columns. The two outside columns had three circles each, and the inner column had four. They were connected by parallel lines, like pathways, and she counted twenty-two. Rachel saw the image as two kites end to end and a square in the middle separating them. It looked like an elaborate highway system.
“What are you doing?” Father McDonald asked. “I have been trying to focus on understanding the writings and relate them to the scriptures, but Rachel, your intensity was so acute I couldn’t concentrate on anything but your presence.”
“I am looking at the drawing on the back,” she said, opening up her hands waiting for him to give her the tablet. “May I see it? I risked my life to find that.”
He looked at the script one last time and passed the tablet to her. It weighed heavily in her hands and quickly she lowered it to the floor of the cave. This is what my father died for, she thought, tracing her fingers over the images. Rachel felt Kevin and Jade move closer, watching her dig away some of the dirt with her fingernail to reveal deep etchings as wide as her small finger. They weren’t simply parallel lines, because in between them were symbols. “This symbol,” she said tapping the Emerald Tablet with her finger, “is the letter (א) Aleph,” she said. “It’s —”
“I know what it is,” Father McDonald said, irritated. “It’s the first letter of the ancient language of the Aramaic and Hebrew alphabet, and that one on the left side is (ב) Bet.”
“Who has water?” she said.
“I do,” Tim said. “I was saving it.” Tim wiped the dirt off his face that was being irrigated by his own sticky sweat. “It’s hot and I really wanted to drink it.” He pulled it out of the backpack and handed it over to Rachel reluctantly. “You can have it.”
Rachel swished the crystal clear water, assessing the amount, and saw Tim lick his lips waiting for her to take a sip, anticipating it. He was probably imagining it hitting the back of her mouth and sliding down her throat. She could imagine he would have pumped it between his cheeks first and just before the coolness subsided swallowed it. He was going to be sadly disappointed.
Rachel pulled her sleeve over her hand and used it as a rag. She scrubbed away the dirt that concealed parts of the image. She twisted off the lid and poured a little over the back of the Emerald Tablet.
Tim yelled. “What the hell? I thought you wanted to drink it. Fair dinkum, there was no way I would have given it to you if I had known you weren’t going to drink it!”
Ignoring him, Rachel poured the rest over her sleeve and continued to clean the tablet. She moved from the top circle across to the one on the right and then left, and continued until she had cleaned every circle and line to reveal letters and symbols. Satisfied they were as clean as she was going to get them under the circumstances, she went back to the first and tried to read the markings.
Her eyes lit up. She remembered when her father was alive she would hear him rise in the middle of the night, and sit with a pale light that might as well have been a candle, to study a book that had this very image on the front cover. He would rock back and forth as if to the rhythm of a song only he could hear. Just before dawn, he would close the book and turn off the light. Sometimes she
would fall asleep outside the room and he would gently lift her, hoping not to wake her, but even with his gentle touch he did. She kept her eyes shut tight, pretending, as he carried her back to her bed. Neither of them spoke about it. Each time he found her, he would put her back into bed.
“Look, Shaun, look,” she said, excited.
Shaun looked at her fingers covered in dirt and blood and he looked into her eyes and back at her hands. A few of her nails had broken, exposing tender flesh. He couldn’t help wondering at the struggle for freedom she must have endured. She was so beautiful she should be dancing in the sun, not crawling around dark, evil caves.
“Do you understand the symbols?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so, this means keter — the crown or divine spark.” She traced over the three arches above the first circle, keter, and said, “I think it means limitless light: infinite or endless. I can’t be sure.”
“The two pillars — on the right and down the bottom it reads jachin, the pillar of mercy. The left says boaz, the column or pillar of severity, judgement.”
“Doesn’t jachin relate to King Solomon and boaz to King David? Tell us what you can in chronological order,” Father McDonald said. “Go back to the top and start again, Rachel.”
She breathed out heavily. “Um, um um um …”
“Just relax.” Father McDonald said.
Rachel started to cry.
“Why are you crying?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Jade rubbed her back and Casey and Sophia moved closer and placed a hand on each of her knees and balanced her energy. She started to relax, took in a deep breath, sniffed back the tears, and breathed out and said, “Okay.”