Juila nodded in agreement as she read Jena’s thoughts on comparing the two boys. She was lost in her own thoughts and missed what Behn had asked her. “What was that?” she asked as she turned her head and looked directly into his eyes.
He leaned closer and whispered, “Do you still have all of the refugees at your house?”
“Yes, I have no idea what’s going to happen with them. Our house is big, but there are so many of them that they seem to be everywhere.”
Behn chuckled under his breath. “Do you want me to come over after school?”
“You’d better not. I hope you don’t mind,” Juila answered.
“No, I should probably see how Val is doing anyway. If she’ll let me into her room, that is,” he spoke with resignation.
“She was really scared, Behn. The moment she discovered we were in space she freaked out and immediately said we were going to die. I think she really has a bad case of astrophobia. Give her some time to adjust to being safely back on terra firma.”
“If you say so,” Behn agreed. It was still hard for him to imagine the adventure his two siblings had been on. If he did not know better, he would say it sounded like a bad movie plot, and yet it was their new reality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Stel house was very chaotic as the refugees began to relax and spread out throughout the rooms and the yard outside. Rasa had agreed to stay and help Amanda work with the people. Riccan used Amanda’s telepod to go and get Barla to come over and offer her guidance as well.
Riccan returned to work in order to craft and manufacture a new bracketry system for his own telepod. He realized there was a design flaw which could fail in similar circumstances and he knew there was a way to create a safer option. This was an element of his job which excited him, and he was soon lost in the creation of the new part. Once the new part was tested, he would be able to use the newest version to roll out to other telepods to make them safer as well.
By the time Riccan returned home at the end of the workday, he was surprised to see there were fewer people left at their home. He cornered his wife and asked, “Where did the people go?”
“My mom came over to visit with Barla. They decided to go shopping, and then several of the women wanted to go out and explore Earth with them. I never would’ve expected that cowed bunch of refugees to have any desire to learn or try new things. The women have amazing resilience. I’m still not so sure about the men and a couple of boys, however, as they’re harder to read. How was your day? You look pleased with yourself.”
Riccan smiled at her assessment of his mood and nodded. He held up the new part he had created and said, “I’ve solved the problem with the crystal drive. Never again will we have to worry about what happened to Juila. This new part will revolutionize the crystal drive system as it will be nearly foolproof.”
“That’s awesome, honey. When are you going to install it?” She hoped it would be soon since she had gotten used to the freedom of having her own transportation to Tuala, and she missed it.
“I was hoping Juila would want to help me out with it. Is she home?”
“Yes, she’s upstairs in her room with Gevena. Do you want me to get her?”
“That’s okay; I’ll do it. I have to go upstairs to change anyway.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek and then rushed past her to head to his bedroom. He put the bracket down on the kitchen island and winked at her before he continued on.
Amanda studied the new bracket and wondered how it differed from the old one. She thought it looked almost the same, yet she really had no notion of the intricacies as Riccan did since it was his job and his passion.
“What is that?” Ozias asked Amanda.
She jumped slightly since she had not seen him walk over to her. She looked up and smiled as she said, “This is the replacement for the part which broke in the telepod. Riccan just made it today, and he’s going to install it when he comes back downstairs.” Amanda could not place why this man tended to make her uncomfortable. He never did or said anything out of line. She wished Riccan would return and rescue her from this man’s company.
“Do you think he’d let me watch as he made the repair?”
“I don’t see why not,” Amanda said with a smile. “Excuse me; I’m going to go check on a couple of people.” She moved away as speedily as she could while still keeping tabs on Ozias to make sure he kept his hands off of the replacement part. She probably should not have left him alone with it, but it was too late now to return.
Chapter Thirty
RICCAN HURRIED TO change his clothes and then walked across the hall to knock on Juila’s bedroom door. He heard her say to enter, so he went into the room. “Hi everyone. I was wondering if you wanted to help me replace the bracket in the telepod, Juila.”
“Sure!” she said excitedly as she jumped off of her bed and met her father at the door. She didn’t even bother asking Jena if she wanted to go since she knew her sister could care less about mechanics. “Do you want to come, Gevena?”
“No thanks,” she replied shyly. Riccan made her nervous even though he was the nicest man she had ever met.
“Okay, let’s go,” Juila prompted her dad.
As they walked together, Riccan asked, “How was Val at school today?”
“She didn’t go to school. Behn said she had a headache and begged to stay home. I hope she’ll decide to go tomorrow. It’ll do her good to get back into a normal routine.”
“I agree. What were you talking to Gevena about?”
“Rasa asked her to come and live in Manzanit with her. She was wanting to know what we thought about the idea.”
“I think it’s a perfect solution. She probably wouldn’t be happy here on Earth, and her father doesn’t deserve to get her back.”
“I agree. I’m pretty sure she’ll agree; she’s just nervous.”
“Understandable after everything she’s been through,” he said as they crossed the foyer. He saw Ozias inspecting his part as they approached and he asked him, “Do you want to come watch as we put that into the telepod?”
“I was hoping you’d let me,” Ozias said with a big grin on his face.
Riccan picked up the part and handed it to Juila. He wanted her to familiarize herself with the design so she could envision how it would be installed. It pleased him to have a child who had the same interests in engineering as himself.
Juila’s amazement at the simplicity of the design was apparent. She turned the light metal object over in her hands and looked at it from every conceivable angle. “This is really cool, Dad. Why hasn’t anyone done it this way before? This is so much better.”
“I agree. I guess it’s true that necessity breeds invention.”
They entered his telepod, and the two of them crouched down at the back panel while Ozias sat in the rear seat and watched from a distance. It did not take much time for them to have the crystal removed from the old bracket. Juila held onto it carefully while she watched her father position the new part into place.
The whole repair took less than ten minutes, and they grinned foolishly at one another once the crystal was put back in line. “I guess we should take it for a spin and make sure it works properly. Do you think we should tell your mom first?”
Juila shook her head emphatically as she giggled, “Are you kidding? She’d be a wreck. I think I’ll pass on the test run myself, though. Sorry.”
“Are you doubting my brilliant work?” he asked in mock sternness.
“Not exactly,” she answered seriously. “I just don’t think Jena would forgive me if I took off again so soon after what happened.” She stood up and turned around to exit the vehicle. Her gaze spotted Ozias, and she felt guilty because she had forgotten all about him being with them.
“I’d like to go with you, if you’d let me,” Ozias offered.
“Sure,” Riccan agreed, eager for an audience to his brilliance. “Go sit in the right-hand seat up front and get buckled in.” He finished fastening t
he cover panel on the crystal drive system. “I’ll make this a quick trip,” he said to Juila as he moved to the pilot’s seat and sat down. He waved over to her as he hit the button to close the side door.
“Have you had much flying experience?” Riccan asked Ozias as he readied the vehicle for its first test flight.
“None other than my trip here to your house,” he admitted.
“What about in the spaceship?”
“Viceroy Blair took care of everything. The ship was so large you never even noticed when we traveled between places.”
Riccan nodded understanding and entered their destination coordinates before he asked, “Are you ready?” He saw Ozias swallow nervously and tip his head forward in agreement. “Here we go then,” he said as he pressed the activation button to send them on their way.
The trip was quick and perfect, which pleased Riccan immensely. He had missed flying his telepod to work that morning and would be glad to have it back for the next day. He grinned over at Ozias and received the same expression back from his passenger. “Did you like it?”
“That was amazing. I’d love to learn to fly my own someday.”
“What are your plans? Do you know yet?” Riccan asked. He stayed sitting in the telepod as it was quiet and he hoped to get some answers from Juila’s stowaway passenger. It had seemed strange that the man would abandon his ship and crew in favor of seeing Earth.
“I don’t know yet. I’m torn between staying on Earth or going to Tuala. Juila’s knowledge is what intrigued me in the first place, so maybe I should go to Tuala and see what it has to offer. What do you think?”
“I’m not sure. I think in either place you will find it hard to adjust. Tuala doesn’t take well to people who aren’t native-born, and Earth is very suspicious of people they consider aliens. To the people here on Earth, aliens should be small, grey people with big heads and large black eyes who will steal their children onto their spaceships.”
“Ugh, that sounds like Viceroy Blair, except for the physical description of course,” Ozias had to admit.
“What about going back to Heliok? Isn’t that an option?” Riccan asked.
“I don’t see how without Viceroy Blair’s help. I’m pretty sure he won’t want me back on his ship after I left the way I did.”
“What if there were a way to get there without Viceroy Blair? Would you go home?”
“Probably. Eventually. I really want to learn some things to improve our situation before returning. My world is dying, Riccan. We will need a miracle to keep everything going.”
Riccan drew in a long breath through his nose as he considered this new information. He wondered what could be going wrong with their world. This changed things slightly. “I’ll ask my dad what he knows, and then I’ll get back to you on it, okay?”
“Okay,” Ozias agreed even as he wondered how Riccan’s dad would be of any assistance. “Who is your dad and how could he be of any help?”
“My dad is an Elder on Tuala. He is one of Jehoban’s chosen students, and he has access to an Ascension Gate and many other resources. There may be a gate to your world; we’ll just have to locate it.”
Ozias raised his eyebrows as Riccan kept talking about his father’s station on Tuala. He had no idea Riccan’s connections to Tuala were so important. His chance meeting with Juila had been more advantageous than he had even dreamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“How was your weekend, Neal?” Dr. Medin asked.
Neal moved his shoulders to get more comfortable on the couch as he considered her question. “I haven’t been sleeping well. I keep having these strange dreams, and then I wake up disoriented. Is that normal?”
“Considering what you’ve been through, yes, very normal.”
Neal nodded and felt better about having told her about it after all. He had planned on keeping it to himself until he realized he would probably get better faster if he had full disclosure with her. The sooner he remembered everything, the sooner his mother would quit looking at him as though he were a bomb about to explode.
Dr. Medin began the session to put him into a hypnotic state. She was grateful he was so easy to put under because it would make his mind relax faster. “Tell me about the first memory you have after you and Amanda encountered the storm on the yacht.”
“There was a flash of lightning where a strange blue light rolled across the deck and railings. I stood and watched in fascination as it came closer to me.”
“What happened next?”
“I’m tied up in a dark place. I can’t talk because there’s something wrapped around my head and over my mouth. I’m really hot.”
“Move ahead until you are free of the room. What do you see now?”
“I’m in a different room where there’s light from a window far above my head. An old man in a white outfit is standing in front of me.”
“Is he saying anything?”
“No, he has his hands on my head, and I feel strange. I look up at his face, and he is smiling. He hands me a glass and tells me to drink. It tastes like cold, minty water and then it’s really bitter. My head is pounding with a strange ache in the front. The pain passes, and then I look around as if I can see everything with exquisite detail. It’s amazing.”
“What happens when you leave the room?”
“The old man takes me to a cubicle and has someone show me how to use a strange computer. I’m fascinated with the engineering project he shows me. I can see flaws in the design, and I point them out to the new man. He is happy and smiles at me.”
“What is the old man’s name?”
Neal frowned slightly with his eyes still closed. Suddenly his expression cleared as he found the name he was after and he announced proudly, “Elder Vargen.”
Jasmine looked down at her watch and notes they have been in session for over an hour. Hating to stop the session just as Neal was making a breakthrough, she sighed and said, “I’m going to count backward from ten. With each number I want you to take a deep, cleansing breath and feel more alive and awake. When I reach number one, you will open your eyes and remember everything we talked about today. Ten, feeling refreshed and alert. Nine, coming back to alert awareness. Eight…seven…six…five, another deep breath…four, that’s right Neal, breathe a cleansing breath…three…two…and one, open your eyes.” She snapped her fingers and smiled as Neal’s eyes opened and he shifted his gaze to look at her with amazement.
“That was awesome. I saw so many new things. Was any of it true?”
“Yes, Neal. Remember to write down any new thoughts in your journal. Write everything down even if you don’t think it could be true. Okay?”
Neal nodded as he swung his legs around, so he was sitting on the edge of the couch. He felt amazing as if he had slept for hours. He was alert and refreshed just as she had told him he would be. “When can I see you again?”
“Will the same time tomorrow work for you?”
“Absolutely!” he replied enthusiastically. It did not matter if his parents had other plans; he would take a cab to get to the appointment if it came to that.
“Since we made such great progress today, plan on bringing your journal with you tomorrow. We’ll discuss what you write down so we can go deeper into the matter during your hypnosis.”
“That sounds great. Thank you so much, Dr. Medin. I really feel like I’m going to be okay now that I’m seeing you.”
“I’m glad, Neal,” she said with a warm smile. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She held out her hand to shake Neal’s. She watched him walk with more confidence as he left her office. As soon as the door clicked shut, she sighed and wearily sat back down.
Amanda had been right about Neal needing her help. She could just imagine any other doctor treating Neal for what he had been through. The other doctors would have him in a mental institution in a heartbeat. She wondered how many people who had experienced time in Tuala had ended up in mental institutions on Earth. It made her sad to th
ink about it.
She pulled herself up and walked over to her desk and to begin writing her paper notes of Neal’s case. She did not dare put anything down in her computer about him. In fact, he did not even have a patient file with her office, just to be safe.
Chapter Thirty-One
AMANDA PULLED URGENTLY at Rasa’s sleeve to get her attention while they were still in the hallway. “These women and children won’t be able to live on Earth,” she whispered quietly. “They don’t have the knowledge or the means to make a living here. My mom and Barla told me how they reacted to all of the technology around them.” Amanda was glad the two of them had gone back out to enjoy themselves after dropping off the Tualan women at the house. They certainly needed the time to bond with one another after so many years of being separated.
“I’ve seen that myself. They will be much better off back in Tuala where they already know what to expect. Let me talk with them and see what they want to do now that they’ve been outside of the estate to see for themselves.”
Rasa returned to the living room where the refugees had congregated after their outing. All of their discussions ended as they looked up at her expectantly. “How many of you wish to remain here on Earth now that you’ve experienced what their world is like? Raise your hand.”
The people looked at one another and began shaking their heads. Nobody raised their hand.
“I have an idea for all of you,” Rasa began and noticed interest sparking in most of their eyes. “I suggest we return you to the Roanoke Colony where you already have homes. You can elect a new leader for your community, and I can speak with the Elder in charge of your district to let him know you have a new leadership structure. Would you be willing to allow the Elder to be in charge of your well-being?”
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 18