The Emerald Tablet: Omnibus Edition

by JM HART

  *

  Jade and Kevin were in the warm kitchen, gazing every few seconds through the thick glass door at their pizza. Callie, having put Alex to bed, walked in behind his dad.

  “I think you have some explaining to do,” she said.

  Kevin felt like a trapped mouse not knowing which way to turn. He looked at Jade and recalled what she had said. She’s just going to ask you where and how you found me. “About what?” he said, trying to act in control in front of Jade.

  “Really, you’re going to play that game. About what? You’re kidding, right? You have been gone for three days, not three hours. That’s seventy-two hours, Kevin! And you come home with a young kidnapped girl who lives on the other side of the world. And you have the audacity, to say about what?”

  Kevin’s face grew hotter with each word she spoke. He looked at his dad and he looked just as angry as she was. He hoped his voice wouldn’t quiver as he answered. “Tim … Tim and I were down at the river. We found her lying there, in the bush. She looked like she was dead. We went over to see if she was, and she opened her eyes. We helped her up, then a rabid-looking dog tried to attack us, and we ran. I told Jade you guys would help her get home. I didn’t know who she was or where she was from.”

  “Where was Shaun?” his dad asked.

  “This was after we left his place,” Kevin said.

  “Come on, I want you to show us,” his mom said.

  “Let them eat first, Cal.”

  “Make it quick.”

  “What’s the rush, Cal? They can show us in the morning. We won’t see much in the dark anyway.”

  She picked up the phone, ignoring him. Kevin tried to listen to his mom on the phone while he pulled the pizzas out of the oven, but he couldn’t catch what she was saying. They ate the hot pizza straight off the tray. They only had time to eat four pieces before there was a knock at the door. Kevin jumped up, but his mother blocked him and walked to the door herself. “You finish up,” she said, and opened the door. “Thanks for coming back.”

  Kevin thought it was the cops and he didn’t want to lie to the cops. They’re going to see straight through me. “He’s in the kitchen,” she said.

  He wiped his mouth with the back of his hands and then slid his hands down his pants into his pockets. His shoulders slumped and relaxed as Tim walked in with his mom and sister.

  “What gives, K?” Tim said, taking a slice of his pizza.

  “Don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do, you always do.”

  “Shh, not now,” Kevin said.

  “Molly and Alex are upstairs sleeping. Alex is on the recliner in Molly’s room. Kath and Jade can sleep in Alex’s room across from Kevin’s. Molly’s generally a good sleeper, although lately she has been a bit restless. You will just have to check on Alex once or twice.”

  Kevin watched his mom give instructions to Tim’s mom and when she took a breath his dad dared to interrupt.

  “The kids will be fine. They’re sound asleep.”

  She glanced at his dad and continued speaking to Tim’s mom. “Did Kath bring some clothes for Jade? And the boys can sleep in Kevin’s room when we get back and you should take the guest room.” Callie looked at Kevin. “Put your shoes on.”

  Tim followed. “Where are we going?”

  “She wants to see where we found Jade.”

  “She knows.”

  “All she knows is we found her in the bush. We thought she was dead, and we helped her up and brought her here.”

  *

  Kevin waited for his dad to get the car out of the garage. The night was thick with smoke and he could see a glow over the city. His mom jumped in the front seat with a large dolphin torch while Tim and Jade climbed in the back with him.

  Kevin took them the long way round. They weren’t going to be able to drive through the vacant lot to the other side. Daniel put the lights on high beam as they came to a trail leading into the bush. They saw a dead dog lying by the road.

  “Was that the dog you were talking about?” his mother asked.

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell.” He didn’t want to look at the poor dog and it seemed everyone else felt the same, except his mom. She pulled a pair of latex gloves out of the glove compartment and jumped out of the truck to examine the carcass.

  “Bullet,” she said to Daniel.

  They all got out of the car and circled the dog.

  “Which way? Kevin, Tim, which way?” Callie asked.

  Kevin saw the determination in her face and started to sense her urgency. Her guard was coming down and she was afraid, looking for something. She was desperate, hoping to find it, but outwardly showed a mask of authority. Kevin was starting to sense her true feelings and she threw a look at him, as if she felt him rummaging around inside her emotions.

  He looked down and said, “This way.” They came to the anthill. “We would normally have to run together over it,” he said and looked at Tim. Tim looked like he was having the time of his life; just another big adventure. Jade was quiet and hanging back, but he kept an eye on her. The river was close and they could hear movements in the bush, the nocturnal animals returning to the area. “Over there, on the other side of the river,” Kevin said, and watched his mom sweep the area with her torch. Fish darted away from the light.

  “Are there any buildings around here?” she asked.

  “No, not that I know of,” Kevin said.

  Daniel agreed with Kevin. “There was an old shed over the other side that gave access for the submarine cables. But it’s derelict and it wouldn’t be standing after the fire last week.”

  Kevin looked at his mother. She was thinking and searching the other side as far as the light from the torch would travel. She hoped to find something, something she had lost, something that was very important, but Kevin couldn’t see anything. What could she have lost down here? Her face turned down in disappointment that she hadn’t found what she was looking for.

  Kevin saw her pain and said, “We can come back tomorrow and have a better look. I can show you how to get over the other side without having to swim across.” She looked at him and for the first time since his grandparents died he felt a connection with her.

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Daniel said.

  “Hang on. We can wade across now the crocs are sleeping,” Tim said.

  “What planet are you from?” Daniel asked. “There are no crocs here. He is just trying to scare you,” he said to Jade. Daniel gave Tim a gentle brush up the back of his head.

  “I suppose you’re right,” Callie said.

  *

  The train pulled into the deserted station. While it was still moving Shaun jumped off and started running home. Passing Kevin’s house, he slowed to a jog; the garage door was open and he could see Kevin’s bike propped up against the far wall, next to a jerrycan. He stood, thinking of knocking on the door to ask permission to borrow the bike. Maybe they will let me. He turned away, walked to the end of the street and turned the corner. For the second time in his life Shaun was immobilized with fear: his house, his home, was burning. He snapped himself out of it and as he started running, the front windows exploded. He ignored the heat, dug into his pocket and grabbed his key. The door was swollen and, no matter how much he tried, it wouldn’t open.

  Shaun rushed around the back of the house trying to find a way in, calling out to his dad. Shaun searched the backyard hoping his dad had stumbled out the back door. He screamed, “Dad! Dad!” … no one came. Not a neighbor stirred. He was alone and screaming at the top of his lungs for help. He tripped, got back up and ran towards the drainpipe and started climbing. It was hot and he could smell his skin burning. He kept climbing.

  *

  Kevin headed back to his dad’s Dodge following the glow of torchlight as they swept across the dirt path. Hoisting himself up into the car he heard a cry for help. It sounded as if it was a street away on the other side of the vacant lot. It would take ten minutes to drive around. Daniel
started running; Kevin jumped down and chased after him, with Tim following close on his heels.

  “House fire,” Daniel yelled to the boys.

  Daniel, Kevin and Tim entered the street and could see flames over the top of the houses. Kevin knew the fire wasn’t too far away, just around the next corner. They entered the next street and saw Shaun’s house engulfed with flames.

  Kevin saw Shaun in pain, rushing up the pipe, trying to avoid the flames.

  “Get down,” Daniel yelled. “Kevin, get the hose and aim it at Shaun and the pipe.”

  Shaun kept climbing; Daniel ran up to the house and wrapped his shirt around his hands and started to climb after him.

  *

  Shaun suddenly felt someone hit his leg from behind, gripping his calf muscle and pulling him down. He hoped it was his dad. He looked down and saw Kevin’s dad. Shaun’s hands slipped and he found himself falling. It wasn’t a long fall, but it seemed to Shaun to go on forever; he started to think of how many times he had fallen off the roof over the years. His back hit the ground and he couldn’t catch his breath. He let himself drift, hoping he was dead, then he could see his mom and Rachel and tell them how sorry he was that he couldn’t save either of them.

  He passed out.

  *

  They couldn’t hear any emergency vehicles. Nobody was coming, Kevin thought. He held the hose pointed at the house, feeling uneasy, his skin crawling. The air was getting thicker and he could feel mosquitoes biting at his neck. Even in the face of so much smoke they were determined to attack. “What are we going to do, Dad?” Kevin said, slapping at the bugs on his neck. “Shaun’s dad must be in there.”

  “Something is terribly wrong, K. Look at that glow on the horizon. It’s the city burning.”

  “Dad, we have to leave.”

  “I’m with you, K.”

  His mom pulled up, yanking on the handbrake, the Dodge screeching to a stop. She leapt from the truck with the first-aid bag, Jade close on her heels. They both went to Shaun. Jade watched him and Tim hose down the house using the neighbor’s hose.

  She looked around the street and he could see her noticing the empty houses, where no lights flickered and no curtains were drawn back.

  “Where is everyone?” she said.

  Shaun started to come around, trying to sit up, mumbling as Callie nursed his burnt hands.

  “Shh, just relax. You’re safe now,” she said.

  Shaun collapsed back onto the ground while Callie finished wrapping cold wet bandages around his burnt hands.

  “You right to walk?” Callie asked.

  “Sure. What about my dad?”

  Nobody said anything.

  “He’s probably at the pub,” Shaun said to them.

  Callie and Jade helped him into the back of the Dodge.

  “You’re probably concussed,” Jade said, putting on his seat belt for him. The boys jumped into the open back tray.

  Daniel drove home. No one spoke as they pulled into the garage. Kevin stayed seated in the back watching the lowering of the electronic garage door locking out the world.

  7

  Echoes of the dead: Casey. England.

  “I’m going to make that rat’s hole a hell of a lot bigger.” Terry stood, dusting off the dirt, then picked up the mallet. Casey still lay on his belly, waving the torch through the opening. “You might want to move?” Terry suggested.

  “What?” Casey turned and looked at Terry with the mallet, and sprang to his feet.

  Terry swung, smashing the stone wall of the basement. It buckled. He swung again, a few stones dislodging and dropping to the ground. He cleared an opening wide enough for them to explore what was beyond the basement.

  Casey ran upstairs for a second torch while Terry peered into the space beyond the wall. Running back down the stairs he nearly tripped on the last step, but managed to save himself from falling. They stepped through the hole into a chamber with two tunnels. Water was dripping down the wall rhythmically, pooling near their feet. Flickering, like fireflies, darted at the edge of the torch beams. They both shivered. In the corners, beyond the light, Casey caught a glimpse of a sudden movement. Terry turned to Casey knowing they had both sensed something, but neither knew what to say or do and chose to follow the beams of light.

  Terry started off towards the tunnels, with Casey reluctantly following. Walking backwards to point the torch at the entrance Terry had made, he swept the light across the wall: rats, just rats. He turned, bumping into Terry.

  “Where do you think this goes?” Terry said, stopping at the mouth to one of the two tunnels.

  “Have no idea.” Up on the wall near Terry’s head, Casey saw an old hook with a bucket and a wooden baton fixed on the wall next to it. “What’s that?”

  “It’s probably for tar. You’d dip the baton, then hit two pieces of flint together and … let there be light.”

  “You missed your calling, you know that, don’t you,” Casey said. “Can we try it?”

  “I don’t think it would work,” Terry said.

  The light penetrated further into the tunnel, startling the rats out of the darkness. They rushed over and around Casey’s feet. Terry jumped back, knocking into Casey and they both nearly fell on top of the rats.

  Casey said with a slight smirk, “Just rats, Terry, just rats.”

  Terry held onto Casey’s arms, acting as if he was helping him. “You right, pal?”

  Casey decided to go along with him. “Yeah. A bit freaked, you?”

  “I wasn’t expecting them, that’s all,” Terry said, hiking up his pants.

  The walls were cold and wet and getting narrower. The sound of bones crunching under their feet was like seashells. “Terry, we should go back.”

  “Just a little further. I felt a breeze, this has to lead to somewhere,” Terry said.

  Casey touched the cave wall, his fingertips slipping into tiny indents that made the wall look like a giant sea sponge. Something splashed on him from above and he flipped his torch quickly upward. Within a split second his imagination took over and he saw saliva dripping from the fangs of a rabid bat, but the light revealed nothing more than an empty cavity. He could see Terry was getting ahead of him. He moved quickly to catch up. The tunnel widened into another chamber with more passages branching off.

  Terry had stopped and was nervously scanning the walls. Shining the light as far down the tunnels as possible, while trying to hide his own apprehension, he said, “This is just going to keep going.”

  A stale smell, a metallic taste, sat heavy in Casey’s mouth and irritated his nose. The sound of the dripping from the passageway became louder in his mind. There were pieces of wood and a jug protruding up from the ground.

  “Alright,” Terry said, looking over his shoulder. “I think you’re right. I think for now this is far enough. We’ll probably get lost if we go any further.”

  “This is a little freaky,” Casey said. “Do you think we’re still on the property?”

  “Na, don’t believe so.” Terry turned around, thinking, looking left and right, then back at the jug. “Look at this old thing. Maybe it’s still full of rum. What do you think, matey?”

  Terry picked up a piece of the wood and started digging around the jug. He picked it up and shook it — empty. Under the jug, a bone was half buried, and he pulled and wiggled it until it came free.

  “That doesn’t look like a rat’s bone to me,” Casey said.

  “Maybe it’s not, maybe it’s human,” Terry said jokingly. He handed the bone to Casey. Casey looked at it; he didn’t want Terry to think he was scared, because he wasn’t treating him like a kid any more most of the time. But Casey hesitated, pushing his long curls up off his brow and out of his eyes. He rubbed his hands on his shirt. He knew he shouldn’t doubt his feelings, but he wanted to go along with Terry, who was trying to be playful, a big kid.

  Arm extended, ready to grab the bone, Casey dropped his arm to his side. “You know, on second thoughts, I’ll pa
ss. We should go back and check on Amy,” he said, scratching his ear.

  “Go on, it won’t bite,” Terry said, shoving it forward. “Take it.”

  “It could be diseased, or something,” Casey said.

  “What are you afraid of?” Terry playfully thrust it forward like a sword. Casey quickly sucked in his stomach, hoping it wouldn’t touch him. Terry continued his banter, pushing it into the boy’s chest. Casey seized the bone with both hands, trying to push it away, his body was instantly paralyzed and pain raced up his arm, into his shoulder. The sound of a young woman screaming filled his head, along with the image of her arm being ripped out of its socket. Casey’s stomach exploded with pain, as she was kicked. The pressure on his lower back was horrific. He tried to move, heat crawled up his spine and he felt like his insides were going to drop to the floor.

  Casey could barely hear or see Terry yelling at him to let go. He couldn’t feel him wrestling with the bone, prying at his fingers, one by one until he let go. At that moment, Casey’s body folded, dropped to the ground, and he grabbed his stomach and curled into a ball, crying.

  Terry threw the bone away and it cracked as it hit the wall. “What the hell?”

  He crouched down beside Casey and held him in his arms. Casey could hear him whispering like he had the first day he had found him lying on the road, reassuring him he was safe. He could see Terry’s alarm and confusion. Casey was scared and skittish as if someone was there waiting, waiting to deliver another blow to his abdomen. He held tight onto Terry, hiding in his aura, not wanting to let go.

  The feeling of being inside the woman’s body was dissipating. He had never been so aware of how his own body felt until he couldn’t feel it. He was grateful it had stopped. He was petrified, nervous, violated, and afraid it would start again. He slowly sat up with the distinct taste of blood in his mouth.