Seasons of Heaven (23 page)

As he walked along cautiously he was pelted with pieces of rocks as they fell off the walls. Everything was vibrating and it was sheer luck that he wasn’t struck down by one of the larger boulders that had been shaken loose. James looked around in a fearful state of awe as he watched things crumble. Stalactites were even coming loose and crashing down violently into the water. Something powerful had been activated.

The voices were right. The stone he just took had an effect on the surroundings and James was about to see what kind of effect.

His cautious progress finally led him outside. Once he was there in the midst of the gorgeous landscape he saw what had caused the severe vibrations. In the center of the picturesque landscape now sat at huge tower that hadn’t been there when he’d entered the cave. It was surreal and James’s brain wasn’t sure how to process it. As he stood there looking at it a woman’s voice floated on the air, reaching his ears and warning him,

“The passage is about to open, James. There is one left, one more left …”

“I know … I think I understand!” he said.

He followed a path to a set of ancient stairs that lead downward. As he descended them he saw damaged walls, covered with stems of ivy that had grown so long they were heavy like tree trunks and its tendrils cascaded out in every direction and covered everything in its path. There were weeds that grew haphazardly between the cracks in the stairs and near the bottom were clusters of defiant daffodils that chose to rear their golden heads amidst the gloom. He stepped gently, using caution because some of the stairs were damaged from weather and age. As he got closer to the bottom, the air got colder and his surroundings got darker. He lit up the torch to cut the darkness and once it was lit he could make out some writings and some signs. He continued to advance slowly as the draughts made the torch move in all directions. The wind seemed to be turning around.

James was so cold he was shaking. He felt like time was as frozen as he and the cave around him were. He entered a space that was filled with columns. Some of them looked brand new and some of them were gravely damaged and trees had grown through the middle of them.

James was trying to keep warm by closing his arms on himself; he barely managed to hold onto his torch as he did. Just as he wasn’t sure he could take the cold much longer the atmosphere changed once again. He could hear a continuous breath that at first he’d thought was his own. When he stood still and listened though it was like the breathing was all around him, and in the distance he could hear a disturbing moan that to a physician’s ears sounded like a death rattle.

James looked to his right and then his left, terrified of what it might be. He didn’t want to advance any further. He decided that he would turn around and go back.

“James…” It was Sarah’s voice, calling out to him. It gave him a sense of comfort to know that he wasn’t alone. He could suddenly see a new light in front of him and suddenly the cold temperature isn’t bothering him any longer. There was a young boy in front of him all of a sudden. He realized with a sense of amazement that he was standing face to face with Thomas, his lost son.

“Daddy, daddy, come, follow me, we are hundreds,” Thomas told him in a hoarse voice.

James suddenly felt as if his lungs were empty…devoid of all air. They burnt as he tried to suck in a ragged breath. Was this really Thomas? Had he finally found his son? His heart jumped so hard against his chest he thought sure it was about to break his ribs and rip his skin apart. His mind was reeling with so many questions, but he didn’t want to go there…if he went there he would have to face the void…the emptiness that was left in his soul when Thomas was ripped away from him. If he allowed himself to believe that this was in fact his son, he at least had hope. That was more than he’d had in a very long time.  He realized he’d been standing frozen to his spot. Making a decision at last he began running in the direction of his son. Every four steps he jumped, dazzled by the light in his eyes. He was no longer in the city but things had once again changed. He felt exhausted and his beard had grown down almost to his chest. His shirt was torn open and his hair was dirty…this place was sucking the life from him.

He suddenly heard a metallic sound and turning abruptly, he saw a man holding Thomas’ hand. The strange man was frightening, black and gloomy. He was wearing dark pants and a black hoodie. Thomas looked terrified and James felt as if he was paralyzed, unable to react…Then suddenly the strange man began to scream. The white of his teeth cut a sharp contrast to the darkness of his face as he did. After the scream he opened his mouth again, slowly and said,

“He belongs to us! Cry abomination!”

Without any thought other than for his son, James jumped on him, hitting him with his broken sabre. The stroke was violent, but nothing happened. James continued to strike and beat at it with everything he had inside of him. Even after the thing had vanished while James had been looking it straight in the eyes, he continued to shout and scream and swipe at the air with the sword and his fists until finally overcome with exhaustion he sank defeated to the floor. On his knees the tears came and he was consumed by them. He turned his face up towards the burning sun and screamed again. He thought he had his son back. How cruel was a fate that would allow him a glimpse yet once again snatch him away. James covered his face with his hands and sobbed, great hiccupping sobs until his body no longer had the moisture to form tears and his throat was sandpaper raw.

Suddenly, the light was extinguished and he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

“Find the other stone …” the woman’s voice told him.

“But how? Where is this village that the voices spoke about?

He found himself once again in the city. His surroundings looked again like a big, cold, dark room. He stood up and ran his hands through his hair and across his face. Looking down, he saw the still burning torch lying on the ground so he picked it up and took it with him.

He walked over to a big wooden door and pushed on it. It opened on a large chamber with a labyrinth in the center of it. The chamber itself had stone walls with giant old columns that probably once stood regally but were now cracked and withered from age. Dust from the stone they’d been carved out of lay at the foot of each along with chunks of stone that had rotted off and smashed to the floor, scattering in every direction. The labyrinth sat on a stone platform in the center of the room and going closer he could see that it was actually a mockup of the city he was in right now. The labyrinth is old and damaged but he could still distinguish two big towers at each end of it. Small colored pins with tiny numbers were pressed all over it.

In the center of it was a main building and a small rectangular piece of glass, like a mirror. There was a note next to it, written on paper that was yellowed and withered from age or exposure. James had to lean in close to read it. Squinting he could at last make out the words, “Through the hole.” James studied the rest of the labyrinth wondering what the words meant…what it all meant. At last, knowing he needed to push on, he left the labyrinth and continued on his way, searching for an exit. He saw a small door on his left. As he slowly opened it he could see the condensation vapors coming from his mouth. The air was frigid and the humidity suggested to him that a watercourse was not far away.

He continued into that room finding an office. It was decorated with Indian masks, statues and maps of the world. It reminded him of an adventurer. There was a strange language written all over it. It looked like hieroglyphs to James. It was actually Sumerian, an ancient Mesopotamian language, but James had no way of knowing that.

The office held shelves all across the walls and the shelves held hundreds of books about religion and politics. Curiosity pushed James to open one of them. There was a lot of information in the book, but none that he found useful. He was looking for information about the place he was in. He did find a drawing of two towers and the place where two keys could be found. There was also a drawing of a small wooden door frame annotated, “Infinity Field.”

There were a lot of documents about the human civilization and on the wall an impressive fresco told the story of the last twenty centuries of human history. It was full of information such as the two political factions of the Ancients. James moved over to the table and there he found sheets of paper that looked like they’d come out of a diary.

He picked them up and started to read:

My name is Reynald and this is the story of my people’s origins. We originated on Mars, and were forced off the planet to save ourselves as it was dying. Twenty thousand of us too refuge, coming to the earth in a huge vessel. Our planet, Mars eventually exploded and when it did, germs were released into the atmosphere. They found their way to the Earth and life here was contaminated with it. Through this contamination, numerous mutations will come about through the ages. In particular, some of the monkeys will be endowed with consciousness.

James put that paper down and began reading the next one:

The Martian civilization developed itself independently of humans, but its members went on to help the human race to build some of their most important buildings. Meant to be used for spiritual purposes, the Sphinx, the great pyramid of Giza, the buildings of the empire of the Mayas, and stone spheres of Costa Rica were all built. The Ancient People eventually divided into two clans: those who wished to continue helping the humans, and those who wanted to leave the Earth and leave the humans on their own. But, in spite of their great lifespan, the Ancients become less and less numerous. They decided not to mix anymore with humans and to forbid the mixed unions. 

James wasn’t sure to think about what he was reading, but he put that one down and read on:

I, Reynald was born in 5000 B.C. I was born of a forbidden, mixed family. My father was an Ancient, my mother a terrestrial.

Not long after my birth, a great deluge killed many members of the Ancient community. I grew up amongst humans and I was present at every important human event. I was there at the First Council of Nicaea, the birth of Christ, the marriage of Pocahontas….In 860; I met the archbishop Agobard of Lyon. Just after his birth, a great deluge kills many members of the Ancient community. Reynald will grow up among humans and he is present at every important human event. First Council of Nicaea, the birth of Christ, the marriage of Pocahontas...In 860 he meets the archbishop Agobard of Lyon. In the 12th century, I started the construction of the place of transition for humans. On the Rapa Nui Island, far from any other living beings, I transformed our ancient vessel into the place I had dreamed and designed.

In 1840, I was profoundly shocked by the Indian Removal Act and that was when I decided to launch Heaven into orbit and leave the Earth. I decided that living in Heaven and being witness to the happiness of the humans that are allowed to go there, would be a more pleasant life. It was good…for a while. Unfortunately, the happiness of the humans cause jealousy amongst some of the Ancients and that was when the civilization began to decay.

There was a group of Ancients who refused to live in harmony with the humans. These were banished from the clan and out of those banished a fantastical evil was born. A hybrid of humans, Ancient people, magic and pain. It’s imperative that they do not leave Heaven.

Suddenly, James heard a noise behind him. It was a horrible noise, one that would send a shiver down the spine of the most hardened soul. James turned towards it, already shaking before he saw the revolting sight. Shock began to push its way in as he watched the creature with its dislocated joints crawling on four paws towards him. James couldn’t imagine a worse sight until it slowly stood up and revealed that even it could be more unsightly. James still didn’t have it all figured out, but most likely this “thing” was one of the Banished that Reynald talked about in his writings.

“Come James, come, you belong to us!”

“Do not come any closer unless you want to be more disfigured!”

“Why fight? You are ours, ours …”

A fight seemed necessary. James tried to repel the thing with a sage leaf. Luckily it revealed itself to be efficient. This entity did not appreciate the plant. James used his nanigata to cut more twig and he set them to burn in a circle around him.

“There’s nothing you can do! Leave me alone!”

The thing wouldn’t cross the circle of burning sage but it paced around the office, becoming angry and impatient, turning things over in an attempt to get at James. While the thing agonized about how to get through the burning leaves, James took action and jumped over the table. He was able to escape the room, but the thing followed closely behind. Running as fast as he could, he passed through corridors becoming quickly lost. His heart was racing, pounding against the walls of his chest. Before long James looked back and realized that more of the horrible things had joined in the chase.

“My God, they are hundreds of them,” he thought. “I have to get out of here!” He ran down the stairs and into another long corridor. The chase seemed to go on forever until at last he noticed a sliver of daylight down at the far end.

He found his way out onto a veranda that seemed to be carved into the rock. Through the opening, James could see the tower he activated and he noticed water dripping from the ceiling. Going closer to it he saw a rowing boat. It was old, but it didn’t look to be too out of shape to float. He jumped inside of it and found that it was moored to a small piece of wood on the shore. James tried without success to release the cord. His hands were shaking too hard and he couldn’t make them work. At last, he remembered the sword and taking it out, he cut the cord. The boat began moving away from the shore.