by Tara Ellis
Benuk must be able to see the conviction in my eyes because although his expression remains neutral, he looks away. I follow his gaze and see that the other two guards, dressed in plain grey tunics with wide, gold belts, are moving toward me. I try to avoid looking at their massive, nine-foot forms and focus instead on the smooth metallic walls behind them. It looks like the same unique material I remember from the genetic memories I had of the ship. I know now that the odd hieroglyphs covering its surface are part of the ancient Nephilim language.
My vision is blocked by the men’s chests when they stop in front of me and I do my best to stay still as they reach out and start removing my gear. My automatic rifle was already ripped from my back before the other guards cuffed me, but my utility belt holds a pistol, and this is thrown across the room with apparent disgust. It clangs loudly against the wall, and I wince at the sound.
Next, they yank the combat boots from my feet, nearly causing me to fall. They chuckle at my antics to stay upright. While they are both typical, handsome godlike Nephilim, I suddenly find them very ugly.
The knife strapped to my ankle joins my other weapon in the same, dramatic way, and then they begin ripping at the buttons on my khakis. I do my best not to react as my shirt is pulled down my arms to ultimately get wrapped up in my bound hands. I’m wearing my military-issued white tank top underneath and it’s easy enough to see that I don’t have any other dangerous items strapped to my body. But when they start pulling the bottom of that up and out of my pants, I’ve had enough.
Grabbing ahold of the huge forearms still restraining me from behind, I use them for leverage to help launch myself up into the air and backward. As I complete the summersault, my bare foot connects with the jaw of one of the men undressing me and even though it hurts like hell, and probably does nothing to him, it feels great.
I land in a cat-like stance between the two stunned guards who used to be behind me, having broken their grip with the unexpected twisting motion. Smiling, I take two slow, cautious steps backward.
“I’m not that kind of girl,” I say to the guy rubbing at this chin. Good. I hope it bruises.
“Enough!” Benuk shouts when all four of them start to advance on me.
Turning, they appear unsure about taking an order from him. Or maybe they don’t understand what he said. For the first time, I hear Benuk speak in the ancient dialect of the Nephilim as he continues the conversation. It’s a musical type of language and his deep voice echoes off the metallic walls in such a way that the whole room vibrates with it.
I don’t have a clue as to what he’s saying but it’s having the desired effect. They back away. One of them starts collecting the items they took off of me and then walks from the room. The remaining three sentries turn their backs to me, making it clear that they’re done. But I have no doubt that if I were to make a move for the door, I’d never make it.
Just as I’m considering how much of an option that is, I hear the unmistakable sound of many feet marching toward us, up the hallway. Glancing over at Benuk, I finally see some emotion. Unfortunately, it’s fear.
Two of the guys rush forward and open the double doors just in time for an impressive entourage to explode into the room. Four Nephilim men in beautiful robes of sapphire blue with red sashes crowd in around the crystal, hardly looking my way. Behind them is an imposing figure in a dazzling opalescent tunic covered with several layers of black cape. It has to be RA.
The leaders I saw in my vision speaking to the Nephilim people some eight thousand years ago had been humble, dressed in plain garb with simple sashes to differentiate their positions. The beings parading before me now are grand and boastful, almost to the point of being tacky. I mean really? The outrageous gold and ruby lined banner RA has draped across his chest and over his shoulder is …. well, ridiculous.
I begin to smile at the thought, but then my eyes meet his, and any humor I felt is instantly gone. While he’s not exactly like the character portrayed in so many cheesy movies, I have to admit that he’s scary. Unlike the other Nephilim, he doesn’t have the characteristic blonde hair and blue eyes. His is jet-black. His eyes are too, with no clear distinction between the iris and the rest, so they appear dilated. The result is a wild and dangerous look. Combined with his massive size even by their standards, it demands respect.
“Alex Mubarak,” he says with a dramatic flair and distinct, guttural accent. “Finally, we meet.” I shrink back from the contempt dripping from his voice. I know that everything we have been led to believe states that the Nephilim would never commit a direct act of violence but I’m not believing it right now.
When I remain silent but refuse to look away from his scrutiny, he begins to slowly walk in a circle around me. “You must be wondering why I look the way I do?” When I cock my head slightly in response, he smiles. It does nothing to warm his features.
“You see, when I was last here on earth and persuaded the local bacteria that I was their god,” RA says, “I thought it might help if some of my features more closely represented their own. I wore it that way for so long that I grew rather fond of it and decided to keep the look.”
“I think you should consider bringing back some blonde highlights,” I suggest, making a mental note of his over-inflated ego.
His expression changes vividly from smug to furious. His dark eyes squint with suspicion, and he spins toward Benuk. “Why does she have the physical traits of one infected, but not the demeanor?” he spats, teetering on the edge of yelling.
“She was infected, my Lord,” Benuk answers, doing his best not to retreat. “But her reaction was not …” Glancing pointedly at the elders, he speaks to them instead. “Typical.”
“Why did Nebuch not clarify this in his last transmission to me?” RA bellows, and everyone in the room goes rigid. I have a feeling such displays of emotion are not common here.
“I do not know, my Lord. Elder Nebuch did not share the contents of his messages with me. I was only told to bring the girl to you.”
“Do not refer to him as an elder!” RA corrects. “That traitor to his people has yet to prove himself worthy of such a title.” The other elders begin to mumble amongst themselves, and I see RA gaze at them suspiciously. “Well, it doesn’t matter,” he declares, trying to wave it off. He turns his cold stare back on me. “The new pyramids are already close to completion and mining will start up any day now. The battle is already lost. There’s no point in your people fighting back anymore.”
I must not do a good job of hiding my surprise at this news because I’m rewarded with a fresh smile. “Don’t worry,” RA says. “I will cure you of your human disease, and soon you and hundreds of your kind will take your rightful place here on Nibiru, serving your gods.”
“No!” I snap. I’m grabbed roughly from behind when I try to take a step toward him. “I have one God and it’s not you! We will never bow down to you, RA!”
His speed, considering his size, is impressive as he takes me by the throat and lifts me up off the ground so that I am level with him. Gagging, I’m forced to look into his eyes, so close to my own. There’s no mistaking the madness there.
“We have not needed the ancient laws of discipline for a very long time, Alex,” RA snarls at me, his breath hot on my face. “But we might have to resurrect some just for you. I guarantee you that they are most unpleasant.”
One of the elders calls out in alarm, and I’m assuming it’s in protest to RA’s behavior because he abruptly drops me. As I kneel, gasping and coughing, his whole manner changes again when he smiles and turns to address his advisors.
Communicating in their ancient tongue, the five of them have an animated conversation for several minutes, sometimes gesturing to me or Benuk. One of them looks concerned, but the other elders appear easily placated by RA and they leave without ever saying anything directly to me.
RA then turns on Benuk, addressing him with obvious scorn. Benuk hangs his head and answers him quietly, before walking away
without so much as a glance toward me. So that’s it? No explanation. Nothing? It might be showing a total lack of common sense, considering where I am, but I’m finding myself getting very angry again. I would really like to punch someone.
Unfortunately, my balled up fists are stuck behind my back, so that when the guards start pushing me out of the room, I’m unable to take a swing at RA as he turns and leaves in the other direction, a flourish of silken robes trailing behind him.
THIRTY EIGHT
At least I have a soft bed. I don’t think the Nephilim have ever had to think about confining someone on this ship because this room has clearly been rigged on short-notice. I might be able to use that to my advantage. They’re smart, but they don’t know about my vision and how I can see when something is ‘off’. I barely even notice the irritating side-effect of this anymore, but right now I’m carefully scrutinizing every surface from my perch on this nice, soft mattress.
So far, all I see are four square walls without any windows. There is only one door. Everything is giant-sized so that I feel like a little girl in a dollhouse. My feet dangle off the side of the bed, and I can’t even see my reflection in the mirror on the dresser across from me because I’m too short.
I think this room must belong to one of the lower-class Nephilim that Benuk told me about. They have a very structured social system and although they all used to be on relatively equal footing, that all changed when RA’s reign began. They’ve developed a sub-class to handle the more unpleasant tasks.
Hopping down from the bed, I begin moving about the room, looking in every drawer. Maybe I can find something I’ll be able to use as a weapon. But the mirror is made of some odd material other than glass, and the room has been cleaned out, except for the linen on the bed. Eyeballing that, I consider whether I can do something with it or better yet, tear open the mattress to see if there are any springs or metal workings inside. Yes. That’s a good idea.
Before I can carry it out that plan, there’s a noise at the door. Spinning, I crouch down, ready to attack. I will not let anyone touch me again without putting up one hell of a fight. I don’t care how useless it might be.
To my surprise, it’s Benuk who quickly steps inside alone, his hands already out in a gesture to stop me. “Alex, I know you don’t trust me right now but you must listen. I am taking you to a meeting with several elders that are eager to talk to you. I brought you here for them, not RA.”
Confused, I relax my stance as a surge of hope wells up inside me. “What’s going on, Benuk?” I watch as he turns back to the open door and proceeds to drag an unconscious guard inside.
“I don’t have time to explain it right now. We must move quickly. RA could discover at any moment that I am not really here on Nebuch’s order. Follow me.”
Before I can ask any more questions, he steps over the man and then peeks back out into the hallway before slipping out. I’m left with no other option than to do what he says. RA would have no reason to play this charade.
The corridor is empty and we move through it silently, turning numerous corners until I have no idea how to get back the way we came. Several times we have to duck quickly into vacant rooms to avoid being seen. Finally, we head down a smaller service passageway and emerge inside a large room. Seated around an ornate table are five Nephilim. They all wear the distinctive elder sashes.
“Alex,” the elder closest to me says as he rises to his feet, towering over me. I recognize him from our encounter just a short time ago with RA. He was the only one who seemed opposed to how I was being treated. “I apologize for all of this, but it was the only way that we could speak to you privately.”
Benuk guides me to an oversized chair, but I remain standing.
“So you planned all of this?” I say accusingly. “Why? Why not just tell me these guys wanted to talk?”
“RA had to believe that you were being delivered to him for Nebuch,” Benuk explains. “It was the only way to get you here. I couldn’t take a chance that you wouldn’t believe me and not come, Alex. This is too important. And it is likely that RA would have noticed if you were acting. I didn’t know if you could pull that off well enough.”
“You should have just told me,” I say harshly. But I know he is probably right. If he had come to me with a plan to transport me here alone, to this ship, to present me to RA, would I have believed him? It’s more likely that Zane or the others would have suspected ulterior motives and would have never taken the chance with me. Maybe Benuk is right and this was the only way. It really doesn’t matter though. I’m here now, and I need to listen to these guys.
“I’ve been in contact with Elder Zurtish for the past several years,” Benuk explains, motioning to the Nephilim who spoke to me. “I worked at the high-frequency station in Alaska, or HAARP, for nearly ten years before I managed to contact him. The Mudameere were responsible for HAARP’s creation, as you already know.”
I struggle to make sense of all of this. “So you’ve been working for the Mudameere?” I ask, confused.
“Yes. But they had no idea that I came from the biodome. I provided them with a false family lineage to explain my Nephume features. I simply worked in communications. I used this knowledge recently to contact Zurtish, who is my uncle, and Nator’s brother. With them in our own orbit, the more advanced network wasn’t needed. I had Jacob help me gain access with the base equipment when Jim was away, but he didn’t know what I was doing.”
I’m upset that he brought Jake into this. He’s going to blame himself when he finds out what happened to me. He’s a smart kid and he’ll put it together quickly.
“Over the years, I established my credentials,” Benuk continues before I can voice my disdain, “so that when I sent the message from ‘Nebuch,’ it was accepted as genuine. But it is likely that this will soon be discovered as false, so our time to talk is limited. We need you to listen to what the elders have to say, Alex and then decide if you will help me.”
Intrigued, I respond by sitting in the offered chair and face the prominent figures seated around the gigantic table. It’s likely made from the wood of some exotic, alien tree, as I’ve never seen anything like it before. Stay focused, I tell myself, and I concentrate instead on the five pairs of radiant blue eyes watching me.
“We are a dying race,” Zurtish begins. “And there are those of us who feel that RA is to blame.”
Okay, so now he has my attention. Looking at Benuk who’s sitting beside me, he simply nods in confirmation.
“For the last three thousand years, we have not produced any offspring,” Zurtish explains. “Since the time before we first came to your planet Earth, our population was decreasing. With only half of our wives able to bear children, more Nephilim died in a generation than were born. Now, it has been three thousand years and not one infant has been conceived.
“Our population on Nibiru is down to just under twenty thousand and our workforce will soon be gone, which is why RA’s plans for Earth are so vital. No longer can we travel the galaxy and slowly gather what we need to sustain life. Unless something changes, in another ten thousand years there will be no one to replace the last of the elders.”
I’m actually rather shocked by this. While we’ve all come to regard the Nephilim as the enemy, I still remember them the way Nator did; peaceful, intelligent, resourceful, and proud. To hear that this ancient race is basically limping back to Earth in hopes of some sort of salvation is … encouraging.
“These are the Scrolls of Life,” Zurtish continues, gesturing to three rolls of text set out on the table. They look like they’re made from the same odd material that was in the box that Grandma gave to Jake. I subconsciously touch the paper that is carefully folded in my back pocket. Just like the medallion around my neck, I always have it with me.
“These were created by the elders four generations before us, or nearly forty thousand of your years. It was right after the ‘Time of No Sickness,’ when we were cured of our genetic diseases. They are
meant only for the eyes of our leader and are said to give both guidance and caution so that we do not repeat our troubled past.”
“Okay, so what do they have to do with me?” I ask when the story pauses.
“We need you to come with me and present these scrolls to Nator,” Benuk answers, looking at me with such earnest that I feel like I’m missing something.
“I don’t really get it,” I admit, looking around the table and trying not to feel overwhelmed. “Why do you need me for that? I’m sure Nator would listen to you, Benuk, before he’d even consider my opinion.”
“That is where you are wrong,” Zurtish says.
The room goes silent again, and my frustration grows. Then it finally hits me. “Seriously?” I say with a certain amount of sarcasm. “You all actually believe that I’m the prophesized leader too?” I turn to Benuk. “I thought these guys were supposed to be smart.” For the first time ever, I see his handsome face cloud with anger. I may have just pushed things too far.
“The changes in your DNA are not random and are not a coincidence,” Benuk says evenly. “Nor is the fact that you have so far played a major role in defeating RA’s plans; not once, but twice. Our people’s history is rich, and we take the legend of the returning leader very seriously. My family especially, because the last one, a man named Haztak, led a peaceful movement to end our Days of War. He then began the plans to build Nibiru. He was Nator’s grandfather and my great-grandfather.”
“Which would have made him…” I try to do the math as fast as I can in my head. This ancestor stuff is so confusing to me.
“Your great-grandfather four times removed,” Benuk offers, ending my pain. “He had the same odd DNA as you, Alex. Put there by our ancestors to return every twenty-thousand years to help connect the past to the present and keep us on the righteous and true path. RA has been leading his people astray and it must be stopped. You are the one meant to do it.”
