by Tara Ellis
The sun has started its descent by the time we finally reach our destination. I can tell Nator wants to stop and watch it set behind the lake, but he forces himself to turn from the peaceful scene and follow a trail only he remembers.
Nator and Benuk lead the way into the thick trees while Nate, Kyle, and Chris follow. Seth and I bring up the rear, alert for any signs of unwanted visitors. The two other soldiers who drove us here stay back at the truck to make sure we aren’t compromised, and Kyle and Nate will stay with the crystal after the five of us have left.
It’s supposed to be a good five-mile hike in, but based on what Jim could tell by the maps he and Nator went over, it’s a relatively direct route with a gentle, upward grade. Apparently, the topography hasn’t changed much in five-thousand years, and the cave that the transporter is in is a very large, stable one.
I notice I’m lagging behind and can’t see Nate’s red hair up ahead anymore, but just as I start to scramble to catch up, Seth silently grabs my arm from behind. Alarmed he may have heard or seen something, I spin around at the ready.
Before I can determine anything, he takes hold of my other arm too and pulls me off the trail. Confused by his actions, I’m still thinking we might be in some sort of danger when he suddenly sweeps my feet out from under me. Controlling our fall, he guides us onto a soft bed of pine needles, and I manage to stop myself from overreacting as I realize his intentions.
Smiling, I look up into his intense eyes, so close to mine, and feel a certain measure of relief in the submission. I’m done fighting with Seth. I understand now that I don’t need to anymore.
Our bodies fit together in such a way that it feels like we were made for each other, and as the heat builds, I have a harder time telling where he stops and I begin. His hands move from my arms up to my face, where they gently caress the outline of my jaw before grasping the back of my neck in what feels like a desperate embrace.
“I’ve always told myself I would never need anyone else,” he says with such passion that I’m taken by surprise. “But there’s something about you, Alex, and I don’t think I’d have much left in this life if you weren’t in it.”
In response, I trail my hands up his strong, muscular back and then into his thick, blonde hair, pulling his face down to mine. I kiss him with the same desire I felt from him that first night out on the training grounds but was too scared to reciprocate. Only, I’m not scared anymore. I know without a doubt that Seth would do whatever was necessary to keep me safe, and I would do the same for him.
As our kiss deepens, and I begin to lose myself in him, I finally understand what it feels like to let go and love someone without fear. To have complete faith and trust with my heart that he won’t ever hurt me or leave me.
Seth breaks off the kiss and I struggle for control as he easily lifts me to my feet. I know the others will come looking for us if we’re out of sight for too long, but I don’t want the moment to end, so I hug him fiercely before turning to leave.
“Alex,” he calls out, stopping me. Looking back at him, my breath catches with emotion when I see his expression. “You know I love you,” he says simply and with a conviction that leaves no room for doubt.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. “I finally figured that out, Seth. I’m just sorry it took me so long. Because I think I’ve loved you for a long time.”
Smiling down at me with a new tenderness that wasn’t there before, he reaches out and takes my hand. “Come on,” he says, pulling me back toward the trail. “We’ve got a world to save.”
FORTY FIVE
The pain is excruciating. I try not to let it paralyze me as the room on Nibiru comes into focus. We have no way of knowing what might be waiting for us.
Crying out involuntarily, I fall away from the crystal and try to reach for my rifle with numb fingers. With Benuk, the heat was isolated to my hands and forearms, but this time it’s radiating throughout my entire body. I fear it may have shorted out some parts of my nervous system, and I worry it could be permanent.
But as I fumble with my weapon and strain to get to my knees, some sensation is already returning. It’s like when you stay out in the cold for too long and then stick your hands under really hot water, except that I feel it all over. It really sucks.
Chris and Seth are handling their discomfort by cursing up a storm, but fortunately, Benuk doesn’t appear as incapacitated. He’s standing protectively at Nator’s side, his weapon trained on the only guard in the room
Although both Nator and Benuk assured Zane there were only three locations on the planet that allowed for instant travel to and from Nibiru, we still don’t know what precautions RA may have taken onboard his ship. With one of the crystals destroyed and the other two heavily guarded by the Mudameere, he would have no reason to suspect we might be able to return. Our success rests in part on this arrogance but we still planned for the worse.
As I stagger to my feet, I’m relieved to see we didn’t have to be concerned. The solitary Nephilim immediately begins to bow when he sees Nator.
“Nator!” he exclaims, before catching himself. “I mean, my Lord. Please, excuse me. I am at you and your friends’ service.” I assume he must be part of the group that views Nator as the rightful leader.
Patting the man on the back, Nator motions for him to rise. “Were you placed here by the elders?” he asks, “Can you take us to them?”
Nodding, he heads for the door. “Zurtish called for a grand council,” he explains, before checking the hallway to make sure it’s clear. “It began a short time ago, so most everyone is gathered for it.”
“Under what premise?” Nator inquires, still holding the scrolls close to him.
“He suggested to RA to have all bear witness to the final destruction of the Khufu Bast and the end of the resistance.”
“A grand council is a gathering of not only all twenty elders,” Benuk explains, “but also an open forum for the general population. It is reserved for special ceremonies, or when a monumental decision is being made.”
“Perfect!” Chris says through gritted teeth, still trying to work through the pain.
“Yes, my brother was always the schemer,” Nator tells us with just a hint of cynicism. “He was destined early on to be a politician while I was the scientist. The games and manipulation always left a sour taste in my mouth.”
The halls are desolate, and we don’t see a single Nephilim on our way to what the guard says is a back entrance into the central gathering space. My head has finally cleared, but I can tell that both Seth, and especially Chris, are still struggling.
“Are you guys gonna make it?” I ask them both, concerned. I reach out a hand to hold onto Seth’s arm as we go, and notice Chris watching us closely. Instead of letting go, I step in closer, making it clear I don’t care anymore what others think.
“Nothing a couple of aspirin won’t fix,” Seth jokes, but he says it breathlessly.
“We don’t have a choice,” Chris says with diligence. “This is it.”
Looking back at Nator, I see Chris is right. They’ve stopped in front of a double-set of doors marked with the ancient language. Beyond them, I can hear the muffled words of someone speaking, and a lower rumble of what must be thousands of Nephilim assembled.
“Zurtish said for you to just walk in, my Lord, and he will take care of the rest.” Grinning now, the guard is clearly honored to have been a part of this.
Nodding in reply, Nator gathers himself to his full height and then turns to regard all of us to make sure we’re ready. When he sees the solid determination on our faces, he silently throws open the doors and strolls inside.
It’s the same cavernous room that I saw in my first vision of Nibiru, with its round, metallic walls and sloping floor, leading to a raised platform in the middle. What must be close to the entire Nephilim population is gathered around it. Projected on the ceiling above them is an image that makes my skin crawl: an aerial shot of our base, with symbols flashing
in the corner. A countdown.
“Yes, yes I can see where this is a monumental time for our people,” one of the elders is saying loudly to Zurtish. “But I fail to see why actually watching such violence is necessary?”
He is speaking a language Seth, Chris and I can’t understand, but Benuk turns and whispers a translation to us. It’s about this time that we’re spotted by the nearest of the crowd, and the ensuing commotion builds until it reaches the men up on the stage.
“Because I feel it is important for us to see what we - well, what have we here?” Zurtish breaks off, watching calmly as we make our way to the stairs leading up to the platform.
RA’s back has been to us, but now he turns, and the frown that was already clouding his dark features deepens to the point that I think he’s going to come at us himself. “What is this!” he bellows, turning to Zurtish. “Who let this traitor and the humans on my ship?”
It doesn’t take much to figure out he was set up, and RA is furious. “Remove them!” he orders the guards that are milling about now at the bottom of the stairs below us. We’ve reached the top of the stage and with Nator leading us, no one knows how to react.
“Wait!” Zurtish retorts. “I hereby request a formal audience before the council and the people, to designate our true and rightful leader.” Benuk struggles to keep up with the translation and is almost drowned out by the reaction of the full auditorium.
“Enough!” RA roars, and the room immediately falls silent. “It is clear now who the other traitor among us is,” he says, his words dripping with venom as he glares at Zurtish. “Your allegiance has always been to your brother, Nator. You will remove yourself from the council at once and be stripped of your position among our people!”
“No.” Everyone turns to the new voice, coming from the oldest of the elders, who was at the meeting with a couple of days ago. Stepping forward slowly, he joins Zurtish and faces RA. “I second the request for an audience, and I would remind our Lord that removal of an elder requires a unified vote.”
“I, too, stand with my brothers.” Another elder moves up to the other side of Zurtish and bravely confronts their incredulous leader. Then two more of the robed Nephilim with their blue sashes rise in defiance, causing another wave of discourse to wash through the room. By the time RA gets the crowd under control again, a total of eight councilmen are facing him, including three I’ve never seen before.
“It looks like we have an audience,” Zurtish says triumphantly, motioning to Nator to come take his place.
“An audience for what?” RA questions. “Nator forfeited his right to anything when he abandoned his people in favor of an inferior race. He violated our trust five-thousand years ago when he prevented us from obtaining our necessary resources, and he is doing it again now! How could any of you question me in light of his traitorous acts?”
There are several shouts of agreement from the throng of Nephilim surrounding us, as well as from the remaining twelve elders. Sweat breaks out on my forehead as the magnitude of what’s at stake bears down on me. The steady flickering in the corner of the image hovering over us is a constant reminder. If Nator can’t convince the council, then even if the base and the cure aren’t destroyed outright by the nuclear blast, they’ll never be able to get the anti-virus distributed in time to stop the slower destruction of earth.
Before anyone can respond to his accusations, there’s a large commotion from the back of the room. Turning toward the source, at first all I can see is a parting sea of bodies, but as the disturbance nears the stage, I realize almost too late that it’s an assault team.
I’m aware of Seth and Chris reacting almost simultaneously with me as we all bring our rifles around to the ready. Benuk is slower to join us, held back by his years of training as a Nephilim. Such an act of violence on Nibiru has never happened before. In fact, I’m quite certain RA’s aggression toward me the other day was a first.
We’re facing an attack party of nearly a dozen Mudameere and Nephume, and the sound of so many weapons racking at once is enough to cause screams of terror from the nearest spectators.
Nebuch himself heads the charge. He’s the Nephilim leader of the Mudameere, my great-grandfather, and the grandson Nator has never met. It’s odd to see a Nephilim dressed in the customary black uniform of the Mudameere. I can’t imagine how they ever managed to keep him hidden from the general public all these years.
The weapon looks small in his massive hands, but just as deadly, and it’s pointed straight at Nator. Mine, in turn, is trained on him, while Seth is a breath away from shooting RA.
Wouldn’t it be easier for everyone if we all just pulled our triggers? I toy with the idea. With all of the major players here in one room, we could just wipe the slate clean and let those who are left start over.
My heart rate accelerates and my nostrils flare as I contemplate this option. Why not? My finger slowly pulls in on the trigger, a hair away from initiating the end. I know that once Nebuch falls, the rest of us will follow.
Alexandria …
I close my eyes, holding my breath to steady my grip as my dad’s voice fills my head.
Do it for Dad. Now I hear Jacob, my little brother. Slowly, slowly I relax my finger and blink rapidly, to refocus from Nebuch’s forehead in my sites to a wider view. No. Death would be the easy route. And there’s no guarantee that it would change anyone’s course. That isn’t what Dad was fighting for, and it isn’t what I promised my little brother.
Sometimes fighting for what’s right means not fighting at all. Turning first to Seth on my right, and then to Chris on my left, I very purposefully lower my firearm, and they hesitantly follow.
“Is this what your once proud race has been brought to?” I cry out, and Benuk’s deep voice translates my words for his people after he also shoulders his rifle. “I might have been born on Earth, but my bloodline is ancient and can be traced back to the greatest of your leaders!” This revelation is almost enough to overpower the palpable fear in the room, but it does nothing to discourage the many ARs trained on me.
“She speaks the truth,” Nator confirms, staring calmly at his grandson. “It is a truth that has been hidden from all of you, and covered up further by the lies created and nurtured by RA.” The volume in the room is slowly increasing and I can see the first signs of uncertainty on the faces of the Mudameere as they look around, alarmed at the reaction from the Nephilim.
“There will be no more fighting among our people!” Nator declares. “It is blasphemous to our forefathers to even have such weapons on Nibiru. Have your men stand down,” he continues, speaking directly now to RA, who is visibly shaken by Nator’s declarations, and the escalating violence.
With the majority of the elders now agreeing with Nator and demanding a peaceful council, RA hesitates. Watching him closely, I catch the almost unperceivable nod he gives Nebuch, before raising his hands in apparent submission to their pleas.
I’m a good ten feet away from Nator, and if it weren’t for my inhuman speed and agility, I wouldn’t have reached him in time. I slam into his enormous frame as the shot rings out, and I feel a searing pain in my left side before hitting the ground, with him under me.
Doing my best to cover his head, I brace myself for more bullets and a volley of gunfire. When neither happens, I cautiously look up to discover the Nephilim have taken matters into their own hands. The ten Mudameere, though armed, are nothing in comparison to the thousands of peace-loving people surrounding them. They are quickly overwhelmed and relieved of their weapons, and Nebuch is left standing defeated, restrained by the very people he fought so hard to one day rejoin.
“Alex!” Seth kneels down next to me as I roll away from Nator, placing a hand against my wound to stop the bleeding.
“I’ll be okay,” I try to reassure him, relieved to see Nator appears unharmed.
“Fools!” RA shouts in desperation. Distracted by me, Seth fails to react in time as RA shoves him aside, while at the same time
ripping the automatic rifle from his hand.
Chris and Benuk respond immediately and find themselves in a stalemate with RA, with Nator’s life as the prize.
“No,” Nator says, shaking his head while slowly getting to his feet. “Lower those weapons,” he orders Chris and Benuk, waving them off. “This is not the way of our people.” Turning, he ignores RA and reverently retrieves the scrolls that were trapped and bent under the weight of his body when he fell.
Pushing on them and doing his best to remove the creases, he then looks back to RA, with tears streaming down his proud, handsome face. “Kill me if you must,” he says loudly. “But do it with your own hands, because then the first blood to be spilled by our people in over twenty-thousand years can be blamed on no one else but you.”
Hesitating, RA looks sideways at all twenty members of the council, now on their feet. Not a single one of them offers support, and are all shocked by his actions.
“Someone has to stop him!” RA insists. “He will destroy what is left of our people!”
“You mean that I will expose your lies, and reveal that you are to blame for both the genocide of our race and theirs!” Nator shouts, pointing at me. “Five thousand years ago, I thought the best thing for me to do, when my fellow elders turned their backs on me, was to take my family and escape this path you were leading our people down, RA. But I was wrong,” he continues, addressing the audience. “I should have stayed and fought harder for what I knew was right. Because now I know just how deep the greatest lie is.”
Holding out the scrolls, he faces RA, who still has the gun trained on him. “We both know, RA, that in these Scrolls of Life, the truth behind all of this is revealed.” The reaction from both RA and the elders is dramatic. The scrolls are sacred to the Nephilim, and to even have them out in public is something never seen before, let alone a declaration as to what’s inside.
