by Tara Ellis
Going pale, RA takes a stumbling step backward, the rifle seemingly forgotten. Looking again frantically at the elders, he searches for someone to support him, but finding none, he turns back again to Nator and shakes his head.
“Did no one wonder how RA was able to create a virus so effective against a race alien to us?” Nator asks the council. “Likely, you were fooled the same as I was when RA declared that his own DNA was used, mixed with that of the humans and their local viral vectors. I was not a geneticist, so I didn’t question that aspect of it.
“Well, he did use some of his own, but what he couldn’t tell you, is why.” Intrigued, I almost forget about my pain and lean thankfully against Seth for support. Where in the world is he going with this?
“You couldn’t tell them, could you?” he asks RA, actually advancing on the other man now, his voice gaining confidence. “Because then you wouldn’t be able to excuse the atrocities committed against the human race. You see,” he tells the elders, going to stand directly in front of them. “The secret that our forefathers entrusted to RA and all future leaders of our people, was one so monumental, that it had to be guarded in an attempt to prevent this,” he emphasizes, opening his arms to encompass everyone on the stage, “from ever happening again.
“Because the flaws in their DNA that you see as proof of their inferiority are the exact same ones that were eradicated from us before the time of No Sickness!” As the implications of this sink in, Nator has to raise his voice to be heard over the response. “The reason the Holocene and Nephi2 viruses were able to even work on the human population, and the reason Alex stands before you today with the ancient DNA of our forefathers in her blood, is because we all have the same origin!
“Instead of protecting this knowledge and helping our long lost ancestors, RA used it to control them and make him their god. This path he has chosen has led to the death of millions on Earth and nearly destroyed what is left of the Nephilim, and he must be stopped!”
As RA turns to flee the stage, he is met by Benuk, who rips the weapon away before Zurtish and several other elders surround him.
“I hereby declare RA to be found incompetent to serve the people of Nibiru, and move to have Nator recognized as the true and rightful leader!” Zurtish declares. The other nineteen votes of approval are almost drowned out by the crowd’s cheers and RA finally hangs his head in defeat.
“Zurtish!” I yell, letting Seth help me to my feet. “Please, you have to stop the bombing!” I beg, pointing up to the image still shimmering over us. Nodding in understanding, he waves a hand over one of his sleeves, activating some sort of communication device.
After a hurried explanation and confirmation from the other elders, an order is transmitted to the Mudameere on Earth’s surface. I wait breathlessly, watching the screen until finally, the symbols stop counting down and Zurtish confirms the attack has been called off.
Another roar of approval rises from the crowd and I take a good look at them for the first time. It’s odd seeing so many people together without having any kids with them. It makes me think of what they’ve been facing and how desperate they’ve also been.
The scene reminds me of a similar one, some ten thousand years ago when the Nephilim were first brought to this ship to escape their dying planet, a fate Earth just barely avoided. Is it true our destiny is already written, or is it possible to change it?
Staring out over the sea of upturned faces, I note how from up here, without the height being a factor, we really do all look the same. It makes me think of the Chief Seattle speech, and how one part of it spoke to me at certain times and helped keep me focused.
Straightening as much as I can with the bullet still stuck in my side, I move to the center of the stage where Nator is shaking the hand of each elder to complete his induction as their leader. As he finishes, he takes my hand, covered in blood, and we both look at the streaks it leaves behind in his palm. No, we really aren’t all that different.
Turning to face my new family, I ask Nator to please translate for me. “A wise leader of my people, long ago, once spoke about our connections when he was confronted by hate because of our differences. This is what he said:
“One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover-Our God is the same God. You may think now that you own him as you wish to own our land: but you cannot.
“My own people have forgotten this lesson many times since it was given, and my hope is that perhaps, together with you, we can relearn it together.”
Raising my fist high in the air, I call out a phrase in their ancient language, remembered from my vision of a day long ago in this exact room, when their people were about to begin on their new journey. I know now that I’m a descendent from the man who led them that day.
“United we stand, divided we fall!” After a brief pause, a few scattered Nephilim return the chant.
I say it again, stronger this time, holding my left side with my other arm. “United we stand, divided we fall!” More Nephilim respond, including Chris and Benuk.
Stumbling to the edge of the platform, I leave a thin line of blood behind me. Raising both fists high, I shout out with all my might, knowing my dad is listening. “United we stand, divided we fall!” This time, all of the Nephilim answer me, and the voices of Nator and Seth join them.
Falling back into Seth’s strong arms, I turn into him and welcome the tears I’ve been holding back for all of the people that have already died. He gathers me up, and I allow him to take my weight. It’s okay now to let go. I don’t have to fight anymore.
Epilogue
I try to relax and enjoy the wind blowing through my hair. But the clinking of thousands of small, glass vial containers in the back of the jeep, serve as a constant reminder. They cast a shadow over the hot sun reaching us through the tree-lined, mountain road, so what seems like a permanent chill has settled at the base of my spine.
It’s been three months since the fall of RA, and consequently, the Mudameere organization. Once word spread of Nator’s victory, all hope for them of ever returning to Nibiru was destroyed. When they announced the cure for the Nephi2 virus just a few weeks later, the remaining Mudameere fled their bases and disappeared.
But it didn’t stop the Shiners.
Without the direction and support of the Mudameere, they became much less of a threat. But they’re still deadly. The ‘program’ that drives them is still running and it seems that the only ways to shut it down are death, treatment, or interruption of the signal.
Although the professor produced the cure as promised, it’s going to take months, maybe even years, before we reach most of the infected. Jim and Jake are dedicated to isolating the frequency they communicate on, since jamming it would make the task of rounding them up much easier.
That’s actually going to be my job for the unforeseeable future. I grip the steering wheel tighter and look over at Seth in the passenger seat. In contrast to myself, he appears to be quite relaxed and relishing the late summer weather. He’s reclined as far back as he can go, his shoeless feet propped up on the top of the windshield, taking advantage of the topless vehicle. His eyes closed under dark sunglasses, his left hand is petting Baxter’s head, who’s sitting in the space in between us.
Nate and Kyle are in another, similarly equipped jeep in front of us. Fortunately, the medication is very stable and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. There are also two larger transport vehicles trailing behind us, filled with combat soldiers, two doctors, and several field medics. It’s a complicated process.
Frank, our resident Shiner at the base, volunteered to be the first guinea pig for the professor’s proclaimed cure. As promised, it obliterated the viral DNA but left behind even more damage than with the Holocene virus. Frank suffered several mental breakdowns in the first week following his treatment. It took that long to come up with the idea to heal his brain damage with the same stem-cell therapy that worked on Missy.
It was slow, but eventually worke
d. I’ll never forget the first time I went to see Frank afterward. He carried on a very animated conversation the whole time. It freaked me out.
Then there’s Missy. She’s walking again.
I don’t mean with a cane, walker, or crutches. She’s putting one foot solidly in front of the other, and you would never know she was bedridden less than three months ago. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s bothering me so much, but Baxter feels it too. He refuses to be near either Missy or Frank.
No one else in the Khufu Bast seems troubled by the fact we’re essentially fighting the genetic manipulation with our own. I get it. To not treat them with the stem cells would mean they’d be left incapacitated. The only other option is to kill them, and while I don’t agree with how we’re doing it, I can’t support the murder of hundreds of millions of people. So, we don’t really have any other choice right now. But I just wish everyone would slow down. I still think we’ve been too quick to trust Professor Hassan. No one is asking him why he hasn’t taken the cure.
Chris and Missy have essentially chosen to work for the professor, helping to further his research and studies. Benuk has remained neutral in his opinions while acting as an advisor to Nator. But the new Nephilim leader has made his objections well known. Nator’s offered to help us with everything else but refuses to take part in anything involving the stem cells. He sees it as a direct violation of their way of life and beliefs.
Sighing, I reach out to put my hand over Seth’s. His touch always reassures me. His fingers automatically entwine with mine, and we leave them resting on Baxter’s back. He doesn’t seem to mind.
We’ve been on the road for over a month now, going from one colony of Shiners to another, administering first the cure, and then the stem cells. I know we’re rapidly improving our distribution and that as other countries follow suit, things will slowly improve. But there will always be Shiners. We’ll never find them all, and a new, alarming discovery was recently made. Infants, mixed in with the Shiners, have certain attributes that make us think they’re Shiner offspring. They took them back to the lab for … observation.
I wish I could say that the end to the war brought world peace and that we’ve all come together to mop up the mess left behind. But that just isn’t part of human nature. There are several countries that still refuse to even talk with us, and other factions have gone so far as to take advantage of the whole situation to further their own terrorist activities.
Baxter whines beside me, and I ease off the gas, allowing myself to mentally reach out into the woods around us. He’s able to sense them before I can. They’re out there. They will always be out there.
“We adapt. Right, bud?” I ask him, remembering the quote he left on my bedroom floor. Licking my nose once, he apparently agrees with me.
As I watch the lines on the road rushing at us, much like our future, the question that our leaders are unwilling to ask is on my mind:
We’ve been freed, and our planet saved, but at what cost to our future descendants? We finally know the truth of our origins, but what history will be written for them to believe?
THE END
Read the beginning of Alex’s stories in book one and two, INFECTED, and HERITAGE.
Available now at all major distributors.
Looking for a fun mystery? Check out Tara’s other series, the Samantha Wolf Mysteries!
Find all of her books, and leave a review on Amazon:
AUTHOR PAGE
Follow this link to sign up for author Tara Ellis’s newsletter, and stay informed of her newest publications!
NEWSLETTER
Tara Ellis, an Amazon bestselling author, lives in a small rural town in Washington State set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She enjoys the quiet lifestyle with her two kids and several dogs. Tara was a firefighter/EMT, and worked in the medical field for many years, before committing herself to writing young adult and middle grade novels full-time.
Visit her author page on Amazon to find all of her books!
amazon.com/author/taraellis
