Nibiru Returns

by Tod Eten

  As they drank their coffee Esel walked quickly up to where her husband was seated beside Aya and whispered urgently in his ear after which Zafer quickly stood again calling for quiet.

  ‘My friends I am sorry’ Zafer said ‘but I think it’s time that I took you across the river as it seems that the local police are becoming interested in you and they can be a bit tiresome, so please my friends’ and Zafer quickly ushered his guests up from the table. A short time later they were all back aboard the minibus with Long who had not been drinking at the wheel. Long was soon carefully steering the minibus aboard Zafers small ferry. With the minibus safely aboard Zafer closed the gates of the ferry and started the engine. He then cast off the moorings and opening up the throttle they were soon pulling away from the shore into the dark depths of the river.

  ‘What was all that about?’ Aiden whispered to Aya

  ‘It seems some of the locals were beginning to take too much of an interest in us’ Aya replied quietly. Aiden looked back at the shore but it still seemed as deserted as it was before. As they crossed the river they saw many other ships both big and small whose paths they had to cross in order to gain the opposite shore. Some of the ships were so enormous that they made the small ferry look like a toy that could easily be pushed under into the cold dark water by their massive hulls. But Zafer easily steered his small craft between these large obstacles while his passengers looked fearfully at the great vessels as they passed close by. When they reached the other side Zafer once more opened the gates of the ferry and Long drove the minibus onto the southern shore of the Bosphorus and into a town that looked like a carbon copy of Garipce. Everyone got off the minibus and with hugs and handshakes they thanked Zafer for his hospitality. Aya talked quietly with Zafer in private for several minutes after the others had all boarded the minibus and giving him one last hug she too got back on board and Long drove them off into the night.

  With a good meal and wine inside of him Aiden soon found his eyes becoming heavy and like the rest of the group was soon asleep. Aiden dreamt about the countryside that he had seen depicted in some of Zafers paintings, of warm summer days and cool starlit nights, the smell of the earth and scents of the flowers as well as the sounds of the forest that welcomed him like a long lost friend.

  Rafferty looked at the morning papers which now seemed to be the only reliable source of news apart from the internet and even that was starting to have problems.

  He picked up one of the papers and began reading. The headline on the front page read:

  ‘Prime Minister fired at by gunman’

  Underneath this was a picture of a smiling middle aged man dressed in a suit.

  ‘A lone gunman made an attempt on the Prime Minister Archers life as he visited a car factory in Whitley yesterday. The gunman managed to fire six shots at the Prime Minister before he was wrestled to the ground. Although the Prime Minister was unhurt the Managing Director of the factory Mr Robert Telford was shot and killed and three workers seriously injured. The gunman as he was dragged away claimed that the attack was in revenge for the murder of his family at a recent march in London. The Prime Minister later paid tribute Robert Telford and to those that had been injured.’

  Rafferty stopped reading, pity the gunman hadn’t succeeded he thought as he knew that his probable replacement would have been the newly appointed chancellor a man that he had been cultivating for some time now.

  Also on the front page they talked about the recent plane crashes on Fire Ball Sunday. The death toll was so far confirmed at over 867,000 people and the cause of the incident was still unknown. Government sources had admitted that it was in all likely hood connected to the worldwide interference phenomenon. But they were categorically denying that the interference problems were in any way connected with the newly discovered comet. However all planes would remain grounded until further notice.

  On the next page the stories were about the rising oil prices which had now reached over 300 dollars a barrel. The paper claimed that this was a deliberate policy to destabilise the West by the Muslim world and demanded that the West take firmer action to defend its interests. Well they would soon get their wish Rafferty smiled.

  The paper then talked about the recession in the UK which continued to gather pace with increasing unemployment. There were now over 20 million people out of work and house prices continued to fall, down again 1.2% on the month. Repossessions had also reached historic highs with charities claiming that families with children were now sleeping rough on the street. Well they have only themselves to blame Rafferty thought with a snort, they should have planned for the bad times.

  There were reports on the terrorist attacks on Israel which continued unabated with America and Europe urging Israel to show restraint in any acts of retaliation. There had also been a number of riots across Britain in protest at job losses and the recession with the government now enforcing anti terror laws to ban all demonstrations. Riots organised by the communists no doubt Rafferty thought.

  Another report discussed the number of attacks made by Muslim men against ordinary white British citizens. Rafferty made a note to contact his media man to get more stories like that in the press. The more hatred that can be whipped up against the Muslims in the country the better it will go for his war Rafferty smiled to himself. There were then some lighter articles about the increase in the number of sighting of aliens and other strange creatures like the Loch Ness monster the video of which was now proved as a hoax. There were also a lot of 'end of the world' cults that were springing up everywhere with a lot of deluded people joining these cults. Finally there was a small piece on the comet that was heading towards the solar system.

  Rafferty turned to the business section of paper and the blood drained from his face as he read the main head line:

  ‘Is this the end for Mobile Phones?’

  The article went on to talk about how after the planes had fallen out of the sky the mobile networks had ceased to function as well and were still not functioning and how the only means of communication was by land lines now. It also talked about how customers had stopped buying new mobile phones and even went on to tell contracted mobile phone users that they should demand a refund as the network was down. The article finished by asking if the mobile phone industry was now dead.

  It may as well be after this bloody article Rafferty thought angrily and quickly looked at his companies share prices on his computer. ‘Jesus!’ Rafferty exclaimed out loud looking at his monitor which displayed a sea of red figures and in horror he saw that his shares had already lost 55% of their value and he had only just bought more shares in those companies. Shit Rafferty thought all my eggs in one basket and someone had just hurled the basket off a cliff. No not all his eggs he reminded himself, he had invested the remaining part of his now dwindling fortune in this war of Lord Raybourne’s.

  Rafferty picked up the telephone and pressing a button said ‘Jock get the car ready. We are leaving for the docks in ten minutes, it's time to ship out the troops!’

  Chapter 13 - Silenus

  Aiden awoke with a jolt as the minibus came to an abrupt stop.

  ‘What.. where are we?’ Aiden said through bleary eyes. Looking out of the window he saw that they had come to a halt in some sort of forest clearing, his watch told him that it was still early morning.

  ‘Is something wrong?’ Aiden asked Aya who was wide awake.

  ‘Yes and no’ she answered mysteriously, Aya then got up out of her seat and turned to address the rest of the group.

  ‘I am sorry to wake you all so early, but this is very important’ Aya apologised as the travellers were roused from their sleep. ‘It looks like we will have to make an unscheduled stop’ she continued after she was sure they were all awake and listening.

  ‘A stop for what Aya?’ Bridget asked with a yawn.

  ‘How can I explain’ Aya paused frowning. ‘When we originally planned our journey I had assumed that we would travel by the main routes through
Turkey. But because of Onan and his brother Zafer, for good or bad, we are travelling through the more remote areas where the old world has not been completely buried under the new. There are many places we have been passing that still have the power of both the Neteru and the Demos. But just now I felt another place not many miles from here’ Aya pointed out of the minibus. This place is different there is something there that calls to me something that we need, a key! We need to get this key.’

  ‘Then let us get this thing!’ Demitri said getting up.

  ‘Wait there is more’ Aya said indicating for Demitri to sit. ‘There is a Demos guarding this place who is now awake and I am sure it is Silenus’

  ‘Who is Silenus?’ Gagan asked.

  ‘He looks like a harmless little old man who likes nothing more than to drink and dance’ Aya replied.

  ‘He doesn’t sound very dangerous to me’ Seth said.

  ‘Looks can be deceiving ‘ Aya countered.

  ‘Can’t we over come him, I mean we have you and there are all of us’ Seth suggested.

  ‘It is not that easy’ Aya shook her head, ‘Silenus has his pets and even with all of us I do not think that we could overcome them not without putting ourselves in great danger.’

  ‘Are you certain we need this thing, whatever it is?’ Faith said

  ‘It was luck or something more I think that brought us here. My studies of Eden did mention something about a key but the details were very vague. I had assumed that the key would be revealed to us once we got to Eden. But now I am certain that the key is near here and we have to have it’

  ‘So how will we get this key?’ Elden asked.

  ‘We must use guile I think, if a few of us were to pretend that they were on a hiking holiday Silenus will ignore them I believe. This would mean that they could slip past him and find the old temple within which lies the key we need. To do this we only need a few of us to go and they need to look like they are simple hikers on holiday so Selinus will not be suspicious’

  ‘I will go’ Aiden volunteered

  ‘And me’ Seth said

  ‘I would like to go as well’ Gagan spoke up.

  ‘And me’ Demitri added.

  Aya raised her hand stopping anyone else volunteering, ‘Thank you Demitri ‘But I think we will need some females to make it look right, Ela your ankle counts you out. But Hoshi and Li if you would be willing to go with them I think that will work’

  Both Hoshi and Li nodded their heads with a smile.

  ‘What about you won’t you be coming?’ Gagan asked.

  ‘No I must remain behind as Silenus will sense me as I can sense him and he will see through our trick’, Aya said looking thoughtfully at the group. ‘So the rest of us will remain here while Aiden, Seth , Gagan, Hoshi and Li go on alone.

  ‘If this could be dangerous don’t you think more of us should go along!’ Aaron said looking at Long who nodded in agreement’

  ‘No I am sure that Selinus will be more wary if any more go along’ Aya replied stopping any further discussion.

  Everyone got off the minibus and helped to set up a small camp where they would wait for the return of the hikers. Demitri put some water on to boil for tea and coffee and started to prepare some breakfast for them all.

  Aya took Aiden and his group to one side giving them instructions on how to find the place they were looking for and then warned them again about Silenus.

  ‘He will look like a harmless old man but remember looks are always deceiving. If you are lucky he will ignore you and let you pass if this is the case you must be on your guard when you enter the temple in case he should appear. But I do not think this will happen as the charms placed upon the place will make it very unpleasant for any Demos’ Aya said now looking at Hoshi and Li, ‘However I think Silenus will want to meet you as he has a weakness not only for drink but beauty as well! If he sees Hoshi and Li I am sure he will be more than interested in talking to you and he will no doubt invite you to share a drink with him. Which is why I want you each to take one of these tablets’ Aya said handing each of them a small white tablet. ‘These pills will stop any alcohol from having any affect on you so you will be able to drink with Silenus until he passes out, which believe me will be after he has had a lot of drink. Now if you start running short of time put this pill into his drink’ Aya said giving a green pill to Aiden. ‘This will help speed up things if you need it. Oh one more thing Hoshi and Li, the more attention that Silenus pays to both of you the less suspicious he will be so try and make sure you keep his attention!’ The two women looked at each other and smiled. ‘Now somewhere up the path I told you about you will come to a cave. In this cave you will find a passage that leads to the temple. Inside the temple there will be lots of engravings on the wall you must look for this symbol.’ Aya handed Aiden a piece of paper on which she had drawn an image. It was a cuneiform symbol, the ancient language of the Sumerians. They all looked at the strange symbol. When you find this symbol you will see there is a circular hole in the middle of it into which you must place this’ Aya gave Aiden what looked like a small stone disk that was the same diameter as the top of his little finger. ‘When you do this a small compartment will open somewhere within the temple inside which you will find the key we need.’

  Aiden following Aya’s directions drove the minibus to a small clearing at the foot of some hills about four miles away from where they had left their companions. After parking they shouldered their back packs and set of up a path as Aya had described to them earlier. The sun dappled trail they followed was alive with bird song and gently wound its way up through the hills and forest. As Aya had instructed they acted as if they were normal holiday makers commenting on the beautiful forest as well as the animals and birds that they came across. Hoshi took to the part especially well pointing out wild flowers and shrubs that she seemed to have an exceptional knowledge about. They had walked a couple of miles and still had not seen or heard anyone and according to Aya’s directions it would not be long before they reached the temple.They all began to think that this Silenus had not seen them or was not interested in them! However on entering a small clearing they were surprised by the sight of a small chubby balding old man with a red face who smiled at them cheerfully and greeted them in Turkish.

  ‘Sorry we do not speak Turkish’ Aiden said in apology.

  ‘Britannia! You are from Britannia’ the old man said with a slight accent and a big smile.

  ‘Yes, we are from England’ Aiden nodded and smiled back as did the others.

  ‘It is a long time since I meet people from Britannia’ the man bowed. ‘You are a long way from home’

  ‘Yes’ Aiden agreed ‘we are enjoying your country’

  ‘Ah yes she is glorious‘ the man looked about him smiling, ‘But I do not usually see people here are you lost?’

  ‘Oh no we have our car parked nearby, we just thought we would explore this place as it looked so beautiful’ Aiden said looking at the others.

  ‘Yes there are the most beautiful wild flowers’ Hoshi said smiling innocently at the man.

  ‘Not as beautiful as you my dear’ the old man said giving Hoshi a charming smile, ‘and you too my dear’ he said bowing to Li’ the two girls looked at each other and giggled.

  ‘But yes this is a beautiful place, but’ and the old man looked at each of them frowning, ‘there are dangers here as well, wolves, bears and other dangerous things especially further up where they have their dens’ he said pointing up the trail they were following.

  ‘Oh thank you for the warning’ Seth said now looking worried.

  ‘Yes it is lucky for you that we meet, I would not like to see such beautiful people get hurt’ the old man said once more looking at the girls.

  ‘So you must promise me that you will not go up any higher’ he indicated up the trail behind him, ‘there is a very bad tempered bear up there. But if you go along there ‘ he now pointed to another path that was at right angles to the one they were
following ‘there is a beautiful waterfall were you can have a nice swim’ he said looking at the girls meaningfully. ‘But where are my manners people call me Selinus’ the old man bowed.

  ‘I’m Aiden’ Aiden said shaking the old man’s hand, ‘This is Gagan, Hoshi, Li, and Seth’ Aiden introduced the others and they each politely shook the old man’s hand.

  ‘I am very happy to meet you’ Silenus said, ‘I meet few people here, you must come and have some food and wine with me! My home it is the same way as the waterfall’ he said pointing along the path. As with Zafer the night before the old man would not take no for an answer and they soon found themselves following Silenus along the path heading for his home.

  After another five minutes of walking they came to a small wooden house into which the old man ushered them.

  ‘One moment’ Silenus said after they had entered and he disappeared into the kitchen from which he emerged a moment later with a large jug and some glasses which he put down on the table. He then quickly filled six glasses with a dark red wine which he handed to each one of them taking the last for himself. Aiden took his wine and groaned inwardly as he was still feeling the affects of the night before but playing along he took a sip from his glass. The taste of the wine exploded in Aiden’s mouth an orgy of flavours that made his eyes open wide in wonder. The wine tasted of fruit and honey and made him think of warm summer nights and laughter as the wine gently warmed his insides. Aiden had thought Zafer’s wine was good but this was in a whole other league. He had never tasted any wine like this before. Looking at his friends he could see that they felt the same way about the wine especially Seth who had nearly finished his glass already.

  ‘A toast’ Silenus said raising his glass, ‘to Britannia’ and he gulped down the wine. ‘Come , come drink up’ he said to the girls who did as he commanded and with that Silenus filled all their glasses again. ‘You know I have been to Britannia. It is a very nice country and the people they are so much fun oh yes lots of fun ’ he said his eyes twinkling ‘yes many many festivals did I attend there and lots of friends did I make’