The Prodigal Sun: A Novel

by S. E. Meyer

  “Good, that will be a big help. I have to get to Jennifer and Frank and get them out of here.”

  “That may be a problem,” Ninti warned.

  “Why?”

  “Frank is being sedated and it will be difficult to rouse him. Jennifer is not here, and neither is anyone else. Almost everyone is gone to the next meeting of your leaders and Jennifer is helping wrap up the evacuations in Asia, but she is supposed to be back tomorrow.”

  “What?” John yelled. “What the hell is she doing in Asia of all places? Why isn’t she here?” he asked.

  “Shh,” replied Ninti. “Braedon has been keeping Jenny busy lately to keep her mind off…” Ninti trailed off for a minute before continuing. “She thinks your dead John,” Ninti explained.

  “Why would she think that?” asked John, this time lowering his voice.

  “Because that’s what Braedon told her,” replied Ninti.

  “I’m really starting not to like that guy,” John said as he slowly shook his head back and forth. John didn’t understand what Jenny was doing in Asia but he breathed a sigh of relief. At least she’s okay, he thought. “Can you take me to Frank? Then we’ll need a place to hide until Jenny gets back. Do you know where we can go? Are you strong enough to walk?”

  “Yes, I think so, thanks to you.” Ninti dropped down off the table and had to steady herself. “This way,” she said as she led him back into the larger room with the rows of beds. There was a small doorway in the corner that John hadn’t noticed and Ninti led him through it.

  “Once you get Frank we will need to get down to the lower levels, through the kitchen and down to the Shi Habannatu. No one ever goes down there, so it would be the perfect place to hide.”

  “What is Shi Habannatu?” John asked as he followed along behind her.

  “Shi Habannatu? It’s hard to translate to your language, but the best I can do is Container of Souls.”

  They went through another small doorway and walked directly into Frank’s room at the Healing Ward. “Frank!” John yelled out to him with his mind as he reached his motionless body. There was no response and Ninti began disconnecting several tubes from Frank’s arm. “Frank!” John tried again, but there was no response. John bent over Frank’s body and placed his hands on his chest. As John closed his eyes a blue light began to emanate from his palms and into Franks lifeless frame. There was a flash and Frank’s body heaved as he took in a deep breath. “Frank!” John said aloud this time. Frank sat up and rubbed his eyes.

  “Where am I?” he asked.

  “No time for that now my friend we have to find somewhere safe. Then we can talk,” explained John. “Can you walk?”

  “I think so. I was having the strangest dream and then I felt you send me a wave of energy. Thanks to you I feel great!” Frank responded. He slowly stood up and although he had the energy to move, his muscles were still weak from weeks of atrophy.

  “Okay Ninti, where do we go from here?” John asked her as he placed his arm around Franks shoulder to help steady him. Ninti led them down a long narrow hallway. They passed several open doorways as they went until they reached the last one and John stopped dead in his tracks. Ninti turned to see what John was looking at. On the other side of the doorway was a large room with several paintings. There was a mural covering the opposite wall, stretching from one end of the room to the other. What shocked John was that it was a painting of Jenny.

  “Why is Jenny’s picture on the wall,” asked John.

  “That’s not Jenny,” replied Ninti. That is Braedon’s wife, who died.

  “She looks almost identical,” John gasped in awe.

  “Yes, the resemblance is quite remarkable,” replied Ninti. “Now come, we must keep going.” Ninti led them down several corridors and smaller elevator shafts until they made their way into a large room. It was hot and the smell of fresh bread hit John, making his mouth immediately start watering. They crossed the room and John could see hundreds of loaves of bread on cooling racks. They were on an automated conveyor system that packed them into crates and stacked them into small shafts that carried them several levels above. They continued into the next room where John saw more automated equipment. It looked like this is where the bread was mixed into dough. John’s mouth stopped watering and he felt sick again when he saw what the machines were using as flour. It was the same fluffy white powder the Annunaki guards had swept up off the floor. Container after container, just like the one John watched the guards fill, were now moving down a conveyor system and dropping their contents into an enormous mixer. John threw up a little and had to spit again realizing that the delicious bread he had been eating while he was a guest here was made from human remains. His head swam with the thought of it. The poem from the story of Jack and the Beanstalk suddenly popped into his head making John shudder in horror. Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

  _________

  Barb helped her parents down the steps from the rail car and onto the platform below. She held onto Aurora tightly in her left arm as they shuffled towards a holding area with the remaining evacuees. As they made their way through the gate, Barb asked one of the soldiers standing nearby how long it would be before they would be going below.

  “Not long now ma’am. There are a few groups ahead of you, but you should be safe and sound with a warm meal in a few hours I’d say,” he explained. They were led through two more gates and then told to wait in a large fenced area as the people ahead of them were lined up into ten single file lines. The people in the front of the crowd were being processed through the booth, and the scanning gates, before they were placed in another holding area to wait for an elevator.

  “What’s that mommy? Aurora asked, pointing up at the sky. Barb looked in the direction her daughter was pointing in time to see the sun, and its smaller companion, begin to dip behind the giant sphere of Nibiru. The massive planet was now almost fully visible, and it took up a third of the sky. At the steady rate both suns were disappearing behind the immense body, it was clear there was going to be a full solar eclipse and it was going to happen soon.

  “It looks like the sun is going to go to sleep for a while honey, but don’t worry, we’re going to go down below where we can have a big meal and go to sleep too okay?” Barb did her best to assure Aurora that everything would be fine, but she was anxious to get out from under the large red planet, and its looming shadow. Like a jackhammer, it pounded impending doom deep into her mind. She shuddered as anxiety crept in. The daylight was beginning to fade quickly and terror crept into her bones. By the time they were escorted through the scanning checkpoint and into the next holding area the daylight was almost gone. Several people started to panic and push through the crowd towards the elevators and immediately an announcement was broadcast over the public speaker system.

  ‘Everyone stay calm. There is plenty of time to get you down below in an orderly fashion. The eclipse is nothing to worry about and anyone who is not cooperating in a calm and peaceful manner will be removed from the line and ejected from this camp’

  The message continued to repeat over and over, but the people who were becoming frantic paid no attention. After several minutes a group of soldiers entered the holding area where Barb and her parents were standing and began dragging people away. Several of them fought back and were beaten into submission. Barb covered Aurora’s eyes so she couldn’t see what was going on in the front of the crowd. By the time the troublemakers in the group were removed the last rays of light from both suns disappeared behind Nibiru, leaving only a faint red ring glowing along its perimeter. It hung in the dark sky like a giant ring of fire.

  “The sun went sleepy time now mommy,” Aurora said. Barb rocked her back and forth in her arms as she put her lips to her little ear.

  “Yes dear, it went to sleep,” she said, and then looked at Aurora’s grandmother with fear in her eyes. “How much longer is this going to take?” Barb asked her dad.

  “Well,
a little less time now since they removed all those people from the front of the line,” her dad responded.

  It looked to Barb like they might be next. She was standing in a line with Aurora and her parents were in a single file line next to her. They made their way through the booth and out to the other side. Several soldiers came over and ushered about fifty people into the elevators in front of them before dropping the barricade back down, this time directly in front of Barb and her parents. I guess we’re next for sure. Barb thought. Just then two soldiers came running over to where they were standing. “Two more, we have room for two more!” one of them yelled in their direction.

  Barb looked over at her parents and her mom spoke. “You go honey, get Aurora down there and get settled. We’ll be right behind you dear.”

  “No mom you guys go on, we’ll be fine.”

  Her mother shook her head and her father spoke. “Listen to you mother now Barbara.”

  “Last call, need two more,” the soldier yelled again. Barbed waved him over and then pointed towards her parents.

  “They’ll go, they are elderly and need to get below as soon as possible.” The soldiers opened the barricade in front of the couple and led them to an elevator. Barb’s parents waved back at her and Aurora apprehensively as the doors closed.

  “Why can’t I go with grandma and grandpa mommy?” asked Aurora.

  “Don’t worry honey. You will see them soon okay?” Thank God, at least I know they’re safe. Now I just have to get Aurora down there and I can breathe a sigh of relief. Within twenty minutes of waiting in the dark, the elevator doors opened again and the soldiers lifted the barricades. Barb headed straight for the elevator car in front of her, still carrying Aurora, who was now sleeping on her shoulder. As she got closer, her pace quickened and she felt panic creeping in again. She didn’t want to miss her chance to get to safety and fought the urge to run. She was out in front of the rest of the crowd and almost to the doors. Only thirty more feet. Barb guessed as she ran her hand down Aurora’s curls. She whispered in Aurora’s ear as she kept her pace, now just shy of a jog. “Almost there now honey. Don’t worry. mommy will take care of you. In a couple minutes we’ll be sitting around with grandma and grandpa, filling your belly with dinner, and having a tickle fight for dessert.”

  _________

  Traedon walked into a large room where Braedon was standing in front of a table at its center. There were seven columns against the wall around the perimeter of the room with large faces carved into each one. They stood like sentries, watching over Braedon as he stared intently at the three dimensional images in front of him. There was a large opening to a deep shaft in the floor, stretching hundreds of feet below them, with a small railing that went around its outside edge. Several cables and tubing ran along the floor from one corner of the room to the railing, and then ran down the inside of the smooth walls of the deep shaft. Traedon made his way to the center of the room across from his brother and placed his hands on the table in front of him.

  “Glad you could make it brother,” Braedon said.

  “Glad you waited for me, I wouldn’t want to miss this. Where is your future Queen Braedon?” asked Traedon with a sly grin.

  “It’s best that she‘s not present. I have not told her yet about her coming role in the new world.”

  “Shall we then?” asked Traedon as he gestured towards the black case on a small table next to them. Braedon opened the case to reveal the seven stones nestled within. The brothers took one in each hand and slowly made their way around the room.

  “ Anu Kia, Earth!” Braedon said in a commanding tone as he slid the pyramid he was holding into the center of the column in front of him. Once the pyramid was inserted in began to emanate a gentle humming sound and started to glow with a blue light.

  “Anu Mu, Water!” Traedon said in the same tone as he placed his pyramid into the column for the God of Water. It too began to glow in the same electric blue and the humming sound grew louder.

  “Anu Girru, Fire!” said Traedon as he slid the pyramid in his other hand into its place.

  “Anu Im, Wind!” announced Traedon and placed the remaining pyramid he held into the next column. They walked back to the case and each pulled one more stone before speaking again.

  “Anu Utu, Power of the Sun!” continued Braedon.

  “Anu Nanna, Power of the Moon!” Traedon said as he placed his final stone. Braedon moved back to the center of the room and took the last stone from the case. He placed it into the largest and final column as he spoke.

  “Sabitu! The seven Gods of the Wind are rejoined!” When the final pyramid was placed in its position the humming sound rose to a deafening level as the bowls of the earth below them growled and moaned. The three dimensional hologram above the table in front of Braedon was showing the solar system in its exact current position. The two brothers stood opposite each other as they viewed the images in front of them. Braedon moved his hand across the image, manipulating the heavenly bodies as he brought Nibiru into view.

  “The machine that will save us all,” remarked Braedon.

  “Well, maybe not all,” replied Traedon with a smile.

  Braedon slid Nibiru off to one side with his hand and brought Eridu into view. He touched the planet and it zoomed in closer. He used his other hand to quickly mark out dozens of places on the planet and small bright points of white light remained where he touched the screen.

  “That should be just about right,” Braedon said as he backed away and proudly viewed the image. “As soon as it is in range and our father releases the first ships to try and save the last of the humans, we will decimate the surface of Eridu, bringing them to their knees. The ships will have to land at the ancient sites on the old runways. I have chosen the Naska, Peru airstrip as our ambush site. We will steal the ship, fly home and take our rightful place on the throne,” finished Braedon as he turned to face his brother. He slapped his hands down on Traedon’s shoulders and gave him a broad smile.

  “Finally,” replied Traedon, “a plan almost seven thousand years in the making and it’s finally here! I thought this day would never come brother.” Traedon laughed triumphantly.

  “Yes, finally.” responded Braedon. “And with the damage that will have struck our planet by the time we get there, no war will be necessary. Most of our enemies will be dead and the ones that remain will be too weak stop us!”

  “And what of Earth? Asked Traedon.

  “Nibiru will see to it that only dust remains.”

  ________

  John stopped walking and Ninti turned around to face him. “What’s wrong John?”

  “The bread, it’s…it’s human. I'm a cannibal.”

  “It’s okay John, there is nothing human left in the Mana.”

  “Mana?” asked John feeling relieved for a moment.

  “Yes, it is the process where human flesh is turned into one element, a white powder through the Qamu, the burning. It has all the nourishment the Annunaki bodies need and also extends their life.”

  John felt sick again thinking of how much bread he ate. “But it’s made from humans.”

  “Yes, and has been for thousands of years. It can also be made from gold, but they prefer this kind. I’ve heard them say it tastes better.”

  “So that is what Braedon is doing with the billions of people he says he is saving? Turning them into food?”

  “Yes,” Ninti quietly answered.

  Frank suddenly spoke up. “What on Earth are you guys talking about?” he asked.

  “I’ll explain later Frank,” replied John and then looked at Ninti again. “You don’t seem to be bothered by this,” he asked her.

  “John, this is normal for me. This was all I knew until you showed me what life could be like outside of this place. When the helpers get too old, and are no longer of service, we go through the Qamu too. It’s the one final act of service that our physical bodies can do for our Masters. Now come, we must go.”

  John an
d Frank followed Ninti through several more rooms until they came to a large opening in the floor. There was a ladder attached to one side and John looked down. It dropped one hundred feet and he could see flashes of blue light at the bottom.

  “We go down now, to the Shi Habannatu,” Ninti said as she pointed down the shaft.

  Ninti straddled the ladder and began to climb down. John sent Frank down next and then followed closely behind. As they made their way down the shaft John noticed the same kind of glowing blue tubes that were in the death chamber. They came out of the walls in several places then took an immediate ninety degree bend, heading down in the direction they were going. They reached the bottom and the shaft opened up into a large room. There were hundreds of the blue tubes and thick cables attached to the floor. The walls were metallic and dingy, laden with dust. John could now see where the blue flashes of light were coming from. There was a thick glass window in the floor thirty feet ahead and Ninti led him over to it. She bent down and wiped away the dust that had settled onto its surface as John helped Frank sit on the floor.

  “The container of souls,“ Ninti said again and pointed down. John got down on his hands and knees and peered into the glass. He saw an enormous cavern below them that stretched away in all directions. It was hard for John to see clearly through the thick, dense blue fog that filled the room below. It was beautiful to behold as millions of blue electrical arcs littered the area below, lighting up the fog like an intense electrical storm. John stared harder and he thought he could see something floating in the fog. It kept losing its shape and would fade into the blue mist and then suddenly appear again. It looked like a human shape with arms and legs and a torso. As he focused harder he soon realized there were hundreds or maybe thousands of these shapes floating below him. Suddenly a ghostly face writhing in pain appeared in the window only three inches from John’s nose and he jumped backwards. Losing his balance he fell to the floor.