The Prodigal Sun: A Novel

by S. E. Meyer

  “Oh my!” Jenny yelped. “What happened here?” The group continued making their way closer to the wreckage as Jenny held the map out in front of her. “I hope they’re okay,” she stammered. “Do you see anyone?”

  The group began to take in the full carnage in front of them. All of the buildings and holding areas had been flattened and they began to notice dead bodies lying all around them as they got closer to the middle of the wreckage. Jenny continued to follow the signal on her screen as they climbed over concrete and twisted metal. “There!” Jenny said pointing. “That looks like one of the elevators. It says they’re right here somewhere.” The group huddled around the area and began to move bits of rubble and metal debris as they called out for Barb and Aurora. Frank glanced inside the elevator and then stopped in his tracks. He took one step inside and bent down to inspect two reddish, silver objects that were lying on the elevator floor.

  “Jenny, come here,” said Frank as he picked them up by their tails and let them dangle in front of his face. “Can you scan these?” he asked.

  Jenny frowned with concern, but pulled a scanner from her small backpack. “Yes,” she answered with a degree of apprehension in her voice. She turned the scanner on and held it in front of the shiny disks. They were still dangling, like scarlet metallic pendulums, swinging from Frank’s trembling fingers. Jenny sucked in a deep breath. “Oh no,” she said quietly as her stomach turned over in panic.

  “What?” Ninti asked as she moved closer to the scanner. “Is it them? Is it your family?”

  “Yes,” was all Jenny could respond with and hung her head in defeat. “I don’t understand. Who would have taken out their chips and why? And where are they? Down below? Oh God, we’re too late,” Jenny sighed and sat down in the doorway of the elevator car.

  “No, they can’t be down below,” explained Ninti. “They would need their implants for that.”

  “True,” John chimed in. He squatted down in front of Jenny and placed his hand on her knee. “This is actually good news Jen. We know they didn’t go below, so as far as we know they are still alive.”

  “As far as we know?” Jenny repeated his words with contempt. “That’s not good enough John, we still have no idea where mom and dad are.”

  “Well listen, we can’t just stay here out in the open like this. Let’s get back to my brother's place and re-group. We can decide where to go from here after we’ve had some food and rest. It’s already been a hell of a day,” replied John.

  “Fine. There’s not much more we can do here anyway,” said Jenny as she stood up.

  The group made their way back to the elevator they arrived in and with a wave of his hand John directed it as near as he could to James’ compound. They had to walk the rest of the way in the dim red glow of the eclipse. John stopped and raised his hand. “Shush,” he said quietly. The group stood like statues as John strained to listen. His head was cocked to one side and he felt outward with his mind. “Over here,” he whispered gesturing for everyone to follow him down a narrow alley on the left. John crept slowly towards a set of garbage dumpsters still holding his head cocked to one side. He stopped in front of the rusty containers, staring at the peeling green paint.

  Frank whispered from behind. “What is it John?”

  “Can you feel that Frank? Something is alive nearby. I think it’s inside,” explained John.

  Just then they both heard a faint murmuring coming from inside the steel box sitting in front of them. “It’s a he, there’s a man in there and I think he’s hurt. Here Frank, give me a hand,” John said, lifting the lid and peering inside. Frank pressed in next to John and they both began feeling around in the darkness. “Here, I've got something,” John said getting a fistful of clothing. Frank helped John sit the figure up and John pulled a piece of refuse away from the man’s face. He groaned slightly and opened his eyes.

  “Help me,” the man whispered through dry lips.

  “John, he looks beat up, look at his face,” Frank said. John dusted off the man’s coat as the pair examined him. He had a nasty looking bruise on his right cheek and a fat lip. John’s fussing pulled the coat away from the man’s neck, revealing a smudged white cleric's collar under his tattered dress shirt.

  “He’s a priest Frank. Here, help me get him out of there,” John told Frank as he placed his hands under the priest’s arms. Frank grabbed his feet and with some effort they lifted him from the dumpster placing him on the ground in front of them. John and Frank knelt down beside the man while Jennifer and Ninti watched.

  “Are you okay? What’s your name Father?” John asked the man, looking in to his eyes.

  The priest licked his lips and spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Nathaniel, my son.”

  “Can you walk?” John asked as he tried to sit the man up.

  “I think so, maybe with a little help,” Nathaniel replied. Frank and John lifted the priest to his feet and steadied him. John gave Frank a brief nod and they each held one of Nathaniel’s shoulders. They closed their eyes and gave Nathaniel a small burst of strength. The priest had no idea what had just happened, but sounded much more chipper. “There I’m feeling much better now that I’m on my feet and out of that contraption.” John and Frank shared a smile while John moved in front of Nathaniel to face him.

  “What are you doing out here Father?” John asked with concern.

  “I was looking for drinkable water. I found some too, but then I ran into trouble. A couple of guys stole it from me, roughed me up a little and threw me in there,” Nathaniel explained, gesturing towards the dumpster he had just been rescued from.

  “Stealing from a priest,” Jenny breathed while shaking her head in disapproval. “That’s terrible.”

  “Well Father, you are welcome to come with us if you want. We’re going somewhere safe,” explained John. He could feel the priest’s intentions and demeanor with his thoughts and knew there was nothing to worry about.

  “Um, well okay. I don’t have too much choice I guess. You’ve really helped me out and I could really use a drink,” replied Nathan.

  “Well let’s get going then,” John suggested, placing his arm around Nathaniel’s waist. James will have fresh water.

  “That’s great, but I was talking about something a little stronger,” Nathaniel replied with a smile through his split lip.

  “Father!” Jenny scolded with a surprised look and then smiled.

  “Oh if I know James, he’ll have some of that too,” John replied with a chuckle. The group made their way back out of the alley, slowly at first. After several steps Nathaniel could walk by himself and they continued towards James’ compound. Within an hour the small group was walking up to the gate. Luckily one of the guards outside recognized John. It was the same man that had brought John down to see his brother the last time he was there. They were scanned and escorted down below. Within a few minutes they were brought into a small, but well lit room, with enough comfortable chairs for everyone.

  “Stay here and wait for James,” ordered one of the guards as they left the room.

  After several minutes they heard footsteps coming towards them. “John!” James said excitedly as he entered the room. “It’s great to see you, but you do have bad timing. I’m getting low on food and water, and you bring me more mouths to feed.” He was serious as he spoke, but then smiled at the end to let everyone know he wasn’t angry. John introduced everyone and explained to James what had happened. They caught up over some food and water, and then followed up their meager meal with something stronger from James’ private collection of spirits. There was a long silence before James spoke again. “So, where does that leave us?” he asked the group.

  “Maybe we should go somewhere a little more private,” suggested John.

  Nathaniel stayed back with the two guards while John, Jenny, Ninti and Frank followed James into the next room. As soon as he closed the door John began speaking. “We have multiple problems here,” John said. “Barb and Aurora are missing, al
ong with Jenny’s parents, and I’m not sure how to go about finding them. There are a lot of people missing, friends, family members and other relatives. The ones that went below are now dead and what remains of them are stuck in that torture chamber along with Jake and millions more, as far as I can tell. I don’t know what we can do about it. I guess we can stay here for now and lay low until we can come up with a solid plan. Then maybe return to fight another day?” John suggested.

  Ninti looked around the room at everyone. She was shaking her head while squirming in her chair and then rested her gaze on the floor, fiddling nervously with her toes. James noticed her body language and moved closer to her before speaking. “What is it Ninti? Do you have something to share with the group?” he asked her with compassion in his expression and concern in his eyes.

  “We can’t stay here very long at all,” she replied as she continued to move in her chair.

  “And why is that Ninti?” James prodded.

  “Because of The Crossing,” Ninti explained. James tried to make eye contact with her to no avail.

  “What do you mean by ‘the crossing’?” James asked, still trying to prod the information from her lips.

  “That’s what it’s called when the Annunaki’s solar system comes to visit and Nibiru crosses this planet’s path,” Ninti replied.

  “Yes, the very word Nibiru actually means ‘the crossing’ in Sumerian,” added Frank.

  “Only this time Nibiru is going to come too close to Earth. So if we don’t do something soon we will all be dead anyway,” Ninti explained, still staring at the floor.

  “Braedon said he has a machine that will stop Nibiru from hitting Earth and would use it to save us,” argued Jenny.

  John spoke up. “Braedon has said a lot of things that weren’t exactly true. How do we know he’s going to save our planet?” John was responding to Jenny’s comment, but he was looking to Ninti for the answer.

  “He won’t. That’s not his plan,” Ninti replied. “He is going to use the machine, and the tremendous power within it that has been collected from your tortured souls, to attack Eridu, their home planet,” she explained.

  “I don’t believe that. Why would Braedon attack his own people?” asked Jenny in an elevated tone.

  Ninti finally raised her head and faced the group before looking directly at Jenny. “Because I overheard him making plans with Traedon. They will destroy all of Eridu’s major military strongholds, along with a few large strategic cities, all at once,” Ninti replied.

  Jenny interrupted her. “It just doesn’t make any sense. I still don’t understand why he would attack his own people!” she exclaimed rising up in her seat. John could feel his anger surface and began speaking before he could contain it.

  “Look Jen, I know you were really close to Braedon and everything,” John retorted, making sure he put as much emphasis as he could on the words ‘really close’. “But you know as well as I do that he isn’t exactly the Mr. Perfect he made himself out to be.” Jenny just sat in her chair. John was worried for a moment that he might burst into flames from the glaring look he received from his wife.

  James stood up and began to wave his hands in exasperation as he spoke. “Look I don’t know what the hell is going on with you two but there has been nothing but a frigid block of ice between you both since you got here.” James turned his head back and forth between John and Jenny as he spoke. “Now whatever it is you both better just set it aside for now. We have bigger fish to fry and I’m trying to pay attention to what Ninti has to say, so both of you shut it!” James turned around and patted Ninti on the knee. “It’s okay Ninti. Please continue. You were about to explain to us why Braedon would attack Eridu.”

  “Yes, like I was saying, Braedon will hit all the strategic targets at once. This will cripple the planet’s ability to defend itself. Braedon will move quickly to kill his father and take over the throne. There will be no long, drawn out war, or bloody battles. No one will be able to stop him. He will get everything he wants in one fell swoop. This is what he’s wanted his entire life. He has been making these plans for thousands of years. His lust for the throne and revenge for being stranded here has consumed him,” Ninti finished.

  James let out a low whistle. “So if he’s planning on using the weapon to take over Eridu what will happen to Nibiru and Earth?”

  “As I explained a few moments ago; Nibiru will come too close to Earth and all life on this planet will die,” Ninti replied.

  “So what are we supposed to do?” asked John. “We all die if we do nothing, but I don’t know that our odds are much better by marching underground to the middle of the Annunaki City and taking on hundreds of Annunaki soldiers. If we manage to survive that, then we would have to somehow get past Braedon and Traedon. Then, hope that we can figure out how to manipulate the weapon and change its target back to Nibiru. Is it just me or does that sound kind of hopeless?” John asked, looking around the room.

  “John, you can do this, you are a Sura, remember? So you have many new abilities now, and you are more powerful than you can imagine. Also, I can teach you their language so you will be able to operate the machine,” said Ninti, looking at him directly.

  “I don’t know Ninti, I’m only one person. It just doesn’t make any sense. It’s a suicide mission and I’m not doing it!” replied John, raising his voice.

  “John, remember when you first found me and you showed me all of those wonderful and beautiful things about this planet? Isn’t that worth saving?” Ninti asked.

  “Yeah, and what about Jake?” Jenny asked. “You said you wouldn’t leave him there.”

  James reached over and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “Yes, and besides, I have half a platoon here with me and we’re well armed. Plus, I know people. We can get more weapons and storm the place. We’ll take it over and force them into submission,” coaxed James.

  “That would be foolish,” answered Ninti. “They could kill a hundred of you with little effort. I’ve seen them do it.”

  “Then we can recruit, there’s still more of us left on this planet than there are of them,” James said as he leaned forward in his chair with a confident look in his eye.

  “That will take too much time,” Ninti replied as she shook her head back and forth.

  James stood up and was showing signs of frustration as he paced the floor. Tension was growing in the room and everyone was getting nervous. “Well Miss Negative, do you have a better plan then?” he asked.

  “Yes, the best way is for a small group to sneak in unnoticed. Once there, they can re-align the weapon and hopefully figure out a way to release the trapped souls all at the same time. Then quietly get back out,” Ninti explained.

  John nodded in agreement and slapped his hands together. “Yes! Now that sounds like a better plan. That might actually work. I still think the odds are stacked against us, but Ninti knows the layout of the City and how to work just about everything down there. She also knows how to read their language. We could go in with maybe five or six heavily armed people and get the job done without them ever knowing. Ninti, how long do you think we have?”

  “Based on what I know and what I have heard about the last crossing, the weapon must be fired after the eclipse is complete and our sun can once again be seen in its entirety. The last time this planet was dark for three days, so we have about that much time to prepare.”

  “Three days! That’s not much time at all. And the eclipse started yesterday so really we’re down to two. We’re going to have to get busy formulating all the details by then,” said James, “I have a question though. Do we have to release every soul trapped down there, you’re kind of ruining my dream here.”

  “What do you mean by that James?” John asked.

  “Well I heard that my ex got evacuated down below. I kind of always wanted my ex to burn in hell forever,” James replied as he finished with a hearty laugh, “kind of makes my dream come true doesn’t it?”

  Jenny ha
d a shocked look on her face and didn’t see the humor in James’s comment. John smiled, but also thought it was in poor taste. “Oh come on James, she wasn’t that bad. Doesn’t matter anyway, it’s kind of all or nothing I think,” said John.

  “Oh well, you can still count me in. She’s going to owe me in the afterlife though,” James added, still chuckling. He gave up trying to break the tension. “I guess we should call it a day and get some sleep.”

  James looked around the room at the droopy lids and bloodshot eyes and decided he didn’t need to hear an answer. He showed everyone to a comfortable place where they could sleep. John and Jenny were escorted to a room with one bed. Once inside, John grabbed a blanket and laid it out on the floor. “I’ll sleep down here I guess. You can have the bed,” he said.

  “Oh, so I’m that terrible that you can’t even stand to sleep next to me?” Jenny asked with a hurt expression.

  “No, it’s not that. I thought you were mad so I guess I just didn’t think you would want me to sleep next to you,” explained John.

  “Well, you thought right!” Jenny exclaimed. Her hurt feelings were welling up inside her and making her angry again. She slumped into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. A tear swelled from the corner of her eye and silently rolled down her temple before soaking into the pillow.

  John rolled over on the hard, cold floor. He tried to think about the task ahead and tuck away his mixed emotions for Jennifer. He had been tormenting himself all day over her words from their fight at the Annunaki City. Now all he wanted to do was take a few hours to forget about his wife and the demon growing inside her.

  Whispers Of Conspiracy

  Hosea and Lucas watched as Dennis carefully removed the gold box from its stone crate with a well-grounded robotic arm. “Careful now,” Hosea whispered. His eyes were wide with excitement as Dennis slowly lifted the Ark higher and then cautiously swung the arm out into the center of the large laboratory room. It was four in the morning, but all three of them were wide-awake with anticipation. They had brought the ark down to the main laboratory the night before, but eagerness was running through their veins, like caffeine in their bloodstreams, and none of them could sleep. After several hours of lying awake, Dennis decided to go for a walk down to the lab where he ran into Hosea and Lucas, both standing in the hallway outside the main laboratory window. They had both been suffering from the same condition as Dennis and he found them staring through the glass at the large box resting on the floor in front of them. It was then that they decided to give up on sleep and get back to studying the beautiful gold covered artifact.