by S. E. Meyer
“No, you didn’t offend me, I just never heard that before,” replied Hosea. “I had no idea, but like you, I find that kind of information fascinating. But what does it have to do with the message? I guess I’m still not understanding.”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly. Maybe the first part has to do with Easter,” explained Lucas.
“But Easter is always held on a different date from year to year.” replied Hosea.
“Ah, you are absolutely right Hosea. Easter Sunday is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, immediately following the Spring Equinox,” Lucas explained.
“What?” Dennis asked. “I didn’t know that.”
“Dennis, is there a calendar around here somewhere that shows the moon phases?” Lucas asked.
“Um, yeah. I think I saw one hanging on the wall over here,” replied Dennis, and then disappeared behind a filing cabinet. He returned holding up a calendar in his right hand.
“Perfect, okay, find the Spring Equinox, it is on March twentieth,” instructed Lucas.
“Okay, got it,” Dennis replied.
“Alright, now scan through the weeks after the twentieth and look for the first full moon on the calendar,” said Lucas.
“Okay, here it is,” responded Dennis.
“Now go to the first Sunday after that full moon.”
“Oh hey, you’re right. It’s marked right on here. Easter Sunday. That’s kind of a neat trick Lucas,” replied Dennis.
“It’s not a trick Dennis,” Lucas replied. “That’s how it’s been calculated ever since the Sumerians first started doing it that way over five thousand years ago.” Lucas paused. “But I think Hosea is right. With there being such a swing in the dates from year to year I guess it can’t have anything to do with Easter. But it must have something to do with the sun.”
“Why do references to the sun keep coming up?” Dennis asked. “I mean jeez, these people were just obsessed with it.”
“Think about it Dennis. The Sun makes up ninety-eight percent of our solar system’s mass. That pretty much means the sun is the solar system, right? Most people don’t realize that it takes one million earths to make up the sun’s mass.” Lucas stopped for a moment, letting the information sink in. “That’s right, one million,” he repeated. “And without the sun, there would be nothing. No life. Just a big rock flying through space, that’s it. Our ancient ancestors fully understood the importance of the sun and everything it gives us. Something most people just take for granted today.”
“I guess I never really thought of it. Really? The sun makes up ninety-eight percent of our entire solar system? That’s an impressive number,” replied Dennis.
“ Yes, and I’m sure the three days of darkness mentioned in the message is a reference to the current total eclipse that most of the world is under. According to the message the eclipse will last three days and then the sun will rise again on the third day. It will ascend through the clouds into the heavens for all to see, right? All of that information correlates with what we already know, that the eclipse will be over soon. That part is easy enough to understand I guess, but I don’t get the rest of it. ‘Go to the places where Gods are engraved’. That could be anywhere and I don’t understand what it means for the ‘key to mend’. Are they talking about the key John had? Just more questions wrapped up in a riddle Hosea.”
“So we are back at square one, we really have no idea what the message means,” Hosea said with a long sigh.
Lucas gave Hosea a nervous look. “No, at least not yet. But it looks to me like we only have about one day to figure it out.”
The Sixth Seal
“Why don’t you just let us go?” asked James as he studied the man with the wicked scar.
“I don’t think I want to do that,” replied the Prophet. “I got to thinking when I noticed how many weapons you already had; maybe I don’t want to lay down more weapons at my enemies feet. Plus, you obviously have plenty of food, if you’re willing to give up so much. I also got to thinking about what you plan to do with all that firepower. Hmm?” the Prophet asked.
“We’re only trying to protect ourselves the same as you,” James answered. John could feel the man’s intentions. They were cruel and wicked, but John could also feel a sense of self-righteousness.
“The same as me?” answered the Prophet and then laughed. “No, I don’t think you are anything like me. My calling is much more than the simple protection of my people. I am here to fight and win the final battle of Armageddon. To destroy the Devil’s army, then lead the new world once God has finished with it.”
“We’ve given you so much food. Why don’t you just let us go?” asked James.
“Yes, a measure of wheat for a grenade and three measures of barley for an assault rifle? The Prophet paused a moment as he scanned the group. “Get them bound and loaded up,” he said. “We have a meeting to get to and we don’t want to be late,” he finished with a smile.
Everyone was bound at the wrists and ankles, and then loaded into armored personnel vehicles. They traveled for less than an hour when John noticed they had pulled off the main road near an airport. Within a few minutes they entered an aircraft hangar and everyone was escorted to a large adjacent room. Along the far wall there was a large box made of fencing, used for storing lost luggage. They were placed into the empty cage and two soldiers locked the door. One of them turned around as they walked away. “Enjoy the festivities,” he called over his shoulder before the two men disappeared through a doorway opposite the group’s new prison.
“What in the hell are we going to do?” whispered Jenny, looking at John.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to have to get out of here. I don’t like what that guy with the scar is thinking,” replied John. “I can get us out of this,” he said as he held up his wrists to show the strap that was holding them together. “And I’m pretty sure I can get us out of this cage too, but I’m not sure how we’re going to get out of this place with so many armed men,” explained John.
“I can help,” said Frank. “I realize I’m not as strong as you are. Braedon took away most of my strength when he helped me in their healing ward, but I’ll do what I can.”
“We just need to be able to get to some of those weapons,” said Ben. “Then I can help us fight our way out of here.”
“We’re going to have to wait for the right time when there’s no one around,” said John as he looked around the empty hangar. “Maybe right now,” he added and closed his eyes. The bands around his wrists and ankles fell to the floor. “Now how about everyone else?” John asked and closed his eyes again.
“Wait,” replied Frank. “I hear something.” As soon as he finished speaking four armed guards entered the room, followed by a throng of people. They continued to enter the room in large groups followed by more armed men and women. As they passed by the cage, they briefly glanced at the seven prisoners then made their way to the middle of the room where several stands of bleachers were awaiting them. Once the crowd of over one hundred was assembled the Prophet entered from the opposite doorway and confidently walked to the center of the room.
“Greetings, family and friends of New Aurora!” he yelled out as he stretched his arms wide and the crowd burst into cheers. “We have some business to attend to this evening. Bring out the sinners for the Mortification of the Flesh!” John saw two guards enter the room dragging something behind them.
“What is that?” whispered Frank while everyone stared.
“Not a what, but a who,” replied John. He could feel the terror emanating from the woman from thirty feet away. Her long hair was clinging to the sides of her face and there looked to be bloodstains on the back of her shirt. The guards dragged her to the middle of the room next to the Prophet where they chained her to the floor. Two more guards entered the room carrying a child and chained her to the floor opposite the woman. The little girl began to cry. She tried to reach out to the woman in front of her, but her shack
les would not allow it.
“Mommy,” she wailed and then began sobbing on the cold concrete floor. Another man entered the room dressed in robes. He was carrying a whip that spread out into several long strands. The robed man swung the whip in the air and there was a loud cracking sound. The crowd roared to life at the sound of it. John could see there were sharp shards attached to the end of each strand.
James winced while Jennifer breathed in sharply. “John, are they going to whip that poor woman and child?” she asked.
The Prophet bent down and looked into the woman’s eyes. “You have been sentenced to the Mortification of the Flesh to be carried out with thirty lashes!” he bellowed to the crowd.
“It would appear that way,” John replied. He was staring at the woman and trying to read her thoughts. She seemed familiar in some way, but John couldn’t quite figure out why.
“You are a sick evil bastard,” the woman screamed as she shook the hair away from her face. John and Jenny recognized her at the same moment. Jennifer smashed herself up against the wall of the cage. “No! Leave her alone,” she screamed, but the only one that heard her over the roar of the crowd was a nearby guard. He walked over to where Jennifer was standing and brought up the butt end of his rifle, getting ready to smash her in the face with it. John grabbed Jennifer from behind trying to pull her away, but she held on with her fingers wrapped tightly around the metal wire as she continued to shout hysterically.
“Jen stop. Get away from there,” John pleaded as he forced her fingers loose with his mind. John fell backwards and Jenny fell on top of him.
She rolled over to face John. “Oh my God! John you have to do something! They have Barb and Aurora,” she shrieked as James helped lift Jenny to her feet.
“Settle down in there,” the guard yelled, “or I’ll give the lady something to cry about.”
John leaned over to Frank and James. “Hold her back so I can help Barb and Aurora.” James and Frank each took a hold of Jenny’s arms holding her back from the wire walls of the cage, and the guard that was still watching them. John stood in the middle of the cage and watched as the robed man took up position behind Barb. John closed his eyes and concentrated. The man pulled the whip up and brought it down hard onto Barb’s back. The crowd roared to life again, but there was no cry of pain from Barb. John stopped the ends of the whip a fraction of an inch from Barb’s skin. The robed man held a confused expression and then vigorously tried again. He pulled the whip down with all his strength and once again it stopped just short of Barb’s back.
“What seems to be the problem?” the Prophet hissed into the robed man’s ear.
“I don’t know sir, it’s not working,” he replied.
“Give me that,” the Prophet ordered as he grabbed the whip from him. “Let me show you how it’s done.” The Prophet spun around and brought the whip down as hard as he could. There was a sudden outburst of laughter from the crowd. The Prophet looked around to see what was so humorous when he realized the whip was no longer in his hands. As he brought down his arm the whip had stayed in position above his head where it continued to hover. He tried to grab it out of the air, but John made the whip raise another two feet. The Prophet jumped to grab it, but missed and lost his footing, forcing him to the floor. The crowd was in hysterical laughter at the unexpected theatrical show. The Prophet looked over at John, who still had his eyes closed, but his hand was outstretched in front of him. He glanced at the floating whip and then looked back at John. As he was staring at John the whip floated in behind the Prophet. It suddenly snapped down hard across the Prophet’s backside and he let out a yelp of pain. The crowd continued to laugh uncontrollably at the antics playing out before them. The Prophet ran towards John in a blind rage pointing with one hand and rubbing his rear with the other. “You!” he shrieked. “You’re doing this!” John made the whip chase after him. The Prophet stopped just short of the cage. “You think this is funny?” he asked. “We’ll see just how funny it is,” he spat as he waved several guards over. “Kill the woman,” the Prophet ordered and six guards aimed their weapons at Jennifer. The whip fell to the floor directly behind the prophet.
“Wait,” said John. “Don’t take it out on her.” The Prophet stared at John for a minute. The crowd died down, realizing something was wrong.
“Oh she means something to you does she?” asked the Prophet. “Get him out of there.” Two guards unlocked the door and four more went inside and grabbed John. They dragged him to the center of the room while the original six guards continued to train their weapons on Jennifer.
There’s no way I can control so many things at once, John thought. I have to be rational about this. I have to get inside the Prophet’s head.
“New Aurora!” the Prophet bellowed to the crowd. “The Devil is among us!” There was a gasp that ran through the assembly. The Prophet spun in a slow circle scanning the crowd. “Yes dear friends. Make no mistake about it. You saw it with your own eyes. You saw this man control objects through sorcery and black magic! Conjurers of the dark arts and Satan worshipers the whole lot of them!” the Prophet exclaimed. There was an outbreak of boo’s and shouts from the crowd. “What shall be done with them?” he asked the crowd.
“Sir,” John yelled out. The Prophet looked down at him and John made eye contact. “Sir, you will let us go. You will let us go now with our food and weapons.” There was a flash of blue in John’s eyes.
“Burn them!” someone yelled out from the crowd. A second shout followed and soon the entire assembly was chanting the words. “Burn them! Burn them! Burn them!”
John continued to focus his gaze. The Prophet squinted and then shook his head muttering to himself. “What’s going on here? What kind of witchcraft is this?” His eyes became wide with fright. John began to speak again, but he was cut off by the butt end of an assault rifle smashing into the back of his neck, and then everything went black.
The first thing John noticed as he regained consciousness was the chilly evening air clawing at his skin. The cold breeze washed over him, coaxing the goose bumps out of hiding. He opened his eyes and looked around in the dim light. He was tied to a post on top of a small platform. The platform was buried in large pieces of wood along with piles of brush that were stacked up in every direction. It was piled high enough for John to feel the twigs scratching at his ankles as the icy drafts gently nudged the branches in the crisp air. John heard a noise.
“John. Hey John are you awake?” asked Frank. John suddenly realized Frank was directly behind him and tied to the same post.
“Yes, I’m here. What’s going on?” asked John.
“Oh thank God, you’re alright,” whispered James, who was tied to another post with Ben on John’s left. Jason and Eric were tied to a third post on the other side of James while Jenny and Barb were tied to a fourth post on John’s right, along with Aurora.
“We thought you were dead John. Frank assured us you were just unconscious. He said he could feel your thoughts and that you were still alive, but the rest of us weren’t so sure,” said Jenny. “The way you crumpled after that hit.” John could just make out Jenny’s outline, slowly shaking her head in the dim light.
“John we have to get out of here,” said Frank.
“I know. They’re going to burn us alive aren’t they?” asked John.
“Yes and look,” Frank replied nodding with his head. John looked to the west. He could see a sliver of the sun and it’s crimson rays slipping around the bottom of Nibiru just before they both dipped below the horizon. There was a faint reddish glow of sunset for a brief moment before the world was thrown back into total darkness. “There’s going to be a sunrise tomorrow John. That means the eclipse is over, so if we’re going to get underground and do this thing then we need to do it soon,” explained Frank.
“What in the hell is that?” James asked as he looked out to the east. John followed his gaze and saw a deep crimson glow rising behind a line of trees. The group watched as the scar
let disk slowly scaled the horizon. It became brighter as it rose into the air and soon it was hanging just above the trees like a bright fiery jewel.
“It’s the moon!” James exclaimed, answering his own question.
“Yes, the sun’s rays are refracting around Nibiru and making the moon look a deep shade of red,” explained Frank. “Similar to a lunar eclipse, but I’ve never seen anything like this.” The group was awestruck as they watched the moon-rise. Like a bright shining ruby hanging from an invisible necklace it continued to rise into the night sky. They were interrupted from their gazing as a multitude of people began to approach the platform under the reddish glow of the full moon.
John noticed the branches at his feet began to quiver. “Do you feel that?” he asked and then looked over at Jenny. The vibrations became stronger and the entire platform began to shake. “It’s an earthquake. We’re beginning to feel the effects of Nibiru,” said John.
“Mommy!” cried Aurora. She began to sob again and was clawing at her mother’s shirt.
“An earthquake in Chicago?” asked James.
“Yes, and if we’re feeling it here I can’t imagine what people are experiencing along the world’s fault lines,” replied John.
“John, you need to do something right now!” yelled Jenny. “Or we’re all going to die here.” The ground beneath them continued to heave for several minutes. The crowd that had gathered began to scream and several people fell to the ground. Then as quickly as the earthquake had started, it was over. Everyone was once again left in the quiet red luminescence of the moon. The strong smell of gasoline filled John’s nose. He noticed several men emptying five-gallon containers onto the pile of brush.
