“They are giving me some money for the research.”
“Great. How much?”
“Two and a half million dollars,” he said, and finally clicked off the phone.
“Whoa!” she said. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. I have to call Rob. He must have told someone about our “close encounter” because this guy knew all about it.”
“Shit,” said Shauna.
“What? He asked.
“Hawk, I’d better ‘fess up. Rob told me. Last night on the phone.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yup, he did,” she said guiltily. He stood up and grabbed her around the waist.
“Well, what am I gonna do with you?”
“Anything you want, I suppose,” she said, grinning. Hawk pulled her down on the sofa with him.
“We could get into an awful lot of trouble you know,” he said.
“I know,” she said, kissing him.
He pulled away and said, “Whoever this guy is, or whoever he works for has a lot at stake here. What if I can’t figure this thing out in time?”
“What’s he gonna do? Sue you?”
“I have a feeling he could do a lot worse if he had the inclination.”
“Well, I think his faith is well put. We can do this, Hawk. We’ve got the best group of people for the job. If anyone can we can. You know that. If you want to keep working on the dearly departed aspect that’s fine. Maybe we could even get in touch with that alien friend of yours.”
“How can we do that?” he asked.
“Remember my question concerning getting into contact with spirits from the other side that are not from the Earth?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Well, if we could get in touch with them on the other side maybe we could find out some interesting things from them, like where we can find Meera. See?”
“Okay. I see what you’re saying, but for some reason I have never heard of contact with departed aliens before. Ever. I haven’t even heard mention of it either being possible or not.”
“All we have to do is try it with Noah. He’s a clear channel medium, so we know what comes through is the real deal.” she said simply.
“Maybe we should do it tonight. What do you think?” he asked her.
“I think it’s perfect. Should we have everybody over or just Noah do you think?”
“How about Noah and Rob, too? I want him to be here for this.”
“Okay then. Let’s do it.”
Chapter Six
The courier came to the door with the money promised by their strange benefactor. It was all there in fifties and hundreds. It gave Shauna scary tingles up her spine to have that amount of money right in her own home. They put the case of money in the back of her coat closet for the time being.
Noah was fine with coming over at around eight. So was Rob, who would bring his tape recorder so they would be able to play back the session later. Hawk fixed a nice tossed salad for them while Shauna baked some Red Snapper and made some pilaf. She had strawberries and clotted cream for dessert. They lit some candles for atmosphere. The light from them spilled softly onto the table.
After they were done eating Hawk followed Shauna upstairs to her bedroom. He closed the door and went to her, starting slowly, kissing her lips, her ears, her neck. Shauna’s body responded with pure heat. She could feel it running across her back and down throughout her body. Hawk had a gentleness about him, almost feminine in a way, that aroused her like no one else ever had. She thought this must be love. She hadn’t been loved like this in a very long time, and now she enjoyed every minute of it.
Shauna’s pulse pounded the rhythm of her body as she took off Hawk’s shirt, feeling his strong muscles as she went. She let him remove her blouse and skirt, and soon they were only clad in their underwear. Hawk kissed Shauna so passionately she thought she would fall as he lowered her to the soft bed. He took off his shorts and climbed on top of her, moving up and down teasingly. He pulled her bra aside to get at her breast, which he tenderly kissed and nuzzled. Shauna tried to pull him closer. She wanted him on her, in her. He undid the clasp in the back of her bra and she threw it to the floor. Then he kissed down her belly and removed her black panties after rubbing his hands all over her bottom, pulling her up to himself. She was panting and sweating now. She couldn’t take it much longer her need for him was so great. Shauna kissed his hands and then his neck, sucking here and there, taunting him, making him want her even more.
They made love like it was a magical thing. Neither of them could want anything more than this, right now. They had two lovely hours to kill before anyone broke their spell. They enjoyed every single moment of it. Afterwards they took a shower together in Shauna’s oversized bathroom. Hawk shampooed her hair, and Shauna soaped up his back. It seemed they loved better and better as each day passed. Loving each other felt so right.
Noah showed up at eight, with Rob following ten minutes later. Shauna and Hawk began to explain the strange phone call and new backers for their research. They all sat down in the living room after Shauna offered drinks.
“They offered us two and a half mill,” said Hawk.
“You’re kidding me, right?” asked Rob. “How do they even know about us?”
“There’s plenty of ways they could have found out. It’s not like we’re keeping our work top secret or anything,” said Hawk. Looking at Noah, he said, “There’s something you should know about what happened to Rob and I when we were on site this summer.”
“Okay. What is it?” asked Noah.
“We met an alien woman, a Starborn one. She told us all this incredible stuff about what’s happening on the Earth. She says there’s basically no way to stop it. Our last chance was in the 70s, but now it’s gone too far.”
“Is that so?” said Noah. “What proof do you have that she knows what she’s talking about?”
“No proof, but you know how advanced their people are. That’s one reason we asked you to come here tonight. We want to see if you– or rather Jackson, can communicate with them so we can ask them more about it. What do you think?”
“ I’m assuming that’s why Shauna asked me about talking to extra-terrestrials today?”
“Yes,” she replied. “If you can communicate with humans then why not non-humans? They’re sentient beings too.”
“Well, first of all they are from a different dimension. It’s a difference of not only space, but time as well. I’m frankly not sure it can be done. I have never heard of a medium bringing through anyone other than humans.”
“Well I think it would be really interesting to try,” said Rob. “Are you willing to give it a go?”
“Alright we can try, but I won’t guarantee we’ll get anything,” said Noah.
“All we can do is try. Go ahead Noah,” said Shauna.
Noah put his teacup on the coffee table and sat up straight in his chair. He closed his eyes and slowed and deepened his breathing. The three of them had witnessed Noah going into trance before, so this was nothing new. A change came over his face. His features softened. He moved his head around on his neck. Jackson was taking over his body.
“Good evening everyone,” he said, opening Noah’s eyes. “It seems we have a special purpose with these people tonight. What is it that you wish?”
Hawk began, “Hi Jackson. Nice to see you again. We have a question for you.”
“Ask whatever you wish,” said the deep Southern black voice.
“Can you help us get in touch with people from other planets?”
“Let me see. You wish to contact the Starborn ones, is that correct?”
“Yes it is. It’s important.”
“This has something to do with someone you met recently, correct?”
“Right.”
“I will see what I can do.” Jackson closed his eyes and they waited. Several minutes passed. Shauna looked at Hawk. He was wringing his hands together with his elbows resting on his knees. She wondered if they wer
e going to get anywhere with this. After almost fifteen minutes Jackson opened his eyes. “What you are asking for is very difficult. We have some contact, but I don’t know how strong it will be. I have someone here who may be able to help. He says you may call him Mahchek. What do you wish to know from him?”
“Hello Mahchek,” said Hawk, sitting up in his seat. “My name is Hawk. We are trying to make contact with a Starborn one here on Earth. Do you think you can help us?”
“He says he will do what he can,” said Jackson.
“Great. We met this female named Meera in Indonesia a couple months ago. Do you have any idea how we can find her?”
“He’s showing me a space vehicle. It’s cigar-shaped. In the mountains. But now it is gone. Now he’s saying that what you seek is already near to you. You have it within sight of your time. The Starborn ones don’t come to see just anyone, but they see you have a higher purpose and wish to stop the great Earth changes from happening. They truly wish to help in this endeavor.”
“So what does that mean, it’s in site of our time? I’m not sure I understand.”
“You must wait for the proper place and time and you will be contacted. You will both be at the right place at the right time. It will be serendipitous as you say. You do not have to do anything on your part. They will be in contact. They wish to help.”
“But when?” asked Hawk.
“Where exactly should we be to meet them?” asked Shauna.
“All your questions will be answered in their time. That is all he has for us,” said Jackson.
Noah came out of trance and rubbed his eyes and stretched. “So what did you get?” he asked. Because Noah was a clear channel medium he had no memory of what was said during his trances.
Shauna explained what happened. “Well that’s something anyway. I didn’t think we’d get anything from the Starborn ones. That’s pretty unique,” said Noah.
“That was awesome,” said Rob. He remembered then to turn off his tape recorder.
“Frustrating is what I’d call it,” said Hawk.
“I think it was excellent,” said Shauna. “We will be seeing them soon.”
“But how soon?” asked Hawk. “Somewhere at some time. What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re just impatient, Hawk. Give it some time and it’ll happen,” she said.
“This is what you usually get from the other side. It can sometimes be quite vague,” said Noah.
“That’s true, Hawk,” said Rob. “You know how it is. They have a different time and space from us.”
“I know.” Hawk stood up and paced. “It’s just that we don’t exactly have all the time in the world guys. We need to know some things about this Blue Star Kachina before it’s too late. And Meera said it was too late already, but I’m not so sure. We have to make plans. Where we’re going and when we’re going to go there. And on top of that hope that Meera or one of her friends shows up and gives us more information.”
Shauna felt sorry for Hawk, not to mention the planet. How could they possibly make any difference in the outcome. Things looked so bleak. But there were others who felt the same. It was fairly common knowledge that there were prophesies that there would be a great Earth disaster in the year 2012. The waters would rise, the magnetic pole would shift, making left right and right left. Everything would be turned virtually upside down and few would survive. Many people were already planning for that time, moving to supposedly safer locations, storing water and food.
But who could really say what was going to happen? There were, of course, many cynics who had seen many similar end of Earth prophecies come and go. Until now, though, there had never been so much actual proof. There were distinct changes for the worse happening day after day all over the world. More and stronger earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, major iceberg melts were happening all the time now. That’s one reason Hawk had felt so strongly about taking on the task of discovering why. And that’s why Shauna had felt so strongly about being involved in the project. She had a strong feeling this was the most important work she would ever undertake, and that hers and many others’ lives were hanging on whether their small group could change this momentous course of events.
Rob got up and put his hand on Hawk’s shoulder. “Hey man, we’ll do what we can do. We can’t do any more than that. Take it easy.”
Shauna wanted to take him in her arms and give him all the comfort she could give. But their closeness was unknown to anyone, and for the moment would stay that way. It was important to keep a professional atmosphere, even when dealing with the paranormal. They were still involved in something very serious.
The four talked for a few hours, making plans and preparations, wanting also to wait until the morning to discuss things with the rest of the group. It was Noah who suggested maybe they ought to split and get some sleep. Hawk tried to act casual, taking his time about leaving which, of course, he didn’t intend on doing. It was well past midnight when Rob went on his way. Hawk and Shauna retired to the bedroom and didn’t sleep.
Chapter Seven
Hawk had the dreams again. He was in some deep, dark, jungle place near a river. There was a spaceship in a valley next to some mountains. Out of the ship came the form of a woman. He knew her name, but couldn’t remember it. She was telling him something that he couldn’t quite understand. Then the water started rippling and pooling and rising over its banks. He pulled back so as not to get wet, but the water kept getting higher and closer to him. The woman/alien motioned for him to come with her into the ship. He wanted to, but knew he couldn’t do it. So he started climbing higher up the slopes to the mountains through thick trees and strangling underbrush. He looked down and saw the ship slowly disappear under the water and wondered why it didn’t take off and fly away. That’s what it should be doing. Soon it was gone and the water was at his heels. He hiked faster up and up and up, higher into the mountains until the trees became sparse and it looked more like desert. What trees there were stunted and craggy. Then he saw Shauna at the top of the mountain beckoning to him to hurry. The mountain steepened and he had to find footholds and grab what little vegetation he could hold onto. The water was catching up to him because of his slowed progress. The whole valley was filled with it till only the tips of other mountains were visible. He slipped down into the water and scrambled back up the face of the mountain. He couldn’t see Shauna anymore. He was frightened. Now the water came to his waist, but still he climbed. His hands were grimy and bloody from grasping at anything he could hold onto. Then he looked up and there was Shauna, reaching out her hand to help him to the top... He woke suddenly with the lingering presence of the dream. Early shades of dawn were coming through the blinds in Shauna’s bedroom. Hawk sat up and rubbed his eyes.
What was the meaning in these dreams? He wanted to wake Shauna up and ask her. She could give him an interpretation. He hadn’t told her of the dreams he’d been having. But they were coming more often now and the water in the dreams was getting higher and faster. Could it have something to do with the project? It seemed so. Meera was trying to tell him something. Shauna was there to save him. Maybe he could try to become more lucid in the next one if and when it came. Then maybe he could understand what Meera was saying to him. Was she telling him the only way to survive the Earth changes was to fly away from the Earth? And what about Shauna? Would they be able to survive even on the highest mountain top if the worst became reality? He doubted it.
Lying back down he thought of what had brought him to where he was now. As a boy he had traveled extensively with his parents and younger brother in a big trailer. At least it seemed big to him at the time. His brother Ernie was dead now. A drunk driver had taken him out when Hawk was seventeen and just starting to drive. He had been away at college when it happened and hadn’t seen his brother in two months. They had had great fun together when they were kids seeing places all over the country. Hawk’s favorite had been Indian country. That was the first time he’d eve
r felt the pangs of spirituality hit him. When he was eight years old they had been staying in a trailer park in Taos, New Mexico. They had met this boy and played with him in his trailer. He was a few years older than Hawk and his parents weren’t around for some reason. Hawk couldn’t remember his name, but he would never forget what happened on one particular day.
The kid asked them if they wanted to see ghosts. Not wanting to look wimpy to this older kid, Hawk said sure. The kid told them to go look in the bathroom of his trailer. It was just an ordinary bathroom. They went out for a minute and the kid told them to go in there and look again. Where the toilet paper had been on the back of the toilet was the head of a ghost and there was a ghost lying in the tub. The two boys ran out into the living room, but the bigger kid stayed in the bathroom. All of a sudden he came out screaming, with this white stuff all over his face. Hawk grabbed Ernie’s hand and ran out of the place and back to their own trailer to tell their mother what had happened. She didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation and showed them a book with pictures of Hopi Kachinas in it. She apparently hadn’t believed their tale. Hawk figured out much later that the kid’s parents must have worked for Disney or something, because the ghosts in the trailer looked just like the ones in the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. But at the time it was quite disconcerting. Ernie had nightmares about it for years afterward. Their mother blamed Hawk for terrifying him.
But that’s how it was with his mother. She rarely believed anything he said and he always got the brunt of things when it came to the two of them fighting. Their dad wasn’t around much except when they traveled and he was a big drinker. One time he even turned over the car and the whole trailer on the highway one night when everyone was asleep. Luckily the two kids hadn’t been in the trailer or they would have been crushed. When they went back the next day to get it standing up again Hawk saw they were only a few feet from a steep drop-off. When he thought about it years later he knew there must have been angels watching over them not to have gone all the way over the brink and died that night. At the time he was simply in shock.
Quantum Earth Page 5
