Escaped

by Gary Urey

  Loosha quickly dismissed that scenario. The visitor center was small. If the kids had detonated into the Warp, he certainly would have heard the bang and seen the smoky electrical discharge. They had to be here somewhere.

  “I’ll find you!” he screamed. “Sooner or later!”

  An Arab man approached him. Instead of the traditional outfit of robes and headdresses, he wore a camouflaged Jordanian military uniform with a red beret, thick utility belt, and shiny black boots.

  “Can I help you with something, sir?” the man said. “Have you lost someone?”

  Loosha reached for the gun hidden down the back of his pants but thought better of it. Finding out what had happened to Daisha and Axel was too important.

  “Yes, actually,” Loosha said. “Two people in my party seemed to have wandered off. One was a young black girl with very short hair. The other was a white boy with longish brown hair. Have you seen them?”

  “I’ve seen him with a girl, but she wasn’t black. Follow me.”

  Relief swelled in Loosha’s chest. Where there was Axel, Daisha would not be far behind. The man led him to the other side of the parking lot to a set of stone steps. After a short climb, they were standing on a dirt road.

  “He was just here, crouching by this big rock,” the man said. “I saw him when I was on security patrol.”

  “Where could he have gone?” Loosha asked.

  The man shrugged. “Either up the side of the hill where there is nothing but stones and sand or back to the visitor center.”

  Loosha scurried up the embankment. He looked around. There was no sign of Axel and nowhere for him to hide.

  “He didn’t go that way,” Loosha said after he had climbed back down.

  “Then he must have gone back to the visitor center,” the man said and walked away.

  An empty tour bus was idling in the parking lot. Over the driver’s objections, Loosha bullied his way into the bus and looked to see if the kids were hiding inside. There was no sign of them. He made his way back to the visitor center. The place was more crowded than before thanks to the tour bus and passenger vans. People crowded around the craft tables, buying handmade blankets, rugs, and other trinkets from the locals.

  “Axel, Daisha!” Loosha bellowed. “This game you two are playing is old.”

  Loosha saw flash of long brown hair zip from behind the information kiosk and out the door. It was Axel. He was running with a girl, but it wasn’t Daisha. A big smile spread across Loosha’s face, and he raced to catch up. The chase took them through the tented reception area, down a stone path, and into the parking lot.

  “Stop if you want to see Daisha again!” Loosha roared.

  Axel and the girl stopped in their tracks and turned to Loosha.

  “You’re lying,” Axel said, panting for breath.

  “I’m far from lying, my friend,” Loosha said back. “She’s here somewhere. We’ve been Warping together all over the world. She’s quite the traveling partner, I must say.”

  “Then where is she?”

  “Just stay right there and I’ll show you.”

  Loosha walked calmly toward him. Axel just glared at him. The girl was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. When Axel was within arm’s length, Loosha reached out and grabbed him roughly by the arm.

  “Let him go!” the girl yelled.

  “Shut up,” Loosha growled, making the girl recoil. “I don’t know who you are but get out of here. This is between him and me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” the girl spat back.

  Just as Loosha was about to lash out at her with his free arm, a car screeched to a stop right beside them. A strange-looking woman with long black hair and a funny-looking tattoo on her forehead stepped out of the car. She was barefoot and wore a white robe that billowed in the wind. A tall Arab man rolled down the window and joined her. A pamphlet fell from his pocket and fluttered across the parking lot.

  “I’m looking for someone,” the woman said.

  “You and me both,” Axel said back.

  The woman looked at Axel. “Is your name Loosha?” she asked.

  Axel shook his head. “My name’s Axel. This guy’s Loosha.”

  Loosha stared at her with wide eyes. “What do you want with me?”

  “I’ve been sent for you. It’s extremely urgent,” the woman said.

  “Why?”

  The woman stepped closer. “Have you ever heard of a girl named Daisha?”

  Both Loosha and Axel gasped out loud, not quite believing their ears.

  “Say that again,” Loosha said. “Very slowly.”

  “I said: Have you ever heard of girl named Daisha? She’s looking for you.”

  Loosha smiled. “Take me to her. Now.”

  “My pleasure,” the woman said as she yanked out what Loosha recognized instantly as a stun gun.

  “Get away from—” Loosha growled.

  Before he could utter another syllable, the woman shoved the stun gun into his side and sent one million volts of electricity directly into his nervous system.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  MUNI

  Muni stared at the Seven Pillars of Wisdom from the encampment. The stunning, wind-sculpted mountain poked out of the red desert like stubby fingers reaching for the clouds. Her vision had been clear and powerful. New Earth would open its doors to the Antakaale on its highest summit, but only if she could keep both Golden Jewels away from the place.

  Other than Daisha and Gita back at the tent, Muni was alone in their base camp. Pavana was bringing back the brown-haired boy, and the rest of her followers were on a two-hour camel ride excursion. Fahd and the rest of Hafnawi’s Desert Life Camp crew had rounded everyone up after lunch, including the children. Muni hadn’t told her followers why they were here other than for a vacation. The outings were to keep them entertained until the final ascent to New Earth.

  A cloud of dust appeared in the distance. The SUV with Pavana and, hopefully, the brown-haired boy was approaching. The anticipation of possessing the second jewel sent tingles up Muni’s spine. She had first heard those precious Voices over twenty years ago. Now, they were only a day or so away from fulfilling the final prophecy.

  The SUV wheeled around behind the tent. Pavana and the driver hopped out. Muni quickly handed him a thick wad of dinar to keep his mouth shut.

  “Did you find Loosha?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Pavana said. “Easily and without incident.”

  “Good.”

  Pavana motioned toward the back seat of the car. “Do you want to see him? He’s still passed out from the stun gun.”

  “Not yet,” Muni said. “I want to talk to Gita and Daisha first.”

  Muni stepped into their tent. Gita was standing over Daisha, cutting the zip ties from Daisha’s wrists.

  “Stop!” Muni ordered.

  Gita leaped a foot into the air, her eyes wide with surprise.

  “I…uh…um,” she stuttered.

  Muni ran to the bed, grabbed another zip tie, and re-bound Daisha’s wrists. She turned to Gita, raised her hand, and struck her hard across the face. Gita fell to the ground, tears in her eyes and a painful red welt forming on her cheek.

  “You will never see Varya again!” Muni roared.

  “Please,” Gita begged. “I need to see her. She’s my daughter.”

  “Gita wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Daisha said, trying to diffuse the situation. “She took the ties off so I could show her how to use the GeoPort. Don’t you want to know how it works?”

  Muni looked suspiciously at Gita, then to Daisha, and back to Gita again. Slowly, the rage melted off Muni’s face. She ran a hand through her long gray hair and plucked the GeoPort off the bed.

  “I want to know what you use this thing for,” Muni asked. “And you better tell me the truth. The Voices are very afraid.”

  “Who or what are the Voices?” Daisha asked.

  “You’ll know their whisperings soon enough. Maybe after I d
estroy this thing they’ll allow you entry into New Earth with us.”

  “Why would you destroy it? This unit’s the greatest technological advancement known to mankind.”

  “Enlighten me,” Muni demanded and listened intently as Daisha reluctantly explained the inner workings of the GeoPort—Warps, DNA, the Doctor, Konanavlah Sun Temple, and X-Points.

  “Daisha, you’ve just confirmed our theory,” Gita said, slipping on her geophysicist hat. “We’ve already discussed this in detail. Destroying the permanent X-Point has destabilized Earth’s magnetic field, making the poles start to flip. That’s why all the earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions are happening. So, if I’m getting this right, we need both of the Geo…er…Golden Jewels to make a new X-Point. Which is why—”

  “There will be no new X-Point,” Muni said, finishing Gita’s sentence. “If a new permanent X-Point arises, the door to New Earth will close forever. The Voices have told me this.” She closed her eyes and shouted, “Only the Voices know the truth, and those who hear the Voices shall know New Earth!”

  The tent flap opened and Pavana stepped inside. “Verse fifty-one,” she said proudly. “Are you ready for Loosha? I haven’t checked his pockets for the second Golden Jewel. I wanted to give you that honor.”

  A wide smile spread across Muni’s face. “Bring him to me,” she commanded. “New Earth is almost upon us.”

  Pavana left and returned a moment later with Loosha. She had tied his hands with zip ties and taken his gun away. He was very groggy and weak from repeated blasts from the stun gun but was able to walk clumsily on two feet. She nudged him to the ground and zip-tied his ankles.

  “Here he is,” Pavana said. “The one from your vision.”

  Muni’s smile faded into a scowl. “This isn’t the one from my vision. He was just a boy. With long curly brown hair, blue eyes. This lump is a grown man.”

  “Axel,” Daisha said.

  “Who?” Muni asked.

  “You’ve just described my friend, Axel. He has the other GeoPort.”

  “I thought his name was Loosha,” Pavana said.

  “You asked me who I was with at the visitor center. That person was Loosha, not Axel.”

  Pavana’s eyes grew wide. “I saw him,” she said. “The boy was back at the visitor center with Loosha. He even said his name was Axel.”

  “Impossible,” Daisha muttered.

  “It’s true! He had long brown hair, blue eyes, and everything.”

  “Then go back and get him,” Muni ordered. “Bring him to me. The Voices won’t wait for us forever.”

  Pavana raced out of the tent.

  Muni turned to Gita. “Tell me verse sixty-two.”

  Gita cleared her throat and recited, “Young daughters are a gift from the Voices. We praise them for they hear the Voices clearly and without question.”

  “Do you hear the Voices clearly and without question?” Muni asked.

  “Yes,” Gita said, trying very hard to fight back tears.

  “Varya is a gift from the Voices. Therefore, she belongs to the Voices and not to you. Do you understand this?”

  A single tear rolled down Gita’s cheek. “Yes, I understand.”

  “Say good-bye to her in your mind. The Voices command that you never see her again on this Earth.”

  Muni grabbed the GeoPort and left the tent, zipping the flaps closed behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  DAISHA

  Daisha watched as Gita collapsed on the floor in a puddle of tears. Her sobs reverberated around the tent—deep, guttural cries that came from the pit of her soul. She felt bad for the woman, but all she could think of was Axel.

  “He’s alive!” she shouted in glee.

  Loosha stirred on the floor, mumbled something incoherently, and opened his eyes.

  “Where am I?” he murmured.

  “Inside a pretty fancy tent, chłopak,” Daisha said. “Where’d you find Axel?”

  “He was at the visitor center.”

  Several questions rolled out of Daisha’s mouth one after another. “How’d he get there? Did he look okay? Was anyone with him? What can we do to get him?”

  “First, answer this question for me, dziewczyna. How’d you get here?”

  Daisha told him about the three women who had approached her in the parking lot at the visitor center and how they shoved her in a car, tied her hands and ankles, and dragged her to this tent.

  “Why do they want you?” Loosha wondered.

  “They were after the GeoPort,” Daisha answered. “But the gray-haired lady, the one named Muni, calls it a Golden Jewel. Now, tell me about Axel.”

  “Nothing much to tell. Accept for painful-looking sunburn on his face, he looked fine. He was with some girl.”

  “Was her name Megan? She’s a white woman with dyed-black hair and a partially shaved head.”

  “The girl he was with wasn’t a woman. She was around his age. And she wasn’t white. My guess would be Indian or Pakistani. Some nationality like that.”

  Daisha wiggled herself to a seated position. She let out a painful squeal. The sharp plastic of the zip ties had dug deeper into her skin.

  “But why would he be here?” she asked, talking more at herself than Loosha.

  “Probably looking for you,” Loosha said. “Like a lot of people seem to be doing.”

  Gita let out another round of excruciating wails. Her sobbing had not subsided one bit since Muni had left. She still lay crumpled in the corner, desperate and forlorn, seemingly oblivious to the conversation going on around her.

  Loosha rolled over, struggling with the zip ties. “What’s with the cry baby?” he asked.

  “She has a young daughter here somewhere,” Daisha said. “I heard Muni say she was never going to see the child again.”

  “Why?”

  “Because the woman is crazy, that’s why! She keeps talking about this place called New Earth. They’re waiting for some mystical door to open so they can all go there.”

  A massive gust of wind shook the tent. Thunder rumbled in the sky. Lightning flickered, reflecting against the canvas walls. She heard the squeals of several frightened camels followed by pounding hoofs in the sand.

  “Listen to that!” Daisha squealed.

  “Must be getting a big rainstorm soon,” Loosha said.

  “Are you kidding me? There probably hasn’t been a drop of rain in this desert since Noah’s Ark,” said Daisha.

  Gita sat up. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose into a tissue. Her wailing had slowed to a snivel. Daisha’s pulse raced. If she and Loosha wanted to escape and go look for Axel, Gita was the one who would have to free them.

  There was another blast of thunder, followed by cracks of lightning. More heavy winds trembled the tent walls.

  “I don’t care what you say,” Loosha said to Daisha. “A torrential downpour is coming.”

  “It’s not a rainstorm,” Gita said, staring hard at both of them. “It’s the end of the world.”

  Daisha raised her eyebrows. “Excuse me?”

  “I’ll explain everything after I untie you two.”

  Gita rummaged around the tent until she found a knife. With four quick slices, Daisha and Loosha were free.

  “Thank you,” Daisha said, rubbing her wrists. “Those things were cutting off my circulation.”

  Loosha stood up, still wobbly from the stun gun attack. He quickly searched his pockets and the back of his pants. “They took my pistol,” he said with a frown.

  Daisha unzipped the tent and peeked out the flap. “Wow!” she said, her voice mixed with both fear and amazement. “Just…holy…Wow! You two have to see this.”

  The sky above their heads flashed red, green, orange, purple, and all of the colors in between. It was like some giant celestial artist had spilled his paints all over the ozone layer, and now the entire universe was dripping with color.

  “It’s…It’s…beautiful,” Loosha said with stunned awe.

 
“Amazing,” Daisha hushed.

  “Deadly,” Gita said ominously. “Earth’s magnetic poles are well into the process of flipping right before our eyes.”

  “I don’t understand,” Daisha said.

  “The solar wind is causing the light show we’re witnessing,” Gita explained. “This is because Earth’s magnetic field is growing thin. That field is what protects us from planet-killing radiation. Soon, possibly in a matter of hours, the magnetic poles will have flipped, and our magnetic safety net will be gone.”

  “And then we’ll be dead,” Loosha added.

  Gita nodded. “Unless we can get both GeoPorts. Muni has one. I assume this Axel person has the other.”

  “You better start making sense,” Daisha demanded.

  “I’m saying that when Doctor what’s-his-name destroyed the permanent X-Point at the Sun Temple, he unwittingly kicked into gear the destruction of our planet. The earth and sun need a permanent magnetic connection to each other. If that doesn’t happen, this is the consequence. My instincts say we need both GeoPorts to create a new X-Point. How we do that is another question all together.”

  “Megan would know,” Daisha said.

  “Who’s Megan?” Gita asked.

  “No time to explain. Nothing happens unless we have both GeoPorts anyway.”

  “How do we get them?” Loosha asked.

  Daisha paced the tent, thinking. “Okay, I got it,” she said. “Loosha, you and Gita—”

  “My real name’s Luciana,” Gita said, interrupting her. “If I’m going to die, it will be with my real name, not one Muni gave me.”

  “Luciana,” Daisha said, correcting herself. “You two figure out a way to get the GeoPort and your daughter from Muni. I’ll head back to the visitor center to get Axel. Where should we meet?”

  Luciana pointed to the mountain in the distance. “We’ll meet there, atop the Seven Pillars of Wisdom. That’s where Muni and all her followers, including my Catalina, are going.”

  “Why there?” Loosha asked.

  “That’s where the door to New Earth will open.”

  “Good luck and see you soon,” Daisha said and raced into the swirling sand.