by Summer Lee
He pulled out what appeared to be a credit card and slipped it into a slot that was practically invisible to the naked eye.
The wall by the elevator opened up to reveal a staircase going down. It was a spiral staircase made of rock with an iron railing.
Solomon could just look on in shock, as Carl pulled out his flashlight, turned it on, and slowly descended the stairs.
“Are you kidding?” was all Solomon could say as he reluctantly followed the guard.
Chapter Ten
Solomon was halfway down the staircase when he heard the secret door finally start to close. It creaked as it slowly began to shut. He then heard a loud crack and looked up to see what happened. The door was stuck open. It had only closed partially.
“Carl!” Solomon shouted before thinking it through.
Carl ran back up to where Solomon was and peered at the open door. “Not good,” he whispered. “Not good, at all, Solomon.”
He pulled out his Glock and slipped past Solomon, who was frozen on the stairs. He didn’t want to expect the worst, but obviously, Carl thought it meant trouble that the door didn’t close. Solomon looked around to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon.
He saw Carl sneak up to the door and look around. All of a sudden, he heard low grunts and the sound of a scuffle. He saw a figure dressed in all black struggling with the guard.
“Solomon!” Carl said. “Go down and find a phone or… use your cell!”
Solomon hurried down the rest of the stairs, as he heard footsteps coming down behind him. He glanced up and saw that Carl was still fighting off his attacker, which meant that there were at least two of them.
Solomon nervously pulled out his phone but dropped it when he tried to take two steps at a time. It clanked and bounced all the way down to the basement floor.
His heart raced, as he said a silent prayer and tried to retrieve his phone. He didn’t even bother to look at his surroundings, but he thought he was going to be killed.
As soon as he reached the floor, he saw his phone and made a dash for it. As soon as he reached it, he felt a hard push from behind, which caused him to fall forward a few feet past his cell.
When he looked up, he saw a figure dressed in black with a ski mask and a small backpack. He knew right away that it wasn’t Eric because the body shape and height were all wrong.
He jumped for the phone without any regard to his safety. The intruder had a 3 to 4-foot-long wooden stick that was used to hit Solomon’s hands, every time he grabbed at his phone.
Frustrated, Solomon got to his feet and ran toward the middle of the room which was better lit, stopping short when he realized where he was.
The basement was huge. It was at least 200 square yards, with every inch filled with wonders.
To his left, he saw an extensive research lab secured within its own structure. The name, Project Lab, was embossed on a solid metal door with a keypad locking mechanism protecting it.
There were several desks in front of him with computers and various parts which looked to him to be replacement parts for telescopes, microscopes, and the computers themselves. For the most part, the desks were rather messy.
On the walls in no particular order, were dozens of charts and graphs featuring the solar system, star formations, various constellations, individual planets, and of course, information on Harvest Moon and the phases of the moon.
His mouth dropped open as he stood amidst information that he not only helped to gather, but that he wanted to see for himself. He was too caught up in the moment that he forgot about the intruder behind him.
He raised his hands in triumph and shouted with extreme joy. Then he felt something hard hit the back of his head and everything went black.
***
Once Solomon regained consciousness, he realized that he was lying on the ground and was bound with duct tape wrapped around his hands behind his back. His feet were taped together as well. He saw Carl bound just as he was, lying on the ground next to him. Yet, it appeared that they were still in the basement. They were both at the bottom of the stairs. Carl was gagged, while he was not.
Two figures dressed in black stood before him. One had Carl’s card that allowed him entrance to the basement. It didn’t take Solomon long to figure out who one of them was.
“Andrea,” he said, quietly and with disappointment. “Is that you?”
She took off her ski mask. It was Sanderson. “I couldn’t tell you everything, Solomon.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I needed to know if you were really on my side. You can talk freely, and talk is cheap. So we checked to make sure there are no cameras down here. It’s strange how the most important floor of the project is without internal security.”
“Maybe it was to lull the saboteurs into a false sense of security.”
The voice was male and very familiar. Solomon looked around and saw Ingram standing near the wall of the lab with three armed guards, who were pointing their weapons at Sanderson and her accomplice.
“Sanderson, this is something no one expected.”
She started to laugh. “Ha ha! Good one, Jeremy! You don’t think I was smart enough to figure this one out? Is it because I’m a woman? Is that why you underestimated me?”
Ingram glanced at Solomon, then glared at Sanderson with a smile. “I never underestimated you, Andrea. I gave you the rope. What you decided to do with it was entirely up to you. It looks like you decided to hang yourself with it. It really is a shame, because you had so much potential. The only person who held you back for gender issues was you. It never mattered to me whether you were a man or a woman, but you were so gender-biased that you couldn’t see past your own nose.”
“You always thought you were smarter than me, Jeremy,” she returned her comment with anger.
He raised a brow. “It was never about who was smarter. I would like to think that I am beyond playground tactics. I’m sorry if I ever gave you the impression that I thought myself smarter than those around me. I am simply part of a whole. A well-oiled machine, if you will. I figured that your pettiness and bitter disposition would eventually be your downfall. I knew that when I started working with you. I thought that I could overlook your personality flaws to see the bigger picture. You do have talent, my dear.”
She looked like she didn’t know what to say.
Solomon looked at both of them, then decided to say something. “Excuse me? Look. I am new at all of dis and frankly, I am a little upset I was brought into the middle of something secretive. Since I have been brought into it, there is no reason why we can’t all sit down like civilized adults and…”
“No one asked for your opinion, Solomon,” Ingram responded, while still glaring at Sanderson. “I don’t mean to be mean about it, but I still don’t know where you stand. You are my new employee and I practically gave you free run of the project, yet you are hard to figure out.”
Solomon shook his head. “I don’t know why. What you see is what you get. Dis is who I am. I’m not out to get anyone and I certainly don’t plan on sabotaging anything dat I don’t know about.”
Sanderson gave Solomon an angry look. “I thought you understood! You gave me the impression that you understood! Great! You’ve been a spy for Jeremy this whole time! I bet you told him about me and Eric taking you back to my place and discussing a plan to take down the project! You told him everything! Didn’t you?”
“No!” Solomon hollered back. He didn’t like to yell, but he felt he was pushed. “I didn’t tell anyone anyting! If you two want to fight, you should do it in the open! Dis whole spy ting, make my heart race and I don’t like dat one bit.”
Ingram nodded to one of the guards and he went over to the other figure and carefully took the mask off. It was another female. This one was blonde and looked to be of high school age. The girl looked scared and confused, as she inched her way toward Sanderson.
Sanderson placed her hands on the girl’s shoulders and p
ulled her close.
Solomon and Ingram were shocked. They both knew a mothering instinct when they saw one.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” huffed Ingram. “That’s your… daughter?”
Chapter Eleven
There was a moment of silence and then Ingram spoke again. “The resemblance is uncanny! You never revealed any children, Andrea! As close as you and I had worked together and I never knew?”
“That’s right,” Sanderson replied in a soft voice. “I never told anyone about her. She was from a previous marriage. Her father had custody of her. I just recently brought her back where she belongs.”
Solomon could not just watch in confusion the conversation going on between his employer and the woman who wanted to destroy his project. “Excuse me. All of dis is very fascinating, but I have two requests. If you could untie Carl and me, I’m sure we could all sit down and discuss dis like reasonable adults. Also, I would like to address quite possibly da more immediate concern of the Harvest Moons. Please?”
Ingram and Sanderson stared at Solomon for a brief moment, then looked at each other.
Ingram sighed. “I am more than willing to put down our arms so that we may talk and lay everything on the table. My only request, besides not killing anyone, would be that there are no more lies. Frankly, I’m sick of all the lying and sneakiness.”
Sanderson nodded at her daughter and the young girl went to untie Solomon and Carl. Once they were both free, Ingram instructed his men to lower their weapons, but to monitor what was going on.
Solomon helped Carl up and kept his distance from both Sanderson and Ingram. “From what I can tell, you both care about each other. You fight like a married couple.”
“How could you betray me, Andrea?” Ingram asked, in almost a pleading tone.
“Betray you?” she shot back. “You’re the one who wants to bring about the end of the world! Do you think it’s just coincidence that the Harvest Moons have appeared night after night around the same time that the project was up and running?”
“You can’t be serious!” was his only reply, as he did his best to try to remain calm.
Solomon noticed that it was the first time he saw his employer angry.
Ingram closed his eyes, mumbled something, then opened his eyes and looked at Sanderson. “I did everything to show you my trust and loyalty. You had access to everything concerning the project.”
“Except this floor,” she said with disdain. “I tried my best to get close to you, so I would have access to everything! You kept me from the most important part!”
Solomon looked at Ingram. He appeared to be hit with a cruel realization that she had not been honest. “Your words, just now. You basically came out and said that your goal from the beginning was solely to access my research. I…” He lowered his head sadly.
“Uh… I’m going to look around and make sure nothing’s broken,” Carl said nervously, as he quickly made his way down past the desks.
Sanderson fell to her knees and wept. Her daughter came up and tried to comfort her. “Jeremy.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “I… Jennifer here… is… yours.”
Ingram turned pale as he narrowed his eyes at the girl. “No. How?”
“I was a fan of yours a long time ago, Jeremy. Your research and your whole attitude just sucked me into your world. We met at a faculty party that I did everything in my power to get invited to just to meet you. We spent one night together and the rest is history. When you didn’t want anything else to do with me, I became despondent and tried to find a way to discredit you. Then the project came up and I figured I could do my best at destroying you from within.”
“Wait just one minute!” Ingram huffed. “None of that makes any sense! I never had any relations with anyone at those parties! I think you may have me confused with Professor Steiner. He played on the side of promiscuity. I’m afraid that all of this was for nothing. Since you have now blatantly admitted much more than I had anticipated, I’m afraid that I will have to call the authorities and…” He stopped short, keeping his tone at a pleasant level. “Did you say that I am the one who wants to bring about the end of the world? I have never heard such tripe before in my life. I’ll have you know that my research team noticed some space anomalies and that is why I brought Solomon into the fold. He has extensive knowledge on the Harvest Moons. I don’t have a clue as to why there are several Harvest Moons being observed on a continuous basis. Solomon would have been able to do his research, had you not been constantly interrupting us with your breakins and shenanigans.”
It was Sanderson’s turn to be confused. “I don’t get it. I mean, what you’re saying actually makes sense. It can’t be true!”
“It is.”
The voice came from the stairwell. It was very recognizable to Solomon.
“E-Eric?” Solomon stuttered while wondering if anything else would happen to classify the events as a legitimate soap opera. “Is that you?”
“Yes, sir,” Eric replied while walking out from behind the desks. “I know this is really confusing, but I might be able to shed some light on… well, everything.”
Sanderson ran her hands through her hair and tugged. “Wait just a darned minute here! You were babbling like an idiot after we ran you through that dream machine! Each time, you became more unbearable! That’s why I stopped using it on you! I needed you somewhat coherent!”
Eric glanced around at everyone and seemed very much in control of his faculties. “I know. For a while, I was pretty much out there.” He rushed to Solomon and gave him a big hug. “I missed you, man!”
“I missed you too, my friend,” Solomon replied, as he patted his back firmly. “It’s nice to have you back dis way.”
“It’s nice to be back,” Eric said, as his expression became sober. “Now, back to the matter at hand. What no one, including me, realized, was that my dreams were becoming clearer each time Sybil’s machine was used on me. The images used to be bigger than life and very confusing, but each time I went under, everything was spelled out beautifully. I now finally understand what it was all about. That’s why I decided to show up at this moment. It’s important that no one leaves this room until I finish saying what I need to say. God Himself has guided my trip from the very first dream. I don’t know why He thinks I’m special. So if you’ll all please listen until I’m done, I’ll tell you all what’s going on.”
Chapter Twelve
Ingram got several of the chairs from the desks and lined them up, side by side, so workers could sit down. His guards were the only ones still standing and making sure nothing got out of hand.
Ingram glared at Sanderson, then sat down, crossed his arms in front of him, and waited.
Eric had the floor.
“Alright, guys.” Eric looked apprehensive but knew that he had to say what he knew. “Whether you believe what I’m about to say or not, I have a feeling that it will all make sense.”
Eric stood in front of all of them and looked pensive. “Look. I’ve never done anything like this before, but it has to be done. In the name of almighty God!” He looked at everyone’s expression quickly, as if he expected a certain reaction from one or more of the people present.
“When my dreams became crystal clear, I felt it was my duty to let everyone know,” Eric continued. “Professor Ingram. Even though I’ve seen it on the way here, can you confirm that there is an extra Harvest Moon?”
Ingram chuckled. “Of course, I can. I saw it as well on my way to the project. Is that what this is all about?”
Eric nodded. “In a matter of speaking. Yeah. I know that Andrea thought that you had something to do with it. She thought that you wanted to push the end of the world by feeding on people’s paranoia. She thought you faked a Harvest Moon. I can tell you right now that it’s not fake. I mean, how can you fake something that everyone in the world can see? That’s not possible. If we would have paid more attention, like my friend Solomon here, we would know that all we had to do was s
tudy the sky to find the signs.”
At the mention of his name, Solomon was concerned that he might have missed something in his research and was eager to hear Eric out.
Eric continued, “When I was a kid, Sybil and I used to love magicians. We thought that their tricks were real magic. We learned later on, like everybody does, that they are just tricks. The big thing for them is to show you what they want to show you while distracting you from the real trick. Satan’s the same way.”
“Is this going to turn out to be a talk about religion?” Sanderson said while grimacing.
“In a way,” Eric said. “You can’t have a talk about what people believe without mentioning the Creator. Whether you believe in Him or not. I would suggest that those who don’t should start paying more attention to events in the atmosphere. Because He is in charge of the universe and leaves messages there for people.”
“Get to the point, son,” Ingram gently urged.
“I am, Professor,” Eric said while starting to pace. “You have to hear all of the basics for anything I’m saying for it to make sense to you. Please, just let me finish. Please!”
Ingram nodded. “Okay. Okay.”
Eric kept pacing with his hands behind his back. “Thank you. As I was saying, evil experts use tricks like a magician does. They have been distracting all of us. They used magic on you, Professor Ingram, to deflect you and keep you from concentrating on your research of the Harvest Moons. They are behind the people who are trying to sabotage your project. You’ve been too preoccupied with work to notice the sabotaging was a lie. You believed Andrea was on the same page as you because she helped with the research. If so, the answers would have been right in front of her face. But she was looking for something different. Plus, Solomon never got to research anything. Instead, he got caught in the middle between you, Professor, and Andrea. I’m sure there isn’t much he has accomplished when it comes to his job, since he was hired just a short time ago. But he is a brilliant man.”
