“Of course we can’t see everything,” Nadia said. “Only what’s in range of your cameras. There seems to be quite a large contingent of soldiers and they’re determined to find this place.” She looked worriedly at Doug. “What are the chances they already know where it is?”
“Well, you knew where it was.”
“Doug, I explained all that.”
“Still a little fuzzy to me, Nadia.”
“My God, Doug, what do I have to do—?”
“What are the chances that someone in your organization tipped them off?”
“I trust my people, but I can’t deny that it’s a possibility.”
“Obviously they know it’s in the vicinity.”
“Maybe it’s the animals,” Nadia said.
“What?”
“From space this place is going to light up like a giant bullseye.”
Doug frowned. “How so?”
“Infrared,” Dr. Randal answered for Nadia. “Any satellite flying over this area will pick up a massive infrared heat signature. Like Nadia said, a giant bullseye.”
“That’s right,” Nadia said. “Ariel might have doomed us all by calling those animals here.”
“I don’t think she called them,” Doug said. “I just had a little talk with her and she’s pretty distraught over what’s going on. She says she can’t make them go away. I believe she’s some sort of magnet.”
“So, where does that leave us?”
“We have to figure out how to defeat these guys.”
Nadia turned back to the monitors. “My people have taken multiple casualties. The enemy is simply overwhelming them. I don’t know how much longer they can last. We’ve been hearing aircraft but the good news is this area is so heavily wooded it’s impossible for helicopters to land. The only option is to drop them off in the cutoffs out beyond Parker Pond.”
Jennings appeared in the doorway. “Is that how you people got here?” he asked Nadia.
“Some of us. The ones you met yesterday plus a couple dozen others. The bulk of our troops arrived before dawn this morning via ground transport using paper company roads. They were in place long before those enemy choppers started to arrive.”
“Well,” Jennings said. “Those bastards must be getting in some other way.”
“I was a pretty decent soldier until a couple of days ago,” came another voice from the open doorway. “Perhaps I could help.”
Doug and Nadia spun and saw Jason standing beside Rick Jennings. “Come on in,” Doug said. “Nadia’s been giving us the rundown.” Doug introduced everyone.
“You mentioned you’ve been hearing a lot of choppers,” Jason said. “I think that’s how they’re delivering troops.”
“I just said it’s impossible in this terrain—”
“I heard what you said. What I’m saying is they don’t need to land to deliver troops.”
Nadia was thoughtful for a moment. “You’re talking about rappelling.”
“Exactly. All they need is a very small opening in the trees and pilots with steady hands. They can deliver hundreds of troops in a very short amount of time.”
“Makes more sense now,” Nadia said.
Jason had already heard about the animal barrier and he was now watching them on the monitors. “If I went out there do you think those animals would let me pass?”
“Can’t answer that,” Doug said. “Those animals are the only reason we’re still alive. Why would you want to go out there?”
“To take down those choppers.”
Doug exited the control room. “Let’s talk about this,” he said to Jason. “If you did go out there how would you bring those choppers down?”
“Rick said there was a store of RPGs somewhere here in the caves. I might not be able to get them all but I could certainly inflict some damage.”
“Too dangerous,” Jennings said.
“Listen, I’m a soldier. Danger is what I do.”
Jennings sighed. “I suppose we could inflict a lot more damage if several of us went out there with grenade launchers.”
“Wait a minute,” Doug said. “It’s mid-summer, hot as hell, and the forest is dry. We don’t want to kindle a firestorm. If those choppers fall into the trees their fuel is going to ignite a blaze that can’t be put out.”
“We’re pretty protected here, right?” Dr. Randal asked.
“I suppose so,” Doug said. “What’s your point?”
“Might be the only way to defeat them, save ourselves and save Ariel.”
“That would mean incinerating thousands of animals. Ariel would never forgive me.”
“You don’t think those animals would hightail it if a wall of flame came at them?”
“No I don’t. They’re being slaughtered now. I think they’re going to do just what they’re doing. I don’t think they have a choice.”
“What would you suggest, then?” Jennings asked Doug.
“It’s moving toward night right now,” Doug said. “I would suggest waiting until it gets dark and a few of us go out and do a little recon.”
“What would that accomplish?”
“Doug’s right,” Jason said. “It would give us a better idea of what we’re up against. In war, knowledge of your enemy and their movements can make the difference between winning and losing. I suggest only one of us go out to do the recon, and I think it should be me.”
“No, I’ll go,” Doug said. “You don’t know this terrain like I do.”
“No way,” Jennings said. “You’re Ariel’s father. I don’t think we should take any chances with your life.”
“Precisely why I should go,” Doug said. “I’m Ariel’s father. Fathers are supposed to protect their children.”
“Doug, listen,” Jason said. “I just came back from three tours in the middle east. I’m battle hardened and experienced. You need to be here for your wife and daughter. Let me do this.”
Nadia came out of the control room holding her sat phone. Her skin was a sickly pale color and the hand that held the phone was shaking. “I don’t think anyone should go out there,” she said.
“Why not?” Doug asked.
She handed the phone to Doug. “Someone on the other end wants to speak to you.”
Doug put the phone to his ear and said, “Who is this?”
“Did you think I’d just go away and you’d never hear from me again, Douglas?” a familiar voice said.
“Ed, to what do I owe the honor?”
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Not at all. But I am wondering how you got access to this satellite.”
“Child’s play, Douglas.”
Doug glanced at Nadia and then looked away. “I suspected you’d crawl up out of your hole eventually.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a hole, Douglas. Quite comfortable where I am, actually. I’ve been very busy over the last four and a half years.”
“What do you want?” Doug asked.
“Just listen carefully. There’s not much time. I know you’re aware of what’s going on in the world.”
“Oh yes.”
“Well, all that’s about to end.”
“This was you? You did this?”
“You remember a long time ago me telling you about my vision for a new world order?”
Chills ran the length of Doug’s spine. “I’ve never forgotten.”
“That’s good. This pandemic that has ravaged the world is but the first step.”
Doug was cold now. He was squeezing the phone so hard he thought he might crush it. Rick and Jason were watching him carefully. Nadia had disappeared back inside the control room.
“Why?”
“A cleansing of sorts. We needed to get the population down. Worldwide it was out of control. In the western hemisphere we’ve reduced the population by more than half. The Eastern hemisphere has been reduced by as much as ninety percent. Don’t worry, all the people necessary to build a new world order were well protected. It was all
necessary to accomplish what we set out to accomplish. Of course that’s not the end of it. There will still be some sorting out, different class groups will band together and fight each other, killing off more of the population, mostly undesirables. Others will die of starvation and lack of ambition or motivation. In the end those who are left will be perfect for the new beginning.”
“You are a mad man.”
“On the contrary, Douglas, I’m the sanest man on Earth.”
“Who else is involved in this mass murder project of yours?”
“Douglas, I told you a long time ago that I’m not in this alone. Think of it as a cabal of sorts. Those who wish to take mankind to the next step on the evolutionary ladder. I am in alliance with some of the most influential people on Earth; heads of state and their military might; financiers, captains of industry and technology, even scientists. This has been in the planning stages for longer than you’ve been alive. Now enough of the small talk. It is time to listen carefully. I have some specific demands.”
“You know I don’t react well to demands, Ed.”
“Oh, I’m well aware. I just want you to know that my people are in the process of decimating the fools who are lamely attempting to protect you. Mine is a force that you can never win against, so it’s futile to even try. Thank you for taking care of my daughter and granddaughter these past years. They will be taken from you shortly. You see, they are both quite important in my plan.”
“I told you a long time ago, Ariel will never do your dirty work.”
“Dirty, no, but I promise you that she and Annie will be in my custody very soon and you and those who are there with you will be dust in the wind.”
The phone clicked and De Roché was gone. Doug threw the phone across the cave where it contacted with the opposite wall and shattered.
“Jesus, Doug, what the hell was that about?” Jennings asked.
“That was Annie’s father.” Doug stopped, and tried to get his breathing in control. He was barely able to stand, barely able control his runaway emotions.
Jennings said, “Was he the one responsible for all this?”
Doug briefly relayed what De Roché had said ending with, “I need a moment alone with Annie.”
Doug left the circle and went to find his wife.
Jason went after him. “Doug, may I have a word with you in private?”
“Why?”
“I have something for Ariel.” Jason reached in his pocket and pulled out a small leather-bound book, handing it to Doug.
Doug eyed the book but did not take it. “I don’t have time for this.”
“I think it’s important,” Jason said.
“Why? What is it?”
“A book of poetry by Robert Browning. He was a 19th century British poet. Just before Spencer and his guys started shooting Ralph Little’s place up he gave it to me and said to make sure Ariel got it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Ralph said she’d know what to do with it. I figure since she’s your daughter you should be the one to decide whether she can have it or not.” Again Jason tried to give the book to Doug.
Doug frowned. “Listen, Jason, I don’t know any more about what’s going on here than you do. This is all so crazy. Since Ralph played such an important role in bringing you all together and then getting you here, maybe you should be the one to give it to her.”
Jason said, “You really think it makes a difference?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ralph told us that Ariel had been talking to him,” Jason said, “in much the same way she’d been talking to me and Danielle and Johnny. Now, out of the four of us Ralph is the only one who didn’t have an object. It seems to me he must have had something else she needed. She chose him and that place for us to meet up for a reason.”
“Obviously it was some sort of portal that allowed you to get here faster than you otherwise would have,” Doug said.
“Exactly,” Jason said, “but I think it was more than that. I think it has something to do with this book. Whatever it is isn’t obvious. I’m not even sure Ralph knew why. He was just following instruction. I leafed through it and nothing jumped out at me. It’s just an old book of poems.”
“I think we should ask Ariel,” Doug said.
CHAPTER 29
Ice Caves. Northern Maine Wilderness. July 6th.
They found Annie and Ariel in Ariel’s bedroom; they were avoiding the great room at the front of the cavern for obvious reasons. They were sitting on Ariel’s bed surrounded by rocks. Ariel was busy sorting the rocks and placing them in different patterns as though she were attempting to assemble a complex puzzle. In the distance came the sound of explosions and the unmistakable clatter of automatic weapon’s fire. Ariel winced with every report and Doug knew she was hurting, feeling for all the lives—human and animal—that were being slaughtered in her name.
“What are you doing, little one?” Doug asked.
“Assembling a puzzle,” Ariel replied. “But there are several pieces missing.”
When Jason handed Ariel the book of poetry, Ariel broke into a wide grin. “Thank you, Jason,” she said. “I knew you would bring it.”
“You knew it was coming?”
“Of course. Just I like I knew you were coming.”
“What is it for?” Doug asked his daughter, “And why did you ask Ralph to send it along?”
“It’s a missing piece of the puzzle,” Ariel replied.
“What puzzle, little one? I don’t understand.”
“The puzzle that tells me what I’m supposed to do.”
“You don’t know yet?”
“I know some, but I have to read Browning’s book before I can be sure how it all fits together.”
“How can a poetry book from the 19th century contain instructions for what a four year old, 21st century girl is supposed to do?”
Ariel sighed. “Time is not what we think it is, Papa.”
“How do you mean?”
“What we perceive as time is just the universe moving from a state of order to a state of disorder. It’s called entropy. It has to do with the second law of thermodynamics. In a relative universe, it means that all things occur simultaneously. Our perception of time as something that is continuously flowing is just an illusion.”
“I studied that in college,” Jason said. “It’s a hard concept to grasp.”
“No kidding,” Doug said. “Ariel, can you explain it so a novice like me might understand.”
Ariel sighed. “I’ll try. You see, Einstein spelled it all out in General Relativity, and later he expanded it with his Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory. Einstein found that space and time were interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. And that it was possible to fold space into a shortcut connecting two separate points in space-time. A wormhole, in theory, might be able to connect extremely far distances such as a billion light years or more, or short distances such as a few feet, even different universes, and different points in time. A wormhole is much like a tunnel with two ends, each at separate points in space-time. The ends are two dimensional, but the tunnel itself has three dimensions.” She looked up at Jason. “It’s how you and your friends got here.”
Jason was amazed that this tiny child could articulate such complexities. “You mean we came here through a wormhole?” he asked.
“Uh huh. A small one, but a wormhole nevertheless.”
“How did that happen? What made it open up?”
“Someone created an Einstein-Rosen Bridge.”
“Was it you, Ariel?” Annie asked.
Ariel shook her head. “No, not me.”
“Who created the Einstein-Rosen Bridge?” Doug asked, as he felt a touch of disquiet rise in him.
“Someone in the far distant future,” Ariel said.
“Why did this someone in the far distant future create an Einstein-Rosen bridge?”
“Because they’re trying to save the past. If they don’t save the
past, the future can’t happen.”
“What past are you talking about, Ariel?”
“I mean this past. This very moment in time. This moment in history. Someone is trying to destroy it.” As if to punctuate Ariel’s pronouncement, several large explosions shook the caverns. Dust filtered down from above. Ariel cowered. Annie took her in her arms and hugged her.
“You know what’s about to happen, don’t you, Ariel?” Doug said.
Annie looked up at Doug. “What’s about to happen, Doug?”
He pointed down at the floor. “She knows about what’s down there, and she knows that’s where she needs to be.”
“Wait a minute, Doug,” Annie said putting Ariel down. She stood and faced her husband, her eyes burning with rage. “What is down there? I don’t know because you’ve never invited me to go along on one of your little jaunts.”
“Ask Ariel,” Doug said. “She’s known since the day she was born.”
“But why does she have to go there?”
“Because it’s part of the plan. The only plan that can save mankind.”
Ariel burst suddenly into tears. “Do you trust me, Papa?”
“Yes, love, I do.” Doug felt the emotion rise in him now. “I trust you, and I love you, and I’m so very proud of you. I always will be, and I hope you will always remember that.”
“What’s going on?” Annie asked, looking now at Jason. “What are you people doing here?”
“I don’t know,” Jason said. “I swear I don’t.” But looking into the eyes of the child and remembering his dreams of late, and what the child had given him in that moment back in the Mississippi tobacco field, he felt he suddenly did know, and it terrified him to know.
“The book contains a code,” Ariel said as large, silver tears slid down her cheeks. Looking directly at Jason she said, “As soon as I’ve deciphered the code I’ll need all the objects the three of you brought and the one Eli has. I’ll also need Danny Wolf’s song. It’s the final piece of the puzzle and the only way to open the big portal. But we have to hurry. Time’s almost up.”
Annie’s voice rose as she said, “What is she talking about, Doug? What big portal?”
Song of Ariel: A Blue Light Thriller (Book 2) (Blue Light Series) Page 29
