Cursed Days

by J. M. LeDuc

  After a brief moment of awkward silence, Chloe joined the conversation, saying, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving, shall we go?”

  “Yes, let’s, I’ll have my car brought up front,” Maddie said.

  “Nonsense, my rental is right out front. I’ll drive,” Father Reilly said. “And please call me Timothy, I insist.”

  Smiling and making small talk, the three exited through the front doors.

  Father Reilly held the rear door of the SUV open for the ladies to enter, before taking his place in the driver’s seat. “I have been driving all morning,” he said. “I didn’t want to be late so I just dropped my things off at the hotel. Would you mind terribly if we ran by there so I could freshen up? I wouldn’t want to offend anyone.”

  Maddie looked over at Chloe who was seated beside her. Chloe just shrugged her shoulders. “That would be fine,” Maddie responded.

  In the hotel room, Father Reilly poured them each a glass of wine and told them that he would just be a few moments. Maddie and Chloe relaxed in the living area of the suite while their host went to freshen up.

  CHAPTER 41

  The next thing they remembered was hearing a voice unfamiliar to them. A voice with a heavy Irish brogue.

  “It’s time to wake up, ladies.”

  Maddie’s head was pounding as she opened her eyes. The bright light made her head hurt that much more and forced her to squint. It took her mere seconds to assess their situation. She was tied to a chair with a piece of duct tape covering her mouth. Chloe was in the same predicament sitting in a chair a few feet away from her.

  The girls lifted their heads and looked around the room as they heard footsteps coming closer. Father Reilly walking over to them, but he was no longer dressed like a priest. He was in combat fatigues and on the arm of his shirt was a patch which bore the insignia of the Brotherhood of Gaza.

  Pulling up a chair, he faced it backward and straddled it. Seated in front of them, he said, “My name is Red and I’m the head of an organization called the Brotherhood of Gaza. My friends here,” pointing to two men standing behind him, “are Caleb and Ira and there is nothing they would rather do than inflict pain upon both of you. If you do as you are told and speak when spoken to, that won’t happen.”

  Reaching forward, Red pulled the duct tape off of both girls. “As you can see, we are no longer in the hotel room and if you scream you will not be heard, so I suggest you keep your mouths shut unless you’re asked to speak. Is that understood?”

  Maddie and Chloe both nodded their response. “Excellent. Now shall we begin? As you both are aware, there is a search going on to find the Ark of the Covenant. I’m afraid your associates are going to be disappointed because I already have it in my possession. You both are also aware that it must be reunited with the other two arks in order for it to be opened and for its full power to be utilized. That’s where you come in.”

  Standing up, Red took a step forward so that he was only a couple of feet away from the girls. “The Brotherhood has come to discover that the SIA is in possession of the Ark of the Endowment and the Ark of the Enlightenment. I have come to take them off your hands. Any questions so far?”

  Red looked both women in the eye and saw that Maddie didn’t even react one iota to what he had said. Chloe on the other hand was breathing heavy and her eyes were dilated; she was showing signs of fear. This was the weakness he was looking for.

  Stepping closer to her, he reached out and touched her belly. “I see that you are with child, congratulations.” When Chloe felt his touch she attempted to jerk back away from it. “Come now,” Red said, “is that any way to treat an honored guest?” Sliding his hand up her torso, he ran his fingers up her neck and cupped her chin. With a firm squeeze, he said, “We wouldn’t want any harm to come to your child, would we?”

  Chloe shook her head as best she could. “I didn’t think so,” Red said. “So, it’s quite simple then, the two of you are going to tell me where the Arks are being stored and then we are going to retrieve them. If you do as you are told, no harm will come to either of you, or should I say, the three of you.” Smiling an evil smile, Red stepped back and retook his seat. “Who would like to go first?”

  Neither of the girls said a word. They just stared straight ahead. “If that’s the way you want to play it, I’ll choose,” Red said. Looking at Maddie, he saw that her expression had not changed. “I like a challenge, so I’ll begin with you, Madame Director.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Maddie said. “Colonel Venturi is the only one who knows where the Arks are kept. Without him here, we have no way of knowing where to look.”

  Looking in Chloe’s direction, Red said, “Is that true, Mrs. Venturi?”

  “Yes,” Chloe answered.

  “Then we have a predicament, don’t we,” Red said. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that I have to be sure.” Reaching behind him, he pulled something from his back pocket. Bringing his hand in front where the girls could see it, he said, “Do you know what this?”

  “It’s a stun gun,” Maddie answered.

  “Very good, then I can assume that you know what it can do. Since I’m not an animal, I do not wish to bring harm to the unborn child,” pointing the gun at Maddie, he continued, “so no matter whom I direct my questions to, if I don’t like the answer, you Madame Director will receive the punishment.” Red hesitated so the girls could understand the full complexion of what he was saying. “So, I’m going to ask you once again for the location of the Arks. Only this time, I want Chloe, is it alright if I call you Chloe—I mean we are old friends and all—to answer the question.”

  “I swear to you, we don’t know where they are,” Chloe stammered. “My husband is the only one who knows of their location.”

  Red’s face contorted as he continued to look at her. One side of his mouth rose up in a scowl and his eyes closed to a squint. “You seem so sincere, but I don’t believe you.” As he was speaking, he continued to look straight at Chloe, but aimed the military issue stun gun straight at Maddie. Without any hesitation, Red pulled the trigger.

  Maddie began to convulse as nine hundred thousand volts of electricity stormed through her body. Chloe screamed as she saw her best friend’s eyes roll into the back of her head and strange guttural noises began to emit from her clenched jaw. It took minutes for the convulsions to end. When they did, Maddie’s head fell forward and her eyes blankly stared at the floor.

  “She’s not breathing. Do something,” Chloe screamed.

  Reaching forward, Red grabbed Maddie by the hair and jerked her head up. Putting his fingers on her carotid artery, he felt for a pulse. It was weak, but there was a pulse. Letting go of her hair, her head again fell forward.

  “She’s alive,” Red said. “My colleagues and I are going to step out for a smoke and give her time to recover. When we return, I’ll ask you the question again.”

  As the three of them disappeared out the door, Chloe cried, “I swear to you, we don’t know where they are.”

  Stepping back inside the room, Red calmly said, “Then I suggest you figure it out before I get back.”

  With that said, he closed the door and the room went black.

  Twenty minutes later when Red and his crew re-entered the room, Maddie was alert enough to be sitting straight up and was able to focus on her captors.

  “So ladies, here we are again,” Red said as he retook his seat in front of them. “Have either of you had any revelations or maybe even a divine intervention while we were gone?”

  “I swear to you on the life of my unborn child, no one knows of their location except for Brent,” Chloe said. As Red reached for the gun once more, Chloe screamed, “I’d tell you if I knew. Do you think I’d watch you torture my best friend if I knew?”

  Red didn’t look up in her direction, but fondled the stun gun. With eerie ca
lm he spoke. “They say an individual can take three such shocks to their system before permanent brain damage is probable.” Aiming it once again he pulled the trigger. “That’s two.”

  Chloe screamed as she tried to pull herself free from the tape that bound her, only to have it cut into her arms and wrists. She continued to scream as she watched Maddie convulse and begin to foam at the mouth.

  “I’ll see you rot in hell for this,” she screamed as Red shut off the lights and walked out the door.

  CHAPTER 42

  Nearing the end of the tunnel, Brent and Seven could hear Bishop Jessup and Alana having a heated discussion. Quickly descending the wall, they approached the two. “Hey,” Brent said. Getting no response, his intonation became authoritative. “What seems to be the problem? We leave the two of you alone and you’re at each other’s throats.”

  Alana snapped her neck around and stared at Brent with a steely gaze. “There is no problem, I was just telling this pig to keep his thoughts to himself.”

  “Bishop, would you care to clarify,” Brent said.

  “I was just telling Alana that I thought she was getting a little too familiar with you and that she should remember that you are both married.”

  Hearing this, Brent’s expression turned to anger. “Oh, is that all.” He grabbed the Bishop by the arm and he pulled him to the side. “If I were you, Bishop, I would worry more about getting the hell out of here alive, than preaching a sermon that doesn’t need preaching.” Brent let go of his arm and walked back toward the others.

  “I just. . . ”

  Brent stopped, and turned to face the Bishop and yelled, “Don’t you just—in fact, don’t do or think at all unless you’re asked to—that’s an order.”

  Alana and Seven could see that this was not the time to say anything about what just took place, so both smartly kept their mouths shut as Brent stood next to them. Lowering the amplitude of his voice but not the tone, he said, “Have you had any luck in figuring out how to get through the wall?”

  “Not entirely, I was. . . ”

  “Then I suggest you get back to work. If you can’t figure it out within the hour, I’m blasting our way through,” Brent said.

  “That’s suicide! You can’t just. . . ”

  “If you aren’t ready to die, I suggest you stop talking and start figuring,” Brent said. Exasperated, he walked as far away from the others as he could. Bishop Jessup joined Seven and Alana. “What was that all about?” he whispered.

  “That was about regaining control over a situation that was out of control,” Seven said. “Oh, and in the future, don’t bother whispering, he can still hear you.”

  Seven watched as Brent dropped down into a squatting position and went deep into prayerful meditative thought.

  Hours past as Alana continued to mathematically figure out the stress points of each stone as it compared to those around it. Every once in a while she would emit a frustrating sigh and tear up or crumple another piece of paper. It was late in the night when Brent finally rose from his position and walked back to the group. By then, Alana had joined the others. They were seated around a fire, drinking coffee when he approached them.

  Brent pulled his hair back away from his face. “I want to apologize for my earlier outburst.” He looked at the faces of Bishop Jessup and Alana—his friends. “It was uncalled for and rude. I hope both of you will accept my apology?”

  “You don’t need to apologize, our friendship runs a lot deeper than that,” Bishop Jessup said.

  Alana looked into his eyes. “The same applies for me.”

  Brent nodded his thanks and took the cup of coffee that Seven was holding. “I hope this is a little better than the swill you tried to feed me this morning.”

  “Don’t waste your wishes, it’s pretty bad,” Seven said.

  Brent looked at the others for some sort of hope, but all he got was Alana saying, “Come and join in our agony.”

  The Bishop and Seven emitted a hardy laugh.

  Brent took his place around the fire, sipped the bitter brew and eyed his friends, trying to get a read on the situation. Looking at Alana, he asked, “Have you come to any conclusions concerning the wall?”

  She was tentative in giving her answer. “Just spit it out,” Brent said. “Any news, good or bad, is better than no news at all.”

  Unraveling a large piece of paper which contained a replica of the wall, brick for brick, she said, “There is one possible solution.” She pointed to a stone about three quarters the way up the wall. “That stone is our best chance. It has the least amount of weight and stress distributed across it, but it is still not that stable. If we are successful in removing it from the wall, we will have a very short time to pass through the opening before the rest of the wall comes tumbling down.”

  “How much time?” Brent said.

  “It’s impossible to say.”

  “Give me your most accurate guess.”

  “That’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it?”

  “Humor me,” Brent replied.

  “If I had to guess, and it would be only a guess, I would say that we would have a maximum of three minutes to clear the opening and get a safe distance away from the falling debris.” Shaking her head, she added, “It’s just not enough time, it’s too risky.”

  “Do you see any alternatives?” Seven piped in.

  “We could turn around and forget a fool’s mission,” Alana said.

  “Not an option,” Brent stood and moved over to the wall.

  Everyone turned and saw Brent running his hands over the stones. He was deep in thought when Seven walked up next to him. “What’s on your mind, Colonel?”

  Bent closed his eyes and continued to palm the wall when he began to speak. “Chances are The Brotherhood has followed us here. Even though they think they have the true Ark of the Covenant, they’re not the type to put all their eggs in one basket. They’re not foolish enough to try to follow us into the cavern, but from all the research that’s been done in the past, they think we would eventually find ourselves in the exact spot we’re in right now. Logic tells them that we will have to retrace our steps and return to the entrance of the cave. They’ll be waiting for us there. We have no choice but to move forward.”

  “I understand your logic, but what’s up with all the rubbing?”

  Brent opened his eyes and moved back to the wall they had descended earlier. “Feel this wall. At this depth, the air is cold and damp. You can feel the cool moisture on the wall. If you go back to the other wall, you’ll notice that it’s dry and warmer. That tells me that the area on the other side of that wall is climate controlled.”

  At this point, the entire team had gathered around Brent. “Whether anyone knows it or not, whatever is on the other side of that wall has an air source coming from the Dome of the Rock.”

  Alana ran to the first wall and felt the moisture, and then she rushed over to the dividing wall and felt it. “I can’t believe I missed it. It’s archeology 101.”

  “I wouldn’t have figured it out either if my pants hadn’t gotten wet when I slid down the wall to separate you and the Bishop. So, if you think about it, you were the one who discovered it,” Brent said.

  Eyeing the others, he continued, “This discovery doesn’t change the fact that we have a problem in getting to the other side. We can’t blast it for obvious reasons and we can’t remove the stone that Alana is talking about, because the four of us wouldn’t have enough time to climb down the other side and clear the area before it all came down on top of us.”

  The Bishop knew that Brent was talking about him, even though he didn’t come out and say so.

  “I’m the one that will have the most trouble clearing the area,” Bishop Jessup said. “You’ll have a greater chance of making it if I don’t go with you. I can retrace our steps and wait for you at the entr
ance of the cave.”

  Brent slapped him on the back. “Thanks for the offer, but the truth is, three minutes doesn’t give any of us enough time to clear the area. Besides, the fact is, if the wall does come down, we’ll have given ourselves away and we won’t make it out of the Dome alive.”

  Seven smiled, spit and looked at his best friend. “You have a plan, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. If we can’t go over it and we can’t go through it then there is only one other choice. . .”

  “You expect us to go under it?” Alana said.

  “I do, and I don’t want any archeological reasons why we can’t. You have figured out every load on every stone on that wall. Just tell me which area on the bottom will hold the most stress if we dig under it.”

  Nervously flipping through the stack of scrap papers, she mumbled, “That’s not what I was calculating, I’ll have to start all over. I’ll. . . ”

  “Alana,” Brent said. “Put the papers down and look at the wall. This is no time for certainties, it’s time for intuition. Which stone would you dig under if you only had seconds to decide?”

  “It’s not that easy, I don’t have enough informa. . . ”

  “Alana, give me your answer, now. Look at the wall and point.”

  She looked at Brent and saw the confidence in his eyes. A look she had never seen from her father, husband or any man. Seeing that he believed in her, she turned and walked toward the wall. “Here, I would dig here.”

  “Then that’s where we dig.”

  “But what if I’m wrong, what if my decision causes the wall to collapse, what if somebody. . . ”

  “Faith, Alana, this is all about faith. This whole mission has been about faith and we are not going to stop relying on it now. Is that the stone that you believe we need to dig under?”

  “Yes, but. . . ”

  “There are no buts,” Brent said. She was visibly shaking. He took her head in his hands and looked her in the eyes. “We believe in your judgment, that’s all that matters right now.” Stepping away from her, Brent faced the other two. “Let’s get the pick axes and shovels out of the packs and start digging. Keep the hole narrow. Just wide enough for us to squeeze through.”