“Harry, there’s some alien force at work here. Think about it. Suddenly there’s lightning in a blue sky and this man appears in the spot where the lightning struck. Don’t you find that a little strange?” Beth said. “And how did we suddenly get here? I never believed in supernatural forces, but this is all too out-of-this-world.”
“If this even is our world,” Harry said. “You might be right.”
“Harry, can you forgive me?” Dennis asked. “Where is Megan? I want to apologize to her.”
“I’d love to know where Megan is and I doubt she can ever forgive you. I know I can’t.”
Dennis hung his head. “I can’t undo what happened, but I’ll do anything, anything at all for her.”
Beth took charge. “Well, we can’t stand here arguing. We need to keep going. Come on, Harry. I guess Dennis will have to tag along with us.”
Harry agreed, although with a reluctance that clearly showed. “We don’t know where we are, Dennis. There’s no water in sight. This is Beth and we’re both suffering dehydration.” He turned and headed back for the path without another word and plodded on in silence, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts on how one of his victims had fallen from the blue sky, alive and apparently well. He glanced back and for the first time it sank in that Dennis was bare chested and there was no scar on his chest. Okay, I’m insane. We’re all insane and in a mental institution. Beth had moved ahead of him and was at least twenty feet in front when she suddenly stopped.
“What’s up, Beth? Did you find something?”
“Yeah. Unless I’m imagining it, there are people down there.”
Harry hurried to join her at the edge of a cliff, a sheer drop to a beach and lake below. He spotted small figures far down below. “People. And water. Tons of it.”
“How do we get down there?” Dennis asked.
“Bit far to jump,” Beth said.
“Wait. I see ropes hanging down a bit further along,” Harry said, and hurried to the ropes. He tugged on one of them. It was fastened with a strong branch in the soil and it seemed sturdy enough. It was a rope made from vines. “I’ll go first to test it. There are quite a few, actually.”
“They must be strong enough. Obviously those people down below made them and use them,” Beth said, and promptly grabbed a rope and started down the cliff.
Harry did the same. He saw from the corner of his eye that Dennis was lowering himself, but he didn’t care at this point what the man did. All he could think about was water.
Chapter Twelve
On the beach…
Cassie noticed suddenly that Georgia was gone. “Damn. She took off by herself.” Quickly, she started looking for her. When she didn’t see her among the people, she hurried to the stream. There was no sign of her there, either. She knew Georgia wouldn’t have climbed the ropes. She left that part for the younger generation. “Georgia, where are you? Georgia!” She knew Georgia wouldn’t go very far by herself. Like others among them, it looked like Georgia has disappeared.
Jonas waded out of the lake when he saw her waving frantically. “What’s the matter?”
“Georgia is gone. I can’t find her anywhere.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Geez, Jonas, not her. She and I have grown so close.” Tears threatened but she fought them.
“Don’t say anything to the others just yet. Maybe she’s just wandered farther than usual and she’ll show up.”
“I don’t think so. I know her well enough by now,” Cassie said in a defeated tone.
Shouts alerted them. People were running toward the cliff. Cassie looked up and saw three people descending on the ropes. “Jonas, look!”
“I see them. Wonder where they came from.”
“Maybe they landed the same time as us but in a different area.”
“That’s possible I guess. Let’s go and find out.”
They quickly joined the people at the base of the cliff, Jonas still carrying his net filled with fish. “That’s Megan’s father,” Cassie said, pointing to one of the climbers. “I don’t know the woman or the other man.”
The two men and woman landed on the beach and turned to face them. Jonas made his way through the crowd and stood before them. “What can I say, except welcome to our camp,” he said. “My name is Jonas. I know you’re Megan’s father. But who are you two? Where did you come from? Were you in the nightclub, too?”
“My name’s Beth Davis. I don’t know anything about a nightclub. I’m from the Gehenna Goldmine, same as Harry here. Didn’t you say you were in a club before you came to the mine, Harry?”
Harry nodded. “Yes. I remember you, Jonas, and you, Cassie. You’re Megan’s new friend. Is she here? Georgia?”
Cassie saw the hope on Harry’s face and felt her heart sinking. “Georgia was here up until a few hours ago. She seems to have disappeared. Megan was never here. I’m sorry. And you are?” she asked, looking at Dennis.
“My name is Dennis McCade. I worked in some kind of coal pit, shoveling coal into a blazing furnace. Before that, I lived in the same town as Harry.”
“I’m completely sure now this is the doing of aliens. First a man arrives who saw monsters and was then thrown in a dungeon and manacled, and now the three of you claiming to have come from some mine. What were you doing there? Any idea how you got there?” Jonas asked.
“Before we tell our story, can we have something to drink?”
“I’m so sorry. Your lips are all cracked. You’re dehydrated. Come with me,” Cassie said and led them to their camping spot. Several of the men had carved makeshift mugs and bowls out of wood. They’d also found large shells that served well for drinking. She handed them each a shell filled with water and cut up fruit in three bowls.
They waited for the three to drink and eat the fruit, the people gathered about, sitting on the sand, waiting for their story. Cassie could see how tired they were, but the need to know was great.
Beth told her story first, the car accident, her arrival in the mine, what it was like and how long she’d been there.
“How can you still look so young?” Cassie asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe because I haven’t seen sunlight in all these years? Watch me age in a hurry now.”
“Georgia? You said she disappeared? Was she okay? She didn’t get hurt in the explosion?” Harry asked.
“Georgia was here this morning. We had breakfast together. No, she wasn’t hurt. She missed you and her children of course, but she was fine. I just noticed her missing before we spotted you climbing down the cliff. I’ve looked everywhere, but she’s gone. It’s not the first time people have disappeared. It’s happened steadily since we’ve been here.”
“So the two of you came from the mine, the mine caved in and you woke up here,” Jason said. “What about you, Dennis?”
“The last I remember was that I stood trial for a crime I committed, a bad crime. I raped a young girl. Something I’ll regret to my dying day and wish I could undo. I don’t remember the sentencing. It’s like there’s a gap in my memory from the trial to waking up in the coal mine. Today, there was a thundering noise and lightning. It felt like something picked me up and I passed out to wake up in a grass field. That’s where Harry and Beth found me.”
“The lightning! That’s what burned the two guys to a crisp and then they disappeared!” Russell yelled.
“Okay, so there’s a pattern emerging. I don’t know what games these aliens are playing, but games they are, and I don’t like it,” Cassie said.
“It seems they’re transporting people from one place to another using different methods. Marlene disappeared into thin air. Georgia is suddenly gone and some others have vanished. Dennis experienced the lightning and thunder, Harry and Beth were buried in the mine cave in, several others were burned to a crisp with the lightning, their charred bodies disappearing, yet some of you have appeared again in a different place. So maybe the ones that have suddenly vanished haven’t gone at all. Perhaps th
ey’re somewhere else on this godforsaken planet,” Jonas concluded.
“I saw a red mist before I passed out,” Azim joined the conversation.
“And what happened just before you saw the red mist, Azim?” Cassie asked.
“It’s not something I really want to talk about. I’d rather forget what happened before.”
“But those of you that landed in a different place first, before ending up here with us, if you can all recall what you were doing just before were transported here, what you were thinking, talking about, maybe we can figure out how these aliens are getting their jollies.”
“Cassie, that’s a bit farfetched,” Jonas said.
“I don’t mind talking about it,” Dennis said. “For years, every day and night, I could think of nothing else but what I’d done to Harry’s daughter. The longer I was there, the more I realized what kind of a heel I was to my wife, my children, because one crazy evening when I was pissed out of my mind, I raped a young girl, Harry’s daughter. Drunkenness is no excuse. There is absolutely no justification for what I did and it’s something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Jonas nodded thoughtfully. “So you had an epiphany.”
“I guess you could call it that.”
“What about the rest of you? Anything you want to share?” Jonas asked.
Harry shifted awkwardly, then started to talk. “I killed three men, the bastards that raped my daughter. Dennis was one of them. She was only thirteen at the time and my rage knew no boundary. I buried them and no one ever knew. They were listed as missing. I’ve lived with it for six years and tried to justify it in my mind, telling myself they deserved it, but I know I did wrong. I started to regret shooting them and it burned a hole in my soul. I should have let justice deal with them. I was telling Beth about it when the mine caved in. What I don’t understand is how Dennis lived.”
“So another epiphany. Do you all see a pattern here?” Jonas looked at Beth. “Anything you want to share, Beth?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not ready for that,” she said softly. “But you might say I had an epiphany as well.”
“So they can hear us, read our minds maybe,” Cassie said.
Jonas looked at Azim. “What about you?”
“Yeah, I guess so, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Azim said.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Why don’t you three go and get cleaned up. The water is quite warm. When you’re done, some of us will help you set up a little campsite for each of you. It’s getting close to dinner. Azim, we caught a lot of fish. Can you help clean them and distribute them?”
Azim’s dilemna…
Azim left the group and wandered to the fish-filled nets. While he was gutting and cleaning the fish, his mind focused on what he’d just heard. How could he ever share what he’d done? How could he share what had happened just before he’d landed here? Most of these people had been in the club. How they could all be here and in one piece, how he himself could be in one piece, was still a mystery because he’d had so many explosives strapped around his body, there shouldn’t have been anything left of him. Unless the common conclusion that aliens were behind it all was true and they’d snatched everyone just in time? But that didn’t make sense either because many of the people talked about the explosion, the horror and panic, the fire.
I can’t tell them I was the bomber. They’ll kill me. Except for the two new people, every single person was in the nightclub that night.
He thought about Izzy. Could she be alive somewhere on this planet? She was so naïve, such a good woman, she wouldn’t have ended up in mines or dungeons, surely. Hope flared in his heart. If she’s alive I’ll find her. No one ever talked about leaving the lake. Tomorrow I’ll bring up the subject of building a raft. If we can get to the distant mountains, who knows what lies on the other side of them. If this is an alien world, then surely the aliens must have cities…
Chapter Thirteen
Building of transition…
“Dinner is served now in hall ten. Please follow the blue line,” a soft melodious voice echoed through the room.
Georgia looked up at the ceiling, the walls, but saw no speakers. She stood, wondering how to exit, when a door slid open to reveal a brightly lit hallway. The white floor had lines on it in different colors. Blue, red, yellow, green, orange and pink. She followed the blue line. Other people, women wearing gowns like her own in different pastel shades, and men wearing pants and a tunic, also in pastel colors followed their color line. Eventually, there was one line left, the blue one. She noticed all the people walking down the hallway with her wore blue.
The line led into a large room that resembled a restaurant. She stopped for a moment to gaze at it. Large round white tables suspended from the ceiling were set with beautiful crystal dinnerware and silver cutlery. She counted twelve chairs around each table. Foreign looking plants decorated the room, and marble statues and beautiful pastel paintings decorated the ceiling and walls. Crystal chandeliers sent a soft glow throughout. When she entered, a woman in a white gown approached her.
“Georgia Leigh?”
“Yes.”
“You’re at table number four. Let me show you the way,” the woman said.
“Thank you.” Georgia was too overwhelmed to say anything else or to ask questions. The splendor was almost overpowering, the jump from a beach with no clothes, no bed, no food except fish, fruit and nuts, to this, was unimaginable.
“This is your chair,” the woman said. “Please introduce yourself.”
Georgia sat on the white chair that had no legs. She was beyond wondering how it could just stay put, but it did. She gazed at the other people at the table. Five men and six women. They introduced themselves. They were of various ages. The last one to introduce herself seemed quite young and she sat next to Georgia.
“My name is Izzy.”
“Hi, everyone. I’m Georgia Leigh.”
Soft conversation started and following their example, Georgia unfolded her napkin and put it on her lap. “Izzy, you look familiar,” she said to the pretty girl who almost resembled a Grecian goddess with her long black hair and ivory skin.
“I’ve never met you, Georgia. At least I don’t think I have. I lived in New York before I came here.”
“Do you remember how you got here, Izzy?” Georgia asked softly so the others wouldn’t hear.
“No. I was at a nightclub with my boyfriend, Azim. We were dancing, then suddenly I woke up here. It’s very strange, and I don’t know where Azim is. I miss him so much.”
“You were at Crimson Lights?”
“Yes. How do you know—“
“I was there, too, with my husband, my daughter, her fiancé and their friends. There was an explosion, fire, and I woke up in a field of grass. I don’t know where my husband and daughter are, or most of their friends, and now I don’t know how I got here. I was sitting on a rock near a stream and now I’m here. Jonas thinks we’re on an alien planet.”
“Who is Jonas?”
“He was one of the people celebrating my daughter’s birthday. The people chose him as their leader.”
“That’s strange. I have thought the same thing. We were abducted by aliens. But now you tell me there was an explosion?”
“Yes. It was horrible.”
“But I was in the nightclub and I didn’t see any explosion or fire. I don’t know anything except that I was in Azim’s arms.”
“How old are you, Izzy? Is that your full name?”
“No, it’s Isabella. I’m twenty-two. Azim is twenty-five. Here is the first course. The food here is heavenly.”
“Well, I’ll call you Isabella from now on. It’s such a lovely name.”
Georgia looked at the steaming bowl placed before her. It looked like a creamed soup and its aroma teased her nostrils even if she didn’t feel hungry. Picking up the soupspoon, she tasted it and realized she suddenly had an appetite. Having lived on fish, fruit and nuts for
so long, she found the soup was the best she’d ever had in her life.
Isabella hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the food was heavenly. Georgia ate everything and after dessert, she thought for sure she’d burst. Thinking about the group she’d left behind she almost felt like wrapping up some scraps left on plates. She felt guilty at enjoying a feast while her friends only had fish, fruit and nuts.
“I’m so worried where Azim might be,” Isabella said. “I don’t understand why I’m here and he’s not.”
“Maybe the aliens didn’t want him?”
“I guess that’s possible. But I don’t want to live without him. We want to get married, you know. His mother doesn’t like me. His whole family is against us getting married. We’ve talked about running away.”
“Different religions?”
“Yes, and different cultures. But we don’t care. We’re in love and we’re meant to be together.”
“What does your Azim do for a living?”
“He’s a computer programmer. I’m a nurse.”
“And what is your ethnic background?”
“My parents are Italian. Azim’s parents are from Afghanistan, but his father died when he was very young.”
“Ah, I see. I suppose you both consider yourself Americans?”
“Yes, of course.”
Georgia thoughtfully stirred her tea. A bomb, a young man from Afghanistan, a troubled family, and she wondered. “Did Azim have many friends from his country?”
“Yes, he did. He and his cousins all belonged to a club. He went there once a week.”
“Really? And you didn’t go with him?”
“No. Azim said I’d feel out of place.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Trying to piece together the fragments of information stored in her mind, Georgia wondered if Azim could have had anything to do with the bomb. If he did, Isabella knew nothing. She was sure of it. And if this was all a big setup by aliens, obviously the explosion never happened. It was just an illusion created by them before they were transported to this world.
Deadly Passion, an Epiphany Page 11
