Emergence (The Infernal Guard Book 1)

by SGD Singh

  Turning to him, Lexi fixed her sunglasses with her middle finger. Then revving her bike once, she sped through the gates. Nidhan hurried to keep up with her as she wound her way through traffic and they reached the dump in fifteen minutes.

  “Uh… Asha?” said Lexi, getting off of her bike and slowly removing her sunglasses. “You know how I promised I wouldn't complain? Well… what the unholy fuck is that smell?!”

  Asha took a deep breath and noticed they winced. She shrugged. “Cardamom and cloves?”

  Nidhan snorted, then coughed. “No. Not cardamom and cloves. It smells more like… like—”

  “I'll tell you what it smells like,” said Lexi, covering her nose. “It smells like a steaming pile of rotting garbage which the man with the worst personal hygiene on the planet is now decomposing on after vomiting and shitting himself to death.”

  “And burning plastic.”

  “Yeah. That too. I think I might need to vomit myself.”

  “Please stop saying vomit,” Nidhan said, gagging. “If anyone says… that one more time, I'm—”

  Asha stared at them. They didn't look like they were kidding. Looking around at the putrid surroundings, it did seem strange that all she smelled was spices. “All I smell is carda—”

  “If anyone says cardamom and cloves one more time, I'm going to—”

  “Let me share that duppata, Lexi.” Nidhan grabbed one end of her scarf and covered his nose. “I feel like I'm dying.”

  Two boys burst out of the hovel. One of them was the handsome boy in sunglasses they met the last time. The other was a tall, round boy whose thick, shaggy hair had a bright blonde streak down one side. They saw Asha and stopped short. Then they looked at Nidhan and Lexi holding the cloth to their noses and burst out laughing, giving each other a high five.

  “Yael really outdid himself this time,” said the one with the blonde streak. Then he looked at Asha and pointed, saying, “Cardamom and cloves?” He held his hand out to the boy in sunglasses who, scowling, reached into his pocket.

  “Oh, no he didn't,” said Lexi.

  Asha walked forward. “Uh… we were told to come here? I'm Asha—”

  “We know who you are.” The boy smiled, his dark eyes sparkling, and offered her his hand. “I'm Ursala Mehta. This here is Himat Pradhan.” He looked at Nidhan and Lexi and laughed again. “Himat, go ahead, I'll catch up.” He turned back to Asha. “Follow me.”

  Himat gave them a lazy two-finger salute. His hidden eyes seemed to linger on Lexi as he sneered and left. Lexi glared after him, lowering her scarf.

  They followed Ursala through mud to the slimy-looking entrance of the hut. Pushing a flap of black plastic aside, he disappeared. “Well?” they heard him call. “You guys coming, or what?”

  They looked at each other for a second, then Lexi motioned Asha forward with a tilt of her head. As Asha moved forward, Nidhan held his arm out and went past her, pushing the plastic away from himself and disappearing inside. The next second, they heard him say, “Okay, you guys have to see this.”

  Lexi and Asha stepped forward at the same time and tumbled through the plastic.

  And gasped at the sight in front of them.

  The putrefying dump had vanished. They were standing not on a mountain of trash, but on top of an emerald green hill at the edge of a forest. Birds sang and squirrels disappeared into bushes under the tangled shade of umbrella-like pahari kikar trees.

  They followed Ursala down a narrow dirt path, to the edge of a circular, strangely turquoise lake.

  And stopped short, staring in silent awe.

  It was the most breathtaking sight Asha had ever seen. Rising out of the center of the lake was a colossal fort wall made of blackened stone and covered in vines, standing proud with majestic, impenetrable beauty. Narrow openings along its arched ramparts seemed to watch them across the water. What looked like the ruins of an ancient temple peeked out from its center, as if beckoning Asha home. A stone bridge, green with velvety moss, was apparently the only way to reach the fort. It ended at a massive elephant door, enormous rusting spikes visible from across the water.

  The tangle of kikar trees covered the sloping ground, and surrounded the fort on all sides, their bright green leaves standing out against thorny black branches. Rising above them, neem and banyan trees had been allowed to thrive undisturbed. Wind blew the turquoise water in gentle ripples toward the fort wall, rustling the leaves in the trees and flowering overgrown shrubs.

  Asha felt transported back in time to what the whole country must have looked like hundreds of years ago.

  Nidhan was turning in circles, open-mouthed. “Wh… How did you do that? Where's the—”

  “It's not me, man.” Ursala laughed. “It's Afzal. Well, Yael is responsible for the smell.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Nidhan and Lexi and turned down another path toward the stone bridge. “This way, guys. Mom!”

  A tall woman with silver-white hair in a thick braid reaching all the way to her knees appeared to be in deep conversation with the skinniest man Asha had ever seen under the shade of a banyan tree the size of a house, its roots hanging like enormous dreadlocks. “Mom!” Ursala said louder. “Can you open the gate? Asha's here.”

  The white-haired woman glanced at Asha, mumbled something to the skinny man, and approached them with a warm smile. As she grew closer, Asha was surprised at how young she looked. Thirty, maybe thirty-five?

  “Welcome Asha,” she said. “And you must be Nidhan? And Lexi.” She appraised them with large, heavily-lashed eyes. “Afzal is waiting for you.” She pointed one ringed hand. “Just go down that walkway, then it's the first door on your right. Big brass door, you can't miss it.”

  As she talked, she placed her fist against a brick in one of the twin pillars leading to the bridge, as if she were punching it. There was a sound like rough stones scraping against each other, and Nidhan jumped back as steps appeared through rippling, weedy grass leading down to the water. The woman walked back to the skinny man and resumed their conversation.

  Ursala smiled at them and shook his blonde-streaked hair out of his eyes. “See you guys around,” he said before jogging back up the dirt path and disappearing through the trees.

  Asha, Nidhan, and Lexi looked at the steps. Nidhan tested one with one toe and Lexi reached for the carving in the pillar.

  Asha grabbed them each by an arm and started pulling them down the stairs with her. “Come on, you guys. What if those stairs disappear or something?”

  They glanced uneasily at each other, but let Asha drag them across the stone bridge and under a carved arch that looked ancient. The elephant door stood open. Nidhan reached out to the sharp spikes, and Asha slapped his hand.

  “Tetanus? Hello?” she hissed.

  No one spoke as they passed through the doors and turned right, walking along a deserted veranda, their steps echoing on smooth stone the color of butter. The inside of the fort was no less breathtaking than the outside, and Asha looked to her left at what had to be the largest indoor kitchen garden in the world. Under an amazing feat of man-made glass artistry, the greenhouse stretched at least two acres.

  They reached the brass door and studied the intricate, shimmering animals and birds.

  “Do we just knock?” Asha whispered.

  Nidhan and Lexi both shrugged.

  The doors opened a second later, and a tall, fat man beamed at them.

  “Welcome, Asha! Nidhan! Lexi!” he said. “Afzal is waiting for you. Just right through here.” He waved them in and led them through what looked like a conference room. He opened another door, motioning them inside, and closed it quietly behind them.

  The entire room was decorated in carved wood. Arched panels covered the walls and ceiling, depicting entire forest scenes in beautiful detail. The smell was wonderful, like sandalwood and oak in the sun. Asha was studying the craftsmanship of the carved birds and trees in awe when someone cleared his throat. She, Nidhan, and Lexi all jumped, stood straighter, and turned
to face the carved wooden desk.

  The ancient man who'd spoken to Asha and Nidhan on their first visit to the dump, sat behind it, reading.

  After a few silent minutes, he put down the paper he was holding, picked up another, and began reading again. Asha started to wonder whether he'd noticed they were there at all when he looked up and fixed her with piercing eyes. He nodded almost imperceptibly at the carved chairs in front of his desk, and the three of them hurried to sit down.

  And again waited in silence while he continued to read.

  Three more long minutes passed.

  “So.” He brought the papers down with a slap, and they all jumped. “Asha Sandhu. Nidhan Sandhu. And Miss Lexi Hewitt.” He crossed his arms. “Do you know why you're here?”

  Nidhan and Lexi looked down at their hands.

  “Uh… no, sir,” said Asha.

  He smiled. “Call me Afzal.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed, studying the three of them intently.

  A crow cawed outside.

  Leaning forward on his desk, Afzal said, “In our lives, there are certain… decisions we make. Crossroads we come to. The three of you have right now, at this very moment, reached the most important crossroad of your lives.” He held out a hand. “Take one path—peaceful ignorance. Perhaps fortune. Normal jobs, a house, family. Vacations, even. But something will always be… missing. A feeling of incompleteness.” He paused and held out his other hand. “Take the other path—almost constant struggle. Certain pain. Knowledge that requires great courage. The strength to sacrifice… everything. But also fulfillment. Contentment. True happiness.”

  Afzal clapped his hands together, making them jump again, and laughed softly to himself. Reaching for a glass, he drank, and they waited for him to continue. “You each have to decide for yourselves. The fact that you were raised innocent of who you are and still found your way here means… well. You're certainly not normal. Still. Everyone must choose. Each person has a right to decide for themselves what course their lives will take.”

  “Sir,” Asha said. “I still don't understand what…”

  “What you're talking about,” Lexi finished, and Nidhan widened his eyes at her.

  Afzal smiled. “What if I told you that our world is much more, shall we say, complex than most people realize? That there are things worse than the most terrifying nightmares roaming the earth? Would you rather not know? Would you rather get an education that helps you acquire a job, raise a family, grow old, and die in blissful ignorance?” He paused, looking at each of them in turn. “Or would you rather join in a fight that would drive normal people insane with terror?”

  The three of them looked at him in silence.

  Nidhan finally asked, “What is it that you do, exactly?”

  “You're not… terrorists, are you?” Lexi said.

  Asha kicked her under the table.

  “What?” Lexi mouthed.

  Afzal sat quietly, looking at the papers on his desk again as if he had forgotten they were there, while Asha glared at Nidhan and Lexi. Then he looked up, fixing them with piercing, black eyes.

  “What have you heard of The Fourteen Worlds?” he said, leaning back in his chair.

  They looked at each other, and Nidhan brightened. “It's mentioned in the Sikh scripture multiple times, like, lok chatrdas jot prakasi. To The Fourteen Worlds, God has given His light… uh, I don't really know what that means.” He shrugged and turned Asha.

  Asha turned to Lexi, who was scowling with concentration.

  “Oh!” Lexi raised her hand like she was in class. “The fourteen worlds of Hindu mythology.”

  “Go on…” Afzal closed his eyes and seemed to be falling asleep. Asha gestured impatiently and Lexi cleared her throat.

  “Okay. Our professor taught last spring in Religious Philosophies class,” she nodded at Asha, pointing, “that according to Hindu mythology, which dates back more than five thousand years—”

  Asha cleared her throat. “The exact beginnings of Hinduism cannot be properly determined, as even the word Hinduism is applied to many philosophical traditions native to India—”

  “Okay. Am I answering the question, or are you?” Lexi hissed.

  “Well, get your facts straight if—” Asha whispered back, as if Afzal couldn't hear with his eyes closed.

  “He asked about the fourteen worlds, Asha. I don't think facts really enter into it.”

  Afzal laughed and they fell silent, turning to him.

  He said, “Continue, please.”

  Lexi gave Asha a stern look and said, “According to Hindu mythology, there are fourteen worlds. Seven upper worlds, or Lokas, and seven lower worlds, or Talas.”

  Asha said, “Bhu, Bhuras, Svar, Janas—”

  “Mahas!”

  “Oh yeah. Mahas, Janas, Tapas, Satya,” Asha counted on her hands. “And the lower worlds. Atala, Vitala, Sutala, … uh… something talalala…”

  Nidhan was watching them wide-eyed, and Asha could see him realizing he would, in fact, not have enjoyed homeschool.

  Lexi finished matter-of-factly, “Rasatala, Talatala, Mahatala, and Patala.”

  No one spoke as they waited for Afzal.

  “And what do you think that means?” he finally asked, without opening his eyes.

  Lexi looked at Asha and shrugged and Nidhan elbowed her in the arm and pointed at Afzal.

  “Okay!” Asha whispered. “Um… some believe the fourteen worlds are like heaven and hell. Like levels of heavens and hells? That our world is the seventh… that's… Satya. For the samsara, the cycle of rebirth. And karma, the universal law of cause and effect.” She searched the ceiling for answers, wishing she'd paid more attention in class. “Also, our professor said some believe they coincide with the, uh… seven chakras, or energy… centers in the human body, the good and bad… no, positive and negative aspects of…” Afzal had opened his eyes and raised one eyebrow at her.

  Lexi said, “Some believe the worlds mean planets. Although why there would be only fourteen makes no sense. Maybe they believe in some kind of advanced alien life forms?”

  Afzal's eyebrow made its way further toward his white hairline. “And what do you think?” he said.

  Nidhan said, “Well, it has to really be something, right? I mean, if it says…”

  Afzal stared at Asha for a long minute.

  “Multiple… dimensions?” Asha said finally.

  Afzal smiled and leaned forward on his desk. “Every living thing in our world feels it. The unseen. The unknown. We feel it, but we close our minds to it. Numb ourselves with innumerable things. Once your mind is opened to the full reality of our world, it's very hard to turn back to… normal. That is what each of you must decide. Do you want to truly know?”

  “Yes,” all three of them answered in unison, then looked at each other in surprise.

  Afzal turned to Nidhan. “What we do here, to answer your earlier question. We police our dimension. We monitor Underworlders who have been granted asylum. We destroy those who would harm innocent civilians. All over the world, those with special… abilities, and their children, for thousands of years, have dedicated themselves and willingly sacrificed their lives…” Afzal's eyes filled with sadness.

  “Abilities begin to manifest, if they manifest at all, at the age of seventeen, and training ends at the age of eighteen. Do not take the decision to train here lightly. Think it through very seriously. We have help for those with abilities who would like to lead… safer lives, although options are somewhat limited.” He gave them each a card with a phone number on it.

  “If you do decide to join us, be here at nine o'clock on Monday morning. That gives you forty-eight hours. And I strongly suggest you call that number if you decide not to join us.” Afzal spoke with finality and pushed a button on his desk.

  The fat man entered, holding more papers. “Sir, the DSP wants to meet with you again about the hospital fire, and the SSP is on the phone,” he said, giving Afzal the papers.

 
“Thank you, Yael,” he said, and began reading.

  Yael motioned them to the door, but then his name clicked as the person Ursala said was somehow responsible for the disgusting stench outside and Lexi and Nidhan stared at him until Asha poked them to get up. Back in the conference room, Yael picked up a phone on his desk in one corner, and ignored the three of them. They silently made their way back outside, past the deserted indoor garden, through the elephant doors, along the stone bridge over the turquoise water, up the forest path, and back to their bikes in the dump.

  It wasn't until they reached a quiet village road between rice fields that Nidhan pulled over, and Lexi followed. The three of them stood, watching the rice gently blowing in the hot breeze.

  “You know what this is like?” Lexi said, breaking the silence. “It's like we're in The Matrix, and we've just been offered the choice to take the red pill or the blue pill.”

  Asha nodded, looking at the wide field, the midday sun sparkling on water between the green rice stalks.

  Lexi said, “This is what BapuJi sent you here for. Definitely.”

  Asha nodded again. “His wounds weren't caused by anything of this world. Whatever happened in Miami must have meant we couldn't go to their version of a mysterious fort hidden in plain sight.”

  “Exactly.”

  Nidhan was looking at the sky, the trees in the distance. “Everything still seems so ordinary…”

  No one spoke for a few minutes. A bus's musical horn sounded in the distance.

  Then Asha said softly, “I don't know if I can to do this without you guys. I mean, I don't… I don't want to…” Tears filled her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks. Lexi put an arm around her and watched a hawk circle slowly in the sky.

  Nidhan said, “I'm pretty sure they were talking about the fire at the hospital a few days ago. It killed six newborn babies.” He shook his head. “The DSP is the Deputy Superintendent of Police, and the SSP is the Senior Superintendent of Police. I mean, if we can help, I'm in, no question.”

  “Who needs normal, anyway?” said Lexi, smacking Asha's shoulder. “A chance to fight the evil forces of hell? I'm definitely in.”