The Twelve Stones

by RJ Johnson

  “Stand still!” she barked as she pulled the trigger on the needle gun.

  Puffs of tiny CO2 smoke flew out the end of the flat-paneled edge as several dozen tiny aerodynamic needles flew towards Kline’s body and face.

  Grinning widely, Kline began swatting the needles down. His hands were a blur as they flew through the air, slapping the tiny needles away.

  Emily stopped, looking at Kline. He laughed quietly. “My dear…” Kline drawled as he began plucking stray needles out of the leather-like palms of his hands. “Do you really think I’d allow any weapon that might be used against me anywhere near me?”

  “You let me get close enough,” Emily spat in defiance. She ran towards Kline, intent on throwing every ounce of strength and kung fu know-how her defense classes had taught her.

  But no matter how much will she summoned, her body could only take so much abuse, and her injuries from the last fight with Geoffrey Tate had taken their toll. She ran towards Kline, intent on throwing the perfect jump kick for which she had always received high marks from her sensei, even once hitting the kick bag so hard that it broke it off of the ceiling. But, even with all her training, the blood loss and concussion were too much for her body. As Emily jumped, she faltered, and Kline easily sidestepped her clumsy attack. He shook his head at her.

  “It’s almost sad to watch,” Kline sniffed as Emily tried to attack him and fell again. “Pathetic, really.”

  Emily’s injuries were simply too much, and she collapsed on the tunnel floor, breathing heavily, the blood matting her beautiful chestnut-brown hair. The curls wrapped around her face, and she stared defiantly at the man who had taken her against her will.

  “All right, are you all done now?” Kline asked, raising an eyebrow. “Excellent. Come along, my dear. I need your assistance.”

  With that, Kline scooped Emily up off the floor and carried her down further into the dark tunnel below.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Christina scrambled out of the tunnel mouth, stumbling over the three dead bodies of the workmen. She screamed in horror, bile pushing up her throat and threatening to erupt in protest of the disgusting scene.

  “Oh, God…” she whispered. “These poor men.”

  Shaking it off, she scrambled to her feet and began dashing down the desert trail. The rising moon in the east provided her with some light to get down the path quickly. She moved over the stones, stepping lightly, trying to make as little noise as possible, but traveling as quickly as she dared.

  Ahead, something moved, and Christina stopped, quivering slightly. She stopped breathing and crouched lower, willing her heart to stop making so much noise. It pounded loudly in her ears, like a thousand drummers given rock songs and told to practice.

  Certain she was hearing things, she rose from her hiding place and began moving again slowly down the trail.

  Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind, a thick gloved hand covering her mouth. This time, Christina was prepared.

  Stamping the ball of her feet onto her attacker’s toes, she rammed home hard, hearing the satisfying SNAP of at least two of her assailant’s bones in his toes. Crying out in surprise, Christina’s attacker released her.

  Christina turned, and using the palm of her hand, punched the man’s ribs. Again, she was rewarded with the snap her instructor had told them about. It was a quick getaway strategy that made any attacker think twice about following you. Christina turned, waiting to see if her assailant wanted to continue the fight.

  She was confused that the man seemed to be fine as a blue glow receded away from his body as he lowered his weapon.

  “Easy, it’s OK, I’m a friend,” the man gasped as he drew in a breath. Stranger than anything else, his body began to glow. “Is Emily in there?” the man asked her. “You must be the other girl we saw get put in the helicopter.” He stuck his hand out. “My name is Alex. I’m here to help.”

  Christina regarded the man carefully, unsure if she what she was hearing was true. But after closely examining his face, she recognized it from the pictures at her friend’s house.

  “She’s in the tunnel. We almost got away, but that English guy caught up to us. She stayed to fight him…” Christina blubbered, releasing all her pent-up emotions.

  “She fought Kline?” Alex’s voice was panicked. “He’ll kill her!”

  “She was hurt. The fight didn’t last long.” Christina sobbed. “I barely got away myself.”

  Alex grabbed the small Asian woman and held her tight. “You did just fine in there. I’ll find Emily. You follow this path, and when you get to the dirt trail, turn right and walk for another quarter mile. You’ll see two people there, standing around some abomination of a truck; trust me, you'll know it when you see it. Tell them I’m going after Emily, and if I don’t get back to get to safety and away from Kline. All right?”

  Christina nodded quickly and began running down the trail. Alex watched her for a few moments, when suddenly she stopped, turning back towards him.

  “I don’t think she ever stopped loving you, you know,” Christina said, her brown eyes, shining in the moonlight. “You were the only one she ever talked about.”

  With that, she turned back towards the trail and ran as fast as she could. Alex watched her leave, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Kline whistled tunelessly as he walked down the tunnel depths towards the crystal wall. He marveled at the sheer energy and force of will that he and his mining crew had imposed onto the Mesa. Over the last 48 hours, they had removed over 42 gigatons of dirt and rock, digging nearly a half a mile. If it all hadn’t been so dangerous and secretive, the whole thing might have been worth a documentary on the Discovery Channel.

  It was a shame that the whole thing would come crashing down in a few hours, Kline thought to himself glumly.

  “Did you know, my dear that these mountains were here before any man even touched this continent?” Kline said out loud. “Doesn’t that make you feel good?”

  “Not now dear, I’ve got a headache,” Emily moaned, trying to ignore the loudmouthed billionaire.

  “Think about it,” Kline barked, a little more authoritatively. “Before the universe deemed it necessary to see you exist, this mountain was here, providing so much for life on Earth.” He stared in contempt at Emily. “What have you done for life so far? Listen on an expensive toy for things that will never appear. How empty your life must be…” He trailed off.

  “I regret nothing. If there’s even the smallest chance there’s life on other planets, and they’re trying to talk to us, I want to be there,” Emily replied hotly. The headache was easing somewhat, making Kline’s rants easier to deal with.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Kline replied, amused. “You spent five years in elementary school, three years in a middle school, four years in high school, four in college, three more for Graduate work, and well over a $100,000 in student loans — don’t bother; I checked you out the second I found out who you were…” Emily had opened her mouth to protest, but Kline had cut her off.

  “What’s your point?” Emily’s eyes flashed with anger. She was used to defending her career choice to her parents, but this son of a bitch had never bought her a Christmas present in her life.

  “All that time, all those resources, for the equivalent of buying one lotto ticket in your lifetime?” Kline asked, looking at her. “Now you tell me, who’s the one who's mad?”

  Emily stared back at Kline, her hardened visage cracking for the first time.

  Kline smiled at Emily. “Well, let me assure you…” he cackled as he brought her closer to the crystal wall, “you didn’t necessarily do it all for nothing…”

  Emily gasped as she drank in the scene. The crystal wall in front of her was flawless. This was no natural formation. The geometry of the cube was perfect, the outline of a geodesic pattern too perfect to be coincidental. The final touch of surrealism was the clear outline of a door, per
fectly proportioned to a human body. Emily approached it almost reverently, reaching out her hand to touch.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Kline whispered. She glanced behind her, surprised to see tears in his eyes. No matter how psychotic, this was a genuine moment for him.

  “What is it?” Emily asked, still in awe and not sure she wanted the answer.

  “Come on now, surely you’ve been preparing yourself for this kind of moment all your life?” Kline asked, somewhat confused. “Proof positive of an alien species.”

  She looked back at Kline, disbelieving.

  “It’s true,” he added. “You don’t think I put this here, do you?”

  “I suppose,” she ventured, confused. “I always imagined hearing a signal through a pair of headphones as proof, not…” She waved her arms at the monolithic wall in front of her. “This.”

  “In your line of work, that is the logical conclusion.” Kline acknowledged. “This is still your moment. Would you like to see inside?”

  Emily looked at Kline suspiciously. Suddenly the captivity, the kidnapping, it all made some sense. This was the kind of thing that shaped generations to come. The fewer that knew at this moment, the better. But she was still shaken, remembering the dead workers out front. There was still no guarantee that she was going to survive this encounter. He had brought her here, but for what?

  “Why all this?” She turned, whipping her hair around. “Why me?”

  “I didn't choose you, my dear,” Kline whispered. “You were chosen by the universe. Your former lover intrudes on my plans and my life. And I learn he has a stone of his own. And then I find you've dedicated your life to studying exobiology and the possible existence of alien life...” Kline trailed off. “It's beautiful how the universe brings people and elements together. All of this led to this moment. Because you’d be worthy.”

  “‘Worthy’?” Emily snapped. “What are you talking about?”

  “You enter the chamber and retrieve something for me.” Kline approached the door at the front of the wall. “You go in, retrieve the stone, give it to me, and…” Kline crooked his head as if waiting for Emily to say something.

  “You let me go,” Emily said, finishing his thought.

  Kline smiled, not answering.

  The Cheshire cat-like attitude Kline had adopted disturbed Emily. However, the thought of being the first human to engage in first contact with an alien species, that was a tempting offer, and one worth whatever conditions Kline set for her. She nodded her head quickly, conceding to Kline’s demands.

  Kline applauded. “Splendid. Just go into the chamber, and retrieve a stone that should be set in the middle of the room. If you give it to me, you’ll be the most famous scientist since Stephen Hawking!”

  She glanced at Kline, thinking quickly to herself.

  “All right,” she said, “I'll get what you want, and you agree to leave me, Christina, and Alex alone.”

  Kline’s darkened when she mentioned Alex’s name. “I’m afraid Mr. McCray and I have other business,” he said, his voice returning to a cold monotone. “That’s non-negotiable.”

  Emily’s mind raced. She didn’t have any other options at the moment, so she would help Alex later if she could. “Deal.”

  Shaking hands, he led her to the front door of the crystal wall. “Just push the door open.”

  She approached the flat outline of the door in front of her.

  Kline sniffed the air around her. She glanced back at him, quizzically.

  “You’re not afraid?” Kline asked, fascinated.

  “Not in the slightest,” Emily answered back confidently. Smoothing her hair, she walked forward, pushing the crystal in front of her.

  Amazingly, Emily felt herself melting through the wall, traveling through it as if walking on a path full of vines and brush. Suddenly, she exited into a small dark room.

  Putting her hands out cautiously, she waved them around, but attempting to see anything was futile. It was pitch black; the light that had emanated from the crystal wall was nowhere to be seen.

  “Great…” she muttered to herself. “I’m gonna spend eternity in Purgatory.”

  Somewhere, something clicked, and lights began to flash on slowly. Mumbling sounds started emanating from all around her. Noisier and noisier they grew as the light grew brighter. Emily closed her eyes against the light. Soon, the whole room was sparkling.

  The room was gorgeous. It shone as if she were trapped inside a perfectly cut diamond. Tears flooded her eyes as she drank in the spectacular sights around her. It was as if she had been transported into a gigantic geode, the whole world hers alone, standing as she was in a vast expanse of the universe. Images began appearing. Familiar stars appeared on the roof of the crystal vault in perfect alignment with their current position in the sky.

  In the center of the room, a podium rose from the floor to waist height. Emily approached the table and stared at the stone that sat in the middle of the cube, gleaming. It was a vivid teal, with a deep shade of blue that Emily had never seen before. Almost hypnotically, she reached her arm out for the stone.

  Suddenly, the murmurs that she had heard in the background exploded into cacophony. She covered her ears against the onslaught, the thunderous booming voice which now came from every direction at once. It was maddening the way it fell into her skull, no matter how hard she tried to block the sound.

  At first, it all sounded like just a bunch of white noise. Then, gradually, different sounds started appearing. Emily began to recognize languages, different dialects. It was at that moment she realized the Crystal room was attempting to speak with her, and it was up to Emily to choose the manner of communication she wanted.

  “Hello?” she shouted above the din in her head. “Who’s there?”

  “Twelve Stones were lain upon yon earth for the betterment of mankind. Twelve Stones were lain upon yon earth…”

  “Can you turn it down some?” Emily shouted. “You’re coming in a little loud here.”

  The word repeated themselves again, gradually growing softer until Emily was no longer able to make them out. “No, no! A little louder, please.”

  Finally, she found an appropriate volume.

  “What are you?” she asked.

  “We are guardians of the past, and Patrons of your future. We are here to help you survive yourselves.” The voice had a calming influence, its measured tone soothing. It sounded asexual, and used no threatening words.

  “What are you?”

  “A collection of beings who are dependent on your survival as a species,” the artifact replied.

  “Well, that was helpful,” Emily muttered to herself. She turned her attention to the stone in front of her. The beautiful sea-foam green entranced her.

  “Where are you from?”

  The cave remained silent, as if unable or unwilling to answer that.

  “OK,” Emily said to herself, “What about, ‘What is that stone for?’”

  “This will allow your species to avoid conflict and find peace as one,” the cave replied.

  Emily tried again. “What’s its practical purpose?”

  “That depends on you.”

  “Fantastic.” Emily looked at the stone and then looked around at her surroundings again. “This isn’t a trap, right?”

  “No trap. It is a gift from your Patrons to help your species survive. There is a darkness coming, and Twelve Stones were lain upon yon earth until their return. The darkness comes as a foe, and all of humanity must unite against this threat or perish forever.”

  “Some external threat?” Emily called out. “What do you mean?”

  “A cancer has formed, and it is your species that we are calling upon to remove it.”

  “Cancer?” She called out. “What are you talking about?”

  “Fear,” the cave replied. The protective shield around the stone lowered. “Take this stone, unite it with the remaining eleven, and bring peace to your world. This is the fourth beacon activ
ated.”

  The lights around the stone began to flash, and the stone rose, floating in space of its own accord. Speechless, Emily reached for the stone in front of her. Grasping it firmly in her hands, she pulled it away from the pedestal. The pedestal lowered into the floor and disappeared.

  The lights began to flicker. Emily slipped the stone into her pocket, looking desperately for where she came in.

  “How do I get out?” she cried out to the cave, but it remained silent as the light began to fade.

  Stumbling over a few crystals that jutted out from the floor, Emily ran towards the wall from which she believed she came. Grabbing the smooth crystal walls, she ran her hands all over them, searching for a way out.

  Finally, she felt the jelly-like exterior of the door. Plunging herself into it, she stepped carefully through the vine-like path towards Kline, ducking the thick veins of crystal carefully.

  All at once, she emerged from the crystal wall, gasping for air. Kline stepped up quickly to grasp her hand.

  “Where is it?” he hissed. “It was in there. I felt it move.”

  Searching her pockets, he ran his hands through, tearing one open. He watched as the stone fell to the ground in front of him, his eyes following it greedily. As it settled in the dust of the cave, he grabbed it quickly, looking on the green exterior.

  “I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time,” Kline whispered, completely satisfied with himself.

  He pocketed the stone and turned towards Emily.

  “Now, Ms. Harper, what to do with you?”

  “You’re letting me go.” Emily protested. “We agreed if I got you that stone…”

  “Yes, yes, I know, and what a dastardly man I am for going back on my word.” Kline said, bored.

  “You’re going back?” Emily gasped.

  “Oh, I assumed you’d jumped to that conclusion already. Fine, I’ll wait while you catch up,” Kline humorlessly replied. “I’m sure your boyfriend has reached Joshua Tree by now, intent on rescuing his fair maiden.”

  He reached into his pocket and took out his PDA, then tapped a few commands into it. Around them in the dark tunnel, flickering red lights began to turn on, joining the glow of the klieg lights facing the crystal wall. “It’s tough sometimes being the boss,” Kline said sadly. “You have to make the tough decisions; who you hire, who you give raises to, who you…” he giggled, “fire.”