She walked into the bathroom. It was equally basic. There was a toilet, a sink and a small shower. No windows, no doors, no air vents. There was no way out.
Defeated, she sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. She wanted to cry, but the anger and frustration still prevented her from doing so.
Looking down, she noticed her watch. It was dainty and stylish. Small and unnoticeable. Innocent. She had no idea if it was working or not, it read the time okay, but she had to believe that it was doing the job it was really designed for. It was her only hope of salvation.
She undressed and showered, but it did little to refresh her. She put on the white uniform, it was surprisingly comfortable. Exhausted, she lay down on the bed. With nothing to do but wait, she removed one of the pillows and used it as something to hug. She curled up and closed her eyes. Within moments she was fast asleep.
*
Vaguely aware of a loud banging on the door, Ella opened her weary eyes. For a tranquil moment of ignorant bliss she forgot where she was. She sat up and looked around at her drab surroundings with an element of confusion. Then, in a terrible single moment, it all came back to her. Her stomach leapt into the air, she felt dizzy and nauseous.
The lock turned. The mechanism in the door clicked and it slowly began to open.
‘I’m so sorry to lock you up like this,’ Hades said apologetically as he edged cautiously into the room. ‘I hope you will forgive me.’
Ella remained silent. She sat up on the bed and tucked her legs into her arms. Still a little bewildered, she looked him up and down as he stood in the doorway.
He was dressed in a pure white uniform that consisted of plain linen trousers and a robe-like long jacket that had a high, rounded collar. A thick gold pendant hung around his neck, on its end was a large gold triangle. On his feet, he wore brown leather sandals. Ella thought he looked like a new-age druid. In other circumstances she would have laughed at the sight.
‘Good, I see you have changed into your uniform,’ Hades said, seemingly pleased with her. He spent a moment admiring her, then he clasped his hands together and smiled. ‘Wonderful, you look stunning in it. I knew it would suit you.’
The tight fitting white uniform left little to the imagination. Ella felt somewhat exposed; it made her feel even more vulnerable than she already was. The fact that the soft, brushed cotton was actually very warm and comfortable was of little consolation to her at that moment. She noticed Hades’ eyes linger on her. It repulsed her; she looked away and pulled her legs in tighter to her chest.
‘What is this place?’ she snapped. ‘Who are those people dressed in grey?’
Hades smiled and nodded. ‘You really are a feisty one, aren’t you? All in good time, my girl,’ he replied. ‘All in good time. You have much to learn about us.’ He held his hand out to her. ‘Come, there is something I must show you.’ He beckoned to her. ‘I think you will be very interested in this. I have a proposition for you. A most unique opportunity.’
Reluctantly, Ella slipped off the bed. When she left her prison she noticed that there was no security detail this time waiting outside. Hades led her through the vast underground tunnels alone. They curved and twisted through the mountain, the featureless walls made it impossible to tell one corridor from another. Only the occasional signs on the walls and doors indicated a reference to where they were. Ella noticed that the doors that led off from the tunnels each had a letter and a number on them at the top. She recalled that the medical centre had been marked M-101. Her prison had been S-276. The letters and numbers began to make sense to her. It was a grid system. They passed a room marked as E-534, and at the next junction they turned left. Ella guessed what the next room would be marked as. When they passed it, she smiled. She had cracked it and began to build a picture of the place in her head. It was vast, and she felt sure that she hadn’t seen the half of it.
Hades explained that many of the rooms were living quarters, while others that they passed were libraries, kitchens and training centres. ‘A little more than five-hundred of us live and work here,’ he proudly told her. ‘We have teachers and farmers, horticulturists and builders, scientists and medics. You name it, every skill that a functioning society requires, we have it. Everyone here has a purpose, their skills are essential for our survival and for the future progression of humanity.’
A man dressed in grey approached, he was pushing a trolley full of gardening equipment. When Hades and Ella walked past him, he stopped and bowed. His eyes were lowered to the floor, he held his right arm across his chest. Ella guessed that the thin, nervous looking man was of Vietnamese decent. Hades completely ignored him and walked past.
‘And the third class citizens, are they essential too?’ Ella sneered. She knew she was pushing her luck but didn’t care. She had seen enough.
Hades turned and took a firm hold of her by the arm. ‘Listen here young lady. They have a significantly better life with us than the one they left,’ he snapped, his face had reddened. ‘And they left it voluntarily, for your information. Do you really think we are all born equal? Do you think life is fair and just?’
Ella knew the truthful answer, but said nothing. She looked up at him, hurt and shocked.
‘Equality and fairness are only words, concepts invented by humans to comfort themselves from the harsh realities of the cruel natural world. They are looked after here,’ he said. ‘Everyone is. And just like us, they work for their living. But there is a rank system here. It is a requirement of every functioning society, nothing more. Tell me of a working society where everyone is equal, where there are no divides, no classes, where the idle are rewarded as much as the productive. Tell me.’
‘But that’s no reason to treat people like slaves,’ she retorted. Hades’ arrogance was infuriating her, she pulled her arm away from his grip. ‘History teaches us what happens to societies that keep people captive. They rebel eventually, the tides turn, the slaves become the masters.’
Hades laughed heartily, then he softened. ‘If only it was that simple, my girl,’ he said and shook his head. He waved her on. ‘Please, we must continue.’
They continued on their way down the corridor side by side in an uncomfortable silence. Hades seemed troubled by something. Ella cared not.
‘You will understand soon,’ Hades said breaking the sullenness. ‘You are one of us after all, whether you believe it or not, and whether you like it or not. Eventually you will see what this is all about and then you will understand why all of this is so important.’
‘So you say. But you’re wrong. This never works, there is no such thing as a perfect society and there is no master race. We are all the same whether you like it or not. And people are flawed, imperfect, it’s what we are. No one can change that.’
‘No, we are not all the same. It’s survival of the fittest and our survival over all these millennia proves our place at the top of the evolutionary tree.’ He sighed deeply. ‘I do hope I’m not wrong about you, I really do. It would be very unfortunate if I was.’
Ella logged the vague warning in the front of her mind. She was under no illusion just how precarious her situation was. She had to watch her tongue in future. But Hades was right, she was one of them. She always had been. And as he had said, it was survival of the fittest. She had no intention of not surviving.
Eventually they came to a metal security door set into the rock along a long tunnel. Hades stopped and turned to face it. Carefully, he entered a four digit code into the keypad on its side, each number made a different sound as he typed. The door unlocked with a buzz and a click. Ella eyed the keypad, Hades had concealed the numbers, but she heard the tune. She sang it in her head, over and over. Hades pulled the heavy, thick door open and together they entered the room. When they were both inside, Hades pulled the door closed behind him.
The high-roofed, circular chamber was vast and dark, it took a moment for Ella’s eyes to adjust. The floor was made up of large black and white tiles arranged i
n a circular pattern. Dozens of long red flags covered the walls all the way around the room. Running down each flag were a series of black triangles, pentagrams and Eyes of Horus. Only a few of the flags had the three combined to form the symbol that Ella had seen so many times. At the very centre of the chamber was a carved stone altar. Strange symbols were cut into the light brown stone. On top of it, sat on a wooden lectern, was a gold object the size of book. A spotlight somewhere high above illuminated it splendidly, it seemed to radiate with brilliance in the otherwise gloomy chamber. Ella recognised it instantly.
Hades walked over to the altar and gazed in wonder at the Biblos Aletheia. ‘What I’m about to show you, Ella, is the world’s most sacred knowledge,’ he said. ‘Since its discovery over two-millennia ago, we have gradually deciphered its secrets. Only a select few have ever had the privilege to be enlightened by its knowledge. And even now we are on a road to discovery, since its safe return to us. All thanks to you, Ella, and of course to your father and to his ancestors who protected it for us.’
A wave of anger washed through her veins. Her face reddened. ‘How dare you suggest he did it for you,’ she snapped. ‘You had him killed, you bastards.’
Slightly taken aback, Hades was momentarily lost for words. He frowned and shook his head. ‘No, no, no,’ he pleaded. ‘We tried to reason with your father. He was one of us, we would never harm our own. We wanted him to join us. There was a misunderstanding.’
‘A misunderstanding? You’re a liar and a murderer,’ she shouted. She lunged towards Hades, arms flailing, and hit him several times on the chest. Hades grabbed her arms and gripped her. She burst into tears and fell to her knees sobbing.
‘I’m sorry for what happened to your father, Ella. Really, I am. But there is nothing that can be done now.’ He knelt by Ella’s side, his voice softened. ‘But I can make up for it. I’ve saved you, saved you from the wrath that will cleanse the old world. I wanted to save you, Ella, ever since I learned of you. You are beautiful and intelligent. You are truly one of us. If only we had discovered you sooner.’ Hades placed his hand gently on Ella’s shoulder. Strangely, she didn’t shake him off. She sniffed and wiped her face on her arm. Her breathing calmed and slowed.
‘I brought you here for a very special purpose,’ Hades continued. ‘When the dust finally settles in the old world, maybe in a year or so’s time, I want you to lead a very special mission.’
The sobs and sniffs had gone. Ella focused on calming herself.
‘I want you to study the Biblos Aletheia and uncover more of its secrets.’ Slowly, Hades stood up. Gently, he helped Ella up and guided her towards the altar. He reached out and stroked the surface of the gold book.
‘You see, Ella, this is more than just a book.’ There was a gleam in his eye. ‘It’s also a map.’
‘A map?’ Ella whispered, she gazed upon the gold object. Almost solid gold. She remembered how heavy it was.
‘Our ancestors knew the clues were in there, but they couldn’t decipher them, not all of them anyway.’
There were sliding doors on one side of the altar, Hades bent down and slid one open. Inside were shelves stacked with dozens of books and papers. He pulled out a thick, leather covered book and placed it on the altar. The hefty thing looked ancient.
‘My ancestors discovered that the Biblos Aletheia describes how three guiding stars lead the way to its old homeland.’
‘To Atlantis?’
Hades nodded and smiled. ‘We think that somehow it has something to do with the pyramids of Giza.’
‘Orion,’ Ella whispered, her eyes widened. She looked at the gold book again.
There was recognition in Hades’ face, he grinned proudly. ‘As you can see we have worked extensively on it over the centuries.’ He tapped the old leathery book. ‘But it was impossible to do much more after the Biblos Aletheia was lost. For the last five-hundred years all we have had to work on was an incomplete copy of the text. But now that we have it back, we can complete the work.’
‘To translate it?’ Ella asked.
Pleased by her interest, Hades nodded. ‘As I said, we have our very own Rosetta Stone.’ The smile turned to a more serious look, he moved closer to Ella and put his hand on her shoulder.
‘What I’m saying, Ella,’ he said softly, ‘is that I want you to complete the work our ancestors began. Re-translate the Biblos Aletheia, decode its secrets, and find their lost homeland. If you want to, that is.’
She stood firm and let him touch her. ‘Where is it?’ she asked looking into his hungry eyes. ‘This stone, do you have it here?’
Briefly, he glanced at the open cupboard door. It was only a fleeting glance, a split-second look, but Ella saw it.
Gazing back into Ella’s eyes he smiled at her. Slowly, he brushed his hand over her back down to her hip. He pulled her towards him. His breathing deepened and his lips parted, he gazed further into her eyes. She held his gaze, he pulled her closer. He leaned in to kiss her. She tilted her head back, and their lips touched.
‘I do want to,’ she said softly. She pulled back slightly and turned her head towards the Biblos Aletheia. ‘There is nothing more I want than to find the truth.’
Hades put his hand on the side of her face and moved in to kiss her again. Ella felt his interest growing against her thigh. She kissed him briefly, then bit him teasingly on the lip before pulling away once more.
‘Easy tiger,’ she said. ‘There’s plenty of time for that later. But right now I want to know more about this.’ She turned and reached for the Biblos Aletheia. It was heavier than she remembered. She held it tightly in both hands.
Hades grinned at her and shook his head. ‘My girl, there is so much more to show you,’ he began to say. But he didn’t finish the sentence.
In a firm and swift move, Ella smashed the Biblos Aletheia hard into the side of his head. Hades stumbled backwards, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Instantly, she realised that it hadn’t been hard enough.
‘You bitch,’ he shouted from the floor. Blood began to pour out of his nose. He clutched the side of his face and made to stand up. ‘You stupid, soon to be dead, bitch!’
Fire burned in her eyes. Ella raised the Biblos Aletheia high above her and lunged towards Hades. He looked up in disbelief and raised his hand to protect himself. But his defences were useless, she brought the object crashing down on the top of his head with all her might. There was a loud crack. Hades’ face dropped and he began to fall forwards. Ella swung the object again, this time hitting him square in the face. There was a sickening crunch of bone and gristle. Blood splattered everywhere. Hades slumped backwards onto the floor. Blood flowed out rapidly from his nose and mouth over his face. Spluttering blood, he arched his back and kicked his legs.
Ella staggered backwards and stared in shock at what she had done. For a moment she froze.
Hades arched his back once more, there was no sound now, no breathing. He collapsed and lay still. The blood stopped flowing from his face.
Ella looked down and saw the blood on her hands, she seemed surprised to find that she was still holding the improvised weapon. She placed the blood covered Biblos Aletheia on the altar and ran over to one of the walls. She ripped down one of the flags and used it as a cloth to wipe as much of the blood off herself as she could. It did little to remove the stains on her white uniform, they were there to stay, but she cleaned her face and hands.
She turned back to where Hades’ body lay. She knew he was dead. A small pool of blood surrounded his head. Feeling no remorse, she threw the soiled flag over the body to cover it.
At the altar she picked up the Biblos Aletheia and the old book. Together they were heavy, she looked around for something to carry them in, but there was nothing. She ran to one of the walls again and ripped another flag down and used it to wrap the books together. After taking a moment to compose herself and catch her breath, she approached the exit. Purposefully, she avoided looking back at the corpse, but it seeme
d to pull her eyes like a magnet. She fought it until she reached the exit.
The door was shut, she pushed on it, it was locked. There was another keypad on the wall to the left, Ella stared at it and tried to remember the tune. But she had no idea which numbers made which tones. She pressed on number one, then two. There was some logic to the order. She hummed the tone out loud and tried to work out the code. Believing she had it, she pressed on four digits. There was a low buzzing sound, a red light flashed on the panel, the door remained closed. Fingers shaking, she tried another series. Again, the low pitched buzz sounded. She took a deep breath and recalled the tune. She sang it in her head over and over. Then, once more, she typed in four digits. It sounded right this time. There was a different buzzing noise, the door opened. Without so much as a glance back, she exited the chamber and pushed the door shut.
*
Ever conscious of her heart pumping hard in her chest, Ella concentrated on trying to walk calmly through the corridors. Every bone in her body told her to run, to sprint out of the place as fast as she could, but she told herself to remain calm, cool. No one knew anything; no one knew who she was, or what she was doing. No one knew what she had done. She was one of them, she wore their uniform; just another mad face in this mad underworld. All she had to do was find an exit and walk out. She could vanish into the forest, find help. As she walked through the complex, the flag-wrapped books were held so tightly to her chest that it hurt her arms.
Within moments she came to a junction in the tunnel and stopped. Something nagged at her mind. Then it came to her: the Cuneiform tablet! She cursed herself; she had to go back for it. She turned around and briskly began to walk back, but after a few steps she heard faint voices from up ahead.
‘Damn it,’ she cursed under her breath. It was too risky. She about-turned and accelerated off in the opposite direction.
The Secret of Hades' Eden Page 32
