The Key of Knowledge
Keys of Lazarus
Michael Lackey
Published by Seven Crows Publications, 2020.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE
First edition. June 2, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Michael Lackey.
Written by Michael Lackey.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue | John 11 King James Version (KJV)
1 Lucy
2 Lady of Necropolis
3 The Package
4 Synod of Reaping
5 Aerofall Industries
6 The Training
7 Road Trip
8 Atlanta
9 Old Memories, New Facts
10 Stone Mountain
11 Viceroy Comes
12 Gateway Stones
13 Julia Holmes
14 Pike's Peak
15 Trial of the Key
16 The Truth Shall Set You Free
17 Shock and Awe
18 A Warrior Falls
19 The Key Comes Home
20 Enter the Deadman
About the Publisher
To all the lost souls seeking knowledge...
It is within you.
Prologue
John 11 King James Version (KJV)
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7 Then after that saith he to his disciples, let us go into Judaea again.
8 His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
9 Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.
10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
16 Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, let us also go, that we may die with him.
17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18 Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31 The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.
54 Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.
55 And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.
56 Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple,
What think ye, that he will not come to the feast?
57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take him.
Man was not ready for miracles... we are now.
1 Lucy
It was raining again. Drop after drop splashed against the dark mahogany box. People were shielding their heads with papers, while others had no option but to scurry off. Her face was already wet with tears, but Lucy didn't notice the rain, or the people for that matter. Her red eyes were fixed on the flower arrangement being pelted by the falling drops. She sensed a tug on her sleeve and could make out a voice behind her urging her to step away to allow the Grave Bots to do their work. She remained, staying to watch as the center of her world was lowered six feet into the ground. The large gray stone at the head of the unforgiving hole read, 'A man of many talents. Loving husband, father, and grandfather. Conrad Otto 1973-2058.’ Today Lucy buried her grandfather - the only person she had left in her life.
With tears streaming down her face she whispered desperately, "What am I supposed to do now? I can't be alone, Gramps. We always took care of each other..." her gaze fixed on the tombstone as if it might answer. Cold and silent it offered no reply.
"You always told me I didn't need you, that it was you who needed me. Well, Gramps? Who will need me now?"
She knelt to brush away the mud that the Grave Bots had splashed onto the head marker. "No, this is wrong. Stupid bots can't do anything right!" Even as she cleared the stone, the rain splashed more mud around the bottom. As she continued to clear away the dirt, her eyes were drawn to a strange marking on the bottom of the tombstone. It was a symbol she'd never seen: two intertwined letters - S & R.
What is this? Why is it here? Lucy began to think they must have messed up his stone! With sharp anger dripping from each word like the rain falling from the tips of her blue hair Lucy proclaimed, "They won't get away with this! I will have this fixed!" She screamed at the top of her lungs with her hands clenched.
This was her farewell to the man who raised her since the death of her parents, and it scared her to death.
The next morning, Lucy lay in her bed staring at the boards running along the ceiling of her bedroom as her alarm blared. “I've counted every one, and still can't remember how many are up there."
What little Conrad possessed had been donated to the homeless, as was his last wish. After getting up, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, running her fingers through her rat's nest of blue locks.
Looking in the mirror Lucy thought, "I guess I can make myself look alive today. Don't know why, but I'm sure Gramps would want it that way."
After a quick shower, she put on clothes that actually matched for once, and headed out. As she turned to lock the door, she noticed a letter lying on the ground. “That’s weird,” she thought, as she bent down and picked it up. The white envelope had her name written on the front but had no return address or sender. Upon opening it she found a piece of faded yellow paper with the words 'Fifth Avenue and East Eighty-Second' written on it.
"I don't have time for games," she said aloud. Shaking her head, she crumpled up the paper and shoved it into her back pocket. She tossed the envelope into a trash collector down the hall before heading out of the building. Her first stop was downtown at the city memoriam to get her grandfather's headstone fixed. Upon opening the door, she was quickly greeted by a little round brass and glass steam bot wearing a black tie. He rolled from behind the counter like a large beach ball with arms saying, "Good day. We are sorry for your loss," in a raspy, buzzing voice.
"I've already ordered, and there was a mistake on the headstone. I need it fixed," she said with arms crossed and her foot taping in frustration.
Steam rushed from the ear holes of the well-dressed bot as it processed her voice. She could see the gears turning inside, and it emitted a shrill noise. Finally, it spoke, "Lucy Ducit. Order number 56174. Stone details, Conrad Otto 1973-2058. Anonymous order placed,
Lucy's face flushed a bright red. "What kind of symbol is it and what does it mean? Who was this anonymous order from?" she demanded.
The steam bot buzzed and shook. "Anonymous is unknown.
She grabbed the bot by the bolted, piston shoulders and pulled it close. "I need answers, and I need them now. Summon your human!" she shouted.
The little steam bot's eye bulbs began to flash, bells began to ring out, and an automated warning sounded. "Alert, alert! Irate human! Alert, alert!"
"May I help you?" a man's voice said from behind the counter on the opposite side of the room.
Lucy released the bot, and it scurried away still whirring and releasing steam.
She crossed the room and explained, "I didn't order this. How can you allow someone to alter someone else's marker?"
Without so much as a change in facial movement, he replied, "We do not have a problem, my dear girl. We are an upstanding business. We ONLY do what we are paid to do, and we do it right. We will be happy to change the stone, for a price."
"But the marker isn't right! You need to correct your mistake!" Lucy exclaimed.
Martin, the memoriam owner, said again, "If there were an error, we would correct it most quickly. Seeing as the order was paid for and was completed exactly as we were instructed, there is no error. Did you say, grandfather?" With his eyes narrowed he leaned closer to Lucy, "I processed Mr. Otto's papers, if you are related I want no part of it, but I know someone who will."
Lucy opened her mouth to try to continue the argument but instead broke down in tears. She planted her face firmly in the palms of her hands and sobbed uncontrollably.
The stone-faced memoriam owner looked down and dropped his handkerchief in front of her. "I am sorry, but this is a place of business. If you insist on continuing this foolishness, I will insist on you either placing an order or removing yourself from the premises. Do you have any other recently deceased relatives that I need to know about?"
Lucy picked up the man's cotton handkerchief, wiped her eyes and then blew her nose directly into the middle. Reaching across the counter, she shoved it back into the man's front jacket pocket. "Thank you so much for your understanding," she said snidely, as she patted the pocket holding the soiled cloth.
As she exited the building, a messenger bot came rolling up to her. "Lucy Ducit?" the bot asked in a voice that oddly reminded her of the sound that came from the radiator in her apartment.
Lucy nodded her head, and the bot shot a letter out of an opening in the front of its chassis. After she retrieved the letter it rolled off down the sidewalk with a beep. In her hand, Lucy held another plain white envelope addressed to her.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
She opened the envelope to find another piece of torn, faded yellow paper. It looked to be ripped from the same sheet as the one she had received earlier.
'He wants you to know.'
Lucy thought to herself “What is up with these odd messages? And who wants me to know what?" She grunted in agitation shoving the piece of paper into her back pocket alongside the first one. With confusion fogging her senses and anger fueling her spirit, she started running to try and clear her head. She passed people on the sidewalk in a blur, some shouted at her to slow down, while others jumped out of the way. Her mind raced as her thoughts muddled together. She needed to focus. She didn't know what to do. She needed clarity. She needed her grandfather.
2 Lady of Necropolis
Lucy was again draped across her grandfather's headstone sobbing alongside his still fresh grave. The gray stone was now tear stained with wet splotches, and her face was swollen, puffy from crying. As if her grandfather could hear her she said hopelessly, "I can't do this. I can't handle life on my own, without you showing me the way. I'm not ready."
She moved her hand to brace herself and to
uched something in the back of the stone.
Immediately her sadness was replaced with anger. Lucy thought, “What now? Another blasted mistake by that oaf, Martin?" She ran her fingers over a small hole dead center at the top of the stone. Confusion contorted her face, "Why would they put a hole in a tombstone?" she asked aloud. Lucy leaned in for a closer look squinting her eyes as she tried to see how deep the hole was. With some luck Lucy thought, "Hopefully, this is a crack. That way they will be forced to fix it!" Her hope was dashed as it changed to surprise as she exclaimed, "It's a keyhole!" She moved in to do a thorough inspection to see if anything else was different. Inch by inch she ran her fingers across the marker, tracing the letters of her grandfather's name with her index finger. Every letter was a rush of memories that brought forth more loneliness. Her grandfather deserved so much more, both in life and in death. "You were so much more than just an old man destined to be forgotten," she said. As she circled the last letter O in his name but was interrupted by a woman's voice behind her.
"Conrad was one of the bravest men I had ever known."
Lucy jumped to her feet, clutching her chest in shock. Her eyebrows drew apart, and her eyes opened wide as she tried to focus on the owner of the voice.
"I didn't mean to scare you, hun. I just wanted to come and pay my respects. Did you know him well?" the woman asked.
Lucy took a few deep breaths and answered, "He was my grandfather. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"I didn't give it, dear," the woman said with narrowed eyes and small crooked smile.
She was dressed in a black leather, corseted cassock dress. The style reminded Lucy of the Alexander McQueen dresses she had seen in vintage fashion magazines. It was strapless and meant for someone younger, but the woman had a beautiful off-white blouse under it to still garner grace and modesty. Her greying hair was neatly pulled up under a stylish top hat draped in lace.
Lucy could see that her hands were worn and calloused, even through the black lace gloves she wore. Style and grace were not strangers to this woman, but neither was hard work.
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