The Cornelius Saga Series (All 15 Books): The Ultimate Adventure-packed Supernatural Thriller Collection

by Tanya R. Taylor

  “Thank you for coming, Doctor Cullen,” Charles said. “It means a lot to me. Even if in the end there’s nothing you can really do, the fact that you tried is something I will forever be grateful for.”

  Mira leaned forward. Charles was seated directly opposite her. “Do have a photograph of your wife and daughter?” she asked.

  “Yes. Yes, I do.” He reached into his wallet and handed her a picture.

  “There’s my wife, Barbra,” he indicated, “and our daughter Vanessa. Vanessa is supposed to graduate this year from high school. She plans to go on to study at Saint Mary’s. Her dream is to become an endocrinologist.”

  Mira was immediately struck by the strong love that emanated from the mother and daughter as she looked at their funny pose for the camera. “They were inseparable,” she said, softly.

  “Yes, they were,” Tess said. “Barbra and Vanessa were closer than any other mom and daughter I’d ever known. Usually, when you saw one, you saw the other. Even though she’s a teenager, Vanessa rarely hung out with her peers. She and Barbra were more like friends, rather than mother and daughter, although they were both aware of where that boundary line was.”

  Charles nodded in agreement. “Sometimes people wondered if they were sisters.”

  “Surely!” went Tess again. “Barbra was in her forties, but she could pass for late twenties, if you asked me. Well, I’m sure you see for yourself!” She pointed at the picture.

  “The cheesecake...” Mira uttered. “One of them had brought a cheesecake along on the flight.

  “Cheesecake?” Charles appeared puzzled.

  “Yes! Barbra did.” Tess looked Charles’ way. “I made a cheesecake for you the day before they were scheduled to leave and Barbra came by and got it.”

  Disheartened, Charles replied, “They all know I like cheesecake. The thing is...I didn’t know Barbra and Vanessa were coming to see me. Tess here said they wanted to surprise me and how they had all these plans for their visit. When I heard the news of the plane crash, I had no idea they were on that flight. It almost killed me. I’m still somewhat in a daze.”

  “That must’ve been a devastating blow,” Bobby remarked.

  “Yes,” Charles replied. “Since it happened, every morning I wake up without them I feel like going back to sleep and most times, wish I wouldn’t wake up. It all seems surreal. I feel empty, lost...I really can’t find the right words.”

  Mira was moved by his pain while trying her best to push her own on the back burner.

  She went on to tell them what she’d seen after learning about the crash. “I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t know where it landed. I do know it didn’t end up in the water. So, it’s just a matter of following the correct route and searching dry land.”

  “Do you think you can help?” Charles asked.

  “Maybe if I were to join you in the helicopter, I can better see in my mind where the wreckage is once we’re on the right path. I’m afraid that’s all I can do.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Tess suggested with her fingers interlaced atop the table.

  “I agree,” Bobby added, gently squeezing Mira’s hand.

  “I would be glad for you to come,” Charles said.

  Mira nodded. “So, when can we leave?”

  Tess quickly looked at her brother.

  “Whenever you’re ready to go,” Charles replied.

  “Can you arrange it for tomorrow?” Mira asked.

  “Sure. I’ll get my pilot on the phone tonight. He’s on standby.”

  “Great! You don’t mind if Bobby comes along, do you?”

  “Not at all,” Charles responded.

  Tess was relieved that they seemed to be getting somewhere. “Doctor Cullen, you are well-respected in this community and it’s no secret that you’ve helped quite a number of people with your special gift. I know once Charles has you in his corner, he’s in really good company,” she said.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Cooley. I’ll do what I can.”

  * * * *

  “You were great with those folks,” Bobby said as they drove away. “But I noticed you didn’t show much emotion there. Was that deliberate, considering the circumstances?”

  “It was,” Mira replied. “My intention by being neutral is so they won’t get their hopes up. I want him to be able to bring his wife and daughter home, but I just couldn’t tell him they’re dead.”

  “They’re dead?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Mira answered, almost in a whisper.

  Bobby was saddened by the revelation. “I can’t imagine being in his shoe. If something happened to you and Rosie, my life might as well be over too because I couldn’t bounce back from that.”

  Mira was silent for a while as she thought about what he’d said.

  “Yes, you could and you would because you won’t have a choice. You’d hurt deeply and for a long time, but after a while you’d realize there’s a reason you’re still here and the hope of one day reuniting would ease the pain.” She found herself speaking in verbatim the same words that Karlen and Sara had spoken to her.

  “I don’t know,” Bobby replied. “That’s all easier said than done. Not everyone is that strong.”

  “I would think in a situation like that, you’d find out how strong you really are.” She desperately sought reassurance through her own words.

  They stopped at a burger joint for Rosie and Sara, then picked up a bag of dry dog food for Max. Bobby stayed at the Cullens’ until Rosie went to bed, then he and Mira headed to his house where they spent the night together.

  9

  _________________

  Mira was a bit nervous when the aircraft lifted off the ground. She’d never been in a helicopter before and momentarily wondered if having volunteered to join Charles was a good idea. Seated next to Bobby, she held onto his arm.

  “Relax,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah, I know,” she replied, nonchalantly.

  “Well, why are you holding on so tightly? Even when you’re scared, you try to be tough.” He smiled.

  “Who’s scared?” She gradually released her grip. “I’m not scared.”

  He put his arm around her neck.

  Seated up front with the pilot, Charles was wearing a blue baseball cap, a white golf shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. Several minutes after take-off, Mira took the seat next to him and put on her headset. She figured she could get a better view from there.

  The scene from above Mizpah was breath-taking. She could see rivers, lakes and lush greenery among the countless structures.

  “Ever been on a helicopter ride before?” Charles asked her.

  “Never cared to,” she said, “but now I see what I was missing. Have you?”

  “This is my fourth time. Barbra and I went on a couple of tour rides before - one over the Grand Canyon. The view was spectacular!”

  Mira sighed. “Some of us live such sheltered lives. We just focus on the mundane routine of daily life, forgetting how important it is to just go out there and live.” She was reflecting upon her own life and that of Bobby’s when she spoke.

  “I agree with you. I used to be that way once, but Barbra was always different. She had such a carefree personality, but not too carefree. I’d say she had a healthy balance. It’s something I always admired in her and tried to emulate. Vanessa took right after her mother; that’s why they got on so well.”

  Mira smiled. Barbra and Vanessa’s relationship reminded her of hers and Rosie’s.

  The pilot ventured along the exact route the plane was believed to have taken before the distressed call came in. Everyone on the helicopter, including Bobby, paid close attention to what lie below in hopes of spotting the wreckage.

  They’d hovered over an area with dense trees that stretched on for miles.

  “We have to find a mountain cliff or hill, something like that in the area where there are very tall trees like what we’re seeing now,” Mira told the pilot.

  Randy Pi
lsade had been a military pilot before transitioning to a tour pilot for one of the most prestigious companies in Chicago. After retiring in his fifties, he purchased a helicopter that had been auctioned off. He’d put his entire savings toward the purchase and knew he could make a pretty decent living scheduling his own tours, mainly for the rich and famous. The idea worked out better than Randy had ever suspected it would. Within four years, he was able to secure three more helicopters and recruit experienced, energetic pilots to help him out in the business. Charles Cooley was not his typical client, but a well-off one with an important mission on his mind. Randy had a wife and kids of his own, so he’d made his aircraft readily available for when the grieving father and husband was ready to conduct his own independent search.

  Almost two hours went by and they did not see anything that had fit the description Mira had indicated.

  Randy glanced at the fuel gauge. “We’re going to run outta fuel if we don’t head back soon,” he announced.

  Sure of what she’d seen, Mira knew they hadn’t yet flown over the area where the plane went down. She looked at the photograph Charles had allowed her to hold on to during the ride and pressed her finger across it.

  Minutes later, Randy said, “I’m afraid we’re gonna have to head back.”

  They had covered hundreds of miles of land since Mira insisted that flying across the ocean would be a futile effort. Apart from not sensing any water nearby the wreckage, she doubted the pilot from the ill-fated flight would have had to venture across any massive body of water en route to Chicago.

  The atmosphere in the helicopter began to grow thick with concern—concern that their trip might have been in vain. Glancing at Charles, Mira could see the worry on his face.

  “Well, if we don’t find them today, we’ll come back tomorrow and the next day until we do,” he said. He then looked at Mira. “I don’t expect you to uproot your life to join me on repeated trips, Doctor Cullen, but we’ll definitely keep looking for what you described until we find my Barbra and Vanessa.”

  Rather disappointed, she only nodded.

  “Time to turn back, folks!” Randy declared as he attempted to make the turn. As Mira’s finger continued to slide across the photograph, she saw something in her mind’s eye. It was Vanessa! She was directly under the patch of trees below them. Then at a distance across to the left of the aircraft, Mira spotted a mountainous range.

  “Wait! Don’t turn around!” She exclaimed. “Lower the aircraft now!”

  Charles’ face lit up and as Mira glanced back at Bobby, she noticed his had too. With a broad smile, Bobby gave her the thumbs up.

  “They’re down there!” Mira added. But nothing remotely resembling a wreckage could be seen from high up with the naked eye. The forest was dense and there was no immediate evidence of broken trees or anything that would indicate a plane had landed there.

  “Are you sure?” Randy asked.

  “Of course, she’s sure!” Charles barked. “Just do what the little lady said!”

  “I second that!” Bobby yelled.

  The dismal atmosphere in the helicopter had suddenly turned to that of excitement. Mira couldn’t wait to land as more and more she saw the girl’s movements among the wreckage.

  Randy made his careful descent in a nearby clearing that was just wide enough for the helicopter to land without its rotor blades slicing the trees. From where they sat, the wreckage could be clearly seen. The body of the plane had been cruelly dismantled after it violently hit the ground. They could see two sections of it in the distance and enormous debris scattered throughout the area.

  “Shut it off!” Mira told Randy, and moments later, the loud roar of the main rotor came to a complete halt.

  She turned and looked at Charles, and could tell from what they were all witnessing there that he was deeply despondent. “I have to tell you something that I’ve known all along and it’s very difficult for me to say,” she started.

  Mira had his attention, though his eyes were distracted by the detritus around them.

  “I’m sorry, Charles, but Barbra and Vanessa are dead. There are no survivors from this crash.”

  Charles broke down and held his head in his hands as Mira reached over and tried to comfort him somehow.

  “This is what I dreaded,” he cried. “I tried my hardest to hold on to hope, but inside I guess I already knew.”

  “Charles, look at me… I need you to stay here, okay? There’s nothing out there that you need to see.”

  He hesitated to respond.

  “Can you please trust me on this?” she pressed. “What’s out there among that wreckage is not the way you want to remember your wife and daughter, okay?”

  He nodded, tearfully. “Okay.”

  Mira looked at Randy. “Phone whoever’s in charge of the search and give them these co-ordinates so that they can bring the bodies home.”

  “Sure thing!” Randy replied.

  “Bobby, come with me,” she said.

  He quickly got up and the two left the aircraft while Charles continued to weep.

  “I feel really sorry for the guy,” Bobby remarked as they walked toward what appeared to be the nose of the plane.

  “I do too,” Mira replied.

  He looked above them. “I wonder why this spot was so hard to find.”

  “I don’t think the officials thought the plane had ventured off this far. I’m not sure why the pilot would’ve navigated this route.”

  They could see the mid-section of the aircraft about fifty yards away and the closer they got to the nose, they also noticed bodies scattered about the ground in state of decay and even a couple suspended by tree limbs.

  “My God!” Bobby exclaimed, horrified by what he was seeing.

  They stood and looked at the mangled nose of the aircraft and saw that the area where the pilot and co-pilot would have been seated was completely crushed. Mira didn't sense they were lodged within the wreckage, but instead, had been ejected from the plane upon impact.

  They proceeded to walk toward the mid-section of the plane and as they got closer, the stench of decomposing flesh became stronger. They covered their noses with the tops of their own shirts while they also came across amputated limbs shrouded with flies and maggots.

  Mira glanced back at the helicopter to ensure Charles had not left it. It didn’t appear that he had. They carefully walked past the various pieces of steel, broken glass and human remains en route to the plane, and on arrival they peered into the cylindrical house of death where several deceased passengers were still strapped in their seats—the sights of whom instantly made Bobby vomit.

  “Are you all right?” Mira asked as he was stooped over.

  “Yeah.” He wiped his mouth against the sleeve of his shirt.

  “Stay here, Bobby. I’m going inside.”

  “I don’t think you should, honey.”

  “I have to,” she said.

  She entered the plane and with her nose tightly covered, slowly walked past the bodies of those disfigured persons who may not have imagined they would have died that day nor in that manner. Soon, she came to the row where Barbra and Vanessa’s bodies were. They were still clinging to each other and Mira felt the absolute horror they’d experienced when they realized that plane was going down with them in it. Her heart was full as she again sensed their deep love for each other. Then, through her peripheral vision on the left she spotted a figure. Raising her head, she saw Vanessa standing there in the same clothing she’d worn that fateful day—a pair of faded blue jeans and a yellow blouse. The blouse was completely covered with blood as was the one still on her body there in the seat. Trails of blood had run along the leg of her jeans and her face bore a long and deep gash across it. Mira was taken aback by her sudden appearance inside of the wreckage.

  The girl was looking down at her mother’s body. Barbra’s wounds did not appear to be as horrendous as hers were. “I’m trying to find my mother. I don’t know where she is,” she uttere
d in distress.

  “Vanessa…” Mira started, “I’m sorry, but your mother’s not here.”

  “What do you mean?” Vanessa studied her.

  “Honey, your mother crossed over after the crash. She’s on the other side waiting for you. You must join her.” Mira spoke as tenderly as she could.

  There was a long pause, then Vanessa asked, “Am I dead?” She had a frightened look on her face.

  “I’m afraid so,” Mira replied.

  The girl shook her head. “I can’t be…dead. I’m supposed to go to college and become a doctor someday. It’s my dream. This must all be just a dream.”

  Bobby was looking inside, watching Mira engaged in conversation with an entity he could not see.

  “I’m sorry, Vanessa. It’s no dream. Your dad’s here though. He’s going to get help to take you and your mother’s remains back home.”

  Without saying another word, the teenager turned and started to walk straight ahead through the opening.

  “You will find your mother in the light, Vanessa. You need to go towards the light.”

  Mira felt terrible as she left that portion of the wreckage. Although Vanessa disappeared before her eyes, Mira knew she wasn’t yet ready to accept the reality of her demise. When she joined Bobby, she quickly embraced him.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” She sighed. “I saw Vanessa’s ghost in there; her and Barbra’s bodies as well.”

  “At least they’re still intact, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Mira nodded.

  The third and rear portion of the plane was not spotted anywhere in the immediate area, but Mira knew they’d seen enough. As she and Bobby headed back to the helicopter, she noticed shadows all along the trees that weren’t there when they first arrived. Dozens of souls—men, women and children were assembled and she could see Vanessa among them. Looking around, Mira shouted: “You must walk towards the light or you will forever be bound to this place of tragedy. Walk towards the light!”