The Emerald Tablet: Omnibus Edition

by JM HART

  “Why aren’t you scared of dying?” he asked again.

  Tapping on her chest she said, “It might sound lame, but I feel a sense of peace from deep within. Like I have the support of the whole universe guiding, protecting and loving me no matter what happens.”

  “Not so lame.” With the tiniest knowing smile, he said, “I feel like that when I think of my mom. What’s the old leather book you’re always reading?”

  “I really don’t know. It’s in Aramaic. It was passed down through my family and I was told it was a book of splendor. I feel lighter when I’m sad, I feel found when I’m lost. That’s why I carry it. It’s my key.”

  “Key to what?”

  “Key to whatever riddle life is sending my way. I don’t know why but when I carry the book I feel good and connected.”

  “Connected to what?”

  At that moment, a rich New York accent announced the commencement of boarding over the speakers, drowning out Casey’s questions.

  “That’s us,” Amy said.

  *

  With a click, the overhead luggage was secured. Terry climbed into the window seat and gazed out the small portal at the tarmac. He watched the luggage being tossed on the conveyor belt before it travelled into the belly of the plane.

  “Terry!” Amy said.

  “Yeah?”

  With her eyebrows raised, and a sideways nod of her head, Amy indicated for him to get up and give the seat to Casey. She smiled at Casey as Terry gave a boyish look as if to say, Do I have to?

  “Getting up,” Terry said. “Right — of course, just checking all’s well. Casey, my man — your seat.”

  Casey laughed and said, “Definitely.”

  The engines roared as the plane sped down the runway. Their heads were pushed back into the seat. Amy held Terry’s hand and smiled at him. Casey imagined a giant hand came up from the ground, wrapped around the belly of the plane and propelled them into the electrified sky.

  *

  Casey’s head banged against the window and he woke with a fright. “Turbulence,” Amy said, as the plane bounced up and down a little more. Casey rubbed his shoulder as if it was sore. “Are you okay?” Amy asked. Her arm flew up to her head as an overhead locker flung open, and handbags and jackets tumbled out falling on top of her. With her arm she knocked the stuff to the ground. The plane continued to shake violently and dropped, then levelled out. Amy had started counting. “That was the longest drop,” she said, with her hand on her chest as if catching her breath. “My heart was in my mouth.” She looked at Terry strangling the armrest, his knuckles white.

  The air hostesses failed to conceal the worry on their faces, clutching onto their own restraints with both hands as they were jostled in their seats. Beyond Casey, Amy could see black clouds and lightning flashing outside the window.

  Adrenalin raced through Amy. Casey appeared calm to her, stillness encompassing him. He reached his hand towards the navigation map on the screen imbedded in the headrest of the seat in front and placed his finger over the image of the plane.

  Some people screamed, terrified, as the plane suddenly dropped again. The lights went out. A strong voice came over the intercom asking everyone to stay calm. Amy checked on Casey. He now looked feverish, beads of sweat tracking down his temple. He held his finger firmly against the screen; it was the only screen that still had power. “Sit back, Casey!” she yelled over the noise. Casey kept his finger steady on the tiny image of the plane while chaos went on around him. He was still, as if he was in a bubble, in a different time and space. The plane steadied, the people stopped screaming, and Casey collapsed back into his seat, breathless as a marathon runner, pale and exhausted. His curly mane was soaked. Amy, not sure what she had just witnessed, leant over to him and put her hand on his knee. Heat radiated from his body. “Casey, what’s wrong?”

  Casey rested his head against the cool window as the plane safely passed the edge of the expanding cloud of dark matter. “I’m alright, just scared, that’s all. Can I have some water please, Amy?”

  Amy handed him her bottled water and another bottle to Terry and they both skolled it. Casey retrieved his pillow off the floor, putting it between his head and the window. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m okay — just need to sleep for a while. That’s all.”

  Amy leant into Terry, kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, “We need to drop for a lot longer, before we spin out of control. Count, each time we drop, count. But if we’re going to go — enjoy the view. What else can you do?” She smiled at her husband.

  The flight attendants moved through the plane offering juice, pillows and blankets and reassuring everyone the turbulence was over. Amy could see the color returning to Terry’s cheeks.

  Lightning cracked in the distance and Terry turned away from the window back towards Amy in wonderment. “Who are you? Where did you come from? And what did you do with my wife?”

  Amy squeezed his hand, closed her eyes and tried to make sense of what just happened, if anything at all. I am so tired, she thought. What did I see? Lightning flared across the sky. Amy stood up and reached over the boys to pull down the window shade and then tightened up her seat belt. The plane hit a bump again, Terry grabbed her arm and started counting. Lightning lit up the plane once more and the thunder rumbled. The crew closed all the blinds and the plane settled down to the illusion of calm for the rest of the flight.

  7

  Beyond reality: Kevin. Australia.

  Kevin slowly opened his eyes and gagged. Everything was blurry. The bush was saturated with the smell of smoke, burnt fur and overcooked meat. The taste and textures latched onto the back of his throat. Kevin’s hand flew up to his mouth and nose. In the pit of his stomach, deep in his solar plexus, he felt animals screaming and the trees crying. He saw Tim motionless, his back lobster-red, scorched from the sun. Kevin scanned the area. They were alone.

  Kevin looked past Tim, into the bush. It looked different. It was lush, brighter, practically fluorescent, and absent of smoke. Between it and Tim was a shimmering transparent wall. It looked like fluid; it moved rhythmically, rippling like the wind on the surface of a lake, or the vapors on the road on a summer’s day. It must be a mirage, Kevin thought. He continued to scan the area. He saw the old car seat. No petrol bombs and no teenagers, so how long has it been? His skin was just as red as Tim’s and felt like it would blister. Kevin awkwardly pushed himself into a sitting position.

  “Tim. Tim!” Kevin stopped and stared at Tim’s back. He searched for signs of life. Kevin held his breath, waited, afraid to move. There it was. Tim’s back rose slightly with a shallow breath, and then another one. Kevin’s shoulders dropped as he exhaled. He got to his feet and walked around and looked into Tim’s face. He lifted Tim’s eyelids — no response. He shook Tim’s shoulders and still nothing. The southerly had scattered embers carelessly on both sides of the river; small pockets of fire flared up around them. Kevin heard — mixed with the crackling of the fire — a low hum, a sonic pulse resonating. Kevin turned and the lush green rainforest was still there, distorted behind the rippling wall. It was from this mirage that the sound and energy was emanating. The two landscapes were not quite worlds apart. His world was surrounded by sizzling heat and smelt like death. On the other side of the wall the world looked vibrant, tropical, fresh and rich like a cool volcanic rainforest. It has to be a mirage, he thought. His brain was playing tricks, protecting him. A loud crack like a stockman’s whip, followed by a soft pulse, reverberated around him, reminding Kevin of a time when his granddad took him to a naval air show and from the deck of a carrier he saw a fighter plane traveling faster than the speed of sound to create a sonic shockwave over the ocean.

  The wall was a veil between two worlds. Transparent liquid metal; horizontal ripples plasma-like. Kevin walked over to it. His palm open he reached out and gently touched the surface. Bolts of colored light flared from his hand and expanded along the wall. He pulled back. Arm outstretched
he slowly placed his palm on the wall and again bolts of light flared. His hand, the nucleus, glowed. His mouth dropped opened in awe. The fluorescent waves of light ignited by his touch rippled and shimmered across the surface. Kevin felt euphoric — no pain, no fear. It wasn’t hot or cold. It had no smell and felt just a little … like jelly that hadn’t quite set. Kevin applied pressure and his hand started to sink into the liquid. Cautiously, he pushed his arm into the wall to the depth of his shoulder and drew in a shocked breath: his sunburnt arm felt cooled instantly. He pushed a little further to penetrate its depths completely. He stopped his fingers now on the other side and he could feel cool air. He wiggled his fingers. It was nothing like the stifling humid air around him. He drew his arm out of the wall. What the hell? He stood there, turning his arm over and over to examine the skin. It had lost its lobster-red glow and was pale and fresh, the scorching sunburn had vanished.

  Smoke suddenly filled Kevin’s lungs and he had a fit of coughing and his eyes stung. The fire was now practically encircling them. Frantically, he searched for a way out, but saw only the rippling wall and its mysterious world.

  “Tim, wake up. Wake up, Tim!”

  Tim lay motionless, his leg badly twisted. Crushed more like it. Kevin searched the ground to find something, anything, to support Tim’s leg. Every time he twisted his body his scorched back hurt. He found an old boot. Feeling inspired he picked up a couple of branches and tore long strips from a paperbark tree. A foreign thought jumped into his mind: Get out and forget about Tim. Startled, he fumbled with the boot, dropping it and just missing Tim’s head.

  Shit! How the hell do I do this? Okay, stop thinking, just do! Kevin dropped to his knees and quickly created a brace by winding the paperback around the two small branches to secure them to his mate’s leg. His jaw was clenched tight as he was worried about hurting his friend. Mindful of his own leg starting to throb with pain, Kevin stopped. He was sympathetically feeling Tim’s unavoidable pain. He ignored the sweat dripping from his brow. His fringe irritatingly clung to his face; he pushed it back with his forearm and out of his eyes. Kevin drew in a deep breath trying to calm down when a thought of his nanna emerged in his mind and a reassuring sensation enveloped him. Kevin struggled to refocus, blocking out his friend’s pain. His own screaming emotions were enough. A flood of compassion, coming from Tim, washed over Kevin. Tim was aware, on some higher level, of Kevin’s actions. Kevin’s eyes clouded with tears as his friend’s emotions embraced him and he had to wipe them away. His hands shaking, he wove a bootlace around Tim’s leg brace, adding that extra bit of strength. Kevin checked the firmness of the splint, of each piece of paperbark, and finally of the snaking bootlace securing the bark. Kevin lifted Tim under the arms and dragged him towards the wall, gently placing him beside it.

  “I’ll go through first,” he said to Tim as if he was conscious, “and make sure it’s not going to vaporize us.”

  The air was getting thin as the fire sucked up the oxygen around them.

  Kevin’s eyes strained to see through the smoke and the mirage. “What is this stuff?” he said. He hoped Tim would answer. Reluctantly, he raised his right arm and softly laid his palm to the surface once again. It vibrated, light shone magically around his hand and shockwaves of colors extended out across its surface. He placed his left hand upon it and the same thing happened. With both hands poised as if to push open a door Kevin felt the coolness and pushed into it slowly. There was little resistance. He felt his fingers pass beyond the gel-like substance. His hands pierced all the way to the other side, and he clapped. He heard nothing — he did it again, not a hint of sound from the other side. He still felt relaxed, hypnotized by the sparkling lights that increased the deeper he penetrated into the wall, and the humming sound — as if the bass strings of a cello were being plucked — echoed around him. Instantly, Kevin snapped back into reality as Tim coughed. His lips looked red and swollen … as he tried to speak the sound turned into a terrified wail. It burrowed into the very marrow of Kevin’s bones. Tim stopped moving and screaming. He stared up at Kevin, searching with his swollen eyes for answers. Kevin wanted to move away from Tim’s pain; instead he stepped forward towards him, took a deep breath when unexpectedly he smelt his nanna’s house, lemongrass, and sage. Kevin psychically pushed back Tim’s pain and fear.

  “Hey, man! Welcome back,” Kevin said crouching next to him. “You’re pretty messed up, go slow.” The smoke was getting dense, making it harder to see the oncoming flames. There was an eerie thunderous sound, like stampeding horses.

  “What happened? Who were those psychos? What a pack of assholes!” Tim said. Each word sounded as if he had been to the dentist and his mouth was full of cotton.

  Tim placed his palms flat on the ground determined to sit up. Slowly he began to lift his upper body, cringing in pain as his face twisted into fear seeing his broken leg. “What happened? Blood — what, whose … I don’t like blood especially if it’s mine.” He started choking, gagging and coughing, causing more pain and he collapsed back onto the ground and passed out.

  “Tim? Tim!” Kevin slapped his face. “Tim, wake up, come on, man!”

  Tim laid still, his face wet. Tears escaped his closed eyes and he whispered, “We need help. I can’t, I can’t believe you just bitch-slapped me, K.” Tim slowly opened his eyes. “Give me a hand.” This time Tim moved very slowly and sat up and stared down at his leg. “Did you do this?” Tim said pointing at the splint. “Thanks, man, thanks. I always thought you had a spark of decency hidden somewhere. I don’t know if I would have done the same for you.”

  “We don’t have time for you to get all … whatever. We’re about to be cremated.”

  Tim, because of the pain in his leg, struggled to move. “What’s your plan? Have you seen us getting out of here in one of your visions? Or do you see my mom crying at my funeral?”

  “Don’t laugh. I think we are at the edge of a parallel universe.”

  Tim raised his eyebrows and started to grin. He choked on the smoke and said, “You got hit in the head, didn’t you?”

  “Turn around,” Kevin said.

  Tim craned his neck around slowly, his skin feeling like it might tear. “No shit. Wow … what the … is that a mirage? Maybe we’re already dead?”

  “I put my arm in,” Kevin said, twisting and turning his forearm. “Look at it,” he almost shouted, “the sunburn is gone.”

  Tim, for a second, forgot about his pain. His mouth hung open as he stared at Kevin’s arm. “But, how, what is it? We don’t know anything about it. We can’t just …” He started coughing, “Your dad will be here soon. Let’s just sit here and wait.”

  “No! He won’t! He doesn’t know we’re here. They will protect the houses at the edge of the bush with a firebreak and let this burn itself out.” The roar of the fire grew louder and Kevin barely noticed they had started shouting to be heard. “This is our only chance. I can’t see any other way, we have to take it!”

  Mumbling, Tim looked up towards the sky, pleading to God to save them from the inferno around them.

  “What are you doing?” Kevin yelled. “This is our opportunity,” and he pointed towards the wall. “We’ve already got an escape route. Fair dinkum, mate, you’re blind sometimes. Let’s drag your sorry ass over to the other side and get out of here. What other choices do we have? To stay is to die. This is going to be … an adventure. Yeah, an adventure.” Sweat glistened over Kevin’s youthful body which had a hint of the strong man he could become. Pain shot up Tim’s leg as Kevin dragged him head-first into the coolness of the unknown substance. Instantly, they both felt soothed, calm, but Tim’s leg was still on the other side and Kevin could feel Tim’s pain and the heat of the fire. As each part of Tim’s body passed through the invisible wall he felt renewed, he felt his body meld into the rhythm of the wall. Then the pain left, the choking smoke in his lungs cleared. He moved slowly, afraid Tim’s pain would return. Fear dissolved before it could completely take over h
is mind. Kevin and Tim emerged from the wall and into the parallel world.

  Kevin stared at what had been his sunburnt chest. They both looked back to where they had come from and watched a tsunami of fire race towards them. They instinctively braced themselves, protectively covered their heads for impact. The flames passed over them without even a warm breath upon them. Safely cocooned within the enclosure, they lowered their arms.

  “K, my leg!” Slowly Tim stood up and put weight on his damaged leg. His knee clicked into place. The pain was non-existent, it felt fine. Kevin watched as Tim apprehensively put a little more weight on it, balancing on one leg, then he quickly removed the brace Kevin had crudely constructed. Kevin couldn’t believe what he saw; Tim was completely healed. No broken bones, no blood, no sunburn and no swollen face, just dirt and dried blood.

  Where are we? Kevin wondered. “We have walked through the bushes and swum in the river a trillion times and I have never seen this before.” Kevin reached out towards a tree and laid his hand slowly upon the glowing trunk. He felt like he was part of it and suddenly felt himself stretch up and into the heavens. His arms stretched out wide, and his feet sank deep into the ground. He withdrew his hand. Being polite, he bowed, as if apologizing for the intrusion. Giving thanks, he stepped back and walked to the next tree. Maybe we have never seen this because we never needed to be here before?

  “Where’re you going? I don’t believe this, K. The flames are right there but I can’t feel them.” Tim looked puzzled, suspicious, and touched the wall, which felt to him like wet jelly.

  Kevin bent down into the foliage around him. He felt like he could hear it holding its breath, waiting. He touched the embellished, long drooping leaf next to him very gently. He looked even closer and was dazzled by a translucent blue insect sitting on the velvet leaf.

  “What do you think this is? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Its wings were like a cicada’s, clear and fragile with fluorescent magenta veins glowing and an ethereal body of flickering silver lights. It was beautiful. Kevin leant forward to coax it onto his hand. It didn’t move, so he tried to pick it up, but he couldn’t touch it; his fingers tingled as they passed through the creature.