EarthUnder (The Meteorite Chronicles Book 1) (19 page)

As I stirred honey into the cup, I glanced through the bars of the ancient handrail to stare into the past in recollection of those memories. Putting the piping hot beverage to lip, I noticed the dreaded red aura moving through the entry foyer on the ground floor. Deep in subconscious thought I had known that as soon as we parted company, our curator friend would do what any researcher would do: call his cronies to have them join him in the lab for the excitement. This was purely innocent on his part, but the call drew the Teranor like flies to a kill. We both knew it would transpire something like this, but I thought that I would at least get to enjoy this one cup of tea. Mina told me to relax and enjoy. It was her thinking that they would head for the lab.

As we sat there sipping tea, a stream of men with red auras moved into the museum. Jasmina reminded me that we needed to be seen. We had to make a brief appearance and then run. This was going to be the dicey part. The freight elevator was a dedicated elevator. It would not stop at additional floors. It would only take its fare to the floor requested and then move on to the next waiting passenger or freight. Mina said that we should step out of the elevator, be seen by the Teranor, retreat back into the elevator, and hopefully the doors would close before we were apprehended. Then we would ghost and step through the back wall of the elevator shaft and move off. This all sounded good to me, but I felt we needed to somehow make certain that Kilian and the others were safe. Mina heard my concern and against better judgment she agreed.

We got to the ground floor and stepped out into the back of the foyer. As we revealed ourselves, a surprising number of men in red started towards us; we backed into the elevator and agonized as the doors slowly closed. There were loud bangs as we rose through the building’s floors. Deep dents appeared on our side of the doors, which showed us that these men would not hesitate to shoot us. As we passed the next floor Mina took my hand and we jumped through the wall into a hallway that led to stairs and down to the laboratory. Ghosting as we walked, there was nobody in the hall. When we arrived, the lab is empty: no researchers and no meteorite specimens. We moved through the building from room to room, walking through walls as we went. There were no more gunshots, but we weren’t finding Kilian. We ran back to the entry foyer to see Teranor frantically searching from room to room. It was obvious that our ghosting was working effectively. But where were the researchers? Mina closed her eyes in concentration. She flashed them open and exclaimed in a whisper, “I’ve found them.” She grabbed my hand and led me down the marble stairs. In a room below ground we found the small group of researchers busily polishing small pieces of our stones in preparation for the SHRIMP. They were completely oblivious. When we walked into the room we learned that Kilian had left the main pieces in the probe room, and they were gone, taken by the Teranor. Apparently they had no interest in revealing themselves to the researchers and causing more trouble, so once they had obtained our specimens, they backed out.

The scientists were safe; we left them to their devices. We stepped back into the hall and began to make our way back to the Vug. Walking together through the halls of the museum three Teranor came around the corner at the end of the hall we were in. We had stopped ghosting, and they screamed at us to halt. As one of them began to draw his weapon, Mina quickly raised her arm; with a pulsing gesture of her hand, the three Teranor were thrust with tremendous force against the wall behind them and fell limp to the floor. We ghosted again and worked our way to the front of the museum and on towards the Vug. This ghosting phase is no way to live, but it is a great way to remain safe. Moving through the ring we could see the Parliament building coming into view. From our vantage point we could see a number of Teranor in front of the marble steps.

As we stopped, Talleyrand appeared in front of us holding his hands out to stop us where we stood. “The Teranor have located your Vug. They have yet to learn of your new abilities. They will try to stop you from leaving the city. It will help you if they believe they have trapped you here. We have sent decoys to several areas of the city to carry out the deception while you continue on your journey. We have left another Vug under a split willow tree on the east bank of the Danube where it flows into the Black Sea. You are shielded so the Teranor will not track your movement. You can swim to the Vug. We intend to keep the Teranor busy here in Vienna. You must get to the Vug and continue your journey.”

Talleyrand put a hand on his chest and the other flat in our direction, wishing us farewell. We began the walk through Vienna’s streets to the Danube River, where we would soon see if I could swim underwater for approximately nine hundred miles. Ghosting and moving along at a brisk pace, we stepped out of the Ring. Mina and I began to fade into the shadows of the surrounding buildings when our Vug erupted in a massive fireball of destructive energy, blowing a gaping hole into the face of the wall below the Parliament building. We turned to look back at the sight to see that the damage had been miraculously selective and only red-haloed bodies lay on the ground. No humans appeared to have been injured, only Teranor. I looked for a smile of reassurance from Mina, but she looked ahead of our direction with deliberate intent and little emotion. We threaded our way through narrow cobbled streets lined with ancient architecture, historic buildings dating back many hundreds of years. Any other trip here might have been to enjoy the history of this beautiful part of the world; instead we were here to save its history from an abrupt end. Soon we arrived at the banks of the River Danube, where we stepped into the mud along the river’s edge.

Jasmina stopped to prepare me for this next leg of our effort, saying, “This portion of our travel will be strange for you; we will be under the water for many miles and swimming very swiftly. You will not be able to see in this water, and when we encounter obstacles such as river traffic we will ghost right through the hulls as if they are not there. We will keep our hands together as we both move on instinct. You won’t need me for this, but I will stay by your side regardless and we shall remain hand in hand. It will take some time for you to adapt to our speed. You have within you all of the tools needed to do this; you only need to trust my words. In time you may find that you enjoy this ability as do I. My dear Bryce, in your own words from another time and place, ‘trust, enjoy and relax.’”

Ghosting and shielded, we lowered into the muck and drifted through the river bank sediment until we emerged under the river in the murky, cool currents of the Danube. One could hear the whining grind of engines churning as they motored behind watercraft pushing their masters up and down the waterway. Hesitating for a brief pause, it was easy to feel our pending direction as the river made its way to the Black Sea. I heard Mina’s voice in my head speaking to me more clearly than face to face. It was not her voice in my head; it was her mind in mine. The words were felt, not heard. She told me to hold fast and swim with all my might. Eyes open or closed there was nothing to be seen as we tore through water like a hummingbird tears through air. Two hearts pounded out a beat in unison as if one.

Our fingers locked in an unbreakable weave, we soared side by side, arms making slight rudder motions to guide direction. As I relaxed, the sensation of moving faster manifested itself. Mina confirmed that the more I let go, the quicker we accelerated. The sound soaking into my bones of passing ships blended into a symphonic drone of hums and whirrs. We traversed close to half the length and were bearing down on the mouth of the river. When we walked out of the waterway there was nothing to see but lush trees. We covered over nine hundred river miles in a handful of heartbeats, or so it seemed. This was an activity I would very much like to try again and again in clearer water. Mina giggled at my thoughts. She seemed to know exactly where the Vug was waiting. A few short steps from the river and we were standing outside our new transport.

Chapter Nine

Capture

I
leaned over and poked my head through the skin-like outer film of our new Vug. It felt different inside. As I leaned back with a questioning expression on my face, Jasmina explained that the Vugs all had a different feel.

“It’s just like an automobile,” she compared; “every car has a different feel and a different smell, right?” This simply raised more questions for me about her world and how things that are nearly intangible can also have personalities and character traits. Jasmina stepped into the Vug and turned towards me, where I was still positioned outside; her eyes were like the South Pacific Ocean after a tempest. As she reached out, her strong yet supple hand fingering for my grip, I felt a slamming strike throughout my body like lightning blasting down from the heavens. Something had hit me. As the daylight melted into darkness, there was no way to move. Frozen by shock, mind melting into blur, body wracked with sudden screams of agony, bars of iron breaking my view of Jasmina’s face, cringing with panic, I was caught by her, tears bursting from her crying eyes as darkness prevailed.

When I awakened, Elders were surrounding me with hands over my body. I could not move; pain radiated through me as the sound waves of my agonizing screams reverberated through the air. There was a sickening taste of iron and the sting of pain from my last memory. Warmth began to flood through all of me as the Elders lowered their hands onto my skin. Lying there beneath the illumination of their efforts, I could sense that something was very wrong. Taking inventory of my physical self, it was easy to surmise that I could not move or speak. I could think, smell, and taste, but I couldn’t open my eyelids or turn my eyes. I could see those around me, but it was a mental image. Then I heard Mina’s voice calmly begin to offer comfort and explanation for what had transpired.

Mina spoke with tears in her voice,“My dear Bryce Monroe Sterling, I nearly lost you. You were seized by an ancient artifact known as a Catchkill. The Teranor had set these traps in the obvious departure points, hoping to catch us and halt our progress. The Catchkill cages were designed during our medieval time to capture and destroy adversaries. This is an ancient technology that Terans abandoned long ago, but which has been brought here by the Teranor. The Catchkillers are a despicable device that encapsulate the target in iron-like bars while three razor-sharp tubes pierce the body and drain its life fluids. In your case the spikes penetrated your heart and spine. When the spikes shoot through the victim, a core sample is ejected out onto the ground from the hollow center of each spike. A DNA sample is used to program each Catchkiller and the ejected core material can then be used to confirm a kill or to program additional tech later.

“Tags were also implemented on our home world, millions of ages ago, but Teranor tags cannot survive in the Earth atmosphere, which is extremely fortunate for you. Tags divulge your location, then dissolve your flesh in a matter of minutes, preventing escape or salvation. We were shielded and ghosting but when we stopped ghosting to step into the Vug, the Catchkill was triggered and it took you. You were instantly caged and penetrated. The Elders are bringing you back, my Bryce. I have learned that I must teach you how to ghost on pure instinct to prevent this from ever occurring again.

“The Catchkill tells us that the Teranor have brought their tools of war with them and that they will kill without hesitation to stop us or anyone else who interferes with their designs. There are a number of additional forms of self-preservation that I must teach you now that you have been put into the path of harm. You will be motionless for a while longer while the Elders repair the damage done to your body. They are giving you a new spine and heart. Please remain calm and listen to my voice while you rest here; it’s not long now before we depart for our next destination. The Teranor must have gotten your DNA from the specimens we left in Vienna. I will do all in my power to protect you, my Bryce.”

I lay there on the forest floor of the Void with the hum of chanting Elders hovering over me and all things around us glowing with a pulsing phosphorescent illumination and a humming vibration emanating from the ground beneath me. There was a sensation of greater strength in my heart as I listened to its slow rhythmic pound drumming in my inner ears. As I lay listening to Mina’s tender, affectionate voice, I saw the face that haunted my waking hours and slumbering dreams for lifetimes. Somehow I had lived this moment many times before. Lying there in my own silent reflection, I realized that for once this would not end in goodbye. Jasmina continued to explain that the Teranor would not hesitate to take my life to stop our effort. She told me that the Terans would continue to innovate ways to protect us. Mina’s voice calmly whispered as the Elders seemed to be completing the process of repairing the damage done by the Teranor death trap.

“Will I be sore?” I inquired.

Mina’s reply was hard to hear, “Bryce, everybody reacts differently to this process. You were gone when the Elders began to save you. Damage was complicated and your anatomy is not similar to Teran. You and I shall know the answers soon enough. The hope is that you recover swiftly and that you will feel better than ever. You will have me by your side sharing a great deal of my life energy to help you make the transition into this new age for your body.”

Finishing the healing ritual, the Elders rose up while reciting a few words I didn’t understand; then they moved off, leaving Jasmina and me there alone. I felt a hold releasing throughout my body as muscles began to relax and twitch back to life. A finger moved first, responding to the touch of Mina’s hand curling under mine. Her touch ignited a spark of joy and comfort in my nervous system. The feel of Mina’s finger under and around mine sent a chill up and down my new spine. When I moved to sit up the effort was smooth as fluid. The healing had done its intended service and I felt strong and filled with vigor. As I stood in one supple motion, feeling not so much as a glint of pain or resistance, a broad smile replaced my worried grimace. We slipped our fingers together and held fast, experiencing touch as if for the first time. Every sensation pulsed new and stronger through my senses. The blinding fog of life gone past had faded from clouding my senses, and every detail now held a new sensation.

“I feel” were my first words. Mina blinked as her eyes watered; she looked to the forest floor and leaned to press her forehead against mine while she whimpered a small, cheerful laugh. We stood there for a time enjoying the nearness and touch. Calm replaced the chill of fear and worry. Mina led me into the forest for a walk through New Tera. A glow surrounded us as we moved. People walked by us making eye contact and smiling as we passed. I could hear the muffled voices of everyone around us. Looking down at my torso there were no scars from the three spikes that had shafted my body. I felt where they were but only as a faint recollection. With each intake of air into the lungs, I drew greater strength. The questions begged for answers to the point of distraction. Mina could feel my craving for explanation of what had transpired in our last moments on the surface. “Mina, did I die up there? Please tell me exactly what happened.”

Jasmina gestured for me to sit on a nearby log. She paused
for a time as a solemn expression washed over her face. She finally replied, “The hollowed tubes spit core samples of your tissue out onto the ground where they could be potentially recovered so that your DNA could be used to create clones. I cleared the area to prevent that potential threat. It was beyond difficult for me to return to that site knowing that you were here suffering. After you were taken I pulled you and the cage into the Vug and put you in stasis to bring you here, hoping that the Elders could save you. You passed before I could get you to the Elders.”

“My Bryce, you are stronger than any of us had surmised; your body is fragile, but your will to live is immense, a nearly limitless spirit. You were brought back from dead. Sadly, a number of your doubles have been lost during our time coming here. From now on, rather than shielding our movement, the Terans will be shielding our bodies. A large percentage of the Teran population will be directly focused on you and me to protect us from harm. We know now from this last encounter that the Teranor have deliberate intent, and we will not allow them to harm you. My people are prepared to fight to protect our world. You and I will remain here in the Void while you adapt to your new body, but soon we will continue our journey.”

I began to recognize the strength in Mina that I had seen or sensed in our earlier time when I was just a kid traveling the globe for the first time. The wall I felt as a younger man was still there as an integral facet of this powerful woman, always on guard and ever prepared for a challenge. Yet how did she find the strength and courage to return to the location of my capture and face ultimately fearful odds just to recover parts of me left lying there in the dirt? In this new world, I have learned that the importance of the unknown is far beyond the scope of my comprehension.

Both Earth and the EarthUnder world of New Tera were integral parts of this shell planet, a world that I barely understood, filled with new threats beyond my wildest imagination. I sat here immersed in a cloud of thought with Mina standing in view listening to my mind storming about. The fine line between worry and preparation for pending doom was as slim as the line between two shades of the same color. We had to prepare for dangers I could not possibly forecast. Jasmina volunteered that there was a way around this issue of my concern over the unknown.

She explained in detail, “The Elders can meld with your mind and immerse your brain in our history so that you will then know the risks and dangers involved with confronting the Teranor. This process can eliminate the questions, but the knowledge may overwhelm your conscious thought with too much information. Are you willing to take that risk? The Elders can expand the capacity of your hippocampus to assimilate our memories. This way you can be prepared for any threat from our past. We Terans don’t really know the extent of your capacity to learn and adapt. You, Bryce Monroe, may surprise us all; that is my greatest hope. Well, are you willing?”

I replied, “Mina, you already know my answer, yes of course I will. I’ll do anything to make myself better equipped to defend our world. Let’s do this.” Mina led me back to the gathering place where the Elders had repaired my body. They were already waiting there for us. It appeared there was no need to explain our return; they were already preparing for our arrival. As we walked their way, one of them came to meet us and took my arm to lead me to the center of the group. Mina stood there where I left her and watched as the Elders encircled me. My body floated in suspension above the ground, level with their heads, as they leaned into me. I heard their whispering voices in my head as I began to experience mass awareness. They helped me to open my mind. The pounding of heart beats resonated in my head as I floated within the circle of Elders, absorbing their collective memories. I began to hear the voices clearly and see crystalline images, memories of countless lives. Tears flowed as I felt the memories. Soon, process completed, the Elders lowered me to my feet. I could feel the power of unlimited recollection. They told me that now I would respond on pure impulse whenever needed. That I didn’t need to consciously recall memories, but they were all there at my call. Mina gestured me to follow as she moved through the forest. She bent down to pick a few nutrition pods and handed them to me.

Jasmina held back as she announced, “We leave soon for our next destination. Do you feel ready for this?” Her face showed her concern.

My reply brought a smile back to her ocean eyes. “Yeah, I feel better than ever and ready to roll. If this is what reincarnation feels like, I’ll take one a day!”

As we wove our way through massive trees and gin-clear waterways, moss covered the forest floor with a spongy layer that sprang under foot. Creatures of unimaginable variety wandered aimlessly as we made our way to the Vug. Before arriving we were met by a large number of Terans wanting to wish us well on our next leg. As they reached out to touch us in farewell, I heard them clearly speaking to us with advice and suggestions. I found myself able to reply to each suggestion and request rapidly, clearly, and without hesitation. I could see now that speaking out of mouth is clearly overrated and cumbersome. This new mode of communication was delightfully efficient. As well as being able to speak and hear cerebrally, you could feel the love and kindness and concern of each individual as they touched you and spoke. As Mina and I moved off in the Vug, I pondered that if the Terans had this much power and strength, then how much evil capability the Teranor must possess. Calm washed over my thoughts as I began to see in mind the history of the Teranor and the limitations caused by their own evil nature. A voice in me spoke to say, “We can do this, we can win this conflict and turn this into good for both our peoples.”