REVELATION: Book One of THE RECARN CHRONICLES (3 page)

“Beautiful day isn’t it?”
the young man commented.

Aaron looked at him. He
would have preferred to have been left alone on the bench to eat
his lunch in peace but this was a public open space so he could
hardly complain about sharing the bench.

“Pardon?”

“I said it’s a beautiful
day, isn’t it Aaron?”

“Sorry? Do I know
you?”

“No, I don’t think so. You’d
have remembered if we’d had met before.”

“Excuse me, how do you know
my name?”

“I not only know your name,
Aaron, I also know what you do for a living. I’m actually a big fan
of yours.”

Aaron was confused. He was a
scientist researching into reincarnation and definitely not the
type of person who could claim to have a fan base.

“Look could you explain how
you know who I am and why you’re here, on this bench, bothering me
whilst I’m trying to have a peaceful lunch in the park?”

“I’m here to help you,
Aaron.”

“How? With what?”

“With your research of
course.”

“Look, I don’t know who you
are but I’m doing perfectly well on my own, thank you very much. I
certainly don’t need help from a stranger who accosted me in the
park.”

“Ah… but you do need my
help. I can help you prove reincarnation exists.”

“I`m one of the six leading
researchers in my field, in the world, so why do you think I need
your help?”

Aaron took a couple of bites
of his sandwich. This fellow sitting next to him didn’t appear
threatening in any way, and he was hungry, so he didn’t see any
harm in continuing to eat his lunch.

“That you are, Aaron. That
you are. But – and let’s be honest – you’re not getting anywhere
with your research are you? And nor are your five colleagues.
That’s why I have my people talking with them too.”

Aaron continued eating his
sandwich.

“Your people? Who exactly
are your people?”

The stranger ignored the
question.

“Now, so far all your
research – that’s you and your colleagues – has been based upon
finding people who claim to have lived a past life or lives and
interviewing them, trying to corroborate their stories by checking
them against old records where available. These are not strictly
speaking experiments and, at best, provide anecdotal evidence. They
don’t really prove a thing and I know how you scientists like to
have conclusive proof. Is your car near here?”

“Um…yes. It’s parked near
the museum.”

Aaron took the banana and
apple from the sandwich box. Out of politeness, he offered the
stranger one of the fruits, all the while hoping that he’d
refuse.

“Would you like
one?”

“No thanks
Aaron.”

“Look, you know my name but
I don’t know yours. Who are you?”

“It’s not necessary that you
know my name yet.”

“If I’m going to be working
with you, I need to know your name.”

“I didn’t say we’d be
working together Aaron, I simply said that I’d provide conclusive
proof of the existence of reincarnation…but, if it makes you feel
better, you can call me Jake. Jake Griffiths.”

“OK Jake. Should I be
pleased to meet you?”

“Oh, you should be very,
very pleased to have met me, Aaron. Now, I have a few questions for
you. They may seem a little strange but I do need to ask them so
that I can feel happy with providing you with the
truth.”

“I don’t see why you need to
ask me some questions. Is it to prove that I’m worthy of receiving
this proof?”

“Nothing so profound, my
friend, nothing so profound. Just a few basic questions. Four
actually. Although the second question is solely for confirmation
purposes. Question one. Do you have any plans to abandon your
research in the future?”

“No.”

“How old are
you?”

“Not that it’s any of your
business, but… I’m thirty-five.”

“Are you in good health? Do
you have regular health checkups?”

“Again, not that it’s any of
your business, but… yes, I’m in good health and yes, and I have
regular checkups.”

“Thank you
Aaron.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes, just those three
questions.”

“You said you had four
questions.”

“Did I? Never
mind.”

“Why did you ask me these
things?”

“Just so that I could be
sure that you weren’t intending to abandon your research any time
soon, or that you were in danger of dying soon.”

“So now what?”

Jake gestured to his jacket
pocket where a bulge could definitely be seen.

“In my jacket pocket I have
a 9mm pistol trained on you. All you have to do is do as I say and
nobody will get hurt.”

Now Aaron was worried. He’d
noticed the bulge but had assumed it was something perfectly
harmless like a book or something.

“How do I know you’re not
lying to me?”

“About what? The proof or
the gun?”

“Both.”

The stranger looked around
to check that nobody was watching and drew a 9mm pistol halfway out
of its hiding place, so that Aaron could see it. He quickly put it
back in his pocket.

“The proof you’ll get
later.”

“What’s the gun
for?”

“Just to make sure that
you’ll come with me.”

Aaron had no specific plans
for the afternoon so he made an obvious decision to cooperate. Jake
put on a pair of gloves, all the time being careful to keep the gun
trained on the scientist.

“So what’s happening to my
colleagues?”

“Exactly the same thing as
is happening here. Right… I think we’re ready now. Let’s go and
fetch your car.”

Aaron put the lid on his
sandwich box, securing it with a thick elastic band. The yoghurt
would have to wait. Even though Aaron was no longer simply having
an unusual conversation with a stranger about his work, he tried to
remain reasonably calm and confident that he’d still be around to
eat his yoghurt later. He dropped the box into his backpack,
tightened the drawstring, and stood up. The stranger picked up a
slim briefcase that he had placed on the bench when he stopped to
talk to Aaron and together they walked towards his car, which was
parked a little further along the seafront, the pistol still
discreetly pointed at the scientist.

“Am I driving?” Aaron
asked.

“One of us has to. And I
don’t have a licence, and I also need a free hand for this
gun…it’ll have to be you. I’ll give you directions.”

“Where are we
going?”

“Don’t worry about that. All
you have to concentrate on is the driving. As I said, I’ll give
directions.”

“Look, I know the south of
England area pretty well, so there’s no need to give me directions.
Just tell me where we’re going.”

“Do you know Maidenhead
Thicket?”

“Yes.”

“Well that’s where we’re
going.”

After a drive that seemed
longer than the hour and forty minutes that it actually was, the
car pulled into a gravel car park at Maidenhead Thicket.

“What now?”

“We get out. Together.
Slowly. You won’t need your backpack. We’re going to take a little
walk.”

“OK, but let me put the
backpack out of sight first. No point in tempting
thieves.”

Jake guided Aaron along a
trail for a short distance and then they left the recognised path
and headed into dense undergrowth. He handed the scientist a
bandana and ordered him to blindfold himself. Aaron felt as if he
was being led to his own execution.

“Is this really necessary?”
asked Aaron.

“Afraid so.”

They continued deeper into
the undergrowth, taking several left and right turns so that Aaron
wouldn’t be able to mentally record the route. Suddenly, Jake
stopped.

“OK. We’re here. Put your
hands behind your back please.”

“Why?”

“’Cos I want to make sure
you don’t run off, that’s why.”

Jake took some cord from his
bag and tied Aaron’s hands behind his back and tied his legs
together in such a way that they were shackled, but still allowed
some movement.

“I’ll take the blindfold off
now, Aaron.”

Aaron blinked in the fresh
sunshine and waited a few seconds for his eyes to become used to
the brightness again.

“Is all this really
necessary?”

“I don’t know, Aaron, but
I’m not taking any chances. And I need both hands to do what I’m
going to do now.”

Aaron was still alive and
felt a little less threatened. His curiosity was roused and he
wanted to find out how whatever they were there for would help him
with his research into reincarnation. He wouldn’t run away unless
absolutely necessary.

“So where are
we?”

“Where we need to
be.”

Jake pulled back some thick
spikey foliage, his hand protected by the gloves he was still
wearing, and scooped away about six inches of loose earth to reveal
a concrete square set into the soil, and painted to merge in with
the colour of the surrounding foliage.

“A lot of forethought has
gone into this operation Aaron. When you know why you’ll appreciate
it.”

In the middle of the
concrete square was a metal door which appeared to be sealed shut
with four combination locks. Jake turned to Aaron.

“Yes. They’re combination
locks. But not ones that you’d buy at a B&Q. These little
beauties add up to a combination of forty-eight numbers. Oh, and
there’s a specific order in which you have to turn the
dials.

“So, what is this – well, it
looks like a safe – for exactly?”

“I have a document in my
briefcase here which summarizes step by step the events of today.
I’m going to place the document in the safe and lock it
inside.”

“Is that all? This is a bit
over dramatic isn’t it?”

Aaron was now starting to
feel a more confident that he wasn’t about to be murdered. This
wasn’t the villain Dr. No telling James Bond about his plot to take
over the world. It seemed that whatever Jake was planning relied
upon the scientist surviving today’s events. Aaron hoped so
anyway.

“Can you untie me please?
I’m not going to run away now.”

“Can I trust
you?”

“Yes. You’ve got me. I’m
hooked.”

“Well, I have to untie you
sometime. But I do still have the gun, so don’t do anything
stupid.”

Jake untied Aaron’s wrists
but left his ankles tied.

“What about my
ankles?”

“Insurance, Aaron. I’ll
untie your ankles in due course. What’s your car number
Aaron?”

“My what?”

“The registration number of
your car. I need to make a note of it. Mentally too”

It seemed a strange request
but this was a very strange day, and so Aaron gave Jake the
details, which he duly noted on the document.

“Right Aaron. In a minute
I’ll explain everything to you but first I want to show you
something about this safe.”

Jake skillfully turned the
combination dials this way and that, alternating between the four
dials in a seemingly haphazard manner. He jumped backwards, dodging
the door as it swung open.

“I nearly always forget that
these doors spring open with such force. Take a look inside,
please.”

The scientist shuffled
forward and did as he was told.

“What you see in there is
enough Semtex – plastic explosive…”

“I know what Semtex is,
Jake,” Aaron interrupted.

“As I was saying, there’s
enough Semtex in there to blow anybody who tampers with the safe to
kingdom come. It’ll make a crater with a diameter of about two
hundred feet. It won’t just kill anyone in the vicinity. It’ll rip
them to shreds. We’re talking about a serious amount of explosive
here. The good news is that if the combination is entered
correctly, then the safe will open and everyone lives to see
another day. However, if the combination is entered incorrectly…
BOOM! If the safe is tampered with in any way …BOOM! More good news
is that I’m the only one who knows the combination. And that’s good
news for your research.

Aaron was fascinated by what
he was hearing, but he didn’t see what it had to do with his
research into reincarnation.

“Now, Aaron. On the document
is written something about a past life of mine. A lot about a past
life of mine, actually. It refers to something that happened in
1965, an unexplained murder of a mother by her son. I have detailed
everything about the murder and there are things in this document
that even the police aren’t aware of. I have detailed not just how
I, as a ten year old boy named Simon, murdered my mother, Hannah…
but also why.”