The Twelve Stones (52 page)

Suddenly
,
the murmurs that she had heard in the background exploded in
to
cac
o
phony
.
She covered
her ears against the onslaught, the thunderous booming voice
which now
came from every direction at once. It was maddening the way it fell into her skull, no matter how hard she tried to block the sound.

At first, it all sounded like just a bunch of white noise. Then, gradually, different sounds started appearing. Emily began to recognize languages, different dialects. It was at that moment she realized the Crystal room was attempting to speak with her, and it was up to Emily to choose the manner of communication she wanted.

“Hello?”
s
he
shouted above the din in her head. “Who’s there?”

“Twelve Stones were lain upon yon earth for the betterment
of
mankind. Twelve Stones were lain upon yon earth…”

“Can you turn it down some?” Emily shouted. “You’re coming in a little loud here.”

The word repeated themselves again, gradually growing
softer
until Emily was no longer able to make them out. “No, no! A little louder
,
please.”

Finally, she found an appropriate volume.

“What are you?”
she asked.

“We are guardians of the past, and Patrons of your future. We are here to help you survive yourselves.” The voice had a calming influence, its measured tone soothing.
It
sounded asexual, and used no threatening words.

“What are you?”

“A collection of beings
who are
dependent on your survival as a species
,
”
t
he artifact replied.

“Well
,
that was helpful
,
”
Emily muttered to herself. She turned her attention to the stone in front of her. The beautiful sea
-
foam green entranced her.

“Where are you from?”

The cave remained silent
,
as if unable or unwilling to answer that.

“OK,” Emily said to herself, “What about,
‘W
hat
is that stone for?
’
”

“This will allow your species to avoid conflict and find peace as one
,
”
t
he
cave replied.

Emily tried again. “What’s its practical purpose?”

“That depends on you.”

“Fantastic.” Emily looked at the stone and then looked around at her surroundings again. “This isn’t a trap
,
right?”

“No trap
.
I
t
is a gift from your Patrons to help your species survive. There is a darkness coming, and
T
welve
S
tones
were lain upon yon earth until their return. The darkness comes as a foe, and all of humanity must unite against this threat or perish forever.”

“
Some e
xternal
threat?” Emily called out. “What
do you mean
?”

“A cancer has formed, and it is your species that we are calling upon to remove it.”

“Cancer?” She called out. “What are you talking about?”

“Fear
,
”
t
he
cave
replied
. The protective shield around the stone lowered. “Take this stone, unite it with the remaining eleven, and bring peace to your world. This is the fourth beacon activated.”

The lights around the stone began to flash
,
and the stone rose, floating in space of its own accord. Speechless, Emily reached for the stone in front of her. Grasping it firmly in her hands, she pulled it away from the pedestal.
The pedestal lowered into the floor and disappeared.

The lights began to flicker
.
Emily slipped the stone into her pocket, looking desperately for where she came in.

“How do I get out?”
s
he cried out to the cave, but it remained silent as the light began to fade.

Stumbling over a few crystals that jutted out from the floor, Emily ran towards the wall from
wh
ich
she believed she came. Grabbing the smooth crystal walls, she ran her hands all over them, searching for a way out.

Finally, she felt the jelly
-
like exterior of the door. Plunging herself into it, she stepped carefully through the vine
-
like path towards Kline, ducking the thick veins of crystal carefully.

All at once, she emerged from the crystal wall, gasping for air
. Kline
stepp
ed
up quickly to grasp her hand.

“Where is it?”
h
e
hissed. “It was in there
.
I felt it move.
”

Searching her pockets, he ran his hands through
,
tearing one open. He watched as the stone fell to the ground in front of him, his eyes following it greedily. As it settled in the dust of the cave, he grabbed it quickly, looking on the green exterior.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time
,
” Kline whispered, completely satisfied with himself.

He pocketed the stone and turned towards Emily.

“Now
,
Ms. Harper, what to do with you?”

“You’re letting me go.” Emily protested
.
“We agreed if I got you that stone…”

“Yes, yes, I know, and what a dastardly man I am for going back on my word.” Kline said
,
bored.

“You’re going back?” Emily gasped.

“Oh, I assumed you
’d
jumped to that conclusion already. Fine, I’ll wait while you catch up
,
” Kline humorlessly replied. “I’m sure your boyfriend has reached Joshua Tree by now, intent on rescuing his fair maiden.”

He reached into his pocket and took out his PDA
, then
tapped a few commands into it
.
A
round them in the dark tunnel
, flickering red lights began to turn on, joining the glow of the klieg lights facing the crystal wall.
“It’s tough sometimes being the boss
,
” Kline said sadly
.
“You have to make the tough decisions
;
who you hire, who you give raises to, who you…” he giggled, “fire.”

He flicked
the switch on his PDA,
and
a countdown clock began running on his display. Fifteen minutes and counting. 14:59, 14:58
;
each tick on his PDA was a tick closer to death.

“Soon
,
all this will be just a bad accident
,
chalked up to a substandard mining crew
,
that locals will only read about in the paper, only to be forgotten the next time some other Hollywood trollop releases a sex tape.” Kline shook his head. “The media obsession with celebrity in this country is pure banality.”

Kline began walking up the tunnel away from Emily. She screamed and ran after Kline.

“You said you’d let me go!” Emily yelled at him. Kline turned, as if annoyed by an offending fly that had landed on his favorite suit, and brushed her off and away.

With all of Kline’s brute strength however, she was thrown all the way back to the crystal wall where she was knocked unconscious and left for dead.

Chapter Forty

Alex cursed to himself as he approached the mineshaft. Two dead bodies lay at the entrance to greet him.

“Well, that’s not a good sign
,
” Alex said to himself
,
poking his head around the corner. He listened for any indication of life.

Hearing none, he eased himself into the tunnel, creeping his way through the darkness. With no flashlight to lead the way, Alex was slowed to a crawl as he let his toes and arms feel out the space ahead.

Stumbling over something, Alex knelt down and felt for what he had tripped over. Whatever it was, Alex wanted to be sure he wouldn’t trip over it again, should he need to escape quickly. Knowing
one's
path, and the obstacles in it, could sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

Patting the object, Alex quickly realized what he was feeling was clothing. He wrestled the body to a sitting position and used his glow stick to illuminate the face in front of him.

It was the bald man from the
S
heriff station, JPL
,
and the Allen Telescope Array. This was the man that had assisted in Alex’s bad past two days, and he wasn’t moving.

Good
, Alex thought to himself.
One less scumbag I have to worry about
. Looking over the scene in front of him
,
and the condition of the man’s face, he felt more than a little satisfied at the thought that Emily had gotten a hold of him. Allowing a smile to trickle across his face, he nodded imperceptibly. “Good girl
,
”
h
e whispered. Emily had expressed interest in
taking
some
self-
defense classes. It looked as if they had paid off.

A crash echoed down the tunnel. Alex looked up, seeing a bright light flash several times ahead down the tunnel. Alex dropped Geoffrey Tate’s lapels, leaving him to sit against the cold mountain rock. The flashing lights gave Alex something to aim for. It was further, much further into the freshly dug tunnel than Alex would have anticipated for the short time the crew had been working here.

After walking closer to the light, he hid behind a discarded mound of rocks and earth left
over from the massive excavation project. He watched as Emily screamed at Kline, only to be tossed casually aside, like a doll that had outgrown its usefulness to its priggish owner.

Kline pocketed something and began retreating back up the tunnel towards Alex’s safe position.
Alex
hid in a dark corner, thinking quietly about his options.

His two main advantages were his invulnerability and the element of surprise. Kline would be ready for someone to attack him; he told Alex as much when he kidnapped Emily at the ATA. Kline was spoiling for a fight, and a chance to steal Alex’s stone too while he was at it. Alex decided he wasn’t going to give Kline the chance. He would not make the mistake of underestimating his opponent again.

He had been lucky in his last two encounters; this time would take a bit more finesse. Ducking down, he let Kline pass by
. The businessman
whistled tunelessly
as he walked
up the tunnel towards the cool night air, happy as a man could be.

Only after Alex was certain that Kline was gone
did he get
up and move towards Emily.

She was lying prostrate on the ground, her right arm bent in an unnatural position. Alex gasped, moving quickly to get over to her to heal her. He ran his arms all over her body, hoping he wasn’t too late. He pressed his ears to her chest, hoping to hear something.

There was nothing. Alex began to panic. By now, his touch would have healed anyone else’s wounds.

“Come on Em…
C
ome
back to me. It’s Alex
,
”
Alex pleaded. “You can be pissed and give me the silent treatment later. It’s time to come back now.”

Nothing happened. The telltale blue energy was nowhere to be seen. Alex leaned over, hugging his former love tightly. “I’m so sorry
,
Emily
.
I
t
was all my fault
.
I’m so sorry.”

Little by little, a faint blue glow began to shine weakly from his stone. He held
her
, his tears pouring down his face. “I’m sorry. I left just when things were getting good. I let them
‘
kill
’
me
.
I could have protested, lodged a complaint, but I felt like I was dead anyway.”

The healing light had now spread to Emily’s body. It enveloped the two of them, healing their wounds. She started breathing again, and looked up into Alex’s eyes, and for a moment, they were again connected.