Exit Darkness, Enter Light: Book One of the Earth Cycle Read online

  “I underestimated your power, even now without knowledge you are formidable,” came his voice. He was back on his feet. “Stay back or we will harm her,” he said as he saw me thinking about my next move. I remained still. I would have to play along now as he was too far away for me to take him by surprise again. I could put Nadia in danger with another attack. He must have an accomplice.

  “What do you want from me, why have you taken Nadia?” I asked. I felt helpless and at this person’s mercy. The feel of his flesh still haunted me. I did not know what I was dealing with.

  “You are incredible,” another voice said, I turned around and saw another man emerge from behind me. It was the same man from the airport. His platinum blond hair gleamed in the dark.

  “You were right Ofriz, he must be the one,” said the dark-haired man to the new arrival.

  “I told you not to underestimate the human shell, Wren. It can be powerful when occupied by the right energy,” replied Ofriz. I was confused. They were talking about something I didn’t comprehend. How had this other man got here? What did they want with Nadia?

  “Where is Nadia? I have money. I won’t cause you any problems if you let her go,” I said feeling desperate. They both laughed, it was a mocking laughter which rang through my ears.

  “Cyrus, Cyrus, is that what you think we want? We want far more than any feeble money you may have. We want you,” said another voice. From behind the trees came a third man. This one had white hair. I was surrounded. The three of them walked slowly towards me until they were all within a few feet of me. I looked around at each one; they were all exactly the same height, around six feet four inches, a couple of inches taller than me. All of them had the same black lifeless eyes. They all had perfect faces, very attractive and delicate, almost feminine, but edged with a weird fakeness. It finally dawned in on my consciousness that these men were not real. They were not human. They were androids.

  “I am Nergal; listen to what I say carefully. You will come with us and not ask questions. We are your friends and in time you will understand the mistake you have made,” the white-haired android said its voice was monotone and devoid of emotion. For the first time in my life I did not know what to say or do. Everything I knew seemed a distant memory now. I was in a foreign country, without the woman I loved, surrounded by three beings I had no frame of reference to explain or whose motives I could understand. What did I owe these people and where was Nadia?

  “I will do as you ask,” is all I could say. Without responding the being with white hair known as Nergal turned and walked towards the path leading out of the gardens. The two other beings each on either side of me took one of my arms and with a push indicated that we should follow. The experience was surreal. I tried to ignore the images of Nadia frightened and alone from flooding my brain, it would make me angry and I did not want to risk doing anything to antagonize the situation. These machines held the cards. We walked out of the gardens, the gate was open. There was a black car with tinted windows waiting. Nergal opened the driver’s door and got in. Once I was inside the car I could not see outside. The windows were completely blacked out. I could not see Nergal as the front of the car was partitioned with a screen. I was trapped.

  “Where are we going?” I asked. The question was met with silence. The car started and we drove off. I tried to keep my mind alert, I looked at my watch to see what time it was. If I kept a mental note of the time I could at least have an idea of how far we had travelled once we reached our destination. Without being able to see outside I felt lost, I closed my eyes. The thought and hope that I would be with Nadia soon was the only thing that provided any comfort.

  The noise of a door being opened woke me. I saw Ofriz getting out of the car. I looked at my watch – we had driven for nearly five hours. I had been so tired by the events of the day that I had fallen asleep. Wren nudged me and I got out the open door. I emerged into what looked like an underground car park. There were a few lights giving illumination, but no windows anywhere. The only feature was a ramp large enough for cars to pass on the far side leading upwards and out of view. Apart from that there was one door across the opposite side of the room from the ramp. Wren and Ofriz were on either side of me again as we walked towards the door. As we reached it we stopped. I heard the car door open and Nergal got out. As far as I could tell he seemed to be the one in charge. He walked up to us and faced me.

  “Give me your watch, phone and other belongings now,” he demanded holding out a small bag. I looked at him for a few seconds and then handed him what he asked for. I had left my credit cards and most of my money in the hotel safe. All I had with me was fifty euros. He put the items in the bag.

  “When do I get to see Nadia?” I asked Nergal, as he turned towards the door. Without looking back or answering the question he opened the door and walked through. Wren pushed me and we also walked through. We emerged into a hallway, but this was not a normal hallway you find in a building. It spanned out on either side and the walls were made of barren rock. It was almost as if we had entered an underground cave. There was a strong earthy smell in the hallway. There was light but no indication of the source. We walked for a few minutes past several doors on either side, each hewn from the barren rock. Nadia could be behind one of those doors, I thought. Where the hell was I? We passed a few more doors. Two on the left and three on the right, finally we arrived outside a very large double door. It looked as if it was made from steel. We waited outside it for what seemed like an age and then suddenly it opened. As each side of the double door opened fully I could see that they were over a foot thick. The room beyond the doors was pitch black, nothing inside was visible.

  “Go inside,” commanded Nergal. I looked at his inhuman face and went into the room. I entered total darkness. None of the others followed me. Once fully in the room I heard the doors close behind me. There was a crank as they locked me inside. I stood in total darkness unable even to see my own hand in front of me. I had no idea of the size of the room or what was in it.

  “Nadia!” I called out hoping she would answer. Silence. I felt claustrophobic the total darkness was suffocating. I dared not walk around as the last thing I wanted to do was injure myself by bumping into something or tripping over.

  Then a light came on causing me to blink a few times to adjust. The light bathed the room in a red glow. There was something standing about four or five metres in front of me. As far as I could tell whatever it was had its back to me and was dressed in a black robe, but the dimensions seemed all wrong.

  This person or thing was very tall and wide. I walked closer towards it.

  “Where am I and who are you?” I said, as I reached within a metre of the towering figure. I was over six foot tall, but this person was much taller, easily over seven feet. I stood within touching distance. The figure turned. I looked up, but could not see a face as a hood covered it completely. We faced each other, this thing towering over me.

  “Welcome. I have searched for you for a long time,” was the words the hooded figure spoke; the voice was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was eerie. My body shivered involuntarily. I stood frozen to the spot.

  “Who are you?” I said almost hypnotized.

  “You know,” was its reply. Then its arms moved. The hands were covered by the long sleeves of the robe; they reached up towards the hood and pulled it back slowly. What was behind the hood was beyond anything my rational mind could comprehend. I stared up at the giant figure in front of me with disbelief. I felt my knees weaken. My heart was beating like it would explode out from my chest. My breathing became erratic. The being stooped down drawing its face closer to mine, and as it did I fell backwards as my brain begged for release. What had stared back at me was the face of a snake. Not a normal crawling snake, but the face of an intelligent snake, with alien yellow eyes and black vertical slit pupils. What stood before me was a giant bipedal reptile. The fear, anxiety, uncertainty and hopelessness of the day, combined with the horro
r of that countenance, caused me to seek solace in dreams as I lost consciousness.

  Chapter 4

  “Prisoners”

  A feeling of coldness woke me from my slumber. I was on the stone floor of a large room, my body was freezing. Glancing around I could tell I was in a different room to the one in which I had faced something from a nightmare. My brain was still trying to come to terms with what had greeted me. I didn’t have a watch so I had no idea what time it was or how long I had been unconscious. The room was dimly lit. There was no furniture just a toilet in the far corner. I stood up feeling groggy; everything was spinning around me. I steadied myself for a minute and then walked slowly to the toilet and urinated. I did not remember being brought in here, the thought of being touched by that giant snake made me cringe. I was still alive so it was not intent on harming me, at least not immediately. It had spoken; perhaps it was the one in charge of this situation.

  I felt anxiety and frustration slowly build inside me as the minutes passed. The waiting was driving me insane. I walked to the door and started banging it with my fists and ramming it with my shoulder. It was futile the door would not budge. It was evidently made of steel and there was no way I could break it open. There was no handle or any visible hinges either. I went to the corner of the room and slumped down against the wall defeated.

  What seemed like an age passed when the door to the room opened slowly, it slid sideways into the wall of barren rock. Through it stepped the android Nergal holding a tray.

  “Eat and drink, you need some energy,” he said in his metallic voice. He looked at me with those black empty eyes. I stood feeling very drained and weak, but made my way towards him. He stepped backwards and said, “Keep your distance Cyrus, any trouble from you will be costly.”

  For some reason these alien robots seemed to fear me more than I feared them. Since I was the one being held prisoner against my will I had no idea why on earth this could be.

  I stood still. “It is freezing in here can I have a blanket?” I asked.

  He nodded and left, the door slid shut behind him. I sat down next to the tray and ate. The food was either good or I was extremely hungry. I drank some water which made me feel less dizzy, perhaps I was slightly dehydrated. I sat and waited. Soon after the door slid open and Nergal was back. He handed me blankets and took the tray away, leaving the bottle of water behind. He left ignoring my pleas to see Nadia. I was confused, he was not overtly hostile to me but he and the others had taken both Nadia and I against our will.

  I wrapped the blankets around me to combat the cold. The situation was out of my control so I decided to try to meditate. I had learnt this from my mother; she had taught me how to help me control my ferocious temper and as a tool to visualise goals. I started by regulating my breathing and concentrated on getting a steady rhythm. Breathing in deeply and then out gently, over and over. I started to think about Nadia, Aiyana and then my parents – would I ever see them again? I managed to hold back my tears and I vowed that come what may, I would survive and I would see them again.

  ***

  Nadia awakened with a throbbing headache. She was in a warm bed. A feeling of panic overwhelmed her as she realised this was not the hotel room. The room was completely white with a table and chair in the far right-hand corner. There was also a walk-in shower to the far left of the large bed she lay on. She was still wearing her clothes from the trip to the Cathedral. She tried to stand and found she was ok, if she ignored the dizziness. She walked slowly towards the door. There was no handle so she tried to push it outwards. Again it did not move. How had she got here? The last thing she remembered was being in a shop looking for gifts. Where was Cyrus? She searched the room, no sign of her bag or belongings. As she investigated the shower, the room to the door opened and a woman wearing a white uniform entered.

  “Get back into bed, you are not well,” she ordered Nadia. Nadia was confused and although she wanted to protest, she merely nodded and complied. She got back into bed. The woman walked over to the bed, she held a device in her hand which resembled a medical instrument. Nadia looked at the woman’s face; she was extremely beautiful, with amazing features almost unnatural. Her hair was auburn and tied back tightly into a pony tail. She was tall and slim.

  “I need to give you something to help you rest,” the woman said as she took Nadia’s arm. Nadia screamed as she saw the woman’s eyes; they were completely black with no sclera or iris. Before she could do anything else the instrument was inserted into her arm and she was unconscious again. The female android looked at the sleeping body of the woman in front of her with no emotion. She would let her rest. Tomorrow she would oversee her bathing before transporting her to the feeding room.

  ***

  The door slid open, from behind it emerged the hulking figure of the snake. It was still dressed in the long flowing black robe, but the hood was down exposing its ‘face’. It strode into the room exerting power and grace and looked down at me. Incredibly, I did not feel frightened like before. At the edges of my reason where the subconscious resides there was a faint recollection beginning to form. The more I looked at its face a distant familiarity emerged. The shock had also long worn off; all I wanted now was answers.

  I stood up facing the snake. “Why am I here?” I said with power and clarity in my voice. The snake towered over me like a huge shadow. It stared down at me and its snake-like head began to move hypnotically from side to side.

  “You are here because you wanted to learn of your mistake,” it replied with a deep hissing voice.

  “No you have kidnapped me and my girlfriend!” I shouted.

  “You chose to come to Valletta, you knew what was waiting here,” it said.

  It was right, I had suggested our holiday to Malta, but I wasn’t expecting to come here for this…

  “Who are you? What is my mistake?”

  “My name is Dajjal, but who I am does not matter,” the snake replied.

  ‘Dajjal’ the name sounded familiar. I shook my head as if that would help me remember.

  It continued, “What is important is you need to learn of your mistake in choosing to become a human,” its head moved side to side slowly in a hypnotic manner as it spoke.

  “Where is Nadia?” I asked, ignoring this cryptic answer. It must be the one in charge.

  “You will see her again when the time is right,” hissed the reptile Dajjal.

  “Why am I here Dajjal? I do not know what you are and what you want from us,” I said weakly, feeling devoid of energy. Even speaking was becoming difficult.

  The snake man ignored my question and took a remote control device out from his robe. His hands were exposed now. He only had four fingers on each hand and long talons which must have been his equivalent of nails. He pressed a button and slowly two seats emerged from the stone floor, followed by a table. He sat on one of the seats and indicated that I should sit at the other. I was glad as standing and looking up at that giant snake had made me want to collapse in exhaustion. Being seated opposite a huge reptile was so surreal, it could almost be comical. But it wasn’t comical, this thing had Nadia and each hour that passed was another one she would have to endure without me. The thought of her alone and fearful tormented me.

  “Stay calm Cyrus,” Dajjal said as if he sensed the shifting of my emotions. I focused my attention on him and studied his face. It was dark green and scaly with small slits for nostrils. His mouth was large and lipless; his eyes were a piercing yellow, with black vertical slit pupils. He was extremely muscular. The robe hid powerful broad shoulders. He dominated the room with his presence. We stared at each other, and across that table I recognised something from a bygone era, a vague familiarity kept gnawing at me.

  “I am going to tell you and show you things that will help you understand who you are and what you should be doing. You will need regular rest, as the knowledge you gain from me could destroy your mind if it tries to absorb too much too quickly.” Dajjal said as his head swayed sli
ghtly from side to side. His odour smelled strange like sulphur.

  “I want to see Nadia; she is the only thing I care about,” I said. Dajjal looked bemused. His mouth broadened into a sinister grin showing sharp fang-like teeth.

  He took a device out from his robe; it resembled a shiny pair of binoculars. He pressed some buttons on the device and then handed it to me across the table. “Look into it,” he said.

  I put the viewer up to my eyes. Instantly the rim of the lens clamped around my eye sockets causing me to jolt and almost drop the device. I put it down and looked suspiciously at Dajjal.

  “Do not be scared, it is a holographic viewer. It will transport an aspect of your mind to Nadia’s destination. You will see what she is doing and where she is right now,” Dajjal said.

  I tried again, the urge to see Nadia overpowered the strange and uncomfortable sensation I had experienced. This time I pressed my eyes to the viewing screen and felt the front of my head and eyes being transported to another place. I concentrated and could see a room similar to mine but far more lavishly furnished. Nadia was there lying on a bed, she was asleep. Somehow, I willed the viewer to let me see Nadia closer. The image moved closer until I could see her breathing as her chest heaved up and down. She was still wearing the same clothes from the day of our visit to the Cathedral. She looked unharmed and serene. I felt relieved. I watched her for a few minutes, how I longed to hold her. Eventually I took my eyes away from the viewer and needed a few seconds to regain my composure and bearings.