Conquest: Rise of the Fifth Horseman (The Fifth Horseman Series Book 1) (19 page)

“We
are still trying to determine Allan’s motive...” she paused, “But to be
entirely honest, I think he’s innocent.”

“And
you think it was Lillian who killed him?” he continued to pace, “I guess that’s
possible. After all, if she got wind that Jason had gone rogue and joined the
Cyber Police, she may have been assigned to dispose of him.”

Brittany
nodded in agreement.

“I
need to warn the others.” he spoke frantically as he rushed over to his desk
and grabbed his laptop, “We’ve been able to successfully hack into their
personnel files, but we are only days away from completing a viable algorithm
to hack into their mainframe. We still don’t know how many people they are
monitoring with these GFID Nano-chips, nor do we know why they are doing it. If
the NSA knows we’re on to them, we’re in big trouble!”

Chapter Thirty Five: Shattered Pangaea

And the time didst come
when God spoke unto Enoch and commanded him to activate the great machine; and
Enoch didst gather his people together whilst a great battle waged against them
in the surrounding lands…

–
Methuselah 11:10 –

The
first sun had set several hours ago and the air began to turn chilly as they
flew high above the vast northern ocean. In the distance Lily could see what
appeared to be a large iceberg ahead. In the brief second she saw the iceberg
however, her eyes blurred and instead she saw a lush green landscape. As they
flew closer, she couldn’t comprehend its size. It expanded the entire northern
horizon as far as she could see in either direction.

“Where
are we?” Lily asked Tiamat.

These
are the Northern Lands.

“Why
did you bring me here?”

Thine
destiny doth await thee. Thou must meet with the tribal chiefs for thine
ordination.

“My
ordination?” she stammered, “For what?”

Thou
art the Last Oracle. By thine Awakening the commission of thy predecessor hath
expired and his body hath returned unto dust.

Lily’s
mind reeled as her brain struggled to process the exchange of thoughts and
information flowing freely through her mind. She looked down at the lush
landscape below, and could see what appeared to be an army marching southward
toward the ocean. She turned her head to see however that the ocean was now
missing and the lush landscape just continued onward. She could see a row of
several towers with strange orbs that floated above them.

“But
didn’t we just…” she shook her head in confusion, “Weren’t we just flying over
a vast ocean?!”

Tiamat
was silent for a moment as she read Lily’s thoughts.

Verily,
the legends of old hath indicated that all of the lands upon Earth were once
combined in a single mass.

“You
mean Pangaea?”

Tiamat
studied her thoughts for a few more minutes.

Yea,
it appears that thy scholars hath given the mass a name. Thine maps however are
incomplete, for thy scholars hath omitted this northern land and the Land of
Enoch. ‘twas located in the south-eastern corner of this ‘Pangaea’.

Tiamat
set down on a bank of snow. Lily dismounted, and was surprised when the green
grass she saw suddenly gave way to a pile of snow. She found herself knee-deep
in the snow, and the landscape around her was white as far as she could see.
The vast ocean was visible again to the south of them, and she began shivering
violently from the cold.

“Where
did everyone go?”

Tiamat’s
voice was no longer inside her head. She reached out her hand and touched
Tiamat’s side.

The
moment they made contact, the snow and the ocean disappeared again. They were
standing on the top of a hill overlooking an army of warriors as they came to a
halt at the edge of the strange towers. On the other side of the towers another
army had amassed and they began battle.

“How
am I seeing this?!”

An
Oracle can see past, present, and the potential future.

“What
do you mean by
potential
future?”

Thou
wilt see possible realities that shall be dictated by the choices and actions
of those that art in thine stewardship.

“Is
this the potential future then?”

No.
Thou art seeing events that hath transpired more than five thousand years ago.

She
watched in awe at the battle in the valley below. The vision was so vivid, she
felt as though she were living it. The northern army was attacking viciously
while the southern army defended themselves and struggled to protect the
strange towers.

Yea,
this was the final battle between the armies of Enoch against the kingdoms of Seth
and Cain.

Lily
watched as the northern army gained headway. One of the towers was under heavy
siege, and the southern army was having difficulty defending it. It wasn’t long
before the northern army prevailed in the siege, and the tower toppled.

Moments
later the orbs on top of the other towers began to glow. A beam of blue light
hit each tower, and the beams bounced back to its origin in a constant stream
of light. The armies stopped battling and stared up at the glowing orbs in awe.
In a sudden flash of light, the land to the south and all of the towers
disappeared leaving a massive crater behind.

A
cliff dropped off the edge to what appeared to be a bottomless pit. A wide
sliver of land remained intact which extended from where the tower had been
torn down. All of the warriors reacted in different ways. Some screamed in
terror, others fainted, and the brave ones ventured out onto the strip of land
that had been left behind.

“That
strip of land...” she thought for a moment, “That’s Madagascar, isn’t it?”

Tiamat
studied Lily’s thoughts for a moment.

Verily,
thou art correct.

Suddenly
a roar could be heard in the distance. It was faint at first, but then the
sound got louder and louder. Then she saw the wall of water heading their
direction.

“It’s
a tidal wave!” Lily shrieked and let go of Tiamat.

Her
sinuses were suddenly aware of the cold again as the frozen tundra enveloped
her vision. Not wanting to get frostbite, she climbed up onto Tiamat’s back.
The lush green landscape returned to her vision and the roaring got louder as
they kicked off into the air. The men below were screaming in terror as the
wall of water slammed against the side of the newly formed cliff. Ocean water
sprayed up into the air upon impact, and the tidal wave continued to roar beyond
the new shoreline.

As
they soared into the sky, Lily couldn’t help but instinctively gasp for air and
close her eyes as the tidal wave came crashing down on them. When she opened
her eyes her brain registered panic when she realized they were fully engulfed
in water, and she began to hyperventilate uncontrollably.

Fear
not, child. Thou cannot drown in a vision.

Lily
closed her eyes again and forced herself to resume normal breathing. After a
few deep breaths, she opened her eyes again just as they were ascending out of
the water. It was a curious sensation to watch as they breached the water
without making a ripple or a splash as if they were ghosts.

She
watched intently as the waves washed over the hills and valleys below.

“Were
there any survivors?”

Not
in the lands round about, no. However, their families in the kingdoms of Seth
and Cain did. Verily, they didst live on to spread rumors that “Zion hath fled!”
and “The great City of Atlantis hath sunk!”
Only a
select few didst know the truth however, including the king of the land of
Seth. He was very wroth, and had learnt about the technology and the rare
mineral known on Earth as Uranium from his many spies. Over many years he didst
gather intelligence and his scholars had attempted on multiple occasions to
construct small-scale replicas of the machine, but each attempt didst result in
a failure. Yea, not many years had transpired thereafter when the king of the
land of Seth didst pass away whilst trying to use one of his small-scale
replicas. In tribute to him, all of the blueprints and the small-scale replicas
were buried with him in his tomb. Alas, his tomb didst remain undisturbed for
almost seven hundred years.

The
vision began to fade as she looked down on the valley below. Her eyes blurred
again as the scene shifted back to snowcapped mountains and valleys. She was
unaware how long she had been shivering, but now the cold began to feel
unbearable. Tiamat seemed to sense how cold she was suddenly feeling.

We
shall arrive shortly in the tribal village of Reuben. They art the eldest
tribe, and they shall clothe thee in more proper attire for this climate.

“Wait...”
Lily’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief, “People actually live up here?”

Yea,
to remain hidden. In this land resides ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.

“Wait,
the
Lost
Ten Tribes?” she stammered, “As in the Biblical tribes that
were taken captive by Assyria?!”

Verily,
‘tis thine destiny to return these lands and their inhabitants to Earth in
preparation for the End of Days.

“Hold on…” Lily stammered, “I
need to prepare
who
for
what
?”

In the End of Days there
shall be wars and rumors of wars in diverse locations on both Earth and Zion.
Two Seraphim shall rise up in these last days and shall wage war one with
another.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t
follow.” she scrunched her face, “What are Seraphim?”

Alas, these art the
guardians of both worlds who art divinely appointed, similar as thou art. One
shall be called Abbadon, or in another tongue, Apollyon. He shall cause death
in both worlds, and hell shall follow after him. The other shall be called
Elias, or in another tongue, Elijah. He shall be commissioned to take up arms
against Abbadon in preparation for the return of Zion and the return of these
Ten Tribes of Israel unto the House of Jacob. One Seraph shall fall by sword in
preparation for the Great and Terrible Days of Ragnarok when the curse of
Wormwood shall destroy one third of the population of Earth.

“Woah! Information overload.”
Lily shook her head in confusion, “I didn’t understand any of that. How about
you just get to the point. Where do I fit into the scheme of all these things?”

Verily, thou art the Last
Oracle. ‘tis thine destiny to repair the great machine and return these people
and their lands back to Earth.

Chapter Thirty Six: Summit Attack

And Enoch obeyed the
command of the Lord, and didst activate the great machine. The followers of
Enoch and their lands about were taken up into the bosom of the Lord in a
glorious pillar of light…

–
Methuselah 11:11 –

Allan awoke to a
rustling sound in the distance. Startled, he slowly raised to a crouch. Looking
around in the light of the early dawn, he realized in horror that John was
missing.

“John?” he called out
in a low voice.

His sleep had been
restless because when night had arrived they were engulfed in pitch darkness.
The lack of moonlight throughout the night had been unnerving, and Allan had
laid awake in the foliage for several hours as the sounds of the night
disturbed him relentlessly.

“Where are you?” he
muttered under his breath.

He saw movement in the
distance. A bush trembled, its occupant likely poising for attack. In his mind’s
eye, he imagined a bear or a tiger waiting for the kill. Allan panicked as he
searched his mind for what he should do, knowing fully that he had no weapons
to defend himself. As his anxiety mounted his eyes began to glow. A silver aura
began to encircle him, when suddenly the creature reared from its hiding place.
An inhuman screech erupted from Allan’s lips as the aura erupted in a blast
that stretched a radius of several hundred feet.

Allan fell on his face,
and lay in the charred dirt for several minutes. The surge of power had knocked
the wind out of him. After a few minutes he regained his strength, and with a
groan he rolled over onto his side.

“What just happened?”
he whispered in shock as he raised his head and saw the carnage.

A large circle of
charred earth surrounded him. The bushes in the distance had been incinerated,
and the predator lay in a heap. As he struggled to stand, his arms and legs were
trembling. He stumbled forward and gazed at the creature’s lifeless body. As he
approached however, his brain suddenly triggered recognition. It wasn’t a
predator after all.

John!

Allan burst into a
sprint. When he reached him, he dropped to the ground. John’s beard was mostly
singed, and his clothing was in burnt tatters. In his open palm a handful of
berries spilled out onto the charred earth. His breathing was shallow, but he
was alive!

“John?!” he yelled as
he shook him, “Wake up!”

His pulse was weak. His
lifeless body refused to rouse. Allan began to shake him violently.

“Come on!” he moaned, “Please,
just wake up!”

“Ah-tsoad!” a foreign
voice suddenly yelled behind him.

Allan whipped around to
face the voice. Several men in green hoods were approaching him with their bows
armed. Their mouths and noses were covered with masks, so that their only
distinguishing features were their eyes. Allan raised his arms in surrender as
they continued to yell at him in a foreign tongue.

“I don’t understand
you!” Allan barked.

The men abruptly
stopped their advance, and exchanged perplexed looks with each other.

“You… kill?” one of the
men asked in broken English, gesturing the arrow of his bow at John’s body.

“No!” Allan insisted, “He’s
alive!”

“You… devil?” he swept
his arm to indicate the charred earth.

“No…” he paused, unsure
what to say, “Seraph!”

Allan suddenly realized
he had used a poor choice of words. They all exchanged alarmed looks, and then
rushed at him. Allan was tackled to the ground as he tried to flee. He tried to
fight them off, but was quickly bound and gagged.

Allan was forcefully
marched up the mountainside, while one of the three foreign men carried John’s
lifeless body. They travelled for nearly thirty minutes, trudging through a
thin layer of snow until they reached the summit of the mountain. Allan
shivered from the cold as two of the men rolled away a moss-covered boulder to
reveal the entrance to a cave.

“Go… down.” one of the
men had instructed.

A tunnel had opened
before him, lit by the fire of several torches. Several passageways opened up
to the right and to the left. Allan was quickly marched to the end of the main
tunnel, where it steeply declined to a dark staircase that was carved into the
rock. The man leading the way grabbed two torches off the walls and proceeded
down the dark staircase.

Allan’s mind raced as
he tried to decipher what had just happened. Who were these men, and why were
they taking him prisoner? The staircase was steep, and from the light of the
torch the tunnel didn’t seem to have an end. Allan wasn’t sure how deep they
had travelled into the heart of the mountain, but knew how tired he felt from
the long journey.

Deep in the belly of
the mountain, they finally stopped at a small cavern blocked off by an iron
gate. One of the men pulled out a very crude old-fashioned key that had been
tied to a leather strap around his neck, and unlocked the gate. Allan was
suddenly shoved forward, and he tripped on several pieces of rubble strewn on
the cavern’s floor before falling to the ground.

“You… stay.” one of the
men spoke as he attached one of the torches to the wall.

Allan tried to object,
but his words were muffled by the gag. The gate swung shut with a clang, and he
heard an audible click as they locked it. He looked around at all of the
rubble, and knew some type of seismic event must have occurred to cause so much
damage. He trembled, fearing at any moment that the walls could cave-in and
become a death trap.

Hours passed in
silence. The torch petered out after the first hour, and darkness had engulfed
him. Fortunately he had been able to force himself back into a seated position,
however the damp air caused Allan to shiver uncontrollably. He didn’t know what
time of day it was, but the groaning from his stomach told him it had to be
late in the afternoon.

His mind raced as he
reflected on the events over the past several days. Twice now he had
unintentionally broken free from imprisonments. If only he knew how to summon
these powers on queue! He knew his Amulet must have something to do with it,
but with his wrists tied behind his back he was unable to reach his front
pocket to extract it.

As he sat there, he
worried relentlessly about Lily. He knew she was somewhere here in this world,
but how would he rescue her? He toyed with the idea of riding in gallantly upon
a white horse dressed as a knight in shining armor to save his damsel in
distress, but who was he kidding? Knowing how much of a klutz he was, he would
likely fall off the horse and get trampled. Likewise the armor would weigh him
down, and he would find it impossible to get back up after he had fallen. As
for a sword, he probably wouldn’t be able to lift one let alone wield it in
defense. He felt so out of place in the foreign world.

He moaned in despair as
the day waned on with no sign of relief.