Elijah's Chariot (The Forgotten Children Book 1) (28 page)

“It
works the same with Viktor. His brain has been changed in such a way that he
understands how to learn things better than most people. He acquires and
processes information much more rapidly and efficiently which allows him to
understand and remember many, many things. As he continues using this talent
that he’s been given, he will get even better at it. He might even reach the
point someday when he knows and understands just about everything there is out
there. As long as he has access to information, he’ll be able to remember it –
and understand it.”

“His
body works better now,” said Sean excitedly. “He said that he used to barely be
able to walk and couldn’t control his arms and hands very well. But, he just
has a limp now. He’s not strong or fast or anything, but he’s okay. Was he
healed somehow?”

“The
same power that changed Viktor’s and everyone’s brains repaired damage that had
been done when he was a baby. He suffered from cerebral palsy. This brain
damage had left Viktor’s ability to think and reason intact, but had prevented
his limbs from developing normally and from receiving the right impulses and
instructions. Now, the parts of his brain that regulate movement and muscle
control have been changed to that of any regular person, so he can begin to
develop his strength and coordination as most of us have from birth.”

Sean
nodded again, still holding onto the fabric of his father’s jacket. “And Jerry
did all this? How? Is it some kind of radiation?”

Kevin
turned and pointed toward the large, mountain-like meteorite. “Look over
there.”

At
first, Sean didn’t see anything. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to
be looking for. Then, suddenly, he noticed movement on the rock face of the
meteorite about three feet from the ground. It looked like some large insect or
bird was crawling out of the craggy surface. Kevin stood and pulled Sean up
with him, leading him toward the meteorite. 

As
they walked closer, Sean saw that it wasn’t a creature at all, but rather a
white, crystal substance that was slowly oozing out of the meteorite at about
knee level. It looked almost like half-melted snow that had been refrozen and
was forming thousands of tiny ice crystals. It leaked onto the soft, wet dirt
and began to pile up. As it began to form a small heap, it more closely
resembled some kind of sharp-edged quartz or other type of milky white stone. 

Suddenly,
the now familiar rushing sensation filled Sean’s ears and mind, more forcefully
than ever before, so much that it was almost painful. Gradually, he became more
used to it, the feeling of an immense, powerful river flowing through his head,
delivering and taking away bits of memory and thought like ice floes in spring
runoff. He stared transfixed at the substance as it continued to pour out of
the rock. 

Kevin
knelt on one knee to look more closely at the substance as it collected on the
soft ground. Sean stared intently, faintly aware of some kind of force he could
feel emanating from the substance. He realized that he had an almost
overwhelming desire to put some of the crystal snow in his mouth, just to taste
it, despite the fact that he was sure its sharp, jagged edges would slice his
tongue to pieces. 

“What
is this?” Sean asked, staring intently as the mound began to grow. 

“It’s
the source of the headaches, the source of your new abilities, the reason that
everything here has changed now. For that reason, it’s called the Source. It’s
what Jerry was sent here to deliver.”

Sean
knelt down in the soft earth, watching in fascination as the white, liquid
crystal substance continued pouring from the meteorite. There was no smell to
it and only a barely perceptible sound of friction as it continued piling up. A
minute later, it stopped gushing from the meteorite, leaving a two-foot high
pile that, rather than reflecting the diffused sunlight trying to poke through
the clouds, seemed to glow from somewhere deep within. 

The
boy held his hands outstretched, almost basking in the warmth of the Source
like a campfire. It wasn’t emanating any heat that Sean could feel, but there
was a definite energy pulsating from it. He could sense it like it was a wall,
almost like a magnetic field of some sort or an increase in sound volume the
closer he moved. As he watched, the pile looked like it was getting smaller, as
if it were melting. At first, Sean thought it was his imagination, but within a
few seconds, he could tell that the pile was definitely shrinking. 

“What’s
happening? It’s disappearing!”

“No,”
Kevin said as he too stared at the white, crystalline substance. “It’s seeping
into the ground. It’ll travel to the center of the Earth and become part of the
planet. That way, everyone around the world will be able to feel and benefit
from its presence equally.”

Sean
nodded, but he didn’t understand. Not about the Source, not how it had changed
them all or why any of this was happening in the first place. He especially
didn’t understand how he was with his father now, talking to him, after having
just cremated his body only a few days before. As the pile continued to shrink
away, all the questions continued to swirl around in his mind, effectively
paralyzing him and preventing him from doing anything except staring. 

Finally,
the last trace of it slipped away into the dark soft soil. Sean looked up and
stared around dazedly as if just coming out of a dream. The rushing sensation
was gone and all he could hear now were the faint breeze and rustle of the tree
branches surrounding the clearing. Kevin, still staring intently at the spot
where the white substance had been only moments before, leaned forward and sunk
his right hand into the soft soil. When he pulled it back out, his hand was
balled into a fist. 

“This
part is for you. I want you to keep it safe. Someone will be coming for it
someday, but I want you to hold on to it until then.”

Kevin
opened his fist and dropped a palm-sized, smooth crystal into Sean’s
outstretched hand. It was hard, unlike the white substance had been, but not
sharp at all. It was almost clear in some parts and a dense milky-white in
others. It was shapeless – just a chunk of hard, white crystal. 

Sean
looked up into his father’s eyes. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt
incredibly, almost overwhelmingly, sad. His father simply returned his gaze,
his mouth held in his usual confident, but warm, half-smile. There were still
millions of questions that Sean wanted to ask, but at this moment there was
only one that he could concentrate on, one that stole away all his
concentration and very breath. But, it was the one, most of all that he didn’t
want to ask, because he feared that he already knew the answer. 

“You’re
going to – you’re going to leave again, aren’t you?”

Not
on that day on the Moscow street, not even on that last night as Kevin had
related to him all the most precious memories of his life had Sean seen his
father cry. Nor did he now. But, Sean thought he saw his dad, for just a split
second, almost blink away a tear as it threatened to fall from his eye. Sean
wondered briefly what would happen were any tear to fall – would it change who
his father was or who he had been? In those last few days Kevin had been able
to accept his fate. Sean knew it was partly because he felt it was inevitable –
an entirely foreign power that he was unable to stop. But, mostly, Sean knew
that he had come to accept his own fate because of the death of his wife. His
life had simply ceased to have meaning or value for him once she was gone. He
had to trust that his children would be safe, that somehow they would be able
to find each other in the new world that the meteorite had created. But Kevin
was no longer a part of that world and had no place in it. And now, Sean saw
that same familiar acceptance in his father’s eye. This was something that was
going to happen, something entirely beyond his power. But now, Sean hoped, at
least his father would have some kind of understanding why this had all
happened and that this understanding would help make the pain a little less.

Kevin
pulled Sean close to him in a tight hug. The boy felt himself shaking with sobs
as he cried tears for them both, for his mother, for Elizabeth, for all of them
– all those who had died and especially for all those who had been left
behind. 

Sean
was dreaming. At least, that’s what he assumed was the reason for his inability
to move as he stood several yards away from the large meteorite. He was staring
at the body of his father lying still on the ground. Only moments before, Sean
vaguely remembered, they’d been standing together, his father hugging him. But,
this now definitely felt like a dream. His limbs were almost weightless and
occasionally the world would spin around without him moving or doing anything
at all. Suddenly, he saw his father move. 

That’s
how it appeared at first, but when Sean looked closer he could see that his
father hadn’t moved at all. He looked dead. Exactly as he’d imagined him
looking under the sheet that day when they’d taken him to the park across the
street from the hotel and cremated him, just like he’d wanted – a Viking
funeral. Slowly, his father started to sit up. 

At
the same time, he was still lying on the ground. There were two of him. Sean
tried to blink, unsuccessfully, in his dream. The result was that he just
closed his eyes for several seconds, preventing him from seeing anything. Once
he finally got his eyes to open again, his father was standing up, rising out
of his own body which still lay motionless on the ground. 

Sean
watched as his father turned away from the meteorite, seemingly oblivious to
his son’s presence, and took several steps to a pillar of gradually brightening
light. The light increased in intensity until Sean almost had to shield his
eyes. Suddenly a shadow crossed the light and it appeared as though a figure
had stepped from the pillar and now stood directly in front of it, turned
toward his father.  

It
was a woman, young with blonde hair, just a little taller than Sean. It was his
mother. His father took the few remaining steps toward her and their hands
clasped together before both turned to look at their son, who stood staring
back with wonder. They smiled and Sean’s vision began to blur, whether from the
tears that he could feel coming from his eyes or the intense light, he didn’t
know. Gradually, the image of them faded completely and all Sean could see was
darkness. 

- -

Sean
felt hands on his shoulders shaking him. He was on his back, lying on the cold
ground. The sharp smell of the forest around him hit his nostrils almost as
strong as smelling salts, forcing his eyes open. Viktor, Svyeta and Ryan were
kneeling over him, staring with concern into his face. 

“Are
you okay?” Svyeta asked.

Sean
struggled, with their help, to sit up. He was lying several yards away from the
meteorite. His father and mother were gone. The four of them were alone in the
clearing. 

“What
happened? How long have I been asleep?”

Ryan
shrugged, sitting back on his heels. “Can’t say for sure. We just woke up
ourselves. I don’t remember what time we got here, but maybe a couple of hours
have passed. We just came over to you a few seconds ago. Did you, uh, did you
have any dreams?”

Sean
stared back at the young Marine, trying to comprehend what had happened, the
memory of all that his father had told him and the image of his parents
disappearing into the pillar of light coming back to him forcefully. 

“My
father was here. We were talking, we were working right over there on the
meteorite –”

Sean
gestured toward the meteorite, at the area where he and his father had cut
samples only a short time before. He stared in confusion. None of the holes
they’d made with the drill were there. He looked over for the portable work
station that they’d pulled out from one of the equipment tents, but it wasn’t
there either. 

“It
wasn’t a dream though. At least, not the first part… that couldn’t have been a
dream! It was too real – he was here, he was right here!”

Viktor
nodded. “I saw my mother. We talked. I don’t know for how long, several hours
maybe. She was different though, almost like I remember her when I was very
young child. Softer, happier. She said goodbye to me, told me that I needed to
watch out for myself…”

After
Viktor’s voice had trailed off and it was apparent that he wasn’t going to say
anymore, Ryan spoke. “My mom was here, too. She was right here, we talked about
everything. But, it was like she knew what had happened to her. It wasn’t like
remembering what it would’ve been like to go back and talk to her, it was like
it was right now and she knew everything that had gone on.”

Sean
looked at Svyeta as she knelt on the ground right next to him. “Did you see
anyone? From your family?”

She
nodded. “Mama, Papa … and Zhenya. They were alive – so happy. But, they knew
they had died and it was like they were okay with that. Like it was something
terrible that had happened and was over now.”  

Sean
nodded. “My dad, too. He knew that he had died, he told me all about our brains
and our new abilities. He showed me…”

Suddenly,
Sean scrambled to his feet and ran over to the patch of churned up soil right
in front of the immense meteorite. Staring down at the ground intently, he
began to pace back and forth, stepping carefully. The other three came over to
see what he was doing, staying several paces behind him as he searched. 

Sean
walked over to the exact spot where he remembered seeing the Source pour out of
the meteorite. He carefully ran his hand over the surface of the moist soil,
scanning for any sign. There was nothing there.

Leaning
back in frustration and disappointment, Sean stared up at the sheer rock face.
Had it all been a dream, he thought? Had he not spoken with his father at all,
but only imagined it? This seemed somehow even worse to him than having to
witness his father dying again. The idea that his subconscious mind had dreamed
up a simple little explanation for all that had happened seemed like a horrible
mockery of the last moments he’d spent with his father – both several weeks ago
and also several minutes ago. 

Feeling
the sorrow returning to his tired frame, Sean bowed his head, noting the sting
of the salty tears in his eyes once again. Suddenly, the image of his father’s
hand plunging into the soft earth came to his mind. He opened his eyes and
stared at the clear ground beneath his knees. Trying to remember the exact spot
where his father had reached, Sean thrust his hand down deep into the soil. 

His
fingers wiggled deeper and deeper into the soft ground. Finally, once his arm
was buried up almost to his elbow, Sean touched on something hard in the dirt
and he grasped on to it, pulling his closed fist out of the earth. He slowly
opened his hand to see the white crystal rock exactly as he’d remembered it.