The Return of the Watchers (Armageddon Rising Book 1) (14 page)

              “I’ve been going over the data and let me tell you it’s going to take some time. When we get to the cabin we’ll split up the work to try and sort it all out,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck where the object was embedded.                                                                                                                               They landed in Amsterdam and took their connecting flight to Bergen. It was almost midnight before they got their rental car. It took some time for Dorian to adjust to driving on the Norwegian roads, especially in the dark, but he managed to acclimate fairly quickly.                             “It’s been about ten years since I’ve come home and it’s still awesome. I miss the mountains, the water. Every time I come back I want to stay. Colorado was the closest thing I had to this, growing up, but there is no comparison; Norway is far more beautiful,” he said, taking a deep breath, as if he was trying to absorb the essence of the land and become one with it. Yuki was silent at this point and feigned attention, but in actuality she was starting to go in and out of sleep.                                                         He pulled off the side of the road to get out and admire the silhouette of the aurora borealis reflecting off the waters in the fjords down below. Looking back to the car he noticed Yuki fast asleep so he enjoyed the quiet moment by himself. No doubt his mother was up at this hour, waiting with bated breath for him to arrive so he didn't tarry too long. Her house wasn't far from the airport, located in the settlement of Starefossen, overlooking Bergen to the west, way up on the mountainside.              Even though they spoke fairly regularly on the phone and several times through videoconferencing, he was very excited to see his mother for the first time in almost six years. Pulling up in the drive he felt ashamed for waiting so long to come home, especially considering he didn’t just come here to see his mother; his primary reason for visiting was to find a quiet place where he could conduct some research and hopefully not be noticed or bothered by Angels, demons, leprechauns and the like.               A light was on in the living room and he could see his mother peering through the curtains to see if it was her son who was outside the house. Dorian gently shook Yuki awake and proceeded to pull out some of their luggage and bring it to the threshold. The front door opened and his mother stood at the threshold, beaming as she saw her son in the flesh.               “
Hvordan har du
det,
my darling?” she said in a quiet tone so as not to disturb the neighbors,                                                                                                  “Mom, it’s so good to see you,” he said embracing her barely five-foot slender frame with a long hug. His mother was seventy four years old and looked to be about sixty, with long, golden and silvery hair pulled up on top of her head and wearing a thick, navy-blue sweater and grey stretch pants.                            

              Yuki extended her hand.  “Hello, Mrs. Lystad, I’m Yuki.”

              “What’s this hand stuff? Come here,” his mother replied, extending both her arms and embracing Yuki. Yuki smiled and patted his mother on the back, looking slightly uncomfortable.                                                                                                                                                                         “Call me Iduna, my students call me Mrs. Lystad,” his mother said.              The aroma of freshly baked pastries hit them through the vestibule, along with the scent of air freshener.

              “Come in, come in. How was your flight? Are you hungry? I have plenty to eat, here,” she said as she quickly made her way back to the kitchen counter, producing a plate of cakes.                                                                       “Have a hjortbakkel. Would you like?” she asked, gesturing over to Yuki.                                          

              “We’re fine, mamma. We need to get some sleep; it’s been a long day. Do you have the guest room prepared? What am I thinking, of course you have everything ready,” he said, knowing his mother. He put his arm around her and she wrapped hers around his waist.                                                         “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so happy to have you home,” she said as tears fell from her eyes.                                                                                     “Mom, shhhh, don’t cry,” he said, hugging and rubbing her back. Dorian looked over to Yuki with a ‘Sorry about that’ look on his face. Yuki looked like she was going to burst into tears herself.                                           “Ok, let’s cheer up,” he said,  then kissed his mother on the forehead.                                                                                                                                “I’m going to get the rest of the bags. Mom, can you show Yuki to the guest bedroom?”                                                                                                                  Iduna finished wiping her tears and grabbed one of Yuki’s bags.               “Right this way, my dear,” his mother said, gesturing to the hallway on the left. Dorian returned with two more bags and closed the door behind him. There was slight murmur coming from the hallway followed by the sound of the guest room door closing. Iduna came through the hallway with a happy look on her face.                                                                       “She’s beautiful, and very polite. Oh, you look tired. Here, I have your room ready; we can talk in the morning. There is an extra blanket on the bed and fresh towels in the closet where we always keep them,” she said quietly.                                                                                                                               He took a suitcase with him and made his way to his old room that he used when he visited. The familiar smell, along with the sight of some of his belongings that his mother refused to give away, brought back memories. Right now he was too tired to reminisce about the past.                             “Good night, I’ll see you in the morning, love you,” he said, slowly closing the door.                                                                                                                 “Good night, my dear,” she replied in a chirpy tone.                             That night he had a terrible nightmare about alien-looking beings who were contorted and vicious, furiously pounding on some type of barrier. They were in a cavernous dwelling, screaming demands to be released. One of them looked at Dorian and pointed.                                           “You, you’re the one who did this! We are going to tear you to pieces!”                                                                                                                               He awoke in a sweat, just as the monsters were upon him.                             A murmured conversation was taking place in the background coming from the kitchen. The sounds and smells of cooking permeated the air. His head was in a fog, as if he’d been drugged. The object on his neck felt very painful to the touch and was ice cold. He rubbed his face and looked around the bedroom. The f
ew hours of daylight Norway received during winter peeked through the curtains, inviting him to take in the view. Obliging the window’s request, he opened the curtains enough to see the sun shining off of the white snow that garnished the rooftops. The view of the city below was as spectacular as he remembered it.                             After taking in the scenery for a bit he formulated a plan for the day, deciding it would be rude for him to just take off for the cabin without spending some time with his mother. The weekend would be hers and on Monday he and Yuki would depart. After putting on some clothes, he made his way into the kitchen where Yuki and his mother were enjoying a cup of tea along with their breakfast.                            

              “Good morning, everyone,” he said, smiling.                                            “Here we say ‘God Morgen’ for good morning,” Iduna said, looking over to Yuki.                                                                                                                 “We say ‘Ohayou’ in Japan,” Yuki replied.                                                         “I see; ohhiyo. Oh-hi-yo,” Iduna said, repeating it several more times.                                                                                                                                             “I was wondering when you were going to join us,” his mother said with a wink. A startled look came over her face. “Whoa, what is-”               “Outside! Move!” Dorian shouted as the house began shaking.               Glasses were clanking together and several pictures on the wall fell down along with a few of the ornaments on Iduna's Christmas tree. The three ran outside where several of the neighbors had already gathered, standing in the street and looking bewildered. The shaking lasted for about a minute and then stopped. Smoke was rising from the city in a few spots, but no buildings seemed to be destroyed. Sirens began blaring all around and most of the neighbors on the block were gathering together to discuss the earthquake they had just experienced. Dorian, Yuki, and Iduna stood outside for a few more minutes and then ventured back in when it seemed they could not tolerate the cold any longer in their pajamas.                             The house was in minor disarray, so they began to put everything back in its place and straighten up.                                                                       “We’ve been getting a lot of tremors lately. I hope this settles down soon,” his mother said.                                                                                                   “That was way more than a tremor, mom; it was about a minute long. Turn on the television; I want to see what’s going on,” he said.                Iduna turned on the local news channel that was displaying an emergency alert for all of Norway. Pictures of the fires in Oslo, as well as demolished buildings and emergency vehicles scrambling to and fro filled the screen, switching back and forth.                                                                                     “It looks like it hit Oslo pretty bad. Eight point seven! They’re saying it was an eight point seven about ten kilometers east of Oslo,” he said, astonished. His mother had both of her hands on her checks in disbelief.                                                                                                                               “I’ve got to call Berjit and Nada,” Iduna said, reaching for the telephone. Dorian stood still looking at the television as Yuki started picking up some of the books from the bookshelf that had fallen over. The house did not seem to have suffered any apparent structural damage, just a bit to the contents that had been tossed around inside.                                           “Here, let me help,” he said, bending down to assist.                                          “She’s not answering. There’s no answer,” Iduna said, dialing again. Yuki looked over to a picture that had fallen off the wall.                             “Was this your father?” It was a picture of his mother, father and himself in front of a mountain waterfall.                                                        
              “Yeah, that was a good day for us. We were visiting family in Sweden and took a day to hike a trail. It wasn’t long after that my father started showing symptoms. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years later when I turned seventeen. He was one of the reasons I entered into the profession myself. He was a good man; very patient, caring. I miss him very much.”                                                                                                                              Iduna walked over to him, clutching the phone in her hand.                            “I miss him as well,” she said putting her arm on Dorian’s shoulder. She looked over to Yuki. “When Jorn passed my world was shattered. I had a house in Colorado that wasn’t paid off, two mouths to feed, medical bills and funeral expenses. His life insurance did not pay a whole lot and poor Dorian had to work several jobs so we could make ends meet. I was concert pianist, but by then I was unable to perform to that level after going through the ordeal of Jorn's passing. I still managed to teach though,” she said looking over at the piano taking up most of her living room. Several framed photographs taken from afar of with her performing solo at large concert venues adorned the walls.                                           “I should try calling Nada again,” Iduna said with a sad look on her face. Dorian went to the kitchen and cleaned up the few things that had fallen and fixed himself a sandwich.                                                                                     “I’m going to hop in the shower before the world comes to an end. Do you need to take one?” he asked.                                                                                     “I already did while you were sleeping. What are we going to do today?”                                                                                                                                “I was hoping we could spend the day in Bergen, see the sights, eat at a restaurant or two, but after this, I’m not so sure,” he replied as he  walked into the bathroom.                                                                                                  After washing up he joined his mother and Yuki in the living room. They were having a conversation while watching the news on television.                                                                                                                 “Dorian, look at the television. Downtown Oslo is in ruins. I haven’t been able to reach my cousin, nor any of my friends,” his mother said in a worried voice.                                                                                                   “There’s nothing to be gained from panic. I think we should all head to the cabin in case there are aftershocks or another big one. It doesn’t seem to have affected the area near Sognefjord,” Dorian said.              “I’ll pack us something to eat. You get your things and we can leave together,” Iduna said, somewhat shaken by the day’s events.               They piled into the car and headed about 80 miles northeast to their cabin, which was nestled at the bottom of a fjord that ran alongside several mountains. The cabin itself was a small three bedroom cottage about sixty years old. His father had purchased it just after Dorian arrived so they would have a special place to enjoy memories. A swinging bench in the back hung from a tree overlooking the water. Iduna would often sit there while reading a book or having a cup of tea in the summer. In the midst of winter it wasn’t a place you wanted to be for long before you froze to death. They spent many summers there fishing, skiing, and making friends whom they had lost touch with through the sands of time.                                           The surrounding scenery was breathtaking and Yuki was taken aback by its beauty. The cabin had been vacant for some time, so it required a bit of cleaning up and du
sting. The three of them traveled into town to pick up some new bed sheets and blankets, along with cleaning supplies and toiletries. Upon their return, they ate lunch and Dorian went out back to gather some old firewood that was piled up behind the cottage and got a fire going. It was getting dark out due to the shortened span of daylight during wintertime, so Yuki and Dorian decided to try and get down to deciphering the data that was compiled from his genome and the comparison to normal human DNA.                                                                                    “I know this may sound strange, but I’ve had some unusual dreams and visions involving the seventh, fourteenth, and twenty first chromosomes. It’s as if someone or something is trying to tell me something, so I think we should start there,” he said sitting on the sofa next to Yuki while Iduna was watching the news on television in the spare room.                                                                                                                                             “I’ll take the seventh, you can look at the fourteenth,” she said.               He copied the data from his chromosome and sent it to Yuki’s computer. They both spent the next four hours in silence, poring over the information. It was getting late so he checked up on Iduna, who had fallen asleep in her chair with the television on.                                                         “Mamma, wake up, you don’t want to be up all night,” he said, gently shaking her. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.                                           “Oh, how long was I out?” she asked as she stretched a bit and got out of her chair.                                                                                                                 “It’s about nine. Come. Let’s all have some dinner,” he said softly, as if they were in a library.