Bloodline (The Forgotten Origins Trilogy) (17 page)

Nothing happens.  Crouched down, I am at eye level with the skull, staring into its empty sockets.  I expected it to at least light up or something, but there is no indication that anything changed.  “No, no, no…” I mutter, backing away from it.  This can’t end like this.  It
has
to work!  Clawing desperately at the clotting wounds on my forehead, I manage to get a fresh supply of blood oozing down my face and my fingers through it.  Maybe it was just too dry.

Stepping back up to the skull, I wipe the wet blood over the pyramid carving.  Then, for good measure I smear it around the
whole thing, in case it’s supposed to go somewhere else.  Now it looks like its wearing some macabre war paint and has a sinister appearance.  Shaking my head at its lack of activity, I don’t know what else to do.  I wish that Chris were here…he would have an idea.  He’s the smart one.

“Having problems, dear?”
I spin around at the raspy voice behind me and discover that Mr. Jones is emerging from the stairwell.  Baxter’s hair rises on his back, and he growls menacingly.  That Baxter didn’t even hear him coming proves how stealthy the Shiners are.  I can’t help but notice the large hunting knife in his left hand, the odd light from the torches glinting off the metal.

“Why are you doing this?”
I ask, looking around the room for anything I can use as a weapon.  I chastise myself for setting the rifle down.  It’s too far away.  By the time I could reach it, he’d be on me.  Other than the mats the floor is bare.  He begins walking slowly, tauntingly towards me with that odd grin on his face.  Baxter must sense that he is at a disadvantage and stays by my side instead of attacking.

“Because this is what the world needs.  A time of renewal and union.  Once we are ready,
they
will come back, and we can’t let you
stop it
.”  He shouts the last words, his eyes glowing brighter, the grin turning to a sneer. 

I back up to the wall, with the skull behind me and the cross pressing into my neck.  I raise my hands above my head in a pleading gesture.  “Please, don’t hurt me,” I beg.

“Oh I’m not going to
hurt
you,” he assures me, moving to within a couple of feet.  “I’m going to
kill
you!”

He closes the last of the space between us and I grab
desperately at the cross on the wall behind me, bringing it around.  As he raises the knife to plunge down into my chest, I surprise him by stepping forward to meet him.  Lunging with all my strength, I come up under his arms, ramming the tip of the cross into his stomach and we fall back onto the floor together. 

Appalled at what I’ve had to do, I roll away from him.  He’s dropped the knife and is looking down in astonishment at the carving that is protruding from his mid section.  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, scooting back on all fours.

Blood is rapidly pooling beneath him and his head falls back as his breathing slows, becoming ragged.  I gag at the coppery stench of his blood and sit back on my heels, not knowing what to do.  Eyes fluttering, he gasps once, and then focuses on my nearby form.

“Alexis,” he
whispers, reaching out to me with great effort.  Looking into his eyes, I see the kind Mr. Jones I’ve known all my life.  Loud, violent sobs rack my body as I lean forward and take hold of his offered hand.  Baxter stops barking and lies beside us, whimpering.  “It’s okay dear,” he says softly.  “Thank you...”  Closing his eyes, his hand goes limp and I know that he is gone.

Burying my head in my arms, I cry for Mr. Jones and everyone else that I am unable to help.  This was all for nothing.  My blood isn’t pure enough.  Now I have lost all the people that I love and there is nothing left for me. Baxter licks my face, and I wrap my arms around his neck.  “I still have you, don’t I buddy?”  Although he is a big dog, he somehow manages to climb into my lap. 

We stay that way for several minutes, consoling each other.  I finally get enough of a grip to contemplate how I can drag Chris back to the cabin, if he’s still alive.  Looking down at my hands resting in Baxter’s fur, I see that they are covered in blood and can’t help but feel like it represents the blood of the world.

I know that in reality the blood on my right hand is mostly mine.  Mr. Jones’s blood is still damp on my left forearm, and the rest of it that covers my left hand is all Chris’s.  So much blood, swimming with both infected and uninfected DNA.  I wonder briefly if I’ve now been exposed, or if Chris’s purest DNA would somehow offset the effect.  Wait.

Sitting up with a jolt, I startle Baxter and he leaps off my lap.  “My blood isn’t good enough Baxter, because I’m only 50% Egyptian,” I explain to my friend who stares at me with interest.  “But Chris is 75% Okanogan Indian, a tribe that is native to this region.  Native Americans have been in this area for thousands of years, back when this pyramid was built.”

Excited now, I get to my feet and go back to the crystal skull, my smeared blood dried on its surface.  With cautious hope, I place my left hand on the forehead of the skull and push against it.  Almost immediately, it starts to vibrate.  Crying with relieved joy, I step back from it and watch as it begins to glow, intricate patterns of light running throughout the inside of it.

As the intensity builds, the vibration spreads to first the walls and then the floor.  A low hum fills the air and the hairs on my arms stand on end.  Kneeling down on the floor, I hold onto Baxter as light gathers in the space over our heads.

With a low rumbling sound and the scraping of rock against rock, the top fifty feet of the pyramid lifts off above us and rises up into the night sky, dirt and small trees rolling down it.  After everything that has happened, I am still not prepared for such a site and I’m mesmerized by it. 

Energy pulsates in the air around me and reaches a crescendo as it starts to crackle.  Tendrils of electricity reach out from the piece hovering, and it begins to spin. Slowly at first, but then it quickly gains momentum.  Faster and faster it goes, until huge bolts of light shoot out from multiple directions, reaching out through the night sky to places unseen. 

“The anti-virus,” I say with certainty.  “We’ve done it!”  I think back to what the Professor had said and now Mr. Jones and I know that this
might be only the beginning.  But what the creators of the virus don’t understand is the human desire to fight for our freedom and our value of life.  To simply be alive, isn’t enough.

A thicker beam of light erupts from the top of the spinning triangle and then also out the bottom, engulfing me.  As I gaze up into what I hope is our cure, letting it wash over me, I finally realize that our greatest gift, and weapon, is love.  I mean, who can ever win against something as powerful as that?

With a renewed sense of purpose, I gather my stuff and then turn and head for the stairwell.  Pausing at Mr. Jones’s body, I only wish that he had been a few minutes later.  I take some peace in knowing that he is with his wife.  I have no doubt now that there is so much more to this life than what we can simply see.  My dad will always be with me, and will be waiting for me when it’s my time to move on.  But that won’t be tonight.

The light continues to intensify behind me while I begin my descent.  It
takes much less time going down the stairs than it did to come up.  When I reach the platform with my medallion still in place, I pull it out and like I suspected, the room starts to slowly scrape back up into its original position.  I put the chain back over my head and turn on my flashlight as Baxter and I rise up into the dark chamber.

Half expecting to be greeted by a group of Shiners, I am relieved to find that I’m alone.  Making my way back through the long tunnels, I creep quietly to the opening of the pyramid.  Baxter walks out first, sniffing at the ground but otherwise at ease.  I follow him closely, looking out into the woods for any sign of someone waiting for us.  It’s hard to believe that only a few
of them would have come for me; not after what Mr. Jones said. Even if the anti-virus works, there’s no way to know how long it will take for them to be cured.  That’s assuming they’ll ever really
be
normal again.

With each passing minute that I’m not attacked, my confidence grows and eventually I’m running, frantic to get back to Jake and Chris.  The emotions from the past days are beginning to catch up to me and tears begin blurring my vision as I hurtle through the trees.

When I can’t find them after half an hour, I panic and start calling out, not caring anymore who hears me.   Sitting on the cooling ground, all I hear in return is the hooting of an owl.  I turn to my friend.  “Baxter, find Jake!”  Baxter gives me one of his classic looks and seems to understand.  Barking excitedly, he tears off to my right and then through some bushes in the distance.  I quickly follow, not noticing the scratches on my arms as I push through the branches after him.  I’m just in time to see him running up a slope and his bark has changed pitch. 

“Baxter!  Alex!  Is that you?”  I can barely hear it, but begin to cry even harder at the sound of Chris’s voice.  He’s alive!  Scurrying up the hill after my dog, I try
to answer him, but only a sob comes out.

Once at the top, I can see
them in the distance.  They’ve lit the emergency candle, and Baxter is jumping around Jacob who is not only standing on his own, but hoping up and down.  He’s also smiling.  My flashlight gives me away and Jake comes running to me.  I drop down on my knees and gather him up in a fierce hug.  His face is cool; the fever gone.  Could it really happen that fast?

“You did it Alex! I knew you would!  Is that what the light is? I’m already starting to feel better.  What happened?  What did you do?”

Pulling away from me, he searches my face for answers.  “It’s hard to explain,” I whisper, my voice weak with emotion.  “But Dad showed me. He always looked out for us Jake.  He still loves you, don’t ever forget that.”

Taking his face in my hands, I look closely at him.  He
actually does look almost normal.  There are still bags under his eyes, but his color is good.  “When did you start feeling better?” I quiz him, still afraid to believe it.

“I dunno.  I guess a little bit after that light thingy.  My throat doesn’t even hurt anymore!  Do we have any food?  I’m hungry.”  Smiling, I hug him again.  Now he really sounds like himself.

Taking my hand, he starts to pull me towards Chris.  “We need to take him to the doctor,” he tells me.  “Do you think it’s safe?”

Following him
in a daze, I try to focus on his questions.  “I’m not sure.  We’ll get him back to the cabin though, and then we’ll figure out what to do.”  I allow him to lead me into the candlelight.

“Told ya I wasn’t going anywhere.”  Still propped against the tree, Chris
looks pale, but seems alert.  I’m fighting the familiar urge to hug him, but decide to give in to it.  Kneeling down beside him, I do my best to wrap my arms around his shoulders without hurting him.  He returns the embrace, holding me close.  The rest of my fear melts away and for the first time since this nightmare started, I almost feel safe.

Pointing up at the rays of light spreading out across the sky, he grins.  “I’m assuming you have something to do with that?”

Turning to sit down beside him, I look up at the display.  “Well, kinda.  But to be honest, it couldn’t have happened without
you.
  Or your blood.”  Giving me an odd look, it’s obvious he wants some answers.  “There
is
a pyramid.  I don’t even know how to describe it.  What happened inside; I’ll explain later once we’re out of here.  I just can’t… do it right now.”  To my relief, he doesn’t push it. 

“What about the Khufu Bast and the Mudameere’s?  If what the Professor said is right than this may only be the beginning, even if the anti-virus works on everyone.”

Fighting the new fear that threatens to take over, I try and get a grasp on things.  “Right now, there should be more than a dozen pyramids all around the world releasing the anti-virus.  According to the Professor, they were connected, and this wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t all activated.  It seems like it started working on Jake incredibly fast, but there’s no way to know how long it’ll take for everyone else.  Or if it’ll even react the same way for someone who was changed all the way.” 

Jake and Baxter have come to sit with us and I’m starting to feel like we have been in one spot for too long.  It could be a mistake to think that we’re out of danger now.  I look at Chris and his expression tells me he’s thinking the same thing.  “There could be more Shiners out here.  They wouldn’t have just sent a few of them after us.  Did you see any when I was gone?”

“We saw some movement nearby earlier, but they weren’t interested in us,” he answers, gathering the few items next to him into the backpack.  “I think all they cared about was finding and stopping you.  Obviously, that didn’t work out for them.”

I can’t help but smile, but then grow serious again when I lift his shirt away from the wound in his side.  It stopped bleeding, but its nasty looking and I’m afraid that as soon as he moves it’ll start oozing again.  Looking around somewhat helplessly, I try and come up
with a plan. “We have to get you back to the cabin.”

“Maybe we can help with that.”  Jumping at the voice behind me, I spin around,
my hand going automatically to the rifle on my back.  Standing at the edge of the clearing, is our neighbor.