Chapter_19
Jules let go of the small Achilles Shield medallion hanging from his neck. Its glow faded as Jules buttoned it behind his well-ironed starched, white shirt. Though the temperature was now almost ninety-five degrees, Jules barely had any sweat on his brow.
“I can’t seem to find it anymore,” Jules said.
“It’s highly unlikely that it was destroyed,” Drew concluded.
“Agreed,” Jules said, “the location of the Achilles Shield is somehow being blocked, and the key can no longer identify its location.”
“Do you think this is Alex’s doing?” Drew asked.
“I sincerely doubt it,” Jules answered. “Though my sly foe is mentally equipped for just such an endeavor, I believe that we took him off guard with this attack. There must be something deep under Nan Madol that is cloaking the shield.”
“Probably the same thing that disabled your weapons under Pumapunku,” Drew concluded.
“Right again,” Jules noted.
Standing on the Island of Pohnpei, they examined the decimated ruins of Nan Madol. The once towering stone edifices were now but a pile of fragmented stones—it’s architectural glory lost forever.
WOGs surrounded Jules and Drew. Brandishing their weapons in full battle regalia, they stood alert for any sign of trouble.
“Do you think Alex and his friends are still alive?” Drew asked. “That was an intense pummeling the island took.”
“Surely you don’t believe that these mere stones represent the entirety of Nan Madol?” Jules scoffed. “What you see before us is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The true magnificence of the city lies far below its aboveground facade. I have no doubt that Alexander is somewhere down there hiding, plotting his next move.”
Jules slammed his hand into his fist. “Let us therefore not provide him the opportunity to make the next move.” He turned to Drew. “If you could do the honors?”
Drew placed his hand against the auricular chip in his ear. Speaking to the striker craft hovering within eyesight above the island, he instructed, “Captain, I believe the sonic burst we used was the correct frequency.” A holographic depiction of a stone from Nan Madol appeared above his wrist along with a readout of numbers and figures around it. “However,” he said after further analyzing the schematics, “increasing the intensity of the electrostatic pulse by 24.5 percent while maintaining it at full capacity the entire time would maximize the zero-point energy effect I discovered at Pumapunku.”
“Yes, sir,” a voice echoed in his ear.
“On my signal,” Drew commanded, scanning the analytics once more.
He waited a few seconds, correcting his calculations. “Start the sonic burst at twenty-five percent and escalate it to full power, increasing it at a gradual intensity over twenty seconds. At that point discharge the electrostatic charge at full capacity for ten seconds before terminating.”
“Yes, sir,” the captain responded.
“Three, two, one,” Drew counted down. “Now!”
A low hum reverberated throughout the entire area. As it increased in intensity, the sound made not only the stones on Nan Madol but also the bones in Drew’s body vibrate in response. When it reached its maximal intensity, a faint visual distortion on the island let Drew know the striker craft discharged the electrostatic charge.
The entire aboveground stony edifice of Nan Madol arose from the ground and levitated over 200 feet above sea level. Water dripped from the stones as they hung weightless in the air.
“Good show!” Jules applauded. “This is by far much better than your prior attempt.”
Drew agreed. Previously, the stones only levitated a mere ten feet into the air. Now, the zero-point antigravity effect was significantly stronger.
The hum ended, sending the enormous stones pummeling back to Earth. With a loud roar, they struck the lagoon, creating an enormous splash in its wake. As the water subsided, Jules noted that the rocks remaining were pulverized and that large portions of the island were now submerged. Luckily, the WOGS standing at attention in front of him took the brunt of the deluge.
Within a few seconds, a significant portion of Nan Madol collapsed into the water, sending an enormous amount of bubbles up to the surface in response. It was as if the lagoon had suddenly swallowed it up, leaving nothing behind.
Impressed with the results, Jules looked out at the remaining island and said, “Let us continue.”
Drew placed his hand against his auricular chip as he again analyzed the holographic readouts. “Same parameters, but let’s increase the sonic pulse’s intensity by five percent this time.”
***
Orisihpa fell to her knees as the Mukulian Hall shook violently for a few seconds. Multiple crystals fell to the ground in response, shattering into pieces. The remaining crystals all turned dark as if feeding off of Orisihpa’s emotions.
Alex took her by the arm. “You’ve got to get out of here. This whole place is about to collapse.”
Orisihpa spryly got back on her feet. She smiled towards Alex. “Young man,” she said as if a loving mother. “This is where I belong. I was entrusted with the care of the hall, and here I shall stay.”
Part of the ceiling collapsed, crushing a few of the islanders. Screams of terror echoed throughout the hall.
“Now, go,” Orisihpa insisted. “Both passageways will lead you to the surface.”
In her heart, she knew that no matter which passageway they chose, no one would be safe if this hall were destroyed. Just like the stories foretold to her by her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, if the Mukulian Hall was destroyed, so would go the entire planet—what began many millennia ago would not be able to be stopped.
Their dire warnings echoed throughout her mind as she watched more and more of the crystals crash to their destruction. Those remaining continued to darken and grow ashen in color.
A large crack in the ceiling suddenly opened, sending a torrent of water into the room. A wave of rock and debris propelled Orisihpa against the wall. Alex, his colleagues, and the rest of the islanders in the hall fared no better. Thrashed by the water, they all did their best to stay afloat and not get hit by any rocky debris.
“Get to the passageway,” Alex yelled, pointing to the left exit. “Go now!”
Having to swim, Alex, Marissa, William, and Terzin fought the debris and waves until they were safely out of the hall. They could hear the room behind them rumble as more of it continued to collapse by the second.
The remaining island natives refused to leave their sacred hall. Surrounding Orisihpa, they all treaded water and began to pray in unison.
“Come with us,” Alex insisted, pointing to Orisihpa and the islanders around her.
Orisihpa turned to Alex. With a solemn look on her face, she could only utter, “We must stay.”
In her heart, she felt running would be futile. If death did not overtake her now, she knew her demise and that of her companions was but a few more moments away. The end would soon come as the oceans reclaimed the Earth, unabated by the protection once granted to the planet by the Marks.
More water began to pour into the room as the ceiling in the Mukulian Hall continued to collapse.
Realizing they could not change Orisihpa’s mind, Alex and his colleagues turned away from the hall and swam down the long passageway until they reached a flight of steps, slowly inclining up a lengthy tunnel. As they scurried forward, they were able to reach ankle-high water.
After spitting out some water, Alex addressed his friends. “Tom will be waiting for you when you get out of here.” Gazing into his vedere lens, which was now working again, he continued, “This tunnel will lead you about a mile away along the shore of Pohnpei. Get out of here as soon as you can and see what’s happening in Philadelphia. I’ll meet you there.”
“What?” Marissa asked, flabbergasted. “You’re not coming with us?”
Alex held up the shield. “Not with this. And I’m certainly not going to leave it behind. This is the key.”
“So?” Marissa said. “Take it with you.”
“I can’t,” Alex said. “Jules can track it. He’ll be able to find us wherever we go.”
“Can you do something to cloak the shield?” she asked.
“Not at this moment,” Alex admitted. “Now go. The longer Tom waits, the more chance he will be discovered.”
“Then I’m going with you,” William insisted. “I’m not leaving you behind.”
Alex placed his hand on William’s shoulder. “You’ve always been a good friend, but now is not the time for heroics. Trust me. This is something I need to do alone. I can’t risk your lives any further. You all have sacrificed enough.”
Before he left, Alex gave Marissa a kiss on the cheek and descended the steps without another word. He could hear his colleagues beckoning for him to reconsider.
After inhaling deeply, he then dove into the water and began to swim under its surface. With one hand holding the shield, he managed to swim in one breath to where the passageway met the great hall.
Peering his head above the water, Alex noted that most of the hall was submerged. He could also hear a few screams echoing towards him from the hall. Sounds of agony were intermixed with a few groans of the remaining islanders’ gurgling prayers.
Alex swam into the room. He could see Orisihpa’s body floating next to the Maternal Mark. Blood trickled down her wet hair as one of the island’s natives fought to keep her afloat. Bodies of other natives floated face down in the water while other rock and debris cluttered the once magnificent hall. A dim light continued to illumine the area, and only five stars were left shimmering on the roof—the V-shaped Hyades.
The Maternal Mark’s glow faded by the second.
Will this mean the end of the planet? Were Orisihpa’s predictions true?
Alex did not have the answer, but with such commitment by Orisihpa and her colleagues, he had no reason to doubt her word. Alex looked at the shield and pondered its significance to this whole predicament. The further he delved into this mystery, the more questions arose.
A loud rumble abruptly echoed throughout the room as the roof completely collapsed. Rocks came crashing down, engulfing the entire area. Alex had barely enough time to take a breath and submerge himself before being pounded by a barrage of debris.
All went dark in the room except for a faint glimmer scarcely radiating from the Maternal Mark. Alex could barely see his hand in front of him because of the dark, hazy mist and bubbles that obscured his vision. Stones surrounded him, and neither exit was in sight.
His chest felt tight as his rapidly beating heart quickly began usurping most of the oxygen in his blood.
Relax, Alex thought, and concentrate.
Letting his muscles go limp, Alex calmed both his mind and body before making any further movements. Floundering under water would prove counterproductive. He had only one opportunity to escape from this room without drowning. If he acted too rashly, his prospect for survival would be lost.
Let’s hope this works in here, Alex prayed. He hoped that the electrical interference once caused by the crystals would no longer be present as most of them had been destroyed.
Reaching into one of his pockets, Alex grabbed his weatherometer. Designed to withstand harsh climate conditions, this instrument was also waterproof.
Taking out the weatherometer, Alex held it close to his face in an attempt to discern the holograph displayed above it. Fortunately, the image was not only visible in the murky water but it also helped shed some light in the dim surroundings. He then pressed his thumb on the pen-like device and the holographic image of clouds once projected above it changed to small arrows pointing in certain directions.
Fantastic, Alex thought. Using the instrument’s parameters originally designed to measure wind speeds and directions, he instead switched its settings so that it now assessed the water current in the room.
Alex noted that despite the turbulence, the general direction of water flowed in three directions. Alex surmised that these were the two exits and the initial hallway of the other room from which they had entered.
Alex took the shield and placed it under his left arm while still holding the weatherometer. With the instrument now about a foot from his face, he used its light to help guide him towards where the arrows pointed. Rocks significantly impeded his retreat. Swimming around, and even under these boulders, he slowly made his way to the exit that had not been used by his friends.
The closer he approached, the more the arrows unified in the same direction. Alex’s lungs began to burn as if he had inhaled sulfuric acid vapors. Fighting the urge to breath, he removed a few small rocks blocking his path and popped his head through the exit.
Fortunately, no further obstacles infringed the path ahead of him. However, with his head already touching the top of the passageway, there was still no air in sight. His muscles began to ache as their lactic acid levels rose precipitously.
Every movement felt like an enormous chore. His vision began to blur and his head pounded. There were but moments left before consciousness would evade him.
With one final thought Alex grabbed an electromagnetic pulse stun gun from a pocket while dropping the weatherometer. He then placed the shield firmly against his chest, securing it between his arms. Taking the gun, he maneuvered it in front of the shield and grabbed it with both hands.
With barely enough power to even hold the shield or gun, Alex pressed its muzzle on the shield and fired. Pain radiated through his body as if he had stuck his finger into an electrical outlet. Again and again he pulled the trigger, jettisoning him through the water and further up the hallway.
As his consciousness faded, Alex could feel cool air wisp over his back. With his muscles now frozen, the buoyancy of the shield managed to turn his face up as the world around him went black.