CHAPTER 8
Presley dreamed of the same young lady dressed in a tight white corset and a lovely dark red petticoat. The pretty lady was playing a lovely tune on a piano. Her hands flew over the keys while her eyes were shut, her body swaying with the music.
≈≈≈≈≈
“Paulette! Paulette!”
Presley was awakened by Jesse’s screams. She hurried down from Gracie’s limbs as he ran between the trees searching desperately for her.
“What’s going on?” Presley yelled anxiously, her heart pounding.
“She’s gone!” he panicked his breathing staggered.
Fiend . . . the Manes . . . they found us! They took her! I stayed here all night! I stayed close in case anything happened! Come on, we have to go now!”
He hastily picked up the bag and grabbed Presley by the arm, “Come on, we need to go now,” he repeated. His hands were shaking as sweat ran down his pale face.
“Stop,” Presley insisted quietly. “You have to calm down and pull yourself together. We’ll be of no help to Paulette if we act on impulse. Now, do you believe that Fiend is still here?” she asked him calmly.
“No, I don’t feel their presence. Do you? I mean, maybe it’s a trap. I think they want us to search for Paulette.”
“So, you think she’s alive, right?” she asked trying to stay composed.
“I don’t know. Remember when Fiend said that he was going to enjoy this? I think he’s playing a game. But whether he is or not, we have to find where they took her,” he said.
“Okay, let’s go.”
≈≈≈≈≈
They came to the forest’s edge and paused at an open field. The brilliant display of wildflowers covered the prairie like a blanket. The flower blossoms changed colors as they strolled by them.
“Look over there!” Presley exclaimed. It was an old abandoned mansion, the first sign of civilization they had seen since they had left the small town. She ran up to it, astonished at the sight. The house was in ruins, but she could tell that it once had been exquisite.
“This is the biggest house I have ever seen! In person anyway. It’s looks almost like a castle or something. Who lived here Jesse?” she asked.
“I have no idea. Whoever they were, I’d say they were well to do!”
“Yeah . . . I’d say so,” she agreed. Half of the house was in shambles, with the other half still remaining. Presley tried to imagine how the mansion would have looked if it was still standing. She peered into a window.
“Jesse, there is still furniture in this room! Look at those eccentric dishes! This is amazing!” she said excitedly.
For a moment she forgot the danger that they were in, and Jesse had to quickly remind her.
“Presley, we need to go,” he said looking over his shoulder. “I feel like someone is watching us.”
“Yeah, of course.” She walked towards Jesse with her head still facing the mansion. “I was just a little awestruck.”
They continued on and found several other mansions in ruin. “Who lived here?” she asked.
“Well, there are many pages in The Book of Codes that illustrates living beings. I’ve always assumed they were drawings of human beings. Maybe the drawings were of beings from this world,” he rationalized.
“Obviously some sort of living being resided here. “And they would have been intelligent beings to build structures this amazing." They walked by the mansions, which were all destroyed.
“According to the book, we’ll come upon a tunnel that will lead us to a castle.”
“What? A castle? Through a tunnel?” she repeated.
“You look at the book and tell me what you think,” he said as he handed it over.
Looks right to me. We have to keep going,” she said
exhausted. “I’m getting tired. Talk to me about something . . . anything. How about your life before you came here?”
“My life, huh?” he said. “I don’t know. What do you want to know?”
“Hey, I told you about my family, or lack of one. And now you are going to be secretive?” she asked. Presley really wasn’t sure if she wanted to know about Emily. Once again, curiosity got the best of her and before she knew it the words just came out.
“Tell me about anything, your family . . . Emily.”
“Okay . . . Emily,” he said smiling. Presley’s heart sank.
“Well, my pa was a farmer and my ma, kept house. I had one younger brother, John, an older brother, Jack, and two younger sisters, Jenny and Fanny. John was two years younger than me, Jack two years older, and we helped Pa around the farm. I was up every morning before the sun came up and stopped for the day when the sun went down. I was really close to my family. We all worked together. I had a really good life,” Jesse looked down and Presley saw the sadness in his eyes.
“And Emily? How did you meet her?” It was as if she couldn’t resist.
Jesse grinned, “I met Emily when I was fourteen and she was thirteen. Her family had just moved to town, and Pa and my brothers and I helped build their house. Emily and her ma would come out and bring us lunch and drinks every day,” Jesse reflected.
“I watched her for a few weeks, too shy to speak. When I finally got up enough nerve, I went up to her and held out my hand and said hello. She shook my hand and we were inseparable from then on. She was my best friend and I knew, from the first moment that I saw her, that I would marry her someday. Our parents lived a quarter mile apart and our dads farmed together. Our families went to church every Sunday and ate dinner together afterward.”
Presley was trying to listen, but she couldn’t help feeling envious of Emily. She knew by the twinkle in his eyes when he spoke of her name that he loved her very much.
Jesse’s words flowed freely. “When she was seventeen and I had just turned eighteen, I went to her pa and asked him for her hand in marriage. I remember being nervous, shaking and sweating profusely, I showed him the ring that I was going to give her. It was my great-grandmothers ring. He shook my hand and gave me his blessing. He told me that Emily had gone to town with her mother to buy some supplies. I was so happy that I couldn’t wait any longer to propose, so I jumped on my horse and rode into town to find her. I ran into the General Store and asked her to come with me. She rode on the back of my horse and I took her to our favorite spot on my pa’s farm.
Jesse gazed into the distance, “We named this land Tranquility Hill because of all of the old trees. It was our secret place. Nobody else knew that we named the land, and we never told anybody about our dreams. Emily had one special tree, a big oak tree that she named Sacred. She loved to take picnic dinners there, and she would oftentimes read books to me under the tree or write poetry on nice days. Emily and I used to spend hours riding our horses through the land, naming all of the surrounding trees.
If you stare at a tree long enough you can envision a certain character each possesses. The Kissing Trees looked like lovers embracing with a kiss. We had named practically every tree on that farm, but our tree, Sacred, was my favorite also." He took a deep breath and then cleared his throat. “I haven’t thought about that in a long time.”
“You named trees?” Presley said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah,” he snapped back.
“Okay,” she said wide eyed.
“Anyway, I took Emily to Tranquility Hill, to our tree, when I proposed. I helped her off the horse and I remember she said, ‘What a beautiful day. I believe this to be the most beautiful place in the world. I could stay here forever with you, and never leave, and be the happiest girl in the world.’”
“I said, ‘Emily, I thought I’d be nervous . . . but I’m not. I have never felt so calm and nothing has ever felt so right.’ I walked her over ne
xt to Sacred, and I got down on one knee and she began to cry before she ever even saw the ring. I said, ‘You are my best friend. I love you so much. I have loved you from the first time I saw you when I was fourteen years old and we carved our initials into this tree. I want you to be my wife.’”
Presley was getting more jealous by each word that he spoke. But he was so engrossed with the story that he didn’t realize that Presley was getting upset.
I was giving her my grandma’s wedding band. I had always planned on one day giving her ring to my wife. My brothers use to tease me about it, but I didn’t care. I’ve always been a romantic. When I met Emily I knew she was the girl who someday would be wearing that ring. I had a key engraved on the inside of the band.”
“An engraved key?” she snickered, trying to hide her jealousy.
“Yeah. She was the key to my heart.” He continued, “So I took the ring out of my pocket and asked her if she would marry me. She said ‘yes’ before I could even finish the sentence. We spent that afternoon envisioning our lives together, dreaming. We dreamed of building our house right there, right next to our tree, Sacred."
Presley interrupted, “Wow, that’s quite a story. How were you so sure that she was the one? I mean, you didn’t ever date around? How did you know that at fourteen?”
“Date around? Why would I want to date around when I knew she was what I wanted? There was never a reason for me to date around. When I met her, that was it, I was crazy in love with her."
“I hate to change the subject, but I’m confused . . . so do you still love Emily?”
“I will love her forever. I told her that I would, and I meant it,” he said.
“So, if you love Emily, then why do you seem so infatuated with me?” she asked.
“You’re different, but you remind me of her a little,” he said.
“Really? So, you like me because I remind you of Emily? Okay, Jesse, let me give you a little advice,” she scolded. “First of all, when you like a girl it’s not cool to tell her about the long lost love of your life. And second of all, it’s never okay to tell a girl, who you’re interested in, that you like her because she reminds you of your old fiancé!" Presley tried to walk faster than Jesse.
“Hey wait, I didn’t mean you remind me of her. I just haven’t felt this way about a girl since her. I mean, you asked me about her.”
“Yes, I did, but now . . . I’m wishing that I hadn’t,” she replied angrily.
As Presley kept walking she thought to herself, “What is he thinking? I cannot believe he just went through the whole entire story of their engagement. What an insensitive jerk. Why do I care anyway? Typical guy. I’m going home anyway."
She stopped walking, intending to have another fit, but before she could get another word out she felt something hit her arm. Stunned, she looked down and saw something slither in the grass. Right beside her foot she saw a grey head push up through the ground. The rest of the body followed. Then she glanced up and saw a snake hanging from the limb of a tree above her. She screamed as several snakes began falling from the trees. Once they hit the ground they began to multiply. They slithered violently towards them, their almond shape eyes growing wider. Jesse quickly caught up with her.
“GO! GO! GO!” he yelled pushing her down the path away from the snakes. They ran dodging the snakes that were falling from the branches. Jesse stopped long enough to pull out the crystals from the bag. He handed one to Presley and the crystals lit up, morphing the snakes into their true state-
demons. They were the same evil spirits that they had encountered before, only many more. Fiend was nowhere in sight. They were all panting like a pack of wolves, gasping as if they were unable to catch their breath. They were powder white with evil red narrow eyes. The ring leader of the group had dark reddish brown hair that hung in a straggly way framing his frightful narrow face and hiding his dark horns. His arms and legs were deformed and he moved with spastic motions.
“We come with a message,” he said, as he slowly limped closer to Jesse. “We have your friend but, we are willing to trade her for . . . you.” His tongue periodically dropped out of the side of his mouth as he spoke.
“Trade her for me?” Jesse asked as his voice cracked mid-sentence.
“Yes,” the demon answered. “Follow us and we will lead you to her.”
“No, don’t go,” Presley pleaded. “Remember, it’s a trap.”
“Don’t listen to her. Come with us!” the demon shouted.
As Presley turned around to run from the demons, she tripped over a blunt object protruding from the ground.
“Jesse! It’s a bone,” she said as she brushed off the dirt. Oh, Jesse, look, it’s a skeleton of a wing!”
Bones covered the ground. Jesse quickly examined their surroundings. He saw bones barely buried under the ground, scattered, far as his eyes could see. The demons deep harsh laugh turned into a high pitched shrilling scream as they vanished into the sky.
Presley started sobbing uncontrollably, “We have to get out of here! What is this place? I want to go home, Jesse! I want to go home, now!” she cried. “Jesse, I can’t go any further. This is all too much. What are we going to do?"
She started running then tripped on another bone and fell down, again.
“Come on, Presley. Get up. Don’t you see, this is what they want? They want us to give up. They want us to give in,” he said.
“Why? What do they want? If they could kill us, then why don’t they? They’ve had ample opportunities to kill us, and they haven’t. This is more than a game to them. It’s more than just the chase that they are after,” she said angrily.
Jesse sat beside her and brushed Presley’s hair from her face. “I had always heard about demons and evil growing up, but nothing could have prepared me for this. I want you to go home, too. I want you to be safe. I will get you home,” he promised. Presley looked up at Jesse. He embraced her and then said, “Come on, girl, we are so close to finding Manna. I can feel it.” As they rose off the ground, Presley brushed the dirt off of her jeans.
≈≈≈≈≈
After walking a few miles further they came to a clearing. Jesse was puzzled as he looked intently around the area. “I don’t understand. There should be a tunnel,” he said, taking The Book of Codes out of the bag. He opened it and turned to the end of the book. “See,” he pointed at the page. “Here! The tunnel should be right around here."
They split up for a short while until Presley shouted to him, “Jesse over here, I think I found something.” Jesse hurried over to her and began vigorously pulling deeply rooted vines away from the covered entrance. Presley unmasked the hidden opening. Jesse yanked the last large vine away unveiling the entrance. They shielded their eyes from a radiant light. Eventually their eyes adjusted to the brightness.
“Look how it glows!” she exclaimed. “Have you ever seen this color before?
“No, it’s like blue or an emerald green, maybe . . . I don’t know. It’s so bright. I can’t tell.”
As they entered, it was apparent from the worn rock floor that the tunnel had been used in the past. Presley pressed her hand through the weeds and against the emerald walls as she tried to imagine who had constructed such a formation.
“This is amazing, Jesse,” she said.
“I’m speechless,” he confessed.
“Did Manna build this?” she asked.
“I don’t know. This whole place is lifeless. I mean, except for plants and a few animals, we haven’t seen one living creature that would be capable of building this. I think that they are all dead."
“Obviously there was once an intelligent entity that lived here. And now nobody. Only bones. What could’ve happened?” she asked.
“Maybe they were wiped out. Th
ey’re gone now,” he answered.
“Yeah, maybe Fiend killed them. And, if so, would that include Manna?” Jesse suddenly stopped walking and his eyes grew large.
Presley looked beyond Jesse and, in utter amazement, saw the most brilliant, luminous castle. She was astonished by the gleaming structure. It shined as if it were created out of diamonds. Invitingly, a long, smooth, majestic white pearl passageway lined with large soft blue weeping willows, led the way to the castle. The landscape was perfectly manicured with beautiful gardens surrounding the castle. Winged white horses roamed freely on the lush lawn. Amazed at the sight before them they inched closer to the castle. Jesse noticed that the embrasures were all vacant. A moat surrounded the entire structure. They slowly walked across the drawbridge, which was the only way to enter the castle. As they passed they noticed the moat was completely dried up.
“Presley, don’t be shocked if we don’t find anyone here. Something dreadful must have happened to the beings that lived here. There isn’t a soul around. All of the homes have been destroyed. This place is completely desolate of intelligent life,” he concluded.
“Well, we haven’t even reached the door yet, Jesse. Don’t get all pessimistic on me now,” she encouraged.
“Yeah, I know, but look. Shouldn’t there be guards up there?” he asked pointing to the tower. “And what about the guards at the door? I don’t see anyone,” he added.
They continued to the massive doorway. Jesse pulled up the heavy knocker, but before he could push it back down, the door began to creep open. They both took a few steps backwards, unsure of what they would find on the other side of the door.
An abnormally tall human- like creature stood in front of them. He had many wrinkles on his face and thin pale lips. His white hair hung down below his waist and his hands were twice as large as an average man. His eyes were kind and much wider than a human’s. Presley couldn’t believe it. Standing in front of her was a member of an unknown species, an alien to her, which also made her an alien to him. But he didn’t seem much like an alien. Not like the stereotypical alien that she had always imagined anyway. He didn’t have the awkward grey appearance. No, this alien looked much like a human apart from being taller and a few other notable distinctions.
He held out his large hand, “I’m Samson,” he said in a low voice. Jesse shook his hand. “You are Jesse and you are Presley. We have been waiting for you for some time. Please come in."
He graciously opened the door further, allowing Presley and Jesse to enter the castle together. Jesse took Presley’s hand and gently squeezed it indicating the bizarreness of the situation. Presley returned the gesture. The inside of the castle was dark and mysterious.
“I’m aware that you are here to see Manna,” Samson said softly, “Come with me." They followed Samson through the huge foyer and down a dark candlelit corridor that led to a massive room with a long table full of food. There were several platters of meat, bread, rolls, fruits, vegetables and a slew of deserts.
“As I said, we have been expecting you. Please eat, indulge yourselves." Presley and Jesse didn’t hesitate. They filled their plates and devoured each bite. Samson stood at the doorway, amused by their large consumption of food. After they were finished Samson asked, “Are you ready to meet Manna?”
“I’ve been ready for 168 years,” Jesse sighed.