Aeturnum (The Book of Adam 2), page 18
Adam was confused. “She can give you the ability?”
Karl grinned an evil grin. “They don’t like to tell you that little piece of information. I’ve learned that myself. She can do it but would never grant it to me. It was soon after she refused that I contacted Larix and told him where the Heartstone was. Until then I had only given him the locations where I had uncovered it had been in the past.”
“You’re the one who called him? You had him destroy Waldron and Langenburg? People died because of you!”
“Yes yes, but people die all the time and for a lot stupider reasons. You forget I have sold insurance for a lot of years. I don’t have all that many years left, so when the opportunity presented itself I jumped on it.”
“So is Larix on his way to kill me?” Adam gulped as he finished the sentence.
Karl shook his head. “No, he needs you first. He is sending his best man to take us to him. He will not risk being captured again. I am sure he will make an example out of you as soon as he can so that others don’t stand in his way.”
Adam wondered why Larix would need him anyway.
“How is Aeturnum involved in all of this?” asked Adam.
Karl shrugged. “Even I don’t know all of those answers,” he said, “But I am sure Larix does.”
“So he hasn’t let you in on everything then? Has he told John Gunderson?”
The comment made Karl angry. Adam watched as his face darkened. “I am lucky that he didn’t send someone to kill me after you got him captured last year. It took a lot of convincing that I could be the one to deliver you to him along with clues to the location of the Heartstone. He even promised to pay me well if I could.”
“Like he’s good for his word,” said Adam.
Karl got angrier. “What was I supposed to do? Let him kill me? He promised that he would share the secret of the deepest connections with me if I didn’t fail this time. Then I can finally be the best Kurler who ever lived.”
Adam sensed that Karl was trying to convince himself as much as Adam.
“So now we wait. His man will be here to escort us soon. By the time anyone knows you are missing, we’ll be long gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Adam wished he had been able to look at his watch because the next stretch of time could have been ten minutes or two hours. Time ticked by as he thought about his friends at their homes. Kevin was probably still cutting the huge lawn in his yard. Jimmy was probably trying on clothes in the nearest city, Melville, and Mark was most likely sitting on the couch watching TV while Miri and Siri played around him. Each of them was comfortable in their homes while Adam sat there, tied up and fearing for his life.
Karl had left him alone in the grain bin and wandered far enough away that Adam couldn’t hear him. It seemed like Karl wanted to get away instead of continuing their conversation, which was fine with Adam. There was enough he was trying to make sense of already.
How come he didn’t figure out that Karl was the one who broke into his house, not Ben? He beat himself up mentally for the lapse in judgment. It was an error that looked like it would cost him dearly. Soon he would be gone to somewhere far away, probably to never see his friends again.
That’s when he thought of his mom. Mary had never been all that much of a mother to him, after all, but in that moment of despair, Adam choked up when he thought that he might never see her again. He sniffled as his eyes started to glass over.
He closed his eyes tight and shook his head, determination returning. His mind kicked into gear again and raced through images and conversations. He was determined not to give up so easily.
What had Ben said once before? You guys are pretty good at getting out of sticky situations? Something like that. Whatever it was, it snapped Adam back into action. His mind raced as it thought of options.
He looked around and the only things he could see were the table, the lamp and the box that held all of his things. As he examined the box, he noticed that it had a snap latch that didn’t look like it was secured.
He imagined the inside of the box and his mind’s eye saw the two fake Heartstones, the lapel pin, and the two Impression Stones. While his mind saw, it also reasoned something that gave Adam hope.
Adam sat there concentrating and willed the Killaly Impression Stone to return to his hand. He moved his hand against the ropes that bound him. The box hopped as the stone hit the top and the latch popped open a little. He repeated the process one more time and the lid flipped open before the stone flew into his hand.
He felt the sharp edge sting as it landed in his hand, then he shifted it around until he could use the stone to cut the rope. His heart raced as he sawed, and little by little he made it through the rope. As it fell away, he heard Karl cough followed by footsteps growing louder.
He stood quickly and put the stone back in the box, closed the lid and sat down. He grabbed the rope and managed to make it look like it was still tied around his wrists while he held the two cut ends in his hands. The only thing Karl would notice is that Adam’s hands were now in front instead of behind him, but there was no time to worry about that. Maybe he could surprise Karl and overpower him, but without the use of his legs, it wouldn’t make much sense.
The door opened and Karl stepped inside. He was holding a shotgun and pointed it at Adam. Immediately he noticed Adam’s hands. His face showed some anger, but calmed soon after. He obviously thought the ropes were still tied.
“I’ll bet it wasn’t too easy to get your hands out front now, was it?”
Adam shook his head. Karl laughed.
“At least I won’t have to carry you anymore. Get up, we have to go.”
Adam looked at Karl as if he didn’t understand.
“You should be able to hop. Come on now, hop out to the car. The only way I’m carrying you now is if you have shotgun pellets in your legs.” He pointed the gun at Adam’s lap.
Adam stood as fast as he could.
“I knew you just needed a little motivation,” said Karl.
“Come on out to the car now,” he said as he backed out of the door.
Adam heard a car door open off to the right. As soon as he stuck his head outside, Karl pulled a hood over it.
“You remember this from last year?” he asked.
Adam nodded. His heart sunk and his gut tightened again.
“So you know not to struggle. It’s an ugly thing to watch someone being choked into unconsciousness.”
Karl took Adam under the arm and led him toward the car, helping him hop along. After helping him get inside, Karl told him to lie down and pull his feet in before he closed the door. A minute later the car rocked as Karl got in, and soon they were moving. It sounded as though he had set the small box on the passenger seat.
“Where are we going?” asked Adam.
“Not too far from here. You just wait.”
The thought that it wasn’t too far away did little to loosen the knot in his gut.
A few minutes later the car turned left, and not too far down another gravel road it slowed and turned right again before coming to a stop. Karl got out, again making the car rock violently.
“You’ve got him?” asked a muffled voice.
“In the back,” said Karl.
“Get him out here so I can make sure,” said the voice. It seemed familiar somehow.
A few crunches of gravel and the door opened. “Wait,” said Karl. A moment later the ropes were falling from Adam’s feet.
“Come out,” said Karl.
Adam shuffled out, careful to keep a tight hold on the rope around his wrists. He had to make sure it still looked believable so he held his hands tight to his body. As soon as he was out, he let Karl lead him around.
“Here he is,” said Karl.
“How do I know for sure? Take the hood off,” said the familiar voice.
“Oh, sorry,” replied Karl.
Adam felt hands circle his neck with the same strange motion Ben had used the previous year and suddenly there was bright light again. As Adam’s eyes adjusted, he recognized the other man immediately. It was the guard that had hit Adam with his gun in the Radome caves the previous year.
“You,” said Adam.
“You remember me,” said the man.
“Believe me, I’ve tried to forget,” said Adam.
The man smiled. Then he punched Adam hard in the chest.
“I’ve been waiting all year to do that. You got me in trouble with the boss.”
Adam tried to catch his breath as he rolled around on the ground. The man’s punch winded him. He had never been hit like that before.
As he rolled around he got a good look at where he was. It was a large empty clearing surrounded by thick trees, and near him in the middle Adam saw something that looked strange. It was a Radome like the one at Grayson, but less than half the size. Other than that, there was nothing else in the area.
“You got the other stuff?” asked the man.
“Yes, Butcher,” said Karl. He shuffled around to the other side of the car and fetched the box.
After he handed it over, the guard opened it and looked inside.
“Good job. The boss is gonna be really happy with us,” he said.
“So, how are we getting there?” asked Karl.
Adam watched as the man called ‘Butcher’ motioned his head to the Radome.
“I’ve never travelled that way before,” said Karl, looking surprised. “Will it work for all of us?”
Butcher shrugged. “It’s supposed to be enough.” Then he sighed. “Anyway, the boss said that if you didn’t come through on this job I was supposed to take you to him and he would torture you until you died. Since you didn’t fail, I’m supposed to help you connect with the stones.”
Karl gulped, “You can do that?”
“Yep. The boss showed me how.”
Karl looked to get excited at the prospect. Adam had a bad taste creep into the back of his throat.
“Take out one of the stones from the box,” said Butcher.
“Which one?” asked Karl.
“Any one,” yelled Butcher.
Karl grabbed one of the fake Heartstones.
“Now connect with it.”
Karl excitedly placed the stone between his hands and brought it up to his forehead.
“Now, concentrate as hard as you can,” said Butcher.
Adam looked in horror as a glint of steel flashed in his eyes. By the time he could yell ‘no’, the knife was buried to the hilt in the middle of Karl’s chest.
“The boss told me to tell you that you are now connected with the stones forever,” said Butcher.
After Butcher withdrew the knife, Karl fell to his knees and looked at Adam. He mouthed the word ‘sorry’ and then keeled over.
Karl was dead.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The scream hung on Adam’s lips as he stared at Karl’s lifeless body. It was the first time he had seen a person die in his life, and it would forever haunt him. Karl’s eyes remained open, looking off into the distance as if he were watching a sunset, unblinking.
Butcher took the fake Heartstone from Karl’s lifeless hand and then wiped the blood from his knife on Karl’s shirt. He placed the stone back in the wooden box, snapping the clasp shut tight, then slipped the box in a holster on his belt.
That was when he looked at Adam. Fear and hate filled every molecule in Adam’s body, but he didn’t understand why he was angry. Karl had just betrayed him, after all.
“Why?” was all that Adam could ask.
“I saved him from a lot of torture in front of a lot of people,” said Butcher as if he had done Karl a favour. “The boss was generous and spared him a humiliating death.”
Adam was speechless. Spared him? Lied to him was more accurate.
“Time to go,” said Butcher grabbing Adam under the arm and leading him toward the Radome.
Adam cleared his throat, and with a shaky voice asked, “How?”
Butcher pointed at the Radome.
Adam still looked confused.
“It’s a transporter,” he said as they walked. “Don’t ask me how it works ‘cause I don’t know. I know it uses a bunch of energy. We need to get in there.”
Adam did as Butcher said, leading the way to the Radome. As he approached, he noticed that it seemed to be almost glowing.
Adam’s mind was in overdrive once again, running through scenarios of how he could possibly get out of this one. He was fast approaching the ladder leading up into the Radome and he would have to climb or get knifed. The power of Butcher’s punch from earlier still ached in his chest and he knew he couldn’t take another one.
As Adam reached the ladder he heard something whiz through the air. In a fraction of a second Butcher had blocked it with his own knife, knocking it to the ground. It was a knife like Butcher’s, only much smaller.
“Butcher!” came a gravel throated yell from far away in the direction of the trees. It was quickly followed by two more knives.
Butcher strained to block the knives as Ben ran toward them. Next, he looked at Adam and then back to Ben. He clearly was torn – should he deal with Ben or get Adam into the Radome.
Butcher decided to go for Adam, but Adam saw it coming. Instead of standing still and waiting, he dropped the rope and dove to the side, rolling around the Radome’s center pillar and running out of the line of fire. Butcher missed Adam by a hair and instead had to block another knife thrown at him by Ben.
“Hey, old man,” said Butcher, “why don’t you go home before you get hurt?”
Ben laughed as he ran. “You couldn’t beat me ten years ago. What makes you think you can now?”
Butcher readied himself to fight Ben when a van roared around the corner. It was Gurpreet!
Butcher quickly evaluated his chances of taking on multiple people at once and decided that he would live to fight again another day. He glared at Adam and then climbed up the ladder.
Adam’s mind raced. Butcher was getting away with all of the items, and Ben was too far away to stop him. Besides, Ben would be too tired from the sprinting to fight. Adam decided he had to do something.
Suddenly a movie played in his mind. He remembered the box jumping when he was in the grain bin and he pulled the Impression Stone to him.
He ran back to the Radome and climbed the ladder, sticking his head up through the hole.
Inside, Butcher was standing exactly in the middle on top of the center pillar. He stood still with his hands at his sides until he noticed Adam. If looks could kill, Adam would have been lying dead on the ground, but Butcher didn’t move. Rays of energy began radiating from him.
Adam remembered that Butcher had called the Radome a transporter, so he realized that he didn’t have much time. He concentrated as hard as he could on the Impression Stone, then physically and mentally pulled it to him with every ounce of energy he had. The wooden box ripped through the holster and landed in Adam’s hand.
In the last moment before he winked out of the Radome, Butcher noticed what Adam had done. He raised his knife to throw it, but he was too slow. He was gone before he had even lifted it all the way up.
Ben growled beneath Adam, “Get the hell out of the way kid!”
Adam looked down, “He’s gone.”
Ben swore and kicked the pillar, and when he had moved Adam came down.
Adam looked to where Karl lay. Gurpreet and Marius were next to him performing CPR.
Everything started moving in slow motion and Ben’s voice sounded like he was talking through a steel pipe.
That’s when everything went black.
***
He opened his eyes a while later to find he was lying in the second row of the van. Gurpreet and Marius were in the front seat talking.
“I still can’t believe he’s dead,” said Marius, fighting back tears. “I mean, I spent so much time with him. How could I miss it that he was giving information to the enemy?”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. None of us saw it either. Even if we did, I don’t think any of us wanted to believe it.”
“Is he really dead,” asked Adam in a drowsy voice.
Gurpreet and Marius turned to face him, the sadness heavy on their faces. They had known Karl for a long time. He was their friend and co-worker. Adam realized that it was just as difficult for them to understand as it was for himself.
Gurpreet only nodded. “I’m sorry you had to see that, and I’m sorry we didn’t figure it out sooner.”
“What do you mean?” asked Adam.
Gurpreet looked at Marius, then back to Adam. “Now isn’t the proper time to explain. Let’s get you home so you can recover properly and start this conversation at a better time. Now is a time to grieve our friend.” He choked up at the word ‘friend’, then turned and started the van.
“What about Ben?” asked Adam.
“He’s going to stay until the ambulance arrives for Karl,” said Marius, his voice sounding strained.
Even though he couldn’t see Karl from where he lay, Adam waved in his direction and quietly said ‘goodbye’ as Gurpreet drove them toward home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
As soon as Adam arrived at home, Mary knew something had happened just by how terrible he looked, plus the fact that Gurpreet and Marius practically carried him into the house. She immediately demanded answers, but Gurpreet and Marius insisted Adam should go to bed while they told Mary what had happened.
From his room Adam listened as they gave her the details, as much as they knew anyway, and then asked that Adam be allowed to sleep as long as possible in the morning. They would make sure that none of Adam’s friends interrupted his rest either.
When Adam heard the men leave, he pretended to be asleep when he heard his mom come up the stairs. She tapped on his door and quietly asked, “Are you asleep?”
Any other time Adam would have said nothing, but that was a night unlike any other he had ever known.
