Anamnesis ©
Chapter Twenty
By Fiction Writer #13
(nosex, sci-fi , paranormal)

The room Rob was in was huge, but the drop ceiling height was average.  There were no interior walls, but there were pillars placed evenly throughout the space.  If it hadn't been for the large crowd of gathered guests, he would have been able to see out of the floor to ceiling tinted windows on all four sides of the building.  The enclosed hallway with the elevators only occupied a small portion of the overall floor space, and from where he was it looked like someone had left a rather large rectangular white box smack dab in the middle of the room.  Two of the four corners were occupied by the emergency stairwells, and their exit signs glowed red above their white doors.  The other two corners were occupied by bathrooms.  Just like in the small hallway by the elevators, the ceiling lights were staggered off and on, but the light coming from the setting sun filled the space with an orange glow despite the sparse artificial illumination.

Kay and Rob drifted around the crowd, Kay occasionally saying hi to someone she knew or filling Rob in on a bit of gossip.  They'd spent the better part of an hour wandering around, waiting impatiently as the crowd around them thickened.  There were no seats left for them to find.  The room had been set up for thirty guests, the housemen left an extra five seats just in case, but it was obvious that the true number had swelled to nearly three or four times as many.  The few lucky guests who did have a place to sit guarded their chairs as if they would win a prize for their effort.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please?"

All eyes turned towards a woman who was waving her arms over her head to draw attention to herself.  Kay had taken Gwen's warning to heart, the two of them standing a good distance away in the shadows, making seeing her clearly very difficult.  The crowd's murmurs slowly died to a few coughs and whispers before the woman continued.

"First off, I'd just like to say thank you for coming tonight on such short notice, and let me apologize for our current meeting space.  We were supposed to be in a proper room, but the hotel overbooked and we got pushed up here.  I have to admit, when I first heard that we would be meeting up here, in the hotel's unfinished office space, I was a bit miffed.  But that was before I decided to bring all of you together, all one-hundred and thirty-seven of you, for the first and hopefully the last time."

Rob stood on his tiptoes, but still couldn't see the woman through the standing crowd.

"I now see this booking mistake as a blessing in disguise; proof of a higher power intervening on our behalf.  So if you will please bear with the lack of seating, and lack of a microphone, I'll try to be as clear and quick as I possibly can.

"I know many of you think I've lost my mind... again." Chuckles and giggles erupted from around the room. "But let me assure you that contrary to gossip, I'm not ready for Highland Asylum just yet."

Even Kayleigh laughed after that line.

"I've been busy meeting with many of you in person, or just taking the time to chat one on one on the phone, and I can say with absolute authority, you are not crazy.  It is not a product of your overactive imaginations.  You didn't dream this up.  You aren't lying.  And no matter what you've been told... you are not alone."

Applause and whistles filled the space.  The energy in the room was building, you could feel it in the air, and Rob was right in the thick of it. 'She believes.'

"Ever since I became aware of the..." She struggled to find the right words. "The phenomenon that plagues this city and its surrounding suburbs, I've searched for a means to give back what has been taken from all of you.  It has been my hope that, once your memories have all been unlocked, we will finally have some of the answers that we've so desperately been searching for."

The woman moved from the window towards the center of the crowd, talking as she walked.  Everyone in her path moved aside to let her pass, until she reached a large odd shaped object hidden beneath a table cloth.  She had closed some of the distance between Rob and herself, and now he could see her more clearly.  A woman about the same age as Kayleigh, but the years she lived seemed to have been harder on her.  Her face was gaunt, sleep deprived eyes sunken into dark sockets.  Her hair hung around her face in a wild stringy mop of black and gray.  The sparse lighting highlighted the deep lines and wrinkles of her skin.  She wore gaudy gold jewelry that hung around her neck, dangled from her ears, and clanked around her wrists. 

"I've tried all of the conventional methods, even some of the less conventional ones, but the results have always been the same... failure.  For this I apologize, but don't give up hope, we will find the key that fits, and we will do so... tonight."

With a great flourish of showmanship, she ripped away the obscuring table cloth.  Beneath it she revealed a four foot tall pyramid of highly polished gold.  The tip of the pyramid was made of some kind of blue crystal which glowed with an inner light.  Most of those gathered in the room were not impressed.

"Damn it," a man in front of Rob grumbled, "Just another waste of our time."

"You think?" the woman beside him asked.

"Yeah," The man shook his head before making his way through the crowd toward the elevator. "I'm outta here."

He wasn't the only one on the move.  Several others could be seen threading their way towards the exit, each plainly wearing their dashed hopes on their faces.

"Everyone!   Please!" Sheila pleaded as more and more people left. "Give this a chance!"

No one paid her any mind.

"It'll work!  I promise!"

An unseen woman called out, "We're done with your promises!"

Rob could see the wild desperation in Sheila's eyes as she begged them not to go.

"NO!  You can't go!  Not yet!  Not now!" She pushed her way through the throng to block the door leading to the elevators. "This time it's different!  This time it's real!"

"Poor girl," Kay sighed. "She really has gone off the deep end."

The mass of people leaving grew too large for Sheila to stop and she was simply moved out of the way.

"Someone in this room!   There's someone in this room tonight!  Someone special!  Someone who can make it work!  It could be any one of you!  Please, stop!" Sheila grabbed a woman by the arm, "YOU!  It might be you!"

"Dr. Lowery, get hands off of me!" The woman shrugged Sheila off.

Undeterred, Sheila ran back and forth, begging everyone who was within reach to stay.

"Kim, please, just listen!  Ed, you don't want to do this, not now!  We're so close!  Tiffany!  Tiffany Brophy!  Not you too!"

Rob hadn't even been aware that Kay was holding his hand during the frackus, but suddenly her grip became so painful that it brought tears to his eyes.

"Ow!  Kay, your hurting me."

"Sorry." Her grip let up slightly, but even in the dim light Rob could see that her face had gone ashen. "Did, did she just say... Tiffany Brophy?"

"Yeah." Rob pulled his tender hand away and rubbed it. "I think so."

"Come with me." Kay grabbed Rob by his shirt collar and pulled him along.

"Hey, wait." Rob followed along helplessly as Kay charged through the crowd, stepping on toes and knocking people to the side. "What're you doing?"

Kay stayed silent, but her pace quickened considerably.

'It can't be,' she thought to herself as her heart raced. 'It can't be.  Not her.  Not here.  Not now.'

The quickest path led them straight to the large pyramid, where most of the remaining guests had gathered around in a big circle.  Kayleigh broke through the imaginary barrier that held them back, and crossed the open space surrounding the pyramid.  She pulled Rob's shirt collar so hard that it ripped, leaving him standing alone as she continued on.

"Kay!  Wait!" Rob called to her, but she'd already pierced the wall of people on the opposite side of the circle.

"LOOK!" A woman's scream filled the air and silenced the room. "THE CRYSTAL!"

Rob froze in place as all eyes seemed to turn on him, but in reality they were focused on the top of the pyramid which was pulsing with blue light.  Those trying to exit changed their minds and slowly filtered back into the room, filling in the gaps of the human wall and blocking any chance for Rob to slip away.

"You there," Sheila emerged from the crowd and pointed an accusing finger at Rob, "Who are you?"

Rob shook as everyone now turned to face him.  He felt very small under their gaze, and all he wanted to do was run away and hide.

"I'm... I'm Rob."

"He's with me!" Kayleigh came to his rescue, shoving her way out of the crowd to join Rob by his side. "I brought him here, Sheila."

Sheila narrowed her eyes. "I should have known.  You were never one to follow rules."

"You would know, I sat on your office couch for close to four years." Kay laughed, hoping to break the tension.

"I specifically said... no outsiders.  So, who is he?" Sheila looked Rob up and down as if she were sizing him up for purchase.

"No, no, no.  Not so fast." Kay looked past Sheila, desperately searching the crowd. "I need to know, was that Tiffany Brophy that you saw?  My Tiffany?  The one who you said wasn't on your list."

"Kay, this is neither the time nor the..."

"Answer the damn question, Sheila!" Kay's anger shocked Rob. "Was that her or not?"

Sheila remained silent, but a timid voice from the depths of the crowd did not.

"Kayleigh?" A short woman with long dark brown hair emerged from the shadows. "Kayleigh Roberts?  Is that... is that really you?"

A sharp chirp popped out of Kay's mouth before her hand could cover her lips.  Her eyes grew wide and glassy as tears began to spill down her freckled cheeks. "It's you... it's really you.  She... she said you weren't on the list, but I knew... I always knew... it... really... happened."

Kay's knees gave out and she fell to the carpeted floor.  Tiffany broke from the crowd and joined her.

"What's going on?  How's this happening?" Tiff's confusion was so strong that everyone in the room could feel it as well. "It was only a dream, right?  Just... just some silly dream.  None of that stuff really..."

"No, Tiff." Kay's sparkling eyes met Tiffany's. "No, it wasn't just a dream.  And you being here tonight, that's all the proof I need."

"But, but that's impossible." Now it was Tiffany's turn to cry. "I'm not even sure of what my dreams were about.  It's all jumbled up in my head."

"I know." Kay tenderly touched Tiff's cheek. "I know; mine are too.  But, I remember you, I remember you in mydreams."

"I'm sorry Kay." Sheila knelt on the floor by the two women. "I truly am."

Kay faced her one time psychiatrist and ex-lover. "But why?  Why, when you knew... you knew the whole time... why didn't you tell me?"

"Doctor patient confidentiality, maybe just a little jealousy, but mainly, I... I didn't want you to break down again.  I couldn't let that happen to you.  It would have set you back years and years of progress."

"Progress?" Kay half chuckled through her sobs. "Knowing that Tiff was having the same dreams... it would have saved me... saved me from so much pain!"

"No Kay, it wouldn't have." Sheila put a hand on her shoulder. "Tiff doesn't remember, not like you.  Her memories weren't unlocked until we began some deep hypnosis, and even then, they were never as defined as the dreams you've been suffering through.  I couldn't let you put yourself out there... hoping that she felt the way you believed she felt, if it wasn't true."

With all eyes now glued to the three women kneeling on the floor and crying, Rob slowly backed away.  He didn't get very far though.

"Ooof."

He backed right into the pyramid and nearly tripped, but as he fell he spun and his hands fell upon the smooth gold surface.

Thrummmmmmm ...

The sound the pyramid issued as his weight fell on it was unnaturally loud and resounded around the room.  All eyes were once again on him.

"You," Sheila approached Rob, but this time the accusing tone was absent. "You are the one.  You can make it work."

Rob took his hands off the pyramid. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."

"The Art." She smiled warmly. "You know how to use the Art."

"No, I..."

"You don't have to hide it, young man." Sheila pointed to the pulsing crystal.  It seemed to beat in time with his own heart. "The Gythreal can sense it within you."

"But I really don't know anything about it," Rob tried to explain. "I just found out about it today."

"Please, just... try." Sheila backed away, leaving Rob standing by the pyramid, alone.

"You can do it, Rob." Kayleigh stood at Tiffany's side, holding her hand as if she were afraid that if she let go, Tiff would vanish into thin air. "I believe in you.  This is what you came here to do; I know it in my heart."

Kay's words lifted Rob's spirit and filled him with confidence.

'I can do this.  It's just like the phone call to the radio station.  Nick said all I have to do is believe, believe that I can, and it will happen.'

He timidly placed his hands back on the pyramid.

Thrummmmm ...

Once again the oddly deep and overly loud sound rippled out of the metal as his palms lay on its surface.  The crystal pulsed faster and faster, brighter and brighter as his heart raced within his chest.

'I can do this.  I will do this.'

Rob closed his eyes and concentrated.  He blocked out all of the sounds in the room.  The hushed whispers and gasps evaporated away.

'All the answers are right here, right under my hands.  All I have to do is unlock them, free them.'

The lights in the rooms flickered as a low sound began to beat in time with the flashing crystal, Rob's heartbeat amplified a thousand times for all to hear.  The metallic surface of the pyramid grew cold to the touch, and felt damp, as if water were seeping out of it.

'It's time, time for me to find her.'

The ceiling lights shut off completely, plunging the room into semi-darkness.  The sun was just vanishing behind the hills, giving off it's final red glow, but the blue light from the crystal grew so bright that many had to shield their eyes.  Rob didn't notice.  His eyes remained shut tight.

'I'm coming, Sarah.  I'm coming to find you.'

"Robbie!  Where are you?"

Sarah's voice rang in his ears as if she were standing right next to him, and he opened his eyes.  The office space was gone, as were all of the people.  His hands were no longer pressed against the pyramid, but against a heavy steel door, the door from his dreams, the one holding back the wall of icy water waiting to devour him.

Robbie spun away from the door and stared down the familiar empty corridor. "Sarah!  Stay where you are, I'm coming for you!"

"Hurry Robbie!"

The light bulb above his head flickered wildly as he took the first step towards Sarah's voice.  Behind him the leaks in the door hissed, spraying his back with a fine mist of water.  Rob stopped moving and looked back.  Tiny spider web cracks began to weave themselves across the round portal window.  The door made a low groaning sound and shuddered slightly, causing him to flinch.

"Robbieee!"

Rob stared at the door, ignoring her calls.  There was more here than just a door, he was sure of it.

"Robbie, please!"

His eyes squinted against the spray of water and flickering light, straining to take in every detail.

'Every time… I run.  I run, and it catches me.'

"Robbie!  Come on!  Don't leave me here!"

The door bulged outward, as if the steel were as malleable as taffy.  The window cracked, sending a tiny shard of glass flying.

'I can't run anymore.  I'm sick and tired of running.'

The pipes overhead gurgled and glugged.  Water now trickled out from the seal of the door, creating a large spreading puddle at his feet.

'It's time to face whatever is on the other side of this door.'

Rob's hand reached out and took hold of the steel wheel used to lock the door into place.

"Robbie!  Robbie where are you?"

His hand gripped the cold steel and he spun it.  The door creaked and moaned as the bolts slid aside, but it did not burst open as he expected.  Slowly he pulled and it opened with a squeal of steel on steel.

"Cool..."

The door opened but the wall of water remained where it was.  He stared into its glistening surface, stared at the wavering reflection of himself.

"Robbiee!"

"I'm coming Sarah," he whispered. "I'm coming."

With a deep breath, Robbie closed his eyes and stepped into the chilling liquid darkness.

"Something's wrong!" Kay shouted over the thundering booms emanating from the pyramid.  The booms were so loud it shook the floor and rattled the ceiling tiles. "We have to get him away from that thing!"

Robbie stood motionless, his hands pressed against the pyramid, his eyes closed.  He hadn't moved since he first touched the thing, and that had been several minutes ago.

"NO!" Sheila stopped Kay from moving forward. "NOT YET!"

"But what if it kills him?" Kay pleaded.

Sheila was about to argue when she felt it, a tugging, some force pulling at her insides.  It was gentle, but it still alarmed her, and she wasn't the only one who felt it.

"What's happening?" Kay stumbled backwards, away from the pyramid, away from the source of the odd sensation. "It's sucking us in!"

The room erupted into screams as the pull became stronger, affecting not only their bodies but the clothing they wore, the items in their pockets, and even the dust.  The latter was pulled out of the carpeting and fell from the ceiling in streams that swirled around the room like ghostly serpents, before disappearing into the crystal atop the pyramid.

"Sheila!" Kay staggered into Dr. Lowery and grabbed hold of her blouse. "You have to stop this!  Stop it before it's too late!"

Sheila's wild eyes returned. "I... I don't know how!"

"You've killed us all, you crazy bitch!" a woman trapped within the stumbling crowd screamed.

Kay let go of Sheila's blouse and moved as carefully as she could towards Rob. "Robbie!  Robbie, do you hear me?  You have to make it stop!  Stop it!"

Rob's head snapped upward, staring blankly at the ceiling.  Instantly the pulling ceased and the dust fell to the floor.

"SARAH!"

The blue crystal erupted into a brilliance never seen before.  A wave of light exploded outward from its peak with such force that it knocked everyone flat.  Walls couldn't stop the wave; it pierced right through them on its journey outwards.  The ripple of energy slammed into the windows surrounding the room and shattered them, exploding them out of their frames with a sonic boom.

Those on the street went about their day as if it were any other; that is, until they heard the explosion.  All eyes turned skyward as glittering glass rained down on all four streets surrounding the Highland Plaza South.  Those in their cars were shielded from the falling debris, but the pedestrians had to dive for cover wherever they could find it.

"Holy shit!   What was that?" Donovan nearly fell off his chair as he stared in wonder at what he was seeing on the monitors.

"Sir!   Ether detection on the forty-second floor.  It's off the scale!"

"NO SHIT!" Donovan stood and addressed the team inside of the MC². "What the fuck is going on up there?"

"Sir, records show that it was a private symposium on the Psychology of Memory.  It was moved from the ballrooms up to the hotel's office space after a double booking."

"Who booked it?  How many attendees?"

"Uh... Dr. Sheila Lowery booked the event for thirty guests."

Donovan scanned the camera feeds coming from his snipers.  None of them had very good angles to see into the forty-second floor, but he could plainly see that there was a hell of a lot more than thirty silhouettes standing up there.

"Get an assault team in there now.  That's where our target is, don't let him slip through."

"Roger that, sending in Bravo Team."

"Send Alpha in as well, just to be sure."

"Understood, teams are moving in." The technician turned to face Donovan. "Sir, all of the elevators are occupied and the emergency recall isn't working.  We have to use the stairs."

"Just get it done." Donovan rubbed his temples. "Wait, where are the elevators heading?"

The technician typed away on his keyboard for a moment then froze. "Sir, all of them are heading for the forty-second."

"Show me the security camera feeds from the elevators."

A moment later the monitors switched to an angled black and white view from inside the lifts.

"Sir, they're empty."

"No they aren't," Donovan smiled. "Intercept all 911 calls and emergency radio transmissions in a five block radius.  Get help from the Facility if you need it.  I don't want local police anywhere near this building, got it?”

Donovan grabbed his pulse rifle and headed for the exit. "Send Charlie and Delta in, I'll meet them in the lobby.  Nobody goes into or out of that building but us, understood?  Nobody."

"Understood."

The wind whistled through the open windows.  The ceiling tiles that remained in their aluminum framework lifted and settled with a thumping sound.  Everyone in the room remained silent except for a few whimpers and coughs.  Words had escaped them for the moment; all cohesive thought had left them as well.  Those who made it back to their feet staggered around in a stunned daze, stopping only to try and figure out where they were and why they were there.  The crystal atop the pyramid no longer glowed, nor was it thumping.  After a few seconds the lights that hadn't been damaged buzzed back to life, offering some comfort to the frightened children.

Kay's senses began to return as she lay on the floor staring straight up.

"Oh my God," She spoke aloud as one hand closed tightly on the gold cross she wore around her neck. "I... I remember... everything."

She rolled onto her side just as the lights above her flickered back on.  There beside her lay Tiffany, her eyes wide open and her lips quivering.  Tears spilled from those eyes as they stared at each other in silence.  Confused emotions washed over Kay as she struggled with the things she now remembered.  She was embarrassed, afraid, humiliated, but there were other feelings unlocked, strong feelings, a longing to hear again what had been spoken so long ago by those same quivering lips.

Kay trembled as she spoke. "Tiffany?"

Tiff nodded as she started shaking, her entire body shivering as if she'd been plunged into Arctic water. "Yes, Kay.  I... I remember."

Kay felt a lump grow in her throat.  It tried to choke her, tried to stop her from asking the question she hoped she knew the answer to. "Do you... do you still?"

"I... I..."

Tiff began to break down into deep pain filled sobs.  Every moment without an answer stabbed at Kay's heart.

"I... I never..."

Kay felt that dagger twist within her ribcage, tearing her heart to pieces.  She couldn't go on, not if her one true love didn't feel the same for her.

"I... I never... stopped."

Kay's heart soared! "Neither did I!  I love you!  I always have!"

The two women crawled across the short expanse of carpet between them and embraced, holding each other as tightly as they could.  If this was a dream, then neither wanted it to end.

Others in the room were having similar reactions.  Tears spilled, sobs choked throats, and embarrassed blushes were the norm.  Some had crawled off into corners to deal with the shame they felt, shame for the things they had been forced to do, or worse, shame for the things they enjoyed doing.  Parents looked at their children in horror; children looked at their parents in shock.  Some men fell to their knees in disbelief as some women shook their heads, unwilling to believe the things they'd done or had done to them.

For Rob, the experience of awakening was somewhat less jarring.  For him the sexual things weren't shocking, it was the boring regular life stuff that seemed so odd.  He woke up on the floor beside the pyramid, remembering Sarah as if he'd never forgotten her.  She'd been nothing more than a dream, a vision, but now she was real, as real as everyone else in the room.

He sat on the floor, staring out at the sea of raw human emotion displayed before him.  All those tears, all of those sobs, all of the pain and loneliness, the isolation and fear... it filled him... poured into him... it made him shudder and tremble under its depths.

'I shouldn't have done this,' he cried in his mind. 'It's too much, too much to take in.  All of these people were better off not knowing.  I've destroyed them.'

"Robbie, are you... okay?" Kay had come to his side, Tiffany right beside her.

Rob looked up into her bright green eyes, searching them for forgiveness. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Kay chuckled, and it sounded so odd to Rob that he was taken aback by it. "You did it, Robbie.  You gave us back our memories."

The smile she beamed at Rob was one filled with warmth, happiness and gratitude. "I'd like to introduce you to someone."

More tears spilled from her eyes as she spoke, but these weren't born out of sadness. "Robbie, this is Tiffany.  She's my special one, and thanks to you, I've got a second chance to say what I should have said a long time ago.  And I'll be damned if I'll ever let her go another day without telling her how much I love her."

Rob couldn't help but smile as he shook hands with the blushing Tiffany. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine." She bit her lower lip before continuing. "Thank you, thank you for helping us."

The sound of hysterical laughter drew all their attention to Sheila, who sat on the floor a few feet away. "It's real!  It's all real!"

"Sheila, what are you going on about?" Kay helped Rob to his feet and the trio surrounded the laughing woman.

"It's real," Sheila gazed blankly up at Kay, "Everything.  The monsters are real."

"Monsters?" Kay smirked. "What monsters?"

Sheila's eyes fell on Rob. "The end of the world is coming.  The Antichrist is already here and the Dark Lord will soon be joining him.  The Johnson girl... she is the key.  She must be destroyed.  It's the only way to stop it!"

Rob took a step back from the crazy woman.

"Bethany Johnson!  You need to kill her!  Kill her before it's too late!"

Kay slapped Sheila across the face. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Stunned from the blow, Sheila settled down, but continued speaking. "We're in danger, so much danger.  Death is all around us.  We are surrounded by it.  It's coming for us all."

"She's totally lost it." Kay spoke in a hushed whisper.

The woman's words rattled around in Rob's mind even after they moved away, leaving her rocking in place on the floor.

'We're in danger.'

The people in the room were beginning to get a grip on the truth of their pasts.  Many had gotten to their feet and were heading for the elevators to leave.

'Danger.'

"Well, that was interesting," Kay chuckled, to lighten the mood. "I guess she's ready for that room in Highland Asylum."

'All around us.'

"I hope you don't think I'm being forward, but we have a room here in the hotel," Kay said to Tiff. "I think it might be a good place for us to sit down and get our heads around things."

'We are surrounded.'

Tiff smiled. "No, that sounds good.  I think I'd like to get out of here."

The three of them shuffled into the line waiting for the elevators.

"What's the hold up?" called someone from behind.

They were answered from someone closer to the lifts. "They're on their way back up."

'Coming for us all.'

Rob broke out in a cold sweat and his heart began racing in his chest.

'We are in danger.  We are surrounded.  They are coming.'

"Oh no." Rob grabbed Kay's arm. "We have to get away from the elevators, now."

Kay's face went funny. "Rob, what's got into you?"

"Listen to me; we have to get away from here.  We all have to get away from the elevators."

"Why?"

"Trouble's coming, right now.  We have to leave, we all have to leave."

Tiff looked to Kay for some answers as Rob's panic spread not only to the two woman beside him, but to the others waiting in line to board the elevators.

"We should listen to him," a girl argued with her father. "He's the magic man, he knows things!"

The crowd pushed and pulled as some decided to head back into the office space while others took their place in the line.

Rob pulled Kay and Tiff's hands. "Come on!  There isn't much time!"

"Do you believe him?" Tiff asked Kay.

Kay looked into Rob's panic filled eyes. "Implicitly.  Come on, let's get out of here.  There were two emergency stairwells back in the meeting room, we can use those."

They hurried back into the room only to find that the others had come to the same conclusion.  Panic stricken families rushed for the exits and choked them.  Rob scanned the two bottleneck doorways, hoping to find a gap in the mass of people, but found none.  There were just too many of them. "There's no way out!"

"They're coming for me." Sheila's voice sounded oddly calm after the manic state they'd last seen her in. "Coming to punish me for what I've done."

Rob looked to the woman still kneeling on the floor amid the chaos before his eyes returned to the stairwells. "No, you're only half right.  The ones on the elevator are for you, but the ones coming up the stairs are looking for me."

"The stairs aren't safe?" Kay shook Rob to bring his attention back to her.

Rob shook his head. "We're surrounded."

Kay let Rob go and yanked Sheila to her feet. "What did you do?  Why are they coming for you?"

"I took it." Sheila awkwardly grinned. "I stole it so that I could save you all.  You are awake now... you were dreaming before... but now you are awake."

Kay whipped around and found the almost forgotten pyramid. "You stole that thing?  From who?"

"The Gythe," she answered flatly. "They wouldn't help me, so I took it."

Kay screamed into her face, "Who the fuck are the Gythe?"

Screams filled the air, echoing out from the doorway that led to the elevators.

"KAY!" Rob lunged into his friend, knocking her away from Sheila and taking Tiffany along for the hard ride to the floor.

The world around them blurred.  Kay thought it was because of how hard her head had impacted the ground, but when it didn't stop she began to panic.  She struggled against Rob's death grip around her waist, but couldn't free herself.

"Rob!  Let me up!  What are you doing?"

Rob's eyes were closed. "We're hiding."

"There isn't anywhere to hide!  We're in the middle of the room!"

Tiff looked around the room, her eyes big and round. "Kay, Kay, stop fighting him!  I think he's telling the truth.  Look... look for yourself!"

Kay stopped struggling and did as Tiff asked.  Her vision was still a little blurry, but she could see that they hadn't gone anywhere.  Moving objects in her field of vision left trailing images of themselves that were slow to vanish, and the room was full of movement.  Just then a terrified scream drew her attention to the doorway as a man charged right at her, then, to her utter shock, through her.

"Oh my God!" Kay shook off the chill left behind as the person passed through her as if she weren't there at all. "How are you doing this?"

"I don't really know." Rob's eyes fluttered open. "I just... am."

"Can they hear us?" Tiff asked as a crying little girl passed through her on the way to one of the stairwells.

"I... I don't think so." Rob loosened his grip on his friends. "But, I think we should still stay as quiet as we can."

Just then, the first of the Gythe made their way into the room.  At first they appeared as normal as anyone else, just dressed differently, head to toe in traditional Muslim type garb, veil and all.  It wasn't until they moved that their true forms were revealed.  It was within the trailing images of themselves that they could be seen for what they were; part serpent, part human, and some bits that couldn't be identified as any known animal's parts.

"Holy!" Kay's eyes were wide. "Do you see?"

"Yes," Rob answered flatly. "But I don't think that anyone else does."

Though the remaining attendees ran in fear from the Gythe, none showed any of the horror that one would expect when confronted with such alien looking beings.  They saw only that eight men dressed in black Arab clothing had stepped off the elevators and were now brushing people aside as if they were nothing more than annoying pests.  Images of terrorism flashed in their minds as they sought desperately to put distance between themselves and the invaders.

A ninth figure emerged from the now empty hallway, this one taller than the previous eight, slimmer, slinkier in its movements.  This figure's clothing was colorful and vibrant, shimmering with what appeared to be gold and silver threads woven with great skill.  It moved to the pyramid, looked it over, then cast off its head shroud and veil, revealing a dark skinned beautiful woman beneath.  That is until it moved, and its true self could be seen.

"Where is the Lowery woman?" she hissed. "Our business is with her, not the rest of you... humans."

Sheila stood and identified herself. "I'm here.  Let them go, they had nothing to do with this."

"You have done your kind a great disservice." The Gythe woman seemed to glide effortlessly over the floor toward Sheila. "You have violated our sacred chamber, stolen our holy Gythreal, and betrayed our trust.  How do you answer to these charges?"

"Guilty." Sheila spoke without a trace of the panic or fear she'd displayed just moments before. "I am guilty."

"Yes, you are." The Gythe woman looked her up and down, her slit eyes seeming to pierce through to her very soul. "But you are not the only one.  Few are powerful enough to see the answers within the Gythreal, and no human has ever withstood its call.  Where is the traitor?  Where is the Elohim who broke our most sacred vow to leave humans to their own devices?"

"There was no other," Sheila argued. "It was me.  I used the Gythreal."

"LIAR!" The Gythe woman slapped Sheila hard across the face. "Where is the traitor?”

Rob started to stand but Kayleigh pulled him back down to the floor and shook her head.

"My lady," one of the male Gythe spoke. "There are others in the room, hiding behind the Veil."

Rob turned and found himself staring eye to eye with the one who spoke.  Unlike the others who appeared human unless they moved, this one always appeared as Gythe.

"Ah shit," Rob blurted as he realized that he wasn't the only one who could enter this strange place between what could be seen and what could not.

The Gythe woman hissed, "Bring them to me."

The male Gythe made a motion with his hand and suddenly the world around them came back into clear focus. "Stand and face the Queen."

Having little other options, Rob stood up with Kay and Tiff beside him.  The Gythe woman glided over and eyed each of them warily.

"None of you are Elohim." Her eyes fell upon Rob. "You, you were the one who used the Gythreal.  What treachery is this?  No human has ever..."

Her eyes blinked rapidly, and then she took a step back, her hands raised in defense as she shrieked, "Deceiver!  Blasphemer!  Disaster!  Death will come to us all!"

Her guards moved to protect her. "My lady!  What is wrong?"

A long finger pointed from under her over sized sleeve towards Robbie. "Nephilim!"

At once, the Gythe drew long golden sabers seemingly out of nowhere and took up defensive postures around their Queen.  All of them focused on Rob.

"Rob?" Kay looked as confused as he did. "Why are they calling you a Nephilim?"

Rob shrugged. "I don't even know what a Neffalin is!"

"HE MUST BE DESTROYED!" the Queen howled. "DEATH TO THE DEATH BRINGER!"

"That's not good." Kay grabbed hold of Rob and Tiff's hands and took a step back toward one of the stairwells.

Just then, a dozen men dressed in black assault gear and armed with rifles squeezed out of the emergency stairwells, shoving their way into the room with no regard for the escaping people in the way.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" an amplified voice filled the room. "THE BOY IS OURS!"

"Boy, Kay." Tiff's head spun this way and that, taking in the situation as the soldiers closed in around them. "Your friend sure is popular."