God’s chosen ones were running late as they made their preparations for the coming battle. It was after ten o’clock when they finally congregated in the communications tent to run the Bible code software on their laptops one last time. It was their final chance to gather as much insight as possible into what awaited them below the surface of the desert.
John strapped on his backpack before approaching Leo and pulling him aside. “I need to talk to you, Father. I’m worried about Lev.”
“Lev? What’s wrong with him?”
“Ariella said he’s made some connection with the demon. He even told us himself that he’s been receiving flashes of the thing’s thoughts. What if it’s influencing him in ways we don’t understand yet?”
“I don’t think you have to worry too much about Lev, John. He’s been in tune with the entity’s emotions ever since it appeared to us. The demon is communicating with Satan now, and despite its desire to keep its thoughts and activities a secret, its unconsciously revealing itself to the professor. I’m convinced Lev was born with a gift … he’s a lot more sensitive than the rest of us to the presence of evil forces.”
“But what if it works the other way? What if the demon can pick up on Lev’s thoughts? If it knows our plans, it could endanger the whole mission.”
“When you’re dealing with the supernatural force of a demon, anything’s possible. From everything I’ve read on the subject, anyone who comes into close contact with one is vulnerable to its power to read minds. There are scores of famous stories in the church about exorcists who’ve had to fight the mind control capabilities of demons.”
“But you’re the one who confronted the demon down in the cavern today, Father. It was you who saved all of our lives. Why isn’t it trying to communicate with you?”
“I don’t think it’s trying to communicate with anyone. It’s trying to protect something. We’re not dealing with the demonic possession of a person here. We’re dealing with the possession of an area here on earth, and the demon will protect its territory with all of its fury.”
The thought of facing an enraged demon that could read their minds seemed totally unreal to John. He didn’t feel like a brave man, but he knew he had to face his fears and go with his friends down into a dark and terrifying place … a place from which they might not return. Like a young soldier before battle, he needed reassurance from someone like Father Leo that they all weren’t just going blindly to their deaths. “Do you think you’ll be able to expel it from the cavern like you did this morning, Father? I mean, as an exorcist with God on your side, wouldn’t the demon be afraid of you now?”
“All Jesuit priests are required to study the rite of exorcism, John, but that doesn’t make us exorcists. I’ve never even been present at an exorcism except for today, and I’m not sure that would be considered a true exorcism. That title is reserved for those priests who specialize in such things, and from what I’ve heard, they don’t live long, happy lives. I carried the cross and holy water into the cave because we were entering an area said to be inhabited by Satan or one of his servants, and like any soldier of the cross, I wanted to be prepared. The entity hasn’t been banished from the area by my presence. All I did this morning was ask for God’s help in allowing us to escape. The demon is still down there, and I’m afraid he’ll be even better prepared for our return. It probably knows what we’re planning now, and it’s expecting us.”
“Well, I hope you have a few more gallons of holy water with you, Father, because I have a feeling we’re going to need it tonight.”
“Here, John, take this.” Leo handed John a bag containing nine plastic bottles filled with holy water. “Hand these out to the rest of the team.”
“They might be Christians, Father, but they’re not Catholic. Won’t they be offended if we ask them to carry around holy water?”
“It’s their choice, of course, but I’d like everyone to have one just in case.”
“Where did you get these?”
“I filled them up from the camp water supply this morning and blessed them.”
“Of course. I keep forgetting. Any water blessed by a priest makes it holy. It could even be Evian or Perrier. Just think, sparkling holy water.”
Leo couldn’t help but laugh out loud at John’s innate ability to keep things light in the face of overwhelming odds.
Across the tent in front of his computer, Daniel was running the code program when it suddenly froze on one page. “Professor, have you got a minute?”
“What have you got there?” Lev said, peering over his shoulder.
“I’ve discovered an exact position of the excavation site in a different section of the Old Testament.”
Lev pointed to the screen as the rest of the team gathered around. “It looks like these numbers here denote the same latitude and longitude we first saw in that section of the code that led us here initially. Next to our present geographical location are the same five names of everyone who’s going into the cavern tonight. Underneath that, in the same grid, we see something else.”
Leo moved in between Daniel and Lev. “You’re right. That is interesting.” His eyes fell upon the encircled phrases-dark guardians, Satan’s most fearless, and fire, along with the phrase, they will bring forth a great bounty. These words lay sandwiched between the position coordinates and the names of those chosen to descend into the cavern. Above that was another phrase that puzzled everyone. There were only two words … The Book.
“What do you make of that, Professor?” Daniel asked.
Lev stared at the screen. “I wish I knew, but I’m afraid time for any more analysis is running out.”
The two teams continued looking over Daniel’s shoulder at the glowing screen, everyone applying their own personal interpretation to the meaning of the last two words.
Lev felt the anxiety level rising within the tent as he ran the last phrase over and over in his mind. The book. Was there something they had missed?
“Do you think we’re supposed to take a Bible with us?” John said, breaking the silence.
Lev grabbed his equipment and started for the door. “Right now, all I know is that every minute we wait, that thing out there grows stronger. Grab your gear and let’s head for the chopper.”
The sun had long since dipped below the horizon and the teams could feel the stored heat rising from the desert sand. In the darkness, they passed through pools of light created by the overhead flood lamps as they made their way to the waiting helicopter.
Nava and Gabriella climbed into the cockpit and donned helmets equipped with the latest night-vision technology for operations in total darkness. They would need that technology tonight.
The team members climbed onboard and settled into the back. Nava could hear the click of seatbelts behind her as she flicked a switch over her head, sending a signal to the engine. Soon, the whine of the turbines drowned out any other noise as the blades above began to spin faster and faster, causing the cabin to vibrate with power. Nava pulled back on the controls and the chopper leapt into the air at an angle, eventually leveling out en route to the excavation site.
Before anyone had time to dwell on what the next few hours would bring, they were hovering directly over the cavern. The descent team strapped into their climbing harnesses and put on their helmets while Alon remembered to instruct them to turn on their radios. One by one, the five members of the descent team were guided to the door by the paramedic and lowered into the darkness. They dropped along the vertical walls of the cavern while the helicopter’s strobe lights painted the scene intermittently with red and white flashes that filtered through the blowing sand.
The last to touch down, Leo felt for the cavern floor with his boots before unhooking himself from the line attached to the chopper, severing the last physical tie they had to the outside world. The team looked up at Gabriella and saw her waving to them from behind her cockpit window as the chopper lifted higher into the sky and passed out of sight. The sound of the blades beating the air quickly faded until the only thing that remained was the silence of the stone walls around them.
The five team members glanced around nervously, no one wanting to speak, lest they wake the thing that dwelt below in the tunnel. With Leo in the lead, they picked up their gear and made their way across the floor of the cavern. Reaching the overhanging slab of rock at the entrance to the tunnel, they heard a loud, static-like hiss burst from their earphones. Everyone winced as they grabbed their headsets before Nava’s soothing voice filled their ears.
“Team Two calling Team One. Radio check. Can you read me, Alon?”
Alon hit the button on his microphone and answered. “We read you loud and clear, Nava. Thanks for scaring the pants off us. Where are you now?”
“We’re flying east over the camp toward the Dead Sea. We’ll land about twenty miles from your location. We left a satellite phone at the surface by the edge of the cavern so you can contact us when you get out. We can be at your location in seven minutes if you need us.”
“Thanks. What time do you have?”
“It’s exactly 11:00 PM. You don’t have much time.”
The others watched Alon’s face in the glow of their lights as he spoke into the radio. “Remember, if you don’t hear from us by midnight, leave the area at once. If we don’t make it out, there’s no sense in losing any more people in an attempt to rescue us.”
Nava’s voice echoed in their headsets. “Godspeed to you all. We’ll see you soon.”