“No, you don’t understand. If they can detect the energy, that means they know how the energy is configured. If they can configure the energy, they can replicate the energy. If they can do that, they can open the doorway.”
Babel inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. “I have led them to us.”
“Don’t take it too hard, mate.” Jims replied. “Besides, we can use this to our advantage.”
“What do you mean advantage?” Quentin asked. “We’re surrounded.”
Jims flashed his teeth. “Exactly. They are all here in one place and we have an armory full of bombs.”
Babel saw Jims’ intentions and nodded. “We’ll draw them down here and then take them out.”
Jims nodded. “I knew you had some of that Chokka common sense in you somewhere. Aye, we take them out. Rusk!”
Rusk stepped forward. “You take some of the boys and bring the bombs.” Jims ordered. “You’ll need to move quickly. Once we’re ready, we’ll move out through one of the escape tunnels.”
Rusk nodded and followed through on his orders. Once all was in place, they waited for the sound of the stairway to open. It was quiet for only a moment, then the mechanical sound of the stairway opening echoed in the room. The sound was followed by the trudging of a myriad of marching feet.
“Time to go.” Babel ordered.
Jims set the timer for two minutes and then ushered those who remained to meet with the rest of the group already waiting by the back door. They sealed the blast door behind them and traveled the dimly tunnel that would bring them out further north.
The Cancellarrii entered he main commons room of the underground fortress, ahead of his men and saw that the room was empty. He ordered a halt, ready to give his next command to search the entire fortress when something caught his eye. There was a pile of something in the middle of the room covered by a canvas cloth. The pile began to blink and then beep.
“Everyone out…!” he started to yell. But he was cut off by the explosion.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
The Barren Lands were beautiful in their own desolate way. There was no vegetation to speak of and the land truly was barren. But it was the eerie quietness of it all that appealed to Babel. What disturbed other men who may have been more superstitious, Babel enjoyed the soundlessness that lay all around them.
It was a desert in all aspects. They journey there took several days and they kept a constant watch for Klopph. Twice now they had gained a small victory over the army of the world and they expected that the Klopph were famished for revenge. They had no way of knowing the full extent that the explosion inside of the fortress had impaired the Klopph. They were unaware that the Cancellarrii and his new Kaptajn had both been severely injured and the Klopph were temporarily on stand down until the enormity of the situation was evaluated.
As such, Babel and his band moved swiftly north, unimpeded.
Their journey provided time for Babel and Quentin to continue their conversations on Quentin’s knowledge of the Chokka. Between what was said at the fortress and what was shared on the crossing north, Babel became well acquainted with his ancestors and their enigmas.
On the third day, Babel began to see signs of a massive bridge that had once stood. There were only small portions of the bridge standing and none of those segments were longer than twenty feet. Babel recognized that the segments belonged to what had been the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. That meant that the silt on which they now crossed had been the lake.
“I wonder what these structures were.” Quentin questioned.
“They were once part of a massive bridge that spanned nearly twenty five miles over a lake.” Babel answered.
Quentin stopped. “How do you know that?”
“I know it because I have been here before.”
“You have been to the Great Waste? I don’t understand.”
“I was here when this bridge was intact. It was the longest of its kind in the world. The land we are now walking on was once a large lake.” Babel paused. “This world that you live in, it is the future of the world that is seen through the portals. The portals lead to your past. That is where I come from.”
Babel had spoken loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone now stood and stared at Babel.
“The past, Babel, are you sure?”
“Look, either I’m insane or I speak the truth. I would not speak them in jest. You have to decide. Am I crazy? If so, why are you following me? If I am not insane, that means my words are true. I come from your past. My father escaped to the past and that’s where I was born. Now I return back to the world of my family.”
“How many years in the past do the portals lead?”
“It’s hard to tell. I have no idea how many years have passed from them until now.”
“So what does that mean for us?”
“It means nothing. This is the world that exists. We can all go back to the world through the portal if we can figure out how to make it work. But it won’t change anything. All of this will still happen. The only difference will be that the Klopph will continue to rule this world and we will not be here to stop them.”
“And we need to stop them.” Jims said, joining the discussion.
“I agree,” said Babel, “we need to stop them.” He turned and looked at the people who bordered him. “Look, I know the thought of a new world without the Klopph seems wonderful. But if we can go there, so can they. If they go there, I can’t be sure of the extent of damage they
