Chapter Twenty-nine
Year 2075, Washington, DC
The sun started its descent to the horizon, and the snow let up. There was an inch on the ground, and Tye’s feet were getting cold. When it got dark, they’d need a fire, no way around it. If it brought trouble, it did, but he had no intention of freezing to death. In the middle of the small wood, the gone world faded into the background, the collapsing buildings and decaying cars hidden by trees and underbrush laden with snow. Everything looked clean and fresh, all the gone world’s wounds hidden.
“You guys find anything?” Tye said. Tester was examining the bricks around the large turtle, and Milly and Robin were checking out the small turtles.
“Nothing on these small ones. Smooth concrete with some design accents. No other clues,” Milly said. Pepper and Turnip were by her side.
“There are numbers on many of these paving stones, but they could mean anything. I have no idea where to start, or what order they might be in,” Tester said.
Tye shook his head. Ingo sat beside the big turtle, cross-legged, eyes closed, a big smile on his face. He was covered in snow, but didn’t appear to notice. “What about you, Ingo? Got anything on that radar of yours?”
Ingo said nothing.
“Radar?” Robin said.
“Forget it,” Tye said.
It was getting dark, and the gray of twilight seeped through the snow. “I think we need to give Ingo a new perspective,” Tye said. He propped his rifle against the trunk of a large oak, then jumped and grabbed the lowest limb, pulled himself up, and climbed. Limb to limb he went, and when he’d gotten halfway to the top, he stopped and looked down upon Turtle Park. “Wipe the snow off the bricks.”
Two of the smaller turtles sat at the tips of what looked like a right angle. “Tester, which way is due north?” Tester pulled out the compass, and pointed. “The two small turtles closest to the main turtle are at the west and north points, if the big turtle is the center of the compass,” Tye said. “But the numbers…”
“What about them? Probably coordinates,” Tester said.
Tye climbed down.
“Why you coming down? What does the number pattern look like from up there?” Tester said.
“There’s nothing. Just numbers. No pattern at all,” Tye said. “I think we’re missing a piece of the puzzle.”
“I agree. A cypher,” Tester said. “Without it we’ll never get the numbers in the correct order.” Tester sat on the ground and grunted.
“A cypher?” Milly said.
“A mathematical process that lets you decrypt a code. In this case, we think it would provide numerical coordinates to Argartha,” Tester said.
Tye suggested they make camp beside the turtle for the night. The snow had stopped and was replaced with frozen rain. They built a shelter beneath the bows of the large oak, their fire hidden by the diminutive forest. They ate a dinner of dried beef and greens Ingo and Robin had picked. Tye took a piss in the woods, and when he returned the grousing had begun.
“This is bullshit,” Tester said.
“Which part specifically?” Milly said.
“‘At the turtle all will become clear.’ That’s what the prophesy says. It even said so on the guidestone. As clear as mud. All we have is another riddle,” Tester said.
“One I don’t see how we’re going to solve,” Milly said. “Where do we go from here?”
Ingo sat quietly, eyes closed.
“Ingo, wake the hell up. How are you so calm? What do you know?” Tye said.
“He is coming. Be patient,” Ingo said.
“Who is coming?” Milly said.
“Me.”
Milly cross pulled her Glock and Tye trained his rifle on… nothing. There had been an old man standing there, and then he was gone. The next instant he was sitting by their fire, warming his hands.
“Put those things away before you hurt yourselves,” the man said. He was old beyond the count of years. Long straggly gray hair fell over a hollow face, skin sagged, and he was wrapped in rags. Tye shifted his aim, then his gun was gone and in the man’s lap.
“I foresee what you will do before you do it, so can we stop the nonsense?” the man said. “My name is Jerimiah, and I am a shepherd of Argartha and a brother of the Order of Historical Preservation. I’m here to help you.”
“Argartha,” Milly said. “You know where it is?”
“Of course. How could I lead people there if I didn’t know where it was?” Jerimiah said.
“Lead us?” Tye said.
“Yes. We secure the Forever Library, and several other buildings of significant historical significance, but our main purpose is to watch for those seeking the turtle, and aid them in the final stage of their journey.”
“Just like that?” Tester said. “No questions asked?”
“You’ve already answered our questions. My people have been watching you since you entered the city. You came right to this spot,” the old man said. “Plus, there are brothers with me who can see the past.”
Tye felt as though Jerimiah was speaking to him alone. He and Jerimiah were the only ones there, and Tye the sole focus of his attention.
“We don’t have to prove ourselves? What if we mean Argartha harm?” Milly said.
“Oh, we’ll know. I can see what you plan to do before you do it. Also, I’m far from the final say. Just because I’m bringing you to the end of the path doesn’t mean your trials are over. Argartha may reject you.”
“What does that mean?” Tester said.
“It means exactly what you think it means. The end of the path is really the beginning,” Jerimiah said.
“He’s like Ozzie,” Robin said.
“No, I’m not. I am reborn,” Jerimiah said.
“You know of Ozzie then?” Tye said.
“Oh, yes.
