wife, the teary-eyed NASA scientist slogs through the flooded field and hugs her.
Jacob stares hard at Chaney, his azure eyes violet with anger. ‘I was very specific. The girl wasn’t supposed to be here.’
‘Don’t blame me,’ rasps the former president. ‘Your brother insisted.’
The white-haired twin turns to his brother. ‘Say your good-byes, Manny. We have to board the Balam before the eye passes.’
‘I’m not going,’ Immanuel states.
‘You have no choice.’
‘He said he’s not going,’ Lauren says, stepping in between them.
Jacob ignores her. ‘Manny, you must trust me, there’s nothing for you here. Even if you did stay, Lilith Mabus would hunt you down, and all would be lost.’
‘No.’
‘Then you leave me no choice.’ Jacob slips into the nexus and grabs his twin from behind, subduing him in a full nelson as he forcibly drags him toward the starship.
Immanuel enters the zone, struggling against his overpowering foe. ‘Let… me… go-’
‘For once in your life, trust me!’
‘No!’
‘Humanity’s future depends upon you fulfilling your destiny-’
‘You’re wrong! I wasn’t meant to go! Lauren loves me!’
‘Lauren’s as good as dead.’
‘What?’ A tsunami of rage washes over Immanuel, drenching his muscles with adrenaline. Whirling around, he grabs Jacob’s head in his hands, drops to one knee, and flips his brother over his shoulder, slamming him onto the flooded turf.
Both Hunahpu tumble free from the nexus.
Dominique reaches into the fray, separating her two sons. ‘Jacob, stop! Leave him be. Manny… my God, Manny, your eyes!’
Jacob stares at his twin. Immanuel’s irises are radiating a striking azure blue, just like his own. ‘It’s happening. He’s changing-turning full Hunahpu. Manny, everything will become clear to you soon, but we have to hurry if we have any hope of rescuing Mick.’
‘Mick’s alive?’ Dominique grabs Jacob by his shoulders. ‘How do you know? How can you be sure?’
Immanuel takes Lauren’s hand. ‘Jake claims he speaks to him.’
‘You’ve been speaking with your father? How? Why didn’t you tell me?!’
Jacob glances over his shoulder at the approaching eye wall. ‘We don’t have time for this, we have to hurry. The Balam ’s force field can’t manipulate the storm much longer.’
‘You hurry, I’m not going anywhere.’
‘Manny, our destiny’s on Xibalba!’
‘Yours, not mine. I was meant to stay behind. Think about it. The Balam should have opened for me, but it didn’t.’
‘You weren’t full Hunahpu then.’
‘Neither was Mick, but it opened for him.’
‘We don’t have time for this nonsense.’ Jacob turns to Kurtz. ‘Salt, stun him!’
Kurtz shakes his head. ‘Manny said he wants to stay. It’s his choice.’
‘Pep-’
‘Back off, Jake. Let the kid choose.’
Jacob approaches his brother, becoming desperate. ‘Manny, listen-please, it takes two people to resurrect our father and save the Nephilim. I can’t do it alone.’
‘Then take me instead,’ Dominique demands.
‘Mother-’
‘I said, take me!’
‘Impossible.’
‘Impossible? Don’t you tell me impossible! I’ve kowtowed to your every whim for twenty years. I’ve dedicated my life to you and this… this Mayan mythology, all in the hopes of seeing Mick again. Now you’re going to take me to see him!’
*
Collin Shelby hurries through a river of rainwater streaming down the tunnel’s concrete incline. He stays close to the brick wall, remaining in the shadows, as he scans the group of people in the scope of his XE-29 sniper rifle.
Isolated at midfield… like shooting ducks on a pond. Uh-oh… what’s this? He focuses on the three EMP suits worn by the two bodyguards and one of the women. Have to use the tungsten rounds.
Shelby loads a tungsten dart into the chamber of his rifle, then switches the trigger from taser fire to explosive bullets. Unlike old-fashioned bullets, these lethal projectiles contain the latest biocide, nanoswarm EPI- 46, a fast-spreading, human flesh-consuming agent. Any contact ensures a lethal strike.
The UMBRA assassin steadies himself as he aims the crosshairs of his scope.
‘Think about it, Jake,’ Immanuel pleads. ‘For six years you’ve been devising strategies for defeating the Xibalban sentry, and you’ve never won. Didn’t it ever occur to you that they know we’re coming, too?’
Jacob stares at his twin, pondering the thought.
‘You say you’ve been communicating with our father. How do you know Lilith wasn’t eavesdropping? Maybe that’s why we lost the first battle, because Lilith was listening to Mick.’
‘Yes… it’s possible.’
Manny takes Lauren’s hand. ‘You once told me Lilith was your soul mate. Well, Lauren’s mine, and I’m not leaving her.’
Dominique nods. ‘I’m coming with you, Jacob. Case closed.’
Jacob turns to her. ‘Okay, Mother. Say your good-byes quickly.’
Dominique rushes to Immanuel, hugging him as hard as she can.
‘Ma… thank you. I love you.’
‘I love you, Manny, I love you, too.’ She hugs Lauren. ‘You take care of him.’
‘I will.’
Jacob hands Dr. Mohr a microdisk. ‘This will allow you access to everything you’ll need. I don’t know what’s going to happen from this point on, but all of you are fugitives. Go now, before Lilith finds you.’ He looks at the big African-American bodyguard. ‘Take care of my brother, Pep. Lilith won’t rest until she finds him.’
Ryan Beck nods. ‘Do what you were born to do. We’ll watch over them.’
Jacob embraces Manny, whispering into his ear. ‘Remember the young lady named Bright, whose speed was far faster than light. She went out one day, in a relative way, and returned the previous night.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because your actions today will create a new fork in the road of space-time. Where that road leads is up to you. I hope you’re ready to face its consequences.’
‘It’s what I choose.’
The edge of the storm reaches the stadium, its 196-mile-an-hour winds causing the folded-down arena seats to flap open and closed, the sound echoing across the empty arena like a flock of cackling geese.
Immanuel nods at the Balam. ‘Go find our father.’
Jacob takes Dominique by the crook of her arm and leads her into the starship, the portal resealing behind them.
Waves form on the flooded field. The wind howls in Immanuel’s ears as the starship’s engines power up. Salt grabs the Mohrs, Beck takes Chaney. ‘Move! Everyone in the limo!’
Immanuel turns to Lauren, who is smiling at him, tears in her eyes. ‘I love you, Immanuel Gabriel.’
‘I love you.’ He reaches for her – a scarlet explosion splattering his face. He falls backward, Lauren collapsing against his chest in a shattered heap.
Kurtz wheels around, his smart-glasses instantly retracing the line of fire. Zooming in on the target, he fires, the laser burst from his rifle igniting inside the tunnel, vaporizing Collin Shelby into a wisp of organic ash.
