A restless energy took over the military post as reconstruction began. The damage at the west end was extensive, but the true focus was the perimeter—reinforcing the walls shared with the underground environment using concrete suffused with an indestructible compound. For more than a month, the base fortified the walls against the surrounding soil, everyone working feverishly until a semblance of normalcy finally returned with the complete restructuring of the walls.
Joint Jordanian and Israeli forces heavily fortified every entrance to the base, making no further effort to hide the guard shacks, which also became fortresses with the indestructible concrete. Since recent sleepers had surely mapped the underground layout, the command ordered construction crews to dig new, ultra-fortified bunkers out, fortified with extra thick fortified material around the walls to house the Holy Trio, their crew, and the Essenes. The mystical teachers had initially resisted the plan; only to relent when the formidable housing for the new additions were moved to the opposite side of the complex, far from the tombs of the buried giants.
"You think that's where the root of Greek mythology formed?" Lynn asked Griff as they reviewed the DNA results pinpointing the giants' origins to northern Europe, around the Mediterranean areas. "That would explain why the Greek and Roman tales are so similar."
"Could be," Griff answered, loading the last of their belongings onto a transport cart. They were relocating to the new, fully self-sufficient wing of the base, equipped with its own hydroponic gardens, water supply, and living quarters. At the Essenes' request, this new sector also featured a state-of-the-art schooling area and ample space to safeguard treasures left behind by the astro visitors of old—the otherworldly colonies of people who had inhabited Earth's atmosphere long before human population.
During the construction of the new quarters, guards kept all unauthorized personnel out of the sector. Security remained tight until the final supplies were moved to secure the compound where the Essenes and their protectors would hole up. Once the families were successfully relocated to Israel, the contract between the Denver Militia Recovery Company and Israel would officially conclude. Until then, the Essenes would share a hidden sanctuary with their protectors, completely tucked away from the rest of the world.
"How do you suppose the giants came to exist?" Jimmy asked as he packed the last of his own things along with Avril's onto the cart.
"According to Greek mythology, Earth mated with the Sky and had offspring," Lynn answered. "Similarly, Sumerian tales and Biblical references describe how people from other worlds—whom we call God or gods—used an advanced method of Nuclear Transfer cloning to engineer bipedal humans. These extraterrestrials then interbred with humans, producing children who grew far larger than normal people. These off-world humanoids and their descendants became Earth's elite ruling class, which could explain the dramatic size differences we see in Egyptian hieroglyphics."
"So you're saying aliens and humans?" he asked flatly.
"They were not aliens then," Lynn clarified. "They were the first to come to this planet and use it for their needs. So, in reality, they were the forerunners of the space beings on Earth, the first settlers." She and Avril had made conversation on the subject many times. Enough for Lynn to feel comfortable relaying what she learned from Avril and the teachers.
"And the world was taken over by us puny humans?"
"Not exactly," Lynn said with a laugh. "But you could say that that was the habit since the beginning of mankind. Pockets of diverse space travelers create male and female people in their own images, leaving them to subdue the land and fill it with their generations."
"So why did the aliens...I mean, forefathers, leave and let the humans run all over each other like that?" Jimmy asked with concern. "You think if they were the parents of all this chaos; they should have put their foot down."
"For to teach us and we grow," Avril said as she walked into the room. She had heard much of the conversation and enjoyed her sweetheart's inquisitiveness.
"How do you grow from the brutality of others when it seems to bring in so much sorrow?" Jimmy turned to Avril, holding out his hand to receive her.
"Sorrow only bad if not anything learned," she sighed and took his hand. "Grow come mostly with what seem bad. People to turn bad to good."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to make the world a better place from the start?"
"Yes, my love, easier. But what to learn if everything given?"
"She has a point," Griff smiled. "Every person has to want to change their bad into good. With that growth comes change and vice versa."
"Very good!" Lynn said happily. "I couldn't have said it better myself."
"How much more do we have to load up?" Griff asked as he assessed the pile of belongings on the cart.
"That's it for me," Jimmy said as he patted the last of his duffel bags.
"Mine is done," Lynn added.
"My belongings done," Avril said, looking around at the vacant room. Only the furniture and computer area remained.
"Let's get settled into our new digs." Lynn smiled smugly; they had completed their goal ahead of schedule, a feat made easier by how little they owned. As Jimmy pulled the cart and Griff pushed, the group navigated the secret corridors hidden within the walls, weaving through a succession of halls until they reached a bend in the hallway. Instead of turning to travel down the bend, Avril halted the team at the nearest corner. She swiped her badge against the surface, and a hidden panel slid open. Once the team and Sampson maneuvered the cart inside, the wall sealed behind them, revealing a large space with a massive steel door. Avril pressed her badge to the adjacent control panel, and the steel door hissed open.
"How many more doors?" Jimmy asked. He was already weary of pulling the cart.
"This is room," Avril answered when they stood before an area with many doors, the room much bigger than the common room in their earlier dwelling. Samson was the first to enter, barking happily. The sound reverberated throughout the expanse.
"Furniture to come soon," Avril said, walking in and looking around. "Not so noisy after." She was referring to the slight echo of their voices and movements in the empty space. The Essenes entered through the heavy steel doors. The twelve trained warriors had already moved the tribe members' personal belongings into their respective family quarters hours earlier. Now, driving large electric utility vehicles pulling flat bed trailers, they brought in the remaining furnishings—comforts meant to ease the strain of being cut off from the rest of the world.
After helping to unload the trailers and setting up the furnishings, the Holy Trio's new domicile finally felt like a home. Instead of sterile bunks, they received wooden-frame beds accompanied with beautiful bedding. Each member had a private room, while Avril and Jimmy shared a spacious suite. Even the kitchen and dining area looked warm and inviting, a stark contrast to their previous abode of cold metal and plastic. Complete with an electric fireplace, overstuffed couches, plush recliners, and decorative rugs, their shared living room had transformed into a true sanctuary.
Tucked away from the main living area lay a dedicated fitness space, its wall dominated by a massive screen cycling through vivid digital landscapes of woodlands, beaches, and gardens. To Lynn's delight, the room gave way to an even deeper, elongated chamber. At the far end sat two large targets, facing a wall designed to hold her bow, crossbow, and their newer compound upgrades. Opposite the gym setup, a pristine pool table shared space with one of the most lavish card tables Lynn had ever seen, a six-tier chess board built right into its center. The Israeli military truly had thought of everything. This secure sanctuary would be their entire world until it was time to transition the Essenes to Israel and then finally head home. If the goal was to make their forced seclusion enticing, Lynn admitted it might just work on her—and she hoped the luxury would bring her teammates the same comfort.
Eager to check on their charges and their accommodations, Lynn and Avril strolled over through the door to the residential wing set up specifically for them. But the warmth of their own quarters didn't extend to the Essene families; instead, they found a stark, functional living space that looked identical to their residential rooms they had just left behind. The common area was a sterile white room filled with matching tables and chairs, acting as a hub for the tribes' private quarters. To one side, a recessed alcove held a wall of stargazing treasures from the star people facing rows of student benches and a podium. The sole comfort was a meditation room lush with plants and foam cushions. In the kitchen, the families would tend to hydroponic equipment surrounded by prep tables, cabinets, and a walk-in cooler. Though Lynn was curious about the sleeping areas, she kept quiet. She didn't need to ask; a six-year-old child took her hand and led her inside one of the rooms. It was predictably neat and sterile. Blankets formed soft pallets on the floor in a balanced feng shui layout, with closets off to the side for clothes and linens.
The bathrooms and showers sat nestled between both living areas, offering easy access from either side. A front room housed a tub and separate toilet stalls, with showers positioned just beyond them, leading finally into the laundry room. This layout was designed for total self-sufficiency in the event of another enemy breach. To keep the area from being compromised, the regular food and other delivery to the occupants would cease instantly. Their quarters would seal completely, leaving a single route of escape: a hidden passageway kept secret from the militia and families until the mechanism triggered. Once the escape walls slid open, they would flee into the evacuation tunnels. The Essenes were designated to take the first underground trains out, leaving the Holy Trio and their companions behind to act as decoys and draw the attackers away. Neither group would ever know where the Essenes' rail line ultimately led.
By the second week of their life of leisure, the Essenes had integrated the militia unit into their teachings, making their isolation from the outside world quite bearable. None of the team noticed when Avril began wearing looser clothing. Though she wasn't showing yet and desperately wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret, Jimmy did notice her putting on weight from her constant eating. Fortunately, she managed to convince him it was nothing more than a hearty appetite. The addition of the Essene children to the lessons delighted Avril; knowing her and Jimmy's future son would one day learn these same concepts, she paid close attention to how the children interacted with the laws of the universe.
Meanwhile, time stood still for the isolated group. Sampson often sprawled in front of the electric fireplace, adding a homey feel to the living room. With no live media relay, their entertainment was limited to pre-downloaded movies on the giant monitor above the hearth. Their only link to reality was a panic button app added to their watches. In the event of an undetected breach by the outside base. An alarm would alert on-duty guards to evacuate them through a hidden corridor onto an underground train, spiraling the team to the Jordan consulate and the Essenes to a safe house. However, this backup plan was still under construction. Until the day the walls finally opened to signal their departure, the Israeli government would then take charge of their relocation. Meanwhile, the Holy Trio and their company lived comfortably in their subterranean sanctuary.
"What's for dinner?" Lynn asked as she walked into their kitchen area. Merc stood at the range stirring a pot.
"Green chili with beans and shredded beef," he answered with a wink. "Your favorite."
"Yes, it is," Lynn said. As she stepped closer to peek into the pot, Merc moved aside, looking at her. He was still enchanted by her, remembering the exact moment he'd noticed her appearance while they shared a cramped gun station a few months earlier. In their isolation, the war had faded to a distant memory. The uninterrupted days they shared had quietly shaped a welcomed bond of friendship between them.
"Almost ready to eat?" Avril asked, she was hungry all the time now.
"In an hour," Merc answered, and then pulled out a tray of cheese and crackers with a cheese dip tray encircled by chips he had made. "You can start on these," he said as he pushed the snack trays at her.
"Thank you," she said, grabbing the items before heading over to where the others sat watching a movie. Lynn joined her, while Merc simply watched her walk away.
The exchange went entirely unnoticed by Jimmy and Lynn, but Griff and Avril were keenly tuned in. Avril had calibrated his thoughts the moment she noticed his energy shift. He was debating whether or not to worry, finally deciding to just let the chips fall where they may. It was time to decide if he really did want a relationship with Lynn. Still, she would have to make the next move; anything that might spark a romance between them hinged entirely on Lynn's actions.
Before Avril could catch Lynn's attention to pass along what she'd uncovered, Emaniel appeared beside her recliner. Looking down at her, he gave a slight, warning shake of his head.
"You are not to interfere," Emaniel's voice echoed directly in her mind. Avril looked at him, pleading with her eyes, but he ignored her silent request to warn Lynn about Griff. "The path is already set," his thoughts pressed deeper, cold and absolute. "It is the path that must shape their reality."
Avril glanced back toward her two friends. Across the room, Griff watched Lynn fill a napkin with cheese snacks. Oblivious to his intense gaze, Lynn turned her attention back to the movie, quietly nibbling on her food. When Avril whipped her head back to confront Emaniel, the space where he had just been standing was completely empty. He had vanished as quickly as he arrived.
"What did he want?" Jimmy asked after he collected his own napkin of cheese and crackers. "He just stood there and then left."
"Checking us," Avril said, not really sounding convincing.
"Uh huh," said Jimmy as he piled cheese on a cracker and popped it into his mouth.
"I also made stuffed green chilis," Merc said as he brought a tray of steaming chilis he took from the oven to the coffee table. "Be careful, they're hot."
"You're spoiling us," Lynn said with a soft sigh, savoring another of her favorite dishes. It was a rare, delightful evening, offering a fleeting taste of a normal life she wished could last. While the Essenes cultivated most of their produce in the hydroponic gardens, they had added a few select vegetables tailored to the militia team's tastes. The rest—meats, cheeses, and non-garden rations—came down the food dispensers in sparse portions. Descending down through three chutes into a mechanism resembling a miniature dumbwaiter, its narrow opening purposefully designed to keep an intruder from infiltrating the protected sanctuary.
When the movie ended, Avril leaned back, trying to orchestrate a conversation between Griff and Lynn. A sudden, sharp intrusion pierced her mind—the Essene teacher's warning flashing in her thoughts. How did he do that from another room? She immediately pulled back. Interfering between Lynn and Griff carried consequences she couldn't afford. The Essene leaders had made it perfectly clear: no one, whether a regular mortal or one of their own, had the right to invade another's reality. Paths had to play out as they were set. All she could do now was hope someone else in the room would bring up their feelings. For the next hour, time crawled by in total silence, until the food was finally served.
"I know a game we could play," Merc said as he carried over a tray with bowls of chili for everyone to the dining area. "Never have I ever."
"Okay,' Avril jumped at the chance to open feelings between Griff and Lynn. Again the warning interrupted her thoughts. She squinted at the frustration in her head. If the rule was to not interfere with the reality of others, well, hell, that's what she felt the teachers were doing to her right then. But she dared not cross the line that was drawn for her. She sighed in defeat as she followed the others to the table. Sitting beside Jimmy, she pulled grated cheese from a plate in the center of the table and topped her bowl with it.
"Never have I ever felt this way for another person," Jimmy said as he turned to Avril and took her hand. She smiled triumphantly. He had taken the game in the direction she wanted it to go.
"Wait, we need a beverage," Lynn said as she realized things were about to get deep. "For this one occasion, I suggest beer, even for me."
"I'll get it," Avril said quickly. Stashed at the very back of the refrigerator were a few old beer bottles she had rinsed and refilled with apple cider. It was a necessary charade; she had quit drinking entirely, and if the group noticed her sobriety, the questions would never stop. She grabbed a round for everyone, opening her decoy bottle safely at the kitchen counter. Returning to the room, she handed out the drinks and slipped back into her seat, her secret safe for another round.
"Start again," she suggested to Jimmy. He opened his bottle and smiled at Avril.
"Never have I ever felt this way for another person," he said in a low sultry voice. Both he and his love took a drink from their bottles at the same time.
Lynn was unaware of Merc's attention, she opened her bottle and picked it up to drink a long gulp. Her eyes planted on Griff. Looking at her he smiled back and took a drink from his bottle.
Merc looked down at the table when he realized what was happening. He would gracefully withdraw his affection for her; a blind man could see what was going on.
The sudden silence from Lynn and Griff deeply troubled Avril. Their emotional frequencies, usually so vibrant and easy to read, had turned entirely opaque. She cast out her awareness, desperately trying to map the flow of their positive feelings, but hit a wall. There was no undercurrent of anger or negativity—which should have been a comfort—was now just a baffling vacuum. Had they built a wall against her, or against one another? As she wrestled with the confusion, the teachers' warning echoed in her memory. The source of the interference became instantly clear, leaving a bitter taste of unfairness in her mind.
Lynn was so nervous she downed her beer in one go. As she walked to the kitchen to retrieve another, Griff intercepted her. He gently took the fresh bottle from her hand and set it back inside the refrigerator. If anything was going to happen between them, he wanted it to happen when they were both completely clear-headed. He wanted no regrets. He stood there, locking eyes with her, before his hand brushed against hers. The contact sent a jolt straight through her. Gasping for air, Lynn pulled away. Her knees went weak, forcing her to retreat to the living room couch just to keep from collapsing. She had to keep it together. They were down to the final days of their contract, and she wanted the remaining time between them to be perfect.
To Lynn's surprise, Griff walked over and sat as close to her as possible, making her entire body tense with barely any controllable energy. God, she thought, why does he have to feel so good? If their mutual attraction was a magnetic force, she wasn't sure she couldn't fight the pull much longer. She slipped her arm around his waist, resting her hand on the cushion beside his hip. The press of her arm against his side felt so damn inviting—an electric charge building up until her resolve began to melt. Oh, Lord, if he kisses me, I won't be able to resist. He would control her very being.
They sat locked in that tight space for a long time, slowly eroding her defenses. What she didn't realize was that Griff was waiting for her to make the next move. Without a clear sign of her acceptance, he wouldn't push further; he needed to know she was just as vulnerable as he was. But the moment hung in the air, unanswered. Nothing happened.
Griff couldn't wait any longer. He stood up without a sound, ignoring Lynn completely as he walked to his room. When he came out, a pile of folded clothes was tucked under his arm. He didn't look back on his way to the bathroom. The door closed, and the shower started. Lynn sat frozen, searching for words that wouldn't come. The sheer confusion of it all pinned her to the chair, her eyes locked onto the floor.
Merc, Jimmy, and Avril remained at the table. They immediately looked anywhere else, trying to pretend they hadn't just witnessed the entire scene.
"Why they torture with each other?" Avril whispered to Jimmy.
"That's not anything to worry about," he said as he picked up the empty bottles on the table and threw them in the trash from his seat one at a time, the second, third and fourth bottles burst with the loud sound of shattering glass. "One thing I've learned from Lynn is everything always works out for the best for everyone, especially for her. She's some lucky damn lady."
"More luck, if she accept love," Avril said thoughtfully.
"That's her own choice, Avril," Jimmy said as he turned his lover's face to his, and cupped her chin. "Promise me that no matter how you feel, good or bad, you'll always tell me about it. Promise me. Don't ever push me away. I'm begging you."
"Never, my heart," she smiled, fighting back tears. If he only knew how his presence had affected her from the very beginning, he would never fear losing her. She leaned in and kissed him. "You will have all that I am, and all of my thoughts." Except for one secret—the one he couldn't know until after he returned home to the United States. If he knew, he would never leave. Even with that heavy thought, she felt a profound sense of peace, knowing they would always be together no matter what happened in their lives. She knew he wouldn't be able to bear leaving the child that would soon come into the world. But the teachers had assured her that no matter how bleak things seemed to be on this earth, it would all work out for the good of all.