Below the earth's surface, a heavy silence fell over the sanctuary. The militia sensed the final days of their hiding would end soon, feelings brought on by the cryptic discussions with the tribes. Soon, the exiled Essenes would depart, dissolving the fragile world this strange collective had built. They had arrived as strangers—Americans, an Israeli soldier, and Middle Eastern mystics—but they were leaving as a family.
When a daughter was born to one of the family tribes, Avril bonded with the infant immediately. The elders even granted her the rare privilege of remaining in the room during the birth. Later, when the midwives presented the girl's life-path charts, Avril stared at the cosmic alignment in awe: this child was destined to be the mate for her own son. Looking down at the beautiful baby girl being cleaned by the midwives, Avril gently pressed a hand against her own stomach, vividly recalling the face of her own little boy.
"Everything okay?" Jimmy whispered, slipping into the room. Avril sat by the pallet, wiping the mother's damp brow with a cloth. Opposite her, the father sat in silence.
"Perfect," she said, smiling up at him. She wanted so much to introduce him to their future family members but could only look at him, her eyes wide with love as she fought back tears of pure joy..
"Did you need anything?" he whispered, kneeling beside the woman and child. Looking at the angelic face of the tiny figure in her mother's arms, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. He turned to Avril with a curious glance. She smiled, unable to resist reading his mind. He possessed sparks of the very powers she knew he would one day master. He carried the blood of the Magi, and in time, he would discover exactly what that meant for his future.
"No," said Avril and she touched his face when he leaned in to kiss her. "I have all I need now."
"Come," the woman's husband said. He had been sitting on the other side of his wife in quiet meditation. Jimmy's mouth dropped open. In all the time they had spent with the families, this man hadn't uttered a single word. And now, he wanted to talk?
"Yes," Avril said. She stood with the man and followed him out, Jimmy right at her side. They walked to the classroom benches and took the closest seats to talk.
"The child will be called Raqhell," he said to them.
"That's nice," Jimmy said slowly. He wasn't quite sure why that was something he needed to share with them. They weren't a part of the tribe, or even a part of the people and it seemed odd to him that he was even having a conversation with any one of them. The man read his thoughts and nodded at Avril who only shook her head. She did not want to disclose the meaning of the recent events to Jimmy, at least not yet.
"You must tell him of his son," the man said to her in his thoughts.
"It is not the time," she smiled, her answer to him in the silence between them.
"I will honor your decision," he thought back. "But he must be prepared."
"He will be prepared," she sighed silently.
"I have this distinct impression that you two are having a conversation," Jimmy said aloud, nervously. "Do I have to be here?"
"We go," she said and took her lover's hand. "We talk of baby."
"We should talk about a baby," Jimmy grinned. And the man smiled, causing Jimmy to look at him suspiciously. "Do I need to know something?"
"He is happy about baby," she said quickly. She pulled him from the white common area and then through the connecting door into their own living room. "We talk about one day of our baby. We practice, yes?" She smiled coyly at him. He grinned back. She knew how to change the subject abruptly with Jimmy.
In the archery range, Lynn had already mastered the crossbow, her groupings far tighter than they ever were with a longbow. Lately, she had graduated to the compound bows—though she used them sparingly, given the sheer damage they inflicted. Under their power, the targets quickly frayed, puffing clouds of dust into the air with every impact. Fortunately, a pair of air purification units flanked the targets in the back of the room, humming away as she shot. But today, her focus was entirely gone. Instead of clean releases, she was shattering arrow after arrow against the impenetrable cement blend of the back wall.
"What's up with that?"
She jumped at the sound of Merc's voice. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, tracking her every move.
"Oh," she breathed, trying to steady her posture. "You startled me."
"I've never seen you so distracted." He didn't budge from the wall. "Everything all right?"
"When you and Griff pranced around with that fake blood," she began, "remember that day in the field? I genuinely thought he was hurt. Did Griff ever say anything to you about... having feelings for me?"
"He didn't have to say anything." Merc smiled, pushing himself off the wall and stepping toward her. "Everyone could see it."
"I don't know what's happening between us anymore."
"What do you want to happen?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe he's just as confused."
"You think it's too late for us?"
"That's not for me to say," Merc said. He picked up her longbow, turning it over in his hands to hide the sudden flash of concern on his face.
"I think it's probably too much water under the bridge," she sighed.
"Maybe," he put the bow back on the wall. "So what do you see happening between you now?"
"I'm praying it's not too late to talk," she said sadly. "Even if he doesn't want me, we'll still have a friendship...and our partnership. But it's going to hurt a lot more than when you didn't want me."
"Hey," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him squarely. "I never said I didn't want you. It just wasn't a good time for me. My head wasn't there at that time, that's all."
"I understand," she smiled and looked down at the ground. "I felt the same way in the machine gun station with you. I'm starting to think Griff feels that way about me now."
"Griff is a complicated man," Merc said softly. "Maybe it's good that things cooled off between the two of you while we're here. You can always try and pick things up again when you're no longer here in this part of the world."
"Yeah," she said, looking up at him again. "This really isn't the place to sort out feelings."
"I said that to him, you know," said Merc. "When he asked me what I felt about you. I told him that war wasn't a place I cared to start a relationship of any kind. And now that I think about it, I would give that advice to you as well."
"You're pretty smart," Lynn snickered, her eyes still holding the sadness, "for a guy."
"You're pretty great, for a woman." Both laughed.
Lynn drew back the bowstring to test its tension, letting it snap forward with a sharp twang. She notched an arrow, pulled smoothly to her cheek, and released. The arrow slammed dead center into the target's eye. Bullseye, she thought—on more than just one level. Her conversation with Merc had truly anchored her.
"Glad I could help," he said as he turned and left her to practice. He walked across the large living room and into the kitchen area to find Griff making sandwiches.
"Where did you get the bread?" he asked him.
"The lady that had the baby made it. She brought me two loaves, one for Jimmy and Avril and the other for the rest of us."
"Leave it out, I'll make myself a sandwich."
"First let me offer one of these to Lynn. If she doesn't want it, I'll give it to you."
"She'll want it," Merc said, uncovering the loaf on the island. He sliced the bread while watching Griff cross the room to Lynn. When Lynn accepted the offering graciously, Merc smiled to himself. She was right; regardless of what lay ahead, they shared a friendship that surpassed any bond he had ever known with a woman. They were truly fortunate.
"What were you two talking about in the classroom," Jimmy asked Avril as he helped her make the bed in their room, referring to their earlier meeting with the new father. "Well, thinking about at each other. I feel like it's important."
"Their child," she said nonchalantly. "They want tradition of star charts."
"I don't understand, what charts?" He asked, fluffing the pillows and laying them at the headboard. "Star charts?"
"You say horoscope," she tried to explain. "Only it reflect star position. It give future reading."
"Oh," he said, still confused. "I wouldn't have guessed that they were a superstitious group of people."
"Not superstitious," she corrected and tossed a folded blanket at the foot of the bed. "Tradition."
"What does it represent?"
"Marriage of child."
"What?" He was taken by complete surprise. "She was just born today. Why would they be talking about her marriage?"
"Tradition."
"That's nuts!" he said with alarm. "I would never allow my child to even think about marriage before the age of twenty, let alone prepare her for marriage at birth."
"That is to not understand tradition." Avril studied him, bracing for his impact. A heavy certainty settled over her: they would be doing the same thing when their own boy arrived. The path of the world was already set, unyielding and ancient. Israel was right. She could no longer delay talking to Jimmy about the prophecy. It wasn't just their future anymore—it was their son's.
"Who is she supposed to marry?"
"Chosen one."
"Which of the children is the chosen one?"
"He not born yet."
"That doesn't make any sense. How do they betroth their kid with someone who doesn't exist yet?"
"Betroth to chosen one," she said, standing and looking at him squarely. "It is written, it was written and it future written for one to come. He is born this year."
"Where? In Bethlehem?"
"No," she smiled, familiar with his reference. "He to be born in Egypt."
"Will he be a demigod too?"
"No, his blood is Essene. He will be great teacher at two hundred years. All people to learn and understand the energy powers. Bring last peace before sun burns earth hot like million fires."
"In his lifetime?"
"In lifetime of Essenes, yes, it to be his bloodline."
"Are you sure these people are human?" Jimmy asked as he walked around the bed to her. He took her in his arms and held her close. "It blows my mind that they even live to be two hundred. How is it that they can live so much longer?"
"Humans in time to come live long lives again. Like old days when man first new."
"How is that possible?"
"Contamination that bring age burn off first before plant and animal. As Earth purify, man live long, even underground. But also, man to understand control of energy."
"And that all happens in the life of the chosen Essene?"
"Is correct about his children, his bloodline with Essenes."
"So," Jimmy said as his mind wrapped around the concept, "we could be a part of the generation that learns to live longer?"
"Some," she answered and rubbed his bare chest. "But next generation will see."
"That just boggles the mind," he said, feeling his desire stir again. He pulled her close and kissed her passionately while her hand went straight for his groin. "Wouldn't it be cool if we made the chosen baby?" he asked dreamily when the kiss ended and he began to unbutton her shirt.
If he only knew, Avril thought. She laid her head against his chest, picturing their beautiful son. A continuous debate raged in her mind over the best time to tell him about the child on the way. Hopefully, his last comment had broken the ice, meaning he was finally ready for the discussion.
In the evening, after dinner, Avril and Jimmy went next door to visit Israel, his wife, and their new baby. Jimmy didn't understand why in the world Avril wanted to become friends with people who never opened their world to outsiders, but it made her happy, and that was what mattered most to him. As they walked into the pristine kitchen area, the family met them with warm greetings.
"She will be strong," Israel said proudly, watching the tiny fingers wrapped tightly around his pinky. "See how she holds on?"
Jimmy grinned. He probably wouldn't be any different when it came time to show off his own child. Touching the baby's warm cheek, an unexpected pull tugged at his chest—a sudden, fierce realization of just how much this little life mattered to him. He looked up at Avril, who gave him a knowing smile. Sensing his bond with the baby girl, she leaned in close to look into the little girl's face. The infant looked back at her with such pure, serene devotion that a tear slipped down Avril's cheek.
"She is beautiful," said Jimmy, mesmerized by the infant. The mother gently placed the baby in his arms. He couldn't believe the peace he felt as he held her. Feeling his every emotion, Avril could no longer hold back the tears.
"I feel joy," was all she could croak out.
"This is what we are protecting," Jimmy whispered. And then said to the child. "You will be safe, I will make sure of it."
"It is you that we protect," Israel said to him. "You are not here to keep us safe. We are here to keep you safe, all of us in these tribes. It is not by accident that you are here."
"What?" Jimmy said, confused. He looked up at Avril. She wiped her tears away quickly and smiled.
"They speak of tradition," she said, hoping to find the best way to begin the education of his past. "You have bloodline of Magi."
"You mean the three kings who visited baby Jesus?" he asked, still confused. "Well, I heard that at least one was black. But that it was some kind of tale that no one could trace back into reality. Some Christmas thing that everyone told as a story."
"Essenes carry bloodline of the Magi," Israel nodded.
"Okay," he challenged. "Essenes are Magi?"
"Somewhat," said Israel. "We carry the blood of many people. But we are only a part of the Magi."
"If I am Magi, does that make me Essene?" he asked, his voice tightening. How did they know who he was? More importantly, why didn't he? His mind reeled, fracturing under the weight of too many unanswerable questions. He needed a distraction, and he needed it now, before he completely lost his grip.
"It is good," Avril said as she laid her hand on his arm. "You wish to have chosen one. Would that not be good?"
"Well, if I have children, wouldn't that make them a bunch of little maggots?" He said, trying to lighten the mood. The whole conversation was becoming more than he could fathom.
"Not funny," Avril scolded. "One day we have children. You will be father and me mother. Not funny, very serious."
"I know, babe," he said, turning to her. "But with all this new information things are just getting weird."
"We will guide you," Israel said warmly. "In Egypt, when we are to be joined again. You will understand."
"I'm not going to Egypt," Jimmy said as he looked at Israel and then at Avril. "I'm going home. And I want you to come with me." He took her hand with his free hand, his eyes pleading.
"We are always to be together," she assured him. "Where we will go, it to be together, always." He looked at her and took her hand, carefully balancing the sleeping baby in his arms.
"Promise me that," he said. "No matter what, we'll be together every moment of every day."
"I promise to you, always with you. Even apart, we always together." He bent to kiss her and the baby stirred. Everyone's attention went to the tiny bundle as she began to wake and stretch.
"We shall all be together as a family," Israel's wife said as she took the child from him and placed her at her breast. She walked slowly toward their own room to nurse the baby. Her husband nodded politely as he joined his wife.
"So," Jimmy said as he and Avril returned to their own space. "Does that mean we could be the parents of the chosen one?"
"Someday," she said, and then added to her own thoughts, 'soon, my love.'
Griff called the corner pocket, lined up, and choked. His stick stabbed forward, sending the cue ball wild across the felt. It grazed the one, bounced off the cushion, and left the table wide open. Merc didn't hesitate. He took his stance and gently tapped the cue ball to sink the eight. Just like that, the game was his.
"It's only fair that I let you win one," Griff teased.
"How nice of you," Merc hissed. "But I ran the table on you without a challenge."
"However you want to say it to make you feel better," Griff went on. He had won the last four games, and did intend on winning all the games, but had grown tired of playing. Merc had picked up on it immediately and put his best effort forth for the win.
"I have an announcement to make," Jimmy said as he walked up to his teammates. "Avril and I have decided to have a baby. Well, not now, but as soon as we're home."
"Do you plan on marrying her before we leave here?" Merc asked.
"Yes," he said plainly and then stopped to think for a moment. "I don't know when but yes, before we leave the base."
"Who's going to marry you?" Griff asked. He wondered if Jimmy had forgotten they were in seclusion.
"I shall marry them," Yeshua said. As the three men turned around, they saw the teacher, the tribal families, Emaniel, and the twelve warriors standing around the room.
"Today?" Merc asked as he looked at the crowd of people, giving Griff a surprised glance.
"Hell," Jimmy said with a wide smile. "Why not? I'll go tell Avril."
"Shouldn't you ask her first?" Griff said cautiously. "Girls like it better when you ask and not tell."
"Oh, yeah," he said thoughtfully and then bound off toward their room. He returned shortly afterwards with his bride to be at his side. Both smiled sheepishly as they approached Yeshua and held hands.
"Don't you need rings?" Lynn asked, walking toward them with her bow in hand.
"We do not consider physical binding," Emaniel said, stepping up beside Lynn. "The spirit is bound. That is enough." On cue, four young women materialized, bearing tall poles draped with cloth that met at the top to form a chuppah. Yeshua conducted the ceremony in ancient Aramaic. As the ritual concluded, he touched Jimmy's head, chanting softly as his fingers moved in a slow, rhythmic sway from the bride to the bridegroom. The four women struck the base of their poles against the floor in unison five times, then lifted the canopy away. Around them, the Essenes and their families bowed deeply in thanks, adults and children alike, afterward stepping forward to lay their hands over the joined hands of the newlyweds. With the blessing complete, the gathering quietly dispersed to their dwellings.
"When did you guys set all that up?" Griff asked when the door between their two spaces closed. "I didn't even have a clue that you were planning this."
"We didn't," Jimmy answered, he still held his new wife's hand in his. "It just happened."
"Seriously," Lynn said, not believing him.
"I shit you not," he assured them. "Oh, and we're going to be trying to have the chosen one when we get back stateside."
"The chosen what?" Lynn asked.
"A baby," he said with a silly smile. "Our baby is going to marry the new baby that was born here."
"He's got cabin fever," Griff said flatly. "He's lost his mind completely."
"You're okay with all this?" Lynn asked Avril.
"Yes," she answered. "We are married."
"We'll be consummating our marriage now," Jimmy said as he picked up his bride. "No one needs to bother us for the next few days."
"This is getting crazy," Griff said as he realized he was still holding his pool stick through the entire ceremony. "This whole thing is absolutely nuts. No one just 'gets' married, except in ancient days when Los Vegas was a wild and crazy place, not like it is now."
"Well Jimmy has never been anyone who does things by the book. EVER." Lynn sighed.
"Yeah, we are talking about Jimmy." Merc said with a chuckle.
"Who's playing?" Lynn asked, referring to the pool game.
"Not me," Griff said, handing Lynn the cue. She leaned the pool que against the table and then carried her bow back to its place on the wall, and returned to rack the balls.
"This is one wedding we'll be talking about every Thanksgiving." Lynn said as she racked the balls. "His mom is going to shit when she finds out."
"She'll just be happy he made it home safe," Griff said, remembering the fuss his own mother put up when she found out he was heading to the Middle East. "But it will make for some lively story to tell his kids."
"Yeah," said Merc. "Your mom and dad decided to get married one day and a bunch of people appeared out of nowhere and had a ceremony. Only Jimmy could pull that shit off."
"Jimmy with kids," Griff said as he thought about it.
"Oh, this should be something," Lynn said as she broke the balls with a stiff side shot. She pocketed a stripe and solid and called solids. Assessing the table, she poked the cue ball and pocketed the six ball. "Poor Avril, a house full of kids and she's the only adult."
"You don't think kids will make him grow up?" Merc asked.
"With a house full of playmates," Lynn laughed. "No."
"I bet they all turn out to be crack shots," Griff added. He folded his arms across his chest as he watched the pool match.
"Little Jimmy's running around with rifles," Lynn said as she stood and gave Griff a cursory gaze. "Look out world."
The next morning as the team began to rise. Lynn met Israel in their kitchen, he had brought another two loaves of bread for them. He seemed rather joyous to her, an emotion she hadn't noticed from him before.
"What's up with the good mood?" she asked him.
"We are leaving here soon to our new home."
"Who did you talk to?" Lynn asked, surprised and concerned at the same time.
"It is in the star chart," he answered.
"From whom?"
"From the stars."
"Star chart...like horoscope," Avril said as she joined Lynn in the kitchen. "It read days to events."
"How long is 'soon'?"
"Today," he answered. Lynn turned to see the Essene and their families join them in their living room area. She looked over at Avril.
"We pack to leave," Avril said happily. The men and women who came out into the living space walked into the militia's living room. Each, including the children, carrying a single pack..
"What's going on?" Griff asked. He strolled out of the bathroom area, drying his hair on a towel.
"They say we're leaving," Lynn answered.
"We to pack," Avril added. "To be ready."
"Who said that?" Jimmy asked.
"It's a star chart thing," Lynn answered. "The stars say we are leaving."
"But no one has..." before Griff could get the words out the walls on the far side of the room opened and General Sefira and General Taylor came through the entryway.
"We are ready to move the Essenes," General Taylor announced as he approached the group. "Let's get everything loaded for them first. Then we'll move you and your team."
"Has the war ended?" Jimmy asked.
"Not exactly, the underground rail transport is fully operational," General Sefira told the team. "We can move them to their destinations without a single second of above-ground exposure. Once they're within Israeli borders, the hard-cement shield in their new sanctuary will keep them completely safe. Which means your job here is done—you're going home." He paused, looking over the weary group. "Pack your gear. Let's get you ready for transport."
"You'll be going back to Jordan," General Taylor said to Merc. "The Jordanian king wants to see you as soon as possible."
"Kisselberg, you'll have to wait here at the base until you're reassigned. But you can escort the team to the helicopter extraction point and say goodbye if you like," said General Sefira to Avril.
"You're coming with us," Jimmy said with a hint of panic. "We have to let them know we're married."
"You can iron all that out at the Israeli consulate in the US. Right now, everyone needs to get to where they need to be for the time being," the American General insisted. "Right now pack your shit, you're going home."
"It all good," Avril said with a smile, trying to calm her sweetheart. "I make promise for us together always. It is good."
"Let's get packed," said Griff as he turned to Lynn. "We have this contract completed. We'll work out the details with Jimmy and Avril at home."
"Come on Jimmy," Lynn said as she nodded at her teammate. "We'll get this all sorted out. It shouldn't be too hard, you'll be back together like you were never apart."
"I don't want to leave without my wife," he protested.
"We not to separate," Avril said to him gently. "We pack." She led him to their room, and coaxed him not to worry. Everything was going to be just fine.