The Destiny of Nexus

Chapter-13

                            We were on our way to Brisbane. They were all reserved. The tarot reading was that bad, eh? I said grinningly. It's not funny Steve, Nyssa groaned. If you are not prepared for bad, then why did you even take a reading? Anyway, it's just a warning as she said. Don't worry about it Nyssa, we're all there for you. So, shall we see what's there in the note given by Ms. Walker? David said. It's better if we forget about that stuff for a while. At least till we get to the mansion. Agreed, Ronny said. It's been two days since we enjoyed the breeze of air. We were going 100 kilometres per hour. Meanwhile, Uncle John was worried about my uninformed disappearance. I checked my phone and there were 10 missed calls from him. I immediately called him back and apologized to him. I told him that I working to know more about my parents from the past two days. I'll return to the mansion before midnight. Just take care of yourself, he said. I disconnected the call.

                        We stopped in between to eat something. I thought maybe eating would make my friends normal again. We ate some sandwiches and resumed our journey. We reached my mansion at 10 o'clock. I asked my friends, if they can stay here tonight? They looked at each other, it's like no one wanted to be alone. They nodded their heads indicating yes. I smiled and we called it a night.

                           The sun rays woke me up. My bedroom has a beautiful view of sun rise. As soon as I opened my eyes, I could see Nyssa and Ronny sitting next to me. David was still asleep. They were waiting for me to wake up. What happened? I asked. Steve, I and Ronny thought about the things that are happening and we decided that let's chase this mystery once and for all and get back to our chilling times. What do you say? Nyssa asked. If that's what you want. Let's go chase our next clue then, I replied. We let David sleep. I forgot the note in my car, so I rushed to my car and retrieved the note. I had the note in my hand. They both nodded in unison indicating to open. I opened it and without any further delay I read out loud about what's in there, it was “Bennu Godown, Brisbane.” What the heck is a Bennu? Ronny said. It is believed to be the inspiration for Phoenix in Greek Mythology, said David in a drowsy voice. Nyssa checked it on Google and he was right. How do you even know that? Nyssa was amazed. We all were. Well, I know a bit or two about lots of things. So the clue is now deduced to Phoenix Godown, Brisbane. Only one word was tricky now. Suddenly, I remembered something about that Godown. It is one of our abandoned warehouses, I said in a bright voice. Let's go, guys, we have our next destination. It turned exciting again, decoding clues and all. 

                It was a 20-minute drive from my mansion. Why is this warehouse abandoned? David asked. Well, it was shut down by my father after a fire accident. Luckily no one was injured. Uncle John told me all the things about my company. He used to say, "A leader must know everything about their people." Is there any chance for that fire accident to be intentional? Nyssa raised a suspicion. She has a point. In order to keep the warehouse abandoned, they purposefully might have caused the mishap, so your father could hide whatever we are searching for right now. During this discussion, we reached the place. It still had a security guard. He recognized me and opened the gates for me to enter. He provided me keys for opening the door. It is a vast facility. We all stood at the entrance of the facility trying to devise a plan to minimize the area of search. We all decided to split and search. But we don't even know what we were searching for. I started moving forward in my direction looking for something unusual. The floor, boxes, and machinery were all dusty. Then I started hearing whispers in my head "Follow the footsteps." Footsteps started appearing on the floor leading to somewhere of which I have no idea. I followed them for a while and they stopped at one point. I stood at the position of last appeared footstep. I looked around to see if there was anything out of ordinary. And yeah! There was a box that appeared fresh as if it was cleaned daily unlike the others. I found it, I yelled with excitement. They all gathered around me. How did you even find this box? They asked. I pointed at the footsteps on the ground and said these footsteps appeared magically on the floor and led the way. What footsteps Steve? Ronny asked surprisingly. Can't you see them? I asked.  No, we don't. Nyssa said. The footsteps started vanishing and all that was left was the dirt as before. I realized that something or someone is guiding me and only I could see things that the rest couldn't. How is the box clean, while the rest aren’t? They questioned. I didn't want things to become complex, so I said, it was covered by a cloth. I just threw it away before you guys arrived and that's how I found the box. They were convinced as they got a reasonable answer to their questions. But how was the box clean? It was still a mystery.

                        On our way out I asked the guard if anyone had entered the facility recently. No sir, no one has entered since the time of the incident, he replied. I shook hands with him and then we drove off. We reached the mansion. We sat on the four sides of a table with the box on top of it. All of us were looking at it keenly. There was a warning on the corner of one of its faces. It read "Any attempt to open the box forcefully will lead to the destruction of the content inside it." Not again, for God's sake, at least for once, why won't it be easy. Ronny said in exasperation. It’s okay Ronny. We will crack this, why don't you blow off steam for a while. There is a pool beside my room. Relax for a bit. Ronny left for the pool.

                      How do you suggest we approach this, Steve? David asked. Let's retrace our steps back to the starting point. We started with two clues at the beginning, right? One was "Sangue" and the other was "Turn at each step." The second one, we used it already. What about this Sangue? I said. Nyssa searched for it on the internet immediately and said it's Italian for blood. How can blood be the key? The question puzzled us. I again looked at the box and I saw the word "Nosferatu" on it. I asked Nyssa to check it out. She checked and said it is synonymous with "vampire." According to myths, vampires are bloodsuckers. Then I thought what if we pour the blood on the box and that opens it. I shared my thought. Are you insane? David said. That is crazy and we are not going to do any stupid thing like that, said Nyssa supporting David. Guys, of all the crazy things that I've seen in the past few days like being able to do things with the mind, whispers helping me,  my father leaving puzzles for me to solve, I don’t think anything is crazy anymore. I will do this with or without you guys. So it's up to you to stay or to leave. I don't mind. They took a long breath and then said okay, let's do this. I brought a knife and made a small cut on my hand. Blood started dropping out and I poured it on the box. Nyssa immediately patched me up with bandages. Now we waited for the box to open. We started to hear mechanical sounds, like the box is unlocking itself. It finally opened and there was a paper inside it along with a bottle of acid. Maybe the acid burns off the paper upon forceful breaking of the box. I opened the note and the contents appeared to be some kind of prayer or mantra kind of thing. 

"I call upon command that which shall be,

A portal unto Nexus,

Created in entirety for myself alone,

That which shall be protected & solid in stay"

I turned the page and there was one more spell.

"Firmly shut now the door which I have opened,

  You shall remain closed until I command you again"

                   It is related to the opening and closing of a portal, right? Nyssa said. Sounds like it, David replied. Should we chant for it to open? Let's give it a try, I suggested. We all held our hands and sat in a circular shape. Memorize the spell. Close your eyes and clear your mind. Focus only on the chanting of spell. We took a long breath and we started chanting. We chanted it three times and then I partially opened my eyes and took a peek to see if there is any kind of portal. But there were none. Maybe we are doing it wrong, Nyssa said. There is no instruction manual inside. Perhaps we should call Ms. Walker? David suggested. No, we have to solve this on our own guys. At least that's what my father wanted. I can't go asking for help every time I hit a dead-end. We will figure it out. I am sure of it. Meanwhile, Ronny cleared his mind in the pool and has returned now. He appeared calm. I'm sorry for my behaviour guys, he said. That's fine, Ronny, we understand your feeling. He joined the discussion now. We informed him of what has happened in his absence. Damn, I missed the real part, Ronny said expressing his disappointment. Chill Ronny. This is just the beginning of something huge. I mean we are talking about opening a portal and you are worried about how you missed an opening of the box, David said comforting Ronny. We are missing something guys. There has to be something. Nyssa's persistence gave me hope. Then something struck my mind. Guys, do you remember about the symbols on the box? As Ms. Walker said one of them is a portal that has a predetermined destination. Nyssa gasped. She ran to the hall and came back with the box. So, should we chant while holding the box or draw the symbol on the floor? She asked. We'll do both. I suggested. As Nyssa belonged to the biological background and Ronny builds small electronic chips and all. We felt it's better if they drew the symbol. It should be precise, even a minute variation won't make it work. Meanwhile, I and David brought some candles and lit them around the symbol as we've seen in many movies that candles are lit in almost any ritual. After half an hour Nyssa and Ronny completed their symbol. They drew it with chalk powder. It looked just right. We set the mystical box in the middle of the symbol drawn and we all placed our right hand over the box. Don't stop chanting until I say so and here we go, I said and we started chanting again. We all closed our eyes again. After we chanted once, I could sense something in my nerves which was a bit similar to blood flowing in our veins. But it's something that I've never felt before. It was unexplainable. I could feel my energy draining out of me just like when I did some mysterious things with my mind. My vision was getting blurry and then I said, Guys... in a faint voice.