Out of the Shadows Book 1: The Student - Chapter 1 “Good luck, Jonathan. Are you ready to undertake such a difficult task … do you have everything you need?” Jonathan shook the elderly man’s hand warmly. “Yes … thank you Ivan … I believe I am ready and my needs are but a few”. “Then go my son … the thoughts and prayers of the people of Zonan are with you in your quest” and the younger man turned to the couple standing by the doorway. “Good luck, Jonathan”. “Thank you, Matthew … Isantha” and he hugged the couple before the door opened and Jonathan bade his final farewell, took a few steps through the portal and disappeared from view. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The initial discovery of a new existence in their solar system following a cosmic storm had caused excitement and then pain. As this new place was studied, the pain of reliving a stage in their own planet’s cycle was experienced; reliving a part of their own history that had once been filled with wars, famine and the hatred that had consumed so many of its inhabitants. And the people of Zonan thanked their God that the time had passed and that such agony had been defeated for their own kind. Jonathan had spent a long time in the archives of the best libraries and museums available in this new place: searching the records and studying the people and had made several interesting discoveries. They weren’t so unalike it would seem; the social development mirroring their own and it was as if it was only time that separated them. It became apparent that, like their own, this race had evolved to become basically good and kind and had eventually begun to care deeply about the different cultures that made up the planet and about the environment in which they all lived. With such painful times in Zonan’s past now consigned to history and under a wise and kind leadership, they now flourished in an atmosphere of tolerance and community acting as one. But it hadn’t always been that way and it was in an attempt to prevent one such painful time from ever happening in this new place that was sending Jonathan on his journey. Zonan’s technology was well in advance of the planet they had come to know as Earth; moving at a pace that would not be easily understood. Communication now wasn’t just between peoples; it was between times and existences and once the continuing struggles of this new planet became apparent; the overriding wish of their neighbours was to prevent the repression and discrimination so cruelly dealt out to a certain part of its community that had once been experienced by their own and Zonan’s Elders had made a decision. Inequality and prejudice against this community struck home deeply. This bigotry was long ago destroyed in their own society that now viewed all its inhabitants equally: with the same rights available to all. And in this newly discovered world, in order to combat these injustices and seek retribution against all who would wish to destroy these people; to ensure this time did not continue into the future, a leader for their community should be found. But it could not be just any leader; not just any man. It must be someone capable of being a crusader: a champion in the name of the people struggling to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. And it was to find this one person; a child who could be taught the skills to become this crusader that Jonathan was now embarking upon his quest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The cultures of this time and place were many and diverse and where Jonathan was to begin his task was a vast area of land whose terrain varied from deserts to mountains and experienced huge changes of temperature: a land so vast it would be difficult to search everywhere in one person’s lifetime. But then Jonathan’s lifespan could not be determined in the same measure as the people within whom he moved; life expectancy for his people had increased beyond all possible understanding and it was many Earth years before finally, Jonathan believed his search was almost over; in this time the people in this place knew as 1974. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “For Chrissakes, Joannie … I’m trying to get to work … can’t you keep that fucking kid outta my way …” Joan Kinney followed the source of the raised voice and the child’s screams out into the hallway; despairing at what she found and made her way over to her stricken son. “He’s hurt his knee … for god’s sake … you’re his father … couldn’t you pick him up … see he’s all right?” but Jack was already out the door and leaving for work and leaving her to cope on her own; as usual. She watched him go and it didn’t even occur to her to wonder how he did it. After all, Jack had plenty of practice: spending money they didn’t have by going out bowling with the guys from work and then drinking all hours with his friends at the social; coming home well after midnight and getting just a little sleep before he was up early and heading back to the plant. It was a miracle he didn’t have an accident, either in the car or operating the machinery. He must still be hung over; there was no way he couldn’t be and the only thing that concerned Joan was if her husband wasn’t careful, he’d be hauled in front of the foreman for yet another humiliating reprimand or, worse still, lose yet another job because of his drinking and they’d be on the move again; with Jack forced to look for more work. He’d even had the nerve to complain that since their son’s birth, Joan would hardly let him touch her; that she was frigid. True: it hadn’t been an easy delivery and she’d been dreading the expense of it all. Not just the medical bills, but also all the paraphernalia that went with having a child. The equipment, the clothing; things they could just barely manage on Jack’s meagre wage, once the distillery and the church had taken their share of course. But at least at church the priest listened to her as she confessed her sins. At least she could always count on God being there; even if it did mean leaving the last of the money she had until payday in the collection plate on the way out; for God’s work. And then there was the fact that Jack had even told her he didn’t want the kid; that she should get an abortion. Well, Joan Kinney was a lot of things, but get rid of her baby? Never; there was no way she could do that; that would be going against God’s teachings and with a will of iron, she’d steadfastly refused. So was it surprising she wasn’t too accommodating in the bedroom department since then? Finally scooping her young son up in her arms, Joan took him in from the hallway and set him down on the sofa in the living room. “There … it’s just a scratch,” she informed him. “Nothing to make such a fuss about” and she picked up the boy’s teddy bear from where it was laying on the floor and placed it in his arms. “Now … you be a good boy and let Mommy get a little peace …” and Joan slumped down into the chair on the opposite side of the room. Truth was her own head was still thumping from the night before, so she’d just have a few minutes and take a little nap and then she would get her young son his breakfast. The fact that Brian was reasonably healthy and thriving at all was no testimony to Joan’s parenting skills. He was tall for his age and no doubt underweight; a result of Joan often being too drunk herself to even remember she had a child to feed. And before long, Joan had fallen into a deep sleep, leaving the hungry little boy confused and wondering what he’d done. All Brian had wanted to do was say goodbye to his Father and had toddled after Jack as the man made his way to the front door from the kitchen. Initially he’d been ignored and then when the little boy had clung to his Father’s leg, like toddlers do, Jack had literally brushed him off. He’d sent the youngster sprawling and he’d fallen on his knee; grazing the skin and Brian had sat crying on the floor; in shock and confusion and with the sudden pain, whilst his Father collected his coat from the hallstand and yelled at his wife. If he’d been older, Brian would have recognised then the pattern that had started to form: Any attempt by his young son towards his Father to get him to take notice of him fell on deaf ears. Or when he had got the man’s attention, he would just yell at him in his cot; normally having woken the boy up suddenly and frightening him when coming in late and stumbling up the stairs; swearing at Joan when she refused to have sex with him, regardless of whether he was actually capable and then the huge argument that would normally follow; leaving Brian scared and screaming. One of two things then normally happened. If his Mother were still sober herself, she would pick up the screaming child and take him into the spare room, where they would sleep in the same bed and leaving Jack sleeping off the booze in their bedroom. If Joannie had herself been sampling the gin or sherry bottle, then no amount of shouting from her husband would waken her and the man would eventually give up and fall into bed and into a drunken stupor; leaving the baby crying himself back to sleep. Whichever scenario was played out each night, one thing was always certain. There was always an argument and shouting and there was always a terrified little boy witness to it and as the youngster’s third birthday was starting to come around, the pattern hadn’t changed; only the location. In Brian’s short lifetime, the Kinney’s had already moved five times and always because Jack had lost his job owing to his drinking and this time was no exception. But in addition, this time they hadn’t even had enough money to pay the rent for the last two months and with the few possessions they actually owned piled into the car, they intended to leave when there was no one around to see them go. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jonathan had covered thousands of miles in his search; a search that had taken him to almost every part of this land, but on this occasion, things were different. He had no idea what was pulling him in this particular direction, other than he knew this was the way he had to go. Every town was beginning to look the same and even the people had the same appearance. Every day was a struggle: a struggle to survive and this town didn’t seem to be any different to the countless others he’d been to in his search. The area was terribly run down; not too far from the railroad and where everyone viewed strangers with suspicion and they looked at Jonathan no differently and he knew he had to be careful. Thankfully, the car he’d chosen was old, battered and dirty and from where he’d parked up he had a view straight across the street to the house. He’d sat there for hours and now it was late and he saw the man stumble up the steps to the front door and go in: lights went on in the hall downstairs and a few minutes later in the upstairs front bedroom. That’s when the shouting began and the child began to scream. Jonathan’s heart felt as if it was being squeezed in a vice at the sound of the child’s obvious distress, but he could do nothing yet; he still had to pass on what he knew to the Elders. But as he sat in his car and the raised voices finally died down and the lights went out, his heart now began to pound. He could feel it; his search was surely over. Earlier, he’d seen the woman come back from the store with her few purchases and looking tired and drawn. But he was far more interested in the youngster holding her hand and the boy’s beauty had taken hold of Jonathan’s heart and then he’d watched whilst the child played out in front of the house. And then his Mother had come outside and called his name and taken him inside. “Brian”, that’s what she’d called him and Jonathan knew for sure. He was the one; he was perfect. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The large crystal glowed and a bluish light filled the room for a few moments before the figure appeared. The voice was softly spoken and feminine. “Jonathan … it’s been so long since we heard from you … I can only hope this means good news.” “Isantha … you must inform the Elders … after searching for so long our quest is at an end … I have found the boy”. “Are you sure Jonathan? Time is short … we don’t have another millennia to complete our search … the people will need our help so much sooner than we thought”. “Isantha … I have only seen him at a distance, but I know in my heart this is the boy … but we will have to move quickly. His parents … I’m afraid … treat him badly”. Jonathan could hear the sadness in Isantha’s voice. “These people … do they not understand how precious their children are? I will pass on your news to the Elders immediately and return to you as soon as I am able … and Jonathan … thank you … you have given me great hope”. The wisp of blue light vanished into the darkness and it would be a few hours before Jonathan would hear from Isantha the decision that had been taken by the Elders. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jonathan left the cheap motel room just before dawn, but even that wasn’t early enough. As soon as he turned the corner into the street, he knew something was wrong and then when he parked in front of the house, his worst suspicions were confirmed. The front door was wide open and quickly, Jonathan made his way inside: moving from room to room and he picked up the abandoned teddy bear he found at the bottom of the stairs. In the bedrooms, the drawers in the dressers were pulled out and left empty on the floor and there were no clothes hanging in the closets and no toiletries in the bathroom. Placing the teddy bear in the child’s cot, Jonathan rushed back downstairs and realised there were no other personal possessions anywhere, not that there had ever been many, but it was plainly evident what had happened. The Kinney’s had suddenly and unexpectedly left town, but he had to find the child. He was the peoples’ only chance. Trusting only in the powers that be, Jonathan headed east, unknowingly only a short distance behind the old Chrysler driven by Jack Kinney; Joan beside him with Brian on her knee and the back seat and trunk were packed with what few possessions they had been able to remove from the house. With the sun not yet fully up, a huge argument was already in full swing, with Jack swearing at Joan who was complaining bitterly about having to leave their home yet again owing to Jack’s drinking and heading off; God only knew where, in order to escape from the people they owed money to and for Jack to find work somewhere that didn’t know them. As Jonathan shortened the distance between the two vehicles, he could see the couple were arguing and once again, he feared for Brian. Jack was obviously not paying enough attention to his driving; how could he be, the times he was taking his eyes off the road and looking at his wife. He was shouting at her; swearing at her and now the argument was becoming physical, with Jack having leant across and hitting his wife and the car began to swerve dangerously out of the lane. Suddenly, the light was so blinding it almost caught Jonathan by surprise and it certainly did Jack, for unable to see the road ahead, he lost control of the car totally and it veered off the road and down into the trees and there was a sickening crash. Coming to an abrupt halt, Jonathan leapt from the car and made his way down to the wreckage. No: it wasn’t possible, not after coming this far and Jonathan prayed to his God that Brian would survive the crash without harm. The Kinney’s car had hurtled down the embankment and ploughed into a tree and was totally wrecked and both adult occupants were clearly dead. But what of the child: he was nowhere to be seen? The car’s smashed engine was hissing loudly, but apart from that there was a deathly silence, save for the birds that had been disturbed from their nests in the overhead branches. Jonathan stood quietly and that’s when he heard the noise behind him and, turning around, there was Brian, totally unharmed and Jonathan heaved a huge sigh of relief. Walking slowly towards him, he held out his hand, which Brian took and then gently, Jonathan led the child back up to the highway. It wasn’t quite dawn, but the gleaming light that had illuminated the road so brightly now shone once more and Jonathan turned Brian’s face away to protect him and then stretched out his hand; shielding his own eyes against the glare. Two figures were making their way towards them and once he recognised their features, Jonathan smiled. The bright light dimmed and, stopping a few feet away from them, the woman returned his smile and then crouched down and held out her arms. Brian turned to face her and without any hesitation let go of Jonathan’s hand and went to her immediately and the woman scooped him up into her arms and held him tightly: the boy hugging her back and giggling with obvious pleasure. The two men greeted each other warmly. “Jonathan … well done … your work here is now complete. You must be looking forward to going home.” “Matthew … thank you. Home? Where is home now I wonder? I have lived here for so long … among these people … it will be strange indeed to return to Zonan …” “Then why don’t you stay longer? The more we learn about these people can only assist us and how better to than at first hand. I’m sure the Elders would allow it after all your hard work … if that’s what you wished.” “Thank you, Jonathan … I may well do that … I have yet to decide”. “But no more of me …” and Jonathan reached out and stroked the child’s hair. The boy turned in Isantha’s arms and smiled back at him; his hazel eyes flecked with gold were burning brightly and for the first time in his short life, Brian somehow knew he was totally safe. “His name is Brian,” said Jonathan, quietly. “He is so very beautiful … he will grow into a beautiful man and with what you have to teach him will be valiant and true … a great leader … seeking justice for all under his protection”. “It will not be easy,” admitted Matthew. “He will need to be strong … in body, mind and spirit and we have a journey we must commence with all due haste”. The two men hugged goodbye and Jonathan lent down and kissed first Isantha and then Brian and he watched as the couple smiled back at him, turned and then walked away. Jonathan waved goodbye as the little family got into the old Chrysler and drove off into the dawn and he glanced down into the undergrowth as he made his way back to his car. But there was no sign now of the crashed vehicle and its occupants: No evidence that it had ever existed at all. To be continued.