Part 214 : Conversation with a Colonel Part 2

“I am in a Union officer’s outfit, being accompanied by three of my men,” The colonel whispered, “We were traveling over a lush field. In the middle of this field, is a small log cabin. Outside a young Indian is attending to her baby, who is half white. A white man then comes out to join her. He then sees us, grabs a bow and arrow, then proceeds to open fire on us.”

Mia didn’t move as she listened to the colonel describe his dream. A young Indian woman with a baby and a white husband who is an expert with a bow? It almost sounds like John and Mia. She shifted over in her seat, looking at the ground. “Is . .uh . . .is the young Indian girl . . .me?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied bluntly.

Mia gulped. “Go on . . “ she whispered.

“My men return fire and the man is killed instantly. You . . .the . .uh . .young Indian woman grabs her baby and runs off into the distance. My men give chase and grab her. They proceed to take her baby away from her and . . .bash her head, knocking her unconscious. While she is .. unable to move . . .they have their way with her.”

Mia felt cold again. She gripped her arms tightly. The Lakota wanted this dream description to be over and very soon. “Then one of my men receive an arrow in the back,” Colonel Fender whispered, “By the time I turn from inspecting the cabin, there is at least 30 to 40 Native Americans coming hell bent over the horizon, screaming and firing arrows and spears. My other two men are cut down and I am wounded.”

The Colonel quickly walked over the shelf and poured himself some more alcohol. He quickly gulped it down. He took a deep breath and then whispered, “An older Indian comes to me and proceeds to scalp me.”

“Ouch,” Mia coughed.

“Yes, I realize it is not a pleasant experience,” Fender massaged his forehead, “Then when I realize I am not dead, he walks back to the body of the young girl and weeps over her. I think she was his daughter.”

Mia nearly went teary eyed. Was he talking about her father?

“Then she approaches me. The old woman. The old woman seems to be some kind of . . .medicine woman. Four other young Indian warriors tie me to the ground and she sprinkles some kind of powder all over my body. Within . . .seconds, the sky is black. Not with clouds . . .but with crows. They swoop down to feast on my body and I am still alive. As I scream in agonizing pain, the old woman looks down on me and tells me, If you let anything happen to my sunshine, then this will be your Hell for eternity.”

Mia tried not to gasp. Sunshine was the nickname given to her by her grandmother. The colonel slowly looked at her. He swirled down one more glass of scotch and then walked over to his desk. “This old woman . . .” he sighed, “For the longest time, I thought it was some sort of interpretation of Cassandra. And I was starting to believe I was going mad. Till I found you.”

Mia just looked at him.

“You were in my dream, Mia,” Fender stared at her, “Does this mean anything to you?”

The Lakota girl coughed, and pushed her hair behind her ears. “The Indian who scalped you in the dream . . .that is my father.” She slowly spoke, “The old woman is my grandmother. She practically raised me till I was nine years old. She was in our tribe as Holy Woman. They reason you believed it was a representation of this Cassandra person is cause she is blind, as was my grandmother.”

“Yes,” Fender whispered.

“She said, If you let anything happen to my sunshine, this will be your Hell for Eternity. Sunshine . . .was the nickname my grandmother gave me. Did you notice, Colonel, she was talking in the present tense?”

“Yes,” he whispered again.

“My advice? Take her at her word. I can’t explain it but she is communicating beyond that great realm of the Unknown. If she can invade your dreams, I assure you, she will.”

“Interesting,” Fender placed his hand over his chin, “I never would have scarcely believed it but it all fits into place.”

Mia then watched him walk in front of his desk and set down to face her. “I accept,.” He said.

The Lakota girl tilted her head, slightly confused. “Accept what?” she asked.

“Your grandmother’s warning.” He said smoothly, “I will see to it no harm befalls you and perhaps . . .I will be granted rest.”

“I . .guess,” she replied.

“This is fate, it would seem,” Fender crossed his arms, “Every psychic I have placed in that room has come back a foam-spitting vegetable. Communication through dreams and talking with the dead is latent psychic ability, which you clearly have.”

“Well . . .I don’t know if you would call it that . . .”

“I have been searching the damn globe itself for the one psychic to breech the secrets of the Island. Fate . . .has delivered me the psychic I need right into my lap.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, Colonel.” Mia confessed.

“Come with me.” He said, getting up and walking toward a far adjacent door in the room.

Mia watched him slowly unlock the door with a key and then open it. He looked back to her and then tilted his hand to motion her in first. The young woman slowly stood up and walked over toward the entrance to the room and then slowly stepped in. It was a completely empty room with only one shelf and a door leading to another room. The colonel walked and stood in the middle. “We call it the Awakening Room,” he said, “I stepped into this room 20 years ago. I was dizzy and when I emerged, my awakened abilities had increased. I could stop a man cold with just a stare. I pick up on emotions and I could feel . ..monstrous security systems living deep underground, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.”

“You could control them?”

“I COULD. Now . ..my link with them has been severed. I wonder . . .would you be the cause?”

“I can’t control them,” Mia confessed.

“Well, you are here in the Awakening Room now. How do you feel?”

Mia held her arms close and turned around, doing a full 360. She looked around and rubbed her arms again. “I feel like I am being punished.” She whispered.

“In what way?” asked Fender.

“There was a room like this back in school. It had nothing all the walls, so blank and expressionless. You would have thought they would be a nice painting or something.”

Fender blinked in disbelief. “Wait a second . . .that is ALL you are feeling? Nostalgic?”

“Fraid so,” Mia raised her eyebrows, “Am I supposed to be feeling something else?”

“Any thing about the Island?”

“No, “ Mia said, taking off her jacket, “But maybe it doesn’t happen right away. I’ll sit here for a few minutes and we’ll see.”

Mia folded up her jacket and placed it down on the floor to use as a pillow. She turned around to sit on it and then gasped when it started sliding away. Her jacket scooted like a skateboard and then stopped when it reached the adjacent door. The Colonel stared in disbelief, not expecting that to happen. Mia slowly walked over and picked up her jacket. She stared at the door, feeling warmer. She wondered if this was the power of her grandmother. The young Lakota girl then stepped back a few paces. She then dropped on her jacket on the floor on purpose. Within seconds, it slid across the floor again, landing at the door. Fender rubbed his forehead, never seeing any thing of the like.

The Lakota girl then walked over and slowly picked up her jacket, folding it into her arms. She stared at door for a few seconds then turned to the colonel. “What is through here?” she asked.

The colonel finally snapped out from his staring and looked at her. He quickly pulled out the keys from his pocket and walked over to the doorknob, unlocking it. Mia slowly pushed the door aside and walked into what appeared to be a computer control room. There was a computer console, which looked like it dated back to the fifties. It was surrounded by four monitors and one large one, right in the middle. There was a certain musky air smell. Mia gasped when she realized what the smell was coming from.

There was a skeleton in the corner of the room.

Fender slowly walked past her and stood near him. He kneeled down to look at the grey skeleton with a rotten lab coat. “All I know of him is that his name is Jones,” he said, pointing to the name embroidered on the lab coat.

“How did he die?” Mia asked.

“Don’t know. There is not signs of any death related cause to his bone structure. He could have been poisoned. No way to tell.”

“Why haven’t you removed him?”

“Because when I took something from him, I lost access to the computer. Possibly coincidence but . . .you and I don’t believe in coincidence, do we, Mia?”

“What did you take from him?”

Fender walked over to a nearby counter, picking up a book. “This dusty old book he was clutching in his left hand.” He said, blowing the dust from it,” It’s a book of poems. It was bookmarked at one particular page. I didn’t know if he had any meaning to the computer. It’s a book by Robert Browning, marked on Paracelus. It reads At times I almost dream. I, too, have spent a life the sages' way and tread once more familiar paths. Perchance I perished in an arrogant self-reliance an age ago... and in that act, a prayer for one more chance went up so earnest, so...”

“instinct with better light let in by death that life was blotted out not so completely... but scattered wrecks enough of it to remain dim memories... as now... when seems once more... the goal in sight again.” Mia finished.

Fender stared at her, his eyes almost as wide a porcelain plates. “How did you know that?” he whispered.

“I heard it, in my dream,” Mia said shaking, “A dear departed friend was telling me that poem. And I just now realized . ..in my dream . . .his eyes were glowing green . . .Exactly like these monitors.”

Fender then smiled brightly. “That is it,” he chuckled, “You were never meant to go to the Awakening Room. You were meant to come here, to the main control room. That is why the jacket slid on the floor. The Island wants you in this room.”

“I don’t know that for sure,” she whispered.

“You just don’t know. The Island gives us signs on the time.”

Fender reached down toward the keyboard and pressed the button marked EXECUTE. Mia watched as the main screen as new bright green letters flooded the upper left hand part of the screen. The words read:

GOOD MORNING
PLEASE ENTER ACCESS CODE
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“What is the code?” asked Mia.

“Once it was Sherman. The man who trained me to take over this cell of the Liberation. Then it changed.”

“What changed it?”

“The Island changed it,” Fender said, in amazement, “It took us three weeks to figure out it was Sherman. I had access to it for a full four hours. Then the code changed. One day it was three characters, then the next day it was ten, now it appears to be eight.”

Fender then grabbed Mia by the arm. She look at him in the face and was scared of the wild look he gave her. “Get me into the computer, Mia,” he ordered.

“How I am supposed to figure out-“

“Get me in,” He interrupted her,” And you and your friends can go free.”

Mia paused. She heard his offer loud and clear. It was hard to believe that he meant it but she couldn’t pass it up; no matter what the risk. “I have your word on that?” she asked.

“If you get me in, I swear upon pain of death, I will set your friends free. The secrets buried into that computer mainframe . . .is more valuable to me than you or your friends ever could be.”

Mia believed him on that notion and for the sake of her friends, she had to try. She reached out her hand and he immediately shook it. “Deal,” she said.

Fender smiled, almost as if he had won the lottery. “I will have to place guards outside but should you require anything, food, a blanket, let them know and they will retrieve it for you.”

“I don’t suppose we could remove Jones?” she asked.

“No, we mustn’t.” he said like a mad man,” We’ve already removed his book. If he removed him, then we will never get into the computer.”

“Okay, fine,” she said, holding up her hands, “Then how about another blanket . .to cover him up?”

“We can try that,” He agreed, immediately exiting the door that let directly outside. Mia immediately heard him lock it.

The young Lakota girl sat down on the old screeching office chair in front of the main console. She slowly removed her headband from her jacket and placed it onto her head. She leaned onto the computer, looking at the console. Mia agreed with the colonel; her dreams led her to this place. She remembered Brendon telling her the poem; so it must have had a meaning. She started the blinking access code line. Eight characters. What could they be? Mia took a deep sigh.

“What do I do now, Brendon?” she whispered.