Pennsylvania, 2020"How do you explain what is written on the piece of paper?" Clark asked, staring oddly at Maria's eyes."I have no idea," Maria admitted. "We are not even sure whether the information in the piece of paper is authentic. We can't trust something that can't be proven. We need a reliable source to back up what is written here.""There is a number at the last line written in italics," Clark said, bringing the piece of paper closer to his eyes. "I think it would be best if we called the number before jumping into an unnecessary conclusion that would result in absolutely nothing for both of us. It is most likely that James Blackwheel is related to you and that he is currently in Mumbai awaiting your arrival. I have seen many books and newsletters published over the years but none of them possess what I have just seen now. A man who has lived over a millenium? That is quite impossible!""It is impossible," Maria sighed. "Only a fool wou

Lagos, 2020Ifenna braced himself for whatever was coming on his way. He stood tall in his mind. Prepared!Over the past few days he had felt an unusual feeling that Maria Blackwheel was going to call him. And although he couldn't explain why he had that feeling, he still couldn't stop himself from believing that he would actually see Maria again. Alone in a well furnished motel in Lagos, he opened his eyes and looked around himself in the darkened room, hearing the sound of a bell ringing. He sat up. The bell sounded again and he wondered how long it had been ringing before he knew it was coming from outside his motel room. Slowly, he got to his feet, swaying from stiffness, trying to shake off sleep from his eyes and the insulting fact that he had been chased away from his girlfriend's house after their recent break-up, and the awful dream he had had about chasing Maria with all his might down a lonely stream. Was it love?The bell rang again, ins

Mumbai, 2020Blackwheel let out a low whistle as he sat inside his hotel room, now realizing why Dev had sent him a ridiculous letter he had ended with a threat. He knew he had met different women during the time when he was actively involved in pursuing the brotherhood's cause but he also knew he couldn't remember the names of every woman he had met. Indeed! The woman's name sounded familiar to him. It seemed as if she was some distant person he had fallen in love with but couldn't remember how or when. She seemed like a shadow of his past that he couldn't quite put in the right place."Mumbai, 1964," he marveled, admiring the historical accuracy of an event he was involved in where he had raped a woman who was supposedly named Hira.At the back of the letter was a poem Dev had written in honor of the woman Blackwheel had raped. Blackwheel stared at each words he had written carefully, attempting to recite it. After a while of looking at the

Owerri, 2020He turned and a hysterical terror seized him, as though he was falling from a skyscraper in a dream with a necklace around his neck. A white blur was standing close a door, silent, almost awake, ghostlike, almost asleep. It filled his weak eyes and gripped his body as if he was in an inescapable trance. He was thinking. Maria Blackwheel was in his mind. He was thinking about her even though he didn't know why he was thinking about her. Her image was clear in his mind and he could feel her like he could feel himself falling from a skyscraper in a dream with a necklace around his neck."Maria!" He spoke softly to himself, questioningly.There was no response and he didn't really care. He tried to care but he just couldn't care. There was so much to think about. So much to consider especially since he was sleeping alone in the bed for the third time in a week without Kainene by his side. He tried to avoid thinking about Kainene but he couldn't

Pennsylvania, 2020"What is next?" Maria asked, staring at the large book in front of them. Clark flipped. "What do you see?" She asked."I can see phases.""Lunar phases and sacrifices done under the moon?" she asked. "No numbers. No symbols. No diagrams. No information whatsoever!""I am trying to find something I could use to figure out what is happening now.""Try harder. We are running out of time."Clark flipped again. Stopped. Flipped again. Stopped. Nothing."Nothing?"Clark sighed. "Who says my name is Raj! Helper and phone boy for Dev?" He asked.Maria stared at him and turned. "I don't know.""There is something going on here that we can't see.""You don't have to tell me first for me to know that everything isn't normal. You were the one who spotted the problem. Why can't you solve it? I thought you said we would find something reasonable in these pages.""I thought we wou