O.R.B.: 300A.L. - The Last Known Prophecy

TUESDAY | 3 MARCH, 300 A.L.

Jake snaked through the crowded mall with a grocery bag in one hand and his son on his hip. The line was long, but everybody was in a good mood. When it was his turn, he placed the grocery bag on the counter as the girl greeted him. “Blessed day, sir; are these what you really need?” she asked with a big smile.

“Yes. Thank you.” He passed his identification card to her and adjusted his son on his hip as she swiped his card through the reader.

“You must be Calum,” she said.

“Yes! Yes, I am!” Jake replied animatedly as he answered for his two-year-old.

“Did he like the colouring set Meghan took home last week?” the girl asked as she started scanning items from the grocery bag.

“Ah-- yes, I think so. Haven’t been home - I’m a Sleeper.”

“Right-- Of course! Silly me; didn’t see it under your name. You guys are usually spaced-out this time of the year.”

Jake snorted at the lame joke he had heard a million times and pretended to focus on Calum as the girl continued to scan his items.

“Okay, done!” she said, “Can’t wait for this year’s message! Any clues?”

“Ah-- no, you’ll just have to wait for the announcement on Luminescent morning.”

“Alright then! Blessed Luminescent Day!”

“Thank you. Blessed Luminescent Day to you too.”

Out on the streets, the weather in these parts of Asia-Oceania had been kind for the last five years. Jake and his family lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but as the collective grew, country borders became a thing of the past. Whilst city names remained, Kuala Lumpur now belonged to one of the five territories: Asia-Oceania, Africa, Europe, North Americas, and South Americas. The pavement was slightly wet from the rain shower, and there was a gentle wind. A contrast to the typhoons of yesteryears that were so disastrous, people had to enjoy Luminescent Day indoors.

Things must be getting better, Jake thought.

***

Back home, Jake called out for Meghan the moment he walked in. “In the kitchen!” his wife called out as he gently lowered Calum and took off their shoes.

“Are we turning up the heat?” Jake teased as he entered the kitchen and held his wife from behind. She smiled as she leaned her head back into his shoulder.

“Did you get the mangoes?” she asked, leaning forward to check the items in the grocery bag.

“Yup, but they aren’t very big this season. Ratnagiri is still recovering from last year’s drought.”

“Oh dear, is it even improving?”

“It is, just slightly behind time.” Jake turned her around and kissed her forehead.

“Well, can’t you make it happen faster?”

“I’ll sleep on it.” Jake winked and walked out of the kitchen as Meghan continued to go through the groceries he had brought home.

***

The infinite stars twinkled in the background as a web of what looked like tree roots spanned across the mass darkness of space. Some roots were dry and dimly lit, whilst others glowed in glittery gold. Tiny luminous orbs of various colours floated around, some individually, some in clusters. A purple-pink orb circulated one of the dimly lit roots at a midsection. The purple parts of the orb started to glow a darker hue whilst its pink areas glowed brighter.

As the orb’s hues intensified, it released an energy field of static in similar colours. The static waves penetrated the lifeless roots and lit up the midsection outwards, covering the entire length of the root in a purple and pink glow. As soon as it had done that, the orb detached itself and moved on to the next. A navy blue orb then approached and took its place, circulating the same way until the root turned a rich blue hue. Other orbs proceeded to take turns tending the root, all injecting their individual colours into it until it became a glittery gold.

Like blood flowing through veins, the glittery gold static travelled back and forth throughout the length of the root. The process repeated in a rhythmic pattern throughout the entire space when suddenly, clusters of orbs in some sections started losing their luminescence. As if sensing something was wrong, a particular purple-pink orb paused abruptly before speeding down the root, moving faster and faster until it was just a beam of light.

Jake startled from his sleep. It was 2:00 AM, and Meghan was asleep next to him, but his urgent gasp for air as he sat up woke her.

“Are you alright?” She sat up, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

“Something’s wrong,” he said.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure. I’m going to the centre. Go back to sleep - call you later.”

He was out of the door in minutes. The night was calm and lovely - a stark difference from what was going through his head.

When he arrived at The Centre of Lucid Dreamers, other day-shift Sleepers were there.

“Did you see it too?” Shane asked as Jake approached the entrance.

“Yeah. Where are the night-shifts?”

“Still in the ward.”

Many other day-shift Sleepers were in the Sleeper’s lounge, exchanging notes on what they saw and what they thought it might have meant. As Jake walked past them, they followed him through the second security clearance into the upper deck, overlooking the ward. A glass panel separated them from the ward below, and on both ends of the upper deck, there were glass sliding doors with security keypads next to them. The ward was lined up with beds where other fellow Sleepers laid in peaceful slumber.

“Where’s Touriya?” Jake asked, scanning the ward from the upper deck.

“Over there.” Shane pointed at a girl sleeping on a bed at the far end of the ward.

Touriya Tanner was seven years old and their youngest Sleeper. Dressed in green pyjamas and fluffy pink socks, she was sound asleep - her head buried deep into her stuffed toy raccoon.

Jake let out a heavy sigh.

“They look alright,” Shane said.

“It’s too clear to be a glitch, Shane. Let’s see what the Captain says.”

Just then, Capt. Chen entered the ward. “Blessed evening, everybody. Let’s take this to the auditorium, shall we? The Guides will dial in soon.”

As the Sleepers moved purposefully out of the upper deck, Jake looked back at Touriya - she was still sound asleep.

***

The auditorium was large enough to fit a thousand people, making the group of twenty Sleepers look small. At the front of the auditorium was a screen covering most of the wall. The Sleepers gathered towards the front, the high walls of the two-storey auditorium towering over them.

The screen came alive and split into three frames. In each frame, a figure came into view. The right frame - a dark gentleman with wiry hair; the left frame - an albino gentleman; and the middle frame - an androgynous-looking lady with long curly red hair. Odd as they may have appeared, all three were well dressed and carried an air of wisdom.

“Blessed evening, Capt. Chen,” said the lady. Her deep feminine voice echoed through the barely filled auditorium.

“Blessed evening, Lady Aisling. Sir Mandu. Sir Aibek,” Capt. Chen replied, nodding as he greeted the Guides. They nodded back in acknowledgement.

“I see not all are gathered here,” Lady Aisling continued.

“It would seem that not all the Sleepers saw what happened. Only twenty tonight. The night-shift is unaffected.”

“Is there news from the Croppers?”

“Nothing yet, Lady Aisling.”

Lady Aisling nodded. “What do you make of it, Sir Aibek?” she asked the albino gentleman in the left frame.

“It may be a glitch, but hard to say. Twenty Sleepers seeing the same thing is not likely to be a glitch, yet it isn’t enough to conclude anything--” Sir Aibek replied. His voice was raspy, and he emphasised certain alphabets in his words, revealing his Altaic tongue.

“Ey, but Jake is here! I reckon his word is worth more than one,” Sir Mandu interrupted in his usual cheerful Kriol accent, cutting through the somewhat grave atmosphere in the auditorium.

Everyone looked toward Jake.

“Jake, what do you think?” Lady Aisling asked.

“It’s too clear to be a glitch. The Sleepers are in danger,” Jake replied without hesitation.

After a moment’s consideration, Lady Aisling agreed. She asked to see if Sir Mandu and Sir Aibek’s thoughts differed, but they nodded in agreement. “Right. Check on the other centres tonight, increase security immediately, and request an update from the Croppers in the morning. Go home to your families; we will take over from here. Blessed evening, everybody,” Lady Aisling said in conclusion.

As Shane and Jake walked out to their cars, Jake turned around. “Maybe I should stay the night with Touriya.”

“She’ll be fine, Jake. We need our rest for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but she’s the only one. If anything happens to her--”

“No, you’re the only one too. Now go home and rest. The Guides know what to do.” Shane opened Jake’s car door, shoved him in, and closed it. He tapped the top of the car twice as Jake reluctantly started his engine and drove home.

***

SATURDAY | 7 MARCH, 300 A.L.

On the morning of Luminescent Day, Touriya got out of bed early to watch the live telecast of the Message Revealing Ceremony with her brother and parents. As the programme started, she squealed, “It’s going to be a good one this year!”

The camera panned through the stadium; thousands of colourfully dressed people clapped and cheered. In the middle of the stadium grounds, a dance performance was underway - the music was loud and the atmosphere, festive. The camera cut to the stadium entrance as an official car pulled up, and a tall gentleman stepped out behind the passenger door. His lean frame and long legs made his walking strides wider as he approached the stadium’s main entrance. He clutched a medium-sized envelope against his chest, and just as he was about to enter the stadium, he stopped to greet another gentleman with a handshake. “Ladies and gentlemen, announcing the arrival of Capt. Bailey, House Captain of the Croppers!” The announcement over the sound system filled the stadium.

The stadium grounds were immediately cleared, and the crowd quieted. Capt. Bailey walked up to the stage podium, and instantaneously his face was cast onto the large stadium screen. “Blessed Luminescent Day, ladies and gentlemen,” Capt. Bailey spoke into the microphone, his voice echoing throughout the stadium. “299A.L. has been a year of great improvements. We are beginning to experience better harvest and foresee further weather improvements in the coming months.”

The crowd cheered and clapped as Capt. Bailey continued, “While 300A.L. brings a new message, I would like to encourage everybody to keep up the good momentum we have built from last year’s message of COURAGE as we have experienced many breakthroughs for ourselves and those around us.”

Another round of applause echoed in the stadium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this year’s message was revealed amongst the coral reefs embedded on the shallower beds of the Atlantic Ocean. I am pleased to convey to you that this year’s crop message is RENEWAL.”

The crowd let out a unanimous cheer as Capt. Bailey ended his speech. “May this message bring renewal to our lives in every way possible. A Blessed Luminescent Day to everybody, thank you, and have a brave day.”

The festivities of the stadium returned as Capt. Bailey stepped off the podium, and the camera returned to the host. “There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, RENEWAL! May we find renewal in all parts of our lives and--”

Touriya did not wait for the presenter to finish. She jumped up, exclaiming, “I knew it! Everything is gonna be new this year!”

“Shut up already,” Touriya’s brother muttered as he rolled his eyes.

“Jon, leave her alone,” her father said firmly.

“Yeah, Jon. Leave me alone. Just because you’re angsty seventeen doesn’t make you--”

“Alright, time to eat,” her father interrupted the sibling’s banter as he switched the television off.

Jon growled as he picked Touriya up and swung her over his shoulder. She squealed a burst of melodic laughter as Jon walked into the kitchen. “One day, your smart mouth is gonna bite you,” Jon said under his breath.

***

FRIDAY | 5 JUNE, 300 A.L.

It has been three months since the scare over Luminescent Day weekend. None of the Sleepers, including Jake, ever had the orb vision again, and slowly, nobody mentioned it anymore. As Jake left the Sleeper’s centre in the late afternoon when Capt. Chen called out, “Jake! A moment, please. I need to show you something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s best I showed you.”

*

Jake stared at the blue screen in Capt. Chen’s room, his eyes scanning back and forth in confusion, trying to make sense of what was being shown. “Is this a second message?” Jake finally asked.

“We’re not too sure,” Capt. Chen replied calmly.

“Do we ever get second messages?”

“The Croppers have no record of more than one message per year.”

“But the Croppers recorded this as a possible message?”

“Actually, they didn’t. It showed up as an irregularity in soil particles this morning.”

“You’re losing me, Capt. Chen.”

“The Croppers monitor geological movements to record messages as they appear. This morning, there was an alert; a small section of soil particles had moved overnight. This was embedded two kilometres from the earth’s surface - the Croppers can’t record message sightings below ground. They thought it was a land erosion warning, but when they checked it manually, it looked like a message instead.”

“Like a hidden message?” Jake asked, his anxiety of his orb visions creeping back.

“The Croppers seem to think so.”

“Where was it found?”

“Beneath your house.”

Jake felt his anxiety heightened. He tried to grasp the reason for a hidden message buried beneath the surface of his home whilst struggling to process the message staring back at him from the screen - FAITH.

Back in his car, Jake’s thoughts raced from his orb visions to the message beneath his home. What does this all mean? he kept asking himself. A second message. A hidden one at that. Faith-- I need to speak to Claritee.

As Jake called Claritee’s mobile phone, it rang in an apartment on the other end. The apartment was flushed with golden light from the large windows - reflections of the evening sun from the glass panels of city skyscrapers surrounding the apartment. Claritee heard her mobile phone ring and excused herself from her seated guest. She walked out to her living room, her bare feet stepping gently in front of each other on her richly polished dark wooden floors. Her apartment was tastefully decorated with cream furniture, lush potted plants, and exquisite gold, brass, and wood ornaments. She picked up her mobile phone and smiled at the screen.

“Hello?” Her voice deep and soothing.

“Claritee?”

“Jake, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has. Listen, I would like to book a session.”

“Okay, how’s Monday?”

“Okay great. Lunch as well?”

“Possible. By the way, why the rush?”

“They found a second message this morning.”

“Oh?”

But before Claritee could continue, her guest called out, “Claritee?”

“I’m sorry, I have to go. A guest is waiting. I’ll see you Monday.” Claritee rushed through her words and ended the call before Jake could say goodbye.

“Coming--” she replied, switching her mobile phone off and returning to her guest.

“Sorry, Capt. Bailey,” she said as she entered the room, trying to regain composure.

“That’s alright. I’m sorry to rush you. I'm taking the family out for dinner. I overheard that it was Jake. Did he want an appointment?”

“Yes he did; shall we begin then?” Claritee rushed through her words again, not wanting to prolong their conversation.

As Capt. Bailey laid down on a floor mattress; he said, “Probably wants to know the same thing I do. We found a second message this morning. So I’d like to tap into my higher guides to ask what it meant.”

“Well, let’s see,” Claritee said as she burned an incense stick, circling it above Capt. Bailey’s head and down the length of his body.

“Close your eyes,” she said as she sat on a floor cushion at the head of the mattress, looking directly down on Capt. Bailey’s face.

As he closed his eyes, Claritee began, “Let’s do a couple of deep breaths.”

Her voice turned slightly draggy and melodic as she continued, “You are always in control. For now, just relax and breathe in.”

Capt. Bailey followed her breathing cues. He started to feel his muscles relaxing and his mind clearing up.

“You are safe; we will call upon your higher guides when we are ready. But for now-- just relax.” Claritee’s voice turned more mellow, hypnotic with every instruction. Capt. Bailey surrendered and felt his body sinking deeper into the mattress. “I now place my power hand on your crown chakra, opening our communication channel.”

Capt. Bailey felt the warmth of her left palm on his forehead. He felt a slight pressure on her grasp as she said, “And we call upon angels to protect us and guide--”

He could not hear the rest of her sentence. There was an instant chill down his spine. He became confused when he felt a burn across the width of his neck. An intense pain, followed by a sudden gush of warm liquid throbbing uncontrollably out of his neck. He opened his eyes and saw Claritee staring down at him; her eyes emotionless. Her left hand was still holding his forehead down. Her right hand was up in the air, gripping a curved dagger dripping with blood. Her face was composed.

She had just slit his throat.