Story # 4.5: The Tormentor

In ancient Sumeria, the Annunaki ruled all. These giants were all-knowing and all-powerful. They could fly, lift immeasurable objects both physically and mentally, and were dead set on ruining the lives of humanity. The ancient city they currently occupied was lit up by energy from the leader, adorned in the necklace Rapha had mentioned. Although this creature's name was Anuk, they were known as The Tormentor. 

The Tormentor was massive. This creature's muscles were bigger than any human could comprehend. The strength it showed was beyond measure, picking up the strongest of humans and devouring them like popcorn from a bucket. The Tormentor had many tattoos on their arms, legs, and torso. Their hair was thick but coarse. Their face was chiseled and scarred. It was anyone's guess where scars on this beast's face may have originated, as no one on Earth could harm it. And when the Tormentor spoke, the sound echoed across the land.

"BRING ME YOUR SACRIFICES!"

The Tormentor yelled across the landscape, prompting other Annunaki to round up humans scurrying across the city's roads. Lights illuminated the ancient city that remained from the ruins of a prior civilization.

The Annunaki arrived unexpectedly after the collapse of the Toba civilization, which was equally as advanced as the Smithville civilization. These beings had been watching human civilizations for centuries, even millennia ago. During the Atlantean civilization, the Atlanteans conquered the Annunaki, which was deemed barbaric. The Annunaki had been subjugated to a remote part of the Milky Way Galaxy, never to threaten humanity again. But after ages of traversing the galaxy to return to Earth, the Annunaki arrived just as human civilization was reeling from the effects of the Toba caldera eruption. All earth defenses and power grids were destroyed, and the governments of that time were helpless due to the devastating impact of the eruption. But through the soot and ash, the Annunaki landed on Earth and immediately destroyed whatever remained of human civilization at that time. Only segments of Earth remained livable, as the Annunaki reigned fire down on humans with our own weapons. The civilization then also possessed nuclear weapons and energy, and the Annunaki obliterated whole cities with our advancements. It was a devastating calamity, reducing the human population from 8.5 billion to barely over 150 million. The survivors that remained were subjugated by the Annunaki as slaves. Their sole purpose was to serve the Annunaki.

When the Annunaki arrived, however, the Tormentor was not among them. Seemingly, out of nowhere, the Tormentor established dominance over the rest of the Annunaki. The Tormentor killed the leader who conquered Earth and established their rule over all. They built the city from the remains of the ancient civilization's capital in what is known as Mesopotamia. The Tormentor did as they pleased there, with all Annunaki and humans obeying. But tonight, everything was going to change.

"BRING THEM TO ME NOW!!"

The Tormentor bellowed these words as his guttural voice drowned out even the loudest screams. The Annunaki rounded up hordes of humans, all running from them like roaches trying to find a hiding place. Amid the crowds stood Jay. Jay looked out of place with his clothing, even in the dream world, but no one noticed with all of their fear and panic. Jay was only fifty yards away from the Tormentor. The Tormentor laughed as the other Annunaki soldiers brought him the latest humans to sacrifice. A deep, terrifying laugh, like the kind a horror movie would present. Jay was trying to figure out how to plant himself in the forefront of the humans being gathered so he could get close enough to the Tormentor to snatch the necklace.

The necklace was a powerful energy source, glowing purple on its center crystal. The other crystals were illuminated in lighter shades of red, green, blue, and yellow, but none as bright as the purple stone in the center. The purple stone allowed for zero-point energy, thus an endless storage supply that could power surrounding electrical devices. There were still remnants of lighting from the prior civilization that had been converted by the Annunaki for use in this newer city they had created. The humans perceived the necklace as magical, but Jay knew it had similarities to the energy sources he had seen at The Fleece. It had an energy force similar to the orb. But how would Jay get close to it? The crowd was pushing him in the wrong direction. The force of the crowd was growing more substantial but for a good reason. Then it happened.

"You! You will be a great sacrifice!"

Jay looked up to see an Annunaki soldier standing over him, snatching him up to put with the captured others. Jay was in. It was a matter of time before he would be taken to the Tormentor.

The group Jay was in was placed in a primitive cage on wheels and hauled over to the location of the Tormentor by another Annunaki soldier. There, the Annunaki soldier dumped the cart of all its human inhabitants, Jay included, as they landed on the ground in a collective thud. Jay looked up as he lay on the ground to see the Tormentor standing directly above him. The Tormentor looked down at the humans that had been gathered. He reached down immediately and grabbed a human female, who began screaming wildly. As the Tormentor hoisted the woman up, her screams grew louder and more intense. Finally, the Tormentor bit her head clean off and began chewing on it. Jay could hear the crunching of her bones from her skull beneath the Tormentor's teeth. Jay looked down and cringed, closing his eyes as he heard the crunching. Then the Tormentor threw the rest of her body in its mouth and devoured her whole being seemingly in an instant. The Tormentor wiped its mouth with its arm and looked down at the humans below.

"Ah, you."

Jay could feel their eyes pressing down on him with an intense look. He looked back up to see the Tormentor staring down at him. 

"I know you."

Jay was shocked. How could it know me? But before Jay could think anymore, the Tormentor snatched him up just as the woman had been. As Jay grew closer to the Tormentor, he ready himself to do one thing, grab the necklace. But before Jay could get close enough to try and grab it, the Tormentor stopped moving Jay towards it and stared at Jay instead. Jay looked at the face of the Tormentor, staring back at him. The Tormentor had a smirk on its face and finally spoke, "I'm going to enjoy this, Jay."

What? How did it know his name?

But before Jay could say anything, the Tormentor shoved Jay entirely in his mouth. Jay, however, dove downward a bit and wrapped his hands around the Tormentor's throat. This caught the Tormentor off guard as Jay pulled on the necklace with all his might. Jay pulled and pulled and finally heard a snap. However, it wasn't the necklace; one of Jay's legs had been bitten in two. The agony of the pain was so intense that Jay forgot for a second what he was doing, then grabbed for the necklace again. Just then, the Tormentor bit down into Jay's other leg, and Jay could feel the crunching of his own bones. As Jay screamed in agony, he felt a clasp give, and then another and another. The Tormentor took what was left of Jay and shoved him into its disgusting, wretched mouth. All Jay could feel was the beast's tongue and teeth as this creature's jaw clamped down to consume him. Finally, Jay saw nothing but black.

***********************************************************************************

"What's happening to him?!?"

Linda yelled as Dr. Blake tried to stabilize Jay in some way back at the Artifact Room of the Fleece. 

"His vitals are all over the place!" Dr. Blake yelled as he continued to try to help Jay.

"Dr. Blake, he could seize!" Dana shouted.

By this time, Larry had joined the group and held his hands on his head, worried about his friend. "Can you wake him up?"

"I'm trying," Dr. Blake replied.

Then, finally, Jay sprung awake on his own and bellowed out a loud, terrifying scream. Everyone else, including some of the elite guards, screamed and lurched backward. Jay flung an object across the room away from him and fell onto the ground.

"It's over. He's fully awake now," Dr. Blake said, shutting down the system.

"You don't say," Larry replied sarcastically.

Dr. Kelley came over to Jay along with Linda and Dana.

"Dr. Trent, are you okay?" asked Dr. Kelley.

Jay was panting and trying to catch his breath. Finally, he spoke, "I am now."

"What was happening?" Linda asked.

Jay took one big breath and then looked around the room. He sighed in relief when he saw the object lying on the ground. Jay then began to chuckle and laugh.

"I was being eaten. That's what happened," Jay said.

"Eaten? Eaten by what? A shark?" Larry asked.

"I wish. A shark would have been better. This was something else."

"What was it, Dr. Trent?" Dr. Kelley asked.

"Some beast of a man, they called him the Tormentor."

Dr. Kelley leaned back some, "From the Annunaki?"

"Yes. And I had to retrieve that over there."

Dr. Kelley looked toward the object Jay had thrown, and guards now surrounded it. The guards moved so Dr. Kelley could see. Jay had retrieved the necklace before the Tormentor finished eating him.

"You stole the Tormentor's necklace, Dr. Trent?"

"That I did, Dr. Kelley."

Dr. Kelley turned back to Jay and looked at him. For a change, Dr. Kelley was almost smiling.

"That is unbelievable," Dr. Kelley said.

"Rapha told me we needed it. So, there it is. What for, I don't know. Hopefully, he'll tell me next time."

Linda spoke up with this statement from Jay, "Next time? No, Jay! This is too dangerous. You were almost having a seizure here."

"I don't know if that would be advisable, Jay. You could have died here, even while in the dream," Dr. Blake said.

"Take some time, Dr. Trent, and then we'll begin again," Dr. Kelley said.

"Okay. You've got it," Jay replied.

"Okay? Have you lost your mind, Jay?" Linda couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Linda, I said I have to do this. I'm the only one that can. Rapha is there. He is helping me. I have to trust that."

"No! No, I'm not going to watch you die."

"Linda, I'm still here. Rest assured, Rapha is protecting me. Just please trust me on this."

Linda was shaking her head but did not want to listen to any of this. But Jay kissed her on the cheek as she pulled away slightly. He then walked past her to grab some water nearby. Linda just stared at him, angry and terrified all at once. She didn't want her husband to die for whatever was happening, not even for everyone else on Earth. Linda just wanted her family back together again. But she could see in Jay's eyes his determination to understand what this was all for and that he would never quit. Although she was scared, she was also proud but would selfishly never share those thoughts.

They all stood in the Artifact Room, clamoring over what had occurred. Food was brought in quickly to allow Jay to eat before he would return to the dreams again. He had been asleep for four hours before his violent arousal took place. Once he recovered from this dream, he would start again right away. This is a mission from Rapha to help save humanity from extinction. Where Jay would go next was anyone's guess. But Jay hadn't shared one small detail, but a remarkable detail. The Tormentor knew Jay's name, and Jay had to discover why that was the case.

Pat sat in the interrogation room, where Seth and Michael guarded him. He tapped one of his fingers on the table as if patiently waiting for whatever happened next. Finally, Pat looked slightly towards the wall behind Seth and Michael and thought, "One down."

Story # 4.4: Time and Time Again.

"I won't physically be traveling through time, Linda. This isn't Spaceman From Pluto. I don't have a car that will take me there."

Jay said this, consoling his worried wife as he held her in his arms, loving on her.

Linda wanted all of this to end. She was so tired of the constant worry about what was coming next that this ordeal had created.

"I knew it would be up to you, but it doesn't change how I feel."

She pulled away from him and looked up at him and into his eyes.

"I don't trust any of these people here. Not this place. Not this group. Especially not him."

"I know you don't. I don't either. But for some reason, this being chose me. I have to trust that."

Linda laid her head on Jay's chest.

"I wish I could go with you."

Jay pulled her away, "That's actually a good thing you can't. I need someone I can trust here. Especially because of who you have been with lately."

Linda looked toward Rob, who was standing there watching people work on the apparatus that would house Jay. Linda looked back to Jay.

"He is Pat's son but also helped save my life."

Jay sighed, "But can you trust him despite that?"

Linda was silent momentarily, then replied, "I don't know."

"And that's the reason I need you here. If he is Pat's son, that means we have two people here we absolutely cannot trust."

Linda nodded in agreement with Jay.

"It's just you and me, Seymour." Jay smiled after saying that.

Linda smiled, loving that nickname from Jay she had known for years. "Do you know how long you will be in this dream?"

"I don't know. We'll have to see. But just be patient, and whatever I bring back with me, just be ready."

"For what, exactly?"

"Anything."

That last statement from Jay did nothing to help Linda's feelings.

***********************************************************************************

Pat sat in the interrogation room alone. Still a smile on his face. Even in the midst of chaos, Pat never broke his smile. It was like he thought of himself as invincible.

The door opening to the room grabbed Pat's attention. He assumed a guard was checking on him to do a bathroom or meal break. But instead, in walked Jay alone.

"Ah, Jay. So good to see you again."

"Likewise," Jay replied.

"Did you enjoy your time with Rapha? I'm sure it was...dreamy."

Jay pulled out the chair on the other side of the table away from Pat as the door closed behind him. He sat down, got comfortable, and looked directly at Pat.

"So, what would you like to talk about?" Pat asked, smiling as usual.

"Tell me about the time machine."

Pat began to chuckle and looked down. He had a good laugh and looked back up again at Jay. Jay was not amused.

"Time machine? That's cute, Jay."

"You opened a doorway to Anderson of the past, and you put my wife there. Why and how are all I want to know."

"Well, the why should be obvious, to get rid of a distraction. The how is much more complicated."

"My wife is not a distraction."

Pat leaned on the table, interlocking his fingers, "Oh yes, she is."

"Maybe to you and whatever it is you want, but not to me."

"You want it too, Jay. Just remember that."

"I want my life back."

"What life? A family and kids with a dead-end career? You were made for more than that, and deep down, you know it."

"They are my life."

"Really? I thought you were the way, the truth, and the life? You really don't know your full purpose here, do you, Jay?"

Jay was intrigued, but all he wanted was answers from Pat. Pat, in his customary way, did circles around his speech of whatever truth he might know.

"I know I brought something back once from a dream. From Anderson. The zombie. If I can do that, I can do it again," Jay said calmly.

"Yes, indeed you did. But I can assure you, Jay, the only time traveling that has ever gone on here was broken the minute Rapha appeared. I'm not even sure if your abilities can be used now because you were connected to that world, too. But you certainly are welcome to try whatever your team of researchers and the GASONs can concoct. As far as a time machine, well, that's never existed. Not even in the advanced civilizations of the past."

Jay knew he couldn't trust what Pat was saying. It almost felt like a waste of time. But Jay did have some truths of his own to share.

"Pat," Jay said, leaning in over the table. "I know what the Fleece is. Where it's been and what it can do."

Pat smiled, "Oh, really. How great for you."

"What I don't know is how you know so much about everything. Where do you come from?"

"That, my dear boy, is for me to know and you to find out."

Pat smiled.

Jay leaned back in his chair again, "I'm going to bring back whatever I need to make sure we deal with you once and for all."

Pat continued to smile and leaned back in his chair, "Good luck with that. In the meantime, I'll just be waiting for your triumphant return."

***********************************************************************************

"Did you get anything?" asked Dr. Kelley of Jay.

"No. About what I would have expected."

"That's about what I expected. He's never been forthcoming about himself or how he does some things he does."

"He says there is no time machine of any kind. Not even in the past."

"Right. Well, we know he never opened the portal to the Anderson loop. What we don't know is how he sustained it once something did. The fact it collapsed when Rapha was here implies..."

"Rapha was behind it," Jay interrupted.

"Exactly," replied Dr. Kelley.

"Then I need to convene with Rapha."

"Can you still?"

Jay looked at Dr. Kelley, "I think it's possible in my dreams."

"Well, then let's get started."

Jay reclined in the chair as Dr. Blake, Dana, and other Fleece personnel prepped him for sleep.

"Ok, Jay. We're going to do this like at Crimson."

"You mean Clemson?"

"What?"

"My wife said the same university over there was Clemson."

"And what is Clemson?"

"Beats me, but who knows what I'll encounter next in these other places."

"Just keep that in mind, Jay. We don't know what those other worlds will be like. You brought a zombie back from that one. Who knows what might be waiting."

Dr. Kelley interjected, "That's why the strike force is here."

Dr. Kelley motioned toward the men in heavy body armor, with weapons, standing by.

"Sounds good to me," Jay replied.

Dr. Blake put the electrodes on Jay's head. "After this, it's dreamland. You ready?"

Jay thought for a minute, "Nope."

"All right, let's go then."

Dr. Blake stepped aside from Jay. The recliner Jay was in was within the artifact room, in the same location where Rapha had interacted with Jay earlier. The team wanted to provide the same circumstances Jay had experienced previously in the hopes of helping him sync up with another loop. 

Linda stood beside Dana, who gave her a reassuring side hug as they both watched Jay drift off to sleep. Jay was at least getting real sleep this time, compared to previous shifts between realities. There was no more swapping consciousness with Rob. Finally, after a few minutes, Dr. Blake indicated Jay was fully asleep and later going into REM sleep.

"Now, we wait," Dr. Blake said as the team stood nearby. Dr. Blake, Linda, Dana, and Dr. Kelley stood behind a console, where Dr. Blake pressed a button labeled shroud. In a few minutes, an impenetrable encasing shielded the team from Jay's location. They could see through a view window but were now protected from anything else that occurred. After Dr. Blake's last encounter with one of Jay's dreams, he insisted on the extra protection. The elite special forces soldiers readied their weapons but kept the safeties on for now. They all watched intently as Jay slept. 

***********************************************************************************

Jay didn't see anything at first. He was dead to the world, asleep. No thoughts permeated his mind. Although he as sound asleep, he currently wasn't dreaming. If Jay had been aware of anything, he would have felt like this was the greatest sleep of his life. Pitch-black darkness. No sounds. The ecstacy of nothingness.

But then a light began to faintly show. At this moment, Jay began to dream. He was dreaming about when he and his wife and kids were at the park. The kids were playing on the playground as they looked on. With them were Jay's parents. They were so filled with joy. Then Jay saw someone else beside him. It was his grandmother. She looked over at Jay and smiled at him. Jay smiled back as he glanced back over at his children. But then a thought went through Jay's mind. His grandmother has been dead for years. So, he looked back again, and now she was directly beside him, sitting on the wall next to the playground.

"Hello, Jay. It is I, Rapha."

Jay looked at her and knew the voice was not his grandmother's. He knew it was Rapha.

"You are wise to believe we can converse through dreams."

"Why did you disappear, Rapha?"

"Because I can only be with you a little while. Where I go, you cannot come. But I am always with you."

"Always with me?"

"Yes. In your dreams. We have spoken here before in dreams."

"When the zombies overran me?"

"Yes."

"So, what are we doing in this dream?"

"This is part of your consciousness. We are reliving a moment from your past but with elements of the present."

"My grandmother has been dead for years."

"Yes. But she meant a lot to you."

"That she did."

"You will need those feelings to help you on this journey you are about to begin."

"And where is this journey taking me?"

"Let me show you."

With that, Jay no longer saw the park or his family. Instead, he was in a totally different place. The land was jungle-like, with a massive river flowing nearby. He saw lights in the distance, what looked like a city of some kind. But then he saw something he had not expected.

"Rapha. What are those?"

"Those beings once enslaved humans. They are quite powerful."

"They are huge! They're like..."

"Giants. Yes."

"Where are we?"

"From your perspective, this time existed twenty-seven thousand years ago. They were called the Annunaki."

"That one in the middle of them, they seem like the leader."

"They are, Jay."

Jay saw the leader pick up multiple human beings like they were dolls. Then, the leader ate each of the humans, almost in one bite.

"What?!"

Rapha spoke up, "He is The Tormentor and the first step in your journey to saving your species."

"What do I have to do with him? Recruit him?"

"No, you must get his necklace and bring it back with you."

Jay looked at the elaborate and large necklace around The Tormentor's neck. He knew instantly this was going to be quite a struggle. He only had one thing to say, "Well, that's just great."