Jack Du Brul - The Medusa Stone

How could he explain it to her? What words could tell her that despite all they had been through, he wanted to go home and pick up where he’d been before that first call from Prescott Hyde. He had to forget about this nightmare. It wasn’t fair or right to include her too, but she was part of it. Everything was just too painful, images of Gibby and Brother Ephraim and the mummified children, the sight of bodies he’d found in the other mine, Chavez’s face when the hill exploded. It would take years for the horror to dissipate, and some of it would be with him forever.

“It is Dick and Fay then,” she said. “They remind you that life exists away from here and you are now eager to return.”

“Selome, I-”

He wasn’t eager, but he had to go. He had to sever every tie with what had happened. He had to make a clean break if he hoped to start the long healing process.

“I know, Philip. I understand. You are ready to go home. Don’t think I didn’t know this was coming. I expected it.” Her voice caught. “When we met, I sensed you were carrying an old pain, something from your recent past that you could not get rid of. It’s gone now, but maybe you’re afraid that this experience will follow you too.”

Mercer smiled. “You were the one who made the old memories fade. I think I’d given up on people, shut myself off, but you reminded me that I’m still alive inside. I can never repay you for what you’ve done for me.” And then Mercer realized he could. “I made a promise with myself that I wouldn’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you and you have to promise that the secret stays here, in this room.”

Selome twisted so she could look at him, his serious tone demanding her full attention.

“In the chamber where Mahdi died, I saw something, something I can’t explain.” He could see her searching his eyes. “I’ve been trying to rationalize what I saw, come up with a scientific explanation in my mind, but I can’t.”

“What was it?” Selome asked, already sensing she knew. Her body quivered.

“It was unlike any natural phenomena I’d ever seen, an otherworldly blue light that glowed and pulsed as if it was alive. I didn’t actually see what caused it, but I’m pretty sure that the Ark of the Covenant was down there with us. Levine was right.”

“We have to tell someone! My God, we have to go get it. Do you know what this means?”

“Yes, I do,” Mercer said. “How many people have died because of it already? If the search continues, more will be killed until all of Israel is destroyed, maybe the world. No, Selome, we shouldn’t go get it. It was crushed under a billion tons of rock, and that’s exactly where it should stay.” He paused. “Do you remember that Ephraim said God commanded Menyelek to take the Ark to Africa? Maybe it was for just this reason. It was meant to be a tool for God’s veneration, not a means for men to destroy each other. We aren’t ready for it yet, we can’t handle it.”

“But…” Her voice trailed off. She knew Mercer was right.

“I told you this so at least you would know the truth. That’s my gift for your help.”

She could see what it had cost him to reveal this secret. The internal conflict etched his face and tightened the muscles in his body. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I think my gift was much less painful to give. I’m now in your debt.”

“No more debts. We’re even.”

“So what will you do once you get home?” Her serene expression told Mercer that they really were even. “Will you find some new adventure to occupy your mind and help you forget about me?”

“I’ll never forget you, but no more adventures,” Mercer said. “I’m teaching mine rescue in Pennsylvania in a few weeks. After that, I hope to be heading to Greenland as part of a scientific expedition. Compared to what you and I have been through, it’ll be a cakewalk.”

Selome studied his eyes, a secret little smile on her lips. “In all of your questing, have you ever really found what you’re looking for?”

Mercer considered for a minute. “It’s not the goal that interests me, it’s the quest itself.”

“In that case, promise me that for our last week together, I am your sole quest.”

He did.