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The Book Part 3

Surprisingly, I did well on my midterms. Not the A I had wanted, but a B wasn't bad. For the past two weeks upon returning to college I had dropped The Book completely. With no more leads to follow, I had more or less forgotten it. Or, at least I was trying too. I had to admit that unless I had something to preoccupy myself, it was hard not to think about the book, especially when it came time for me to sleep. Last night I had even had a nightmare about it. In the nightmare the ground was covered in this dark gooey stuff, kinda like tar. Floating above me was the book. It was talking to me, but in words I couldn't understand. Dave was standing on the tar next me, reaching out. I'd try to grab his hand, but for some reason I couldn't. The worst part was that the dream seemed so real. I hadn't had any dreams like that since I was like five.

I could feel a cold sweat start to break out on my forehead. Apparently I wasn't going to be able to escape from The Book until I could find some answers. But what was there left for me to find that I didn't already know?

"Hey, Jake!"

I smiled, hadn't heard that voice for a while. I turned to see Dave running up to me. But what was he wearing.... a dress? Probably a robe of some type. "Umm, hi Dave. What's with the dress?"

Dave was leaning on his knees, trying to catch his breath. Same old Dave, he had the worst stamina of anyone I knew, but Dave didn't really seem like the same old Dave anymore. He looked, healthy, very healthy, but almost in an unnatural way...

"It's not a dress and you know it," he said grinning.

"Fine then, what's with the robe?"

"It's part of being a member of The Golden Text. When you first join you have to wear the robe for a year."

I frowned a little. So he had joined that cult.

"Oh, don't look so upset, Jake. It's really not that bad, in fact it's great," I must've still looked skeptical because Dave shook his head. "What do I have to do to prove to you I’m ok?" I could tell Dave was pleading for my acceptance. "How about I show you The Golden Text headquarters of Colorado after classes are done? Come on, I can show you around, and maybe you'll even end up joining yourself."

I sighed, "I'll see you at four, after my biology class. Ok?"

Dave's watch suddenly went off. "Uh oh, I'm late for math. See you at four then."

After Dave had left, I looked at my watch. It was eleven, and I didn't have another class until two. I could go back to my dorm and take a nap to make up for last night.

Why had I accepted Dave's offer to go with him to see his headquarters? Was it because I just wanted to make Dave stop asking me, or was it maybe because I wanted to join the cult deep down. Somehow I thought it was neither. I finally settled on the decision that it was because I wanted some answers, and it appeared the only way to get some was through that cult.

I realized as I left biology class that afternoon that neither I or Dave has specified the place to meet up. I shouldn't have worried; Dave was already standing outside of the classroom. We then walked outside and got in his brand new pickup truck, a birthday present from Dave's parents. Oh how I wanted a car.

When we finally got to the headquarters, it was downtown, I stared up at it for a few minutes. It reminded me a bit of Congress, which definitely looked strange in downtown Denver compared to all the other buildings. But the thing that was the most impressive was its size. It was huge, although not as tall as some of the surrounding buildings.

Dave laughed, "Are you going to just stand there and look at it all day? Come on, let’s go inside."

As I walked inside, I didn’t know what to expect. Originally I had been expecting people in black robes walking around in a dark room with candles, but after seeing what the building looked like from the outside, I wasn't so sure anymore. What I did see totally surprised me. The first thing that caught my eye when I walked in was the giant pool of water that lay before me. At the far end of the rectangular room made completely of granite was a waterfall that went into the pool. There was a fountain in the middle of it. In the pool itself was many lillypads and flowers. A flash of orange hinted that there were fish in here. Above the pool was a huge skylight that looked to be the same size as the pool itself, flooding the room with light. Branching off from the room seemed to be a numerous amount of rooms, their entrances marked by columns. Dave finished talking to the receptionist at a desk that was in the corner to my left and grabbed me as he took me down one side of the pool. I looked in at the rooms around me as I walked. Instead of polished marble floor I saw bamboo mats on the floor with a few pillows here and there. In one room it looked like the people were doing a strange dance. In another people were doing calligraphy. In another someone who seemed to be an instructor was holding a blue bird and was talking to his students about it. This whole room seemed to have an overwhelming feeling of peace.

Although there were more rooms on the other side, I didn't really get a chance to look at them as me and Dave had finally reached the other side of the room. There was a pathway going under the waterfall that I hadn't noticed before. Along the pathways was five doors. Dave explained where each one led too.

Dave had to yell to make himself heard over the roar of the waterfall. "This first one over on the left takes you to the observatory, the second one takes you to the baths, the-"

"Baths?"

"Yes, baths, the third one is the stairs, we'll take those in a second or two, the fourth one takes you to the butterfly garden, and the fifth one takes you to the tower, we're not supposed to go up there. Now come on." Dave started on upstairs but I hesitated, I couldn't help but want to get a look at those baths. I managed to open the door and get a peek before Dave noticed I was gone. The baths had a funny smell to them, but steam was rising off the top meaning that it was warm. On the side they had cushions that some people were lying on. Unlike the other rooms I had seen, however, this one didn't have a skylight. It looked so comfortable, I was almost tempted to go lie down on one of the cushions and just forget my troubles.

"Jake?"

"Coming."

As we neared the top of the stairs, I noticed that they split and went in two directions. "Which way?"

"Oh, it doesn't really matter I suppose, but this way is faster," said Dave, heading towards the right.

As I followed him I began to hear a roaring sound, similar to what I had heard when we had been standing at the foot of the stairs. "Dave, how close are we to the waterfall?" as I asked that, Dave opened the door at the top of the stairs. "See for yourself."

As I walked through the door, I found myself on a balcony that surrounded almost the entire room that I had just been in. Funny how I hadn't really noticed it before. As I looked to my left I saw the waterfall separating this side of the room from the other side. I suddenly realized that the left split in the stairs must lead to a door on the other side of the waterfall. Along the wall on either side, built further in as to not disrupt the flow of light from the skylights of the rooms that went off this room on the bottom floor, were two doors, leading to class rooms Dave said. On the far side of the balcony was another, much smaller fountain. Me and Dave walked down the right side of the balcony and into the second classroom, which was very long and skinny but lit up well. This classroom was made completely of wood.

"Dave, how are you?" A middle aged man came up to us from a podium that was a step above the rest of the classroom.

"Hello, Kai. I’m well, you?"

"Oh, busy with the wife and kids, you know, the usual..." This guy must be Dave’s teacher, strange how Dave called him by his first name. It must be normal around here though. It also felt kinda strange to hear Kai talk about how normal his life is. Maybe the Golden Text isn't as weird as thought. They certainly have a nice place here, though it reminds me of a temple. "...So, who's your friend?"

"Oh, Jake. He's a friend from college who I brought by to show around."

"Oh, interested in joining The Golden Text are ya?"

"Hmmm? Well, no, not really. Dave just wanted to show me around."


Kai laughed, "Yes, well you seem to be interested in the temple anyway." Temple, must be their nickname as well. "Why don't you sit in the back for the rest of the class. You can listen and see if we can't change your mind," said Kai winking. Lined up in two rows of fourteen, were not desks but short tables not even more than a foot or so off the ground. Behind each table was a pillow to sit on. I walked to the back and sat down at one of the tables. Dave sat down at one of the tables in the middle. When the whole class arrived, Kai launched into a lecture about the elements. I didn't really pay attention, being tired from last night, despite the nap I had taken earlier today. Next thing I knew, Dave's class was over and we were in his pickup on the way back home.

Dave talked to me on the way home, but it was mostly one-sided. I'd nod or say yes, that kinda thing. If I did say something, I didn't really know what I was saying. The reason for this was because I was thinking of the temple. Despite the fact I disagreed with The Golden Text's beliefs, I had to admit that the temple was amazing. It seemed so peaceful, relaxing, and what was worse, the members seemed normal. And supposedly they one of these for every state, for almost every country?

"Yes,"

"Jake, that wasn't a question. I said we're home."

"Home?"

"Yes, we're back at the college.... so what'd you think?"

"It was... big..."

"Big, that's all you can say?"

I sighed, exhausted. "Dave, I'm not really sure what else to say." I walked off towards my dorm, leaving a disappointed looking Dave behind.

There was one other thing I had been thinking about on the car ride home. If I wanted information on The Book, I might just have to join this cult, if only for my sanity.

What? This is a place to post your work. Too long for ya? biggrin

Hehehe... blaugh

Oh come on, it should be long. I'm aspiring to be a writer, and I'm submitting this one to be published.

Hello Star. ^^

*walks in*

3nodding heart gonk

3nodding heart blaugh