Nephilim

7 - The Notebook

        I had a feeling that I was a walking time bomb. Tick Tock. I feared that any event that would spike my heartbeat rate or pump me with adrenaline was aiding that time bomb. Tick Tock. I would get jumpy upon hearing the faintest sounds that I had otherwise not expected to hear. Tick Tock. I would look around and take long, confusing routes to throw off anybody who was following me, especially Tina. I had a feeling that she knew I wasn't as easy and naive as she had believed and that she needed to keep an eye on me. Tick Tock.

        Last Tuesday, I had followed Zoya into a basement parking of an upscale corporate building in the nicer part of the city. This was where she was going to meet the TEC guy. Or at least I hoped it was a TEC guy and not one of the freelancers. I made sure I kept my distance. When one has an accident like I did, one would normally be wary of motorbikes. But I guess I liked baiting death. Or life. Depends on how you look at it. I was leaning against my bike, smoking a cheap, half-butt cigarette when I saw a car appear on her side. She had been waiting by the little balcony-sort-of area on the second floor of the parking lot. I was on the building opposite the lot. I had good binoculars and a nice vantage point.

        From where I stood, I could make out that the guy who was driving the car was wearing a shirt and a tie and he had one of those faces that could blend into the crowd and you just couldn't remember them. There was nothing distinctive about his face. Zoya then made a move and sat in the passenger seat. I climbed onto my bike and readied myself to follow them. I drove on for about 2 hours and we were well outside the main city area. Making sure that the man didn't know he was being followed, I'd do quick loops in short, parallel lanes and maintain a safe distance. Finally, the car pulled into the parking lot of what looked like a towering mansion smack in the middle of nowhere. 

        It was by no means a new establishment. The mansion, which had originally been painted in blues and whites was slowly starting to gather grout. The windows, however, looked clean. And all of them had curtains drawn. Good. It would make it easy to identify Zoya's room. The mansion was about 6 storeys high, easy. Although I couldn't see it from where I was standing, I was positive it had a courtyard and every place was monitored by CCTVs. There were guards dressed in, surprise surprise, suits crawling all over the place. Zoya and the man walked into the main building and vanished. I readied myself for a long wait. For the last two days, I had been pissed off about the fact that I would never see her again because she was infiltrating TEC. But then I remembered her purpose and decided to put a clamp on all the lust that was gnawing away at my insides. Our arrangement was that every alternate night, I would wait about 300 yards east of the building, between 9 PM and midnight, and wait for some form of communication from here. There wasn't much I could do. And no way could I ask Tina for help.

        When I thought about the whole operation and the Nephilim that was growing inside me, I couldn't help but wonder why it had chosen me. Was this like reaping a reward or was this like paying for a sin. And if it was the latter, what sin? Whose sins? History has witnessed that we humans pay not only for our sins but the sins of our forefathers and the sins of our descendants as well. I didn't know who my father was. I had never met my family. If it was their sins I was paying for, what had they gotten themselves into? I kept telling myself that I did not know the magnitude of power that the Nephilim contained and nor should I be making any guesses. I should remain prepared for the worst.

        For the first four days, there was nothing from Zoya. I kept thinking that somehow, because of some form of truth test or something, she had been exposed and killed. Or was being tortured. I was mere hours away from hatching a plan to storm into the building and find out about her when suddenly some movement on the third storey of the mansion caught my eye. I focused my binoculars to that point and saw a shadowy figure chuck out a tiny notebook with as much force as they could. It landed about a hundred yards from where I stood. I looked at the mansion and the figure had disappeared. I looked around to see if there was any trouble or if I was being watched. When I was sure, I walked over to where the notebook had fallen and picked it up. Moleskin. Expensive. With a seal embossed on the front. It was impossible to read anything in the darkness without any street lamps around so I rode home and opened the notebook. It was from Zoya. I started reading what was written.

        This notebook has been enchanted by one of the spells I found in their library, which is huge. I performed the spell, and it's rather mediocre but it allows for one-way communication. When I write in my notebook, whatever I pen down, will appear in this book. I plan on leaving this message here for about an hour before I erase it, which will then, no longer be found in the notebook that you have. This probably means that you won't be able to communicate with me (believe me, I tried), but hey, something is better than nothing. Also, check for messages usually between 9 PM to midnight. There's no need to come to the building.

        My days at TEC have been interesting. The place I am in is the training ground. The main TEC building is a few miles from where I am. And it's an underground building. With an entrance through a crypt. Yep. That's how it is. I haven't been to the main building but I keep hearing about it from the other trainees that are here. The FYT, which are the First Year Trainees, get trained for 3 things- spells, transcription and  Tribunals, which is basically a fancy word for weapons training. Then, after finishing their first year, the elders chose which field they can get into and continue their training with the help of mentors. Each mentor gets about 12 trainees. At first, when I entered the place with 'Chris', or that's what he calls himself, he was going to put me with the spells SYTs. But before that I had to meet one of the Elders. His name was 'Zar' and he is probably the most frightening person I have ever seen. He is extremely tall, with hollow cheekbones, thin pursed lips, hair that is slicked back, and he always wears black. Along with black, he has a perennial look of disdain on his face. His voice, though, is the most frightening thing about him. It's soft and sharp. It's as if he was born to give commands. He asked 'Chris' to put me with the FYTs and allow me to go through the basic training for all the three fields. Chris didn't argue.

        And it turns out that Zar was right. I have shown some talent for weaponry and according to Chris, I have 'lightening fast reflexes'. I don't think they suspect anything. The other trainees are quite alright as well. For once there is an institute without any bullies. I suppose nobody wants to face the Wrath of Zar. I need to tell you about the library though. The library is in the basement. And it's big. Really big. And it's got books on all the supernatural arts and creatures. I haven't tried looking for 'Nephilim' yet as I don't want any eyebrows raised. It's too soon. I instead read up on the basic history of TEC. A whole lot of it was boring and not concerning us but there were some interesting bits about how almost 217 years ago, TEC had become 'indefinitely nonfunctional' and then resumed its operations 3 years later. Is that a reference to the havoc wrecked by the first Nephilim? Also, the building is inlaid with all kinds of symbols carved into the walls to prevent any 'unsavoury forces' from entering. I didn't ask which. They probably meant all. I would tell you more but I need to close this book now as I am being summoned for a night drill. When I return, I will erase this message so I hope you finish reading it by then. Look alive!

        I closed the notebook and stuffed it between my threadbare mattress and the wooden frame of the bed. I noticed that she had drawn the proofing symbols on the notebook too and I felt good about her thoroughness. The next day, I would find everything I could about world events that had occurred 217 years ago and if any of them had anything to do with the supernatural. For the first time in days, I felt almost happy. Research was something I enjoyed. And then I decided that maybe I wasn't paying for anyone's sins. Maybe I was indeed reaping rewards.

 **** Author's Note ****

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