Free The Forgotten Eden by Aiden James Page A

opportunity to play my ‘ace in the hole’ and reveal my hand to them. I stood up and carefully removed the golden object from my pocket.
    “‘ Like I said, I wasn’t playing with my privates out there,’ I told them, and glanced coolly toward Jeremy before continuing. ‘I was looking at this thing.’
    “ I cleared a spot amid the dishes of cold spaghetti and rapidly congealing tomato sauce, and set the object within the open space on the table.
    “ They both slowly stood up and leaned down toward it, a look of shocked fascination on Jeremy’s face and one of surprised horror on Grandpa’s. The object glowed softly on the table, surrounded by the remains of our foregone dinner. Its brightness seemed to increase as they leaned in closer to get a better look.”
    “ Do you recall how the object glowed, whether the light emanated from within the thing, or was it more like a halo surrounding it?” Peter asked him, reaching for another journal and then paging to the middle of it. “It wasn’t like a haze of some sort, was it?”
    “ No, it wasn’t a haze,” said Jack. “Actually, it reminded me of a glowworm I once saw on the Discovery Channel—the ones that light up that cave down in New Zealand. The light came from within the object, similar to them.”
    “ I see,” said Peter, clicking his pen open to jot down another note. “So what happened next?”
    “ Well, Jeremy reached for the object, his hand wavering as if he expected it to disappear at any moment. It did. Just as he reached for it, Grandpa snatched it off the table. He brought it close to his face as if to confirm and then reconfirm the reality of what he held. Jeremy stood dumbfounded, scarcely believing the old man’s reflexes were that quick.
    “ I felt vindicated to some degree, though Grandpa’s behavior made me nervous. He kept turning the thing over and over in his hands while muttering under his breath. Before long, the crimson color returned to his face, deepening steadily until the veins in his neck began to throb.
    “ Jeremy and I prepared ourselves for the rising anger we saw simmering to a boil within him, though he rarely got upset unless my brother purposely pushed him into a rage. Something different about his demeanor this time, it took us a minute to identify what it was.
    “ He started pacing aimlessly back and forth across the kitchen floor, still muttering to himself as he wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. He seemed momentarily to have forgotten our very presence. That’s when we recognized what we’d never seen in him before. Primal fear. He was really frightened.
    “‘ Oh, my God. M-my God! Oh-h, m-my God!! ’ he stammered, gingerly passing the object from hand to hand as if trying to avoid any contamination from it.
    “‘ What’s wrong, Grandpa?’
    “ Jeremy moved closer as he tried to take the glowing object from him.
    “‘ That’s close enough, Jeremy!’ he warned. ‘You have no idea what you’re dealing with, son!’ He tightened his grip on the thing, which glowed brighter.
    “‘ Come on , Grandpa!’ Jeremy pleaded, a slight adolescent whine creeping into his tough guy persona. ‘I just want to look at it, that’s all!’
    “‘ I’m sorry, son, but whatever look you’ve gotten will have to suffice!’ said Grandpa. ‘This thing’s an abomination, and I’ll be damned for sure if I allow it to remain in our house another minute!’
    “ The veins on the side of his neck looked like they’d explode. He turned toward the kitchen door and ran over to it. Just before opening the door he turned to face me.
    “‘ Where exactly did you find this thing, Jack?’ he asked. ‘If you’ve got it in your mind to tell me anything but the truth, don’t do it! I need to know the specific spot where you found it.’
    “‘ It was lying in the dirt, just in front of the sphere,’ I replied.
    “ He strongly discouraged us from going near the sphere, but far too late to lie about it. After all,