Free The Day of the Nefilim by David L. Major Page A

the pressure on her shoulders was entirely alien, like needles that wanted to break her skin.
    ‘ Be quiet .’
    The message came into her mind softly, as though the Nefilim was trying not to alarm her. It bent forward, lowering its face towards hers.
    ‘You are in no danger from me. The only immediate danger to you is from the others of my kind who are here. And perhaps this one.’
    The Nefilim reached behind Sahrin and did something to a control on the side of the case. She heard a brief scuffle of movement, and then silence.
    “What are you going to do to me?” she whispered.
    ‘No harm. For now, you must trust me, even though you know nothing of me, apart from what you think you know of my race. Both of us are in danger as long as we remain here. Now please, come with me.’
    The creature turned and walked into the darkness.
    It had not been threatening; there might even have been a pleading tone in the words that had appeared in her head. In any event, given her present situation, she seemed to have little choice but to go along with it, for the moment at least.
    She looked around, and saw no sign of the route that had brought her here. She followed the creature, stumbling through the gloom to catch up.
    Once they were some distance down the tunnel that the Nefilim led her into, her eyes became accustomed to a soft gray light that seemed to come from the walls. It was a narrow passageway, and apart from the smooth and level floor, it seemed to be natural. Cave moss clung to the walls. Something brushed against her face and buzzed lazily away.
    ‘ I should return to my friends,’ she thought at the Nefilim’s back.
    ‘ That is not possible right now,’ came the reply.
    She was being led deeper into the earth, down gradients that became steeper as they went, through tunnels that soon became even more rough and narrow. The artifacts that she’d seen in the tunnels above were no longer in evidence. These tunnels appeared were purely functional, only to be used if you were going somewhere.
    Finally, the Nefilim stopped in front of a bare piece of wall and touched it in three different places. The surface dropped away to reveal another tunnel, bathed in the same gray light. Secrets? she wondered. From who? From the locals? Or do they have secrets among themselves?
    The Nefilim turned and looked at her. ‘A few.’
    They entered the tunnel. Sahrin made no more attempts at conversation, vocal or otherwise.
    * * *

Good morning
     
    BARK, BRYCE AND REINA had followed Sahrin’s footprints, and were gazing in silence at the rows of unconscious giants. The glow cast from the coffins bathed the whole scene in an eerie light, from which they sheltered in the same shadows that Sahrin had relied on.
    Bark was whispering to the other two. “I doubt that these are corpses. They are probably asleep, and nearing the end, I suspect, of a long rest. This is probably not the only place on this planet where this is happening. We should be careful.”
    The light from the coffins had grown brighter. In the distance, a group of Nefilim ascended a staircase and disappeared through a door.
    They heard a sound, or felt a vibration, it was impossible to tell. It seemed to come from the walls themselves. The occupant of one of the closest cabinets stirred suddenly. The Nefilim lifted its hands to its face, and lurched over onto its side. It tried to lift itself up onto its elbows, but it seemed to lack co-ordination and fell back, its limbs moving slowly as though it was a newborn baby.
    There was movement in the other chambers. Long limbs stirred slowly, then their actions became more coordinated as the inhabitants became aware of their surroundings and began to orientate themselves.
    Without warning, the cabinets filled with clouds of gas.
    As quickly as the gas arrived, it cleared. The top of each pod slid back, exposing the inhabitants to the air.
    As the Nefilim emerged from their long sleep, the three intruders, without concurring