Chapter 27: Better Days Ahead
Angelo was in his room in the underground temple. He was painting a picture of Walter riding Hamlet.
Julio entered the other half of the room on the other side of the glass to Angelo. ‘We have more guests, High Philosophy,’ said Julio.
‘It’s amazing how popular I am these days,’ said Angelo as he continued painting. ‘Who is it this time?’
‘It’s Flint, Shamia, and two others,’ replied Julio. ‘When will you receive them?’
‘Let them stew for half an hour,’ said Angelo. ‘I want to finish this painting.’
‘Wise move, High Philosopher,’ said Julio, nodding his head.
‘These paintings are really good,’ said Shamia. ‘This terrorist has a softer side.’
‘Please don’t call him that,’ said Flint, waving his hands. ‘He’s very sensitive about this sort of language. He’s likely extra sensitive considering what’s happened.’
‘I’m pretty sure these paintings aren’t accurate,’ remarked Frank.
‘He’s drawing from deep within himself,’ said Demadrian as he looked carefully at the paintings. ‘A great expression of emotion, a desire to set the world straight.’
‘Some Sapes are wearing clothes and others not,’ remarked Shamia.
‘The Sapes that are wearing the clothes are the focus of every painting,’ said Demadrian. ‘The unclothed Sapes are part of the background.’
‘I might take up painting,’ said Frank as he studied the painting in front of him.
‘Do you notice that the clothed Sapes are near fruit?’ said Demadrian. ‘Only the ones standing on their hind legs can reach them. The others need to wait for them to fall.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Shamia. ‘I think he’s telling us a story.’
‘That’s why he’s left us in here,’ said Demadrian. ‘He wants to read his story. If we comprehend it correctly, he’ll welcome us warmly. If we misread it. Then, I don’t know what’ll happen.’
‘Oh, I think you’re right,’ said Shamia as she started walking around the room looking at each painting. ‘Frank, I need your expert opinion.’
Demadrian looked at Flint and smiled. Flint smiled slightly and shook his head. Frank began following Shamia around the room. He made a few comments while observing each painting.
Half an hour later, Julio entered the room. ‘The High Philosopher is ready to see you now,’ he said to them.
The four of them followed Julio into the room that Angelo was in. Orcilla had now joined Angelo.
‘Demadrian, it’s great to see you,’ said Orcilla as she walked over to Demadrian and hugged him.
‘It’s been a rough ride,’ replied Demadrian.
‘Demadrian Alset, it’s an honour to meet you,’ said Angelo as he moved away from his easel. ‘Good to see you, Flint; Shamia; and you too,’ he continued as he looked at Frank.
‘This is my senior technician, Frank,’ said Shamia. ‘He’s a superb talent.’
‘Wonderful!’ said Angelo. ‘It’s great to meet you, Frank. I’m the High Philosopher, but you can call me Angelo.’
‘I’m honoured to meet a fellow artist,’ replied Frank as he winked at Shamia. ‘Your paintings tell incredibly powerful stories. I’m truly moved.’
‘I’m glad you noticed, Frank,’ said Angelo as he looked at Julio, smiled, and then looked back at Frank. ‘I feel it is possible to express so much with art.’
‘Great!’ said Flint. ‘I’m glad there are no hard feelings.’
‘Fifty of my followers were murdered and their bodies disgracefully burnt,’ said Angelo in an angry tone. ‘We’re well beyond hard feelings.’
Flint nervously nodded.
‘I know this has nothing to do with you,’ continued Angelo in a more relaxed tone.
‘My brother wants to bait you,’ said Flint. ‘He plans on wiping you all out.’
‘Thanks for the heads up,’ chuckled Angelo. ‘We already knew that.’
‘Well, that’s a relief,’ said Flint. ‘So you understand the importance of restraint.’
‘Of course we do,’ said Angelo, smiling. ‘Restraint is always our first course of action.’
‘I’m really glad to hear it,’ said Flint as he could see Angelo’s smile broaden.
‘In this case, we’ve already taken our first course of action,’ said Angelo as the smile disappeared from his face. ‘Our restraint was met with brutally.’
‘I’m serious,’ said Flint firmly. ‘If you attack them, they’ll massacre you. They outnumber you a hundred to one, and they have very powerful weapons.’
‘I have an artificial intelligence chip in my head,’ blurted out Demadrian. ‘It’s recording everything we’re saying and doing.’
‘That’s a little inconvenient,’ said Angelo. ‘Would you like to be operated on and have this parasite removed? Julio is an incredible surgeon. He’ll have you back to normal before dinner.’
‘I would truly appreciate it,’ said Demadrian as he nodded his head.
Julio escorted Demadrian out of the room.
‘So that was all for show,’ chuckled Orcilla. ‘You are cunning.’
‘They passed through hidden scanners before entering the temple,’ said Angelo. ‘We picked up something funny in his head.’
Flint sighed in relief. ‘So what’s the real plan?’ he asked.
‘The real plan is we go out fighting,’ said Angelo as he raised his eyebrows emphatically.
Flint’s face fell once again.
Team foodies had now arrived at the drop-off point for the food they had collected. They had made it with all their carts still full.
‘Friends, I’m so proud of everyone,’ said Alex as he walked over to the others who had just climbed out the back of the vehicles. ‘We managed a successful delivery.’
‘We’re not the only ones,’ said Octavius, sounding annoyed. ‘There must be over a hundred carts of food waiting here to be taken to the camp.’
‘Hey, friends!' shouted Fiona, the leader of another food collection team. ‘Looks like you’ve done a great job.’
‘Looks like you’ve done great too, friend,’ replied Alex as he looked at Fiona’s team’s dozen full carts.
‘Oh thank you, Alex,’ replied Fiona. ‘This is our fourth delivery now.’
‘That’s typical!’ shouted Walter. ‘Team monobrow showing off again.’
‘Oh friend,’ gasped Fiona.
‘Do you know who’s collecting these carts?’ asked Octavius as he looked over at Fiona.
‘None have been taken since we’ve been dropping them off,’ replied Fiona as she looked over at Sapiod X, who was holding Hamlet back from attacking a cart full of pineapples. ‘They bring new carts so we can collect some more food.’
A dozen Sapiods pulling several carts jogged towards them. They were closely followed by an enforcer’s vehicle.
Octavius walked over to the enforcers’ vehicle.
The enforcers climbed out of the vehicle. ‘Get down on your knees, big beast!’ shouted one of the enforcers as they drew their guns.
‘He’s with me, Prince Walter!’ shouted Walter at the enforcers.
The enforcers paused for a second, and then they dropped to one knee. ‘We’re sorry, Your Imperial Highness,’ said one of the enforcers. ‘What do you wish us to do?’
‘Haha, brilliant!’ chuckled Octavius as he looked at Walter, who proudly strutted over to the enforcers.
‘Listen up, baldies,’ said Walter proudly. ‘I want this food taken to the West Camp immediately. Our heroes need a slap-up meal ASAP.’
‘Yes, Your Imperial Highness,’ said the enforcer. He turned to face the large group of Sapiods who had gathered around them. ‘Take this food to the camp now!’ he shouted.
The Sapiods grabbed a cart each and began to pull them.
‘Is there anything else we can do for you, Your Imperial Highness?’ asked the enforcer.
‘I’m going to inspect the camp and construction site,’ said Walter as he raised his eyebrows. ‘It needs to be up to my and the Emperor’s standard, or I’m bringing down the hammer.’
‘Of course, Your Imperial Highness,’ said the enforcer. ‘You can ride in our vehicle.’
‘Princes don’t travel in enforcer vehicles,’ chuckled Octavius. He turned around and shouted, ‘Ducky!’
For a few seconds there was silence, and then Ducky burst through a patch of trees. She roared loudly. The enforcers screamed in shock.
‘Now this is how a prince travels,’ said Walter excitedly as Octavius lifted him up onto Ducky’s neck.
‘I never knew Walter was a prince,’ said Fiona, sounding surprised as she watched Octavius climb up on Ducky.
‘He can fly too, friend,’ added Alex as they watched them head off towards the camp.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the camp. Around a dozen Sentray had joined them. They lined themselves up around a hundred metres behind Ducky, Octavius, and Walter.
‘You’re not supposed to bring the food here,’ shouted the guard in the tower at the gate of the camp.
‘This food is for the Downs residents,’ shouted Octavius in response.
The guard picked up his radio and began to speak to someone. A few minutes later, the gates opened. It was Revals.
‘Good afternoon, Your Imperial Highness,’ said Revals as he stopped in the centre of the gate. ‘I fear there has been a misunderstanding. The food is for the Downs residents, but it is only delivered once they reach their quota. These are the instructions of Imperial Advisor Miro.’
‘Do you think an Imperial Advisor ranks above a Prince who is first in line to the Imperial Throne?’ asked Octavius.
‘Of course not,’ replied Revals, sounding slightly annoyed.
‘Then let the food in, shithead!’ shouted Walter. ‘Or else my friends back there will eat you.’
‘Let them in!’ shouted Revals as he scurried back into the camp.
Ducky trotted into the camp. She was followed by the Sapiods, who were pulling the carts of food. Within a few minutes, the Downs residents who were in camp excitedly got to their feet and began cheering.
Octavius lowered Walter to the ground. Walter ran over to some of the Downs residents and hugged them. The Sapiods began handing out the food. The Downs residents began to cheer loudly again. The Downs residents at the construction site heard the cheering. They ran over to the camp.
Cecil walked over to Revals, who was standing by his tent. ‘What the hell is going on?!’ demanded Cecil angrily.
‘The prince is here,’ said Revals nervously.
‘Then we need to get rid of him,’ snarled Cecil.
‘He has more than a dozen Sentray outside our gates,’ replied Revals. ‘I don’t fancy being eaten.’
‘Where are their accommodations?’ demanded Octavius as he approached both Revals and Cecil.
‘They are currently a work in progress,’ replied Revals.
‘The retards sleep in their own shit,’ chuckled Cecil.
Octavius grabbed Cecil by the head with one hand and yanked him up to his eye level.
‘He’s joking,’ pleaded Revals nervously. ‘The technicians are going to build them lovely little cabins.’
‘That’s better,’ said Octavius as he dropped Cecil to the ground. ‘All work stops until your technicians have completed the accommodations. In the meantime, the Downs residents will take the enforcers’ tents. You can sleep in the shit.’
‘Is that all?’ asked Revals as he stared at Octavius.
‘I wouldn’t mind a few vials of the seaweed treatment,’ said Octavius.
‘We’ll have it delivered to your tent,’ said Revals.
‘I think I’ll take this tent,’ chuckled Octavius. ‘It’ll make it easier for your crew to find.’ Octavius turned around and walked over to Walter and Freddy, who had just joined the other Downs residents.
That evening, Angelo was hosting Orcilla, Flint, Shamia, Frank, and Demadrian, who had just woken up from his surgery, for dinner. They each had a plate of mushroom rosti in front of them.
‘How are you feeling, my dear friend?’ said Angelo as he looked at Demadrian.
‘You’ve removed that annoying voice from my head,’ said Demadrian, smiling slightly and nodding his head. ‘I’m eternally grateful.’
‘We don’t need some tech snooping on our conversations,’ chuckled Angelo.
‘You make an excellent point,’ said Frank excitedly. ‘I have a genius idea for a musical that I know anyone with a brain would steal in a heartbeat.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Shamia, clapping her hands.
‘That sounds very exciting, Frank,’ said Angelo as he held his left hand up slightly. ‘However, I have an extremely pressing matter I need to discuss with all of you. Julio, would you care to explain what we have found out?’
‘I had an interesting conversation with our lower power guest,’ said Julio.
Shamia raised her hand.
‘Yes?’ asked Julio.
‘What’s a lower power guest?’ asked Shamia.
‘We have securely contained a Linap-Sentray hybrid,’ said Julio. ‘We refer to this being as the lower power because she fits our genetic profile of such a being.’
‘Religion meets science,’ said Shamia excitedly. ‘Who would have guessed?’
‘The lower power has informed us of the location of a Sentray egg,’ continued Julio. ‘I sent out four of the followers to investigate a houseboat on the Great Lake. They have indeed recovered a frozen egg.’
‘Congratulations!’ said Orcilla as she looked at Angelo. ‘It looks like you’ll be able to create the cure you need.’
‘I’ve dreamed my whole life of leaving this glass prison,’ said Angelo, smiling slightly.
‘I would like to ask both Demadrian and Orcilla if they would help me turn this egg into a cure for our beloved High Philosopher,’ said Julio as he looked at both of them.
‘I’d be honoured to help,’ said Orcilla. ‘You’ve done so much for me and the Downs residents.’
‘I see this as our best opportunity to defeat Tiberius,’ said Demadrian firmly. ‘I want to become a full hybrid.’
‘You risk destroying yourself in the process,’ said Orcilla.
‘So be it,’ said Demadrian as he looked at Orcilla. ‘Our combined forces alone won’t be enough to fight and defeat Tiberius' and Miro’s armies. We need something extra.’
‘He’s right,’ said Julio. ‘I’ve invented some powerful lasers we can add to our winged outfits, but the numbers game will catch up with us. I opt for the same transformation as Demadrian.’
‘I can’t see this ending well,’ said Orcilla, shaking her head. ‘I beg you to reconsider.’
‘We have some time before the followers return,’ said Angelo, nodding. ‘We must thoroughly think through what the best course of action is. I will consult with the higher power.’
‘That is always the path to wisdom,’ said Julio as he glanced at Demadrian and then smiled.
‘Great, let’s eat,’ said Angelo as he picked up his fork.
‘Now, let’s talk about my musical,’ said Frank as he poked a large mushroom with his fork.
Frank talked for over an hour. Angelo listened intently. Orcilla tried to listen, but she was deeply worried about how Demadrian and Julio were going to change themselves. Flint was distracted too. He knew a conflict was imminent.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.
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