Chapter 50: Terror Below
Meanwhile underground, the Empire’s enforcers had reached the cult underground city. With close to no resistance, the enforcers were able to force their way into the city.
Maskameera was with Angelo, who was still in a state of shock from what she revealed to him through the bones of the Linap he had been cloned from.
‘Come on, Angelo,’ urged Maskameera. ‘You need to be the real you. The force that is inside you cannot and must not be contained.’
‘No, I’m me,’ gasped Angelo. ‘I’m not him.’
‘I understand,’ sighed Maskameera. ‘It’s a process. Julio has constrained your true essence. I know that’s going to change soon.’
Angelo slowly started to pull himself off the ground.
Maskameera tilted her head back and sighed. ‘Do you hear that?’ she asked. ‘I think another important stage in your process has arrived.’
Distant gunshots could be heard, followed by faint crying and screaming.
‘Something’s wrong,’ said Angelo as he was about to make his way to the door. Maskameera grabbed him hard and slammed him against the wall.
‘You must wait this out for now,’ said Maskameera calmly. ‘The final product is what you must absorb.’
The enforcers were roaming the streets of the city shooting at whomever they saw. The senior enforcers commanded enforcers to enter all buildings and homes. The followers hid and became invisible. The enforcers fired their weapons inside buildings, causing as much chaos as possible. Many of the followers lost concentration and became visible. The enforcers shot some of them and dragged others onto the streets. They even targeted children. This forced their parents to become visible. Within a few hours, several hundred followers, mostly females and children, were on the streets.
Maskameera had kept Angelo pinned against the wall in the temple the whole time. They could both hear the screams loudly echoing through the city.
‘If they come in here, they’ll want to hurt you,’ said Maskameera in a relaxed tone. ‘That just doesn’t work for me. I need you in tiptop condition.’
Captain Cecil had just arrived at the cult underground city. His enforcers escorted him down to the streets. He looked at the surviving followers, who were being tied to posts lining the streets.
‘Where’s the High Philosopher?’ asked Cecil.
‘He’s hiding in the temple,’ replied a senior enforcer. ‘We thought we’d save his capture and torture for you.’
‘That’s truly touching,’ said Cecil, patting the left side of his chest with his right hand. ‘Let’s pay him a visit.’
Cecil and two dozen enforcers went down to the temple. The enforcers, using a battering ram, smashed down the external door to the temple. All of them entered the first room of the temple. It was the room Angelo displayed his artwork.
‘Some of this art is really nice,’ commented a senior enforcer.
‘It’s all an illusion,’ said Cecil aggressively as he turned to the senior enforcer. ‘They’re evil, vile, disgusting terrorists, who must be eradicated.’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied the senior enforcer.
‘Next room,’ said Cecil.
Two enforcers entered the next room. A few seconds later, the others entered. It also appeared empty.
‘This is very disappointing,’ shouted Cecil. ‘I expected so much more from the notorious High Philosopher.’
A cheerful tune began to play.
‘That’s better,’ chuckled Cecil. ‘A little light entertainment before death. How thoughtful.’
‘That’s why I played it,’ replied Maskameera as she became visible at the doorway they had just entered through. ‘It sets the mood for such a joyous day.’
‘Who the hell are you?’ demanded Cecil. ‘Never mind, forget it, waste the bitch,’ he added as he turned to the enforcers.
Maskameera became invisible again.
‘Shoot now!’ shouted Cecil.
The enforcers opened fire. A few seconds later, one of the enforcers’ throats was slashed. Then within quick succession, enforcers were being brutally killed. Blood gushed everywhere. The remaining enforcers frantically panicked. They opened fire in the direction they thought Maskameera was in. Their response was late. She moved around the room killing them at will.
In little over a minute, all twelve enforcers had been killed. Cecil was the only one left alive. Maskameera became visible again.
‘Let’s try this again,’ said Maskameera as she stared at Cecil, who was pressing his body against the wall in fear. ‘I want to work with you.’
‘You can’t escape,’ gasped Cecil. ‘My enforcers are everywhere.’
‘I don’t want to escape, silly,’ replied Maskameera as she crouched in front of a bloody corpse. ‘I’m having so much fun.’
‘Fine, I’ll work with you,’ said Cecil as he watched Maskameera sink her teeth into the corpse.
‘Goody!’ replied Maskameera. She stood back up again. ‘I want to reinvigorate our High Philosopher.’
Maskameera looked at the far corner of the room. ‘Come on, Angelo. We need to see your beloved followers,’ she said. ‘Cecil, kindly escort us into the city.’
‘You’ll hand him over to us,’ said Cecil as he edged closer to the door.
Maskameera grabbed Cecil by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall. ‘You’ll take what I allow you to take,’ she said as she pressed her tongue against his cheek.
‘Yes, okay,’ mumbled Cecil as his eyes bulged in terror.
‘I’ll let you execute the followers,’ said Maskameera.
‘They’re terrorist scum,’ mumbled Cecil.
‘Don’t interrupt me or I’ll snap your face off!’ shouted Maskameera as she squeezed Cecil’s throat tighter.
Cecil groaned, and his face became redder.
‘I can’t spare the High Philosopher,’ continued Maskameera in a relaxed tone. ‘I’ll let you have the real brains of this outfit. He’s taking a really long nap downstairs.’
Maskameera tossed Cecil to the ground. She walked over to Angelo, who was still invisible. She was able to see him because she could see part of his silhouette. She grabbed him and slumped him over her shoulder.
‘Get up!’ growled Maskameera. ‘Let’s go.’
Cecil and Maskameera entered the city streets together. The enforcers pointed their guns at them.
‘Put them away,’ commanded Cecil. ‘No aggression needed.’
‘We’re just here to enjoy the show,’ replied Maskameera as she lowered Angelo off her shoulder.
‘Enforcers!’ called out Cecil as he pointed to the tied-up followers. ‘Torch the lot of them!’
‘No!’ shouted Maskameera. ‘You’ll ruin their meat.’
‘Halt!’ shouted Cecil.
‘Bleed them out and collect it,’ said Maskameera. ‘Our High Philosopher needs it to help trigger his senses.’
‘Slit their throats and collect the blood,’ said Cecil as he felt Maskameera’s claw caress his back.
The enforcers began to slit the throats of the followers tied to the poles. They used their helmets to collect the blood and fill the empty barrels they had found. Loud gasps of pain filled the air and echoed around the underground city.
‘Look! Listen! Smell!’ said Maskameera as she squeezed Angelo’s face. ‘You must absorb this atmosphere. It’s pure power.’
The slaughter continued for the next hour. Finally, the gasps of suffering had stopped. Despite the enforcers’ efforts to collect the blood, the streets were completely filled with it.
Maskameera grabbed Angelo’s thick mane of blond hair and rubbed his face in the blood flowing down the street.
‘We have defeated the enemy,’ called out Cecil. ‘The vile terrorists who only seek to destroy us have been destroyed. We will return to a safer, freer world. Thanks to you.’
One of the dead children caught Cecil’s attention. ‘You are quite a prize,’ sniggered Cecil as he pulled out his phone to photograph the dead child. ‘I’ll cherish this.’
Angelo forced his face out from the blood. Maskameera could feel his strength had grown. He turned his head to stare at Cecil. The blood did not roll off his face. It strangely clung to it. His eyes briefly glowed red before returning to blue. Cecil felt a horrid sensation in his body. He desperately wanted to break eye contact with Angelo, but it took him several seconds for him to do so.
‘The mentor, Julio, we’ll take him now,’ said Cecil as he diverted his gaze to Maskameera, who was scooping blood off the ground and rubbing it on her body.
‘Sure,’ replied Maskameera. She grabbed Angelo by the arm. She led Cecil and around a dozen enforcers to the laboratory. Julio was lying on the examination table just as they had left him.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ asked Cecil as he raised one eyebrow while looking at Julio. ‘He better not be dead.’
‘He’s going through a beautiful transformation,’ replied Maskameera while shrugging her shoulders.
‘He’s still a disgusting terrorist who we’re going to publicly execute,’ chuckled Cecil.
Four enforcers picked up Julio and carried him out of the laboratory. Angelo stared at them. They could feel his gaze upon them. It was weird and unnerving.
‘You’re done here,’ said Maskameera. ‘Go back to your great Emperor and claim a glorious victory.’
‘If he’s not content, we will be back and far more dangerous,’ said Cecil as he stood in the doorway of the laboratory.
‘Oh please, don’t build my hopes up,’ sighed Maskameera, shaking her head.
Maskameera picked Angelo up and carried him back up to the temple. She placed him on his side of the glass wall and then shut him in. Lying on her side of Angelo’s dining table was the body of a young child. There was a note written next to the body. It read, ‘Enjoy dinner, freak’.
‘How rude,’ remarked Maskameera as she glanced up at Angelo. ‘They didn’t even season it.’
Angelo’s eyes glowed a fierce red. A strange rumbling sound began to emit from above him as if a storm were forming within the underground city.
‘That’s it, release your energy,’ mocked Maskameera. ‘Be the creature you were always born to be.’
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.
Future of Social Media
Captain Hive is here
Remember to catch me on Spectrumecons, click the link below.
