The Message

Gluskap was feeling under pressure. In a day all his certainties had become the main reason why he wasn't able to sleep well.

Pyramus who has left Zerzura to, apparently, try a diplomatic way with a bunch of mutants in the desert. He wasn't even sure if he was still alive.

And there was the fact that his brother deprived him of the only way to stay feet ahead of Tithon and his erratic mind.

There was also the fact that him was more threatening than before. Now he knew where the 'Birds were residing.

It never happened.

"Solve it. Am I clear?" told him the hologram of Lady Gehenna.

She was sitting still, like nothing was happening.

"Yes…My Lady"

As Gluskap said that he closed the transceiver and stayed on his chair.

It wasn't easy.

No, it wasn't. Not at all.

He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't like the lack of control.

Suddenly someone presented itself at his door.

He didn't notice her.

She was one of the technicians who managed the communications. They were the ones who helped him bug Tithon. Even though the watch itself came from Lady Gehenna.

There were just two transceivers. One in her house and one in Zerzura.

If he had it, he could've prevented all his problems.

The Commander would be still alive.

"Sir, we need you. There's something you need to see"

He stood up and followed her to the technician's sector. It was a medium sized room with old technology which was still working fine. All the object there were brought in from the city during the first ages of the Hummingbirds.

They stopped behind other technicians which were working on the last records sent by the bug to find hidden words or sounds to find out valuable informations.

On their side another couple of technicians was trying to communicate with his brother.

They stopped beside a technician who was working on what were they receiving in real time.

"Sir, listen to that" told her to Gluskap while handing him a pair of headphones.

He put it on and sharpened his ears.

There were distorted noises. It wasn't clear what was on the other side.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. Am I supposed to her anything?" asked him without a clue

"Turn up the volume, please" asked her to the technician

He did as she wished.

"Here, try it again. There's something in it"

He put his headphone on, again.

She was right.

There was a beeping noise in the background.

It seemed repetitive at first, but it sounded like something familiar to him.

Pyramus was standing in his confinement room, which was more like a place where you were constantly under the eyes of the Shaxes guards. There were no bars, and he was able to see what's happening. What was hard to accept, was the fact that he was getting no light whatsoever. He felt it in his skin, which was becoming rougher than usually.

Looking at the Shaxes now was weird because the truth felt uneasy to him. He couldn't understand why there were mutated clones of everyone.

Suddenly the monster wall started moving, like an ocean under the wind.

The mutants in the first row moved aside and Kurban came forth.

He moved toward him and stopped in front of him.

"Hi Pyramus, how do you feel?" asked Kurban

"Apart from the fact that I'm not getting much light and here there isn't much which is edible…mmm, decent. Has one of the 'Birds showed himself to free me or end our deal?"

Pyramus asked it every day with high expectations

"No. I'm sorry but, as much as I want it to happen, nothing happened so far"

And he was always disappointed by the answer he was getting

"Do you think that they will come?"

"I don't know but I hope so. What are you scared about?"

"I feel like the person who was supposed to be on my side isn't really 'on my side,"

"Why do you say so?"

"Gluskap was against me coming here and asking for an alliance"

"Do you mean Gluskap, the Co-Chief of Security?"

"Yes. He used to be though. He was the one who thought that you could be a valuable ally"

"He told me. May I ask you a question which is bugging my mind?"

"Sure" said Pyramus

"Why have the Hummingbirds blown up Alust's sewers?"

Pyramus didn't expect that question. He was caught off guard.

"So…?" insisted Kurban

"Under the city there's a system of tunnels. We used to use them to move around the city to avoid the Whiskers. Now it's hard to get through because the Supreme Leader has built a transportation system underneath the whole city. We have only one way to enter the city undetected, we thought so at least. I just hope that the other one is still viable. We bombed Alusta because we needed more time at the Peaks"

"What happened?"

"The Supreme Leader of the Hara has been transforming the city in a fortress and he is more threatening now than ever"

"Wait, who is he?"

"I thought you knew. It's Tithon"

It has been ages. The last time he heard that name was so long ago.

"Are you okay?" asked Pyramus worried.

"Yes…yes. The point is that…he was…"

"Your friend"

They stayed there silent for a while. They didn't know what to say.

"Have you ever wondered about what's beyond Drekavac?" asked Kurban to Pyramus

"Yes but…it's too far from us. How can we reach the end of the desert? Are we sure that what's there won't kill us?"

"I don't know but you have your vehicle. We could try" suggested Kurban

"Ok but what are we going to do when we're going to run out of gas?"

"Probably you're right. Don't you have something like a carrier which could bring us there?"

"Yes, but Zerzura it's too far from here. My car can't travel back with what I've left"

Kurban was disappointed but the idea of pushing himself beyond the sand sea was intriguing.

Lilith took the elevator and waited in there till it reached her floor. She was a couple of floors above the labs which Lady Gehenna showed her years ago.

She still wanted to see what was in the eighth lab, but it would've been for another time.

The elevator's door opened, and she found herself in a floor which was lighted by LEDs as white as snow. It wasn't her first time there, but that light wasn't normal. No wonder why many inmates went crazy after ages in jail.

She greeted one guard and asked another to have an interrogation room without bugs and cameras. She underlined the fact that the order came from Tithon and the guards didn't ask a thing. Not even the many whiskers who were stationed there to watch and report.

Finally, they let her pass through. A Whisker appeared on her left side. He said that it was precaution.

They walked beside other cells where there were inmates of different kinds. It wasn't clear why they were there. She didn't care. She just wanted to meet Malsumis.

A soft beeping started resounding in her hears as they were moving closer to his cell.

The beeping was denoted by measured beats.

..-. --- .-. - .- .-. .. -.. . -..-. .. ... -..-. -.-. --- -- .--. .-. --- -- .. ... . -.. -..-. .-. ..- -.

Then she saw him.

He was standing in a corner. In his hands there was a watch. She recognized it but she didn't know why he had and what he was doing with it.

The Whisker called him, and the beeping stopped.

He turned toward them and smiled, while putting the watch in his pocket.

"What a pleasing surprise Lilith" exhorted him

She didn't say anything. She didn't want to show the Whisker that she was at ease with him.

He was ordered to stood up and, after some complaints and banters, he was brought out of his cell.

"So…where are we going today?" asked her Malsumis

Still no answer

They reached a door, and the Whisker left them there.

They got in and sat on two chairs which were on two opposite sides of a squared table.

"Nice room. Better than the one where you partner tortured me," laughed him

"I…was told. I'm sorry"

"Don't be. Shit happens"

She knew and didn't want to talk about it.

"Were you going to ask me anything today or we're here just to chat about the weather? By the way, is hard to tell if it's sunny or rainy in here. I don't even think that the window is real" joked him, sarcastically.

"I wanted to talk about that actually," said Lilith

Malsumis looked around, to scan the room.

"Are we clear?"

"Yes, we are" answered Lilith

None of them said anything for a minute

"How do I get you out? You know this jail better than I do" asked her

"Well, the problem here is the fact that to get out someone must get me out. I can't do it on my own. Me and my brother organized it this way for a reason"

"Ok, so how do I get you out without getting caught?"

"We need…caos"

"How do I create that?"

"You won't but it will happen. The Whiskers must be needed elsewhere"

"How will I know when it's the right time to start your plan?"

"You'll know"

She found hard to believe him.

"Are you sure that it'll be so simple?" asked her, confused

"It's a sixty percent. Better than zero, isn't it?"

She didn't find it amusing

"I will help you. Our deal was that you would've told me more about my mother"

"What do you want to know?"

"What's in lab eight?"

He didn't expect that

"What's there Malsumis?"

He heard about it before

"I don't know"

She pierced him with her eyes.

"You don't know, really? I thought that your mother told you at least that"

A bell ringed. It signaled the end of their encounter.

"Only your mother can access there with her DNA" told him while the Whisker came in

"I guess that we'll meet again, Lilith" screamed him while the Whisker was bringing him away

She stayed there. She was thinking about what he said to her. Only her mother's DNA can let you access the lab. But she was her mother.

She had a chance to circumvent the check-ins. In the end she was her mother.

She was her mother. She was certain about it.

Tithon was standing in front of a mirror. His feet were tapping nervously on the floor. His hands were shaking.

He was reharsing his speech.

Again.

And again.

"Whiskers, your Leader is here and wants you to…" laughing

"Only with will and determination we will destroy the enemy…the Hummingbirds, shit" slapping himself

"This battle will change our future…my future" grinning

He was repeating it maniacally. He wanted it to be the perfect speech

He didn't want to feel embarrassed, not again

He wasn't the same weakling who used to be manipulated by other people

There was still Lasy Gehenna above him. The only person who had more power than him. He couldn't stand her

Someone knocked at the door

"Are you ready, sir?" asked the Whisker on the other side

He quickly ingested a pill and went to the door.

"Is everything alright, sir?" was asked by the Whisker in front of him

Tithon didn't even consider his question as he moved toward the martial field of the Academy. There was a podium and he walked upon it.

Behind him there was a huge screen. A microphone was standing in front of him. Behind it there were all the new recruits of the year. More than a thousand Whiskers set in straight lines with uniforms and weapons. They were young men and women who wanted to help the city. People who were inspired by him.

He felt anxious and hoped that he would've went as well as the Aokigahara Speech

"Deputies! Whiskers of the Hara and Haguel"

The recruits cheered him

"A year of world-historical events is coming to an end. A year of great decisions is approaching. In this grave period, I speak to you, Whiskers, as the Supreme Leader of this great city"

"For centuries we have been hunting and killing every Hummingbird who dared to put his or her feet in our beloved city. For centuries we have been trying to eradicate this virus. The virus of disorder and chaos. A virus created by the ones who were supposed to protect us, Gluskap and Malsumis"

"We have lost lives in Alusta and more were lost during our raids. Civilians who paid for careless people who don't deserve our city and its gift"

"For ages we've been waiting for them to came out. We've always been two steps behind them, every time. Until now"

"Thanks to the traitor, we now know where they are"

The screen turned on.

"As you can see their fortress is set here" said him while the map zoomed on the square shaped blank in the middle of nowhere

"Our calculations tell us that it isn't far from the city, as it is exactly between the Hara and Kirkegaardand"

"We don't know how it is made and how they will defend themselves. We just know that they're all here"

"We'll have two days to prepare for the battle and understand how the annihilate them"

No one said anything in the crowd

"We will take our revenge. We will purge all of them. The Hummingbirds will plunge into oblivion, and we will rise. Victorious"

As he said his last word, the recruits screamed and started chanting his name.

He showed his hand to them and then got back inside.

One of the highest ranked Whiskers came to him. He looked stressed.

"Sir, are you crazy? We can't send a bunch of rookies against well trained forces. It's a…"

"I don't care. Do not send all of them"

"But sir, how are we supposed to overpower them? We don't even know what we are going to attack"

Tithon felt bothered by him. He didn't like unconfident people who mined his confidence and didn't respect his orders.

"Alright then you can leave. You're useless. I will lead the assault" told him Tithon

The Whisker didn't say anything as he left and another one replaced him

"You won't be like your colleague. What's your name?"

"Fanon…Sir"

"Alright Fanon, I need to see what we're dealing with"

"Yes, sir" said the official as he left Tithon

There was only vengeance in his mind.

Sweet vengeance.

Janus, the stranger, used to be a manager for a big firm located outside Scarbray, another city which was set beyond the woods, what was left of it. His city collapsed after one of the reactors was destroyed by "the flying demon", as he called it. He told them that the outbreak was contained but only a small portion of the city was still free of radiation. He managed to protect himself by wearing the vest he wore the day they met him.

He noticed that the soldiers from Agaklythos were prepared for that as they created a camp there. He told them that the level of destruction was massive, and he felt that he was the only one left. He managed to reach Scarbray after stealing a vehicle. He said that the wood was like a desert of decay and death. It was there that he saw the mutants for the first time.

The whole story caught the attention of almost all the people in the lab.

Only Cressida didn't want to listen to it. Her fascination for the monsters' genetics surpassed everything, even Khosrow. Who was still hurting and seemed like his scar wasn't going to heal.

While she was working Janus presented himself beside her.

She gave a look at him and then got back to the mutant.

"Have you found anything remarkable?" asked him with superficial curiosity

She noticed it but appreciated it.

"Apparently these mutated clones don't age" stated her

Janus smiled

"What? Do you think that I am joking? These specimens are supposed to be twenty days old but their telomers looks like their aging was stopped days ago"

"How?"

"The radiations triggered that mutation. Are you interested about what I'm doing or you're just here to slow me down? I already have a fiancée who is like that. I don't need you to be like that" said her with a bit of anger in his voice

"Alright, I'm sorry. I just wanted to help you"

"How? We're waiting to be saved or for the radiations to disappear. I'm the only one who is trying to get us out"

Khosrow appeared behind him with Gwenore by his shoulder

"What's happening here?" asked him while limping

Janus got out as soon as their leader intruded their conversation. He didn't want to find himself in crossfire

Khosrow moved with hardship toward her. As he was going to hug her and calm her down, Cressida looked at him

"Khosrow, what are you doing? Walking isn't good for you" she changed her tone abruptly

"Don't worry about it darling. It's nothing. So, tell me, what's going on?"

Cressida gave an angry look to Gwenore who felt embarrassed

"Gwen, leave us. I need to talk to my fiancée" asked him as she left

"You don't have much time for me now. You're always with her" stated Cressida

He didn't answer. He just felt bothered by it

"What? You prefer to stay with a simpleton, not with me. This is the truth"

"She is looking after me"

"Ok, but why her? There're other people here"

"She's the one who wanted to do it and has a basic knowledge of first aid"

"Wow" she said sarcastically

"What is wrong with you Cres? Here everyone is doing is part. We scout outside to find other survivors, to protect this place from the mutants. Do not feel like you're relevant. To me you're important. Because I…love you"

She liked his words, but jealousy and pride were growing, day by the day.

"Since what happened to us you've been drifting away from me, Cres"

"No, that's not true," said her

"Just look at us. We're standing here, arguing, when we can stay together, with the others. We're a group, a team"

"How can I stay with you without finding a way to get us out and rebuild? These creatures have the key to unlock it"

"These creatures are the reason why we're drifting away from each other" stated Khosrow

"You're supposed to help me. We're the only ones who can understand what happened to your clones"

He showed pain as he sat down on a rotating chair. She was worried about him.

"The point, Cres, is that my scars are too deep, and my health has been decaying lately" said Khosrow while coughing

"I don't know how much I've left. I just want to use the time which I have left with you"

"I don't want to lose you. I can cure you. You don't need to die"

"It's a miracle I've survived the crash. It has been worse since this rogue clone got in here"

"Don't blame it"

"I'm not blaming it. I'm stating a…fact" remarked him.

He stood up and slowly walked toward her

"Please, I beg you. Come with us, come with me. I love, I just want to stay with you" said while kissing her on her cheeks

She kissed him on the lips. A passional and intense kiss.

Then, she detached herself averted her eyes from his.

"I…won't. I want to fix all of this. And you. I'm the only one who can do it. I won't stop till I've saved everyone. This planet deserves another chance" said her with tears in his eyes

As he said that Khosrow tilted his head.

Disappointed.

"You will regret it Cressida" told him while going back to the others

She didn't say anything as she got back to the mutant's wreck.