The Stranger

Moonlight was coming in from the window. Zerzura was quiet.

Pyramus was stuffing his bags with the tools necessary to survive the desert, its sandstorms and, hopefully not, the Shaxes. His mask and weapons were already placed in them.

It wasn't the first time for him. He was frightened, nonetheless.

He was doing everything with extreme care to avoid waking Gluskap up. Therefore, he decided not to sleep with him. Pyramus was still angry with him. He was supposed to be on his side.

While he was putting in the bags what was missing for his mission, he noticed a book on the restroom's table. It was one of Gluskap's, Hard Times by Dickens. A relic of a planet so familiar yet so distant and obsolete. One of the many planets in their sector that perished.

It was a replica. He liked to feel the perfume of paper. He considered it reinvigorating.

Pyramus took it and turned some pages to appreciate it. While he was doing it, a picture fell on the pavement. He picked it up.

It was a restored photograph, but it wasn't what got his attention.

There were eight people and he or his brother was among them. He recognized himself, Lilith, Tithon, Alastor and Mabdil and Kurban. There was also another girl who was so close to Tithon.

He never took that picture. It never happened.

Pyramus turned it.

Someone wrote a few words there.

I owe you,

Janus A. Bourne

Who was Janus? Why was Gluskap which has never been taken before?

He took the picture and put it in his pocket.

He went to door and got out. He made sure not to make any sound while closing it.

He avoided all the watchers.

One of them almost got him.

The vehicles were there. He took one and drove it to the gate.

There were two watchers.

"Good evening, guys. I really need you to open the gate"

"Sir, we would but isn't it a bit late to get out? The desert isn't safe right now and its freezing" remarked one of them

"Just open it please"

The one who asked was going to open it when the other stopped him

"Why are you going outside? Is that an order of Gluskap?"

"Yes, he told me to do it"

"No one gets out after midnight without an order"

"I'm the Gluskap's right hand. I'm ordering you to open it"

The watcher gave him another look then decided to trust him.

As the gate was slowly opening, Pyramus went over his vehicle and turned it on.

It was almost open enough to let him through, when he saw a group of watchers running toward him. Gluskap was in front and was screaming.

"Stop him! Stop him! Do not let him leave!"

The watchers looked at him than they looked themselves.

The gate was open as much as it was needed for him to get out.

He accelerated and left the people behind him astonished. They couldn't understand what was happening.

As he was moving far from the fortress, he heard Gluskap shouting at him.

He didn't care.

He was doing that for him too.

It was the best bet they had against Lady Gehenna.

The jail time was helping Malsumis understand how to manage solitude and loneliness. Not just that but he had enough time to rethink about how he got there. The moment he found out that Tithon and Kurban discovered an unnamed clone, the first intimidatory meeting with him, Gluskap and Lilith. He didn't like what he was obliged to do to maintain the mask his brother wanted him to wear. He always wanted to inspire a revolution with him, but they always failed. It was like someone knew about it. It was like they were playing chess on a rigged board.

On his right the sunrays were filtering like every day, to remember him the passage of time. It's different when your body can't age anymore and one year feels like five minutes.

The door opened and four whiskers got in.

"Good morning suckers, who want more to…." he didn't manage to finish is sentence that one of the whiskers put a black bag on his head and handcuffed him.

"So, it's a secret meeting then. Let me see. Here we must turn right and go upstairs"

The guards' path was exactly as Malsumis said.

"I guess that none of you knew it" grinned him

He noticed that they were going up to the surface.

Sounds and smells were all familiar to him.

A door opened. It wasn't another cell. It smelled like an office.

Someone was already there. He had a scent which wasn't new. They seated him on a chair. It wasn't a comfortable one.

The bag on his head wasn't removed. The door closed behind him. His hands were still handcuffed.

"So…would you like to stay here looking each other in the eyes or are you going to start talking?" joked Malsumis

The person standing in front of him slipped the bag off his head.

"Ah, it's you"

"Disappointed?" asked Tithon

"No. It's just ironic. I remember when we first met that you weren't the one on the other side"

"Too bad. Things change"

"I see that you've retained the watch we gifted you. It suits you"

"Let's just say that for me this is like a memento mori" grinned him

"What do you want Haguel's shit?" said Malsumis while spitting on the table between them

"Not much actually"

Tithon showed him a picture of the map he saw the day before.

"What's that?"

Malsumis didn't receive any answer

Tithon zoomed to the blank zone he has targeted

"What do you want to know? There is nothing there"

A sudden punch hurt his face. His lip started bleeding.

"What the fuc…"

Another one

"You son of a…"

Another.

Tithon then take him by his hair and brought his head back.

"Look at me. I want to know what's there"

Malsumis grinned and spitted in his face

Another hit, this time to his stomach

"What's there?"

"Hit me again" screamed Malsumis

Another punch to his thorax

"Is that all you have?"

Tithon infused his next hit with all his rage directed toward Malsumis's jaw. Something cracked during the collision.

The watch on Tithon wrist was damaged and fractured.

"All that to ruin a fucking watch. You're so weak"

Tithon removed it and put it on the table.

"Would you like to die?" threatened Tithon

"I…assure you…there's something worse than death…"

Tithon kicked him on the face and Malsumis felt down.

"I won't ask again, what's there?"

Gluskap laughed, again.

"Alright…alright. Let's make a deal then"

"No fucking deal"

Tithon was dumping all his anger on him. Without any kind of mercy.

"Your watch…for the information…you need" proposed Malsumis, agonizing

Tithon took the watch and put it in his pocket.

"Now, tell me what I want to know, now" said Tithon to Malsumis while showing him his punch

"We call it…Zerzura. The Hummingbirds are all there. Only three people know about it"

"Beside your brother who else know about it?"

Malsumis didn't answer.

As Tithon turned his back to him, a whisker put the hood back on his head and brought him out.

The watch was still in his pocket.

The lack of sunlight was making his skin lighter and his bones less dense. For so long he and his company has been able to survive underground.

The lack of human food was even worse. Sure, their bodies where able to survive but the delayed hunger was being a toll over their livers.

Kera and Lunukin were integrated among the Shaxes ranks easily but they weren't happy.

"Do you think that they'll try to free us again?" asked Lunukin

Kurban didn't answer

"I just want to get back to the city. As much as I like these…Shaxes, I'm starting to be fed up with this situation" lamented Kera

"I think that we must wait. The Shaxes King trust us, therefore we're still alive"

"It's true but I feel like a prisoner here" said Lunukin

"You can always leave. You know that"

Lunukin didn't say anything.

A sound started softly.

"Do you hear that?" asked Kera

"What? There's nothing"

The sound increased its volume. It felt closer.

The Shaxes which were stationed with them started moving.

Kurban stood up.

"What's going on?" asked Lunukin to him

"Stay here" told Kurban to them as they didn't object.

He followed the Shaxes and arrived through the tunnels and arrived at one of the holes, which was closed to protect them from the Sun

"I think yous shouldy gos" told him the Shaxes King

Kurban looked at him and the other who were surrounding him

"You ares they ones whho should doy its"

Kurban nodded and, after the mutants around him stepped back, opened the hole, and got out.

The Sun was shining bright in the sky. The dunes were quiet. There was no wind. Too windy considering the weather.

In front of him there was the source of that sound they all heard.

It was a small truck.

Probably a 'Birds truck. It was alone.

Weird.

"Whatt iss its?" asked him

Kurban didn't answer. He wanted to see who it was.

It was still too far.

He waited.

"Kurbany?"

It was coming. It was closer.

Then he noticed it. A small detail.

The rider had purple curly hair.

"It's a 'Bird" answered him

"Hows manny?"

"Just one"

As the driver saw him, stopped its vehicle a few meters from him.

He took off and removed its helmet.

It was him.

They walked toward each other.

They scanned each other. They were waiting for the first word.

"Why are you here? Why are you alone?" asked Kurban

"I need to speak with the King. I want to find a way to bring peace between our parties"

"Why? I saw what you did years ago. You attacked us. It doesn't seem peaceful to me"

"We wanted to free you and the others. Are you treated well?"

"Yes, even though we would like to get back to the city" sighed Kurban

"Please, let me talk to your King and we'll manage it"

Kurban thought about that. He knew that the Shax didn't like his kind, but he knew that he was right. The war between their factions had to be solved.

"Pyramus, am I right?" asked Kurban

"Yes"

"Pyramus, leave your vehicle and follow me. I advise you to wait before doing anything. You're not exactly well accepted here" said Kurban as they moved back to the hole

First, he went down.

As he arrived the Shaxes started looking at him.

"The 'Bird who is going to get in has good intentions, so I ask you, King, to listen to him" said Kurban with a calm and calculated tone.

"Yous havve mys wordy" answered the King as the other Shaxes started going back to their positions and the elders moved in the front.

Pyramus got down and the hole was sealed.

The mutants squared off the young man, who felt scared and fascinated by those creatures.

Pyramus looked at him. He wasn't sure if they would've understood what he was going to say.

"Speaky Birdss" said one of the elders.

Kurban nodded to say that it was time to say what he wanted to say.

"I'm Pyramus, right hand of Gluskap, the Hummingbirds Leader. I'm here because after our last battle I've realized that our war isn't right. For ages we have been fighting for the sand of Drekavac and the people who were exiled from the city. The same city who exiled you and robbed us of our freedom"

"I'm here to offer you peace and an alliance against our common enemy, our only enemy: Lady Gehenna. An immoral individual who robbed us of our existence by enslaving us with the promise of eternal life"

As he finished his monologue, the elders and the King started confabulating and pondering how to answer to that.

"Andy whhy ares yous herre aloyne, Pyrammus?" asked one of them

"Because I'm the only who believes in it and thinks that you're not monsters"

"Doy yous whatt wey ares?"

Pyramus didn't know how to answer to that

One of the eight Shaxes came forth

They looked in the eyes and he understood

"You are…you are…"

"Us" said Kurban

"How? How is that possible?" Pyramus was astonished

The elder got back to his position and the Shaxes reprised their closed council

After five minutes they stopped, and the King went toward him

"Wey thinnk thats yous ares nott trustfuly. Yous cann bes a spyy. Mosst of uss wouldy haves lefty yous outsidey, undder the heats of the suny, waitinng for the otther 'Birds to comey for yous"

One of the Shaxes who usually guarded the holes at night appeared behind them.

"Butt I trusty Kurbans and I wants to givey yous a chancce. Therefores, wey ares going to keepy yous as a prissoner to sees if yours intenttions ares truey"

As the King said that the guards took Pyramus, who looked disappointed, and brought him away quickly.

While they were bringing him away Kurban got close to the King.

"Do you think that it's the right choice? What he says is true and we need that alliance" remarked him

The King looked at him and smiled

"I knows Kurbany, butt agges of wars and deathy won't be canncelled by ones goody persons who wantts peaces"

Since the day of fire and blood, only five days passed. More people joined Cressida, Khosrow and the girl they found on the first one. Apparently, she was one of the secretaries on the higher floors. Gwenore was kind and helpful and has some knowledge about first aid. She helped Khosrow with his leg.

The others were a young trader named Hector Uhrata who found the lab on the second day. He had a family and lost all of them. He couldn't talk with anyone yet.

There was also a cop, Gadreel Pyrgos. He was alone as he moved to Scarbray from a city of the planet Agaklytos. He was the only one who knew a bit about what was going on. As he said, the Leaders of his planet were waging a war against an obscure warlord who was wreaking havoc in the system. It was just a rumor. He looked like a rigid and composed individual who didn't compromise a lot.

The last one who joined them was a kid who lost his parents, who were smashed by a falling dragonfly. He was twenty-three and was a fierce reader. He used to study at a university located in the outer rim of the city. He had strong ideals and a clear moral. His name was Patroclus Huotou.

They were all sitting around a screen where there was a newscaster who was talking about the recent events. The signal wasn't stable, and the host was shooting in what remained of her office.

"Slaaf is still….attack. The man….sky is still…large. The forces involved…decimated and the pop…Meanwhile a pack of mutated…roam free in a…The nuclear power…decayed…" and went shut by leaving the screen in grey mist.

"Do you think that the mutated things she talked about are what remain of your clones in the other department?" asked Khosrow to Cressida

"I doubt. Five days is too short an amount of time to change their code"

"But they were being nurtured in pods where the growth is accelerated. What if it accelerated the mutation?"

"Wait, do you know about those?" asked Patroclus

"Yes, I'm the one who was working on them. I've never intended to have mutated monsters"

"So, does it make them friends or foes?" added Hector

"Whatever they're, they have to be killed," said Gadreel

No one wanted to answer to that. It created a weird situation.

"Shouldn't we focus on finding the others and, maybe, rebuilding?" said a guy who arrived shortly after Hector.

He was a shy and introvert plumber who showed more intelligence than it appeared. He didn't like to talk about his past and passed everyday in a state of vigilance. It was like the events which happened a while ago left him with a form of PTSD. At night he wasn't the only one who wasn't able to sleep. His name was Lud Valgus.

"We can stay here talking about how bad our situation is or find a way to get us out of it"

"What do you propose?" asked him Khosrow

He tried to answer that question but didn't have a valuable thing to say.

"There should be a way to communicate with the other people who are still alive" suggested Patroclus

"Our phones are all offline" said Lud, like it was a banality

"Guys, not to intrude, but it looks like we don't have to look far. Just look here" said Gwenore

On the monitor linked to the cameras set outside the building, the ones who were still working, there was a guy who was running. It wasn't clear what was following him, but he looked scared.

He was wearing a breathing mask and antiradiation clothes.

Then something appeared behind him. It was one of the mutated abominations.

"Gadreel, go help him," said Cressida

"Wait, when we decided that you're our boss? Shouldn't we vote?" replied him

"Cut it Gadreel. You're the only one who can hold a weapon. Put on a mask and the right clothes and help him" remarked Khosrow

The cop didn't say more as he chugged and started getting dressed.

She didn't like when the people in there listened more to him than to her.

Gwenore found it attractive. She was giving to him such eyes that Cressida didn't feel right when she was near him.

When Gadreel was ready went to the elevator.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, let's do it" told him to himself while getting into it and inserting a small transmitter in his hear. The connection wasn't the best, but they would've been able to help him.

As soon as the elevator's doors closed, all the people moved to the screen.

Khosrow limped toward it helped by Cressida and Gwenore.

On the screen appeared Gadreel with his gun.

"Get out, we want to help you. We can give you shelter," said him

From the top right corner of the screen appeared the stray with a finger on his mouth

He started moving toward him.

Then on the other corner appeared the creature. It looked like a demonic dog with a human-like face.

"Gadreel is there. Get him and back off" screamed Khosrow in the microphone.

"Yes…. s…ir"

Gadreel runned toward him and helped him reach the building's door while shooting at it.

"Get…in…go to the elevat…"

The stranger disappeared from the screen as Gadreel faced the monster

Gun shots went off.

The mutant was scared but he was trying to attach him. When he saw him recharge his gun, it started rushing toward him.

"Gadreel…fall back" screamed again Khosrow

The abomination was closer.

Closer.

A shoot.

The creature collapsed down.

"Now you're in the clear. It's dead. Fall back. Well done, Gadreel" said Khosrow to exhort him

As Khosrow was relaxing himself, suddenly Cressida went toward the microphone.

"Gadreel, bring it in. I repeat bring it in"

"What, are you crazy?" said Patroclus

"We need to understand how it survived the radiations. It's the only way to understand how to get out easily"

"It's radioactive, it could kill us. I advise you not to do it" said Gwenore

"Oh, please. Just because you know something about first aid, it doesn't make you a medic or a scientist"

"But…" Khosrow stopped Gwenore before creating a useless discussion.

"You can bring it in, but it will be on you if anything happens to us" remarked Khosrow

A few minutes passed when the elevator's doors opened again.

Gadreel was the first one to enter the lab while he was dragging the monstrous corpse.

"Back off all of you"

"You, the stranger and the mutant, all in the decontamination chambers" ordered Cressida

The stranger didn't say anything, just followed her instructions, while the whole party was looking at him

Patroclus was particularly interested in him.

So interested to the point that he stood up and went in front, before all the others

"You didn't tell us your name" told him

As he said that, the stranger, who was following Gadreel, turned, and answered with a muddled voice.

"You can call me Janus, kid"

The pool's water clear and seething and sparkled under the full moon.

The city lights felt like little fireflies on big trees, the skyscrapers.

From the terrace they were able to admire the Hara and wonder under the majestic Aokigahara Tower.

They were feeling cozy and relaxed. A strange sensation considering the turmoil they went through to be together.

Lilith had his head on Tithon chest as they were chilling in the pool. Their bodies were touching. She felt loved.

"Do you think that we will have more time for us as you finish solving of this city?" asked her

He kissed her cheeks and smiled

"In all my existence I've never felt more fulfilled than I am now" stated him

"I'm happy about that. I feel it too but are you sure that we're going to have more time for us? More time for this?"

"Don't worry. Now that I'm with you I won't let you go. After all the sacrifices that I've done, it's the least I can do"

She looked at him and kissed his chin.

"I was told that you had a conversation with the traitor, Malsumis. Who told you to speak with him?"

Lilith tried not to feel uneasy and forced herself to find a believable answer.

"So…"

"He used to be the Co-Chief of Security. I've tried to…understand why there were some…gaps in what he…left you"

"Well, what you've found out?" asked Tithon

She thought that his answer was vague enough to avoid the question

"That…he…has always been…on his brother's side" tried her

"Didn't know about that. When you and they approached me the first time, I thought that you were the boss and they your security. Are you okay? You feel stiff and your heart is pounding faster"

She didn't notice it. She hoped he didn't notice his lie.

"I didn't know that you considered me bossy" joked her to change the topic

He laughed and hugged her

"Who is the Chief of Security now?" asked her, hoping to find someone who could've help her understand how to open Malsumis's cell

"You're looking at him" told him with pride

"What are…you going to do…with Malsumis then? It appears like…he didn't tell you much so far"

"You're wrong. Why are you so interested in him, again?" he felt a little altered

"I need to talk to…him again. I knew that it sounds…weird. The fact is that he didn't tell you everything. I think that he would tell me more"

"Why would he do that? What are you to him?"

"I've known him…for more time…than you do"

Tithon couldn't reply to that. She was right. Probably he would've earned more informations through her.

"Do you trust me Ti?" asked Lilith

He didn't answer immediately

She was starting to show him disappointment

"Sure, sure. I love you, why wouldn't I trust you," laughed him

"So…can I meet him one…last time?" asked her

"Alright, alright. Just be careful with him"

She smiled and kissed him. She was more relaxed now. He didn't deserve lies but it wasn't the first time. In fact, they started to date because of a lie created by his mother.

A bell ringed.

"Were you expecting someone?" asked him

"No. You?" said her

Tithon stood up and put a bathrobe on and went to the door.

On his way there he walked beside a glass box which contained a suit and a mask. Probably a trophy of some sort.

A waitress was waiting on the other side.

"Would you like to have some warm towels?" asked the girl

"No, we…" Tithon was struck dumb

That face.

The waitress went away.

Those eyes.

He closed the door immediately and rushed to the bathroom.

His heart was beating faster.

She…it can't be. She was dead.

He took two pills, the one which were supposed to calm him.

"Who was it?" asked Lilith behind him

He couldn't answer.

He couldn't understand why he saw Endymion.

He thought that he was crazy.

"It was…no one" told him

"Are you sure Ti?" she was worried

"Yes…yes" told him while rushing over her

"Hey, hey…what are you doing?"

Tithon was trying to force himself on her. He wanted her.

"I need you. I want to be one with you Lilith" said Tithon with a passion and lust which was unexpected.

At first Lilith felt scared but after a while accepted him.

It was the only way to help him.

Tithon wasn't stable and strong as he showed to the people.

There were too many demons in his past.