Well,” Nikolas said, “We’ve done what we could. Now the rest is up to him.” His chalk-pale face aged considerably and the whites of his eyes had yellowed as a result of fatigue and a sudden loss of energy. He panted as the others reached his state. They sat down to conserve what little energy they had. “I know it will not go in vain.”

“You’re right,” said Dante. For some reason, he seemed older. It was as though they showed their true ages on their faces, appearing graver by the minute.

Efarius said, “I just hope our lives won’t go in vain.”

Dark bags started to appear under their eyes and seemed to pull their faces towards the floor. Nikolas struggled to breathe. “We won’t die. We will have to call Daniel and refresh ourselves with blood.” He wondered whether it would be too late.

*****

Alex saw many events that occurred since his kidnapping. As a result of his meditation, he developed clairvoyance and clairaudience, which allowed him to see and hear things far away in the present and the future. He saw Grandma in a coma, desperately fighting for her life. He saw that Uncle John had now taken over the democratic system and turned it into his own personal dictatorship. John said he did it for the people, but Alex felt it unnecessary. Anger rose in his veins like lava, boiling and rising into the crevices of his mind. He didn’t like this at all. He worried for Grandma and felt confusion and repulse at his uncle’s actions.

What he saw next made him wish he hadn’t. With Angel was a man with long flowing crimson hair, a vampire. He took her in his arms and unsheathed a small serpentine dagger and slit her throat. “No!” Alex yelled as he materialized a sword and slashed at the vampire’s shoulder. It was no use as the vampire revitalized himself and laughed, showing edged and sharpened teeth set crookedly on blackening gums. A foul stench emitted from his mouth accompanied by red, green, and black smoke. The colored smoke condensed into figures with eyes of reddish gold and soon enough, Alex perceived them to be demons. Their dark leathery skin shone in the light and curly ram’s horns protruded from their heads. They wore nothing but ragged loincloths and their hands held massive axes and hammers. Alex backed away as they tried to circle him.

Alex’s body remained rigid. He sweated massive drops; his t-shirt was soaked. His hair, now glossy with sweat, covered his eyes and his arms became uncomfortably hot and wet. He let out deep hard breaths and still felt restless. Claustrophobia took the better of him; the room seemed to squeeze him, the walls converged at him. Then, it stopped. Someone was knocking.

Alex opened his eyes and felt a sudden, cool relief.

A guard came in saying, “Come with me. You’re expected at the President’s office.”

A knock was heard at Nikolas’s suite as well, but no one answered it. The Rebels were now too weak and their flesh sagged to the point that it looked like it would fall off their bones. They had become like zombies, slowly decomposing before their very eyes. A muffled voice sounded through the thick, bulletproof door. When no answer came, a loud thud followed the voice. Still no answer and so this time it turned into a louder rhythmic hammering at the door.

The Rebels, half dead, wheezed with heavy efforts. The door blasted open by the power of an energy beam. “What the hell is going on in here?” Daniel shouted, glancing around the place, now filled with smoke from the blast. He saw the Rebels sitting sluggishly on the plush sofa and chairs, about to fall off them. “What’s going on?” He rushed to his father, who he recognized not by his face but by his attire. Daniel used his telepathy to call Erik. “Listen!” he said to Erik, “I need some help.”

“What?” Erik’s voice sounded irritated.

“The Rebels...they’re dying.”

“What do you mean, dying?”

“Dying. Mortis, death. You know what I mean! Just send some guards in so we can shift them to the recuperation chambers. Make it quick. I don’t think they can stand it any longer. Neither can I.” Daniel covered his mouth, the reek of their rotting skin trying to crawl up his nostrils. The Rebels mumbled in pain. Congealed blood spilled onto the floor like spoiled crimson milk. Daniel hurried out to the balcony to breathe. Fresh air, at last!

“Don’t do anything yet,” John said through his communicator. “When I reach the Earth, wait for five minutes. Then, attack these fighters but don’t approach the atmosphere. Once they spot you, make sure you destroy them quickly. We cannot, I repeat we cannot have them contact the Regime. Not yet. Is that clear?”

“Copy that,” was the response in unison.

“Good.” He looked at Richard, unsure of how things would be in the next fifteen minutes. Richard gave him a consoling look as if to say, don’t worry. We’ll do fine!The ship picked up speed as it was pulled in by the Earth’s gravity.

“What is that?” asked Richard, surveying the massive base covering the Atlantic.

“So this is what they’ve been up to,” John said, mesmerized. “I saw many of them when we were higher up, but I thought they might have been something natural. This is just amazing.”

Richard said, “What do we do now?”

John shook his head, “Stay calm. Captain,” he said, pushing the intercom, “Report back to General Hopkinson that there might be a change of plan.”

“A change?” Richard asked.

“Yeah,” John looked to his left at the huge CCC. “He may have to go to the other side.”

“You mean, this thing, this base or whatever it is,” Richard said, terrified, “Stretches that far?”

“It’s a possibility. We couldn’t really get a good look, right? I mean there must be more, judging by what we saw earlier.”

A robotic voice could be heard coming from the main speaker of the ship, “You are unidentified and are on our borders. Please state your name and purpose before we launch an attack.”

“Looks like somebody rolled off the wrong side of the bed,” the copilot said, before they gave their details. “This is the official transport of Supreme Leader John Howe. We have come as requested by President Daniel Gareng. Do we have permission to land?”

The voice said, “Alright. We’re sending you co-ordinates of your landing zone. It’s helipad six. President Daniel Gareng will be there waiting for you.”

By the time the Rebels were taken to the recuperation chambers, they seemed dead. They breathed faintly, and some of them were reduced to skinned skeletons. Tubes were inserted into their chests and very slowly they started to come back to life. “How the hell did this happen?” Erik asked.

“I have no idea,” Daniel said. “Did you hear? They’ve come.”

“Yeah I know. I just received the message.” Erik lit a cigarette, offering one to Daniel. The President shook his head. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, if you are,” Daniel said.

Erik blew out a large puff of smoke and sighed.

“You there,” Daniel said to a guard, “Have they brought Alex?”

The guard nodded, “Sir, he will be in here shortly.” Just then two guards brought Alex inside.

“Ah, cousin,” Daniel said, “We were expecting you.” The boy’s demeanor had changed. Alex’s body glowed faintly from under his clothes. Daniel, knowing there was a connection between his father’s state and Alex’s, noticed the difference in Alex’s appearance.

Alex kept his eyes closed the whole time. His lips murmured, perhaps chanting or praying. But they couldn’t be read because they moved so rapidly. He suddenly stopped the silent murmuring, held his head up and opened his eyes slowly. His eyes changed to the color of pure gold. Beautiful. Even Daniel thought the gold iris contrasted with the crimson-black of his pupil splendidly. Alex seemed more muscular, but lean and his facial features had sharpened. Was this his imagination or was it real? Daniel asked himself.