Chapter 47: Feeling Under the Weather
Louis was arriving back at Downs in his flying vehicle. He landed outside the main laboratory in the Industrial Zone. Orcilla and Yassmay rushed out of the laboratory to meet him. Eugene was also outside. He had just finished eating a cream pastry.
Louis climbed out of the flying vehicle.
‘Where are the others?’ asked Orcilla in a concerned tone.
‘It’s terrible! The underground Linap have captured them,’ replied Louis in a slightly panicked tone.
‘I find that response highly suspicious,’ said Eugene angrily as he ran towards Louis. ‘I’m placing you under arrest.’
‘Being “suspicious” is not a crime, you moron,’ replied Louis in frustration.
‘That might be true,’ stated Eugene as he grabbed Louis’ arm. ‘However, insulting a Co-Head Enforcer is.’
‘No, it isn’t,’ said Louis as he pushed Eugene away from him.
‘Correct again,’ replied Eugene as he grabbed Louis’ arm a second time. ‘However, assaulting a Co-Head Enforcer definitely is.’
‘Stop it!’ interrupted Orcilla. ‘Calm down, both of you.’
‘I’ll bring these two inside,’ said Yassmay. ‘I’ll do a full checkup on them.’
Orcilla nodded, and then she turned to Louis. ‘Okay, let’s go inside,’ said Orcilla calmly. ‘You can explain everything that has happened.’
Orcilla, Louis, and Eugene entered the laboratory lounge. Louis and Orcilla sat down opposite each other, and Eugene stood next to Orcilla. He folded his arms in an attempt to look intimidating.
‘We had almost finished defrosting L10 Linap when these hideously disfigured, cave-dwelling Linap showed up,’ said Louis. ‘I could see the evil in their eyes.’
‘So you legged it and left them to die,’ blurted out Eugene.
Orcilla gestured to Eugene to stop talking. ‘What happened next?’ she asked Louis.
‘L10 Linap fell out of his pod,’ said Louis. ‘I told these hideous freaks that we were the only ones who could save his life. They immediately acknowledged my intellectual superiority and decided to help us transport him to the flying vehicle.’
Eugene frowned as he leaned forward. Orcilla showed no emotion as she listened.
‘This was our chance,’ said Louis. ‘I whispered to the others my brilliant escape plan. They nodded in complete agreement. Then I sprinted off away from the flying vehicles. All of them immediately pursued me. This gave the others a perfect opportunity to escape.
‘With my superior athleticism, I managed to escape these freaks, said Louis as he energetically waved his arms. ‘I used this opportunity to make my way back to the flying vehicle. Only once I was in the air did I realise the others had not left. I desperately wanted to return and save them, but they had been securely chained up. I knew my only chance would be to return here for help.’
Orcilla turned and looked at Eugene, who was shaking his head. She turned back to Louis. ‘How many of them were there?’ she asked him.
‘There were six,’ replied Louis. ‘Based on the power usage, there could be millions of them.’
‘Did they want anything in particular?’ asked Orcilla in a more serious tone.
‘They wanted their “ancestors” returned to them,’ said Louis as he shrugged his shoulders.
’Thank you, Louis,’ said Orcilla. ‘You may leave now.’
Louis took a deep breath, and then he left.
‘I don’t trust a word he said,’ said Eugene as he looked at Orcilla.
‘He was afraid of them, so he left,’ said Orcilla. ‘He’s now afraid of us, so he lied.’
‘Do you want me to organise a rescue mission?’ said Eugene as he raised his eyebrows up and down.
‘No need; they’ll be coming here,’ said Orcilla as she got up from her seat.
‘I better organise a welcome party,’ said Eugene as he rushed to the door. ‘Fresh fruit can tame the heart of the wildest savage.’
Orcilla returned to her office. She sat down behind her desk. She leaned forward as she winced in pain. She took some of her medication, waited ten minutes, and then went to find Yassmay.
Yassmay was pleased to inform Orcilla that L4 and L8 Linap were in good health and were now conscious. Orcilla told Yassmay to inform the other Linap immediately of the arrival of the two and that they were invited to the emergency town hall meeting that night.
Yassmay knocked on the door of L7 Linap and Duffo’s apartment. Duffo opened the door.
‘I have some great news,’ said Yassmay with a smile. ‘We have brought back two more of your family.’
‘Two, I thought you were bringing back three,’ said Duffo as he scratched his head.
‘We have a slight problem,’ said Yassmay. ‘We need you to attend a meeting tonight so we can discuss it.’
‘Have the underground folk decided to show up?’ asked L7 Linap as he approached the door.
‘Our team encountered them at one of the locations,’ replied Yassmay.
‘We’ll help, but we want something in return,’ replied L7 Linap.
‘You can raise that at the meeting,’ said Yassmay as she walked off.
L7 Linap and Duffo looked at each other and both nodded.
That night Orcilla, Yassmay, Yassme, Vulay, Eugene, Louis, Colin, L7 Linap, Duffo, L9 Linap, and Benny met in the meeting room in the town hall.
‘I’ve called this emergency meeting tonight as we are faced with a potentially serious problem,’ said Orcilla as she looked at the four male Linap in attendance. ‘Daily, Denise, and Freddy are currently in the company of the underground Linap. It appears they are unhappy with the activities regarding their frozen leaders.’
‘The key word you mention is leaders,’ said L7 Linap confidently. ‘As their leaders, we can resolve any problems, and we can ensure harmony.’
‘I greatly appreciate your help,’ replied Orcilla.
‘In exchange for that help, we would like to be given official leadership roles,’ said L7 Linap.
‘Seriously,’ said Vulay, sounding annoyed. ‘You have full resident status. That should be enough.’
‘Maybe the lives of your friends aren’t worth that much,’ said Duffo, shrugging his shoulders.
‘Okay, two of you can have leadership roles,’ replied Orcilla.
‘You can’t make that decision on your own,’ said Vulay angrily as she turned to Orcilla. ‘Surely you would support a vote on it.’
‘That sounds fair,’ said L7 Linap. ‘You have nothing to worry about; you outnumber us seven to four.’
‘What makes you think you have the right to participate in this vote?’ asked Vulay angrily as she turned to L7 Linap.
‘All at the table have a right to participate in a vote,’ said Eugene confidently. ‘It’s in the enforcer guidebook.’
‘We’ll vote by raising our hands,’ said Orcilla. ‘If you support giving our Linap friends two leadership roles, raise your hands.’
L7 Linap, Duffo, and Benny immediately raised their hands. Orcilla slowly raised her hand, and Eugene followed. All eyes were now on L9 Linap, who looked hesitant.
‘We have six hands raised,’ said Duffo as he pointed to Yassme, who had suddenly raised her hand.
‘It’s settled then,’ said Orcilla.
‘Not yet,’ said L7 Linap. ‘I want to be the Head Science Officer.’
‘I want to be Head Enforcer,’ added Duffo.
Eugene turned dramatically to stare at Duffo.
‘We can sort out the details in the morning,’ said Orcilla. ‘Let’s discuss how we’re going to prepare for our guest's arrival.’
After the meeting, Orcilla was leaving the town hall when she suddenly felt faint. She leaned against a wall to stop herself from falling. She slowly slid down to the ground. Vulay and Eugene saw her on the ground. They both rushed to help her up. From both sides, they lifted her up from under her arms. They took her back inside the town hall and placed her on a sofa.
‘You need to take it easy,’ said Vulay. ‘You also need to increase your medication. You’re not going to function like this.’
‘I can function fine,’ said Orcilla. ‘I just feel a little lightheaded at the moment. I’ll be fine tomorrow.’
‘I’ll stay with you until you are feeling better,’ said Vulay as she held Orcilla’s hand.
‘I’ll stay with you too,’ said Eugene as he held her other hand.
Orcilla nodded her head and smiled.
Outside, Yassmay confronted Yassme regarding her vote.
‘What are you doing?’ said Yassmay. ‘Why would you vote to give them more power?’
‘Same reasons as Orcilla,’ chuckled Yassme. ‘Denise, Daily, and Freddy’s wellbeing means more than anything to me.’
‘Orcilla is doing this to protect her husband and her best friend,’ said Yassmay. ‘There is no comparison. You clearly have other motivations.’
‘Of course I do, and of course Orcilla doesn’t,’ said Yassme. ‘She’s all about self-sacrifice.’
‘Go to bed,’ said Yassmay as she turned around. ‘We’ll talk in the morning.’
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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