Chapter 89: Blood on My Hands
Another two days passed. It was time for the first Downs residents to leave. Orcilla was still on the life support machine. Yassme had instructed the enforcers to move her to a vehicle that could power the machine. Colin had provided them with several backup batteries in case the vehicle lost power at any time. Tiberius had decided that Orcilla, Daily, Vulay, and Denise would be relocated to a campsite outside of the Farnham Region. He wanted them to manage the Downs residents working in that area.
Yassme had requested that Yassmay remain with her to run the laboratory. Yassmay was conflicted. After much thought, she decided to stay in Downs with Yassme. She returned to their apartment building to tell her. Yassme was taking some bags of rubbish down to the main bins.
‘I’m staying here with you,’ called out Yassmay as she walked over to Yassme.
‘I knew you would,’ replied Yassme as she smiled.
Yassmay threw her arms around Yassme. In doing so, it caused one of the rubbish bags she was carrying to rip open. A dress covered in blood fell to the ground.
Yassmay sharply pulled her arms away from Yassme and looked down and stared at the dress. Yassme stared at Yassmay with a look of fear on her face.
‘You did it,’ said Yassmay softly as she continued to stare at the dress.
‘I did it for us,’ said Yassme. ‘With her out of the way, we can go back to how we used to be.’
‘Is that what you really believe?’ asked Yassmay as she looked at Yassme.
‘I’d do anything for us, for you,’ said Yassme. ‘This is for the better, trust me.’
‘Goodbye, Yassme,’ said Yassmay as she turned around. A tear began to roll down her face.
‘You’ll come back. You need me,’ called out Yassme.
Yassmay did not respond as she continued walking away.
Tiberius returned to the square to make his final speech to the Downs residents. The stage was still there from several days earlier. Tiberius climbed up on stage with Jenna.
‘You have my beautiful daughter to thank for this final address,’ said Tiberius as he held her hand up.
The crowd applauded.
‘Today is a great but also sad day,’ said Tiberius as he slowly lowered Jenna’s hand. ‘It’s great as the medical centre is close to empty. The plague of illness is at an end.
The crowd applauded again.
‘It is sad because many of you will be leaving your homes,’ said Tiberius. ‘You will no longer have the luxuries of an established region. This is just a small and temporary price to pay. Before long, you will be back here in Downs.’
‘Downs! Downs! Downs! Downs! Downs!’ chanted the crowd.
‘I would like to give all of you the opportunity to ask me any questions,’ said Tiberius as he smiled at Jenna. ‘Raise your hands and we can begin.’
Several raised their hands. Tiberius pointed to someone in the second row. Duffo, who was holding a microphone, walked over to him.
‘What kind of accommodation will we have?’ asked the Downs resident.
‘You’ll have what we had,’ replied Tiberius. ‘When you leave later today, you’ll see our campsite. It’s not luxury, but it’ll have everything you need.’
Duffo rushed over to someone else who had raised her hand.
‘Will we remain with our friends and family?’ she asked.
‘We have gone to great pains to ensure family and friends remain together,’ replied Tiberius. ‘We only have two campsites. One in the west just outside of Farnham and one in the east on the other side of Carrington. If by chance family and close friends are separated, we will endeavour to reunite you as soon as possible.’
Duffo walked over to Vulay, who had raised her hand.
‘How much will Downs residents be paid for their labour?’ asked Vulay. ‘I’ve been informed that some of the gold is going to be minted into coins.’
‘Nothing escapes your attention, Vulay,’ replied Tiberius. ‘That’s why you’ll make such a great leader in our west camp.’
Tiberius was about to move on to the next question when Jenna poked him in the side. He looked at her and then he smiled. Then he looked at Vulay.
‘You’ll get something far more valuable than gold coins,’ said Tiberius. ‘You’ll have good health for as long as you’re willing to play your part.’
‘Isn’t good health already guaranteed?’ asked Vulay. ‘After all, those going to the camps would have taken your wonder cure.’
‘I must apologise,’ said Tiberius. ‘I think I might have been misunderstood. Technically, the seaweed cure is actually a treatment. It restores health as promised, but for good health to continue, it needs to be administered every few months. Surely, that’ll be little more than just a small inconvenience.’
‘We were under the impression there was a limited supply of this special seaweed. What happens when it runs out?’ asked Vulay.
‘We have solved that problem,’ replied Tiberius. ‘We are able to grow the seaweed ourselves. It’ll be transferred to Downs, where it’ll be processed into the wonder cure. From here, it’ll be distributed to whoever needs it.’
‘When we have finished playing our part, will we still be given this treatment?’ asked Vulay forcefully.
‘I’ve answered many of your questions,’ replied Tiberius. ‘It’s only fair to give someone else a chance. You can meet with Jenna afterwards; she will address all your concerns.’
Tiberius continued answering questions for another half an hour. The questions were not particularly challenging. They were about things such as food and working hours.
After Tiberius had finished answering questions, Vulay rushed over to Jenna.
‘We need to talk now,’ said Vulay aggressively to Jenna.
‘Sure, just stay calm,’ replied Jenna. ‘Let’s go over to the hotel where we can talk in private.’
Tiberius watched them enter the hotel. Jennifer took over Polly. She became invisible and followed them in.
Vulay and Jenna entered a private meeting room.
‘I’ve gotten to know you a little,’ said Vulay. 'You seem decent.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Jenna. ‘You seem like someone who cares very deeply about Downs.’
‘The Downs folk are the best,’ said Vulay forcefully. ‘I’d fight for them and die for them if need be.’
‘They will be taken care of and treated with respect,’ replied Jenna. ‘You have my word.’
‘You are blinded because he is your father,’ said Vulay. ‘How can you not see that this is slavery?’
‘It’s a temporary loss of freedom,’ replied Jenna as she reached out and held Vulay’s hand. ‘It’s not fair. I know that. Without their labour, we will never have a home above ground, and we will never have freedom.’
‘I want them to be paid above just receiving some treatment,’ said Vulay. ‘I want their temporary accommodation to be the first priority before any work can commence. Hours must be reasonable. They must have plenty of days off.’
‘Yes, we’ll do that,’ said Jenna. ‘On top of that, I’ll ensure they get to return home to Downs several weeks every few months. I swear they’ll never be treated as slaves.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Vulay as she nodded.
Jenna and Vulay hugged. Suddenly Jenna felt a sharp pain in her neck. Blood began to spurt out.
Vulay desperately tried to stop the bleeding. She began to scream for help. A few moments later, several enforcers rushed in. A few technicians followed them. The technicians carried Jenna out of the hotel, and the enforcers pinned Vulay to the ground.
Tiberius rushed over to the technicians carrying Jenna. ‘What happened to my daughter?’ he shouted at them.
The technicians put Jenna in the back of a vehicle. Tiberius climbed in with her. They raced off to the medical centre.
On arrival, a medical team took Jenna out of the vehicle and placed her on a gurney. At this point, it was clear that Jenna had died.
‘Do something! Bring her back!’ shouted Tiberius.
The medical attendant wheeled her into an emergency room. They attempted to resuscitate her but failed.
Tiberius was marching up and down the lobby shouting in rage. Miro and Duffo had now joined him. They stood back and watched.
Denise and Daily heard the commotion from inside their vehicle.
Five of the new enforcers approached them.
‘Turn around,’ shouted one of the enforcers to Denise. ‘You’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder.’
‘What are you talking about?’ responded Denise in shock.
Two of the enforcers turned her around and slammed her face against the vehicle, and another handcuffed her.
Daily stood back and watched in shock.
Denise was taken to the Enforcer Headquarters. She was pushed into a room. Inside the room was Vulay. She was handcuffed to a chair.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Denise, sounding frantic.
‘Jenna Alset has been murdered,’ replied Vulay as she shook her head. ‘They’re pinning it on me and apparently you too.’
‘How is this possible?’ said Denise. ‘She’s his daughter. Surely he wouldn’t.’
‘Was she? Was she really?!’ exclaimed Vulay. ‘She didn’t have her memory back. Demadrian was getting his memory back, and they locked him up for attempted murder.’
‘Oh gosh, this is bad,’ said Denise as she began to pace.
Two enforcers entered the room. They grabbed Denise and took her out of the room. Polly entered the room after them.
‘Polly, surely you know what’s going on,’ said Vulay.
‘Most of the time, but sometimes I need to protect her,’ said Jennifer through Polly. ‘Something I learnt from you.’
‘No!’ shouted Vulay.
‘Oh yes, it’s me,’ said Jennifer through Polly. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
Vulay began to desperately struggle to get out of her chair.
‘I have great news,’ said Jennifer. ‘I’m going back in your brain.’
Vulay screamed as loudly as she could.
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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