Krissy rushed from the interview room knowing she needed to act fast. That was it! DAY ZERO! The day she and everyone else had been preparing for. Urel had returned! Urel was back and she'd just sat right across from him! She could have kicked herself. How did she not know? Why hadn't she sensed something from him? Was he only partially awake as Keyoko had said?
Her mind raced thinking of Keyoko. For so long Krissy had been alone. She had so many questions and things she wanted to discuss with her. She recalled, how being around another, could help you remember more. Sitting across from Keyoko, she'd felt so excited, new memories and emotions started bubbled to the surface. She'd so badly wanted to dive into everything, but thankfully, somehow, she'd managed to keep her composure. She'd stayed on task, and it was a good thing she had, now she knew Jesep was indeed Urel, and there wasn't a moment to spare!
Krissy clenched her fists, and sped herself up, moving faster then everyone around her. She got to the stairwell, and considered contacting Burger, or sounding the alarm, but thought better of it. She had just found out who he was, maybe just maybe, he didn't know that she knew yet, and she could use that to her advantage.
She slowed herself to normal time as she stepped out of the stairwell. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself for anything as she made her way to his room. Everything appeared normal and calm, along the way. When she saw his door, two soldiers were still stationed outside, another good sign that nothing had happened yet. As she got to the door, she noticed the nurse from earlier, approaching with a wheelchair.
The nurse saluted her, then smiled and asked, "Is everything okay, Survayant Rogers? We were just about to get him and begin the tests you ordered."
"Right," said Krissy, trying not to appear alarmed.
She'd nearly forgotten she'd ordered tests. She didn't need them now. She knew who he was. She stepped up to his door and looked in on him. He was sitting up in bed and still appeared tired. She wondered if it was an act now. She pulled back coming up with a plan. She needed to lock him down right away! She knew she was suppose to give everyone a chance, but he wasn't like everyone else. She, Urutha, the planet, the galaxy, couldn't afford to give him a chance.
She considered her options carefully and decided she would freeze him in time, then sedate him. While she would like to question him further, she couldn't take the risk, too many things could go wrong. Freezing him in time, then sedating him until the lock down team had him secured, was her best and safest option. She was glad she had them on stand by now.
She nodded deciding on her plan. Then turned to the nurse and ordered, "Change of plans, I want him sedated, immediately."
"Yes mam," said the nurse. She set the wheelchair off to the side, then turned and went to get the sedation.
Krissy kept her eyes locked on Jesep, and motioned to the soldiers, "Be ready,"
They nodded and moved away from the door. Krissy hoped she could do this on her own, but wanted them ready, just in case she failed. As she waited for the nurse to returned, she felt something ever so slightly, the other presence from earlier! Yes! It must be Gigi she'd been feeling. She was close, Krissy needed to act fast. She looked down the hall and saw the nurse rushing back with the syringe
"Do you want me to do it?" asked the nurse.
"No I will." said Krissy.
She reached for the syringe, but the nurse pulled it back. Krissy was confused, she felt something at the back of her head as it exploded. Her body collapsed to the floor and the nurse and soldiers suddenly disappeared.
Gigi stood over Jezza, with a gun that had a silencer attached to it. Her heart was racing. "FUCK!" She shouted stomping her high heels on the floor, "That was close!" She let out a sigh of relief, then kicked Jezza's corpse. Her brains were splattered all over the place. "Uh what a fucking mess! I guess the cats out of the bag!"
She looked in on Jesep, then touched her earpiece, radioing Eyo, "Times up, literally, Jezza knows, but I got her down, for now"
"Secure her, and bring him to me at once," ordered Eyo.
"Alright, but I'm gonna need another hit," said Gigi.
Eyo didn't respond, she let out a heavy sigh. She put her gun away, then dragged Jezza's corpse through the hall. She moved her to the room, with the rest of the corpses, and disarmed her. When Gigi thought she had everything, she zip tied Jezza's hands and feet, knowing unlike the rest of the corpses, Jezza would regenerate.
Hopefully by then, they'd be long gone from here or at least Gigi would have some fucking help! She'd been doing everything around here. Once Jezza was secured, Gigi pulled back and got an idea. It took a little extra effort, but she moved several of the corpses on top of Jezza. Just in case they didn't come back, she wanted her to have a nice little treat, when she woke up.
***
Jesep mulled over the information he'd acquired and debated how he wanted to play this out. After the soldiers had helped him back to his room, and into bed, they stationed themselves just outside his door. It wasn't ideal, but he was pleased to no longer be handcuffed, and to have a moment to think. He supposed they no longer considered him a threat, for now as long as he 'cooperated.'
Of course, he had no intention of 'cooperating.' He needed to get out of here, sooner rather then later. Whether Atoe, and the things he said were real or not, Jesep didn't take being caged lightly. He needed to find a way out or at last get to a phone. If he could contact- Jesep paused letting out a heavy sigh, he realized he could no longer contact Grady.
The last time Jesep saw him, Grady had been hurling out a window, from the eleventh floor. He doubted Grady had survived, then again, things weren't always what they seemed as of late. He himself had survived a much greater fall. Still, even if Grady had managed to survive, Jesep wasn't sure what condition he was in. No, if he only got one chance to make a phone call, he needed it to count. He'd reach out to his top ranking, military contact, the one who owed him a favor. Jesep hated using it on something like this, but it should get him out of here or at the very least some information.
He rubbed his jaw wishing he had a cigarette. Perhaps he could ask one of the soldiers. Maybe he could size one up. Later ask to be taken to the bathroom or something, and see if they'd take a life changing bribe. It was always better to have as many options as possi-
He saw someone step up to his door, out of the corner of his eye. He acted as if he hadn't notice. They watched him through a small viewing window, in the reinforced door. He saw them move in and out of view, several times, and then they were gone. Was it time for his testing? Was it something else? A pop went off...gunfire! He remained relaxed, by all appearances, but was ready to strike, if the need arose. Perhaps something was going down.
Several tense minutes passed, then the door opened. He wondered why Atoe hadn't told him someone was coming, like last time. He cautiously looked up from his thoughts, to see Survayant Rogers and two soldiers, but there was something off about them. Survayant Rogers body language was different, her smile seemed familiar somehow. The soldiers also seemed quite similar as if they were clones of one another. Survayant Rogers, sauntered up to him, then suddenly became the nurse, he'd seen earlier. Jesep tilted his head as she then became Esma.
Her smile got even wider as she seductively said "Surprise." While most people would have been agasp by what they had just seen, Jesep found himself rather annoyed. Esma pouted at his lack of a reaction. "Not happy to see me?"
Jesep sighed, "Well discuss "this" later, just get me out of here!"
"Fine," said Esma.
She turned into a solider, then went into the hall and returned with a wheelchair. Jesep painfully moved himself into it as she held it still. He noted that the other soldiers made no attempt to assist him. He wondered if they were real or not. Once he got back in the chair, he broke into a coughing fit and more dirt came spewing out, with blood.
Esma looked at him concerned, "You didn't take your stone off right?"
"No," he said.
"Good," said Esma, "Because without it, you could die, like really die."
"Good to know," said Jesep. He instinctively held his chest, feelings it's presence. He wondered just what was this stone? What did Esma know about it? He had questions, but knew now was not the time.
Esma wheeled him out of the room and into the hall. The soldiers followed in near unison behind them. He assumed Esma was getting him out of here. As they moved passed several rooms, he asked. "Is Genoa in one of these rooms?"
"No," said Esma with a sigh, "She's downstairs."
"Where?" asked Jesep. "What is her condition?"
Esma let out another sigh as they moved to the elevator. They got in and she pushed a button to go down. "Relax, she's secured. We'll meet up with her later. Right now we've got something more important to do."
"Like what?" Jesep hissed noticing they were going down instead of up. "Just where are you taking me?"
"A little trust," said Esma, "Just sit tight. You'll get answers soon enough."
When the elevator got to it's floor, the soldiers suddenly disappeared, along with Esma and himself. Jesep lifted his hands staring at where they should be. He could feel them and yet his eyes told him they, and the rest of his body, were gone. The elevator doors opened and Esma wheeled him out. There were several soldiers standing guard, they looked at the elevator doors curiously, but didn't appear to see Jesep and Esma as they passed by.
Esma pushed Jesep down a long hall and then turned a corner. She quickly jerked his wheelchair, seeing several soldiers coming. She positioned them so that they were out of the soldiers way as they passed. Jesep assumed now, this, whatever Esma was doing, was only visual. Perhaps some sort of illusion. Wind, time, and now illusion, the list of abilities were just adding up.
Esma took them to another elevator as the lights flickered on and off. They went down several more floors. When they reached the floor she wanted, everything became visible once more. He watched her pull out a security card, to open the elevator doors. He notice small flecks of blood on the card and that the picture on the ID, was Survayant Rogers.
From the elevator they moved down another long hall. She used the card once again, when they came to a large set of sealed doors. They opened and Esma wheeled him into a large room. In the center of the room there was a glass cage. Inside the cage, he saw Grady sleeping on a cot. Esma stopped Jesep's wheelchair, a few feet from the glass and locked it in place. She carefully tapped on the glass, and Grady opened his eyes. He sat up on the cot and turned to look at her and then him.
Grady stood and easily let himself out of the cage. He reached out to Esma and she took hold of his hand. For a moment the two stood very still, Grady closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. After a moment or so he let go of her hand and pulled back.
Esma closed her eyes, rolled her shoulders and moved her head from side to side, "It doesn't feel like much, this time."
"You want more, then bring me more bodies." grumbled Grady.
Esma crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "Whatever, it should do for now, you've got maybe twenty minutes of looped feed left, at best. Make it count."
"You as well," said Grady.
Esma pushed her lips out, pouting for a moment before she morphed into Survayant Rogers once more. She gave Jesep a wink, turned and walked out of the room. He sat there for a moment and Grady quickly explained, "She has the power of illusion."
"Yes," said Jesep. "I gathered as much."
Grady nodded and asked, "How do you feel?"
Jesep rubbed his jaw and assumed they only had so long, from what Esma had said. He looked up at Grady, and decided to get straight to the point, "Just who are you really, and what is going on here?"
Grady looked down at him, with concern, "Do you still not know me? Are you still not awake?"
Awake thought Jesep, he didn't know how, but he seemed to know what he meant. He moved his hand over his chest and willed the stone to rise up. Grady's eyes fixated on it, for a moment his expressionless face, almost looked happy.
"Yes," said Grady. "At last"
"I'm still at a loss," said Jesep, plainly.
"It may take some time." said Grady. "It depends on various factors, but you should start to remember soon enough, especially given how many of us are already awake."
"Remember what exactly?"asked Jesep. His voice cracked on the last word as he began to wheeze and then cough once again. Several flecks of dirt entered his mouth as he broke into another coughing fit. Grady reached out to touch him, but Jesep jerked away. He wasn't exactly sure what Grady's touch did, but after witnessing him touch Esma, he now knew it did something.
Grady left his hand in the air as Atoe whispered, "Let him help us."
"Can you hear that?" rasped Jesep, still recovering from his cough. "The shadow."
"No, only you can hear the shadows call." said Grady. "You are their king."
"King," Jesep wheezed, his eyes glistened with the thought, he was the shadow king? Yes, it sounded oddly familiar.
"Please, allow me to touch you. It would seem you're still recovering from your injuries. My ability allows me to manipulate energy. I can help you recover faster."
Grady offered out his hand once more, but Jesep waved him off. He shook his head, coughed a few more times, then gathered up his spit. He turned his head to the side and released the dirty spiting onto the ground. He breathed in deeply through his nose, swallowed then said. "Tell me EVERYTHING and then I will decide."
Grady pulled his hand back, he looked pained, but dropped down to one knee before Jesep and bowed, "I am Eyo, your most loyal servant and you are Urel."
Urel. Urel. Urel. The name somehow felt familiar. Jesep's eyes glossed over as he lost himself in thought for a moment. Grady lifted his head, but stayed on his knee as he continued on, "Long ago, our souls were split in half." Grady lifted an orange stone from his chest, "Half our soul was locked in unbreakable stone and the other was to be reborn in flesh, over and over again, for all eternity. Each life, I seek you out and assist with your plans."
"And just what plans are those?" asked Jesep, staring at Grady's stone.
"To rule absolute," said Grady, "Over everything, for all infinity. Only you know the true path."
"The true path." Jesep repeated.
He lifted his own stone from his chest, rubbing it with his thumb, he peered into it, feeling something deep within him stir. Yes. Yes. All his life, he had been seeking, wealth, knowledge and power. He sought to start his own company that would one day dominate this world, but what was a world, in the expanse of galaxies, the universes themselves and everything.
Jesep peered deeply into his stone. At first, it appeared to be solid black, but now he could see there were levels, depths within depths, beyond the darkness. He recall the voices once more as they called out to him in unison. "Yes."
"There are others voices inside my head." said Jesep.
"Yes, in your pursuit of ultimate power, you sought out others, with great abilities. They joined with you, becoming part of you. Only you can control them, use your will to combine them, to become whole once more."
"My will." Jesep whispered to himself "Whole."
Jesep closed his eyes, he felt as if he was on the edge, grasping at the fringes of something beyond. He wrapped his hand around the stone, clutching it tightly. He beckoned for Grady...Eyo to finally touch him. Eyo reached out his hand once more, and placed it over Jesep's hand as it held the stone. Jesep felt something, a strange sensation come over him, a surge of adrenaline, of power...energy. He could feel a deep echo within him. The stone released such darkness, it seeped into his hand and throughout his entire body.
He embraced it fully, realizing the stone was a part of himself that had been locked away, behind a great door. He could see it now within his mind. He placed his hand upon the intricate door and it unlocked, opening before him. His wounds began to heal as he stepped into the infinite library of his mind. There was so much knowledge, memories flowed into him, stretching back eons upon eons. He was immortal… eternal… everlasting!
Jesep felt the others stronger now, they came to him and he looked upon them, knowing who and what they were. Each of them held an aspect of himself, a part of his essence, a piece to his puzzle. They had always been inside him waiting. He no longer resisted their voices, he sought to control them, to combine them once more as Eyo had said.
The whisper, Atoe. "Yesssss,"
The charismatic voice, Lexxie: "At last"
The dark, deep voice, Ezek: "Let it begin!"
They twisted around him and as he forged himself back together, his eyes darkened. When he was finally whole once more, he began to moved about his internal library, so many books, so much to recall, to understand. Books began to float off the shelves, he reach out to take one, but something at the back of his library caught his attention. He saw a wall of paintings, a shrine of his beloved, Keyoko. He could recall, their time together now...what she meant to him, his heart and loins swelled.
He smiled thinking back to the last moment they had shared. She had looked down upon him. He had asked her what she was. She had said she was cursed but she was wrong...WRONG, this wasn't a curse. NO, they weren't cursed, they were gods.
He opened his eyes, Eyo pulled his hand back as Urel rose from his wheelchair. He commanded the shadows to take it away, throwing it across the room. He pulled his hand from the stone and summoned his double sided ax. He admired it for a moment, the blades were pristine, he smiled to himself, thinking he would soon fix that.
He looked around the room and then down at Eyo as he stared up at him with such devotion.
Urel motioned for him to rise, Eyo quickly got to his feet and pulled his morning star from his stone. Urel breathed in deeply as the shadows feverishly came to gathered around his feet. He looked down at them and thought it was time, he claimed what was his...everything.
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