Chapter 21: Making a Peace Deal
The next morning. In a convoy of a dozen vehicles, Orcilla and fifty of Angelo’s followers had gathered in a field. They were meeting with Flint and Cecil for a tour of the West Camp. Volo was flying above them in his winged outfit, and Angelo and Julio were communicating with the convoy through a video link, and Yassmay was with them as an observer. Cameras were set up inside and outside the vehicles as well as on Volo’s helmet. This was so that Angelo could have a view of everything that was going on.
Flint and Cecil’s convoy of vehicles emerged from over a hill on the other side of the field. It appeared they had over a hundred vehicles.
‘Of course, unsurprisingly, Miro is showing off his power,’ sighed Angelo.
‘I feel very uneasy about all of this,’ said Orcilla into her microphone.
‘That’s the point,’ replied Angelo. ‘It’s a form of intimidation. Hang in there; don’t let them try to bully you.’
‘I’ll hold strong,’ replied Orcilla. ‘That’s why I’m here.’
Flint and Cecil’s convoy stopped around twenty metres ahead of Orcilla’s convoy.
Flint, Cecil and around a dozen enforcers climbed out of the vehicles. Orcilla and around a dozen followers climbed out of their vehicles to meet them. One of the followers carried a tablet device so that Angelo could communicate with Flint and Cecil.
‘Look at your cute little army,’ chuckled Cecil. ‘Are you trying to scare us?’
‘We’re merely showing solidarity,’ replied Angelo. ‘They’re decent folk with an honest cause.’
‘That’s great coming from a terrorist cult leader,’ chuckled Cecil. ‘Did they show their value by eating babies?’
‘We’re not interested in your politics,’ said Orcilla firmly. ‘Our main concern is the wellbeing of the Downs residents.’
‘Absolutely,’ said Flint. ‘We’re happy to put your mind at ease.’
‘We’d put the Downs weirdos’ minds at ease too if we could find one between them,’ chuckled Cecil.
‘I think you’re better at losing things than finding them,’ shouted Yassmay.
'What are you yapping about?’ demanded Cecil.
‘Just a joke, I’m sure,’ said Flint as he tugged on Cecil’s arm. ‘Let’s proceed.’
‘No, what do you mean?’ shouted Cecil.
‘You lost us, and apparently you’ve lost your rank, Captain Cecil,’ chuckled Yassmay.
Cecil’s face turned red with rage.
‘Please be nice, Yassmay,’ said Orcilla. ‘It’s not polite to remind the probably soon-to-be corporal of his all-so-many failures.’
‘This is your final warning, damn it!’ shouted Cecil. ‘You better shut the hell up.’
‘Please show some respect,’ said Angelo firmly. Then he began to chuckle a little. ‘You don’t want Private Cecil to start crying.’
‘Right, that’s it,’ said Cecil, gritting his teeth together. He pulled out his radio and shouted, ‘Kill them all,’ into it.
‘No, we gave them our word,’ said Flint as he grabbed his radio.
Cecil swatted the radio out of Flint’s hand. ‘You gave them your word!’ shouted Cecil. ‘Neither I nor Miro did such a thing.’
‘Everyone turn invisible and run to your vehicles!’ shouted Orcilla. ‘We must leave now!’
Immediately, Orcilla and the followers turned invisible.
‘Open fire now!’ shouted Cecil as he grabbed Flint and dropped to the ground with him. ‘We know where they are. They can’t get far.’
The enforcers opened fire in the direction of Orcilla’s convoy.
Despite turning invisible, half a dozen followers were shot in the back as they fled. Volo swooped down and grabbed Orcilla, who had fallen to the ground. He hoisted her up above the gunfire.
‘Oh no,’ mumbled Orcilla as she looked down at the now visible bodies of the followers.
‘Destroy all the vehicles!’ shouted Cecil into his radio. ‘Nobody leaves here alive.’
The enforcers began firing their large guns from their vehicles. The followers’ vehicles were being systematically blown apart. Some of the followers jumped from their vehicles and became invisible, but they could not escape the massive barrage of firepower.
Angelo stared stone-faced at his screen as he watched the destruction from one of the cameras attached to Volo’s gear.
‘I shouldn’t have spoken,’ said Yassmay. ‘I’m really sorry.’
Both Angelo and Julio remained silent and watched the destruction continue.
The massacre continued until all twelve of the followers’ vehicles were destroyed and the followers’ bodies had become visible.
‘Volo,’ said Angelo into his microphone. ‘Please, bring Orcilla home.’
‘You sacrificed them to save her,’ sobbed Yassmay.
Julio walked over to Yassmay and put his arms around her.
‘My first responsibility is to protect you,’ said Angelo as he looked over to Yassmay. His eyes had turned red, and he appeared a little shaken. ‘We’ll need to do things a little differently now.’
‘Count the bodies!' shouted Cecil. ‘I want to make sure we have them all.’
‘You’ve gone mad!’ shouted Flint. ‘I’m officially relieving you of your duties.’
‘You’re going to fire me for being a little overzealous,’ chuckled Cecil.
‘No!’ shouted Flint in a tone of despair. ‘You disobeyed my orders and committed mass murder.’
‘Exactly the orders given to me by your brother,’ replied Cecil as he held up his phone. ‘I just pushed things along by about thirty minutes.’
‘This is madness!’ stammered Flint.
‘No, it’s strategy,’ replied Cecil. ‘They’ll strike back in revenge. Then we finish them off. The only threat to the Empire will be destroyed.’
Flint put his hands over his face.
‘Have you found Orcilla’s body?’ asked Cecil into the radio.
‘Not yet, sir,’ replied a senior enforcer who was with a team searching through the bodies.
‘Keep looking,’ said Cecil angrily. ‘And get some enforcers to put on infrared goggles.’
‘Sir, we seem to be suffering a minor technical difficulty with them,’ replied the senior enforcer.
‘Just do your job,’ shouted Cecil as he walked back to his vehicle.
Meanwhile, in the underground temple, Angelo and Yassmay were sitting in silence. Julio was standing in his usual place; he was staring blankly at the glass wall.
There was a knock on the door. Julio walked over and opened it. It was a guard. The guard handed Julio a message.
‘It appears we have two guests on the way, High Philosopher,’ said Julio as he turned around and the guard closed the door. ‘They crash-landed a flying vehicle into our mountain. One of them is an enforcer and the other has a bag on his head.’
‘Fine,’ sighed Angelo. ‘I need fifteen minutes to compose myself. Then I’ll see them.’
Ten minutes later, Maskameera and Walter arrived at the underground temple. Maskameera was looking at the Sape paintings on the wall.
‘I’m sure you’d love these paintings,’ said Maskameera, shaking her head slightly. ‘It’s such a pity you have such an ugly face. I had to cover it.’
Walter murmured angrily from under his bag.
‘Then there’s the never-ending flow of rudeness,’ added Maskameera. ‘At least the other retards make up for their idiocy with politeness. You have absolutely no redeeming traits. It’s really remarkable how nature squashed all its crap into one idiot.’
Walter continued to murmur angrily.
‘Well, let’s hope they can give you an appropriate end,’ chuckled Maskameera. ‘I’m betting on them skinning you alive. However, you might be lucky and your new daddy might trade a bag of potatoes for you.’
Julio opened the door. ‘The High Philosopher will see you now,’ said Julio as he beckoned them in.
Maskameera tossed Walter over her shoulder and walked into the room.
‘Welcome to our humble temple,’ said Angelo politely as he stood up and gestured with his hands. ‘I’m High Philosopher Angelo. This is my friend and mentor Julio, and this is my honourable guest Yassmay.’
‘I’m a simple enforcer of no real importance, and this is my gift for you,’ said Maskameera as she placed Walter down.
‘Enforcers have just killed fifty of my followers,’ said Angelo sternly. ‘Please, don’t test my patience. Just get to the point.’
Maskameera pulled the bag off Walter’s head. ‘This is His Royal Highness, son of the Emperor of Sapey, Prince Walter.’
‘No, he’s Walter the baker,’ said Yassmay as she raised her eyebrows in surprise.
‘Great,’ sighed Angelo. ‘Remove his gag and let him speak for himself.’
‘I have video proof of his identity,’ said Maskameera as she pulled out her phone. ‘Watch this.’
Maskameera began to play the coronation video.
‘Oh, this is really cool,’ said Angelo excitedly as he clapped his hands and looked over to Julio. ‘Do you think I could have this sort of fancy ceremony?’
Julio remained expressionless.
‘At the end of his speech he names Walter his son and heir to the Empire,’ added Maskameera.
‘Wow, you’re adopted,’ said Angelo as he looked at Walter. ‘This is a truly game-changing moment.’
‘I’ll fast-forward to the end of the speech for you to hear,’ said Maskameera excitedly.
‘Sure, if you must,’ replied Angelo. ‘I really want to see the whole video afterwards. I’m very impressed.’
‘Maybe you could remove his gag,’ said Yassmay. ‘His face is turning red.’
‘Yes, of course, but the evidence first,’ said Maskameera. ‘Here we are. Listen to this.’
Angelo listened to Tiberius’ words.
‘That’s proof enough for me,’ said Angelo. ‘He is royalty.’
‘Told you,’ sniggered Maskameera as she looked at Yassmay.
‘On that basis, why the hell have you bagged and gagged him?’ shouted Angelo. ‘Have you no respect?’
‘He’s your enemy and prisoner,’ replied Maskameera in shock to Angelo’s sudden outburst.
Yassmay removed Walter’s gag. Walter responded by rattling off a string of vulgarities.
‘That’s why I gagged him,’ shouted Maskameera. ‘He’s unimaginably vulgar.’
‘You killed Hamlet, you sick fuck!’ shouted Walter.
‘No!’ shouted Yassmay in fury. A panicked, then enraged, look came over her face. She charged at Maskameera.
Maskameera grabbed Yassmay by the head and slammed it into the wall with incredible force. Yassmay dropped limp to the ground.
‘I’m not afraid of you!’ shouted Walter. ‘I’ve been told I’ll die before holiday season five years in a row.’
‘Enough!’ shouted Angelo. ‘This is the holiest of temples and my living area.’
‘I give you the son of your enemy,’ said Maskameera angrily as she walked towards the glass wall. ‘The leverage he gives you can help save your pathetic civilisation.’
‘They’re already calling us terrorists,’ replied Angelo in a raised voice. ‘Holding a hostage in an underground tunnel is exactly the thing terrorists do.’
‘I offer you my services,’ shouted Maskameera as she pressed her hands on the glass wall. ‘I’m immortal and I have god-like powers.’
‘Do you mind?’ said Angelo in a casual tone. ‘Your breath is misting up my glass.’
Maskameera roared as her face briefly revealed her true form.
‘Maybe we should all just sit down and relax for a moment,’ said Angelo in a calm tone.
‘I can’t! I shit my pants,’ said Walter angrily as he looked at Maskameera. ‘It’s all your fault. That bag stunk of mouldy socks.’
Maskameera looked at Walter and grunted.
‘I have a better idea,’ said Angelo as he smiled at Maskameera. ‘Around a year ago, I recorded myself in the shower humming a soothing Water Sape lullaby. Julio has converted it into a frequency that you will find most pleasing to your senses.’
Angelo walked over to his sound system and pressed a button. Maskameera dropped to the ground clutching her ears and screaming in pain. Walter’s hair stood up, and his eyes darted from side to side.
‘This isn’t right,’ said Angelo as he looked at Julio. ‘I can’t hear anything.’
‘We can’t hear some of the frequencies that are melodious to the Sentray,’ replied Julio.
‘If we can’t all enjoy it, that simply isn’t right,’ said Angelo as he looked down at Maskameera, who continued to roll around in agony and had now completely shapeshifted into her real form.
Angelo looked at his sound system and frowned. ‘I’ve drawn a blank,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I can’t find the off button.’
‘It’s the same as the “on” button,’ said Julio.
‘Ah yes, I remember now,’ said Angelo as he pressed the ‘on’ button. ‘Damn, nothing happened.’
‘You need to hold the button down for a few seconds,’ said Julio.
‘Alex’s game console has the same problem,’ added Walter.
‘Okay,’ said Angelo as he held the button.
Maskameera leapt to her feet. ‘Arghh!’ roared Maskameera. ‘You filthy …’ Then she dropped back to the floor again clutching her ears in pain.
‘I think you might have held it down too long,’ said Julio. ‘Now it’s switched back on again.’
‘I give up,’ sighed Angelo as he waved his hands in the air.
Yassmay had now regained consciousness and had used the table to pull herself up. ‘What’s going?’ she groaned.
‘Our new guest crushed your head,’ said Angelo. ‘Your amazing regenerative powers have saved your life again.’
‘What’s happening here?’ asked Yassmay as she looked at Maskameera, who continued to roll around in agony.
‘My dear friend Julio discovered through ancient scripture that the right frequency can cause temporary deafness in Sentray by shocking the inner ear,’ said Angelo, raising his eyebrows. ‘It’s incredibly painful, but they recover in a matter of hours.’
‘Is she a Sentray?’ asked Yassmay as she flopped into a chair.
‘No!’ replied Angelo. ‘She’s a hybrid and apparently has extremely enhanced healing power. The inner ear heals immediately, causing her continuous unimaginable agony.’
‘She killed our hero, so I hope she suffers,’ said Yassmay as she watched Maskameera.
‘Julio,’ said Angelo politely. ‘Kindly have our creature sedated and moved to an extra thick cell.’
Julio nodded and called the guards in.
‘I’m sorry I’ve not given you the royal welcome you deserve, Your Highness,’ said Angelo as he turned to Walter, bowing.
‘I don’t understand any of this,’ sighed Walter. ‘I just need to get back to my family.’
‘Of course, you must miss your father, the Emperor,’ said Angelo, nodding.
‘I don’t know who that is,’ replied Walter as he pulled out a photograph from inside his rubber pants. ‘This is my family. The guy in the pineapple shirt is our leader. His name’s Alex.’
‘They look nice,’ replied Angelo as he studied the photograph, which also included the rest of team foodies.
‘We’ll get you back to your family,’ said Yassmay as she hugged Walter.
‘Yes, of course,’ said Angelo, nodding. ‘First we’ll get you cleaned and fed. I’ll consult with Julio and Volo on how we can sneak you across the battle lines.’
While they talked, the guards dragged Maskameera’s heavily sedated body out of the room.
‘I’ll take you to our bathroom,’ said Yassmay.
‘I’ll have a wide selection of clothes brought to you, Your Highness,' said Angelo excitedly. ‘I know we have your size.’
Yassmay and Walter exited the room together, and Julio approached Angelo.
‘The followers found this in their vehicle,’ said Julio as he showed Angelo the contents from a small pouch. ‘It’s a mixture of a rare blue algae and Roo flower pollen.’
‘Deadly to Sentray and deadly to our guest,’ replied Angelo. ‘Unless she’s suicidal, I think there are more of her kind.’
‘We could be seeing the return of the lower power,’ said Julio as his eyes bulged slightly. ‘Recreated from the DNA they used to engineer the original Linap and Sentray.’
‘If that is the case, we may not have entered the thirteenth loop,’ replied Angelo as a grin came over his face. ‘We may have entered a new megaloop. We must draw on the higher power for guidance.’
Julio nodded and stepped back from the glass wall.
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 