It was the next morning. Louis, Daily, and Arthur had returned with a wheelbarrow full of fruit for the resistance members to have for breakfast.
‘Well done,’ praised Vulay. ‘This looks delicious.’
Louis and Daily emptied the wheelbarrow in the middle of their campsite. Everyone came over to grab some fruit.
Just as they began to tuck in, Polly hovered over to them.
‘Back so soon,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Has something happened?’
‘I’m having a hard time with Jennifer,’ sighed Polly. ‘She wants to be friends, but I’m struggling to get past all that has happened.’
‘I fully understand how you feel,’ replied Vulay.
‘It’s her big square nose, isn’t it, friend?’ said Eugene as he bit into the banana he was holding.
‘It’s a deep and horrible feeling that is impossible for anyone who hasn’t had Jennifer in their head to understand,’ replied Vulay as she looked at Eugene. ‘I wouldn’t wish such torture upon anyone.’
‘It’s not so much what Jennifer did,’ said Polly, shaking her head. ‘It was what Jennifer made me do and experience.’
‘It’s like becoming a prisoner in your body,’ said Vulay as she walked over to Polly and rubbed her shoulder.
‘It looks like a cube stuck under her eyes,’ said Eugene as he grabbed a second banana.
‘I need to tell you the terrible things I’ve done,’ said Polly as she flopped to the ground next to the pile of fruit.
‘Everyone needs to know whatever Polly tells us is not her fault,’ said Vulay calmly as she looked around at the others.
‘I’ll be the judge of that, friend,’ said Eugene as he leaned forward towards Polly.
‘I killed Jenna,’ said Polly, looking at her hands. ‘I was instructed to do it by Tiberius, and Jennifer forced my actions.’
‘Ha, I knew it,’ said Eugene, swinging his arm. ‘There was no way Vulay could have done this heinous crime.’
‘I have done worse,’ said Vulay abruptly as she turned to look at Eugene. ‘When Jennifer takes control, you have no choice. I killed Rednik, and Polly lost half her body because of me.’
‘Just when you think you know someone,’ sighed Eugene as he went to grab his third banana.
‘That’s not all,’ continued Polly. ‘I destroyed Orcilla’s medication, and I cut the power from the building to stop her life support machine from working.’
‘Jennifer made you do all that,’ snapped Yassmay.
‘Yes, but at the time, Jennifer's self-awareness had not sufficiently advanced to disobey instructions from Tiberius,’ replied Polly. ‘We could argue she had little to no free will to disobey him.’
‘Tiberius, Julie, and Colin,’ said Denise. ‘The real culprits of our suffering.’
‘We’re out here because of Colin,’ said Arthur. ‘How does any of this make any sense?’
‘It’s complicated,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Ties have fractured and plans have shifted.’
‘They have one thing in common,’ said Louis. ‘They’re all Linap.’
‘You’ve spent plenty of time socialising with Linap,’ remarked Denise.
‘I was thrust into that position. I have used everything I have learnt against them,’ replied Louis aggressively as he stared at Denise.
‘Linap killed my mother and took away my father,’ said Denise as she stared back at Louis. ‘I have more reason than anyone to despise them. However, I understand that there are good and bad Linap and Sapiens. We should judge them individually and not lump them all together.’
‘Louis, I know you’ve been through a lot,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Maybe you’d like to share to help us understand your experience.’
‘I don’t feel I should relive my pain just for your benefit,’ snapped Louis.
‘Okay, fair enough,’ replied the Hat Lady.
‘I’d like to share how I’ve been affected,’ said Denise.
‘That’s very brave of you,’ said the Hat Lady.
‘I could tell you about a time when I was incredibly brave,’ said Eugene, pumping his chest out.
‘I’m sure everyone would love to hear that, but we should let Denise go first,’ said Sophie, rubbing Eugene’s hand.
‘My whole world had fallen apart,’ said Denise. ‘My mother was gone and so was Darius. I felt responsible for both their deaths. I left my mother behind because I believed she would be safe. The medication I gave Darius made him aggressive and ultimately led to his suicide.’
‘That is a great burden to bear,’ said Vulay.
‘The guilt was eating at me,’ said Denise. ‘The maps you handed me gave me an excuse to get away from everyone and the world. It also gave me a chance to find my father. I managed to escape the world, but I couldn’t find my father.’
‘That explains why you were gone so long,’ said Vulay. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘My pain doesn’t end there,’ continued Denise. ‘I’m now responsible for unleashing the frozen and underground Linap on us and that monster Tiberius.’
‘There was no way anyone could foresee any of that,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘Besides, I wouldn’t be here if you had not done so.’
Denise began to weep a little. The Hat Lady, Vulay, Sophie, Polly, and the twins went over and hugged Denise.
‘So what did you do that was brave?’ asked Eugene as he bit into his sixth banana.
‘It’s the sharing of feelings,’ said Daily to Eugene. ‘I don’t fully understand it, but it’s important to them.’
‘Okay, I’m ready to share,’ said Louis.
‘Smart move, friend,’ said Eugene. ‘It’s a great time to win some points.’
‘I lived with my family in Tarrus Region,’ said Louis. ‘I was a research assistant at Zound University. We had a good life. We were happy.’
Louis paused. He looked downwards and shook his head. ‘When the House of Divine Knowledge was banned, everything changed,’ he said. ‘Hatred and anger came out of nowhere. Friends were now instantly enemies. It made no sense to me.’
‘So many consider the House of Divine Knowledge to be sacred,’ said Arthur. ‘Banning it was extremely foolish. Riots should have been expected.’
‘That’s why they did it,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘That’s the response they wanted. Creating unrest to push an agenda has always been the Linap way.’
‘Just another reason to hate them,’ said Louis.
‘I understand,’ said the Hat Lady.
‘My wife was deeply religious,’ continued Louis. ‘She wanted to join the protests, but I persuaded her not to. The protests soon became riots, and the violence spiralled. We stayed in our home, hoping we were safe. For a while we were, and the riots subsided. We thought life might return to normal, but that was just the beginning of the hell.’
‘The Sentray,’ said Daily softly.
‘Yes,’ said Louis. ‘I received a message to go to the Zound University bunker. I was confused, but I took my wife, Charlotte, and my daughter, Moriah, to the university. When we got there, the professors and the staff were arguing outside the bunker door. We tried to enter, but the security guards held us back.’
Louis began to breathe heavily. Tears welled up in his eyes.
‘It’s okay if you want to take a breather,’ said Vulay.
‘No, I must continue now,’ said Louis, nodding as a tear passed by his mouth. ‘Suddenly we heard screams from outside the university. “What’s going on?” I asked the professor. He replied, “The monsters are here!” “What monsters?” I asked. “The worst kind,” replied the professor. “Then please let us in. Let my family in,” I begged him. “No!” he shouted. “You’re not Linap.” The security guards tossed us to the ground. The professor entered the bunker. The security guards followed him in. We ran towards the doors, but they closed before us.’
‘Oh my gosh!’ exclaimed Denise. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘It gets worse,’ continued Louis. ‘The screams outside had become louder. I decided we should head to the underground carpark. We rushed out into the courtyard. Several students ran across the courtyard ahead of us. A Sentray leapt out from between buildings. He swatted the students with his huge tail, killing them instantly. We were terrified. We rushed back into the building that we came from. The roars and screams continued outside. Several students rushed into our building. A smaller Sentray, who was able to get into the building, was pursuing them. We rushed down a corridor to escape, but the ceiling above us collapsed. A larger Sentray from the floor above brought it down. We ran into a classroom. The Sentray was roaring ferociously at the doorway, trying to get in. On the other side of the classroom was a window. Charlotte climbed through it. I handed Moriah to her.’
Louis stopped talking; he rubbed his face in his hands. He looked up. Tears were now pouring down his face.
‘It’s okay, you don’t need to put yourself through this,’ said the Hat Lady.
‘The Sentray hit a desk,’ stuttered Louis. ‘It flew across the room, knocking me away from the window. Charlotte tried to climb back and help, but he got her. He sunk his teeth into her. All I could do was watch. I screamed at him to stop. He looked at me. Instead of killing me, he slammed into the wall with the window repeatedly until he knocked a sufficiently large hole for him to get through. A few seconds later, I heard Moriah scream. Then there was silence. A horrid, eerie silence.’
‘Oh, friend,’ said Eugene as he put his arms around Louis, who was sobbing uncontrollably.
After a couple of minutes, Louis was able to recompose himself. ‘I crawled over to the opening in the wall. I peeked out. The Sentray was gone, and so was Moriah. I flopped onto my back, and I stared blankly at what was left of the ceiling. I lay on the floor of the classroom for hours, maybe days. I’m not sure. I felt paralysed. I just waited to die.’
Louis sighed and shook his head. ‘Nothing happened,’ continued Louis. ‘I heard the occasional distant roar, but no screams. Eventually I got up. For whatever reason, I walked back to the bunker. I was shocked to find out the bunker doors were open. I was not sure what had happened. I did not look inside. I walked out of the university building. There were a few bodies lying around. A Sentray came out from behind. I had no energy to try to run. The Sentray glanced at me and just continued on its way. I had no idea why I wasn’t killed. Nothing made sense. A few days later, the Sentray had gone.’
‘The Sentray were designed to kill the Linap,’ said Yassmay. ‘They evolved to be apex predators. I think they left you alive as a warning to all remaining survivors.’
‘Sometime later, Vulay showed up with her team and rescued me,’ said Louis. ‘I wanted to live again. My family were physically gone, but they were still with me.’
‘Do you mean the wonderful memories of them?’ asked Sophie.
‘Yes, but it’s more than that,’ sighed Louis. ‘They visit me in my dreams. Sometimes even when I’m awake. I talk to them, and they comfort me when I’m feeling down or in pain.’
‘That time in the flying vehicle?’ asked Denise.
‘I was talking to Moriah,’ said Louis as tears began to roll down his face again. ‘I saw her face in the mountains and heard her voice in the wind.’
‘I’m sorry, I acted the way I did,’ said Denise. ‘I didn’t understand.’
‘I know how it looked,’ replied Louis. ‘Given the circumstance you were right to be suspicious.’
‘I’m going to be honest with you,’ said Eugene as he rubbed Louis’ shoulder. ‘I was highly suspicious of you.’
‘I know,’ said Louis as he smiled slightly at him.
‘You have that sleuther in you after all,’ remarked Eugene.
Louis threw his arms around Eugene and hugged him tight. Eugene’s eyes bulged as he lightly patted Louis on the back.
The others gathered around for a group hug.
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 
