Chapter 5: We Need Answers

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Two days later, Denise and her team arrived back in Downs. Denise had briefly spoken to Orcilla over the radio. Orcilla had agreed to an urgent meeting with her team on their arrival. Denise, Eugene, and Louis entered the town hall. They went to the back room. Orcilla was in there. She had several documents in front of her.

‘Take a seat, guys,’ said Orcilla as she looked up at them.

The three of them sat down. Denise and Louis looked nervous while Eugene exuded confidence.

‘So, the frozen Linap at L6 has gone?’ asked Orcilla in a serious tone.

‘Yes,’ replied Denise as she looked down at her hands.

‘My assessment is that he’s been kidnapped,’ said Eugene as he turned sharply to look at Louis. ‘Then he was flown away.’

Louis leaned away from Eugene, trying not to look at him.

‘So we are not alone,’ said Orcilla as she shook her head. ‘Since they have adopted a rather sneaky approach, it is likely this is not a good thing.’

‘Multiple crimes have been committed, and we need to take decisive action,’ said Eugene as he contorted his face in an attempt to look fierce.

‘We can’t confirm that the frozen creature is Linap,’ said Denise.

‘I’ve had a closer inspection of the language and compared it with some texts recovered from the West Region,’ replied Orcilla. ‘I’m very confident that it is written in Parelic, an ancient language used by the Linap.’

‘Ohh, geez,’ remarked Denise. ‘What about the rescuers?’

‘Possibly Linap too,’ replied Orcilla. ‘I wonder about them maintaining their health. The ones underground may not have that problem. There is also the possibility that Jennifer may exist in some form. Vulay has some fragmented memories about another location, but she’s struggling to distinguish between reality and what might just be nightmares.’

‘There may not be anyone living underground,’ interjected Louis as Eugene sharply turned towards him again. ‘The air in the tunnels was toxic. It may have influenced our perception of events.’

‘Whatever the case maybe, we need to find out more information,’ said Orcilla with a slight smile. ‘I need to visit one of your frozen friends.’

‘Yes, yes, that’s an excellent idea,’ replied Denise in excitement.

‘That’s not all, I’m afraid,’ said Orcilla. ‘We’re going to need help reading these documents. The only one I know who can read them is Lily.’

‘Vulay will not approve,’ said Denise.

‘I’m sure she’ll understand given our circumstances,’ replied Orcilla.

Two days later, Vulay and her team arrived back from scavenging materials from other regions. Orcilla and Denise were out on the main street to greet her. Vulay’s convoy of vehicles pulled over to the side of the road. Vulay climbed out of her vehicle and walked over to Orcilla and Denise.

‘You two seem very eager to see me today,’ said Vulay. ‘Good news, I hope.’

‘It is if you’re up for a challenge,’ said Orcilla. ‘I have two critical jobs for you.’

‘I love a challenge, but I need at least one night in my own bed,’ replied Vulay as she looked over at Phillip, who was carrying a tray of cupcakes. ‘Some good food too.’

‘Deal,’ responded Orcilla. ‘We’ll meet in the town hall at ten tomorrow morning.’

Vulay grabbed a cupcake off Phillip’s tray. The other members of the team grabbed the variety of cakes Julie had placed on a table inside her bakery. Phillip greeted them with a double thumbs-up gesture.

‘That went well,’ said Denise as she turned to Orcilla.

‘Of course, Vulay holds duty above any personal feelings,’ said Orcilla as she placed her hand on Denise’s shoulder.

The next day, a meeting was held in the town hall. In attendance were Orcilla, Daily, Yassme, Yassmay, Vulay, Denise, Alex, Louis, Eugene, and Colin, the city resource manager.

‘We are faced with a new and immediate challenge,’ said Orcilla, who was standing at the head of the conference table. ‘It appears we are not alone in this world.’

‘Yes, an opportunity to make new friends,’ responded Alex excitedly.

‘That would be the ideal outcome,’ replied Orcilla. ‘We certainly need help, and we offer lots in return, such as a massive food supply.’

‘Hamlet plays a huge role in that,’ said Yassme energetically. ‘I hope to bring her back to one of these meetings.’

‘Last time she was here, she bit this huge chunk out of this table,’ said Daily as he pointed at the giant piece missing from the section of table in front of him.

‘That was pretty funny,’ chuckled Yassmay.

‘Please let’s remain on topic,’ said Orcilla firmly. ‘I believe our priority has now shifted to finding out more about these strangers. We have some documents written in a language none of us understands. We have ten frozen creatures from the past, and we have another group who have the knowledge to defrost them.’

‘We haven’t encountered any survivors in years,’ remarked Vulay.

‘I doubt we are dealing with Sapien or Linap survivors,’ replied Orcilla.

‘Jennifer has somehow rebooted,’ said Vulay as she clenched her fists.

‘We can’t rule it out,’ said Orcilla as she looked over at Vulay. ‘Hence, the reason we need answers as soon as possible. We need to bring back Lily.’

Vulay looked down at the table.

‘Vulay, I would like you to take Daily and a team of enforcers to the Capital Region,’ said Orcilla. ‘Daily has the knowledge to defrost Lily. Your enforcers have the capability to safely bring Lily to Downs.’

‘Yeah, fine,’ said Vulay in a soft voice as she continued to look down at the table.

‘I’m great company,’ said Daily in a chirpy tone. ‘I can even sing songs.’

Vulay sighed in annoyance.

‘I also need your team to visit the Economic Institute,’ said Orcilla to Vulay. ‘There should be a large reserve of gold in their vault. We may need it if we are going to trade with our new friends.’

‘Sure, we can do that,’ replied Vulay.

‘Glad you’re warming to the idea that they might be friends,’ added Alex.

‘I want to defrost one or more of these frozen creatures,’ said Orcilla. ‘I’m sure they have a story to tell.’

‘You should defrost the whole lot,’ said Yassme. ‘Seems unfair to discriminate.’

‘I would love to, but I can’t handle all the travelling,’ said Orcilla as she smiled at Yassme.

‘Then, why not fly!’ exclaimed Yassme in excitement. ‘I’ve repaired two destroyed enforcer flying vehicles. They work great.’

‘I can vouch for that,’ said Eugene as he pumped his fist. ‘I tried one of them out yesterday.’

‘Yassme, how could you let him fly one?’ said Denise firmly. ‘He could have killed himself.’

‘A Co-Head Enforcer needs to be well versed in all the top equipment,’ said Eugene as he threw his arms up in the air. He looked over at Louis, who was chuckling. Eugene responded by pointing at his own eyes and then at Louis. Louis shook his head and diverted his attention towards Orcilla.

‘Okay, I’m convinced,’ said Orcilla. ‘We visit all of the sites, and we will defrost the whole lot. It is better they are with us than whoever else might be out there.’

Several around the table applauded Orcilla’s statement.

‘Denise, Louis, Freddy, and I will form this team,’ said Orcilla.

‘Hold on, are you saying that you’re going to attempt this intrepid journey without a Co-Head Enforcer?’ asked Eugene as he leaned forward on the table.

‘We need a strong leader to remain here,’ replied Orcilla. ‘There is no one I trust more than you, Eugene.’

‘You make a good point,’ said Eugene confidently. ‘I wasn’t gone long, and I can already smell the whiff of mischief in the air.’

‘Are we in agreement regarding the proposed course of action?’ asked Orcilla, looking around the room.

‘All these trips are going to cause a fuel shortage,’ remarked Colin as he held up his calculator.

‘I’ve worked on two large four-wheeled drive vehicles that run off pineapple husks,’ said Yassme as she grinned at Colin. ‘Would that solve our problem?’

Colin looked at the sheet of paper in front of him and then at his calculator again. ‘Yeah, it does actually,’ replied Colin.

‘Well done, Yassme,’ said Orcilla. ‘Maybe I underestimated your usage of time.’

Yassme looked over and smiled at Yassmay, who had her arms folded.

Later that day, Vulay and her team had assembled in the town square on the road next to the giant abstract statue of Hamlet. They were waiting for the vehicles that Yassme had promised. Then around the corner came the first vehicle. It was a giant yellow bus monster truck. Yassme was driving it. Just behind was another identical vehicle. Eugene was driving this one. They both waved out the front side windows as they drove a lap around the statue.

The door of the first bus opened. ‘The happy bus extreme express has arrived,’ shouted Yassme as she swung off the open door as the vehicle rolled to a stop.

‘They’re both practical and ridiculous!’ exclaimed Vulay. ‘What more could I ask for?’

‘This’ll get the job done,’ said Eugene in a serious tone as he got off his bus. ‘This is the finest vehicle I’ve ever been in.’

‘I expect nothing less,’ replied Vulay as she caught the keys Yassme tossed to her.

Vulay’s team climbed into the two buses. Vulay drove the first bus, and Daily drove the second bus.

A few minutes later, the two flying vehicles flew overhead. Orcilla and Denise were in the first one, and Louis and Freddy were in the second one.

Yassme and Eugene watched them fly off over the old region wall. Yassmay walked over to them.

‘Is it just me, or is everyone having more fun than I am?’ remarked Yassmay.

‘The adults are away,’ said Yassme as she turned to look at her sister. ‘I say let’s seize the opportunity.’

They both looked at each other and then at Eugene. ‘On my way over here, I saw a suspicious-looking character wandering around the Residential Zone,’ said Yassme as she pulled her doe-eyed expression.

‘Suspicious, eh,’ said Eugene as he put his hat on. ‘We can’t have any of that.’

He sprinted off in the direction of the Residential Zone.

‘Just like that, we run the show,’ said Yassme.

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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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