by Sourav Deka
Gloria’s face made me remember Andrea. My past unfolded in front of me, how I fell in love with her, how she betrayed me, how I wanted to save her despite knowing what she had done. I wish I could have saved her. If she would have listened to me she would have still been alive. Gloria wouldn’t be so mad and we wouldn’t have been in this mess. She was a mother. I could never imagine her pain of losing her daughter, but I didn’t kill Andrea, she killed herself. Despite not wanting to listen, I kept telling Gloria that I didn’t kill her daughter, but she needed someone to blame and she blamed us.
After two weeks, a military squad attacked Gloria’s mansion, took out all her bodyguards and killed her. We heard the gunshots and explosions from our room. Someone opened the door. My vision was blurry but still I managed to recognize the person who came inside. It was Michael in his white suit and grey hat. He walked up to me. “Hey Ross,” he slapped my cheeks lightly. “Can you move?”
I nodded lightly and tried to stand up but I was weak, I fell. He grabbed me and held my arms. I felt a sense of relief. Finally someone came for us. Michael looked at the military soldiers. “Come on! Help me pick them up.”
The military squad carried us and took us to their vehicle. I saw Gloria lying dead at the doorstep. Her eyes were wide open staring at the sky and there was a hole in her forehead. I guess now she will meet her daughter. Although she tortured me for days I felt bad for her. She shouldn’t have done this, she could have been better.
Mom and dad were waiting in the vehicle for us.
“Oh god! What she did to them?” Mom cried, eyeing at our wounds.
“It’s okay, we will take them to the hospital,” dad consoled her.
I began to lose my consciousness. Aaron and I were barely breathing. Everything seemed blurry and I felt dizzy. I was so weak that I couldn’t even move a muscle. They took us to the hospital but I couldn’t hold it anymore and passed out.
*****************************
We stayed in bed for three days and finally gained consciousness. Mom, dad and Michael were waiting for me to wake up by my side. It was a bit better, my legs and hands were bandaged.
The doctor examined me. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better,” I replied and looked around. “Where is Aaron?”
“He is in the next room,” mom said. “He is fine, he woke up yesterday.”
I nodded. Thank god he is okay. I felt a sense of relief.
“I should have provided you protection. I should have known,” Michael said.
“No, it’s not your fault,” I said. “She lost her daughter. She was supposed to do this. I should have been more careful.”
“From today, there will be eight men guarding your home.”
“No, we don’t need that. She is dead.”
“She is dead, but Sam and Bristy, they can try something. We have enemies everywhere,” Michael put his hands on his waist and shook his head. “We can’t take this lightly anymore Ross, we just can’t.”
Michael was right. We had to be careful. Bristy and Sam were on the loose. Like Gloria, they may try something too. As Aivors lost, they will try everything in their power to destroy the seeds. I didn’t expect that Gloria would do this, but she did. God knows what Bristy and Sam are planning.
“Okay, whatever you say,” I said.
“I am making the seeds available to the public next month,” Michael said. “There will be a launch. It will be all over the news.”
I tried to smile. “Wow, that’s good to hear, man.”
He patted my shoulder lightly. “Get well soon, you and Aaron have to be there.”
I nodded and blinked slowly. “Of course, I will. It’s a big day.”
CHAPTER 2
After a month Aaron and I healed up. It was difficult as Gloria’s bodyguards tortured us for days. It took a lot of time to heal. I stayed in the hospital bed for days and thought my foot was gone, I would never walk again. Those hammers made my foot swell, and turned it red. But fortunately, the doctors fixed it. I was still weak and was unable to walk faster. I guess it would take months to feel like the old me again. But I didn’t have to wait that long. Michael had made the juice from the seeds, and he tested it on Aaron and me first. We drank a whole glass of it and we were healed completely. I felt completely normal, my pain, my swelling, my bruises, all are gone and I was good as new. It felt great, I only heard about it before that it can cure any diseases, but now I experienced it. It was really good and worked like magic.
We got ready for the launch. It was time. As Michael promised, he provided us eight bodyguards. They stay around me and Aaron all the time. It becomes annoying sometimes, they go everywhere we go, but it was necessary. Michael had put up his people to find Bristy and Sam but no one found out where they were.
We went to the launch. There were thousands of people present, news reporters, politicians, actors, most of the renowned people of the country. Everyone was excited for it. We took the seats on the first row that Michael booked for us and waited for the launch to begin. The stage had many glowing lights at the top making it a spectacular view. The music started and Michael entered the stage. It was a big moment. He was finally going to make the seeds available to the public.
“Good evening everyone. Today is a big day,” Michael said. “A new era will begin, an era where people would no longer need to go to the hospitals. It will be a new generation, where people will be able to live as long as they want. They will be able to cheat death. Yes, you heard it right. We can cheat death. You can choose to be immortal. It will be on your hands now. You can decide how long you want to live on this planet and do all the things you always wanted to do. You will have unlimited time and zero suffering. From today, no one will die of Cancer, Aids, Alzheimer or any other life threatening diseases. We have cracked the code,” he gave a wide grin. “This is the biggest discovery we have ever made. I present you the immortal seeds.” The audience clapped and two beautiful girls brought a jar full of blue seeds. Michael opened the jar and showed the seeds to the audience. “This is the future.”
One journalist raised her hand.
“Yes, please,” Michael said.
“How do these seeds work? Does those seeds even work?” the journalist asked.
“These seeds were invented by a scientist named Nibshaw Bell centuries ago in 1327. It was missing for centuries. Many people tried to find it and failed over time. But we succeeded at last,” he looked at the girl. “Bring the knife,” he said. The girl brought a knife and handed it to Michael. Michael cut his palm and showed it to the audience. “Look I am bleeding,” another girl brought a green juice. Michael drank that juice in one go and his palm healed. He wiped out the blood on his palms with his handkerchief and showed it to the audience. “See, I am healed.”
The audience was shocked. Everyone stood up and clapped for him. It was astonishing. No one has ever seen anything like this. The crowd got excited.
Michael smiled. “People, this is a groundbreaking technology.”
“But you haven’t answered my question sir,” the journalist said. “How does it work?”
He gave a half shrug. “Well, I am not a scientist. Nibshaw is the one who invented it, so he only knows about it. But as we all know he is not alive anymore. So the secret disappeared with him.”
“Can it cure any diseases?”
“Yes, any diseases. You can test it. Anyone who has any kind of disease can be healed, whether it’s heart disease, Diabetes, Cancer, anything. You just name it, it can cure everything.”
“Is it approved?”
He nodded. “Yes, we tested it and the government gave us permission. It is hundred percent safe.”
“What about immortality? Tell us more about that,” another journalist asked.
“Well, if you keep on using the juice daily. You will never age and never get sick, which pretty much makes you immortal.”
The audience clapped.
“How did you find the seeds?
” the journalist asked.
Michael pressed his lips. “It was very hard. We were searching for it for centuries. But someone helped.”
“Who? The Cromlin brothers? I saw the news.”
Michael signaled me and Aaron to come onto the stage. We went to the stage and stood alongside him. “Without these two boys it wouldn’t have been possible,” Michael said, gesturing his hands towards us. “They are the ones who helped us find it.”
The audience clapped for us.
“Ross, we have all heard your story on the news, how you and your brother helped Michael find it. Can you tell us how you solved the puzzles,” A journalist asked.
After I got the last seed, Michael told me to tell people a fake story about how we got the seeds. If people knew that I killed a number of people for it, then we all know how it’s going to end. Michael, Aaron and I will be thrown in jail. So, he told me to tell a fake story to the public. When Aaron and I got first interviewed, we told the journalists that we had to solve various puzzles to unlock a coffin where the seeds were kept. Public bought our fabricated fake story, they were never going to believe in witches and magic anyway.
“It was exciting,” I said. “I always loved to solve puzzles when I was a kid. I guess I got better at it over time.”
The journalist looked at Aaron. “What about you Aaron?”
“I learned from him,” Aaron said. “He used to teach me. I also used to practice with him.”
“But it was not some kid's puzzle. From centuries no one figured it out and suddenly two teenagers figured it out?” The journalist said.
“They are not normal teenagers,” Michael said, with a smile. “They are special. I helped them by researching on Nibshaw. We all checked historical documents to find the clues.”
Ross nodded. “It was not only us. We all did it together. We had help. We all solved it together.”
Everyone clapped.
“Any more questions?” Michael asked.
“How much will the juice cost?” another journalist asked.
Michael rubbed his nose. “It’s not a one-time purchasing product. The customer has to buy it on a monthly basis. It will cost five hundred dollars per month.”
“That’s too much don’t you think?”
He gave a half shrug. “Well, it’s a valuable product. It can give you life. Make your stress go away. You can live forever, compared to the benefits it is providing the price we are asking is very low.”
“But then only the rich ones will be able to afford it. What about the poor ones?”
“As I said it’s a very valuable product. We can’t give it for free. People have to earn it, and about poor people, we will help them too. We will give them juice for free to cure any diseases they have, but to stay immortal you have to use the juice on a daily basis,” he pressed his lips. “That won’t be free, people have to pay for it.”
The audience clapped.
Michael held the juice in his hand. “It will be called the immortal drink.”
The audience clapped again and cheered.
“Sir, one last question?” A journalist stood up.
“Yes,” Michael said.
“If a lot of people become immortal, it can become a huge problem in future. We are already dealing with overpopulation on Earth.”
Michael gave a smirk. “That’s a very good question. We have two solutions for that. First is, we can send people to other planets, but our technology hasn’t developed so much that we can go to other planets and colonize them. So for that we have to wait.”
“And the second one?”
“The second solution is we make a rule that everyone has to follow. Whoever stays immortal can’t have kids. The government will have an agreement with them. If they broke the deal and have kids, their immortality will be taken away and they will be punished. In that way we can maintain this planet’s population.”
“But even if that happens, there will be no new people born. So there will be fewer talented people in the world.”
He shook his head and chuckled. “No, that’s not true. Not everyone will be able to afford the immortal drink, so there will be a balance.”
“So you mean the poor ones will keep dying and the rich ones will keep living no matter even if they are stupid?”
“There will always be smart people available on Earth. The immortal drink won’t make them scarce.”
“He is going to destroy this planet,” A woman shouted. Everyone turned back to look at who it is. It was Bristy in her tight black suit standing with Sam in the middle of the crowd. They looked the same as before, the only difference was Sam didn’t have a cigar on his hand.
They walked up to the stage. “These seeds must be destroyed,” Bristy said.
“Who are you?” The journalist asked.
“I am Bristy, leader of Aivor. Everything he told you is a lie. They didn’t solve puzzles to find the seeds.”
“She is a fraud,” Michael said in a heavy voice.
Bristy chuckled. “Fraud?” she pointed her finger at him. “I am here to expose you and these boys.”
Michael scoffed. “Expose us? We are trying to help the world.”
Bristy turned to the crowd. “Do you all know how they got the seeds? They killed many people for it.” She pointed her finger at me. “He killed people, took their blood and unlocked the coffin.”
I was scared. Oh my god! What is she doing? She is exposing us in front of everyone. What should I do? I was sweating.
“No!!” I raised my voice. “She is lying.”
“Am I?” she half smiled.
“Do you have any proof?” The journalist asked.
“Yes,” Bristy looked at Sam. “Give me the photos,” Sam took out some photos from his black jacket’s pocket and gave it to Bristy. Bristy showed the photos to everyone. “Look, these are the people Ross murdered to get the seeds.”
“These are just photos of people dead, this doesn’t prove that Ross murdered them,” Michael said.
“He killed those people. He also killed the witnesses. They are not who you think they are, they are evil. This juice will destroy this planet.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Michael raised his voice. “She hates us. She always did. She is from Aivor, our enemy.”
“What do you think this juice will do, huh? The planet will be overpopulated. The rich will live forever and rule over the poor ones. The world will become unstable. It isn’t supposed to happen. There should be a balance in nature. I know he is promising you good things but that’s not how things are going to turn out. We all will suffer. No one should be immortal, death is natural. We shouldn’t go against nature.”
Michael laughed. “Did you hear what she said? She wants people to die. She doesn’t care about the people suffering around the world. Can you really believe this woman? Come on!” he looked at the security guards. “Security, get them out of here.”
The security guards came to take Bristy and Sam out of there.
“Don’t come near me,” Bristy said, pointing her finger at them.
The guards walked up to her to grab her. She murmured some spell and all the guards fainted at the same time and fell on the stage. The audience got scared. They didn’t see anything like this before. She just made them unconscious in a second. People screamed and started running here and there.
“Don’t freak out,” Michael said, trying to control the crowd. “Please, people listen.”
Everyone in the audience ran away. Only mom and dad were there. Michael slapped Bristy. “You bitch! You just can’t give up, huh? You ruined it.”
Bristy waved her hand and Michael felt choked. It looked like some invisible force was choking him. He struggled to breathe and grabbed his throat to fight the invisible force but it was too strong. He gasped for breath holding his throat and fell on his knees.
“Stop it!” I shouted. “You ruined it, you got what I wanted. Now leave him alone.”
“I got what I wanted?”
she scoffed. “He made the seeds public.”
Some of Michael’s people showed up and shot Bristy. A bullet hit her stomach and she stopped the spell. Sam quickly picked her up on his shoulders and ran away. They kept shooting at them, Sam was shot at his back but still he didn’t stop and managed to run away. I guess he and Bristy had their body spelled like before. They heal again even if they are injured, that’s why he managed to get away even though he got shot. I walked up to Michael to check on him. His choking was gone. “Are you okay?” I asked, rubbing his back.
He nodded and coughed. His lips were shivering and his throat was clenching. He looked at his people. “What are you doing? Go chase them, don’t let them get away,” he coughed again. “Bring me their heads.”
Michael’s people ran after Sam and Bristy.
“This may have a bad impact on the audience,” Aaron said. “They were scared. They saw Bristy doing magic.”
“Don’t worry, we will go live on TV and clear things up,” Michael said, taking a deep breath.
I nodded.
“Come on, I know someone who can help. We have to go.”
Michael took us to his friend Gary, who was the owner of a news channel network. He wanted to talk to the public, but as they ran away, he needed to make them believe that the product was safe.
All these days Bristy and Sam were watching us. They were planning to ruin the launch and they did. They knew they can’t do anything as we have grown many seeds, so they decided to stop us making it available to the public. Even after we found the seeds, they didn’t want to give up. They still thought the seeds needed to be destroyed and tried to convince the public. Michael was not ready to give up. He was going to make it available to the public and prove that everything she said was a lie.
We went to the news channel network. It was a huge building with a capital G on top of it. We waited at the waiting room. After a couple of minutes, a tall guy with a beard wearing a brown jacket came to us. He had squared jaw and grey eyes. It was Gary. “Hey Michael, I saw it,” he said. “Who the hell was that woman dude? Whole public freaked out.”