by Sourav Deka
I sighed. “Just don’t screw up everything. We have very less time.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“We will need machines.”
“As I said I planned everything, Ross. You go and inform Martin and your dad. My men will take you to the spot.”
“Now?”
“Yeah, we will start the digging after two hours.”
I got out of the car and went upstairs. Some people were eating in the hotel lobby and chatting about their life. Martin and dad were also there having breakfast. I joined them and told them about the plan.
Martin raised his eyebrows. “He will dig to plant a bomb?” he said.
“Well, I am fine with it,” dad said.
“What if we get caught?” Martin said. “There will be people there.”
“Michael has fake papers and ID’s as archeologists,” I said.
He scoffed. “Yeah, and you believe that will save everything,” he grabbed a waffle on the table. “Don’t forget every Aivor is looking for us. If they find us, they won’t hesitate to bring cops and prove that the papers and ID’s are fakes.”
“Forget the cops. They won’t waste time proving that. They will shoot us at the spot. They tried it before.”
“It’s just digging, it’s no big deal,” dad said. “Michael knows what he is doing, we can trust him.”
I nodded. “I hope it goes well. Meet me downstairs at 8 am. Michael is going to take us to the spot,” I turned around and went back to my room.
**************
After two hours, we went to the spot with Michael’s men. He was already there ordering the workers using the machines. Some people were watching them from a distance but they didn’t doubt anything. I guess Michael already made it clear to them that he was an archeologist. We stood beside him and looked at his men digging.
“You don’t have to dig too much,” I said. “We just have to go through it and plant the bomb.”
“Yeah, I know,” Michael said, jamming his hands into his pockets.
The workers kept digging. After an hour, they built a hole underneath ground level. It was a medium sized hole, enough to crouch and pass through it. I tried passing through it and checked the whole thing. It was fifteen meters long and two meters wide, convenient enough to move and plant the bomb. My hands were covered in mud. I walked up to one of Michael’s men to wash up.
“Yeah, we can pass through it,” I said, washing my hands.
“Are you sure? You are the one who will go through it and plant the bomb,” Michael said.
I nodded. “Yeah, I went to the end and saw the floor. But what if they find out?” I rubbed my hands with my handkerchief. “When they step into the room they may find out that the floor is hollow.”
He rubbed his chin. “I was thinking about that too. We should fill up half of the area beneath the floor with mud.”
“No, fill up the whole area beneath the floor. I will dig it when I plant the bomb. I won’t have to dig a lot, just enough to plant the bomb.”
“Are you sure?”
“I will practice it now,” I said.
Michael nodded. “Okay then.” He called his worker to bring a shovel. After a minute a worker handed me a shovel.
“It’s a little big, don’t you think?” I said, eyeing at the shovel.
“Try it now, if you find it hard we will look for a small one,” Michael said.
I dropped the shovel. “No, I will try with my bare hands.”
“You can’t dig that much with your bare hands, Ross.”
“Let me try,” I rubbed my hands. “If I fail, I will use the shovel.”
Michael sighed. “Okay, go.”
The workers filled the floor part with mud. I crawled through the hole we made and reached the end. I tried to dig it. It took a few minutes, but I managed to clear up some place to plant the bomb and came outside covered with mud all over my face and clothes. Michael was standing there with a bucket full of water.
“I can do it, I don’t need a shovel,” I grabbed the bucket and washed my hands.
“Are you sure?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I did it.”
He nodded and put his hands on his hips. “Okay, go back to the hotel and take a shower. I will call you when we have the bomb.”
I went back to the hotel with dad and Martin. Tomorrow was a big day. I lay down on my bed and rested. I was going to kill five people at once. I shouldn’t hesitate and shouldn’t feel for them. They must die. It’s for the greater good. I kept saying it to myself to make myself ready for tomorrow. I can do it, I have changed. I am different now. I am not just a teenage boy who lived in fear for years. I am something else, I am stronger than before and we are close to unlocking the seeds. I can do it, I have it in me. It was difficult but I reminded myself why it is more important now. I had to save Aaron and Dave. I focused on that, it was helping me keep going. If I fail, they die and I wasn’t going to let that happen, no matter what.
Michael called me at 10 pm. I was lying in the bed watching TV lost in my thoughts.
I picked up the phone. “Hello.”
“The bomb will arrive tomorrow morning. We will blow it in the evening at 6 pm,” Michael said.
“Will all the descendants arrive at 6 pm?”
“Their party will start at 3. Of course they will make it until 6.”
“Are you sure? Don’t mess it up, confirm it.”
“I know what I am doing, Ross. Don’t worry. Just be ready tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big day,” he hung up.
I had a rough night and woke up early. The guilt of killing the two descendants kept flashing in front my eyes and now I was going to kill five more. I was trying to distract myself from my guilt but it was hard. I have killed two descendants already, whenever I think about it the guilt overwhelms me. I get depressed, lose focus and my emotions mess with my mind. I had to be strong, I didn’t want to care, but I was a human. We can’t get rid of our emotions, no matter how many times we put fake smiles on our face and pretend that everything is okay.
I was just a boy living with my brother and uncle, who had no idea where his parents were. I am a killer now, a killer who will do anything for the seeds. It’s for a greater cause. I had to save my friends and family. There was no getting out of it, I was involved in it. I was going to kill again, five people at once. I didn’t know if I would stay the same person I used to be. I just hoped that I don’t lose all of my humanity.
CHAPTER 21
It was time. We all went up to the spot. The sun was crossing down its horizon. I looked up at the orange sky and took a deep breath to control my nervousness. The party has already started. We could hear the noise and music from outside. People were dancing and cheering, unfortunately that wasn’t going to last long as their killer had arrived. Michael walked out of the house and glanced at me. He was wearing his usual white coat and the hat. He came towards me with a remote and the bomb.
“I checked out the party. All the descendants are there. Plant the bomb and call me,” he said. “I will lure them in the room. Wait for my order. Don’t blow it up until I say so,” he handed me the bomb and the remote.
The bomb was like a silver colored bowling ball. “Are you sure this will blow off?” I said, observing the bomb.
“You are saying this because of its shape, isn’t it?” he chuckled. “It looks like a ball but it can kill ten people in a ten meter radius.”
I took the bomb and went crawling inside the hole we made. Fortunately, there weren’t any people outside. Some cars passed by but they didn’t care what we were up to. I dug the floor part, planted the bomb and came out.
I washed my hands and called Michael. “I planted the bomb, lure them in the room,” I said.
“Five minutes, I will call you again,” Michael hung up.
My heart started to beat faster. I was going to do it. My inner voice told me to think again, but I didn’t want to. I knew if I think again I will regret it. So I tried to ca
lm my mind and tried to focus on something else. After a few minutes Michael called. “Blow it,” he said.
“They are in the room?” I asked.
“Yes, do it.”
“Which button on the remote?” My hands shivered.
“Oh, sorry I forgot to tell you earlier, press the black button.”
My fingers shivered, but I pressed the black button. As soon as I pressed it I heard them screaming. It was coming from inside the house. There was no explosion as it was not a normal bomb, it had nails.
“It’s done, I think,” dad said, staring at the house.
“We should wait for Michael in the car,” Martin said.
We waited for Michael in the car. We heard people crying and screaming from the house. I can feel their screams, they were devastated. Someone lost the people they love and I was responsible for it. My lips were shivering and my face was sweating. I knew what I had done and there was no going back. I was becoming something else.
After a few minutes Michael showed up with five cups filled with blood and entered the car.
“Good work, they are dead,” Michael said. “I got the blood. Let’s get out of here.”
Looking at the blood cups even made me feel guiltier. I tried to take my mind away from it. I shouldn’t focus on that. I shouldn’t feel for them. It will make me weak, and I can’t be weak now. I have a long way to go.
I pressed my lips, “So where to next?” I said, trying to keep a straight face.
“Next descendant is in Brazil. You all want to rest for a day or should we continue today?”
“Why are you asking that?” I clenched my jaw. “We just have a week. Bristy will have her powers back. We can’t waste more time.”
Michael nodded. “Then let’s go to Brazil.”
We went to the airport and took off to Brazil.
********************
After a nine hours of long flight, we landed. I wanted to forget what I have done. Thinking about it will make me feel guilty. It would make me lose my mind. I didn’t want to deal with that, so I slept through the whole flight. I knew I wouldn’t sleep well so I took some pills from Michael which helped.
My cell phone rang and it woke me up, it was Andrea.
“Hello,” I said.
“Ross, we have a big problem,” Andrea’s voice was shaking. “Tanner joined Aivor. Sam came to him and made a deal.”
I gasped. “What? How did that happen?”
“He stayed outside as usual, one day Sam came up with his men and proposed to him a deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
“He promised to cure him and in return he wants him to kill you. He will be there. He knows where you are Ross.”
“Wait! Wait! Are you there in London now? Where is Aaron?” my breath quickened. “Did Tanner hurt any of you?”
“No, we all are fine. Sam knew you were going to Brazil, he told Tanner. He went directly for you, flew into the air. I overheard them. He is coming for you, Ross.”
“Okay, where are you now?”
“We all moved to another hotel as soon as I found out that Tanner switched sides.”
“Oh my god!” I massaged my temples. “But we already landed in Brazil.”
“Then get out of there, leave the country,” she raised her voice.
I nodded. “Okay, okay, I will do something. You take care, okay.”
“Be careful, Ross. Just get out of there now, bye,” she hung up.
I told everyone what Andrea told me.
“What?” Martin’s eyes widened. “I told you before, Tanner can’t be trusted. He is a selfish bastard,” he shouted.
“I know, but we had an advantage.” I said. “He thought we could figure out how to cure him, now Sam had taken that advantage by manipulating him.”
“Whatever, we have to leave this country now,” dad said. “Let’s skip this one for now and go for the next descendant.”
I turned to Michael. “Where is the next descendant on your list?”
“South Africa,” Michael replied.
“Then let’s go. Tanner will come here searching for us, until then we go after other descendants.”
“Yeah, and we have to figure out a way to stop Tanner too,” Martin said.
I nodded. “We will think of something, now let’s go. We shouldn’t delay. Tanner will be here growling any minute,” I entered the airplane.
Michael told the pilot to take the plane to South Africa. It took another ten hours to reach South Africa. Tanner sided with the Aivors. They had a big advantage. I should have known that Sam would try something like this. Tanner, you selfish prick. I should have never trusted you.
********************************
I was worried about Tanner. Now we had to kill all the descendants before he finds us. He can kill us in seconds. The guy is a big black hulk. We needed to come up with a plan to deal with him too, but how can we fight him? There was no other way. The only way was to run away. We had to stay away, make sure that he doesn’t find us.
We reached South Africa in Cape Town Airport. The blazing sunshine raised my temperature, and made me sweat. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around my waist.
“The descendant’s name is Bill Sommers,” Michael said. “He works at a manufacturing company.”
“Let’s go then,” I stood up.
Michael took out his phone and called his people in South Africa.
“You didn’t inform your people to bring a car?” I said.
Michael twisted his mouth to one side with a crease on the cheek. “I didn’t get time. I planned for you to kill the descendant in Brazil. But this Tanner problem came up.”
“Okay, man. Call them fast. Tanner will come here searching for us as soon as he knows we came here to kill this descendant.”
Michael checked his phone. “They messaged me. They will be here in five minutes. Let’s go, we can wait at the airport.”
We all went to the airport and waited for Michael’s men. The airport was very busy, people were going and coming with their luggage. Some people were in a hurry in their formal suits, while some were crying and saying their goods and some were hugging their partners and crying in happiness. I envied that life which I never got. I wanted to be normal like them, to have a normal life with normal problems, and now I was close towards that life. If Tanner wouldn’t have switched sides, this would have been a lot easier. Everyone warned me about him, even I knew he can’t be trusted but I still did and now we are paying for it. Thinking about it will increase my stress so to take off my mind I checked my cell phone.
I was sitting browsing the internet on my phone. “Hey Ross,” someone called my name, the voice seemed familiar. I turned around to look. It was Ambrose, my old friend from Oklahoma. He was the one who helped me and Aaron to find a place to stay, after we fled from uncle. He didn’t know that it was all Sam’s plan and now he was trying to kill me.
He came towards me and hugged me.
“You?” I raised my eyebrows. “Here in South Africa?”
Ambrose smiled and raised his cheeks. “I am here on a vacation with my father and uncle,” he said.
“It’s nice to see you, it’s been so long,” I smiled back.
He looked around. “Where is Aaron?”
Ambrose wasn’t aware of what happened with us. I thought it’s for the best if he didn’t know.
“He is at home,” I said.
“Home? Where?”
I tightened my face muscles. “Umm, it’s complicated right now.”
“Complicated?” He smiled. “What are you doing here? You were like disappeared. Sam told me that you were after some seeds with an ancient diary.”
“You told him about the seeds?” Michael whispered in my ear.
“Look, I didn’t know that it was so secretive at first when I started the hunt,” I whispered back to Michael.
Ambrose’s eyes widened. “Secret? What? All those stuff were true?”
“Hey, hey, k
id. Listen, none of that stuff was real, okay,” Michael said. “It was just a stupid diary written by a crazy man.”
“Ross just said it is a secret,” Ambrose looked at me. “Ross, what’s going on?”
I pressed my lips. “Look man, it’s complicated. We have to leave now,” I patted his shoulder. “It was good seeing you, enjoy your vacation.”
He grabbed my hand. “Wait! Wait! You have some secret to keep. That’s okay, I understand. But we have met after a year, let’s have lunch together. Come to my uncle’s place, I am staying there with my dad.”
I pressed my lips together. “I am sorry, I can’t. I have some important work to do. I am really sorry, another time dude. ”
“It won’t take much time, come on.”
I sighed. “Please understand. I can’t. I have a lot of work to do, it’s important, I have very less time.”
“Okay man,” He exhaled deeply. “But you will miss a superb lunch.”
“I am sure I will,” I smiled. “I hope we meet again.”
We hugged each other and waved goodbye.
Michael’s men were waiting in their cars outside the airport, they arrived after Ambrose left. Michael was upset as Ambrose knew about Nibshaw’s diary and the seeds, but I kept on convincing him that he wouldn't become a problem for us. It was difficult, he wasn’t ready to understand but I managed to calm him down and made him believe me.
We drove to the descendant’s house. It was a luxurious one, a big house with a gazebo, a couple of sports cars and a swimming pool inside.
I glanced at the house. “So how do we kill this descendant?” I said.
“I will go and check out, you all wait in the car,” Michael said and left the car.
After a few minutes he came back.
“It’s easy. He is all alone, looks like everyone is outside except him. Let’s go,” Michael said.
I looked at Martin and dad. “You two stay here, alarm us if someone comes.”
“Be careful son,” dad said.
I nodded and left.