by Sourav Deka
I shook my head. “Savor won’t allow that. Savor will only allow people to use the seeds in case of sickness, not to stop aging. We can set rules.”
She chuckled. “How? Savors won’t listen to you.”
“I will be the one who will unlock the seeds. If I ask them, they will do that for me. They know it’s important, I will explain it to them.”
She sighed. “You are not seeing the bigger picture. People will use it for bad things. The world will face a huge overpopulation. It is going against nature.”
“I will make sure that the seeds stay in good hands. I will plan everything. There is always a risk mom, always.”
“Still, there will always be a chance that someone can steal it, no matter how much you plan to save it.”
“We have to take chances, the risks will always be there but that doesn’t mean we should step away from doing good.”
“But……………….it can create problems. It may not go as you planned.”
“I know mom, I know,” I said softly. “It will go well. The seeds will change the world, you will see.”
She inhaled deeply. “I wish Aaron was here. I haven’t seen him for so many years.”
“He is in London. Bristy did something to him.”
She raised her eyebrows. “What did she do?”
“She did some magic on him, now there is only one thing in Aaron’s mind, to kill me.”
A line etched between her eyebrows. “Oh god! Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
I shrugged. “I never got the chance.”
“Bristy’s magic,” she gulped. “She is a very powerful witch.”
“I know. We have kept him tied up. My friends are taking care of him. Michael said the seeds can cure him as it is also a disease, a magical disease.”
“That’s why I never wanted you two to get involved in all this. Things like this happen.”
“I know, mom. But we are involved now,” I hugged her from the side. “I will save Aaron. We need the seeds soon. That’s the only thing that can fix him.”
Four cars arrived near the building. The Savors stepped out and came to the rooftop with some big boxes. It had guns, ammo and some disguises.
“What the hell is this?” I picked up a skin colored sticky rubber thing.
“You have to apply that in your face, it will make you look old,” Michael said.
“Wow, amazing,” I put that sticky thing all over my face. It was very sticky but comfortable enough. “Are you sure this is not going to melt?”
“No, it is made like that. You will look old, no one will recognize you. Look at me, I applied it,” he turned his face towards me. Michael looked like a seventy year old man.
“Ah, you look like an old prick,” I said.
He smiled. “You too.”
I wore a red sweater and Michael wore a black coat with a hat. We also wore fake white hairs. No one could recognize us, we looked like old men. The disguises were so realistic that no one would doubt it even if they see us from close, it was amazing.
“We can also help, wear disguises and go with you,” dad said.
Michael shook his head. “No, cops know all our faces. It would be better if Ross and I go. More people will draw attention. Cops are all around the city.”
“Okay, but if you two get in trouble, inform us,” Martin said.
Michael nodded.
******************************
We went to the descendant’s location. It was a chilly night with some cool breeze. We heard sirens of cop cars all over the city. We just hoped that Tanner wasn’t there or else we will be back to square one. Luckily, he wasn’t there. The house was made of brown color bricks and had some yellow lamp lights outside. The light was off, the descendant was sleeping inside.
“Take this,” Michael handed me a gun. “This one has a silencer. We don’t need to grab any attention.”
“Really???”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you give me a gun with a silencer before?”
Michael shrugged. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Those three descendants you killed first weren’t alone in their places. Even if you have used a silenced gun there would have been noise. But this one lives alone, we can do this quietly.”
“Are you sure she lives alone?”
He nodded. “Yeah, my people confirmed it.”
I took the gun. “Okay, she must have been sleeping, it’s midnight.”
Michael nodded. “Let’s sneak into her room.” He picked up the lock with his lock pick and we went inside. It was dark, we could barely see anything.
“You go upstairs, I will check here,” Michael whispered.
I turned my flashlight on and went upstairs quietly. She was sleeping in her bedroom snoring loudly. I opened the door as quietly as I could. Her snoring was so loud that it can be heard from other rooms. I went close, aimed my gun to her head and pulled the trigger. Her snoring stopped at once and the bullet made a hole in her brain splashing blood on the pillow.
“Come upstairs,” I shouted.
Michael came upstairs holding his gun. “What happened?” he said.
“She’s dead, collect the blood,” I said tonelessly.
Michael took out a cup from his coat and started collecting the descendant’s blood. Suddenly a girl came in front of the door and screamed. “Oh my god! You killed her!”
I shot her in the head without blinking. The blood splashed into the wall behind her and she fell on the floor.
“She was alone, huh?” I said.
“Maybe she came to visit her today and stayed for the night,” Michael said, eyeing at the girl’s dead body. He stared at me for a moment with the cup of blood on his hand.
I shrugged. “What? She saw us, she is a witness.”
“I know, but I didn’t expect that you will do that,” Michael collected the blood. “Killing an innocent like that.”
I widened my hands. “Did you forget what you said? All the descendants I killed were innocents.”
“But they needed to die.”
I laughed. “What? Why are you questioning this? You were the first person who convinced me to make my first kill. You wanted to kill Ambrose just because he was a witness, remember?”
He tightened his cheeks. “I know.”
I scoffed. “Then why are you giving me that look, Michael? She was a witness. Do you think I should have let her go?”
“No, but you killed her in a heartbeat, no hesitation,” he bit his lower lip. “I am just surprised. You weren’t like that.”
“Yes, you told me I had to change,” I shrugged. “So I changed,” I walked up to the door. “Let’s get out of here. We are done.”
He lowered his head. “Okay, you go. I am coming.”
I went outside and waited. Michael was shocked by seeing me killing the girl instantly. He thought I was going to hesitate like I did with Ambrose. Did I become a cold blooded killer? Did I stop feeling for others? All the people I killed were innocents. What have I become? I didn’t know why, but I just didn’t feel for that innocent girl. Am I turning into a psychopath? I wanted to feel bad for that girl, for all the descendants, but it was not happening. I felt empty. It’s like I was breathing but was dead inside. I looked at the clear night sky trying to feel something. Is this worth it? Killing all those people for the seeds? I know I have believed that it’s for the greater good, but is it really? What if I am the bad guy, not the Aivors?
I checked my cell phone. It had three miss calls from Andrea. I called her.
“Hey Ross,” Andrea said.
“You called?”
“Yeah, it’s been days, Ross.”
“I know,” I gulped. “How is Aaron?”
“Same, he doesn’t listen to anyone, tries to break out of the ropes.”
“And Dave?”
“He just blinks. That’s how we are communicating with him.”
“We have killed nine descendants, only one is remaining. The last
one is in England, we are coming back.”
She sighed. “Finally it will be over.”
“Yeah, and Sam is behind the bars. We have an advantage.”
Her forehead creased. “Sam is in prison?”
“Yeah,” I took a deep breath. “It’s a long story. I will tell you everything when I get back there.”
“When are you coming?”
“We are done here. We will be back by tomorrow morning, I guess.”
“Okay, Contessa and I will come to pick you up.”
“No, no, Tanner is there. It’s not safe for you to come, just message me the address.”
“Don’t worry Ross, some Savors are here, they will come with us. We will be safe.”
“No, I am calling you just to inform you that we are coming back. You don’t have to come and pick us. It’s dangerous.”
She sighed. “Okay, okay, just come as soon as you can. I will message you the address.”
I exhaled deeply. “Thank you.”
“Be safe.”
“Yeah, you too, I will see you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” she hung up.
We drove back to the airport. On the way Michael called the helicopter pilot to take our people at the roof to the airport. They reached the airport before us. Now we had just one last descendant to kill. We all took off to London in Michael’s private plane.
Mom and dad talked most of the time in the flight. They tried to resolve their problems with each other. Mom understood that whatever done is done, we can’t undo it. We were very close to unlocking the seeds. She knew there was no point in stopping us, we were close and we were going to finish this. I haven’t seen them together for years. The last time when I saw them together was when I was seven years old. It was after a long time. I always dreamed of having my whole family with me like the old times. I wish Aaron was there. He would have loved it. I didn’t sleep and kept watching them talk. At some point my heart told me to leave everything, take my parents and go back to a normal life, but I knew I couldn’t. Aaron was not well. Seeds were just one step away, and both Savors and Aivors won’t leave me alone. I needed to finish this. I can have the life I always wanted. I have my family with me. This gave me an unstoppable urge to finish this as fast as I can.
I was worried about Tanner. That selfish prick betrayed us. I should have listened to everyone. Some people never change. He is the same selfish, greedy person he was before. Jensen gave us an idea, but that wasn’t enough. Tanner was a beast, it will be a tough job to distract him. If we fail, he is going to squash us like a human squash a couple of ants under their feet. But there wasn’t any other way. We aren’t witches like Bristy who could take out Tanner by just whispering a spell. We had to take our chances. I was just hoping that the smoke grenades work like the last time. We can’t lose, we were close. It was the beginning of the end.
CHAPTER 23
We landed in London at 10 am. I looked outside through the window, it was a foggy weather. Savors were waiting outside the airport in their cars. We went to the address that Andrea gave me and reunited with everyone. They were staying in a hotel which Andrea’s mother Gloria owned. After meeting everyone I went upstairs to see Aaron. They were keeping him tied up like before. He became more skinny and violent. Mom’s heart broke seeing him like that and cried. She tried to do some magic on him, but it didn’t work. As she was from Aivor so she knew some magic too, but she wasn’t strong enough, not strong like Bristy. She wanted to go close to him but we stopped her as he became more violent than before, he could have hurt her. Rowena told me that he attacked Contessa once. Until then they used even bigger ropes to hold him off, normal sized ropes weren’t enough to hold him.
Dave looked the same, communicates by blinking his eyes. There were doctors and nurses who were taking good care of him, but they didn’t find any solution to cure him. They couldn’t even understand what was causing it, as it was magical, but still they tried everything they could.
I turned to Michael. “We should go after the descendant. Don’t need to waste time, it’s the last one,” I said.
Michael nodded and turned to one of his men. “Where are you keeping that Aivor’s bitch?”
“She is at our Liverpool headquarter sir,” he answered. “She can’t escape from there. We shifted her there as soon as we knew Tanner joined Aivor.”
Michael nodded and put his hands on his waist. “Okay, good work. Keep her there until we find the seeds, no mistakes. Apply heavy security. Call as many Savors you need. You have my permission.”
“Yes sir.”
Michael came towards me. “This is the last descendant, so we are sure Tanner will be there. We have weapons, but we will need all the help we can get.”
“I know. We will all go. Ask some of your men to take care of Aaron and Dave.”
“Don’t worry. I will put up here my best security, you tell everyone to get ready.”
I nodded.
“I will make the arrangements for more weapons. We will need a couple of flamethrowers.”
I nodded. “If our plan fails and Tanner starts throwing people in the air, we will stop and surrender. I will talk to him.”
Michael’s eyes widened. “What? No, he will kill you in a heartbeat.”
I took a deep breath. “I have to. I can get through him.”
“Do you really think you can change his mind after he tosses us in the midair? That guy is crazy and selfish.”
“Yes, exactly,” I pointed my finger at him. “Crazy and selfish. We can use that to our advantage.”
He shrugged. “How?”
“Just trust me okay. I can do it.”
“Look, if you think you want to change his mind, talk before he kills someone.”
“I will try,” I gave a half shrug. “But I guess he won’t be in a talking mood at first. Sam filled his mind with more greed, he promised him to cure him. As soon as I get the chance, I will talk to him. Tell everyone to use smoke grenades, longer he stays blind, longer I have time to convince him.”
“Okay, I will arrange the weapons. We will go after the descendant in an hour.”
I nodded.
I gathered everyone and told them what to do, I explained everything to them.
“If anyone doesn’t want to go, it’s fine,” I said. “But Tanner is a beast. A big army will help.”
“I don’t want to go,” Martin said. “I am just held here captive because I know about the seeds. I don’t want to get in more trouble. You all just find the seeds and let me go.”
“I understand Martin, you can stay. You have done enough,” I turned to others. “Anyone else? Who doesn't want to join us?”
No one said anything.
“Okay, then,” I rubbed my hands. “Let’s hope that we don’t die today.”
I walked up to Andrea. I knew she was not the type of person who likes danger. So I had to ask her. “Are you sure you want to go with us?”
She smiled. “This is the end, Ross. I have waited a long time for this.”
I ran my hand through her hair. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Who doesn’t get hurt?” she grinned. “This is the final step. We are going to make history, Ross. No one should back off at this stage, not even me. I want to be part of it.”
I smiled and grabbed her hands. “But promise me you will stay by my side.”
She nodded. “I am always by your side.”
I kissed her.
Michael gathered all of us after an hour and gave us weapons. Everyone had their own flamethrower, guns and smoke grenades. We were ready.
“Use the smoke grenades first, then the flamethrower,” Michael said. “We have to blind Tanner first. He will kick a few of us, but keep burning him, don’t stop. That’s the only way to weaken him.”
******************
We all entered our cars and went after the descendant. Michael assembled a lot of his men. There were about two hundred of them. A big army of Savors, they
came from all over the world.
“You gathered a lot of Savors,” I said. “We all have to go through separate ways. So many people will grab attention.”
“Don’t worry. We have a lot of cars and most of the Savors will go through helicopters,” Michael replied.
“But so many helicopters will grab attention.”
“They will go separate ways to the same destination,” he patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry.”
“Okay, but don’t attack him at first. I have to try talking. I need a chance to change his mind.”
“You do what you have to do.”
Clouds filled the skies hiding the sun behind it. We all reached the place. The descendant was a businessman, a successful and a rich one. I checked my cell phone, it was 11.30 am. He was at his company and had a lot of security around him. We circled around the building in our cars and observed the whole area. Tanner was nowhere to be seen.
“He isn’t here, how is that possible?” I said.
“Maybe it’s a trap,” Michael said, holding his binocular. “He knows we are going to bring a lot of people. He wants to knock all of them out at once. It will be easy for him if we are all in a single spot.”
“So, what should we do? We all come close and lure him out?”
He gave a half shrug. “I don’t know. That will give him an invitation to squash and throw all of us at once.”
“Well, we have to come up with something.”
“Forget him,” Michael kept his binoculars down. “Let’s go directly for the descendant.”
My eyes widened. “What? No, he will kill us. We have to take care of him first.”
“Think about it, Ross. We have our people circling over the building. If Tanner shows up we are ready for him. We can’t just wait for him here.”
“But it might be a trap.”
“It maybe, but we have our army. Sooner or later we would have to fight. There is no point in wasting time here.”
“Okay, just stay alert,” I reloaded my gun. “He can show up any minute.”
We all stepped out of our cars.