Chapter Eighteen
Night had fallen in Sydney, once again. Drellic stood alone on the roof of the Opera House and gazed out at the mysterious orb. Two hours before, it had appeared to be on a direct path for the downtown Sydney area, but since then, it had slowly drifted upwards and was hovering over the city, just beside the moon.
The gleaming tower of Delendra, looked as though it was dividing the two celestial bodies, by cutting through the clear night sky, between them. The combined luminance of both the moon and the orb, gave enough light to make it appear as though it were nearly dusk, but in reality, it was nearly midnight.
Knowing he should’ve been overjoyed at the thought of meeting his descendants, Drellic couldn’t help but weep as the hovering ball of fire, was only reminding him more and more that no matter what steps were taken to revive his civilization, things would never be the same as they were. More importantly, he knew, deep down that Simone was not Moya. He was not nearly as delusional as he appeared, simply because he was fully aware that he was becoming delusional.
His rage for the Architects, his sadness for the loss of everything that ever mattered to him, and the detached persona he had developed after billions of years in captivity, had crafted a ruthless dictator. He had evolved into everything he used to despise in the criminals of his time. Knowing all of this and having accepted it, he still refused to divert from the path he had chosen. His fractured mind and the overwhelming power of the Blood of Aia, had both decided that the universe owed him a rather sizable debt.
Once he regained control of his emotions, he sent for Simone. She was brought up to the roof by a guard and then left alone with Drellic.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked, in a dutiful and polite tone.
She had done an excellent job, adjusting to her situation and keeping her fear at bay. Drellic looked at her with a blank expression, only accompanied by the slightest hint of sadness.
“You’re not her,” he said. “And you never will be.”
Simone’s fear quickly returned to the surface, and she knew that there was only one way she could stay alive long enough, to find a way to defeat Drellic and be reunited with Callum.
“I know,” she fearfully replied. “I know I’ll never be your Moya. But I want to be at your side. I see that now. I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.”
Drellic searched her eyes for evidence of dishonesty, but couldn’t find any. Simone had mastered this technique of playing to Drellic’s fractured, vulnerable soul.
“You have so much power, and you’re the only one who can save my people. How could I not want to be a part of that?” she asked.
Drellic walked to her and gently caressed her face. “Do you truly mean what you say?” he asked. “Will you be completely committed to my quest, and to me?”
“Of course, I will. I love you, Drellic,” she exclaimed, with teary eyes and a convincing smile.
Drellic’s own tears, then returned. He hadn’t heard the words, “I love you” spoken to him in eons, aside from the false voices, he had projected into his own mind, over the centuries. A moment later, he passionately kissed her, and although it killed her to do it, she returned the kiss with an equal amount of passion.
Unbeknownst to both Drellic and Simone, Callum and Mary were hovering over Sydney, aboard their stolen recon ship, in stealth mode. Callum had his eyes locked on a holographic projection of the Opera House rooftop, where he had witnessed the fatal kiss between his wife and the monster, Drellic.
“She must not have had a choice,” Mary assured Callum. “She wouldn’t have done it, unless there was no other way.”
Callum was enraged, but remained open minded. These were after all, the most uncertain times he had ever lived through.
“I hope you’re right,” he replied, in a detached tone.
Callum then piloted the ship just outside the inner city and landed in a secluded clearing, beneath the gleaming light, shared by the moon and the mysterious orb. By this time, Callum and Mary had already hooked the ancient recorder up to the ship’s hard drive and watched the last few hours of footage, which showed Drellic emerging from the hull of a massive, organic alien ship, hovering over the flaming city of Siren. He leapt hundreds of feet to the ground at an incredible speed and didn’t have a scratch on him, after landing.
The people surrounding him cheered, as the alien ship he had just left behind, crashed into the skyscrapers behind them, indicating that Drellic had single handedly brought the mighty vessel down. In the following segment of footage, Drellic was shown leading an army of citizens, who all appeared to have the same superhuman strength and speed, which Drellic had displayed.
Callum deduced that the weakness Mandrake had referred to, may have been the idea of Drellic following in his past footsteps, and sharing the alien compound in his blood with the wrong person. Perhaps someone like Simone, who would be in an ideal position, to use Drellic’s abilities against him. Callum prayed that those might have been Simone’s intentions, but couldn’t help but question her integrity on a small scale.
He had, after all, witnessed first-hand, how easily Drellic had turned so many humans to his side, over the last three years. Time was running out for Callum and Mary. The gleaming orb above, was finally continuing its descent towards Sydney.
Mary looked on with fear and said, “It has to be a ship. Something far worse than anything we’ve seen yet.”
“You can turn back, if you want,” said Callum. “You can take the ship and the recorder and take it to the right people. But I’m going after my wife. Alone if need be. She’s all I have left.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Mary replied. “My husband was right about you. He sensed you were a good man, but I wouldn’t listen. I’m listening now. You still have a chance to be with the one you love, and I’m going to help you get her back.”
“Thanks for that,” Callum replied. “I’ve seen so many friends die, since I came back. It’s good to know I’ve still got one around.”
Together, Callum and Mary armed themselves with the energy weapons that had been left behind on the recon ship, by its former crew. They were each carrying an energy rifle and handgun. Mary of course, still had her axe strapped to her back and knives, holstered at her sides.
“We’ll never get close in this ship,” Mary told Callum. “Someone will shoot us down, as soon as we make ourselves known. And that ball of light in the sky, isn’t going to help our situation. We’re on foot from here.”
Callum nodded in agreement. They took their new found weapons and left their ship behind. They assumed it would take them about an hour to get to the massive platform, being built in the center of the city, while on foot. Since it was the center of attention, they assumed they would find Drellic and Simone there, waiting for them. They only hoped to arrive there before the gleaming orb; getting much larger in the sky, above.
At that same time, Drellic and Simone were walking hand in hand, to the platform construction site. She was doing her best to appear ecstatic about the new arrivals, and Drellic was doing his best to remain authoritative, despite his overwhelming anxiety and joyous mood.
Drellic was once again dressed in his formal uniform, common for that of a Siren leader. Simone was dressed in a long, beautiful red dress, which complimented her long, flowing red hair. Her eyes sparkled in the light of the orb, as it was coming dangerously close to Delendra tower, meaning it was merely 5,000 feet from the surface of the planet.
Upon reaching the center of the mass of construction workers, Drellic noticed that the platform was only half completed. His first instinct was to unleash his fury upon the workers, but decided that he was in too fantastic a mood, to allow his anger to ruin things. He ordered everyone to stop working and finished the platform himself, in a matter of minutes, using scrap metal from the surrounding areas.
Simone and the workers looked on in fear, at Drellic’s ability to throw around thousands of pounds worth of metal
, with the greatest of ease. Once the platform was completed to his satisfaction, Drellic calmly returned to Simone’s side and gazed into her eyes, giving her an innocent smile, as if nothing had happened.
The construction crews were ordered to leave the scene and return to their homes. Drellic and Simone stood alone at the foot of a long metallic staircase, leading up to the platform. At that moment, Drellic had a painstaking flashback of Moya’s public execution that he himself carried out, which took place on a very similar platform.
Simone noticed the pain in his eyes and asked him if he was alright, in a way a genuinely caring wife might. In a sincere tone of admiration, he replied, “I’m just grateful to be sharing this moment with you, Simone.”
She was shocked that he used her real name. It was the most coherent she had seen him in days.
“I would’ve been content to stand here alone and welcome my people to this broken Earth, but if someone is going to be standing here with me, I’m glad it’s you,” he sobbed.
Drellic held Simone in his familiar fashion and Simone hesitantly wrapped her arms around his tall muscular body, as best she could.
“Please don’t be frightened by what I said to you before about the child,” Drellic continued, as a single tear escaped his right eye. “Moya had miscarried two children, before we parted ways. It’s been one of many things that has been haunting me forever.”
“I understand,” Simone replied, sympathetically, as Drellic released his hold on her.
By that time, the orb was a mere 100 feet above the platform, and was continuing its slow descent, of only a few feet per second.
Drellic had his workers hang large banners on either side of the platform, on tall steel flagpoles. The large gray and black banners, displayed the symbol of unity between Siren and Tyrran, which was also displayed on Drellic’s uniform. Since the orb was preparing to land on the exact spot Drellic had intended, that alone erased all of his doubts and proved to him that these were in fact his kin.
Callum and Mary had reached a demolished, brick prison, just a few hundred yards away from the landing platform. They hid in the shadows and looked on, as Drellic and Simone stood hand in hand, at the base of the steel staircase, as the orb finally touched down on the metal platform.
The long silence that followed was deafening. After a few moments, the light of the orb was beginning to dim. Something was happening inside. What was a blinding, focused sun light had become a dim and distant glow, like that of an ordinary desk lamp.
Drellic looked on with great anticipation, as Simone’s fear and discomfort was becoming more and more apparent. Callum and Mary crept closer to the scene, as the orb began to suddenly collapse. It was slowly shrinking down to the size of a tiny pebble.
The intensity of its light was strangely increasing, as the object itself, decreased in size. Once the orb had reached the form of a brightly gleaming grain of sand, a violent explosion of energy, sprang outward from the platform, causing a bright, ring shaped shockwave, to stretch out beyond the city, leaving a thick cloud of smoke, at the top of the staircase, before Drellic and Simone.
Finally, the smoke cleared and the dust settled. Drellic and Simone looked up to the platform with bewilderment, to see a woman with long dark hair, dressed in a long white cloak, kneeling in the center, alone.
Drellic’s curiosity boiled over and he quickly ascended the staircase, to greet the new arrival. The woman rose in the still dissipating cloud of dust and smoke, and stared deeply into Drellic’s eyes, with a smile, as tears streamed down her face.
Simone slowly followed Drellic, but remained on the staircase. She was baffled by what she was seeing. Simone recognized the woman, immediately, from images on the ancient recorder. Drellic looked as though he was about to pass out.
“…Moya?” he gasped.
“Sen, si mine,” she responded, in the ancient human language, meaning “Yes, it’s me.”
Drellic burst into tears and ran to her. They held each other, as Moya caressed the back of Drellic’s neck; him weeping against her breasts. They both stood nearly eight feet tall, making it easy for Moya to spot Simone, over Drellic’s shoulder. She noticed the revealing red dress, draped over her small frail body and pushed Drellic away.
She pointed at Simone, demanding to know who she was and why they were together. Without hesitation, Drellic walked over to Simone and swatted her to the ground, like a fly. He then turned his attention back to Moya and assured her that Simone was no one she needed to be concerned about.
Callum and Mary ran to Simone, as she hit the ground beside the metal staircase. Simone was disoriented and unresponsive at first, but was overjoyed to see Callum, once she was able to focus. He picked her up off the ground and quickly carried her to safety, in the rubble of the prison, behind them.
“I thought I’d never see you again,” Simone stuttered, as she squirmed in pain.
Callum gently placed her on the ground, then sat beside her and held her in his arms. He then introduced Simone to Mary, and admitted that he would not still be alive, had it not been for her.
The three of them looked on, as Drellic and Moya stood atop the platform, continuing to quietly speak to one another in their ancient language.
“That’s his wife isn’t it?” Callum asked Simone.
“It is. But he killed her. I saw him kill her, billions of years ago. I have no idea what the fuck is going on,” she replied.
“I saw it too,” Callum stuttered. “This is impossible.”
The Drellic Saga: Books One, Two and Three Page 21