Hypatia had gone from war zone to party zone. The city was awash with celebratory fireworks and junk food deluxe. People sang and danced across the city. Hypatian flags were found on every corner and major building.
Summanus placed his army’s failure on the extent of Hypatia’s “Godless savagery.” Over a dozen survivors, aware of Hypatia’s aerial capabilities, were silenced one way or the other.
As Hypatia celebrated, Mezox waited on the female pilot’s condition in hospital. He stared at her peaceful expression. The more, the clearer his memories of childhood trickled back, starting with waking to visitors at the door. Her long brunette hair and hazel eyes, a child herself, caught a glimpse of him through the balcony’s slats. She was accompanied by two men and a teen boy. One of those men were Sallace in conversation with Alex.
The boy next to Sallace lost his temper and stormed off in a huff. Sallace chased after him. The young girl also had to leave.
Joe appeared, stuffing his face with popcorn. “I got your message and” - he noticed the patient. “Woah, who’s that?”
“A pilot you shot down.”
Joe leaned over to take a closer look. “But, it’s a woman.”
Tired and fighting to stay awake, Mezox asked, “What do you want, Joe.”
Joe took a seat next to him. “You’re missing a hell-of-a party.”
“Forget it. I’m not going.”
“You’re one miserable git. I don’t get it. We’re heroes of the hour. Ladies would die to meet you and yet you’re here waiting for some unknown damsel. And she’d kill you given the right opportunity.”
“She’s not unknown to me – well, if it’s who I’m thinking.”
“Some ex-girlfriend? More reasons to run.”
Mezox faced him with a quizzical expression. “No.”
“Sure,” he said with a quirky smile. “Anyway. The sooner she wakes the sooner she returns. Then we can party.”
The patient groaned and moved to relieve pain in her right forearm covered in plaster. Subconsciously, she repeatedly jerked her left arm inward but became frustrated at an inability to do so. Eyes opened to discover her left wrist handcuffed to the gurney.
Dazed and confused, she took in her surroundings. Mezox dragged his chair closer from beneath him.
In his attempt to explain the situation, she interrupted. “I know you.”
Mezox was delighted with her remark. “You do?”
“You’re the one he wants, the reason for this war,” she decried.
Her response wasn’t quite what he hoped. “The war began long before I came on the scene.”
“Your cousin seems to think otherwise.”
Mezox chuckled. “That concussion must be worse than feared. I don’t have a cousin.”
She considered the potential mix-up. “No, I’m pretty sure. You’re Alexshi Watson’s boy?”
“Yeah, but only Sallace could have provided me with a cousin.”
“And there’s your answer.”
“Hold on,” urged Mezox. “You’re insinuating that Summanus is my cousin, son of Sallace?”
“Finally, we arrive at the obvious.” The look of horror on Mezox’s face instilled a sense of sympathy. “You really didn’t know?”
Joe had frozen with disbelief. He also closed the gap and delved for popcorn a foot from the bed. “He would have mentioned it to me.”
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“The guy that shot you down,” said a muddled Mezox.
Joe responded with a contentious grin.
“You really need to work on your aim,” she said, swiping Joe’s ego aside.
“Who is she then?” asked Joe.
Mezox looked back at the lady. “Edra Edwards.”
“Ah, I’ve heard of you,” confirmed Joe. “You had shorter hair at one point. Broke my heart when it turned out you were female… but, not for reasons you’ll find too familiar.”
Joe’s hand at humour lightened Mezox’s mood.
“I was lucky,” said Edra. “For some reason or other, the previous Archbishop permitted my piloting and not that of other women.”
“And with Summanus?” wondered Joe.
“I also have family here. To continue flying, I had to demonstrate my loyalty by taking part in the aerial campaign. And, to accept his hand in marriage.”
“You accepted such terms?” asked Mezox.
“What choice did I have?”
“You’ll have a chance to fulfil your promise in the next few days.”
Edra turned white. “What. Why?”
“You did try to kill our people. They won’t let you stay.”
“There must be someone I can plead with? I can’t go back.”
“But you’ll be a hero,” said Joe.
“My ongoing heart is the product of failure. I will either die or end up in endless servitude to him.”
Joe told Mezox, “It is grimmer than ever.”
“Things are getting worse. In the first week of inauguration, Summanus executed all opposition with public hangings and beheadings. He increased tax by thirty percent, and none can stop him.”
“Yes, I’ve heard,” said Mezox, who stood to go the toilet while collecting his thoughts.
Joe offered Edra some popcorn.
Down a busy corridor, Sallace was spotted speaking to someone at the reception desk. They laid eyes on one another and stared.
Sallace also advanced. “You’re breaking the rules if speaking to her.”
“I couldn’t care less for your rules, Uncle.”
Mezox brushed past and continued down a quieter hall.
Sallace followed. “What did she tell you?” #
Mezox continued to ignore him.
Frustrated by the lack of a response, he pulled Mezox down another passage and pinned him against the wall. “Tell me now,” he said displaying his teeth and clenched jaw.
Mezox raised his knee between them and pushed Sallace away. Sallace collided with the parallel wall and recovered.
In a standoff, Mezox shouted, “What’s your problem?”
A nurse had heard the commotion and ordered them to, “Cut it out.”
Sallace requested the use of an empty room from the nurse. “Just to talk,” he pleaded, holding out his hands to Mezox.
Mezox accepted. In the empty waiting room, he had to know, “Why the secrecy?”
Sallace sighed and sat. “Your father was worried about how it would affect you and my position.”
“The reason being?”
“It’s complicated. If everyone discovered the truth, then it would damage my reputation, or maybe result in my expulsion from the realm.”
Mezox was flabbergasted. “Where on earth would you get that idea from?”
“You never know these things.”
“I’m sorry, but it must be asked. How did he get like that?”
“Another reason I didn’t want you to know. It’s my fault, really.”
“You can tell me.”
“He had another name once. Trevor. His mother ran off days after giving birth. There was no caring for a baby as a General, so I had him sent to a monastery.”
Sallace wiped away some tears. “I learned not long ago that he was abused there. He only ever conveyed dissatisfaction. I hoped your parents could take him on but couldn’t. If I’d of known then, I would have done things very differently. Believe me, I would.”
Knelt on the floor, Mezox placed a hand atop of Sallace’s. “And then what happened?”
“He butchered his abuser and threatened peers before turning into an abuser himself. The power to dominate over others become an insatiable addiction.”
“You still hope to save him in a way. That’s why you voted in favour of Summanus’s terms, isn’t it?”
Sallace pulled a compunctious expression. “I’m not a fool nor emotionally compromised. I know him. He will never stop. Only death can free him now.”
“Did you hand over those photos?”
Sallace protested, “I’ve held your designs in my hands, and did I betray you or my brother? No.”
The truth remained elusive. Somewhere, behind the scenes, someone presented a significant threat.
Outside, the sound of partygoers and fireworks highlighted their threat’s failure to subdue them – the only fact that would allow him to sleep like a baby that night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The essence of trust
As the population recovered from their night’s festivities, Mezox began his day as usual. It was an excellent opportunity to assess the labs. Once completed, he worked through a few pages of educational material before going home.
There, he found the door unlocked. There was no forgetting to lock it. Yet, inside, nothing struck him as out of the ordinary – except for the radio playing in his living room. A cautious approach was made to peak around the corner. On his chair sat Edra, eyes closed and resting her arm. The door creaked, and he was spotted.
Bag placed on the sofa, he asked, “Why are you here?”
Out of the seat and clutching her right arm, she informed him that, “Sallace brought me here.”
Mezox understood the move as a favour for his silence. “Really?” He walked to the kitchen and checked inconspicuously for missing blades.
“Truly,” she said before pursuing him. “I can see what you did with the house. It’s a replica of your father’s if I remember correctly?”
Satisfied there were no missing weapons, he scoured the cupboards for a worthy meal idea. “You were there once. You must have a good memory?”
“No, and yes, I guess. You and I played from time to time. I suppose one doesn’t remember much when five years old.”
Mezox prepared some pasta and chicken.
“I would have cooked if it weren’t for this arm.”
Mezox leaned semi-sat against the side unit. “Forgive me but, what’s the plan here?”
Edra hesitated, unsure of how to interpret his question. “To survive. I’m not really sure what’s happening now let alone a request for foresight.”
Mezox turned to stir the pasta without a verbal response.
“Sallace warned of your distrust in people. I understand you’re not without reasons here. It didn’t take long to see through the lies about this place and” –
“You tried to murder your family, rendering any pleas for trust moot.”
Edra was stunned by his lack of a tactful approach to honesty. “What I meant to say by family is my father. If it’s any consolation, I’ve despised him for having left my mother and me when I was nine.”
“A valid excuse to hate, but to kill?”
Edra’s inability to quell tensions saw her return to the chair. She was somewhat surprised to find that Mezox had still prepared her a meal.
Silence prevailed until Edra viewed confrontation as a ceiling that required breaking. “Is it true that religion plays little importance here?”
Mezox glanced at her then his food. “Yes,” he confirmed.
“To think I bought into the whole godless theme. It clearly wasn’t the case when I came across you and Sallace.”
“Sallace, not me.”
Edra wiped her mouth using a napkin. “You’re not a Christian?”
“Finally, we arrive at the obvious,” said Mezox in a snub to her earlier comment.
“But Sallace said that,” –
“Sallace isn’t aware that my path to Atheism’s complete.”
Edra’s comfort factor hit rock bottom. She dithered for several seconds. “What about morals if not from God?”
“If you want biblical morals, I believe Summanus is willing to give a demonstration.”
“He misrepresents the Bible's teachings.”
“Does he?” laughed Mezox.
Edra’s anxiety grew. “Alright, what proof do you have for Atheism?”
“Atheism’s not a claim, discipline nor doctrine. I can’t give a negative to a negative. I could equally say that you can’t disprove Atheism.”
Edra huffed. “It’s not like you can disprove the bible.”
“You mean bats are birds, the earth is flat, and the stars are lanterns to name a few?”
Edra folded her arms. “If the bible states it then yes.”
Mezox waved his fork toward her. “I can show you fossils of early hominids and how they’re dated. Without Genesis, you’ve got nothing left – you know, the whole original sin.”
“The Church said they’re bones of deformed children.”
Mezox feigned a sense of shock. “Wow, to think only deformed children can fossilise.”
“They’re from the same time period. Your radiometric nonsense is flawed. Isotopes decomposed faster in the past.”
“Firstly, I’m surprised you’ve heard of isotopes. Secondly, observed levels of decomposition occurring in a contracted period of time would have resulted in a molten earth at best.” He took a sip of juice and smirked.
Edra stormed off once again, leaving Mezox to shake his head in disbelief. “Was I really that obnoxiously ignorant?” he asked himself.
Dishes done, he entered auto-mode and made a move for the living room, only to clench his fist when recalling who’s behind the door. An early night wasn’t such a bad idea.
At two in the morning, Joe and his new partner returned from their evening’s jollies, with more in mind. They clambered into the living room and, in an embrace, toppled onto the sofa. Edra screamed out of terror, giving Joe and his partner and awful fright, too. Joe climbed off. “What are you doing here?”
The shock of two semi-engaging males sent her hyperventilating. “What fresh hell is this,” she said, convinced that death may have found her in battle after all.
Mezox rushed down. “I thought you were staying at Michael’s today?” he told Joe.
“Your place has fewer ears,” responded Joe.
Mezox rolled his eyes and invited Edra upstairs. Joe was kicked out back to his own room.
Edra was invited to exchange places with him. Mezox sorted a fresh sheet and pillow. He then turned to leave his room when Edra said, “I can see why the Church fears you so much.”
“Imaginary beliefs go hand in hand with irrational fears.”
Edra ignored his jibe at faith. “Your world’s vastly different to what I imagined. I ask that you hand me time to adjust.”
Mezox sat on the corner of his bed. “You’re right,” he admitted. “I know the pain you feel. But that pain, it’s psychological, and it’ll fade.”
“Are you happier for having abandoned your faith?”
“Faith is a worthless virtue. The happiness I feel now, it’s more authentic than any other point in my life.”
“Is it your wish to see me abandon my faith?”
“I have reserved no such desires. What makes our religious citizens so apt in Hypatia is that secular and democratic principles come first. They’re not fundamentalists. History teaches us that those with the sincerest of beliefs will react more violently to protect them.”
Their more constructive dialogue had reduced her feelings of alienation. It was just a matter of going with the flow.
Mezox’s co-inventing of the hypertron technology came as a massive surprise for Edra the following morning. Her pleas to see the technology in action made him nervous.
In the labs and with peace, at last, a guard stopped him to have a word. “There’s some woman outside who claims to know you. I told you, man. They can get clingy, even when she says it’s just for the night.”
Mezox closed his eyes in disbelief and calmly said, “No, it’s not like that. This is far worse.”
His arrival at the perimeter gate offered no prizes for correct guesses. “Why are you here?”
Edra’s smile was unaffected by Mezox’s dissatisfaction. “I came to see what you do.”
“That’s not possible. You should return to my house.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
&nbs
p; “Your friends are… well, sinning.”
Mezox couldn’t leave her stranded and exposed to wintry conditions. And any wandering in the city could have generated further issues.
She was permitted to enter. Her sense of victory was short-lived as Mezox sat in his office and studied in silence.
A window into the labs provided a more desirable level of entertainment. She gazed as men and women in white coats and gloves traversed the room. Some assembled components as others came and went after logging essential information.
An employee knocked and entered, requesting Mezox’s presence in the factory. The assembly line had broken down, and engineers struggled to repair it. He left Edra alone, ordering a pre-occupied Fosler to keep an eye on her.
The door opened, and Edra stepped out. Fosler would look around, but his focus was such that she wasn’t visible to him.
Her confidence grew until she took a pick of three corridors to explore. Naturally, she took the middle. Fifty feet down and through some double doors, she came to a former temporary residence tower reconditioned as a hanger. Fighters hung nose-up against the walls. The scale of it hit home when she recalled having seen dozens of such buildings.
The eerie silence was filled with her curiosity. Another fighter rested flat on the ground with the cockpit opened out. She peered inside to find few buttons. Its surface felt both smooth yet oddly rough, but cold to comfy after seconds of continued touch.
Mezox returned to find Edra absent. A search for her turned up nothing until the guard stated that she had left the premises ten minutes earlier.
The best he could do was rush home. If she weren’t there, all hell would break loose, and he would be the centre of blame.
Thankfully, she was home. Instead of displaying any form of direct frustration with her, he drank some whisky to calm his nerves.
With a restrained but firm tone, he asked: “Why did you leave without telling me?”
“Okay, I got a little nosey and found myself lost. I followed the exit signs and left.”
“I asked you to stay in my office.”
“Because you lack trust in me.”
Mezox raised his voice to sound a rhetorical point. “Well, what else do you expect?”
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