“Zelda?” Rhymes asked quickly. She was one of few women the known settled space had ever produced that could shut Rhymes up with a simple glance. They had been married once, a marriage that ended in Rhimes’s inept faithfulness. She just looked at him, and the scarred man’s jaw hit the floor.
“Good to see you too Reese.”
Sophie was also curious as to why Zelda had arrived carrying a metal briefcase. “Miss Eastwick, I wasn’t aware you were coming?”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world Madam Supreme. Besides, I may have my own insights to provide.”
Aaron looked at the wild haired woman cautiously. He knew she had some insights, after all, she did help speed up the discovery process of the R-9 comet. They would have likely found it eventually, but her tip in where and when to look, likely sped up the process by a few months. “Miss Eastwick, your findings revolving the crimson comet are commendable. I am curious as to what you have to offer?” Aaron asked.
Zelda smirked. “I do love your work Doctor Battle. I made sure to read every word within your thirty-two-page dissertation. This organism is truly magnificent isn’t it?”
Aaron and the rest of the room squinted their eyes while pondering her reason for being there.
“Tell me Doctor Battle, have you found anything that thwarts the infection? And, have you got around to naming the organisms yet?”
Aaron could only look into the woman’s brown eyes as she smirked. “I didn't think so.”
Aaron quickly spoke up, “The report I sent out twelve hours ago, remains consistent. We know that the debris carried a protean alien organism, that transitioned from airborne, to liquid transmission. It enters a host, absorbs the DNA, and uses that DNA to adapt to the environment. We know that the organism is intelligent for being a cellular creature. Each cell contains 28 base pairs of chromosomes contained within three nuclei. Human DNA alone only has 23 base pairs. In comparison to our own, their DNA allows for unparalleled perfect regeneration. Along with heightened senses, that we are still coming to understand, not to mention being highly resilient.”
Aaron had his own data with him. He had a data feed, recorded into his watch. With a few taps on the touch screen, a holographic image beamed into the air. They saw the first organism. They noticed the three dark cores, and its red translucent body. They saw its needle like teeth and its red hooks at the ends of its extremities. The holo recording, presented the organism perfectly in midair.
“This organism is the original, variation one I should say, or strain one. This is our invader. The only known weakness we have seen so far for the original strain is UV rays. It's why all of the red pools simply, turned to green goo. Sunlight kills it. However, the other strains, are immune to sunlight once they’ve absorbed DNA to adapt. The good news is, new strains will be less likely to emerge unless some of the original strain have managed to reach areas in which the sun can’t reach, like a sewer system, or cavern.”
Zelda nodded. “Good so far, but I would like to ask, have you tried silver? Like for example colloidal silver?”
Aaron squinted his eyes. “What?”
Zelda smiled. “My dear boy, it’s been twenty-four hours since this occurrence began, and in that time, news feeds all around the globe have reported everything from superhuman activity among humans that were afflicted.” She stopped, smiled, and adjusted her glasses, drawing out the next word. “But... These humanoid versions of those poor animals running amuck, committing murder and mayhem, spreading the infection, making human and animal hybrids of sorts is getting out of control… Yes?”
Zelda stood up and looked around the room. “I saw a recording of what looked like a minotaur in France, werewolf like creatures roaming the streets of Bastion City, along with… Vampire bats that seem to be turning people into real vampires… I mean just this morning, nine blood banks were reported robbed in Bastion City, New Gora City in Guatemala, and even a Mexico City. Each instance the only thing stolen, was… well… cloned blood.”
“Your point Miss Eastwick?” The Madam Supreme asked, while her ex-husband was already seeing his ex's mind at work.
“My dear special counsel… Every legend that’s ever existed in which a monster was put down, silver was always the Achilles heel in broad mythology. Take the werewolves and vampires for example, they both shared that specific weakness depending on the lore involved.” Zelda said smirking at Aaron.
Aaron scoffed, “I will give you originality for your suggestion Miss Eastwick. I will take your silver theory under advisement.”
Zelda sniggered. She began opening her metal briefcase. It was filled with an old dusty notebook, a tablet, and a few micro disks. The last thing they all noticed was her laying a vial of what looked like a blood sample on the table. Zelda grinned and picked up the green aged journal. “This notebook contained crucial information, insight into the comet, and what's happening right now. The very prediction of the comet, all of it… Is in these pages. Including information on what one of my former colleagues referred to as the Aeon Strain.”
“Aeon Strain?” Aaron asked with his eyebrows raised.
Zelda used her own watch as she slid in a micro disk the size of a penny. She hit a few buttons on her watch, and emitted an image, a recording. Hundreds of red Aeon Cells were seen with black veins down their tentacles and weaving the three cores together. These cells were in a blood sample, vibrantly swimming freely in droplet of blood. These cells however were more advanced. They had spikes along their tentacles and a few around their core. They seemed to move quicker. “Tell me Aaron, have you seen this… variation before?” She asked with a leer in her voice.
“Where did you get that?” Aaron demanded as he stood up. The hair on his neck stood upright, hard... His goosebumps hurt...
The Madam Supreme’s eyes widened as she looked at a tablet in front of her. She brought up a picture, one that had been sent out twelve hours prior. She looked up after looking at it. “That’s the V5 strain, the one from the bats, and those spikes, dear maker, that's one of. That's a sample of a master vampire’s blood. right?”
The Madam Supreme looked at Zelda, “Where did you get that Zelda?”
Zelda smiled while adjusting her glasses again. “I drew this blood sample over 40 years ago from a friend of mine that revealed herself to be… A vampire. An Alpha she called herself.”
Everyone gasped. Aaron and Trevor looked at each other with troubled glares.
“I was on a dig site in Peru 42 years ago. One of my students, A young woman named Sara Tyler was probably one of the best archaeological students I had ever had the pleasure of mentoring. We were attacked you see. By Peruvian vampires that were clearly trying to keep the dig site we were working on a secret. During the… attack, Sara and her boyfriend Ben Preston, fought them off, but not before her boyfriend Ben, was beheaded. Sara killed the others so easily and paid little attention to me lying there in shock. Sara knelt down to weep, while the tunnel above us began to collapse.” Zelda seemed distant for a moment. “One moment she was tending a body that was melting so to speak, the next moment she was standing over top of me, keeping the boulder from crushing me.”
The room seemed speechless. “Sara and I of course became friends. After I officially made her an offer to join my teams she helped head up our Sumerian divisions. She adored Babylonian lore, she excelled at it. She unearthed more clues into that culture in just a few short years compared to most of my colleagues had managed in a few decades... I admired her mental fortitude and envied her intellectual virtuoso.” Zelda mentioned with a drawn-out sigh.
The Madam Supreme quickly inquired. “Why didn’t you inform us of this? That vampires existed?”
Zelda smiled. “I made a promise to the very woman that saved my life, that I would keep her secret safe. She also warned me that If i didn't, other immortals would likely hunt me down. You see, they have their own rules regarding mortals knowing about their existence.”
Zelda adjusted herself in her s
eat. “She told me, that one day It would be safe to divulge what I knew. You see, this journal is hers. She left it for me, along with several clues.”
Rhymes was quick to try and interrupt her. “Are you telling us that these things have been around before the comet?”
Zelda rolled her eyes. “Of course, I am you thick headed scissorbill. Aside from meeting a real vampire.” She looked around the room, then back at her ex-husband. “My dear... Mythologies in every culture around the world have given you a forewarning glimpse.”
Zelda smirked. “She was at our daughter’s wedding Reese.” The man’s jaw dropped again. “I even introduced her to her husband. Isac Jordan, another student of mine. I thought the two would get along, they married shortly after that. Though Sara never told her husband what she was, at least as far as I know... Given she could walk in daylight, posing as a human seemed easy for her, other than what she coined having impeccable beauty secrets to explain never seeming to age...”
Zelda looked at Reese, “Do you remember Cecilia Jordan? The little red headed girl I baby sat a few times?”
Rhymes nodded his head. “YOU HAD A VAMPIRE IN OUR HOME AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?”
Zelda smirked, “Well, you were cheating on me, so I figured keeping a few secrets of my own were in order. Besides, Cecilia wasn’t a vampire, she was a half vampire, a dhampir they’re called.”
Shocked, the Madam Supreme insisted. “Where is this Mr.’s. Jordan now?”
Zelda replied with a snarky tone. “Alas, Sara died in a museum fire back in 2087, London. After reading over her notes, it pains me to suggest a conspiracy theory, but.... You see, the comet was mentioned in this journal she left for me, otherwise we wouldn’t have known which direction it was coming from. The point is, this blood sample, and these cells in this holo recording were given by Sara as proof. She told me one day I would need it. She indicated that others exist as well, and not just vampires and various lycanthropic organisms. Angels, Demons, Deities, all of them thought themselves to be what they were, and in the end, they’re simply nothing more than genetic oddities brought about from galactic meddling. She even made a feeble attempt at outing their little covenant by publicizing her fictitious works. She had written two books; Urban Shadows was the name. They loosely depicted events that can be verified, along with obscured truths. Sara told me that certain immortals called Alphas and Betas can infect, others lack the ability to transform a human into an immortal being. In her book, she lied and obscured that truth to it being the blood. Sara told me something happened in her hometown when she was just eighteen years of age. That her fictitious works told the tale, she just changed the biology in hopes that it didn’t fully break the immortal covenant. But rather… spur witness to the event to come forward. She wrote another book about an event in England, London to be specific Again she told me the truths, killing a master vampire, or as immortals call them, Alphas, won't kill the progeny, but put any creature spawned by bite or birth of that specific Alpha into a coma, giving a hunter ample time to kill off the nest. The survivors that awaken from this comatose state however… can emerge as a new Alpha or Beta.”
Zelda seemed a bit sad. “You see, Sara wanted to oust them. Some valued human life, others didn’t Once they found out she had written about them, I suppose, they came for her.”
Trevor scoffed. “We don’t have time for conspiracy theories Madam. We need facts.”
Zelda looked at Trevor Graves and put her hand on her hip while rolling her eyes. “This blood sample is proof enough in the legitimacy of my words and of this journal’s intel, along with the simple fact, I warned this governing body almost a year ago to look beyond Jupiter's orbit for a possible comet heading our way.”
Trevor rolled his eyes and sat back, while Aaron got comfortable.
Sophie asked, “So she gave you this journal?”
Zelda sat back in her chair and held the tattered book in front of her, sniffing the aged paper, she opened it to the first page. “There’s a note just on the inside that her daughter failed to remove. “To my daughter Cecilia. We were never close, for that I’m sorry. We didn’t get along while you were growing up, you thought I was crazy at times. That was until that fateful evening you learned the hard truth of what I am, and what you got from me. It broke my heart that night to see you recoil and how your father took the discovery as well. I knew the risks of falling for a human, I had hoped your father would have been different. I know you blame me for him leaving us… For that I am eternally sorry.
I loved him deeply. I never thought I would love someone after I lost my first husband Ben, but your father Isac proved me wrong for the longest time, until he realized I wasn’t human.
I ended up losing you both over what I am.
Regardless my dear Cecilia, I have tried to make this world safer for you. Being only half of what I am, you didn’t inherit all of my strengths, and for that, I have always been looking after you to make sure you were safe. I only wanted to protect you from the others. It's the least I could do for my daughter.
To do that, I must do something rash, and break the covenant I once told you about. The world has to know about the immortal creatures living among them. Outing the hidden world, is the only way to keep you safe now. Being half human, you can live peacefully and hidden should I succeed in this endeavor.
I regret many things, but having you was the greatest blessing I ever knew. I hope one day you can forgive me, and accept yourself, for what you are.
If you come into possession of this journal, I fear that my plan to unite mankind, the Immortium and Aeonian world together has failed, and likely I am no longer living. The bank I had placed this journal with, the security deposit box was paid up for 22 years with instructions to contact you to retrieve its contents once the rental expires. Half Breeds are frowned upon by the others as you already know. I ask that you do nothing to carry on my work. Stay hidden. If this journal arrives, know that I love you. Tell no one of what you are. The one thing, that could be perilous for you, is this one and only request.
Take this journal to a woman named Zelda Rhymes, you should remember her, she is one of few humans I trust, and if you recall, she did babysit for me a few times when I was in south America. She is the curator now for the museum I used to work for in California, her address is at the bottom. Say nothing to anyone, just deliver this journal too her and her alone.
Love… Mom...’”
“How sweet...” Grand General Rhymes sputtered out full of sarcasm while looking down the table at his ex-wife.
The others in the room all looked at one another. Meanwhile Sophie looked at Aaron and Zelda. “Seeing this blood sample floating in midair, is proof enough for me that these, people are real. But why didn’t you warn us earlier about these people Zelda?”
Zelda spoke up. “Like I said, Sara saved my life, not once, but twice. Once back in Peru. The second time, her blood. If you all recall, I battled cancer 33 years ago. Sara came to visit me in the hospital. One drop of her blood, and four hours later I was in full remission. Not to mention, as I said earlier, she warned me that other immortals didn’t take kindly to their secrets being exposed and my life could be in danger. The night she saved my life, was the last time I saw her, she told me that night, one day I would come into possession of a journal, to make sure I kept it safe. So... I did, I put it away in a pressure locker. With the exception of the first page, this journal’s contents were in some made up hand written code Madam Supreme, each chapter’s runic symbols were different. After trying to decode it, I gave up and locked it away. Only the front page is written in English, the note to her daughter and the instructions to make sure I received it.” Zelda smirked at her Ex, “I guess Sara counted on me being the wife of a general, I’d be protected…” Zelda looked back at Sophie and then the others as she spoke slowly. “Sara apparently had other safeguards in place. A pressure locker, at one of my division’s archives in Italy had an alarm to go off. Inside it, was another note
from Mr.’s. Jordan, telling me to use a codex she had included to decipher the first two pages, it went off just in time, for me to decipher it and realize the warning about a comet arriving in 2118. Apparently, Sara surmised that an ancient Babylonian legend pertaining to the creation goddess Tiamat, wasn’t a dragon goddess at all, but what the primitive intellect of a society having no knowledge of science interpreted as a comet being some sort of deity.”
Zelda continued. “Tiamat was known for her body parts giving rise to gods and monsters in pre-Sumerian and Babylonian lore…”
Zelda continued looking around the room and then stopped at Aaron. “Two days ago, another pressure locker had an alarm to go off in the very building I was working in, at the world seat. It contained, another letter, along with the vial of blood I had taken from her. I immediately recognized the vial. It had yet another codex to decipher the rest of the journal. Using a droid, it made it quite easy to type it out. Clearly, she was trying to cover her tracks, to keep me and her daughter safe. According to the rest of this journal most of these people, they call themselves either two things, Aeonian, or Immortium and both had a strict covenant regarding keeping mortals out of the loop. They’re like us, specific dogma separates the two groups, and they’ve been at each other’s throats, literally for thousands of years. “
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