Jade pats him gingerly on the back.
“I never doubted you, Evander. Never have, never will.” She smiles at him genuinely for once, and then lets herself out of his pod. Evander turns back to his laptop, and continues hacking into the Upperworld's database system.
It’s gotta be here somewhere… I’ll keep looking, as long as it takes.
CHAPTER 11
In the deepest part of the Upperworld resides Zephyr, the Most High Being. He sits on his regal throne, with his head tilted back slightly, letting the life essences flow through him and into the orbs in the Sorting Room. His flaming hair isn’t glowing as brightly as it used to, and his breathing seems labored, and less effortless. Orderlies calmly float around the Grand Hall, ready to cater to his every beck and call.
He sits on his throne while breathing, and producing new life - the same job he has had for eons. Thinking back to his deal with Seth, he considers the resurrected fetus of Luna to be his prime target. She has disrupted the Sorting Room and posed as a threat to the entire humanoid existence by trying to return to the Upperworld after being irreparably tainted on Earth. The intent of Onyx to send Delphine in her place was wrong, so very wrong.
Quietly, calm vapors waft through the large corridors as warm air from the outside atmosphere of the Upperworld mixes with the brisk air of the Grand Hall. Zephyr requests it to remain at a low level, as he finds warm air to be suffocating in large quantities and for an extended period of time.
The ridiculous things these sorters have attempted is so very shameful - I cannot imagine how they can live with themselves. Luckily… Luna won’t have to for long.
A malicious sneer oozes across Zephyr’s pale, sallow face.
Seth will be taking care of that for me, I am sure. I wonder how he is doing with it?
Out of curiosity, Zephyr contacts Seth on his tracking device. Given the amount of Earth time that Seth has been gone, it is most probable that the tracker has not been expelled from his body yet, although it likely would be very soon.
The embedded communication/tracking devices used in the Upperworld do not last long on Earth due to the distance from the main communication hub, as well as the lack of integration in the human form. These factors do not fully come into effect for about twenty-four hours of Earth-living, but they are always the reason for the expulsion of the device. The only time they last permanently is when they are embedded while on Earth, and connected to the user’s circulatory system (to operate as an unlimited power source).
Given this known knowledge, Zephyr calls up Seth from his wrist. The pale lights blink clearly just under the surface of Zephyr’s nearly transparent, pale skin, and then swiftly turn green as the device completes the connection to Seth.
“Uh, hello? Zephyr? What can I do for you?” Seth has a sort of exhausted lilting in his voice, likely exhaustion from trying to track down Luna all day, as well as adjusting to the greater gravity levels present on Earth. And the beeping on his wrist had just woken him up from a nap.
“Seth, my son, you must find Luna and end her, sooner versus later. Do you have any leads on her nearest location?”
Seth hesitates to answer, as he knows that he currently has no distinct plan of action.
“Well… I know she is nearby. I just have to narrow down the final destination.”
Zephyr exasperatedly blows air out of his nose. “Well, I need you to hurry - it is of utmost importance. There… isn’t much time left before…”
“Before what?”
Zephyr stops himself from admitting what he already knows to be true. He cannot let on the truth about his condition - if he does, he will seem weak and vulnerable. Unacceptable. Rather, he covers for it to avoid suspicion.
“Before I get too tired - I need you here, as soon as you can get the deed done, so you can be my right-hand confidant, as promised. You do want that, correct?”
Seth inhales rapidly as he recalls the offer Zephyr had proposed as an incentive for him to assassinate Luna.
“Of course, my leader. I will find a way, I will not disappoint you.”
“Good. That is very good.”
✷✷✷
Onyx carefully cradles the spindling, black device in his hand and grabs a steak knife from a nearby table.
“Onyx, what are you doing with that?” Luna watches him with concern in her eyes - she is shocked and concerned about the urgency in which he grabs the knife and runs into the small room in the back marked “restroom”.
Luna waits expectantly for him to return, picking at her pancakes and trying not to panic.
Meanwhile, Onyx encloses himself in the private room, and quickly uses the knife to break her device into pieces before flushing it all down the toilet. He is about to go back to the table with Luna when he comes to the sickening conclusion that he still has his own device still implanted in his arm. It would likely be expelled on its own within a few hours, but that is a risk he cannot afford to take.
If he was using her tracker to get to her, he could easily use mine and find us that way. I cannot risk the next few hours.
With this realization, Onyx takes a deep breath, and then carefully uses the knife to make a small slit in his own wrist right over the device. He tries to minimize the bleeding with the nearby paper towels, but it becomes very messy rather quickly.
Avoid the major artery - hit that, and it’s all over. His extensive learning about human anatomy allows him to know about the important functions of the wrist arteries and their direct line to the human heart. This knowledge effectually saves him in this moment of desperate need.
Onyx also attempts to let the blood drip into the toilet and not on the floor so that no one would notice that anything happened.
Carefully, and while biting his lip through the pain, Onyx manages to ease his own device through the opening in his skin and then crush it into pieces, and flush that down the toilet as well. In the moment, the urgency of the need and the adrenaline distracted him from the pain, but now that it is over, Onyx finds himself to be suddenly all too aware of the gash on his wrist. He breathes through the pain and quickly wraps it in paper towels after washing it in the sink. He also cleans his own blood off of the knife, and then takes it back to the table where a very confused Luna sits, awaiting his explanation for what just occurred.
“Onyx, are you all right? What happened to your wrist?”
Onyx nods slowly, and nonchalantly uses the now-clean knife to cut a sizable chunk off of the cloth napkin at his table setting. He then takes the make-shift bandage and tightly wraps it around his wounded wrist, hoping to cauterize the incision before too much blood is lost or infection sets in.
“I destroyed your tracker, as well as mine. But I had to cut mine out of my wrist.”
Luna frowns. “But it was going to be expelled anyway, wasn’t it?”
Onyx runs his good hand through his hair. “That is correct, but it likely would have taken longer than we could risk… because he could easily use mine to find you also.”
She senses the sadness in his eyes, and is immediately overcome with gratefulness and relief. Grabbing his forearm, she carefully examines his bloody, bandaged wrist and begins to panic.
“But you’re okay, right?”
“I’ll be just fine. I did this to make sure you are safe, Luna.”
I’m still scared though. Of… Seth.” Even uttering his name fills her with dread - Onyx can see that quite plainly.
“I know. As you should be scared - he is very, very dangerous. But I’ll protect you, no matter what it takes. That is my promise to you, Luna.” He kisses the top of her head, and then goes back to eating his now room-temperature pancakes. That’s the thing about Onyx - he is tough as nails and easily adapts to almost any situation.
Luna forces a small smile, and then finishes her pancakes. She and Onyx share quiet, happy chatter, just relishing the moment when for once, they can both just exist. These moments are becoming more and more rare, so they try to soak it i
n and relax as much as possible before they are on the run again.
“How’s everything over here? Can I get you guys anything else?” The perky waitress returns to their table.
“Everything was fine, thank you very much. I can pay you when necessary.”
“Uh, okay. I’ll bring the check right over, then. Be right back.” She ambles off toward the front of the store to get the check, while Luna sips the last of her orange juice.
“This was really good, what do you call this?”
“Call what?”
“This.” Luna holds up her nearly-empty glass of orange juice.
“Uh, that’s orange juice.”
“Oh. Well I like it.”
CHAPTER 12
Jade walks back to her own pod to rest before her next shift. She begins to tidy up a bit, in preparation for Evander to come by and soundproof it later on. After cleaning it to her satisfaction, she flops down on her bed and feels her body begin to respond to the pressure that has been put on her. The stone-cold exterior she wears most days really is mostly just an act - but no one ever notices. The risk she is taking with Evander is monumental - literally the entire fate of humanity depends on them being successful. She doesn't usually come unglued from a task this easily, but de-throning the Most High Being of the Upperworld? That is a larger task than she is used to, and the stakes are higher than ever. For the first time in her centuries of existence, Jade actually feels fear. Even when the Sorting Room was compromised before with Delphine, she wasn’t fearful as much as just alert and ready to carry out emergency procedures. This, this is different somehow.
She is snapped out of her silent panic with her doorbell notification slightly beeping. She gets up to answer the door to her pod, and sees the bright eyes of Griffin staring back at her.
“Oh, hi Griffin. Everything okay?”
The younger sorter nods, but he’s shaking quite a bit. “I’m… okay. But just… this, this whole thing…”
Jade quickly guesses what he is referring to, and ushers him inside her pod before anyone hears anything.
“Griffin, I know how you must be feeling, but we cannot speak of this here. It hasn’t been… protected yet.”
His eyes widen and he nods, even though he really wants to talk about his fears. Instead, he opts for a hug, quickly wrapping his arms around Jade. She stiffens at his initial touch, but quickly melts into the embrace as she begins to feel her own tension and uncertainties melt away, at least for a moment. Before he pulls away, Jade uses the hug to disguise what she is about to whisper in his ear.
“I’ll see you soon at the next meeting, right? Remember, it will be in this pod, as well as Evander’s. Just go wherever there is room.”
Griffin nods slightly and smiles politely. Jade turns back to her work, and he falters at her door for a moment, as if trying to say something else, but no words come. Griffin continues walking out the door, and Jade continues readying her apartment for the next meeting.
✷✷✷
Click, click, click. The sound of Evander’s research is nearly silent, except for the intermittent moments when he stops reading to type in another line of code or to search another term in the databases. The blue light of his monitor illuminates his tired face, and the slight beads of sweat forming on his forehead - he is all too aware of how quickly they are running out of time. Earlier today, he had met with Jade and discussed how quickly Zephyr is degenerating. It is nothing short of a miracle that his accuracy hasn’t faded… yet. When it does, things are going to get crazy, and fast. The difficult thing is, there really is no way to know exactly how long they have left before things spin out of control - those are the thoughts currently taking up residence in Evander’s mind, which is a problem since he currently needs every source of brainpower he can get for his research. After a few more painstaking attempts, Evander breathes a sigh of relief as he breaks through the final firewall, and enters the database that would supposedly hold the answers he so desperately needs.
He clicks on a few secret files and reads them carefully, trying to remain as calm as possible even though his heart is racing. And then… and then he sees it. The secret critical factor of Zephyr’s power is displayed right in front of him, and he nearly laughs at how simple it is. But, if he knows anything about working in the Upperworld for centuries, it is that things are rarely ever what they seem. He runs a hand through his hair and reads the file, trying to internalize a plan that could work. Then, a small, nervous smile spreads across his face - it isn’t a gleeful smile, no. It is something much more dangerous - hope.
Zephyr’s power… is linked to his throne? That is so… simple. I never would have guessed it. According to this database, it appears that the throne holds a massive electrical current in it that is linked to the orb production. That electrical current runs through his body and allows him to produce the orbs… just like a massive chair-shaped electrical socket.
Evander’s mechanical knowledge is serving him well, as Zephyr’s power appears to be even more mechanical and electrical than he ever would have guessed. It had been so easy to view Zephyr as this majestic, ethereal being, but it turns out that he is little more than an energy conductor.
If he is a conductor, that means he must have a specific chemical makeup that allows him to be unharmed by such powerful currents. So his replacement… will need to have that same ability.
With the information he now has, Evander hacks into another database, this time, the one that holds Zephyr’s chemical and genetic makeup. If there are any abnormalities in his being, I will find that here. Then, I’ll have to either find someone with a similar makeup, or figure out how to alter their makeup so that they can act as the next conductor without missing a beat - it would also spell disaster, if any orbs are missed.
The energy flow is constant, and Evander knows this all too well. Over time, he also finds that Zephyr has become dependent on contact with this current for his survival, like an external heartbeat. And that, is when Evander smiles gleefully.
Take him off the current, and it’s all over.
CHAPTER 13
Zephyr breathes even more heavily as he sits on his throne. Somehow, his occupation is getting harder and harder, the cool air making his sallow, pale skin feel even more delicate and paper-thin. His flaming hair is down to a mediocre flame, and he leans back, hoping to draw some strength from the current flowing through him. Although, it seems to be taking energy rather than re-supplying it, as of late. He purses his slightly blue, thin lips as he taps his long, bony fingers on either armrest in unison. He raises one skeletal hand up in the air, and snaps his fingers with precision. The short, quick sound reverberates through the Grand Hall, and nearly sucks the air out if everything in its vicinity. An orderly rapidly comes, in response to his summons.
“Yes, Most High Being?”
Zephyr smiles slyly, but the light behind his eyes is long gone. “Please bring me the latest status on the Sorting Room and all routine procedures.”
“Yes, of course.”
The orderly runs off to get the latest information that Zephyr requested, but little does he know… that she is actually part of the resistance. When she arrives in one of the main offices, she grabs a pre-written report that Evander had given her ahead of time that is meant to give Zephyr a false-positive. If everything goes as planned, he’ll think everything is fine and he’ll be lulled into passivity, allowing the resistance to continue as they intend to without any setbacks. She picks up the tablet, and queues the fake report onto the screen, all the while hoping Zephyr doesn’t ask any further questions about it. Giving him the fake report is risky, but Evander is a technological genius, and she has no doubt that he made it as believable as possible. She takes a deep breath, and then returns to the Grand Hall, hoping not to arouse any suspicion by taking too long to produce the report.
“Here it is, Most High Being.” She tries her best not to sneer or roll her eyes while calling him that - it makes the sensitive skin insi
de her mouth crawl to pronounce the honorary title, but she swallows the discomfort it brings and plasters on a sickeningly-sweet smile instead.
Zephyr extends a bony hand out to take the tablet, and the orderly holds her breath as he visually looks over the bogus charts and data. He strokes his chin, and then hands the tablet back to her.
“All seems well. Thank you for fetching it. You are dismissed.” With a wave of his ghastly hand, he allows her to leave, and she breathes a sigh of relief. Walking back to her desk, she types a message to Evander on her tablet, telling him of the successful ruse.
Maybe, just maybe… this is actually going to work.
✷✷✷
Onyx leaves some Earth currency for the waitress according to the required amount written on the bill, and he leads Luna out of the diner. The sky above them is a shade of darkening purple, as the evening light gives way to the deep indigo of night. Overhead, the moon is already visible, and between the moonlight and the streetlights, Onyx and Luna are still able to see their surroundings fairly clearly.
“Onyx, where will we spend the night? Can we go to our new home yet?” Luna’s query is met with the subtle negation from Onyx, and she nervously chews on her lower lip.
“No, we cannot, unfortunately. I’m… I’m sorry. I guess it’s just how things are run here with new home purchases. We’re going to have to… find somewhere else to sleep.”
“Well, where exactly? We can’t just sleep under the stars because he might -”
“Find us. I know.”
Onyx runs his hand through his hair, and fiddles with his make-shift bloodied bandage from the tablecloth at the diner.
“We have to remain concealed tonight so we can sleep… without any kind of an attack.”
The Fall of Zephyr Page 5