Chapter 98: Everything Changes in a Heartbeat
A few days earlier, Orcille arrived in the agriculture region of Downs. This was a simple region where most occupations revolved around plant agriculture. Sapiens sent to this region were considered well below average in their intellectual capacity. However, they were able to maintain an efficiently run region. This was one of the few regions where Sapiens and Sapiods worked together to collect and grow food. Orcille chose this region, as he knew the Sapiens here were the most placid and friendly.
Orcille entered the medical centre pharmacy.
‘Hello friend, how may I help you?’ asked the pharmacist.
‘I have a very serious medical condition,’ said Orcille as he pulled out an electronic tablet displaying a long list of medications. ‘I need all of this medicine or I’ll die.’
Orcille placed the tablet down in front of the pharmacist. The pharmacist scanned the list.
‘Yes, we have all of these,’ said the pharmacist. ‘Do you have a certificate or prescription from a real medical expert?’
‘Oh no, oh no, I knew I forgot something,’ said Orcille as he fake sobbed. ‘I’ll never make it back in time. My life is over.’
‘Oh gosh, don’t worry,’ said the pharmacist. ‘Your life is far more important than some procedure.’
The pharmacist dashed into the storeroom to collect all the medication. A few minutes later, she returned with a big bag containing all the requested medication.
‘You’re a real life saver,’ said Orcille.
‘It’s my duty to make sure the sick can have the magic that will make them well again,’ said the pharmacist as she thrust her finger in the air. ‘I also added a candy bar. It’ll make you much happier.’
‘How much do I need to pay you?’ asked Orcille.
‘Healthcare is a “right”. I’ll just charge you a smile,’ replied the pharmacist.
Orcille smiled. ‘Thank you,’ said Orcille as he walked out of the pharmacy.
Orcille walked along the main street. He could see the high walls of the region and an opening in the wall to let vehicles out. Orcille walked over to a Sapien standing by a vehicle.
‘Excuse me, sir,’ said Orcille to the Sapien.
‘Hello friend, how are you today?’ asked the Sapien.
‘I’m feeling fine,’ said Orcille. ‘I was wondering how I could get a vehicle like yours so I can go into the Central Agriculture Zone.’
‘Just apply to be a fruit picker,’ said the Sapien. ‘Alex is always taking on new employees. He’s the guy wearing the pineapple t-shirt.’
‘Thank you so much,’ said Orcille.
Orcille approached Alex. ‘Excuse me. I would like to apply to be a fruit picker.’
‘That’s wonderful to know, friend,’ said Alex. ‘First, you need to pass an on-the-spot interview.’
‘Okay, no problem,’ replied Orcille.
‘Question one: What is your name?’ asked Alex.
‘Orcille,’ replied Orcille.
‘Question two: What fruit is this?’ asked Alex as he held up a banana.
‘Hmm, it is a candy apple banana ideal for including in desserts,’ replied Orcille.
‘Question three: Can you drive this vehicle?’ asked Alex as he pointed to a bright orange open-top vehicle.
‘Shouldn’t be a problem,’ replied Orcille.
‘Congratulations! You passed the interview,’ said Alex as he handed Orcille the keys to the orange vehicle. ‘You are paid 1% of the fruit you collect and one entertainment token for every twenty big fruit and every fifty small fruit you bring back.’
‘Wow, okay,’ said Orcille, sounding slightly unimpressed.
Alex handed Orcille a fruit chart and a handbook about Sapes and Sapiods. ‘Looks like you are set to go, friend,’ he said with a big smile.
‘I have a quick question,’ said Orcille.
‘Sure, friend,’ replied Alex.
‘Has the solution that was added to the region’s water supply been added to all water sources in the Central Agriculture Zone?’ asked Orcille.
‘They didn’t go there,’ replied Alex. ‘Don’t worry. Your vehicle has been stocked with a week’s supply of water, so you won’t be poisoned.’
‘Don’t drink the water in the region,’ said Orcille. ‘If you’re thirsty, drink fruit juice or make fruit smoothies. Tell all your friends to do the same.’
‘That sounds like amazing advice,’ replied Alex. ‘Juices taste great. Water is so boring. After all, we are a region of fruitarians.’
‘So you only eat fruit?’ asked Orcille.
‘Oh no, some of us eat vegetables too,’ replied Alex.
‘Good for you,’ said Orcille with a smile as he got in the vehicle.
‘One last thing,’ said Alex. ‘The password to leave the region is “fruit”. Just tell the guard by the wall over there.’
‘No problem,’ replied Orcille.
Orcille drove up to the exit. ‘Hello, friend,’ said the guard. ‘Please tell us the password, and we will let you through.’
‘Fruit,’ said Orcille.
The guard opened a giant electric door. Orcille drove out of the region.
A few days later. The Bramley family, Denise, David, and Hamlet had made it to the Central Agriculture Zone. The journey had taken longer than expected. They should have run out of food and water long before they reached the Central Agriculture Zone, but they did not. The further they got from the train line, the more hospitable the environment became. There were patches of the wastelands where grass grew and even had access to fresh water. Hamlet replenished their food supply by finding many root vegetables. The root vegetables were not pleasant to eat, but they contained enough nutritional value to sustain the group until they reached the Central Agriculture Zone.
Denise and Demarcus were sitting by a small pond surrounded by pineapple plants.
‘This place is so amazing,’ said Denise.
‘Second time for me,’ said Demarcus. ‘I’m definitely appreciating it a lot more this time.’
Denise sighed.
‘It is a great distraction from all the pain and suffering,’ said Demarcus as he brushed Denise’s hand with his fingers.
Denise pulled away sharply. ‘It stops being a distraction the moment you start calling it a distraction,’ said Denise in frustration.
Hamlet and Darius arrived carrying a large sack of fruit. ‘Lunch is here,’ announced Demarcus.
Denise got to her feet. Darius plonked the sack on the ground. Hamlet grabbed two pineapples, and Demarcus took two bananas. Denise rubbed Darius’ arm and smiled sweetly at him. Darius glanced back at her for a couple of seconds before climbing back on Hamlet. Hamlet scoffed down her second pineapple. She and Darius bounced around playing together.
‘He might not be all there, but he is so much happier than before,’ remarked Demarcus.
‘He is all there,’ said Denise. ‘He’s just trapped. I will free him.’
Denise grabbed one of Demarcus’ bananas.
Not far away was one of the fleets of enforcers from the Capital Region. They were flying towards the Southeast regions to help quell their rebellions. One of the flying vehicles picked up the Adoy enforcers’ vehicle on its area scanner.
‘Vehicle 12T,’ said the commander of the Enforcer group. ‘Check out the vehicle at these coordinates.’ He sent the coordinates to the enforcers in vehicle 12T.
‘I think we have some escapees,’ said the pilot of vehicle 12T to his three passenger enforcers.
Meanwhile, Jacob, Janice, Darlene, and David were in the enforcer vehicle, playing cards.
‘I won again,’ said Darlene.
‘No fair,’ cried out David. ‘You always get the G.O.A.T. card.’
‘No, it is just a hint of my true destiny,’ replied Darlene.
They all began laughing.
‘How about one more game before we look for Hamlet and Darius?’ suggested Janice.
‘Yes, I’m sure to win this time,’ said David.
‘Be prepared to lose,’ said Darlene as she giggled.
In Vehicle 12T, ‘I’m picking up voices in the vehicle,’ said the pilot. ’They are definitely not enforcers.’
‘An opportunity to test out our firepower,’ said one of the enforcers in the back.
‘I think one of them is a child,’ said the pilot.
‘We should contact them first,’ said another enforcer.
‘I get it,’ said the enforcer at the back. ‘You don’t want to kill a child, but that vehicle could be packing some serious heat. We can’t give them the chance to strike first.’
‘Agreed,’ said the pilot.
The pilot took aim at the vehicle and fired a rocket. The rocket hit the enforcer vehicle, blowing it to bits.
‘Let’s rejoin the group,’ said the pilot.
‘No, we check out the vehicle,’ said the enforcer at the back. ‘We need to check if there are any others down there.’
The other enforcers remained silent.
‘Fine,’ said the pilot.
The flying vehicle began to descend towards the wreckage.
Denise and Demarcus heard the loud explosion. ‘Stay here,’ said Demarcus. ‘I need to find out what just happened.’
‘I’m coming with you,’ said Denise.
Demarcus became invisible. After seeing Demarcus disappear, Denise changed her mind and decided to hide.
The enforcers flying vehicle landed. The pilot and the three enforcers climbed out of it. The pilot looked at the wreckage. ‘Nobody could have survived this,’ he said as he turned to face the enforcers.
‘They could have if they weren’t in it,’ said the enforcer, who had previously sat at the back of their vehicle.
They continued to walk around the area. Demarcus was close enough to see what had happened. The sight of the wreckage completely shocked him. He desperately wanted to scream, but he held it in.
Demarcus saw the landed vehicle. He climbed in the vehicle to see if he could grab a weapon to attack the enforcers. This triggered a silent alarm.
‘Looks like we have company,’ said the pilot.
One of the enforcers began to chuckle. They all drew their guns. Demarcus grabbed one of the guns and got back out of the vehicle. Something had been triggered on the gun. Demarcus circled around the wreckage. He could hear the enforcers talking. He positioned himself behind them as they approached their vehicle.
Demarcus became visible again. He stared at the four in rage. He aimed the gun at them and squeezed the trigger. Instead of firing, the gun zapped him hard. Demarcus dropped the gun, and then he fell to the ground, wincing in pain. The three enforcers and pilot turned around to see him lying on the floor as his body spasmed. Two of the enforcers began laughing as they approached him.
Suddenly, loud music began to blare out from somewhere.
‘Sounds like there’s another idiot around here somewhere,’ said one of the enforcers.
‘Stay here with this loser while we sort this out,’ said the pilot to the aggressive enforcer, who previously sat at the back of their vehicle. The pilot and two other enforcers pushed through some bushes until they reached an orange vehicle.
‘Ha,’ said an enforcer. ‘Look at this thing.’
Suddenly, one of the enforcers received a massive electric shock in the back. A couple of seconds later, the other enforcer received a massive shock. The pilot spun around frantically, but he could not see anyone. He felt something grab his head. Then, his head was slammed hard into the vehicle, knocking him unconscious.
The enforcer with Demarcus was taunting him. ‘Don’t you just love that smell,’ said the enforcer. ‘Cooked mummy. Cooked daddy. Cooked sister.’
Demarcus was still paralysed. He desperately wanted to attack the enforcer but could not.
‘I see the hate in your eyes,’ chuckled the enforcer. ‘You want to rip my head off.’ The enforcer began to chuckle harder. ‘All this fun. I think I need to relieve myself on you.’ The enforcer unzipped his trousers to urinate on Demarcus.
Darius had seen what had happened. He walked up behind the enforcer. He grabbed the enforcer’s head from behind. He twisted it hard so that the enforcer faced him. This caused the enforcer’s neck to break, thus killing him instantly.
Orcille tied up the remaining two enforcers and the pilot. Denise had joined Orcille, and Darius carried Demarcus on his shoulders. He placed him down on the ground next to Denise. Denise was in shock. She had only just realised what had happened to the Bramley family and David. At the same time, she was relieved that Orcille had arrived just in time to save them from these enforcers.
Denise looked over to Orcille. ‘Thank you for saving us,’ said Denise as she was struggling to catch her breath.
‘It was in my best interest to do so,’ said Orcille.
‘Yeah, of course,’ said Denise as she plonked herself down next to Demarcus.
Orcille had pulled all the things out of the pockets of the pilot and the enforcers.
‘We have a really serious problem, but I have a plan,’ said Orcille. ‘Their flying thing is a highly advanced piece of technology that is heavily tracked. It cannot stay here.’
‘Then we should leave,’ said Denise as she looked at Demarcus.
‘No, we would not be able to get far enough away,’ replied Orcille. ‘My plan is to return this machine and its crew to the fleet it came from.’
Denise turned to face Orcille. ‘Great idea. Let’s have even more enforcers hunting us down and trying to kill us,’ said Denise in frustration.
‘This thing is full of powerful weapons’ said Orcille calmly. ‘I can turn it into a flying bomb. I can remotely bring it back to the fleet. Once it arrives back, I’ll be able to blow away most of them.’
‘You cannot be serious,’ said Denise angrily. ‘That is mass murder.’
‘The reason this flying thing and all the other flying things are out here is to commit mass murder,’ said Orcille firmly.
‘What are you talking about?’ shouted Denise.
Orcille sighed, ‘Of course, you wouldn’t know.’
Denise frowned. Orcille sat down with Denise and explained the recent events.
Denise was unable to contain her emotions and pain. She broke down into tears. Orcille attempted to hug her, but Denise did not want to be touched.
Future of Social Media
Captain Hive is here
Remember to catch me on Spectrumecons, click link below.
