“Positive, for the most part,” I said. “We had to be firm and strict on the laws, in some cases, but we managed to bring peace through honest discourse, mostly, and through common sense. Violence is not an answer, Ta’Zan.”
He nodded. “I agree. It’s not an answer; it’s a means to an end,” he shot back. “The Perfects fully understand that war is not a long-term solution. They’re ready to cut down and cleanse the entire universe of warmongers, in order for us to spread, settle, and achieve the perfect society.”
I scoffed, shaking my head with frustration.
“You can’t just wipe out entire civilizations because you think they only know war!” I snapped, feeling my temperature rise, and not because of the sunlight on my skin—a fact which I was still trying to wrap my head around.
“I can do as I please, Derek,” Ta’Zan replied. “And there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me. I will rid the world of every creature beneath us, and I will establish a better society. I don’t care much for your disingenuous moral declarations, when I know you would gladly burn Strava down right now to kill us all if you could, knowing what you know now.”
That hit me deep—mostly because he was right. But how could I not want to stop all this, as fast and as decisively as possible? Ta’Zan was mass-producing killing machines in artificial wombs, teaching them to destroy the likes of us, for example, so they could achieve his notion of a perfect society. Of course I had every intention of burning it all down to the ground, if I could!
The urge to punch him became difficult to control, until a short jolt ran through my body, stiffening my joints for a couple of seconds. I groaned from the ensuing pain, as my muscles shuddered. Ta’Zan smirked.
“See? You were having murderous thoughts just now,” he said. “I know you and your kind better than you know yourselves. Which is why I also know that my society will be ideal. Downright utopic,” he added, walking along the edge of the arena.
I stayed close, occasionally glancing at the sparring Perfects. It was like watching my worst nightmare come true, one move at a time—something akin to being strapped into a chair and forced to watch a terrible movie on repeat.
“What’s the perfect society, in your opinion?” I asked, eager to change the subject to something that didn’t make me want to rip his throat out. I didn’t like those electrical jolts much.
“Well, I don’t think hierarchies help in the long run,” he said. “The richer, the poorer. There must be wealth distribution. All Perfects are created equal and must listen to me. I’m old and wise enough to teach them everything they need to know in order to perpetuate my ideals.”
“What about the Faulties? Where do they fit in all of this?” I replied.
“I’m not sure yet. Frankly, I’m still pondering whether they’ll get to live for much longer,” he mused. “I haven’t been able to kill the weaklings, even though they slowed us down. I let them go, instead. I sent them away and forbade them from reaching out to us ever again. I guess I’ll see what happens in a few years. If they fit well with the Perfects, I may let them live. They can’t reproduce, anyway. I made sure of it, in case they went haywire.”
I nodded slowly, though I was beginning to feel queasy.
“What about the Perfects? Can they reproduce?”
“Not yet,” Ta’Zan replied. “They have the gene and the organs to do it, but they need to be activated. There’s an enzyme I designed for that. I’ll distribute it when I deem them ready to start families of their own. It will be interesting to observe their pregnancies and births, though. I admit, I, myself, am curious.”
“How many Perfects have you made, so far, in total?”
He gave me a brief sideways glance, then took a sharp turn and went up a narrow set of stairs. It took us all the way to the top, the highest level of the colosseum. From here, I could see the entire island unraveling around the citadel, its jungle thick and dark and its beaches white and soft. Farther out, there were hundreds of other small islands.
In the middle of each was another diamond colosseum, as big and as gorgeous as this one.
My heart physically hurt, as I noticed Perfects flying above them in sudden bursts of flashing lights, like mini comets. There were hundreds of these citadels. If the one we were in had about eight hundred or more Perfects, it stood to reason that the same numbers were in the others.
“Our civilization is growing every day, by the hundreds, Derek,” Ta’Zan said calmly, gazing out into the distance at his beautiful, yet terrifying creation. “By the end of the month, we will have populated half of Strava. In another month, we’ll be ready to look out into the cosmos for new homes. Within a year, we’ll be spreading and conquering every inhabitable planet, until the universe knows nothing but Perfects, led by… me.”
“This is unbelievable,” I breathed.
“I can imagine,” he replied. “In a few days, I will activate their reproduction gene. In nine months, you’ll be witness to the first line of natural-born Perfects. In the meantime, however, I’ll keep making them in my Creation Labs. I want a sturdy starting point for this species, to give them a fair shot against nature.”
I scoffed. “I thought you were better than nature.”
“Technically speaking, I am. But I like being ahead of the game, in general,” he shot back, his tone flat.
I’d struck a nerve. I understood then that his pride could be his downfall, if I played my cards right. Unfortunately, I’d yet to find a weak spot. All I could see were these fearsome fiends, beautiful and highly intelligent, programmed to destroy life as we knew it, so they could make a new world.
“What about the wildlife?” I asked. “Do they get to live?”
“For the time being, yes,” he replied. “We do need food and a functioning ecosystem. But, as soon as I get to sit down and look at everything in peace, I’ll start taking the weaklings off the maps and replacing them with stronger, better, or more useful species. Bigger deer for more food, for example. Deadlier snakes to keep the large predatory mammals in check. You know, details at this point.”
“Wow, you talk like you’re the god of this universe, Ta’Zan,” I said. “It’s not normal; it’s not natural. And it’s definitely not healthy. Furthermore, it’s not fair to the Perfects, not to mention the Faulties. You’re brainwashing them. They act solely based on what you tell them, and that is incredibly biased. This is basically a dictatorship, and it’s the worst kind, too, because you’ve taught your people that your way is the only way—the right way.”
Ta’Zan smirked but refused to look at me. His posture was quite tense, but he kept his voice low and calm, and his gaze fixed on a neighboring island.
“I was given a chance at life. I intend to make the most of it, with what I have learned and what I can do,” Ta’Zan said. “I’ve finally figured out how to create the perfect life, Derek. I basically am a god.”
“You’re a bloodthirsty despot,” I replied, standing my ground.
Being friendly and diplomatic was one thing but accepting his idea of a “perfect world” was something else entirely. He gave me a cold scowl. I’d managed to offend him, it seemed. Finally.
“No matter how much you stomp your feet, I will still have my way, Derek. The Perfects will destroy those inferior to them, unless, of course, they are deemed useful to society,” he said. “I suppose we will need some builders, some midwives and nurses, hard laborers, cleaners, and whatnot.”
“So you’ll doom the survivors of your genocides to a life of servitude,” I replied dryly.
“Precisely. You and your group should consider yourselves fortunate,” Ta’Zan declared, keeping his hands behind his back. A gentle breeze blew past us, brushing against my face and lifting strands of his long gray hair. “I am letting you live, and I am giving you the chance to witness the birth of this extraordinary society. You’ll get to see the future and even be a part of it.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. There was only so much self-control I could
hold onto after everything I’d just heard. This wasn’t about a single kingdom or a planet in trouble. This horror show threatened to spill out into the entire In-Between, and, at the rate Perfects were being crafted in Ta’Zan’s Creation Labs, even into the earthly and Supernatural dimensions.
“We’re not alone, Ta’Zan,” I said, my voice low. “Our people will come looking for us. We have powerful supernaturals on our side. Thousands of them. They won’t put up with your madness.”
Ta’Zan gave me a cold grin. “This isn’t madness. This is, in fact, reason, regardless of how cruel it sounds,” he replied. “And, by all means, let them come. They won’t stand a chance against my Perfects.”
I’d never experienced such crippling desperation before. It toppled my usual reserve and reason and turned me into someone I barely recognized. I had to do something. Anything. Whatever it took to stop him, even if it killed me.
Maybe, if I cut the head off the snake—I stopped myself from thinking that. But I had only a split second to try something. If I made it, of course.
I took a deep breath, then moved to rip the collar from my neck as a last-minute decision, in an attempt to fool whatever sensors had been locked on to my brain processes and were scanning my thoughts.
The sudden flow of electricity surging through me was so intense, so powerful, that everything went white in an instant. I felt myself drop and hit the ground. My shoulder hurt.
“You lasted long enough, I’ll give you credit for that…” I heard Ta’Zan say, his voice fading and echoing around in my head.
The blinding white turned into pitch-black darkness as I passed out.
The last thought fluttering through my mind was I had to find another way to stop this.
I had to.
Rose
We stayed in the cave for a while, to rest and to give our wounds and battered egos some time to heal. Not that we were foolishly proud by nature, but we’d developed our skillsets and endurance levels to a certain standard, which we’d never thought we’d see demolished so quickly—by creatures who were only a few days old.
Elonora used her True Sight to scan our surroundings, just in case the Perfects were around, but there was no sign of them.
“They’ve already destroyed the resort and our shuttles. I doubt they’re expecting to see us in this area again,” she muttered, her eyes glimmering gold as she stared straight ahead, in the resort’s direction.
I rubbed more healing paste on one of the deeper cuts I’d gotten during our fights to make it heal faster. “They’re engaging in both physical and psychological warfare here,” I said. “Not only did they literally beat us down, but they’re making sure we have no safe place to go. They want us to abandon hope and either surrender or make a mistake that will get us killed. We can’t do either if we have a refuge, a place to rest and recover.”
“So, then, why haven’t they destroyed the cave yet?” Hunter asked, then took a sip of water.
He lay on his side against a mossy boulder, waiting for his ribs to fuse back together. He still had some trouble breathing properly, but he was less than an hour away from a full recovery. Ben and I looked at each other, like we always did when we sought comfort. We were each other’s rock; our bond transcended time and space, and, in the end, everyone else. I loved Caleb with all my heart, and Ben practically worshipped River, but, in their absence, we had each other to get through this fresh hell.
“Maybe they’ll come back soon,” I replied. “Or maybe they think we wouldn’t seek refuge in the one place from where they all practically came. I don’t know.”
“We can’t stay here for too long, though,” Ben added. “They might still raid the area at nightfall. Technically speaking, only two of us are nocturnal by nature, and that’s you and Elonora, Sis. You’re vampires. The rest of us will be most likely to catch some shuteye during those hours. I imagine the Perfects will be aware of this.”
“They could easily beat us into a pulp again, anyway,” Nevis muttered, sitting next to Elonora. “All they have to do is walk in here, and we’re done for. There’s no way out for us, other than that main exit,” he added, pointing at the large crack leading into the central tunnel. “They don’t need to wait for us to fall asleep.”
“Then let’s assume they’ll be here any moment, send the message to Calliope, and go somewhere else to rest and recover properly,” Kailani said.
I’d just finished recording the message for River and Caleb on Mom’s cell phone, using its recorder app. I’d laid out all the details we’d gathered so far, from the moment we’d landed on Strava until our dismal return to the pod cave. I made sure to explain our take on all of this, as well, along with potential implications, based on what the Perfects and Kallisto had let slip during our colosseum experience.
Kailani took all the interplanetary ingredients out of her backpack and stood up, motioning for us to follow her. “Come on.” She sighed. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
We went outside. The sun barely pierced through the heavy overhead tree crowns here and there, but it was nice and warm, compared to the chilly cave. Kailani started drawing the pentagram for the spell, while Dmitri helped her with the other ingredients, eye-measuring quantities and settling them in their predetermined spots inside the drawing.
“If they’ve still got eyes on us via the telescope, then they’ve probably seen everything back at the colosseum,” Elonora mused, watching Kailani as she prepared the spell.
“Probably, yes,” I replied. “But they still lack crucial information. Even if they’re already on their way, they’ll need everything we put into that message. They can communicate its contents from the base straight to the fleet.”
“Besides, it’ll take at least a few hours for them to get everybody on board,” Ben added.
“They didn’t send anyone until now, so I’m inclined to assume they didn’t spot what happened by the lighthouse,” Zeriel chimed in.
“Honestly, it’s only a matter of time,” I said. “Whether they come now, in five minutes, or in five hours, they’ll still need the message.”
Kailani gave me a brief glance, then held out her hand. I gave her Mom’s phone, and she placed it in the middle of the pentagram.
“I can add some speed to the interplanetary spell,” she murmured. “I need a fae’s blood, though. Lots of it.”
We all stilled, staring at her.
“Define lots,” Ben replied.
“Two liters, minimum,” Kailani said, frowning. “It’ll make you dizzy for a few hours, but if we pump you with food and some healing paste, you should be back up at full strength by morning.”
“How much faster can you get the spell to go with fae blood?” Vesta asked. “And why does it have to be fae blood?”
Kailani exhaled. “Normally, this would take about ten to twelve hours. I’d guess ten, given the light load that it has to carry,” she explained. “Each liter will cut off an hour, approximately. As for the why, I don’t know. It’s swamp witch magic. That’s what the recipe requires.”
I watched Ben as he exchanged glances with Vesta, and then they both nodded.
“How much blood can you take from me without killing me?” Ben asked.
I gasped. “What the hell are you thinking?” I shot back. “I’m not letting you turn into a vegetable for twelve hours for this message! Every second counts here, Ben, more than it does out there. If the Perfects attack us, we can’t fight them and protect you.”
Vesta came to stand by Ben’s side, then gave me a reassuring half-smile.
“We’ll both give as much blood as we can,” she said. “The quicker that GASP gets the message, the better for them and us. We want them to have this information before they breach Strava’s atmosphere, since all communications are jammed.”
I thought about it for a minute, and I realized that Vesta was right. We didn’t want GASP coming in blind. They needed to know exactly what they were up against. If they relied solely on the telesco
pe visuals, they were bound to be caught unprepared once they got here. The last thing either of us wanted was to see our ships going down in flames. The more they knew about the enemy, the better.
Kailani waited for my response. I sighed, then nodded, crossing my arms.
“I know I said two liters minimum, but three and a half liters from each of you is the reasonable maximum, and we need to cut as much time as possible, given the circumstances,” Kailani then said. “It’ll have you down for a few hours, and drowsy till morning, with healing paste included. We can soften the blow on your system with some vampire blood. That’ll help.”
“Out of curiosity, where’d you learn about this blood boost?” Elonora asked her, frowning slightly.
Kailani looked away, keeping her gaze fixed on the pentagram. “The Word told me,” she murmured.
“Wait, what? How?” I replied, now officially baffled.
“Well, I’m halfway through my swamp witch apprenticeship,” Kailani said, somewhat defensive. “My bond with the Word is getting stronger, and I’m learning new things every day, even in my sleep. That’s all I can tell you without betraying my oath. Sorry.”
Ben smiled. “It’s enough for me,” he replied. “I trust you, Kale. Do your thing.”
Kailani nodded slowly, then looked around and went to the nearest fruit tree. She shot a small spark into one of the fruit clusters at the top. They all came down at once—round, coconut-like shells that rolled on the ground. She picked one up and cracked it open.
Hunter went up and put his palms out to catch the orange-like pieces of pulp that came out, leaving Kailani with the hard shell halves. They did the same with two other fruits, then placed the shells around the phone, in the middle of the pentagram. They were perfect as bowls.
Kailani then took out a small knife. First, she drew blood from Ben, who kept his arm over each shell bowl until it was filled, then moved on to the next. Once he was done, I bit into my finger and smudged some of my blood over his cut, to help it heal faster.
A Land of Perfects Page 15
