"Whoa," Nya said, now frozen, "Now that's a lot of frosting."
"Come along now, child," Mr. Dalton said, "There's so much to do before you eat the cake," he said, "Come now, Susie awaits your arrival."
…
"These humans that attacked our camp are unlike anything we have ever faced before. There was one that transformed into some elephant creature and the other who transformed into some sort of green eagle/falcon hybrid. I remember that back on the ship, this human female had transformed into a werewolf and attacked half of the crew. Why hasn't she transformed when she had all that opportunity? She saw me attacking Yalen, this would have given her all the ample enough time to transform. Yalen barely gave me any fun. He just stood there! What a weakling you have chosen to lead your men, King Mungfalme. As for when I return home to your kingdom my liege, you will have what you are looking for without fail.
"One of the men that attacked our camp was unusual – even to their standards! How can anyone could pick an elder to fight in a battle? It was ludicrous – or was it? As strange as it was, this human looked dangerously familiar. This man possessed unnatural strength and agility for a man his age. It was hard to figure though. At first I thought that he was just this unlucky bastard wishing to die. I mean who wouldn't? What an odd bird he was with this one – until it hit me.
"Paul Hussein-Alexander Bridges the Great - also known simply as, 'Pappy'. And if he was there then that means that those humans that attacked us has to be The Sky-Titans...the next generation that is. I thought that bastard retired – well from what I read from the scrolls I found that day before I departed from your shores sir. He must be after the same object you require My Greatness. Either that or it could be some sort of coincidence. It just has to be some sort of coincidence.
"I rode on the back of artificially-bred tyrannosaur your followers have constructed for us to aid our men in our quest to conquer and retrieve the badge, following flashing bright light beyond those hills yonder as we trekked through the thick woods. It was a difficult venture but we managed to pass through – some of us though. Those who survived the ordeal shared a great deal of blood-lust against the humans – more so than they ever had in the past. They felt humiliated, disdained, embarrassed! These humans took us by surprised with little to warning; their skills vastly outmatched ours – well them. I had yet to show them what I as the Earl was truly capable of. Your men might be the mightiest of your Royal Army, but I think that it was the might of their ego than with their skills as a soldier. I'll often question their loyalty to you since you do not take pity on the weak – nor spare for that matter like how I'll often question Yalen and his loyalty. It's downright comical to say that his sins has costed him his life – I would have gotten the female if she hadn't ran away. I know I should have killed her right then and there when I had her around my grip. It would have been more effective. Now I'm afraid that more of my men might follow his footsteps. His footsteps – ones that will ruin me! – ones that could get me killed if such an insurrection occurred. Just imagine the disaster that would bring to our kingdom my lord! Yalen was such a sad little man, leading his men as if they were children.
"Weak men do not lead armies, my liege, and your choice to have this vermin lead our armies almost endangered us. He was a threat, and as a threat I treated him as such. I gave him chance after chance, but time and time again he'll disregard my orders. That was the reason why he had to die – and for anyone who dared defied me, I would hold his head as an example to those who rebel my wishes.
"We emerged from the woods gazing at the bright lights ahead of us. As much as I would like to dance in our near victory to retrieve your amulet, I'm afraid that this won't be an easy win, my Lord.
…
"If God were real, he would have given me absolute authority over this operation because I have been arguing with this asshole for a good thirty minutes! The Vendor thought that it was unwise for me to attack the leader while we had the chance to! I said, 'Let's take on the leader and the remaining faction now so they won't follow the signal coming from the bright light yonder. These monsters are after the Alpha Badge! They are not looking for peace, or hold hand to sing Kumbaya! All they want is absolute destruction! That's it! That's all!
"The Earl looked very familiar though, I couldn't point it out, but my instincts tell me otherwise! I mean it makes complete sense! Stop the leader, freeze the army, no hassle! That simple! But, no, we have to lead the band of retards to the Villa to start ALL KINDS OF SHIT! Who made him the smartest of the team? Not me! Not Zeus! Not the Annunaqui for that matter! In fact, I think that he found him a box of Cracker Jacks, took out a note that reads, ' Congratulations: you are now a know-it-all bitch.' Fuck this! I want to go back and fight these guys! And if you ask me, Jullian was skeptic about this! Hell, if we were leading them to the Villa, why not, gee I don't know, have us fly over there in time to warn him about the impending doom, thus save lives! Ugh! He complicates a lot of shit that just don't make no goddamn sense – even to him! So here we are, walking in the empty road just miles away from where we were standing.
"'I still don't understand why we couldn't take them out when we had every chance to,' I said.
"'I've said it once and I'll say it again, it's not our purpose to.'
"'Purpose to what?' I objected, 'So you are saying that it's not our purpose to stop a tyrant that will surely massacre the entire Villa? A-Are you real?'
"'Of course I am,' he responded, 'I am standing right next to you walking in besides you in the empty road in the clear night.'
"'I think that you misunderstood what he meant,' Julian said, 'I mean, and I can't believe I am saying this, but Pappy does have a point. Why couldn't we stop them when they were down? Wouldn't that make this less stressful. Plus, I can fly there in less than an hour.'
"'I know.'
"'Then why can't I?'
"'Trust me, it'll all come to terms when it happens.'
"'When what happens if you don't mind me asking?' I asked.
"We heard a truck horn behind us; we were unaware that it was there speeding up until the Vendor smashed the front of the truck with a powerful kick, knocking the truck to thrust up from the back.
CRASH!
"The truck fell back down, hissing from the front after that unexpected kick. What was the purpose of that? Tell me? Was there something I missed here?
"We followed the Vendor with shocked looks on our eyes...mainly me – and I'm never surprised about anything! NEVER! Not for the past 2,057 years I've been on this planet, and that's saying a lot!
"The Vendor opened the door to see a shocked man, surprisingly alive after that impact, shaken in his boots.
"'May we borrow this truck?'
"The man slowly nodded. He got out of his truck and moved away. The Vendor with his crazy ass got in, 'Well, are you coming?'
"Julian and I stared at each other for a minute before we got inside the truck, 'Shotgun!' I said running to the front seat. Julian rolled her eyes.
"We rode in the long highway in top speeds, hurrying to the Villa, to achieve whatever the Vendor was planning on doing. I just hope the kid was okay.
TWENTY-FIVE
WE FOLLOWED MR. Dalton to the 4th floor of this giant colosseum of a house as he gave us the grand tour. My soul anchored on the ground, sinking deep into the sea of disbelief. How can one man own all of this? It's like a city within a giant building! Just when I thought the entrance was spectacular, it paled in comparison to the hallways. Instead of a solid roof above, it was nothing but clear, strong glass holding an ocean of sea creatures swimming inside this house. The entire area was coated in a blue hue echoed in a rainbow of wails and screeches; we were shadowed by a large green-glowing whale. Nya's head was tidally locked on the glass ceiling.
"What in the hell?" I said.
"Shocked?" Mr. Dalton said.
"Yes. I'm surprised that glass hadn't cracked from all the pressure," I said.
"Ah well, the
glass you see before you is made by reinforced supercells strong enough to withstand anything - especially water," he winked, "Now come along, there are other matters to attend to rather than just glorifying my hallway aquarium. Come! Come!"
We continued while still looking at the aquarium until we turned to the next hallway. This hallway was...well normal. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular. Just a normal hallway with a few picture frames. The walls were covered by a lattice burgundy red wallpaper illuminated by fluorescent lights hung a quarter the way towards the ceiling pointing slightly down. There were many doors, each spacing out I'm guessing 4 maybe 6 feet at least. All of them were evenly spaced. The entire hallway just screamed 19th century Gothic aristocracy.
It was quiet. We walked next to Mr. Dalton and the Duke as they led us towards the end of the hallway. He crouched down to Nya's height who was nervous about everything surrounding her. I wouldn't blame her honestly.
"Are you ready to meet your friend?" he asked.
Nya nodded.
He sat up and knocked on the door.
"Yes daddy?"
"Your friends are here!"
"Really?"
"Yep. Open the door so you can say hello!"
"Okay!"
The door opened and inside was a dreamily site. We slowly stepped inside to what it would be described as "every girl's dream". The walls were painted white, the floors were of snow, the room was round and smooth. Her bed was majestic that whispered princess. The room was spacious, vast enough to hold a small village. Susie stood there with a sunny smile on her face politely waving at us. Nya was awestruck at this beautiful sight.
"I think I'm blind," she said.
"Good evening, Mr. Gilliganson," she bowed, "Good evening Susie! I hope you're having a good time."
"You can say that again," Nya said softly.
"Well, I see to it that you two have your alone time," Mr. Dalton said, "Have fun you two."
"Michael?" Nya looked at me in worry.
"Hey, don't worry," I said, "It'll only be for a moment okay?"
Nya nodded.
"Now go have fun! You deserve it," I said giving Nya a reassuring smile. She smiled as Mr. Dalton closed the door.
"Now, there is this one room I like to show you, one I think you may like, Mr. Gilliganson," Mr. Dalton said.
"Really? Show me," I said.
...
"When my brother left with that old rich dude, Mr. Dalton. I sat on the floor playing with Susie's dolls. It was quite nice to be in this room. It was serene to say the least. It was quite nicer than my room back at home. My room was small and messy, her's was clean and had lots of room. I mean LOTS of room. She had a lot of toys here and there and smelled like freshly-scented lemons.
But the one thing I disliked about the room was that it was friggin' cold! Everything else was quite queenly.
"Say Nya?" she began.
"Yes?"
"Do you enjoy playing tea party?" she asked.
"I never played that before," she said.
"Never?"
I nodded, "I mostly rode on my wooden horse while my brother does farm work."
"I bet that's boring huh?"
"I don't think so," I said, "Do you like playing tea party?"
"Yep, say I can teach you!"
"That's fine!"
Susie pulled out her toys from her sky-blue container; a teapot, a small table, table cloth, and dishes - as well as plastic foods and everything. She and I set it up and we began playing and to be honest it was quite lovely. Though boring at the same time. All we did was sit and talk. We didn't stand or go out or anything in the nature. We just sat there and talked about...stuff. Just stuff nothing of substance just random things. I've never played tea party, but from what I have watched on TV it was quite...a little engaging. Well it was TV. It always makes boring stuff seem fun, unfortunately in practice...it's dull. Like really dull.
I didn't break code of the game, I just kept things as is. However it was getting a little boring. As rich as her father was, the only thing they couldn't afford is a little imagination. I tried not to go to sleep. That would be rude and antagonizing.
Susie sighed, "I can tell you're not engaged in this."
My eyes shot open, "Oh no, no. I am!" I said quickly.
"Bah, it's okay. I really don't like this game too either. I just play it because I don't want to break code but its so hard not too," Susie said.
I was confused. Break code? Break code of what exactly? What was she hiding? I saw her twisting her tea pot around her finger thinking. All around the room, I saw Buckingham Palace but without the princess. Susie seemed bored, and I had no idea for games. My games are very destructive, and they required us to be outside. Not indoors. I was told that games belong outside not inside (well unless its raining).
"What code?" I asked.
"The code that...um...it's...hold on," she got up and went to the door. She opened it to check if anyone was out, "My dad must have taken your brother to the Holy Oplostásio Court. My dad always takes his guests there."
"What's that?"
Susie didn't tell me what it was, however, her hand hovered above the second light switch just to the left of the one by the door.
"Something like this," she switched the small lever down causing the room to change. The walls rotated; no longer was I welcomed to an all white room, the room however became something else. The walls were of red and black, on the walls, I saw weapons. Mountain-loads of weapons. Guns, blades, bombs, ammo, the works. The at the other half of the room where the bed was, that was replaced by a pool of knives. A table ascended from the side sliding out a brown lid exposing me to dishes of loaded firearms.
Her bedroom was an armory.
I stood there frozen as Susie got to the table, got a gun and cocked it.
"What the hell?"
"You think I'm just some pritzy rich girl huh?"
"You're some good damn actor!"
Susie smiled.
"Why do you have all this stuff? Who are you hunting?" I asked.
"Dinosaurs!"
"Dinosaurs?"
"Yep," she said, "They call themselves the Neomen. Pappy and I have been hunting down those bastards ever since."
"Does your dad know about this?"
"Nope."
"How?"
"Because I'm a sweet girl."
"Again, you are a good actor."
"Thank you!" she said, "And my father have been hunting down these bastards. Each kill is money for us. You can say we are doing a public service."
"So you're father's a..."
"A Dinosaur hunter? Nope, dad can't shoot through a tube without getting hurt. But he is a damn good pilot!"
TWENTY-SIX
MR. DALTON AND The Duke of Washington led me to a courtyard just behind the residential palace. The yard was spacious to say the least; it’s like everything here was big, hell the whole house could be one big city after the end of the night. The yard shone in azure by the marble, black lamps hooked on columns. The yard was of that of ancient Greece almost. I saw a long pool stretching from my eyes to the other end of the yard. The water shone a bright blue hue giving off a cool, calm environment. It was as if I have entered the gates to heaven.
The skies above me was black and clear however unfortunately due by the lights, it was almost impossible to see the stars. The most notable natural sight of light I was able to see was the full moon above.
"You seem unruffled. Calm?" Mr. Dalton asked.
I nodded, , "I'm just...how in the world can you afford all of this?" I asked, "It's like a small town here!"
"It's a long story, my..." suddenly, his watch began to ring, "Oh dear."
"What?"
"I gotta take care of something," he addressed, "Duke, will you be a fellow and accompany Mr. Gilliganson while I return?" he asked the Duke.
He nodded.
"Great, I will be back in a few," he said leaving the court to handle, whatever he needed to take
care of. The Duke of Washington took a deep breath of relief. I could sense that he had been stressed out for awhile now.
"Something on your mind big guy?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Is it the job?" I asked sitting on the steps; he sat next to me.
"Nope, the job's fine. It's something else. You mayn't need to worry it's some personal shit," he said pulling out a cigarette and lighter. I nodded.
"So how Mr. Dalton able to afford all this? No normal person can have a house as big as a country," I said, "No offense."
The Duke of Washington slightly giggled before he had the chance to clear his throat. "You like dinosaurs?"
"Yeah," I said, "Yeah, no, sort of? Well...yeah sort of."
The Duke of Washington nodded and chuckled, "Well, we're not a normal set of people. I'm not sure if anybody told you this but...wait?" he thought and turned his head back to me and way from the pool, "You seen one before?"
My eyes froze in worry, "Y-yes?"
"Don't lie to me," he said, "Anyone who have came in close counter with those savages were either dead or enslaved."
I nodded. I knew there was no escape from this conversation. The Duke looked obviously disturbed, let alone scared. I couldn't weasel my way out from this conversation. I had to come clean or at least tell as little as possible. Wait, what was I thinking, yeah The Duke might have been friendly, but I couldn't trust him. I don't even know whether or not if he was a threat or not. I wasn't sure if he was after my badge. I dug my hands in my pockets to ensure the badge was with me just in case I might need it.
"Michael?"
I sighed, I slowly pulled out my badge; The Duke understandably was pulling out something from his pocket. Most notably a gun or something. When I pulled out my badge he stopped and reflected.
"This is the..."
The Son of Alpha (The Legend of the Sky-Titans Book 1) Page 16
