The crowds from all over the globe that had been driven into a frenzy took mere seconds to lower their voices and come to a standstill. The simple wave of the Minister’s hand had brought quick order back to the people.
The Minister stood there for a moment, decked out in all white. A perfectly tailored suit of white pants, white coat, and white shirt was interrupted by a long, black tie that seemed to pour from his neck. While it was out of place with the suit, it was a recognized symbol for the Minister. No one else on Earth dared wear all white with a black tie.
He cleared his throat, shot a quick smile to the camera, and began speaking of the events that had occurred in Sector 37. Even the Minister hadn’t been able to keep the news from reaching the other sectors and continents around the world. Word had travelled faster than he had expected. He wanted to make sure that no one questioned his place as leader or the Council of Compassion and World Order.
“Citizens, it is once again a privilege and honor to be before you. I come to you today not only as your leader but as a fellow human being. I am a human being who believes in the principles of our society. I am a human being who understands the importance of law and order for our world and the people who live in it. Most importantly, I am a human being who has shown time and time again that he will do whatever is necessary to hold all of its citizens to those same standards!”
He stepped back from the camera for a moment, and the crowds broke into cheers and chants for the Minister. The ground around Sector 37 shook with enthusiasm, and the woman in the sunglasses and black coat followed along with the crowd.
The Minister raised his hand for silence and continued.
“Now, as some of you may have heard, we have encountered some problems in Sector 37 of Continent 1. Your leaders tried to the best of their ability to keep information about these cowardly acts from reaching the other sectors, but we felt that it was more prudent to go ahead and put our citizens’ minds at ease. Yes, a local security team member was seriously injured, but contrary to other reports, he was not murdered and is now doing quite well. Here is a recorded message from that very officer.”
The monitors switched from the Minister’s image to a recorded message from a man in a security uniform. The man in the video seemed in perfect health, and he explained that he had made a mistake and injured himself.
“I didn’t follow regulations and took a nasty fall at a local warehouse. Thank goodness the security personnel of the area came to my rescue and got me the medical attention I needed.”
He was adamant that no one had injured him and that there had been no altercation. He also told everyone very clearly how grateful he was for what the CCWO had done to get him back into shape. He complimented the council and thanked the Supreme Leader for being there for him when he needed help.
The monitors all switched back to a smiling Minister Hathmec, who began to applaud. The crowds followed suit, and several conversations could be heard among the throngs of people.
“I knew it was just a misunderstanding.”
“I just couldn’t believe that a security team member had been killed.”
The Minister put his hand back into the air and the crowds, once again, returned to a quiet calm. The young man standing by the woman in the black coat stated, “Let’s see what he says about the explosion.”
“Now, I would like to discuss the circumstances around the explosion that occurred the following day in Sector 37. The flames and smoke that rose from that blast could be seen for miles around the area, and our security teams were first on the scene to take care of the flames and protect the public interest. Had it not been for these brave men and their quick reaction, that fire could have spread throughout the compounds of the sector. The obvious questions are how did this happen, and who is to blame for it?”
The Minister looked to his right and motioned with his hand. Taking one step to the side, he made room for another man who looked to be in his mid-twenties with a stature similar to his own. He announced to the crowd that this was Thomas Elliott.
Thomas was much like his father in that he expected immediate respect, but he differed from him in many ways as well. He didn’t search out the spotlight or theatricality like his father did, and he rarely appeared on camera. His appearance in front of the world with his father at this moment was something the crowds had not expected.
Thomas Elliott brandished a seductive smile as his mouth curled to the edge of his jet-black sideburns. While he looked about twenty-five, Thomas had actually been born in the early 2000s.
The crowds shuffled around, knowing that Thomas was the final word in all security matters for the planet. Some people mumbled, “I can’t believe the Minister brought his second to speak with us.”
Thomas shook his father’s hand with a tight grip. His father returned the gesture and extended his other hand to the camera. Thomas started to speak to the crowd.
“The incident that occurred in Sector 37 was one of the most shocking experiences that I have had as your head of world security. I want you all to know that we are committed to the safety and well-being of all our citizens, and that includes ridding this world of the type of people that would look to purposely injure others. In this case, four of your fellow citizens were killed by the explosion.”
Thomas stepped back from the camera, and the images of four men were plastered onto the monitors for all to see. The bodies were mangled and burned, the features of the men’s faces unrecognizable.
Thomas went on to say that two younger citizens were also hurt in the blast. Another picture was presented to the crowds, this one showing a young girl and young boy in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and under sedation.
“This type of act cannot go unpunished and will not be tolerated.”
He looked once more to his father and then to a card that had been placed out of view of the cameras in the studio. He took his time, finally saying, “It has been determined that an escape occurred at one of our rehabilitation camps that coincided with these acts against our society. Rest assured that your leaders are searching out these misfits to our way of life, and we will catch all of them and deal with them accordingly.”
The crowds once again broke into loud applause and cheers. The chants turned from “Order!” to “Hathmec! Hathmec!” The Minister raised his hand again and quieted the crowd. He stepped in front of his son and back into the frame.
“We want all of our citizens to rest easy, as we are ramping up security in all sectors and, in doing so, will thwart any further efforts to hurt any of the citizens of our planet.”
Thomas flashed a grin to the crowds and asked for calm. “With that being said, the Minister and I have some wonderful news to report.”
Minster Hathmec patted his son on the back and showed the crowds a piece of paper. “We received this message from Sector 37 last night. The head of Security for Sector 1, Keith Kellington, has apprehended three of the perpetrators. A young woman and two young men who were directly involved in the explosion that rocked Sector 37 are now in custody.”
Keith Kellington had arrived at the address the Minister had directed him to just fifteen minutes before the worldwide communications had started. There were no direct transports to this particular location, so Keith had walked for several miles outside of Sector 37’s primary hub. He arrived at the site alone, per instruction, but he wasn’t alone for long.
He followed a homing signal he had been given before leaving Sector 1 and made his way to an opening in the ground, much like the opening of a twentieth-century subway. There he met four officers who had been waiting on him.
“What is this place?” he asked.
One of the security leads answered him. “Sorry for all the secrecy, sir, but we were given explicit instructions to lead you down this path. We were told that once you arrived you would understand what was required.”
Keith rolled his eyes at the young lead and replied, “Well, we have to do as we are told. We wouldn’t want the
Minister getting upset with us. Lead the way.”
Keith began his descent down a long hallway of steps. It was poorly lit, but he could still make out the brick walls lining the path. Keith was shocked at the depth below the main streets they were reaching and began to wonder if the Minister was planning on punishing him in some way for the events in Sector 37. His stomach started to turn as he looked back at the two officers that followed him and the two that led him. “These guys are huge,” he thought to himself.
After several minutes the group reached the bottom floor, and Keith gazed upon multiple doors that lined the walls. Each door was closed and unmarked, except for some rubbed-out numbers that were almost unrecognizable.
“Sir, our instructions were to lead you to this door. We will stay out here and await further instructions from you.”
Keith extended his hand toward the doorknob and took his time turning it. He cracked the door at first and could only see some blinking lights in the background. He looked back at the security team and said, “When I tell you to come in, you come in. You got it?” The lead nodded in the affirmative, and Keith walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
The room was dark save for some console lights blinking on and off around him. He looked around the walls for a light switch but couldn’t find one. He stood still for a few moments and then yelled out, “I’m here! Is anyone else here?”
He received no response and could hear only the occasional ding of a control module. It was cool in the room, and he could feel an intermittent rush of air hit his face from a fan blowing in the corner. No windows were evident, and the room was saturated with a light chemical odor that Keith didn’t recognize.
He started to make his way back to the door when he heard something. A bright light began to form on the far side of the room, blinding Keith at first. Between the long, dark walk down the tunnel and the blackness of the room, his eyes needed a moment to adjust. As they came into focus, Keith’s anxieties started to dissipate.
He strolled toward the light and said, “You look surprised to see me.”
Chapter 2
FAMILY SECRETS
Matthew struggled to his feet as he yelled to his mother and brother. “Run! It’s Keith!”
April was just beginning to wake from the difficult trip through time. She looked over to Matthew and asked, “What are you doing?”
Matthew slurred his words and stumbled forward. “Don’t worry, Mom, I beat him before, and I’ll beat him again.”
Matthew loaded up with a handful of carrier stones, ready to use whatever power he had in his Hathmec to fend off Keith, but he tripped just feet in front of him and passed out in his arms. April crawled over and looked up to see the man that had caught her son.
“Agent Johnson? What’s going on?”
Johnson replied, “We’ve got a big problem, April. There’s something you need to see.”
Conner labored to walk, but he was now starting to recognize his surroundings as Walter’s command center. “What’s wrong with Matthew?” he asked.
Johnson replied, “He’ll be fine. It’s just a part of the time-travel process.”
Johnson carried Matthew down the swerving hallway that led from the room that housed the rorimite tunnel. April and Connor followed close behind, still clearing the cobwebs from their minds. April thought about the size of the hallway. “It seems bigger in here.”
This was a much different experience from going through the tunnel the first time. A quaint park with birds chirping was a much easier environment in which to collect one’s thoughts. She figured her inflated impression of the hallway was just her mind trying to adjust to the trip.
Connor rubbed his head, looked at Agent Johnson, and asked, “What happened to Matthew? Why was he about to go all Hathmec on you?”
“I think Matthew thought I was Keith Kellington. Remember, Walter told you to watch out for hallucinations after coming through the tunnel. If I had to guess, he had such a rush of adrenaline when he saw me that his body couldn’t handle it. The health charm will get him back on his feet in no time.”
Agent Johnson noticed the glimmer of the yellow charm that now adorned Matthew’s Hathmec pendant. The pendant slid to the side of the boy as Johnson rounded the last corner.
“You actually pulled it off. You found the attribute charm.” Johnson propped Matthew against the wall as they reached door twenty-three.
“I’m pretty sure Walter only wanted you to bring back the charm and not the kids attached to it. I hope you have a good reason for going against Walter’s wishes.”
April blurted out, “We had no choice. It was a last-minute decision.” She looked around as if she had suddenly been reminded of something important.
“Wait, where is the girl and the little boy? Where are Amanda and Steven? They were with us.”
Johnson started to open the door to room twenty-three and replied, “Walter will talk to you about that. They’re fine. He just wanted to make sure they didn’t wake up around the tunnel.”
Matthew started to come to. The cool touch of the wall against the side of his face had shocked him back into consciousness. His vision came into focus, and he recognized the grizzled features of Agent Johnson’s face.
“Do you still want to throw down with me, little man?” Johnson asked with a smile.
Matthew cleared his throat and saw his mother and brother standing close by. He realized that he was safe, but things were still a bit fuzzy. Johnson moved all of them into the room and told them to take a seat.
The family was shocked to see so many people huddled into a space no bigger than most high school lunchrooms. The lights hanging overhead reflected luridly off the hard ceramic floor. The brightness of the room caused the Chance family to duck their heads and squint until their eyes could adjust. It was a lot to process in such a short time after their arrival.
Johnson said, “What you are about to see is important.”
They all entered the room with Walter, where several other people watched a screen, much like a television set, but with no frame. It melted into the wall. April could see Minister Hathmec and Thomas Elliott as they soaked in the cheers from the crowds.
“What’s going on, Walter? What’s this about?”
“Just keep watching and you’ll see,” Walter replied.
The Minister was speaking. “We received this message from Sector 37 last night. The head of security for Sector 1, Keith Kellington, has apprehended three of the perpetrators. A young woman and two young men who were directly involved in the explosion that rocked Sector 37 are now in custody.”
Thomas continued, “We are now going live to Sector 37, where their punishment will be swift and complete. Please stay silent during the process to show respect for the men who lost their lives that day.”
The communication boards that hovered over the crowds switched to a video feed showing a young blond woman bound to a chair. Two younger men, no more than fifteen years old, were bound beside her, all locked in a clear box. Two of them were screaming at the cameras. The box was made of a plexiglass-type substance, and no one outside the box could hear what they were saying.
The young woman screamed out, “Don’t do this! We didn’t do anything! Let the kids go!”
Keith Kellington had arrived at the site of the execution just a few minutes earlier. Fear of what the Minister had in store for him evaporated once he saw the woman and two boys within the structure. For one brief moment, he’d thought it was April and her sons strapped to those chairs. Upon a quick inspection, though, he realized that they were just patients from the Genesis and Mercury Camps, brought there to stand in for the actual perpetrators.
Keith looked to the lead security officer in charge of the execution and said, “I hope no one watching can read lips.”
The young woman, whose mind had been toyed with at the Genesis Camps, noticed a chemical smell and looked down to her feet. A green gas started to fill the clear box and rise up into the f
aces of herself and the boys. She began to cough, her eyes watering. The gas had reached her first, and she was already having trouble catching her breath. The boy to her right struggled to free himself as the horror of what was to come engulfed his very being.
The crowd stayed quiet, as requested by Thomas Elliott, but several were whispering to each other.
“This is really the most humane way to end their terrible lives.”
“I wish I could have pressed the button to release the gas.”
Others in the crowd felt the weight of what they were witnessing, some deciding to turn their heads away from the screens.
The young woman fell asleep first, her heart stopping within minutes of the gas entering her airway. The young boy that she had spoken with before being wheeled into the chamber went next, just a few minutes later. The third boy never woke from sedation. He never knew the fear of the other victims.
Keith looked to the execution officer and said, “I have to admit, I was a little worried when I started down those stairs, but I see now why you had to keep it under wraps.”
The officer replied, “We just executed the people responsible for the attacks in Sector 37. The Minister always promises swift justice, and he kept his word.” The officer winked at Keith and smirked with a bit of self-approval.
When the cameras recording the event were turned off and the chamber had been emptied of the dangerous toxin, the officer’s assistant removed the bodies of the young woman and two young men.
“Where did you find these people?” Keith asked. “Were they captured yesterday and brought here?”
The officer replied, “Mr. Timmons delivered them just last night. Seems he had a team searching for them and caught up with them somewhere around Sector 3.” He leaned closer to Keith and whispered, “Quite a coincidence they were found in Sector 3, isn’t it?”
Last Chance Volume 2 - The Legend of the Hathmec: Planting the Seed Page 2
