The Tale of the Blood Diamond

by Laveen, Tiana

  Yuledrakes were always looking for additional slaves, new adventures and places to destroy. It was what they did, as if they had hatched out of their father’s sack destined to be sick and twisted. In this, the Earth offered a two for one deal, and deals were something they couldn’t refuse. Worse yet, they were resilient and had the patience to wait centuries to exact their revenge. Their motto appeared to be: it may not happen today, but it will happen, and when it does, you can never claim you weren’t warned…

  Xzion snapped out of his hellish thoughts, made his way to his Hummer and slid in the driver’s seat. It would be a matter of minutes before his wife was on the scene, her hat tipped low and a scowl on her face. A few more cops would join her in approaching the dead Jane Doe, her finger on the trigger and the coroner on speed-dial. They’d rope off the area, careful to not stomp on any evidence. It didn’t matter; none would be found. Yuledrakes were skilled murderers and delved slightly in vampirism, enjoying the taste of iron-rich blood. They didn’t feed however; they merely took a sample, a ghastly taster in which their skinny, walrus like fangs would extend from their dark, wide mouths like the claw on a bulldozer and sink into their victim’s necks until it perforated the other side of their damn throat, nearly decapitating them. They were pretentious, intimidating and by all intents and purposes, rich, spoiled, school-yard bullies. The human inhabited world, particularly the U.S. of A, had met her match.

  It was no coincidence they’d leave him the reverse welcoming present of their existence in the land of the hominids. They’d travelled the world, just as he had, but were anxious to make their presence known. He’d gotten a strange, choppy message to go to the location in question and the dreaded feeling in the pit of his stomach was confirmed once he walked towards the corpse. Worse yet, he could still smell them in the air. Xzion felt them watching from somewhere close, to ensure he saw their ‘token of disapprobation’ and then fled into the night, surely to report back their pleasurable findings to Jatorn. Jatorn hated Aton, and Xzion as well, so this shit was now personal.

  Xzion slumped against his driver’s seat, and in the near distance, he could hear the blaring police sirens drawing closer and closer. He grunted, sighed and casually started his car and rolled away from the parking spot, leaving a dark rectangle from beneath his vehicle along the slick ground in his wake as his tires crunched down onto the freshly fallen snow. He kept his trek, heading home. He surmised Jayme would be tied up for approximately two hours. At that juncture, he’d brief her on his new assignment, ravish her body before heading to his planet for a meeting that would no doubt make his cold blood boil, kiss his precious son, Zachary, goodbye, and be on his way.

  Well, well, well, if it isn’t good ol’ Jatorn. You think you picked the prime time to do this, huh? You’re here, in my stomping grounds, with the President of the United States. I get it. That is a big prize to you. You enjoy riddles, fun and games, and the pain you inflict. You’ve walked into my new world upright, but you will leave it mutilated and destroyed…

  CHAPTER TWO

  Xzion readjusted his black rawhide backpack onto his shoulder and cranked his neck to the side as he ran his fingers along the jugular. His muscles were stiff and sore, as if someone had reached in with their bare hands and squeezed them like a juicer does an orange. The glowing overhead lights appeared more serene, or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He hadn’t been to Zarkstorm in months, and in that time, the changes were astounding. It seemed two out of every ten child-bearing aged women that strolled past him were pregnant, their bellies round and their faces glowing. He’d even witnessed a slight smile or two, as his people milled about on their way to work, military or academic school, or recreation. It warmed him deep within to finally witness a sense of peace and a lack of quarantine quarters filled to the brim with Zarkstormians banging on death’s door. Those old buildings, virtual tombs, were now boarded up and his world had bloomed, returning to the ways of a time he had been told existed, but never witnessed before now.

  As he made his way through the crowds, he didn’t miss the stares and looks of approval from those mingling about. People knew who he was. They knew of his son, as well. A large, glossy photo of the little boy was framed in blue and silver on the entranceway of the main sanitarium. Zachary saved their lives and was revered. His existence as half Earthling, half Zarkstormian had spared so many with just a few drops of his precious blood. Xzion finally reached the main military college entranceway and slid his ID into the clear entry slot. He briefly waited as the doors glowed neon blue, then parted, announcing his arrival in a soft, feminine, automated voice.

  “Officer Xzion Khrome is now on base…”

  Xzion leisurely navigated the carefully constructed rows of steel chairs and stark white tables until he’d reached the back of the vast area, several minutes later. In a room with walls portioned in eighths, the form of an octagon, sat Aton at one end and several high-level Zarkstorm militia around the perimeter. Their gazes immediately met his as he nodded in their direction, his footsteps echoing along the shiny, white floor, approaching the stark white, wide, crescent shaped table. Aton stood, his form majestic, his silvery eyes gleaming, and his clean-shaven face exhibiting a cleft chin and slight scar along his right jawbone. His platinum hair was cut short and brushed back away from his face, revealing high cheekbones and a sternness about his features, even during the rare occasions when he’d offer a lopsided smile.

  “Xzion, thank you for attending. Please,” he outstretched his arm, “have a seat.”

  Xzion scanned the room once more, pulled out the plush, white chair across from Aton and took his seat. He folded his hands and stared at the man before him.

  “Everyone, as you know, this my most prized pupil, Xzion Khrome. He was born with the rare MXZ gene. His son, Zachary Khrome, is half human and half Zarkstormian. To our knowledge, he is the only child of his kind and his rare blood type proved to be—”

  “A cure for our people.” One man interrupted, his dark purple hair slicked back in a ponytail. He shot jade green eyes in Xzion’s direction. “All Zarkstormian newborns receive the vaccine. Officer Khrome, you’ve saved your entire race of people. My twin sons, only ten years of age, were deathly ill. They are alive now, because of you and your offspring.”

  Xzion studied the man’s face. He looked serious, but his voice choked, as if he were suppressing outward emotion and simply trying to relay facts. The man loved his children, and though he’d probably never told them, his display, right at that moment, proved it. Xzion slowly nodded, and offered nothing further.

  “Yes.” Aton cleared his throat and took his seat. “There are plenty more stories like that, so it is an honor for you courageous men to meet face to face.” Aton took a sip from his water. The crystal, light blue liquid shook ever so slightly in his trembling hand — a curious sight. What did Aton have to be nervous about? The man didn’t scare easily. He never shook when the grotesque open mouth of a rebellious dragon was huffing and puffing in his face. He didn’t tremble while being physically attacked by angry warrior Zarkstormians either, yet something had rattled his nerves like the tail end of a Shacut-cobra snake beast Xzion had had the displeasure of beheading after an attempted invasion many years ago.

  He swallowed harshly, and his eyes glimmered a bit brighter during the long silence.

  “Xzion, I’ve explained to Brui, Gyen and Korpid here the situation regarding the Yuledrake invasion of Earth. As I’m sure you are keenly aware of, based on Gyen’s testimony of his sons, they are eager to assist in helping to ensure Earthling safety. They have already formed a committee and will commence training the military so that, from afar, we can begin to take action. A request meeting with Jatorn has been issued and —”

  “Aton, he will not negotiate with anyone and if he says he will, it would be nothing more than trickery. He cannot be trusted to come to any reasonable agreement. Lest I remind you, he is the same man that had the audacity, after repeated faile
d attempts to attack and annihilate us, to ask us for the heat cure.” Xzion shook his head in disbelief.

  “I understand that, Xzion. However, we are going to attempt to meet with him so that we may gather information. You see, truth is in his lies. As with all good liars, who always use particles of fact as their lure and essence, and weave deceptions around it until it is no longer discernable. The Yuledrakes are particularly adept at this. All we want is the kernel. We can do much with it. Now.” Aton stood abruptly to his feet again, his voice commanding as he ordered a computerized screen drifting above the table to initiate. Red and white lines, codes and strange numbers raced across, beckoning everyone’s attention.

  “Gentlemen, let’s take a closer look at our adversary. The Yuledrakes, from a physical aspect, mimic us to some degree.” He pointed at a diagram of the Yuledrake’s body, internal organs included. All of our organs are encased in thick, protective tissue, affording us the benefit of staying farther out of physical harm’s way. However, Yuledrakes do not have that. Instead, they have large incisors as seen here.” Aton pointed his finger at the floating, electronic diagram, drawing the picture closer, enlarging the mouth. They are hidden inside the mouth and released, similar to an Earth cat’s retraction claws, during an attack. These fangs have the penetrating power to perforate our tissue, though it takes quite a bit of work on their part. That is not what kills us however. If we are attacked by a Yuledrake, it is the paralyzing poison that comes out of their mouths once they have successfully sunk their fangs into an organ that causes our lifespan to halt. This poison is injected into the victim, causing excruciating pain along with paralysis; thus, they can finish the attack without a continued struggle.”

  “Their jaws separate and drop,” Xzion explained as he, too, pointed to the diagram. “I’ve had my share of encounters with them and initially, it can be quite shocking if you aren’t prepared for it. After a while, however, I found them to be an easy advisory. The key is to not let them get too close. You can wipe out dozens at a time as they tend to drift about in packs, but never take your eyes off of them — that is how they ambush. While you’re focusing on the masses, one or two are slinking somewhere in the distance. If they get their fangs in you, that is pretty much the end. Their mouth widens to the point that it appears it may split; the head almost completely peels back to allow the fangs to come forth. It is unsightly and rather unpleasant to watch. In any regard, this is how they kill and they prefer it over weaponry, at least with us. However, I am certain they are planning to use artillery because first and foremost —”

  “They know earthlings will attempt to defend themselves, but more importantly, they know Xzion is there.” Aton sighed, joining the conversation. The man’s hand had not yet steadied. “Xzion, this is the new development our investigative team has discovered.”

  And this is why you are so wound up…

  “The Yuledrakes have been working on destructive devices. This means they plan to attack other planets by the same means. I believe Earth is a practice run.”

  They want to burst their cherry on Earth with the new artillery…

  “They’ve apparently been planning this for quite some time but your presence on Earth, due to your former assignment in curtailing the drug trade, put them at a disadvantage. They were not aware of a Zarkstormian on the planet, and once word got out that you’d found a cure for overheating and you were remaining there, it sent their previous plans into a tailspin. I am quite concerned about this weaponry, Xzion,” Aton finally admitted. “This will not stop with Earth. They’ve broken all the treaties from centuries past.”

  Xzion swallowed. He sat back down and clasped his hands, leaning ever so slightly forward.

  “The motivation? Power and dominance. Greed. They want the diamonds. Now, you informed me of an additional piece of the puzzle I was not aware of. Aton, what is this weaponry made of, and what does it do?”

  “That information was obviously harder to obtain, but we’ve got approximately a seventy-three percent accurate picture of the situation at hand. They are missiles embedded into a bomb… filled with uranium.”

  “So, it’s plutonium with a graphite reactor.”

  Aton nodded. “That is correct.”

  “Yes. This is a problem.” Xzion sucked his teeth, leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes and tapped his fingers on his thigh as he deliberated. He had extensive bomb training, but no two bombs were the same and if the Yuledrakes came up with something like this, they’d obviously spent quite a bit of time perfecting it. They were no match physically; this was an insurance policy that would have deadly consequences.

  “We can diffuse it much quicker if we are aware how much heavy water they are using. Do you know?” Xzion asked, his eyes still closed as his temperature rose.

  “No, we are still trying to find that out. Worse yet, we do not know where exactly they have the missile embedded bomb located. What we do know is that there are four of them. Three appear fairly simple designs, but the fourth one is advanced and the most lethal. It is powerful enough to wipe out, at the very least, half of the worldwide human population. So, it makes sense to me that they are placed in the four hemispheres and that is what we will investigate.”

  “East, West, North and South…” Xzion sighed and shook his head. He ran his heavy hand over his mouth and slowly opened his eyes; the right one was booting up, responding to his angry emotions, engaging in preparation for a possible attack. The room blazed with red light. He reached into a nearby chilled pail, popped a jagged chip of ice into his mouth and calmed his nerves as he ran it over his tongue until it melted from his internal flame.

  “Look, you guys find the bomb locations. Tell me where they are and I will handle the rest.” Xzion stood from his seat and grabbed his book bag in preparation to depart.

  “Wait!” Aton called out. “Xzion, you can’t do this alone. This is a huge undertaking. Not only do we have the missile-filled bombs to contend with; the Yuledrakes have plans to wreck havoc along the way and they are working with others.”

  “Who? Who have they brought on board for their mission?” Xzion’s brows crumpled in the crease between his eyes.

  “We aren’t sure. That is still under investigation.”

  “Xzion,” Korpin interrupted. The dark-skinned man with velvety skin, glistening white teeth and short, cropped black hair raised his hand. “What do you personally know about the Yuledrakes? You’ve dealt with them head on before, been in battle. We need all the information we can get if we plan to fight this and help the Earthlings.”

  Frustrated, Xzion turned back around. He slung his book bag onto the table and rested his palms beside it. “Korpin, they like to play games and tricks, like the Morphitians. However, they always have a reason. It’s not just for kicks. They are greedy. This is a ravenousness you couldn’t quite imagine. It is what gives them life. Their main mission is always to obtain. They are quite clever, influential and ruthless. They do not have a conscience. They are immune to mind control, so we can’t even go that route. Jatorn is feared by many due to his influence. He is seen as charismatic. He is also a hell of a fighter, but if I say so myself, he is a deserter. He avoids fighting at all costs, and prefers to send others in on his behalf.”

  He paused briefly, scratched his temple and bit his lip.

  “When he does fight, however, he doesn’t just use his fangs, but also his bare hands.” He extended his fists as he spoke. “He has killed and ordered the murders of millions across the worlds, for no reason other than wanting the materials they possessed. Yuledrakes are collectors. If they see a resource they want, they grab it. If you’re lucky, first they ask and if they are refused, blood is drawn. Their looks are deceiving so those not familiar with them may mistake them for Ujis or Opas, see them as a non-factor.”

  “The Ujis?” Korpin laughed and smirked. “They are completely harmless…remind me of overgrown amphibians.”

  “Exactly. Everyone knows the Ujis are not fight
ers. They live in their swampy environment and stay out of everyone’s way. No one wants anything from the Ujis and the only time we see them is during their mating season, but unlike the Ujis, the Yuledrakes are quite sneaky and deceptive.” Xzion’s face drew stern. “Never believe anything they say. They are pathological liars. Opas, however, fight back, though with their big dark brown eyes and soft features, they, too, are mistaken as weak. Opas are peaceful, everyone knows it, but the Yuledrakes took over their planet through force and now the Opas are slaves in their own land. Their population has dwindled considerably. They could no longer keep fighting the Yuledrakes, and this is the end result. No one hardly recalls the Opas anymore and though the invasion happened when I was only four, I think it was an error for us to not intervene and try to help them.”

  “It wasn’t our place, Xzion. We had no interest in —”

  “And that’s the problem, Aton!” Xzion’s voice rose. “All of these years, we never got involved in helping other planets that were being invaded by the Yuledrakes. By our complacency and non-action, we helped train these bastards into believing they could do whatever they wanted. We are one of the few beings that can beat them. They don’t mess with us unless they are prepared to have a bloody battle, at least, historically. Now, however, since our warrior population has dwindled, they’ve become more aggressive. The writing was on the damn wall!” Xzion slammed his heavy fist onto the table.

  “The only thing that saved us from a takeover was our minds.” He tapped his temple with the edge of his fingernail. “This is not bragging; it is simply the truth. Our intellect is superior. We had the forethought and skill to create a protective shield over our planet that they cannot penetrate. Now that they’ve created these sophisticated bombs, they will be at our door next. The only difference is, they know once they get through the force field, we will still fight them, and fight them hard; but Earthlings are physically weaker than we are and they have little to no knowledge of the arsenal required to take down a Yuledrake. If you aren’t ready for them, you’re as good as dead. You have to know in advance how to fight them.”