The Tale of the Blood Diamond

by Laveen, Tiana

  “That’s what he wants!” The half-dead Yuledrake laughed, his pasty skin becoming almost clear as his life force slowly but surely left his impaired body. “And that is what Jatorn will get! Your son! That mutant bastard!” The man continued to laugh as blood oozed out the side of his neck and mouth. Xzion glided the tip of his finger across his bottom lip and looked into the night as the snow fell a bit harder. The roar and hard crunch of a salt truck gliding down the street grew closer and closer, almost covering Bing’s enchanting Christmas carol, crashing into the festive spirit. He turned to the struggling Yuledrake. The laughter of the henchman waned as his vibrating body was soon shrouded in rubicund light.

  “He’ll get something all right…” Xzion relished the fear in the fretful man’s eyes as his iris coated his victim in red death. A blood-curdling scream echoed as he carved the motherfucker in three strips, like a turkey banquet, in a flash. The body dropped from the wall with a clumsy thud and joined the others in the ugly heap. In less time than the snap of a finger, Xzion disappeared into the night, joining shadows and city sights and sounds muted to a mere whisper of what they once were before the plague hit. He swallowed down his breakfast, his only meal of the day, as it tried to return and make him re-taste its bloodied pallet. The knots in his stomach tossed and turned around the unmistakable thoughts of, ‘They know about my Zachary…’

  There was no going back now, but the timetable had flipped. News travelled fast. The magnitude of everything that was happening suddenly hit him hard and heavy and he could no longer see straight.

  It’s cool…roll with it, this can still work…

  Despite his best efforts to self-soothe, he was a walking time bomb. He paused when a steel street pole beside him slid to serrated pieces, crashing onto the street, taking a car with it and causing the vehicle alarm to blare from the heavy, crushing weight of the metal. He looked at his handiwork — he was unable to control himself as he continued to pound past, his weight a hindrance as he wished so hard to be light and airy and fly towards the skies to murder the one they called Jatorn. Snapping himself back to his senses, he swiftly made his way to his parked car, wedged between a nearby alleyway and cleaned of blood splatter on the tires just an hour earlier. He wasn’t taking a damn shred of evidence home with him.

  As his ancestors had done, and their ancestors too, he made sure to keep his nose clean by outside appearances. He couldn’t afford any delays. He was not a second into his car when a bloodied Yuledrake raced towards him, his face half hanging off, one tusk in place while the other tooth hung on to a thin string of oral tissue. Xzion immediately revved his engine, prepared to run the bastard over and have to quickly clean his tires again. But the fiend started to yell out, his hand raised.

  “Stop! I have a message for you…Jatorn wants to negotiate!” A splattering of blood trickled from the side of the Great Messenger’s mouth. Sahee. There was no doubt in Xzion’s mind that this would be the animal’s last memorandum. Xzion smirked at the obvious handiwork of a human who’d attacked the damned thing. A Zarkstormian Warrior, even an Intellect, would have ensured the monster would never escape. Now, he was amongst the walking dead.

  Looks like Jayme’s crew are out and about…

  He got out of the car and slammed his door shut as a zephyr of cool breeze oozed from between his lips. The black leather of his jacket made a slight rustling sound as he reached into his pocket, removed a tissue and slid it casually across his nostril.

  “What is the message, Sahee?”

  “He will…he will retreat, pull the troops, if he can have your child. All of this will be over. We, the Morphitians and Lyalts will leave at once.”

  Xzion smiled at the man and leaned casually against his car, crossing his ankles as he slid the tissue back in his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head.

  Here we go again… Predictable. I couldn’t even leave the fucking scene without talk of my son as some fucking present coming up once more.

  “You all are losing the war. He is in no position to negotiate.”

  “We’ve killed three Zarkstormians tonight.” The fiend laughed. “One was a Warrior, what a prize.” He smiled, forcing more blood to pulsate from his grotesque mouth. “All of the Lyalts have not even yet arrived, and more Yuledrakes are coming. More and more and more… The Morphitians are feasting right as we speak. We outnumber you. Be rational.”

  Xzion thought long and heavy about what was being stated. He already knew that some of his people were dead in honor of this horrible situation, and he also knew, this was only the beginning of something that could literally take months, if not years. They’d win, but they could be fighting forever and the Yuledrakes knew it. This wasn’t quite how he envisioned things going, but nevertheless, he rolled the possibilities over in his mind then stood erect, spoke slowly, succinctly.

  “I wish to speak to Jatorn personally about this.”

  “He figured you’d say that…” Sahee presented a bloodied receiver from his pocket and made skittish steps towards him. Xzion snatched the phone out of Sahee’s quaky hand.

  “Jatorn…”

  “Xzion…”

  “Speak.” Xzion glared at Sahee as he waited for his nemesis to begin.

  “I am certain you are relishing in the fact that your people are destroying mine at an exponential rate. However, you do realize that we will gain the upper hand once more of us descend upon that planet and bring others with us. We outnumber you, we won’t cease, and we now have five alliances.”

  “You know damn well that’s not true.” Xzion laughed and shot a look over at the half standing corpse before him. “You won’t win this. Your plan is to wear us down, drag it out. In regards to the alliance, I have no idea if that is true or not either, nor do I care.”

  “Oh, you do.” Jatorn laughed. “You see, you have a soft spot for Earthlings, and now…I know why.”

  The pregnant pause gave birth and left a little boy in her wake…named Zachary.

  Xzion glanced upward; the stars twinkled against the snowy backdrop of the velvety darkness, covering a pre-Christmas scene of death.

  “Unfortunately, the creation has left Earth prior to my knowledge. However, once he arrives in our hemisphere, I would like to have him. What wonders! A half Earthling and Zarkstormian child, amazing! In exchange for your child, Xzion, I will call off the war. You and your human concubine can stay safe.”

  Xzion sniffed and looked back over at Sahee who was growing paler by the minute as he lost more and more blood, the silvery liquid pooling around him.

  “He is not for sale, and nothing you offer will change that.”

  “A half Zarkstormian and half human child…amazing!” Jatorn repeated, as if he, too, needed to hear it again. “I suspected you were in fact fucking that human. Matter of fact, I told my constituents. I can’t say that I blame you…they are quite delicious, aren’t they? I’ve had a few as of late as well.” He laughed. Xzion twisted his lips then yawned. “Interesting creatures indeed. But to actually procreate with one? Why, that seems medically impossible. I am truly astonished. Tell me, was this a planned pregnancy or an oops! Surprise?” Jatorn laughed.

  Sahee suddenly turned away to glare at the end of the alleyway.

  Xzion’s eyes were already at the same location. He immediately hung up on Jatorn. His heart raced as the camera in his eye zoomed in and out. A shriek of terror roared out. Racing as if jet fuel were under his feet, he zoomed past Sahee, knocking his frail body to the ground, and looked down the way. His heart practically burst out of his chest. What had begun as secret murders with a high body count, was now war being waged in the streets. Two police officers struggled with Yuledrakes that hissed and bit while a Zarkstormian, Rizya, snuck up behind. The tangled mess of five ensued, and in that moment, Xzion felt something he’d never experienced before: pity.

  He needed this to stop…

  The humans could never defeat the Yuledrakes. The Zarkstormians would defeat the damned Yule
drakes, but as more and more came, with more Morphitians and Lyalts, it would become increasingly harder and time consuming. The Earth would withstand everlasting effects, stolen diamonds being the least of the global problems. Jatorn had one thing right — they outnumbered them by leaps and bounds. The Zarkstormian population had dwindled so badly over time, due to the over-heating crisis, that they still hadn’t recovered despite the recent population boom. Once he saw Rizya snap the Yuledrakes’ necks and the police officers look at the big 6’5 Warrior in astonishment, he knew something had to give. Before he could turn away, Rizya looked at him from afar. The man’s eye glowed and a look of complete exhaustion was stamped on his face. He’d been killing all damn night, yet, he had to keep on.

  Xzion disappeared back into the darkness of the alley and stepped over Sahee’s listless body. Based on the smell, Sahee would be deceased in less than five minutes.

  He walked back over to his car and leaned against it, removing his cell phone from his pocket.

  “Jayme…”

  “Yes…” Fear. His mate stood beyond the gate of terror. He had no idea what she’d seen and endured this evening, but whatever it was, it was now lodged in her throat and keeping her heart hostage.

  “I’ve devised another plan.”

  She swallowed, definitely keeping whatever had her worked up to herself.

  “I hope it’s a good one.”

  “Well, there has been a new development, and…we are going to use it to our advantage. Before I get into that, I need you to tell me if you are all right. You don’t sound all right.”

  “I am in disbelief as to what I’ve been seeing. These…things are working so fast, and I haven’t seen one murder, not one! But the bodies…the bodies are all over the place.”

  “That is how we conduct ourselves, Jayme. We don’t want to be discovered and we are good at killing fast and not leaving much, if anything, behind. Alien life forms have been on your planet since it existed. We are covert. This is why you all have little proof of our existence and the proof you do have is explained away by your government and intellectuals. The only reason the murders are public knowledge is because the Yuledrakes wanted it to be so, in order to get me off the planet so they could conduct their plans without interference. They took a risk; it is not our protocol to do things like this.

  The military, the CIA, the FBI and every world leader across the globe know we are here but even they are blind to the magnitude of the situation. Humans walk past us every day, none the wiser. By us, I mean aliens in general. I’m the first Zarkstormian to be able to live here for any extended period of time, but other alien life forms fit in, just like you. They have jobs, families and everything, just like you all. The only difference now, baby, is that there is a war — and you all are the prize…”

  Jayme was quiet for quite some time on the other end.

  “Two of your officers just met Rizya. I’m certain you understand that that didn’t end well. He saved their lives, but they are taking him into custody. He killed two Yuledrakes right in front of them.”

  Jayme sighed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m afraid not. He had no choice. The Yuledrakes were attacking the officers. So now, he will be held for two murders. I need him out of there, immediately. He is one of the best we have. If he is off the streets for too long, things will only get worse.”

  “I’ll take care of it. It won’t be easy, but I’ll find a way for him to slip away

  …Xzion?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “My men are confused, Xzion. All they know is that people are attacking other people, bodies are adding up, and they fear they are next. I’ve had three officers quit on me in the last week…the last week, Xzion! There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. But, I don’t want to hide, I want to fight, yet how can I kill something I can’t even find?!” She didn’t wait for him to respond, she just kept on going, the emotions finally spilling out like the blood in the streets. “I need our child back home. I know what’s going on, and I will do whatever I can but…I can’t do this without him… He’s too far away. I miss him so much. He gives me strength.

  She gave a slight whimper, which tore him up inside. “I work as hard as I do for him now, so he can be safe. I know he is half of you, but he is still a little boy, Xzion! If I can’t protect my own child, what good am I?” His heart tugged harder as he heard Jayme fighting back tears. He had to tell her. It was time to come clean about what he knew, what he had cooking in the background. He knew in advance she may be angry about the whole deal once he revealed the truth, but, she needed to know because for God’s sake, he was doing it — it was actively happening, and he’d be damned if he felt okay keeping her away from such a thing.

  “I don’t know how long we can do this, and we just started!”

  “I know. I’m working on it, and that is in fact what I called you about. You gotta minute?”

  “If it concerns Zachary, I have all the minutes known to man, Yuledrakes and Zarkstormians alike…”

  ****

  Jayme reeled at the news, at Xzion’s revelations. However, she had no time to absorb it. She immediately went back to the precinct and walked into utter chaos. Her first order of business was a call to her brother, friends and parents. Without an explanation, without so much as an offer of justification, she warned them to stay indoors for the night, and not leave under any circumstances. Once in her office, she grabbed more of her private stash of ammo and headed back out into the streets, now slick with partially melting snow. She suspected she was getting a cold, but this was no time for lying about in the bed with a steamy bowl of chicken noodle soup.

  She marched up the path knowing that tonight, she’d have a chance to practice her aim. She heeded her husband’s explanations that she wouldn’t see the sons of bitches but now, she was looking, waiting. Rather than take the car, she walked down a litter-cluttered sidewalk like a foot soldier, the cement blocks pushing up from the ground from a water main break over a month ago. Each car that drove past, each person walking she stared at them, wondering if they were who they seemed to be. For over an hour, all was quiet minus the occasional argument bellowing from the front of a liquor joint.

  “Shit!” she shuddered, the cold so mean it beat her about the lips, drying them within seconds. She pulled her scarf up higher, surveying her surroundings until something caught her eye…

  Several feet away, a man in a green windbreaker with shoulder length white hair stood in the middle of the road. His skin was the color of the damned snow. It was winter though, many of the Caucasians had lost their tans; hell, even some of the blacks looked bleached out, but the way he was standing there, just staring, rubbed her the wrong way and made her internal antennae stand at attention. She dug at her side and gripped her gun, while making her way towards him. He simply remained there, staring at her, his dark blue eyes shining oddly by the burst of Christmas lights from a nearby pub.

  “Hey, is there something wrong? Why are you in the street here?” she asked as she slowly approached him.

  He just stood there, smiling. The creepy bastard reminded her of some pale-faced jester, only, nothing was particularly funny. Just then, out from the pub poured another, then another. Her heart seemed to grow deep within her, the beating an internal pounding that bordered on painful. Before she knew it, there were over fifteen in the street, staring at her — all huddled together like a gang from the West Side story. She swallowed and stood still.

  Shit!

  She had no idea if she’d have time to reload. They were too damn close and worse yet, they were faster than her. Of this, she was certain of. She looked around; the street was almost dead, minus the pub that appeared disconcertingly quiet.

  “I am telling you all right now, turn around and go home.” She made sure her voice didn’t reflect her trepidation. Her soul told her loud and clear what the fuck they were: Yuledrakes. Some had dark hair, some slightly yellowed skin, but they shared a simil
ar ‘look’, one that if you are searching for the shit, you can connect the dots. They began to approach her, so she raised her gun, darting it around the slowly moving mass descending upon her like a melting jelly mold on a slope.

  Around her, a few people were digging the scene, just standing there taking it all in.

  “GO!” she yelled out to them, showing her badge. They scattered away, yelling a few expletives but heeded her order. When she turned back front and center, the sons of bitches were that much closer.

  “Stop!” She continued to move the gun around, and then in the distance, she heard feet pounding in her direction.

  “Jaaayyyymmmme!”

  She knew that voice, Xzion was close, but from the sound of it, not fucking close enough. When she focused back on the Yuledrakes, their faces showed they’d recognized the voice, too. They stopped moving towards her, but still hung out there, as if they didn’t give a shit that they may die. Just being there, making her squirm, was enough. She had no fear of shooting the damned things, but the apprehension emerged from knowing that once she shot at the first one, the others would move so fast, she may not live to tell the tale. She took a deep breath, said a silent prayer, pointed the gun to one in the front, right at its damn ribcage and sprayed that fucker with two well-placed bullets. The damned thing shrieked, and just as she suspected, they descended towards her, their faces morphing and tearing back — disengaging from their jaws, exposing those horrid fangs.

  She kept shooting and shooting, her nerves fucking her up, but not so bad that her aim was affected. Soon, she felt the slight-heat from a familiar form pressed hard against her back and his eye lit up that damn road better than any Christmas display she’d ever witnessed. She emptied her gun on another while he took the rest down like the sacks of shit that they were. When it was all over, silence filled the area. She looked at the dead aliens and realized, they were way more than she initially thought. It was as if they had been standing behind one another, still, like perfect nutcracker soldiers, doubling and tripling their numbers before her eyes.