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NOTE: The next chapter contains a sex scene. If you get offended by the use of obscene words, kindly skip the fourth scene of the next chapter.

samfrancis1:
why does it seems dry here... is anything happening that I don't know about? Abeg make everybody come back o

lonespectre:
no update na, our highly esteemed writer just left us wanting more

Sorry for this, the past few days has been really rough and hectic, I've not gotten a chance to sit, gather my thoughts and turn them into words. I promise to drop an update soon (possibly Friday) and keep the consistency from then till we are done with the book.

The story will also be completed soon(between 14-19 more chapters to go) and I really hope you all stick around till then

Sorry again for the silence. I hope you will all understand. Thanks

Missmossy:
Finally here this is my best story this year I’m spellbound!!! Zeke is the hero of this wonderful story undoubtedly. I can’t wait to see how things will unravel between Rachel,Nikita, Amy and Zion.

More inspiration and strength to the writer.

Welcome on board, hope you enjoy the ride while it lasts

YOUR COMMENTS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED!

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“So let me get this straight, you were made to join the guardian force because your father tried to take over the planet and failed and was considered a traitor for it.”

The girl in black nodded

Dan couldn’t believe his ears; things had taken a massive turnaround since he had been there. “When was such law put in place? I don’t remember any like it when I was still serving in the cabinet.” Dan spoke again, as his wife walked over with a tray containing glasses of water and handed it to the guardians that were very famished.

The girl in black also received a glass from Alicia and nodded her head in appreciation, placing it on the table in front of her. “A few years after you were sentenced, there was a massive tussle of power and the emerging rulers placed it to prevent and curb any further tussle or coup. It sent a message to anyone that wanted to partake in any; they wouldn’t be suffering the consequences alone, their families were also going to be partaking in it.”

Dan sighed. “And still Zion went ahead.” He shook his head. “Very typical of him, so adamant and full of himself. Even as a kid, he always had that nature of never giving up an idea once he had conceived it, and he never cared who had to take the fall for it.”

The girl in black stared at her uncle, it felt like he was talking about something else, but she was too weak and mentally exhausted to persist, she picked up the glass of water and took a gulp. Alicia walked back into the sitting room winked at Dan, he nodded back and she walked towards the girl in black and the other guardians.

“I know you must be exhausted and will want to freshen up. I have prepared a bath for you girls and a little dinner. The rooms are also ready too and as soon as you finish eating, you should have a good night’s rest. I figure whatever you are discussing can wait till tomorrow when you are fully rested.” She gave a warm smile.

Justin grunted loudly on the sofa that he had been lying on, getting the attention of every in the sitting room, he opened his eyes slowly turned to face them as they all stared at him. The girl in black felt relieved that he was finally up, it was beginning to feel like he would sleep the rest of his life away.

“Did somebody say food? “ He asked. “I’m really famished.”

*

Rachel placed another piece of wood into the fire and it made a crackle, she placed both hands over it and tried to get warm. It had been a long walk and dawn was beginning to fall on them. She felt physically exhausted but remained mentally refreshed because she finally had her hands on him. She had not yet decided what to do with him yet but one thing was clear, he was going to go through every extreme method she knew. While she dragged him, she had made an interesting observation; his open wounds were healing faster than normal and almost half of it had closed up, even though he still laid there weak. She knew this was very unusual and only happened in fairy tales of werewolves and their healing power, but here was somebody that made the myth a reality. She had to find a place to restrict him before he came into full strength and was able to fight back; it was only a matter of time now. She rubbed her palm together and her stomach grumbled loudly, she also needed to get something to eat and a place to lay her head for a while.

She had seen smoke coming out of a chimney earlier and figured that a town was not far ahead, she only needed to recuperate for a while before proceeding. She stood up and walked towards him, running her eyes over him. His breathing had stabilized now and his eyes were slightly opened. He murmured something and she bent beside him.

“You’re thirsty?” She asked.

His response was inaudible and she chuckled.

“Well you’re not getting anything, you have lost that privilege. From now you are mine and will only get what I want you to.”

She felt the huge to smack his face at that moment and it took all her will to stop herself. Maybe it would be better to end him there in the woods and return. She heard a horse neigh not far away and the creak of a carriage wheel and she thought to herself that maybe she didn’t have to do all the work after all. She got to her feet and walked away towards the noise.

She walked out of the wood onto a narrow road and found an old man riding a carriage. She stood in his path forcing him to bring his carriage to an abrupt stop. He stared at her in anger, taken aback by what had just happened.

“Are you blind.” He screamed in her direction.

She felt relieved; at least he spoke in English. She didn’t have the time to get into negotiations with him. She shut her eyes and could hear whispers from his head; she easily penetrated into his head and had control of it. She opened her eyes and the anger that had been on his face had disappeared instantly; he stared at her like a puppy.

“Where are you headed to?” She asked.

“The town.” He replied.

She sighed. “I am going to be riding on your carriage.” She stated blatantly. “Get down from your carriage and give me a hand.” She spoke, disappearing into the wood, in the direction she had come from.

*

The chopper finally landed and Nikita was led out by some men, bending over to prevent the wind the chopper blew from sucking her hair in. She was led into the large building by the men and it looked like a mega hotel, only that she knew it wasn’t a hotel. As they approached the segment reserved for elevators, her phone vibrated in her hands and she turned to look at the caller. It was a familiar number, and seeing it startled her. She raised her head to ascertain if her actions had attracted any attention to her, but the men that led her had their head turned in the direction they were moving towards. She quickly shut the screen and put her phone on silent, wondering why her dad had suddenly chosen to call her at that hour, even though she had told him to lay low and that she would be the one to call when she had something to tell him. She sighed, joining the men in the elevator.

*

The door to the tavern bashed in open and Rachel could see men and women of different calibre in it. It was just dawn and they were all drinking themselves to stupor as the women among them sat on men legs, pouring them more drinks and feeding them. She turned to look around, wondering why the man had said that this was the closest thing they had to a hotel in the town. She walked into the tavern and towards the man behind the counter as the others in room made noises and some tried to drag her hand.

“Join me here LovePeddler.” One shouted in her direction but she chose to ignore him.

The man behind the counter walked towards her. “How may I help you?” He asked.

She turned to look around again before returning her gaze to him.

“I hear you have rooms for rent.”

He stared at her for a while. “What kind of room do you want, small, medium or large?”

“Large will do, I am moving in with someone.” She replied.

The man kept his gaze on her before walking away towards a pile of keys. He returned to her and placed it on the counter. “That would cost you four hundred Ruble a night.”

Rachel nodded and placed a five thousand Ruble note on the counter. “I don’t know how long we will be in for, but you can keep the change.” She picked up the key as the man took the note.

“One more thing...” He spoke and Rachel turned back to him. “.. make sure ya’ll keep the mourn noises low.” He said, moving on to another customer.

Rachel smiled as a joke played in her head. “We sure will.” She replied turning back to walk away.

*

The elevator door opened and Nikita stepped out of it with the men that were leading her in. They were on the other side of the building and it was unusual for her to go there, her phone vibrated again and she quickly silenced it, walking with the men into a room. They turned to look at her.

“They will be joining you shortly.” One of them spoke and they both walked out of the room, leaving her to the silence of it.

Her phone vibrated again and she decided to take the call. She turned to look at the corners of the room to see if there were any camera, but there wasn’t, she took a few steps away from the door towards the window and pushed the receive button, covering the mouthpiece.

“I told you I will call you, why are you calling?” She whispered angrily into the mouthpiece. She received no response from the other side, prompting her to slow down.

She pulled the phone off her ears to look at the screen, the call icon was still there and timer was still counting. She placed it on her ears again.

“Are you there?” She asked. There was still no response. She sighed and cut the call angrily.

“Are you okay?” A familiar voice sounded from behind her, startling her.

She turned quickly and her she missed two heartbeats, she prayed he hadn’t heard her and had only just come into the room.

“I am fine.” She replied. “Just some issues from the site.”

Zion cleared his throat and made it for one of the chairs in the room, nodding her to take a sit. Nikita walked slowly towards one and slipped her phone into her pocket.

“The takeover started early this morning as we wanted to have the element of surprise by our side and so far, around eighty countries have had their government dissolved. We encountered brute forces when we tried to take down countries like China and the United States, and although the United state has finally fallen, China still hangs by a thread. They are isolated of course and have had most of their man power and weapons used up, they cannot also call on other countries for help because most of them have fallen and none of the countries they have a treaty with is standing. But I fear for our mission, they might feel betrayed and go after our tower in the country and you know how long we built the tower for and how important it is for our final goal. I have decided to send you over there to make sure that the next attack is successful.”

Nikita frowned. “But this was not what we had discussed, you promised to send me to Russia to control the tower there” She argued.

“Yes I did, but that was because I didn’t project this hitch, part of the issue came from the analysis you submitted, you never pointed that they had hidden fourth grade ballistic weapons that shot ten millimetre bullets. A lot of my soldiers fell and you’re responsible for it too.”

Nikita scoffed. “I think you are beginning to forget that I am your partner in this, and one of your black eyed creatures that you throw around when you feel like. I don’t think I have to remind you why we became partners and what I hold over you.”
Zion stood to his feet, burning in anger; he stared at her and spoke in a cold voice. “And that is the reason I let you live even after you killed Shelby. You don’t know how bad I wanted to push your eyeballs into you head and scatter the sulci and gyri of your brain around the room.”

His statement shocked Nikita. So he knew about it after all and decided to say nothing, she wondered if he also knew that the boy was not dead too. A part of her anger washed away, but she was not going to back down easily. She was in a dilemma between her feelings and what she had wanted when she decided to join him.

Zion took his seat and a short silence ensued. “My source tells me that the guardians are not fully dead and are somewhere in the wood of Nyra. There is no sign of the boy, and I think the missile got him this time, guess we have to wait for Rachel to confirm that.” He raised his head to her again and she scoffed.

“You’ve been tracking me?” She asked irritated.

“I like to know what my partners are up to.” He responded. “The chopper will be here soon to take you over there. This time, I hope you come clean.” He stood up. “I have to go now, I have nations to address.”

Nikita watched him leave the room. She knew that look on his face and knew that she had to secure it’s location, it’s was the only leverage she had. She really needed to get across to her father now. She stood and walked out of the room, making a mental note to call as soon as she was out of the building.

*

Zion walked through the corridor and was soon joined by the head of his security detail.

“Did you get his location?” He asked.

“No, but we have successfully installed the malware. We will get the location the next time they contact each other.”

Zion nodded and kept walking through the corridor.

“You gave it to her, why do you want to get it back now?” The head of security detail asked.

“She is too unstable to be in possession of something that could jeopardize this whole mission. I would rather it be destroyed.”

“But you know she would not let it go without fighting as it is the only thing that is keeping her in this.” The head of security detail pointed out.

“Oh, I’m counting on that.” Zion replied as he pushed open another door.

*

The girl in black rolled on her bed and stared out of the window, it was almost dawn and she had not been able to sleep throughout the night. She couldn’t stop herself from feeling guilty for the lives they had lost in the course of the mission, and something in her prayed that Zeke had survived the blast. She stood from the bed and stared at the other guardians who were fast asleep, sighing, she got up from the bed and walked out of the room towards the living room, she found the entrance wide open and saw her uncle sitting outside. She grabbed a bottle of water and decided to join him.

“Good morning.” Her uncle spoke even without turning making her wonder how he knew she was there. “Couldn’t sleep?” He asked and this time he turned to look at her.

She nodded and walked to another seat and fell on it opening the bottled water.

“Well, that is something that is peculiar to our family; we are never able to rest when we have something lingering in our minds.” He sighed and returned his gaze to the horizon. “We have a lot to discuss, first, what do you have on Zion’s movement here?”

*

I opened my eyes slowly, discovering that I was no longer in the woods, but now in a room and tied up to a chair. I was no longer as weak as I had been and finally had a little strength. My wounds no longer hurt anymore and most of it, from the look of things had healed completely –another thing I had discovered during the time I was away from the rest of the crew. I looked around, wondering where the lady I had seen earlier had gone and what she wanted from me. She had a burning anger for me and I didn’t know why.

As if she was listening to me, she walked into the room, smiling as soon as she saw me. “You are finally awake.” She spoke and dropped what she was carrying. “I think we can get started now.”

I stared at her, wondering what she was all about. “Who are you?” I asked and she chuckled leaving me further confused.

She walked towards me, the smirk still on her face. “Now, that’s a rather complicated question. I know you, but you don’t know me. You took someone from me and I am also going to end you too, but very slowly.” She turned to look at my chest. “I see you heal well.”

I was left at a lost again, what did she mean by I took someone from her? Was she a relative to one of the soldiers back in Australia and had decided to hunt me down ever since? The world was at its breaking point and here she was, trying to feast on a pointless agenda.

She scoffed. “You think what I am doing is pointless?”

Her question left me shocked. “How....”

“You might have heard about us from your circus, the hunters? Yes, I am one of them.”

It was beginning to make sense now, she was an enemy. But I still couldn’t figure out what I had taken from her.

She stood up and whirled in anger. “Shelby.” She screamed. “She gave you her love and you killed her like she didn’t matter. You are a pig that doesn’t deserve to live.”

I scoffed. “Shelby?” And memories began to play in my head. I still hadn’t wrapped my head around her death. I turned back to the lady and gave her a questioning look. “Were both of you...”

“Shut up.” She walked towards me and grabbed my mouth. ”Never interrupt me.”

I chuckled as soon as she let me go. “If you are one of the gifted, then you must be Rachel. I have heard a lot about you and held you at a high place but it’s obvious that you are dumber than you look. Beautiful, but with no brains.”

She snapped and charged at me, hitting me hard on the cheek and sending me to the floor, still tied to the chair.

“I told you to never interrupt me!”

I chuckled again on the floor, blood slowly rolling out of my mouth. She hit well for a female and her aggression was something I loved, it reminded me of the girl in black. She rolled me back to sitting position and glared at me.

“Well, I know you are capable of reading minds and also replaying things that occurred. I’m here, so why not take a minute to look through mine, or are you scared that you are not strong enough to take a peek in my head?”

“And why do I have to do that?” She questioned angrily.

“Well, I could tell you I didn’t kill her, but you wouldn’t believe me, so I figure this is the best alternative.”

She stared at me again, contemplating. She finally decided and had her gaze fixed on me and her eyes slowly shut. I watched her for a while as she struggled to hold on, I could also feel her in my head and it tickled. I kept my gaze on her until she opened her eyes and glared at me in shock. I didn’t know what she was thinking at that point, I could see the shock and betrayal in her eyes and I wondered if she had been told that I was responsible just to have her go at me. I highly suspected Nikita, she was always behind every confusion. My stomach groaned and my nose caught the scent of what she had brought it, my mouth watering.

*

Rachel stared at Zeke, not knowing what to do, all the rage she had nurtured had been directed at the wrong person while the real culprit took a piss all over her. She was furious and that was an understatement, she felt like she would burst in any minute and hated herself for being easily gullible. How could she have let Nikita use her all these while without trying to figure out why she found it hard to penetrate through her mind. She was really dumb like he had earlier stated and had been so foolish all along. She really needed some fresh air and she turned towards the door, ignoring his call for her to hand him some of what she had brought in. She walked out of the room and banged it loudly behind her.

shesawesome:
update

Sazzy07:
Bloda FrankLine any updates

In a bit

AN UPDATE WOULD BE DROPPING LATER IN THE DAY.
Stay tuned!!

EbonyQueen001:
Wow!

This is out of this world.

I am gobsmacked.

Keep it up bro.

Work on your write ups too, noticed some errors, otherwise, this is beyond superb.

The storyline, suspense, twists and thrills.

Wow!

Thanks for reading. Yeah, I also see the errors when I try to read through after posting.

No time to proofread because of time. Thanks again.

I appreciate it

ijawcitizen:
Frankline461 on fire!

Lakesc:
Thanks for the update...

Thanks for following

jupitre:
Seems this Dan is a good person.. But we can't know unless we hear his own side of the story... Nice one bro

Thanks man

Sorry that there was not an update on Sunday as usual, really dived into the Endsars protest going on. Promise to get more than one through in the next few days. Thanks for following and being patient.

Khriztarl:
Awwwn. I missed you too.
LOL.
yeah i'm fine. I've been quite busy. But, trust me. I'm following every step of the way.

Alright. Stay safe, and hope whatever is keeping you busy is rewarding

YOUR COMMENTS ARE HIGHLY APPRECIATED!

DEDICATED TO EVERY NIGERIAN OUT THERE PUTTING THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO END THIS MENACE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
#ENDSARS

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Justin opened his eyes slowly and found that he was moving, he still felt drowsy from the force the rock had exerted on his head back in the cave and he struggled to keep his eyes opened for long. He blinked and it took a while for his eyes to finally open again, and when it did, he saw the lady’s face clearly this time and concluded that if she was not the reaper assigned to take his soul to the other side, he might have just miraculously survived that a nuclear explosion. That was definitely going on his CV when he finally got on his feet again and everything was back to normal. He watched her slowly turn to him and said something that sounded like echoes to him. Her head soon shifted from the sun’s focus and its intensity was too much for his weak eyes to hold, his gaze slowly faded away and he went blank again.

*

The girl in black coughed loudly and rolled over the sheet she was being carried on to the ground, making a loud thud. She grunted and held her abdomen in pain as some footsteps hurried in her direction. Somebody bent beside her and held her gently on her arm and she rolled slowly to look at her face. It was her again, and suddenly, memories flooded through her head. She immediately got to her feet, knocking the lady’s hand off her, she stared at the other guardians and they all looked famished and were covered with dirt and dust from their head down, as they all struggled to hold on to a bag. The lady signalled one of them, and she walked towards them, pulling out a bottle of a greenish liquid substance from the bag and handing it to the lady. The lady received it and stretched it to the girl in black.

“I know it’s been a very long time you were able to replenish your strength. Take this; it is part the things we were able to salvage from the spaceship.”

The girl in black raised her hand weakly and received it, popping the cap open and gulping down its content hurriedly. She pulled the bottle away from her mouth as she began to feel revitalized almost immediately. She handed the container back to the lady and turned to look around again, she found Justin being carried in another stretcher like her own. She turned back to the lady.

“How long was I out for?”

“Two earth days.” The lady replied, throwing the container to one of the guardians.

“What!” The girl in black exclaimed. She took another look at the guardians and suddenly realized that their numbers had reduced, they were missing three. She turned again and realized that Zeke was also nowhere to be found.

“Where is he?” She asked, raising her voice. “Where is the boy?”

The lady sighed and gave the girl in black a frustrated look.

“After the explosion, we went back to the site to find him, but there was no trace of him anywhere. We searched for hours and looked everywhere but still found no clue. We were about leaving when one of the guardians found this.” A guardian placed a piece of material in her opened hand and she handed it over to the girl in black.

The girl in black stared at the piece of material for a while, it was from the cloth Zeke had worn that day, parts of it were burnt and there was bloodstain on it. She shook her head, refusing to believe it.

“It’s not possible, you don’t know him. Zeke would never die that easy, he has withstood worse and conquered. We have to go back to the blast site to find him. I’m sure he is right there waiting for us.” She gripped the material and walked past the lady, moving in an opposite direction to where they had been coming from.

“Do you even know where you are?” The lady asked sighing. “In case you forgot, you have been unconscious for two long days and it has taken two days to get to where we are now. Even if he had somehow survived that blast, which I highly doubt, he would have been without food and water for two days and for another two days that it would take you to get to him. I told you, we searched everywhere for him, he is nowhere to be found.”

The girl in black stopped walking as she fought to hold back the tears that were crawling out of her eyes. The pain was becoming too much and driving her insane, she felt incapable, incapable of continuing, incapable of finishing the job and just wanted it all over. She let out a stiff cry and bent, covering her face with the palm of her hand.

The lady walked over to her slowly, patting her on the back. “I know I didn’t get the opportunity to know him, but giving himself just so we would make it is not something a fallen would do...”

The girl in black stood up angrily, cutting her. She stared at her dead in the eyes. “And yet you tagged him one even before you got to know him, you even almost had him killed and still he gave his life just to make sure that you got to safety.”

“Yes, and as you can see, he was not the only one that died in the process, I also lost three good soldiers.” The lady countered.

The girl in black scoffed. “Zephrain, Tver and Irunsk would still be here if you had not been so damn stubborn and had listened to him. He would also be here too.”

The lady remained silent as the girl in black’s word hit her; she placed both hands on her waist and turned away. She finally sighed. “I agree and I take the blame for it. Right now, we only have one option and we have to hurry if we hope to make it before nightfall.”

The girl in black stared at her. “What other option do we have, we seemed to have ran out of those a very long time ago.”

“No, there is still one.” The lady reiterated. “After the elders found out of the escape, they contacted Orca and finally got all the details on the escape. It turns out Zion was not the only higher fallen to have escaped that day.”

“What? So you are trying to tell me that there are not one, but two psychopath on the loose here.” She gave an ironic chuckle. “Perfect.”

“The other higher fallen is Dan.” She stated.

The girl in black was lost of words. She walked slowly towards the lady. “Dan, my Uncle Dan?”

”Yes Amy, it was discovered that your uncle also escaped that night and is also here, keeping a low profile. We are on our way to him and should arrive at his location before sunset.”

*

Rachel walked through the silent desert, her scarf flying behind her to the effect of the wind that was blowing across the land. She looked ahead and could finally see it, the blast site. She took a deep breath and walked towards it, dragging her legs against the pile of sand as they sank in with every stride. She finally arrived at the site and stood at a distance, looking around and staring at the scene they had been watching on the screen two days ago; it looked far wider than it had been on the screen. She turned to her left and found the remains of the cave they had taken shelter in, it had collapsed and there was no way in to confirm the bodies, but that was not the main reason she was there.

She walked toward the point of impact and found what was left of the missiles they had launched. She raised the shell and took a look at it before throwing it back to the floor. She took another look at the site and realized that searching through would take a lot of time, time she didn’t have since it took more time than estimated to get to the blast site. Transportation and even communication through the country had been grounded due to the waves that had rocked the world and even electricity was now something that they couldn’t afford anymore. She pulled out the package Nikita had given her and tore it open. She walked over to the rock and placed it on it and she slowly ran her hand over it, shutting her eyes to fully concentrate.

Images played in her head and she saw flashes of them. They were no longer in the desert and were far away from the blast site. She turned around and counted them. The guardian was alive, she could see some of the others carrying the thinker in a stretcher, but there was no sign of him anywhere. She opened her eyes slowly and sighed. She knew where they were and would go after them in due time, but she needed to know where he was, and if he was dead, she also needed to know.

She placed the piece of clothing back into the package and turned around. She walked towards the blast site again and searched for a while, her eyes caught something on one of the missile part and she quickly picked it up; it was a stain of dried blood. She picked it up and used her fingers to scratch it off, placing it on her tongue and she ran her tongue on it as she shut her eyes. She received another wave of flashes, and this time she required more strength to concentrate as the images rip her of every bit of it. She quickly opened her eyes and exhaled loudly as she fell to the ground. She tried to catch her breath as she stared at the ground with both hands to support her, a smile slowly forming on her lips. He was alive after all, a quite resilient and stubborn one, but he was badly wounded, so wounded that he might not even make it for long now, but she had other things in mind for him. He was not far from her and this time; she was going to have him all to herself.

*

Zion sat in a office, looking outside the window deep into the sky, lost in his thoughts. He longed for it now, a return to his world and to the woman he loved, and he was going to do it in a grand style. His heart cringed and he felt the bottomless hole in it get even further deeper. She had decided to expunge herself and end her life when she had found out what he was. Even though he had lied to her from the beginning about who he was and behaved like any normal human, he felt guilt in himself and couldn’t help but tell her what he was, he even went as far as showing her what he could do, thinking the love they shared was strong enough to handle it, but she flipped and panicked and that was the beginning of the end for them. That was the last time they spoke, and even though he searched all over for her, he couldn’t find her. It took five years for him to get anything about her and when he did, he discovered that she had died two years ago.

The pain he felt at that moment was too much to bear and flipped a switch in him, he decided at that moment that he was never going to get involved with anyone, human or fallen and would only concentrate on his mission. Such a lonely path he had chosen, but even years after, he still couldn’t get his mind of her.

The door to the room opened , dragging him out of his head and a man walked otwards him.

“We were able to finally secure a connection with the tower and have Nikita on the line. We are communicating on a radio frequency and you might find i hard to hear her sometimes, but this is the highest we can do now.”

Zion stretched and received the device, he turned to look at the man and he quickly excused himself. He cleared his throat and returned his gaze to the sky.

“Can you hear me.” He spoke into the receiver.

There was a little crackle before her voice came through. “Yes I can.”

“How did it go?” He asked.

There was a little silent before Nikita voice came again. “We launched the missile and we are looking through images to determine the height of damage.”

Zion sighed. “You will have to leave that to the guys there, I have something else for you.” He spoke. “We are moving the plan up and are going to start taking over power in the countries. I am going to be creating one centralized government for earth and will rule over that post. The old fallen and the new arrivals have all been briefed and the plan will be initiated tomorrow. I expect it to go smoothly, but I want you here to be in charge of curbing the resistance that will arise from it. Even if the government is wiped out, I don’t expect the people to take it lying and i don’t want anything interfering with the day of alignment which is in two weeks.”

There was another crackle from the other side and he heard Nikita say something inaudible. He stared at the device and sighed, such piece of crap.

“Do you read me?” He asked

“Yes, I will finish up here and leave Rachel to handle things there while I resume. She will join us later. I have to go now, my attention is needed.” She spoke and ended the call.

Zion placed the device on his desk, smiling. He clicked on a button and the door opened immediately. The man that had come in earlier walked to him, picking up the device.

“Do we still have eyes on Rachel?” He asked.

“Yes.” The man replied. “The tracker indicates that she is still in Russia, somewhere in the desert.”

Zion nodded and raised his hand to signal him out of his office, he turned back to the sky and resumed his daydream.

*

Dan walked into to the bedroom, holding a tray with a glass of water on it. He smiled as soon as he found his wife and his kid cuddling on the bed. His wife also smiled as soon as she saw him and sat down right. She collected the tray from him and picked the glass from it.

“If I knew you could be this sweet, I would have been constantly pretending to be sick.”

They both chuckled and Dan sat by the edge of the bed. “Don’t bank on it.” He said, planting a kiss on her forehead as she drank from the glass.

“Yucks.” His son mumbled, covering his eyes and they all burst into another frenzy of laughter.

The alarm from the sitting room beeped loudly and this alerted Dan, but he didn’t want to worry his wife that still felt weak.

“What’s that?” His wife asked, placing the glass on the tray by the side of the bed.

“Nothing.” He said as he stood up. “I will be right back.” He walked out of the room, shutting the door.

Alicia knew that look on her husband face and knew that something was wrong. She grabbed their son and pulled him to her, holding him tightly. “It will be fine.” She said worried.

Dan hurried into the kitchen and pulled the shelf away, exposing a hidden cabinet of guns. He pulled out a shotgun and hurried out of the kitchen towards the door. The alarm had rung multiple times, and it meant that there was more than one trespasser. He walked to his front door and peeped towards the window. He saw them, walking towards his cabin and decide that if he remained inside while confronting them, it would alert his wife. He opened his door and stepped outside pointing his shotgun at them.

“Stop there”. He spoke.

They stopped and he stared at them, they were all females. One of them caught his attention; she looked like his little cousin. He had not seen her in ages and she was quite older than she had been when he saw her last, but the resemblance was striking. She stepped forward and also stared at him curiously.

“I said do not move.” He said again.

“Uncle?” She called out and he realized that he had been right, but how was she there at that moment.

She walked towards him and pushed his gun down, staring at his face.

“It’s really you.” She said, throwing her hand over him and hugging him.

It was really her. He had a lot of questions, but he decided to leave it for later as he placed his hand on her back. It felt good to finally meet a familiar face.

*

The wind blew cold in the dead of the night, but nothing was going to stop her now. The dust blew across her face and she found it hard to move and even harder to breathe, but she still moved, pulling the weight behind her. She finally had him to herself and the joy of the moment was mightier than the chills the cold night sent through her skin. She stopped and turned back to look at him. He was lying there on the missile part she had placed him on, his breath was shallow and weak and he had burn marks that were healing slowly all over his body. He was really what they had said he was, hard hearted and resilient, but she was going to make sure he didn’t take the easiest way out. She turned and faced the road, she still had a long way ahead of her, and she was going to cover it all through the night. She sighed and continued, pulling his weight slowly as she moved.

An update dropping soon. Stay tuned!

Really appreciate your comments.
An update will be dropping on Friday as usual, thanks for following

enirock:
The battle for earths survival. We wait. Thanks for the update. I believe Dan should be a guardian who has been down here tracking Zion and creating a means/antidote to expunge/kill/get rid of fallen from the host/human, without killing the host. I won't be shocked if he's Zekes dad.

enirock, man is always almost good with the comments.

Thanks for following man

Khriztarl:
So who's Dan?
thanks frankie

Hey Khriztarl, been a while I've seen a comment. Hope you're fine?

Sorry it's coming late!

Here we go

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“The cores are weakening.” One of the operators shouted over to Zion.

He stared at the screen as the levels dropped rapidly and sighed, at least it had done most of what it had been programmed to do.

“How long have we been on?” He asked.

“Two minutes and thirty-four seconds, and counting sir.” The operator replied.

He took a step forward as a wide grin appeared at the side of his mouth. Orca must have been hit by surprise and he could only imagine the faces of the elders when they realized that all the troubles they thought they had put behind was only beginning to start. This was only the beginning of the things he had planned for years, and he felt more fulfilled than ever that it was finally becoming a reality.

“Start the protocol for the dome and get me an update from the other mission that Nikita is handling.”

“Okay sir.” The operator returned to his PC and clicked rapidly into it.

“It’s confirmed, the first and second wave has hit ground Africa, Asia, Australia and in Europe, we have had the first wave in America but I am not sure we have enough energy in the core to facilitate the second wave.” Another operator shouted out.

Zion sighed, his hand behind his back, he had hoped to be in full strength by the time this was over, but with this, he was going to be short of around one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers that the second wave carried, he wasn’t bothered though, the numbers that had already arrived was more than enough to defend the planet and go with him as he conquered the world.

“We are active and waiting for your order to initiate the dome.” The previous operator spoke.

“And the update from Nikita?”

“We are having issues securing a connection with their tower due to the waves, but the last time we spoke, they said they were on course.”

Zion turned to look at the screen one more time. “Activate the dome.”

*

Dan drove in front of his house and brought the car to an abrupt stop. He pulled his seatbelt off his chest and turned to his son, panting.

“I want you to stay in this car and lock the doors as soon as I step out of here. If anyone comes near the car, I want you to scream out on top of your lungs. Can you do that?” He asked.

His son nodded and he cleared his throat. “Okay, I will go in now to grab mom. On no occasion should you unlock the car without seeing me.” He opened the door and stepped out of the car. He quickly shut it behind him and knocked on the window; his son took it as the cue and locked the door from the inside.

Dan hurried towards the house, turning to look around at the chaos that was ensuing on the street. His neighbour was on the street pointing his shot gun at a man that was trying to break into his house, he could also see some bodies lying on the ground and people fighting. He turned the door knob as quickly as he could and entered into the house.

“Alicia.” He called out as he walked into the kitchen to find her.

The kitchen was empty and he quickly hurried out of it and ran towards the bedroom.

“Alicia.” He called out louder but still received no response.

He pulled opened the door to the bedroom and was startled by his wife sitting in front of the wall mirror, running her hand over her hair.

“Didn’t you hear me call for you?” He spoke angrily walking towards the wardrobe and dragging a box out as he quickly placed some clothes into the box. “Pack what you can carry, it has started and we need to get out of here now. We will move upstate to the cabin and stay there for a while till we figure out Zion’s exact plans.”

He shut the wardrobe and reached up to his rack of shoes, dragging two snickers and dumping them into his bag, quickly shutting it. He turned back and found his wife still sitting in front of the wall mirror, running her hands over her hair. He stared at her for a while in disbelief and walked towards her, grabbing her by her shoulders and turning her to look at him. He received a nerve wrecking shock when he saw her face. He quickly took some steps back, it had been a while since he had come face to face with a fallen and the image they took on arrival on earth wasn’t one that he was going to get used to anytime soon. He stared at her face for a while as he thought of his next step but this was cut short as she attacked him, jumping on him and sending him rolling to the ground.

He quickly avoided the next attack that was directed at his face and got to his feet. His skills were getting rusty because he had not put them in use for a while but he knew had to be careful if he was going to get her back in one piece. He turned to look over to his bag and realized that he was standing on the opposite side; he had to get to it. He stared her again and sighed, what audacity the fallen possessed, deciding to share the body as his wife. He took a step forward, and dodged another attack, quickly gripping both hands and sending her spiralling to the wall of the room. He quickly walked towards the bag and pulled out a small bag, he opened and picked out one syringe just in time to another scratch attack on his back. He rolled over on his bed and quickly caught her by her legs, sending her to the floor, he jumped on her and sent the syringe into her neck.

He held her to the floor as she went unconscious and placed her on the bed, sighing, he placed both hands on her head and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes as he mumbled something. He opened his eyes hoping it worked, but he couldn’t wait to find out. He lifted her off the bed, and placed her over his shoulders, he picked up the bag and walked out of the room. He walked out of the house and hurried towards the car, he knocked on the window and his son opened the door. He quickly placed her in the back seat and entered into the driver’s seat, starting the cr.

“What’s wrong with mom?” His son asked.

“Nothing, she just needs to rest for now.” He replied as he drove off.

*

Nikita stared intently at the screen as she watched the heat map disappear into the rocks. He turned to the operator.

“How far does the after wave of the missile go?” She asked.

“Enough to bury them under the rock, I don’t think they can survive this.” The operator responded.

Rachel took a step forward, her gaze still on the screen. “How did they figure out that a missile was heading in their direction?”

“A device connection was detected some seconds ago.” One of the operators responded.

“No.” Rachel nodded her head. “How did they know to turn on the device to check for the missile?” She moved further toward the screen. “There.” She pointed at a heat map that was not bulging from its position on the screen. “What is that?”

“We have incoming.” Another operator announced.

“What is that?” Nikita asked.

The operator zoomed into the image that they got from the camera on the drone. “A rock?”

“Zoom in on that.” Rachel ordered, pointing to something under the boulder of rock that was flying towards the missile.

The operator obeyed and zoomed in, the image became clearer and Rachel smiled when she saw his face.

“Somebody finally heard my prayers.” She smiled wickedly.

*

Justin pointed the torch of his tablet toward the path they were taking, his gaze placed on his timer that was steadily counting down. There was a loud explosion that reverberated through the walls of the cave, prompting an earthquake in the tunnel, he could hear the other guardians ahead scream as they all couldn’t maintain their stance. They tried to hold on to something to prevent being thrown around but most were unsuccessful, including the lady that now had the girl in black placed on her, he turned on the backlight of his tablet and realized that the explosion had gone off about four seconds earlier that projected and he wondered what changed. The lady in front of him was also having a hard time maintaining her balance and the girl in black’s weight worsened her situation, he turned off his flash as rock particles began falling into the cave and hurried towards her to help her stand.

“We have to get out of here, I don’t think the cave would be able to withstand the aftershock of the second explosion.” He shouted and placed both hands on the girl in black as they moved again.

His effort was quickly made futile as the second explosion went off and the aftershock sent him to the opposite side of the cave and he hit his head hard on a rock particle, making him partially unconscious. He groaned in pain as he felt something trickle down his face as his vision suddenly became distorted and he couldn’t concentrate on anything as more rocks fell in and the whole cave was becoming a dust house. His torch fell on the lady that had been carrying the girl in black and he discovered that she had dropped her on the other side of the cave and was pulling something off her arm. He tried to say something but couldn’t just as oblivion slowly took over. Before his eyes finally shut, he saw the lady hurry over to him, shouting something that he couldn’t put together as she pulled his hand and was placing something over it. Light out.

*

“Damage report.” Nikita asked as soon as she watched the explosion go off and the whole screen went blank.

One of the quickly pulled up satellite images of the crash site. “The missile was intercepted around three hundred metres off the ground, I put the damage at around sixty-eight percent at least.”

Nikita grunted furiously. “That’s not good enough.” She screamed. “That means there is still a thirty-eight percent chance that they survived.”

“Yes, but that is still a rather daunting percentage when it comes to nuclear weapons, even if the explosion does not kill them directly, there is still a factor of the rocks and the radiation doing the job. What you can be certain is that whoever it was that was behind that boulder won’t be making it.”

Nikita scoffed. “You don’t know his capability.”

“Send me.”

Nikita turned to look at Rachel wondering if she had heard right, as she hoped she had. “What?”

“Let me go to the site of the crash, I would finish the job if there is anyone remaining and confirm if they are all dead and accounted for before returning. If they escaped and left the site already, I can always find them with this.” She gesculated at the package Nikita had given her earlier. “I will always know where they are so far he is with them.”

Nikita felt fulfilment run through her spine, this had been the reason she had brought her along, to do the dirty job in case he was alive and she had quickly taken the bait without convincing.

“I don’t think you would find the body of whoever drove that boulder though.” The operator reiterated. Nikita shot him a glance and he quickly turned to face the screen.

“I don’t think Zion would be okay with this though.” She feigned worried so that it would go in the books that she had tried to stop her if things went sideways.

“This is what we have been trained to do for over ten years I would never be more ready than I am now to be a true hunter. I am equipped and we also have the surprise factor. They won’t even know what hit them.”

Nikita sighed and turned to the screen. “If this is what you want, I don’t think I can stop you. You have to leave now and return in two days before we finally join Zion and the others. I will keep this from him and try to stall while you finish the job.” She said, her gaze on the screen.

Rachel nodded and made to leave.

“And Rachel....” Nikita called out before she stepped out of the room. “...if he survived, make sure he pays for what he did to her. Finish the job this time.” She added.

Rachel nodded, gripping the package tightly and smiling before leaving the room.

*

“The dome is set.”

Zion smiled and walked past everyone to the front of the room, his gaze still on the large screen. He shut his eyes and muttered something. He opened them and its color had suddenly changed.

Xiu turned to Mason as they watched Zion

“Do you feel that?” He whispered.

“Yes I do.” Mason replied.

“It’s the same feeling we got before Shelby died and I have a bad feeling about it.” Xiu said folding his hands.

“You don’t need to; I don’t think there is any irregularity that can hinder him now. Notice how he didn’t make a fuss about Shelby dying? At this point, we are also dispensable.” He returned his gaze to Zion.

shesawesome:
And why the hell did you have to quote me to type this?

annayawchee:
and why the hell did you have to quote everything to Type that?

Oya, don't fight please. It was a mistake and I also understand your frustration.
Let's move on now. Thanks

I promised an update yesterday but couldn't put it up because of light issues. As soon as I get light to power up my laptop, I would post it.

Sorry for the inconvenience

YOUR COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED!
Another update would be dropping today, stay tuned!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Dan grunted as he struggled to keep hold of the multiple bags he was carrying, he reached for his pocket and pulled out his key, he sorted through the bunch of keys to pick out the boot key, but it slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

“A little help here.” He spoke in frustration.

He remained silent waiting for a response but none came, groaning again, he rolled his eyes and walked towards the car.

“Don’t tell me you have that thing plugged into your ears again.” He spoke as he bent to take a look into the opened back seat.

He was surprised to find the seat empty and he looked further through the car but there was no one in it. He frowned and decided that the groceries weren’t the major concern at that moment as he squeezed them into the back sit and stood up, staring at the parking lot and wondering where his son had gone. He could see some people gathering some few metres away, just outside the garage, their gaze all up as they stared at something in the sky with keen interest. He shut the door to his car and picked up the key that had fallen and decided to check if his son was part of the mini crowd. He had not taken up to five steps in their direction when he found him, his ears plugged in as he looked up into the sky; he joined them and walked towards his son, gently pulling the earpiece out of his ears.

“What did we say about disappearing without telling anyone where you were going to?” He asked as calmly as he could, trying to hide the bit of frustration lingering in him.

His son frowned a little in protest to him removing the earpiece without asking first but decided to let it go as he returned his gaze to what he had been staring out. Dan scoffed in frustration, children had not been his strong point and having one of his own was not something he had planned for when he did. Love overcomes all, they had said. He sighed and followed his son’s gaze, trying to figure out what he had been staring out and he saw it.

The dark sky shone brightly as rays pierced through it, he felt uneasy watching it and almost immediately, there was a loud bang in the sky and everyone took cover as they watched with keen interest for the next event. Almost on cue, they saw a plane fly just a few metres over them, crashing into the tall building that stood few miles away. This was the cue they needed to figure out that something unsual was happening as chaos broke and everyone tried to flee the scene to find somewhere safe. Dan wasn’t left out, he quickly grabbed his ten year old son and ran towards his car as another explosion went off. He threw his son into the front sit and slid over the bonnet to the driver’s seat.

“Put your sit belt on.” He ordered, starting the car.

His ten year old son slowly dragged the seat belt and placed it over his body. “What’s happening?” He asked as the seat belt clicked.

“Nothing.” Dan said, driving out of the garage. “We have to find mom, and I want you to put your hands over your face and shut your eyes as you count from hundred backwards, we will be home before you finish.” He said as he drove into the street and zoomed off, trying his best to avoid the people that ran into the streets to get to safety.

*

“We can confirm activity on site.” One of the operators announced to Nikita.

She smiled and turned to Rachel. “It’s time.” She turned to the operator that was controlling the drone. “Let it rain.”

The operator turned to the screen and popped open a key on his controller, he moved the drone forward towards the figures on the screen and hit the key.

“Two minute to impact.” He announced as Nikita, Rachel and the other operatives in the room watched the screen intently.

*

The intensity of whatever was above us increased and I heard an unusual sound, like a chamber opening and closing and suddenly, there were two other sounds approaching us. I was alarmed but didn’t know what it was. Its intensity increased towards our direction, and at that moment realization hit me, it was not a plane or a jet, they do not possess silent engines, only something that wanted to be discreet did and only a drone fitted the category. I immediately turned to the direction the girl in black and the other guardians were, they were having an argument, one that I hadn’t noticed because I did not pay attention to them. As the sound grew nearer, I raced towards them, propelling my wings and taking off the ground to increase my speed.

“Take cover.” I screamed as soon as I was sure that I was at a distance that they could hear me.

*

The girl in black and the other guardians turned to the direction the shout was coming from and all of a sudden, some of the guardians pulled out their swords, while some others pulled out bows. The lady turned to the girl in black.

“A fallen?”

“No.” The girl in black countered. “That’s Zeke, the one I had been telling you about.

“You told us he was special and not that he was a fallen.” She said, also pulling out her sword. She held it with both hands and turned to the direction he was flying from.

“What are you doing?” The girl in black asked, walking slowly towards her.

“What you should have done as soon as you found out what he was.”

“He is not a fallen.” She protested again in frustration. “I know a fallen when I see one.”

The lady turned to the other guardians and nodded her head. “Take her away.”

The girl in black quickly moved away, pulling her sword too, Justin following suit even though the only thing he was holding was his Ipad.

“What are we going to do?” He whispered at her.

“If you are planning to harm him, you have to go through me.” She announced to the guardians.

“Uhmm, I don’t think that is what you are meant to say given my situation. It must be a slip of tongue.” Justin whispered in her direction again.

The lady gave a hysterical laugh, further gripping her sword tightly. “You don‘t know how long I have waited for this day, the day you show your real colours and who you are actually working for. It would be my pleasure tearing you down.” She repositioned her stance. “Make sure you take him down.” She ordered, lunging her weapon towards the girl in black.
*

“Eighty seconds to impact.” The operator announced.

*

I flew towards their direction, repeating myself, but they did not seem concerned with whatever I had to say. Some arrows flew in my direction and I quickly altered my route to avoid being at the receiving end of any as the intensity of the sound became louder, I tilted to the left as more rounds of arrows flew at me, making a three sixty turn before landing and then using my wings to repel any further attack. I lowered the wings when I realized that the arrows had stopped hitting it, my emotions suddenly taking an erratic turn. I took deep breath to calm myself.

The girl in black and one of them seemed to be having a tussle, and it didn’t look like practice as they aimed to arm each other and fought with extreme anger.

“Stop!” I screamed, getting fed up. “We all have to get out of here now.”

The girl in black countered an attack aimed for her lower abdomen, she slid her sword through that of the lady she was tussling with and in a moment of extreme skill and brilliance, kicked the sword away from her hand and sent another kick to her chest, sending her spinning to the ground and rolling over few metres. The ladies that had been wielding the bow suddenly hurried to the lady and tried to help her to her feet, but she grunted at them and motioned them to stay back. I couldn’t believe that this were the guardians that we had waited for to provide reinforcements to defeat Zion, it was as if the whole mission was a pathetic one and with how things looked, we were heading for doom and dragging the whole world by its ears with us.

The lady got to her feet and wiped her face with the back of her hand, she had a little bit of blood on it as she stared at the girl in black in anger.

“I hate to cut into your reunion, but we have to get out of here now.” I announced and she redirected her furious gaze at me. They remained on me for a while before a loud piercing laughter came from her.

“You also listen to the opinion of a fallen?” She questioned no one in particular.

I took a step forward, sighing. Whatever hope I had been breeding of we getting an upper hand when they eventually joined us was smothered to death at that point.

“Believe whatever you want at this point, but we are standing under a ticking bomb and in a matter of seconds, you and all your thoughts would become ashes.”

The girl in black turned to me. “What?”

“I don’t have much time to explain, but our position has been compromised and as we speak a missile is heading towards us now, so we have to get out of here.”

Justin quickly typed into his Ipad and gave a loud scream, startling some of the guardians. “We have only forty five seconds before it hits our position.”

The girl in black turned to look up. “That’s not possible, no one apart from us and the guardians know that we are meeting today, by this time and in this location, we have a traitor in our midst.”

What the girl in black said made sense and all hands pointed at the new arrivals, we didn’t know them enough to know we could trust them, but we didn’t have time to start pointing hands. I turned around to find a spot we could take cover and found a cave some miles away.

“Over there.” I spoke nudging the girl in black and Justin on. Justin was the first to take off, running with all his might towards the cave, but soon, the girl in black overtook him and they raced towards the cave. The guardians still remained caught in between decisions and there was a little murmuring. The lady was also caught in between believing us or remaining with the spaceship, but from the little I had seen on nuclear missiles, the spaceship was not going to hold against it.

“We can settle this later, but safety comes first.” I tried one final time to convince her, even though we were not on the same page, we still needed all the hands we can get.

She stared at me again, before finally nodding her head and the other guardians raced towards the cave. I turned to look up and realized that they were not going to make it before the missile hit the ground and sent waves that would definitely tear them apart and figured I had to do something about it.
*

The girl in black panted as soon as she got to the mouth of the cave and turned to help Justin into the cave, she stared and found the guardians also racing towards the cave and sighed in relief that they had finally came to their senses. She turned to look around, but there was no sight of Zeke, she strained her eyes but still found no sign of him. Her heart began racing again as she made to walk out of the cave. Justin quickly pulled her back.

“What are you doing? We have below fifteen seconds before we are hit.”

“Zeke?” She questioned as some of the guardians raced into the cave and went further into it. The lady she had been tussling with was the last person to enter the cave and she dragged the girl in black by her arm.

“We have to go deeper if we plan on surviving the afterwave.”

“Where is he?” The girl in black questioned.

“He said not to worry about him and get to safety.” She said and tried to drag the girl in black with her but she resisted, panting loudly and she tried to walk out of the cave.

The lady quickly hit her at the back of her head and she became unconscious, she raced her and placed her on her shoulders, carrying her deep into the cave as Justin’s timer counted down.
*

Nikita stared intently at the screen as she watched the heat map disappear into the rocks. He turned to the operator.

“How far does the after wave of the missile go?” She asked.

“Enough to bury them under the rock, I don’t think they can survive this.” The operator responded.

Rachel took a step forward, her gaze still on the screen. “How did they figure out that a missile was heading in their direction?”

“A device connection was detected some seconds ago.” One of the operators responded.

“No.” Rachel nodded her head. “How did they know to turn on the device to check for the missile?” She moved further toward the screen. “There.” She pointed at a heat map that was not bulging from its position on the screen. “What is that?”

“We have incoming.” Another operator announced.

“What is that?” Nikita asked.

The operator zoomed into the image that they got from the camera on the drone. “A rock?”

“Zoom in on that.” Rachel ordered, pointing to something under the boulder of rock that was flying towards the missile.

The operator obeyed and zoomed in, the image became clearer and Rachel smiled when she saw his face.

“Somebody finally heard my prayers.” She smiled wickedly.

PenHub:
Thank you frankline461. Its power against power. Happy independence day

Happy Independence Day in arrears man. More wins for us and the country

An update is dropping today, stay tuned!

Lakesc:
These guardians clearly lack focus to execute the task ahead of them, they seem abit immature. Zeke to the reasue.. Thanks Op, anticipating next two update(no mind/blame me o, nah the suspense make me ask for more)...

Man still gats do one or two things for the real world oo

Friendlo:
I just found this story yesterday and I've been reading it since. great piece here op more ink to your pen

Thanks ma'am

enirock:
Power play already amongst the guardians? I guess they don't know what they are up against. Thanks for the update.

Thanks for following

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Justin packed his bag and turned to look around to see if he was forgetting anything, but he was a light traveller and knew that all his properties fitted into one bag. He opened the door and stepped outside, walking towards the car that was parked in front of their apartment. He walked towards the back of the car and popped the boot of his car open, placing the bag into it. He walked back to the apartment and stood in the living room, taking a look at it one last time as he waited for the girl in black to finish packing up. At least it did not turn out like their apartment in Russia, only that they had lost a life in the process. The girl in black soon walked out of her room and through the passage into the living room, stopping and reducing her pace as she followed Justin’s gaze to the furnace. She too was having reserved feelings towards leaving the apartment and she had concluded that it was because of what she had lost while living there. She cleared her thoughts to catch Justin’s attention and it was successful as he quickly turned back to her direction.

“Let me help you with that.” He quickly spoke, walking to her direction and picking up a bag from her.

The girl in black stared at him as he dragged the bag away towards the door, she had noticed a certain change in him in the last few week, she had caught him staring at her unawares quite a number of time and had also noticed that he no longer felt as comfortable as he had always been around her, watching what he said, and how he said it. She watched him open the door, and instead of walking out, he stood in front of it, dropping the bag he was carrying and staring at something. He turned back to look at her and this prompted her to walk towards him. On getting to the door, she immediately felt conflicting emotions seeing Zeke standing in front of the door, anger, relief, happiness, and sadness all together and it almost overwhelmed her.

*

I stood in front of the door staring at both of them, not knowing what to say or how to react, the past few days had been really hectic for me and although I was beginning to get over the grief that had burdened me for days, the scars that it left behind was one that I knew that i would never recover from. Justin picked up the bag that he had dropped and walked towards me, i guessed he also didn’t know what to say, as he only gave me a pat to the back and murmured something inaudible before walking past me and towards the car. His exit left a tensed atmosphere between me and the girl in black, I had blamed her partially for the things that had happened to me because i had thought that my family would be safe if i had followed her and gone far away from them, but that was not the case and the situation around it wasn’t one that anyone could have predicted.

She made a move towards me, her expression suddenly dulling, she spread her hands and threw them around me, hugging me tightly, from the way it felt, I didn’t know how needed it more, me or she. We remained like that for a while and I finally gathered the courage to put my hands around her, also holding her tightly. She let go of me after a while and wiped her face quickly, it was then I realized that she had been crying, my heightened senses had suddenly been damped around her.

“I thought we had lost you after what happened that day, it must have taken you so much courage to pick yourself up and decide to complete this mission.”

She was right, it had taken every little bit of resolve that I had to decide to come back to them, but she was wrong about the reason i did, i was not there to try to stop Zion, I had other things in mind, things I didn’t think they needed to know or bother themselves with.

“You are just right on time, the Guardians have arrived and we are going to receive them before moving to the United states. I contacted an old friend that owed me a favour and she is going to help us secure transport out of the country, we only have to pick up the guardians and be there with them before nine zero zero.”

I sighed and nodded my head.

“We are losing sunlight and have a lot of ground to cover.” Justin shouted at us.

The girl in black turned and locked the door, she gave me a smile and walked over to him, handing over her bag to him, she turned and waved me over and I sighed again, I couldn’t make any mistakes this time, I had nothing to lose anymore.

*

“Just get into the bunker and stay there for a while; I will call you again through this line to tell you when it is safe to come out.” Nikita spoke hurriedly into the phone. She heard the door open slowly and found Rachel standing in front of the door.

“One minutes please.” She mumbled at Rachel and took some more steps into the room. “It’s important that you do exactly as i say and make sure that you are not out today,” She paced around for a while and held her head in frustration. “Cancel, tell them you are taking a sick break or something and postpone all your schedules, it would not matter anyways after tonight.” She turned back and found Rachel again. “I have to go now, make sure you do as i said, I will call you again when I can.” She ended the call and turned to Rachel.

“You are looking good.” She hurried to her drawl and brought out something wrapped in a cloth and walked towards her.

“Zion said I was to accompany you to the air force base.” Rachel pointed out, taking a step backward as Nikita walked out of the room, shutting it behind her.

“Yes, I had specifically asked for you. I knew what it meant to you and I wanted you to be there when we finally ended them.” She replied, putting on a smile. “I also have something for you.” She handed her the wrapped package.

“What is this?” Rachel inquired.

“It belongs to one of the members of their circus. I know your capabilities and how you are able to manipulate minds if you have a point of contact and I decided to get this for you.”

“Why?” Rachel was left at a loss. “I don’t think I would be needing it if we are going to be using the drone.”

“You never know, surprises could stem from anywhere.” Nikita gave another smile and walked away from her. “We leave now.”

*

A man walked towards Zion and handed a tablet to him. “All five strongholds are now online sir.” He said as Zion retrieved the device from him. “We are all waiting for your command.” He continued.

Zion turned the device to himself and took a look at its screen. There was a large button that stood at the centre of the large tablet with the inscription ‘ACTIVATE’ written boldly on it. He turned away from it and turned to the large screen that stood in front of him, he was unable to hide his happiness and pleasure that things were finally going the way he wanted, and the smile on his face revealed his relief, but even in his happiest moment, he still had a large hole in his heart, one that she had left behind when she left. How he wished she was around to witness this moment with him, it was the moment they had both spoken of for years but life had other things planned for them. He turned to the man that was still standing and waiting for a response from him.

“Set the timer at three minutes and alert the other strongholds.” He finally replied, placing both hands behind his back and staring continuously at the screen.

*

Justin pulled up the car near one of the large rocks on the girl in black’s command and we all alighted from it. We were in the middle of nowhere, just vast endless land with desert sand and some large rocks that stood sparsely scattered around. Justin cleared his throat and walked over to our side of the car.

“It makes sense.” He spoke, getting my attention. “It is the perfect place to land a spaceship.”

I smiled weakly, something that i had not been able to do for the past few weeks, I guess being around people at our saddest moments even when we wanted to be left alone was an underrated solution to loneliness.

“So, let me get this straight.” He continued. “The guardians are going to be arriving in a spaceship and would be landing it here, don’t you think it would be best if they just suspend it in the air and land with like a parachute or something to reduce attention.”

The girl in black scoffed, pulling out a device from the mini bag she was carrying. “The spaceship is cloaked and no one will notice it.” She replied, staring at the device and moving away from us. “They are close now and should be arriving in anytime now.”

“I am coming with you.”Justin called after her. “I wouldn’t miss such glorious sight for anything in the world.”

I decide against going with them and decide to stick around our vehicle, running my eyes around the area. I could hear a plane or jet fly over us, and although it made very little noise that was not very noticeable, I was able to hear it. I was further surprised at this because the President of the country had announced that all flight had been barred when they declared a total lockdown a few days ago. Sighing, I pulled open the door of the car and pulled out my Jacket from it, it was a cold and non eventful night and I hoped it remained that way.

*

“There.” Nikita pointed at the screen as a video of two people walking through a large mass of land played on it. “Run the camera around.” She ordered, and the controller obliged.

The camera was rotated around and the rest of the land was empty. She turned to Rachel who also had her gaze fixed to the screen. “As expected, there are only two of them remaining, but not for long.” She smiled and turned back to the screen. “Switch the drone to infrared
mode and hold it just above their position till you see more activity.”

*

The device in the girl in black’s hand beeped and she stopped to look around, Justin slowly pulled up behind her and looked over to the device.

“Is anything the matter?” He asked, having a hard time understanding what the constant beep was all about.

The girl in black shook her head and took another step forward. “They are here.” She tapped on the device and dropped it to the ground, taking steps away from it, the device shone brightly, slowly unveiling something massive that had been in front of them all along.

*

I turned to look up at the clear sky again, still wondering what it was that was hovering above us. It had been moving distinctively, but never went miles away from our position. I turned to look in the direction the girl in black and Justin had gone and far away, i could see something happening. There was a bright light coming from their direction and i could see the spaceship slowly uncloak and become visible. I felt a kind of relief seeing this, it meant we finally had more hand on ground to go against Zion and Nikita, and didn’t have to solely rely on the experience of two young adult and a not too experienced guardian.

The device above us slowly moved away from my direction towards that of the girl in black and Justin and it made me more suspicious to what it was.

*

Zion slowly watched as the timer counted down, ten, nine, eight..., it was almost time, he took in a very deep breath, three, two, one, he let the breath out and clicked on the ‘ACTIVATE’ button. There was a loud whirl from outside the building and a large ray escaped from it, shooting straight into the sky. He also watched on the screen as almost simultaneously, the same kind of ray shot from the other location and intercepted with each other, subsequently shooting a much larger ray straight into the sky and out of earth’s atmosphere, penetrating space and going far beyond. The sky turned red from this effect, and slowly a large tornado built in the sky, slowly sending a large storm back to earth’s surface.

Zion turned to one of the operators. “What’s the update on the other mission that Nikita is leading.”

The operator turned to click into his computer. “They are still on hold, none of the guardian is on sight yet.”

Zion sighed and turned back to the screen. “Tell her to get it over with before the storm hits the surface, everything in the sky would be wiped away as soon as the storm enters into earth’s biosphere.”

“Copy that.” The operator began typing rapidly into his PC once again.

*

The girl in black smiled as the spaceship fully uncloaked and she walked towards it, turning to one of its button and inputting a code, the door puffed and let out some air and slowly began to open. She turned to Justin smiling, as she waited anxiously to finally meet her friends once again. The door finally opened and she found the guardians, standing behind it. They all stood for a while, staring at each other, before one of them slowly walked out of the ship and stepped on the ground. She walked towards the girl in black and stood in front of her, scrutinizing her.

“You look famished and malnourished.” She pointed out.

The girl in black didn’t say word and Justin who had been watching all along wondered who she was. As if she had heard his thoughts, she slowly walked towards him and gave him the same observatory look.

“Is he the one you told us about?” She asked, not taking her gaze off Justin.

Justin’s stomach quickly churned in excitement, so she had been talking about him to her friends. An unconscious smile slowly formed on his lips.

“No.” The girl in black replied. “He is somewhere away around.”

The lady turned to the other guardians in the spaceship and nodded, they all slowly walked out of the ship and stepped to the ground. The woman turned to the girl in black.

“Aemiliana Ahenobarbus Artakhshathra the 3rd, you have really done well and will now be relieved of your duties and sent back to home while we handle things here.”

The girl in black was stunned by her statement; she had not been expecting it. “But I don’t think that is the wisest decision.” She argued. “I have been here for a while and can easily get you up to speed about everything happening.”

The lady raised her hand cutting her short. “You can submit your report to Olivia, that’s all we will be needing from you.”

“But...”

“But nothing Aemiliana, i am done with hearing your opinions.”

“I think she is right.” Justin spoke cutting into their argument. “Amy is the only one that has on ground knowledge of everything and is an asset to this mission.”

The lady slowly walked towards him and gave him a death stare. “Remind me who you are again, I don’t think anyone asked for your opinion, if they were really that valuable, you wouldn’t have had to call us to come fix your mess.”

The girl in black took a step forward and confronted her. “I know you never liked me, or working with me because my father is a traitor and you don’t think children of traitors should be allowed on the team, but right now is not the best time to be trying to be trying to implement your school of thought, there is a lot at stake." She turned to the other Guardians. “Are you all also on board with this?” She received no response from them as they tried to hide their faces. She scorned and turned to one of them. “Olivia?”

“I guess that settles that then.” The lady spoke. “Hand over your memo please.”

“What’s that?” One of the guardians asked, pointing to the ray that shot into the sky.

“Zion.” The girl in black responded.

*

“We can confirm activity on site.” One of the operators announced to Nikita.

She smiled and turned to Rachel. “It’s time.” She turned to the operator that was controlling the drone. “Let it rain.”

*

The intensity of whatever was above us increased and I heard an unusual sound, like a chamber opening and closing as a two other sounds appeared from nowhere and increased in intensity towards their direction. At that moment realization hit me, it was not a plane nor a jet, a jet does not possess such silent engines, only something that wanted to be discreet did and only a drone fitted that category. I immediately turned to the direction the girl in black and the other guardians were and raced towards them, propelling my wings as I did.

“Take cover.” I screamed as soon as I was sure they could hear me.

Also, to make up for lost time, I would be putting up another chapter later in the day or early tomorrow, depending on when I get light to power my laptop.


As usual:

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