Chapter 47

A Brighter Tomorrow

This had to be one of the strangest situations Leo had ever been in. He was in a dimly lit room sitting at one end of a long table, with a High-Level Demigod Boss named Damien at the other end, staring at Leo with some fifty unblinking eyes, Damien's size made the large room seem small.

Leo heard loud thuds from outside the room.

“Let me in!”

The door to the room flew open and a second giant Boss squeezed through. This one looked like a giant, ugly baby with tentacles. His cherub look was completed by a grotesquely ugly set of wings.

Damien moved to the side so the tentacled cherub could join him. “I told you I was handling this, Ambrose.”

Ambrose shot out a tentacle that wrapped around Leo's neck. “Admit you are lying,” he said through his large, grotesquely human mouth.

“That naked cherub form is not a good look for you,” Leo gasped out. “In fifty years, you take on a more demonic appearance. Just as ugly, but it suited you better.”

Damien extended a tentacle of his own to wrap around the second Boss's tentacle. “Now Ambrose. I said we're not hurting our prisoner. The human can't tell us anything if he's dead.”

“I can tell if you're lying, Leo, so tell us the truth,” Ambrose responded.

“No, it's true. That cherub form is not a good look for you,” Leo responded.

Damien let out a hollow laugh. “He got you there. You look like shit. We're a superior life form. Trying to pass as a mundane humanoid is demeaning.”

“No, you idiots. I'm referring to this.” Ambrose regurgitated some papers from his immense body, grabbed them by a tentacle, and splatted them down on the table. “Your testimony of the next fifty years of our new existence. You were lying to incite people against us.”

Leo shook his head. “No.”

The tentacle around Leo's neck withdrew.

“As I've stated,” Damien said, “I'm convinced Leo believes what he's saying. Like the fabled blind men and the elephant, Leo feels the elephant's trunk and believes it's a horrible snake that's going to eat everyone, rather than a majestic elephant bringing peace and order to the world.”

Leo burst out laughing.

“How many of our kind has Mr. Feels-a-Snake killed?” Ambrose responded.

“Not enough, obviously,” Leo said.

“Guards,” Damien said. "Please take Leo to his room, ensure his needs are met, and he's treated humanely."

“Sir.”

The same guards as before grabbed Leo and dragged him through several hallways to a small room that looked like it had once been someone's office.

“We've removed anything he could use to commit suicide,” an elderly man told Leo's two guards. “And we're not sure how well the toilet works, or if he'll continue having running water, so we left a bucket for him to crap in.”

“Welcome to your new home, Leo,” said the guard who'd spoken to him earlier. “We're leaving you some bottled water and candy bars. Let us know if you need anything else, like books or music players, and we'll see what we can do. And if anyone asks, you have not been mistreated. Got it?”

Leo didn't respond. They removed his handcuffs, pushed him inside, then closed and locked the door behind him.

Leo's new prison had a small bed opposite the bathroom, with a desk facing the wall between the two. He noticed several cameras near the ceiling. He thought about taking them down, but decided not to bother. Going through the desk, he discovered the drawers were empty. Leo sat on the bed and put his head in his hands.

His friends were dead. His plan depended on his friends. He'd failed.

Two things gave Leo hope. The first was the very unlikely event that his friends had somehow faked their deaths. The second was that if, no, when—he died, he might get sent back in time again and be able to fix his mistakes. He'd work harder to get the word out, tell the implant wearers to remain in hiding, do anything to give humans a fighting chance.

Who was he kidding? The whole thing was hopeless from the beginning. The human race was fucked.

“Imp, I've heard rumors that there is a way you can kill me,” Leo said.

I do not like to talk about this, Leo. But in the most extreme circumstances, such as if you're under interrogation and you have information that could get your friends killed. I can self destruct in a way that will fry out your neural synapses. Your body will be unharmed, but your mind will no longer exist.

“I see,” Leo said.

It was tempting. But there was a tiny chance he might make things better if he remained alive, and no chance if he didn't. He sat where he was until he grew too tired to remain sitting. He fell asleep on the bed, clasping his legs in a fetal position.

When he awoke, he saw someone had left breakfast on his desk. The dishes were plastic, as was the spoon he'd been given to eat with. He wasn't hungry, but he forced himself to eat the food and drink one of the bottles of water they'd left for him.

Over the next several days, he was taken from his cell three more times for questioning.

The third time, a traitor implant wearer flew Leo to a nearby park, where six Bosses, including Ambrose, interrogated him for hours, all floating around him in a circle. To Leo's amusement, none of them asked about his plans to save the world.

“As the Guardian, you intended to incite violence against our kind?” A High-Level Boss named Elena asked.

“Yes,” he responded.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe you could work with our kind?” she asked.

“No.”

“During your recorded interview with Mr. Osmond, you say that 'the only way humans are going to survive is if every High-Level Boss is exterminated.' Is this correct?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“How did you plan to do that?”

Uh, Oh. “By doing what I was doing. Giving people hope. Showing them your kind could be killed.”

“By your kind, what do you mean?” Elena asked.

“High-Level, or what we'd sometimes called Demigod-Level, Boss monsters. You.”

“Did it occur to you that instead of this pointless warfare, we could work together to bring a brighter tomorrow into today?”

You've got to be kidding. Worst slogan ever. Leo didn't bother answering. He remained silent, curious to see if they'd start torturing him. Instead, they returned him to his cell.

He went to his usual spot on his bed and put his head in his hands.

Liam messaged him.

Air Mage 87: You're such an idiot, Leo.

Leo ignored him.

Air Mage 87: If you'd tried to work with these Ascended Ones instead of killing them, we could have saved countless lives. The members of the alliance that we've formed, despite your best efforts, is leaving for Zabadule tomorrow, where implant wearers and Ascended Ones will work together to write a new world constitution and create a world government.

Future Man 10/16: Zabadule?

Air Mage 87: A place the rich used to go for their secret meetings. It's a beautiful area, with thousands of acres of privately owned wilderness. I've seen pictures.

Leo didn't respond.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Air Mage 87: You'll be coming too, of course. As a prisoner.

Sometime later, guards dragged him back to the meeting room where he'd first met Damien.

“I'm sorry for what the others put you through, Leo,” Damien said when they were alone. “I keep explaining to them that you have no ulterior motives, and honestly believe you are doing the right thing.”

Leo didn't respond.

“If you'd had a year to prepare, you might have been a serious threat. As it is, you're just another nobody revolutionary. I'm curious, Leo. Do you know the first thing I did when I Ascended?”

“Ate your serving staff?”

“Don't be silly. We are currently living on blood and blood products. A sustainable source of human protein. No. The first thing I did was go to the nation's capital and kill Congress.”

“I thought they were your friends,” Leo responded.

“They were my friends. I loved Senator Bumblin like a brother. Dog eating aside, he was the nicest person you could hope to meet. Threw amazing parties. Between you and me, though, he was dumb as a box of rocks.”

“But you killed him?”

“Yes. I didn't want to. Like the other Congress people, he'd become a semi-intelligent, man-eating monster, what you call a Low-Level Boss. Congress changed overnight from being an asset to myself and my kind, to a liability threatening our food supply. As Ambrose's business partner, it is my job to identify and deal with liabilities. I wanted to tell you this, so you would understand why beings like myself rule the world while you remain a nobody.”

“I see.”

“Other Ascended Ones did similar things in their parts of the world. Britain may gain a ruling monarch again. And the Pope may regain his status as emperor of the Christian world. We're living in fascinating times, Leo.”

“I see,” Leo said again. He stared at Damien's giant form as he looked back at Leo with his unblinking, fifty-plus eyes. “Zabadule isn't a nice place, is it?” he asked.

“Zabadule is an amazing place of peace and tranquility, far better suited for conducting business than our current location. You'll love it. I meant it to be a surprise, but it would seem somebody gave it away.”

“I see.”

“We'll be flying out tomorrow.”

***

After a restless night, guards came for Leo. They put him in handcuffs and snapped a violet bracelet around his left wrist.

“Not much point in your case, but all implant wearers are required to wear a violet bracelet to prevent confusion,” the talkative guard said. The guards wore yellow bracelets, presumably showing they weren't implant wearers.

Leo didn't respond as they dragged him to a large bus, took him to the back, and handcuffed him to his seat. Curious, he watched people wearing violet or yellow bracelets stuff duffle bags and suitcases into the bus's luggage compartment and board the bus.

Finally, the current leader of the stadium implant wearers, Frank, got on, and the door to the bus swung shut. Frank stood next to the driver's seat and made an announcement.

“I've been told the Ascended One named Damien will fly our bus to Zabadule. He will be flying us low enough so that we won't need oxygen, but we ask that you don't open any windows, and we'll keep the heater going full blast to deal with the cold. Also, you may want to put on warm clothes.”

“Damien can carry our bus to Zabadule?” someone asked.

“He's assured me he can,” Frank answered. “There will be snacks, and entertainment in the form of music, assuming we can agree on what to listen to.”

Tentacles wrapped around the bus and it lurched as it rose in the air. Looking out the window, Leo watched other buses and vehicles take flight.

And they were off

Houses and cars looked tiny from their altitude, and he could hardly tell the city was abandoned. Damien accelerated, leaving the city behind. Frank had been right. It did get cold. The bus heater combined with the passengers' body heat to prevent them from freezing. Someone put on some music with a fast, pulsing beat.

Leo slept through most of the trip, perhaps because he'd slept so little the night before.

He woke up several hours later to see they were losing altitude, and a mountain-sized stone outcropping grew bigger as they approached. Someone handed him a bag of peanuts and a Pepsi. He consumed them mechanically, though by this time he needed to use the bathroom.

The desert sun was setting, and between the wide-open red desert sand and the stone mountain, Leo had to admit Damien was right. Zabadule was a place of mind-boggling beauty.

Lights shined from openings in the mountain-size boulder. Their bus flew through a large hole at the base of the mountain into a huge, well-lit parking garage containing, among other things, several small planes and a private jet.

The other passengers disembarked and wandered around. Leo stayed where he was. Not that he had a choice in the matter, being handcuffed to the bus seat.

He sat there for several more hours, watching the other passengers unload their bags and explore the area. In addition to the human passengers, there were trucks with food and supplies and medical vehicles containing blood products.

“We got your cell ready for you, Leo,” the older guard said as they unhandcuffed him from his seat and took him out of the bus. After a long walk through the parking lot to an elevator, the guard hit a button for one of the lower floors.

“What's powering this place?” Leo asked, curious despite himself.

“Someone said there's an underground river that runs a hydroelectric plant,” the younger talkative guard said. “Aborigines lived here for thousands of years, hollowing out the stone outcropping to create a vast underground city. Then colonizers came and killed them all off. Cycle of life, I guess.”

“You shouldn't be talking to him about this, Ryan,” the older guard said. “He might cause problems.”

“You won't cause problems, will you, Leo?” Ryan responded.

Leo didn't respond. Of course, he'd cause problems if he could. So far, he'd had no access to his skills, and they watched him too closely for him to escape. Who was he kidding? he thought miserably. He and the human race were screwed.

He had to admit his new cell was more pleasant than the last one. Warm brown padded walls surrounded him. A maroon steel door (the room's only entrance and exit) stood at one end of the room. On the other end, a small table fastened to the wall held a bookshelf with several books. “War and Peace.” “A Tale of Two Cities.” “Moby Dick.” And a few other thick classics. Nothing readable. To Leo's right was a narrow bed fastened to the wall, and to his left, a sink and toilet.

Exhausted from the trip, but sick of sitting down, Leo paced the small cell and tried not to think of how hopeless humanity's situation was.

***

Very little happened for the next two weeks. They brought Leo food, and once a day he was taken to a small gym and allowed to use the exercise machines for an hour under close supervision.

He even got to know his two personal guards, since they were the only people he could talk to. The quiet one was Ben and the talkative one was Ryan. They'd been part of the anti-Bio-Blessed movement and their stories were sad. Ryan's ex-wife had killed and eaten two of their three children before Ryan could get to them. Ben's only daughter had turned, and he'd been forced to kill her before she could eat his two grandchildren. Both guards had lost people close to them and were trying to take care of the family they had left.

Leo even messaged Liam.

Air Mage 87: We're all very busy fixing the problems you helped create. No time to chat.

On the fifteenth day, the guards took him to see Damien.

“Nobody's saying much, but some crazy shit is about to go down,” said Ryan.

“What kind of shit?” Leo asked.

Ryan chuckled. “You'll see.”

They took him to a different part of the city. Damien met up with them, floating in the middle of the large hallway.

Leo had learned to recognize Damien by his enormous size and the shape of the eye formation around his squid-like body.

Damien's many eyes moved to focus on Leo, and he spoke. “I apologize for not visiting you earlier, but we have been busy. Are you enjoying your stay?”

“Considering I've been stuck in a cell, no,” Leo answered.

“That is unfortunate. You simply must watch the sunset from the roof of our city. It is a most beautiful view. But first, I must inform you, that a lot of what we're doing today involves you. I've volunteered to be your legal counsel.”

“Any chance I could request a human?” Leo asked.

Damien wagged a tentacle at him. “I would advise against it. That is the kind of speciesist anti-tentacle behavior we're trying to put an end to. All sentient species have a right to freedom and dignity, to live in peace and safety, and to have their physical and psychological needs met. We're bringing a brighter tomorrow into today.”

“If I hear that slogan again, I'm going to vomit,” Leo responded. “And why do I need a legal counsel?”

“For your trial, obviously,” Damien turned. “Come this way.”

The guards silently escorted Leo down the hall, up some stairs, and into the largest enclosed space Leo had ever seen, a vast amphitheater filled with people, human and monster sitting side by side. For long seconds, all he could do was stop and stare. Thousands upon thousands of beings, human and Boss alike, were in the audience, divided by nationality. America of course, and many flags he didn't recognize, but he was pretty sure Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were all represented. There were crosses, a star of David, and a large elephant he was pretty sure was Hindu. Many humans had binoculars. All the beings watched as Leo entered the amphitheater and was brought forward.

TV cameras followed Leo as he was seated at a table near the center of the amphitheater stage. It appeared he was the main exhibit. All these beings staring at him made his heart race. Leo looked around. What was going on? He shared the stage with some fifty people sitting at different tables. They either stared back at him or looked away.

“All rise.” Leo couldn't identify the speaker.

Leo was pulled to his feet as everyone stood.

A Boss and two humans, wearing black robes, entered the amphitheater and floated up/climbed some stairs to stand next to each other on a raised platform, looking down on Leo.

“This court, with the Honorable Judges Nancy Moore, Andres Mosley, and Lenard Brent presiding, is now in session,” the same speaker, (the bailiff?) said. “Please be seated and come to order.”

Everyone, including the three black-robed figures, sat down, or in the Boss's case, lowered themselves to the platform. Were the black-robed figures judges?

“The Boss used to be a judge?” Leo asked Damien quietly.

“A senior judge,” Damien responded, also quiet, “Apparently, before the Change, being a judge was very profitable if you made the right rulings. The other two are human lawyers, selected to be sure there is no anti-human bias in the court's judgment. The three judges must agree on your sentencing.”

The giant Boss judge raised a large wooden hammer and brought it down.

“The court meets today to discuss accusations against Leo Edwards and the overwhelming evidence against him,” the bailiff said. “Will the accused please rise?”