Decay (28 page)

 

 

Alan sat down in the infirmary of the compound. In front of him was a curtain barrier, and next to him several chairs. All of the charges had been returned to their homes, and many of his people who had helped on the mission had returned to their ships. Only a select few were privileged enough to stay behind and witness the interview between Sir Kel and the dead family JD's group had found during the mission. Alan almost couldn't believe it. He'd expected to find the bodies of ship crew members, not parents and their child.

What the Yumsaltanz were hoping to find, he didn't know, but he was eager to find out, not to mention, honored to be considered worthy of knowing. Next to him sat his father, and nearby were Sir Oriol and another Yumsaltanz leader.

Sir Kel nodded at the men seated in the infirmary. “We've had a busy past couple of days. I will try to take as little of your time as possible. However, I found it important that you all witness this meeting. We will be voice recording as well as video for future analysis and documentation purposes. I must warn you, that the sight is not pretty. If you are squeamish, it would be best for you to leave the room.”

She waited a minute, and then pulled the curtain aside. Alan had seen a lot of disgusting things in his lifetime. Most he wished he hadn't. The sight before him was by far the most fascinating and disturbing all at once. Two of the bodies which had been recovered were sitting on a cot in front of him. Both were adults. Each primarily consisted of bones, but a few ligaments and necessary organs were present. More specifically, their eyes, and tongues were completely intact, as well as the muscles needed to operate them.

“Our window of time is short. We promise not to keep you out of your rest for much longer,” Sir Kel said.

“Thank you,” one of the skeletons said. The voice was masculine in tone. “My name is Rossalondon. My wife is Rossakai. We are of the Yumsaltanz. It is a pleasure to meet you all. We thank you for finding us and request to be returned home. I would like to be at peace with the rest of my family.”

Alan swallowed. The names the dead man had given were those of two long-lost royalty. History books from Altura spoke of their great deeds to the Yumsaltanz. In fact, it wasn't long after their disappearance that their home tribe started having problems with the Gelandrosimbol. While the war amongst the tribes was fairly recent, having only started in the past six years, the feud dated back to around one-hundred-and-fifty years ago.
The same time they went missing...

“Thank you, your highness. We will bring you to peace as well as justice.” Sir Kel bowed her head. “The ancient texts of the Gelandrosimbol were discovered in our mines eight years ago. Since then, conflict has escalated, and we are now at war with them and the Basatlavan. We have allies to help us in the fight, however, we need to convince the Alturan Unification Committee to assist us as well before things get out of control. Two other
planets
have become involved in this fight already. We want to stop it from spreading to a third.”

“How can we help you?” Rossakai, or Kai, said. Her boney hand grabbed her husband's, a tender, but strange, sight to see.

Sir Kel took in a deep breath. “We need the ultimate password for the Ilotus so we can gain the knowledge collected inside. There is a map, an original map, that we think will help the Alturan Unification Committee see our rightful claim to our land. We also want to put the Gelandrosimbol on trial for your murders, along with several other crimes. It is a key piece of evidence for our cause. But we cannot hack into it, or it will shut down and self-destruct.”

Kai smiled. “The password is Annika. She is our daughter who was able to flee. After our death, we discovered that she was able to live a long and fulfilling life. She even made it home to Altura and lived there in secret in the Nassalmvan, or gold tribe, where she found a husband and had a son. He had another son, and so on, and so forth. The line is alive and strong today. You have an heir to the true royal throne.”

Tears pooled in Sir Kel's eyes. The significance of what Kai was saying would prove to be a huge factor in how the war would be fought from that moment on. Their tribe had all but lost hope in their royal family, the true protectors of their people. The royals were supposed to have a specific natural gift that would help the Yumsaltanz to prosper. Not to mention the morale boost such an iconic person would bring to the tribe. They needed a symbol of hope.

“Thank you,” Alan said softly. Everyone's gaze landed on him. He lowered his out of respect for the royal family. All he had wanted to do was speak the words Sir Kel couldn't seem to say herself.

“You may rest now,” Sir Kel said. Both of the skeletons bowed their heads and she pulled the curtain in front of them, once more shielding them from sight.

Alan's father stood, slowly, his face solemn. He waved subtly for Alan to follow him out of the room. Without a word, Alan did as he was asked.

The two walked through the hallways of the compound in silence. Outside of the echo of their footsteps on the floor, there was nothing else filling the silence. His father took him to a side door and opened it, exposing them to the fresh cool air of the forest surrounding them. Alan enjoyed the winter weather of Earth. It relaxed him.

“Quite an interesting tale,” his father said. “There has always been the suspicion that the royal family had not perished on Earth. Part of this trip was to find the truth. Their people will be happy to have closure, though, the daughter lived, and the line lives on as well. They will want to find the heir to their throne, if only, so they can hold onto a special part of the past. Back then, their nation was so much more prosperous and strong.”

Alan nodded, taking in the words of his father. “It's a huge thing. How will they know?”

“DNA testing for starters. A lot of research will need to be done as well. Family lines will be studied carefully to try and pinpoint the bloodline. It'll take time, but I'm confident it will get figured out.”

“I'm sure it will be a high priority.”

“Precisely.”

“Thank you for trusting me with this,” Alan said.

His father smiled gently. “You have proven your worth. Whether you believe it or not, it's true. Even your supervisor thinks so, but he would never admit it to you. He's concerned it will make you arrogant. It was the one thing we agreed on this entire time, and you know that Sir Orioltogorthan and I do not agree on much of anything.”

“Again, thank you.”

“You have permission to share this information with your roommate, but no one else.” His father's eyes narrowed to push the point. “This includes your charges. They can't know yet. There is so much more they need to understand first. Besides, there isn't much else to add. So much rides on a 'what if'. Nor does it concern them. It is our history, our planet, and will not impact theirs at all.”

“It's personal,” Alan said. “I understand. It will make little difference if they do or do not know, so why worry them about it?”

“Precisely.” His father put a hand on Alan's shoulder. “You should see them soon. Your missing charge has been found, or so my partner has informed me.”

Alan raised an eyebrow. “Why is your partner concerned with the well-being of my charges?”

“Because your missing charge was the family emergency that brought me here in the first place,” his father said. “Orlando is Sir
Holmestorgorson's son.”

“You can't be serious.” Alan let out a sharp breath. He didn't know how many more bombs he could handle being dropped on him in one weekend.

His father nodded. “I am, Mackey. Why would I lie about such a thing? Sir Tuliyogljaes returned Orlando to his home last evening. He was in need of our medical technologies, so my ship provided it to him while he was asleep. A full recovery is expected within the next two weeks. Go easy on him after that. I'm sure he's shaken up.”

Alan shook his head. “Are you telling me he is part Alturan?”

“Full, as both of his parents are from our planet. He was conceived on Earth, however. Naturally, he doesn't know anything. His parents thought it best to have both him and his sister be oblivious to the truth. Unfortunately, the war being brought here might change that plan. You will
not
be the one to tell him.”

“No, of course not, but he should be told sooner rather than later.”

“His parents agree, and that is why I am giving you this warning. You know him best. How do you think he will take the news?”

Closing his eyes, Alan exhaled slowly. “I honestly don't know. The boy is unpredictable. Probably not well.”

“I am sure you will be fine. You've handled everything else so well. Like I said, we are all proud of your work.”

Alan could only manage a weak smile. He didn't feel like he had done much to be proud of. Keeping all of these new secrets was not something he was looking forward to, and there was nothing honorable in doing so in his eyes, but he would obey his orders. Deep down, he knew they were given with only the best interests in mind. He prayed things would not get worse. One thing was certain: he'd earned a small break.

 

 

Complete exhaustion kept Nia away from Dallas the night she returned home from the mission. The next day, her parents gave her a number of chores to do before she could leave the house. By the time she was out the door, it was almost dinner time. That didn't stop her from going to the cemetery. She needed to see him, and fast.

To resurrect the dead Alturan family, Potion had given her another supplement to enhance her powers – a strong one. The after effects of the potion still lingered inside her, and she had to get to Dallas before they went away.
If I have an increase in strength, then I might be able to bring him back after all.

When she arrived at the mausoleum, she was startled to find another car parked outside.
Who else is here? Something better not have happened.
Scowling, she got out of her car, slammed the door behind her, and walked inside the mausoleum. Dallas was sitting on top of the marble encasing, like usual. In front of him was the girl named Angela she had met over the weekend.

“What are you doing here?” Nia snapped.

Angela faced her and glared. “I'm doing a favor for my friend. Don't push my buttons. We may have gotten along fine enough this weekend, but after what you did to said friend, you're on my list.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“She's buddies with Lanny, er, Orly,” Dallas said. He smiled, and that was a small reassurance. Nothing bad could have been happening if he was happy. “Relax, both of you.” He nodded at Angela. “It was nice to meet you. I'll be sure to use this.” He waved a cell phone in his hands.

With one last glare, Angela left the mausoleum, not even bothering to say goodbye to Nia.
Rude much? I thought we got along fine on the mission.
She rolled her eyes, and waited for the door to shut before approaching Dallas. “I'm glad you're still around.”

“It'll take some time for me to revert,” he said quietly.

“So what is that?” she asked and pointed to the cell phone.

He laughed. “Orlando wanted to be able to say goodbye but he's not allowed to leave the house for a while on doctor's orders.”

“Gotcha, and I'm guessing she knows what happened here,” Nia said and pointed to the door.

“Yeah, which explains why she looks like she wants to hurt you. It'll pass. It's kind of complicated.”

“What isn't these days,” she mumbled. “Anyway, I don't think we'll have to say goodbye after all.”

Dallas's gaze lowered and he shook his head. He wore quite possibly the saddest looking frown she had ever seen in her life. “I want to rest. This limbo thing is not fun.”

“I get it. You want one or the other,” she said. “But I know I can bring you back for good.”

“No, I'm not hurting him anymore. He's the only one around who has enough heart to finish it off. I think it didn't work not because he wanted to live, but because in my heart... I couldn't let him. I can't. I thought so, but no.”

Nia scowled. “If you'd shut up and listen to me, I−”

The cell phone Dallas held cut her off with a loud obnoxious ring. He smiled and answered it. She wasn't all too sure how to feel about that. Jealous, definitely, and a little sad too. Was she allowed to be so selfish of her time with him? How could she compete with the best friend?

“Hey,” Dallas said. “Clever, just happen to have one of these lying around or something? Ha, why does that not surprise me. Nia's here, can I call you back? She seems to think there's a way to bring me back again without anyone getting hurt. She was just explaining how it was going to work.”

She had to hold back a laugh because the two talked like girls on the phone. What two guys went into such details with each other? Then again, if it was her, she would want to linger in her last moments with Dallas as well. She hoped he would do the same with her.

Dallas raised an eyebrow. He had them again, and he actually looked so much more normal and healthy than before she had left. “Orlando wants to know if we can put him on speaker phone. He wants to hear your idea in case he can help.”

Nia groaned a little. “Fine, I guess, but he can't say anything. At all. Or I'm throwing it against the wall, okay? I don't need his stupid commentary spoiling it.”

“Spoiling what?” he asked. Shrugging, he pushed a button on the phone and then set it down next to him on the marble. “Can you hear me okay?”

“Yeah, you're coming in fine,” Orlando said on the other end of the line.

Sighing, she moved closer to Dallas and held his hands. The spiritual energy swimming inside of her was still powerful, and her time was limited. Potion had told her it would last for a couple of days, ideally, but nothing was certain. She took in a deep breath and prepared to spill her guts, regardless of the audience present.