“Then let’s stop them.” Repeated Jims.
“So this man we are going to see,” Quentin interposed, “he is key to us stopping the Klopph?”
“This man has lived in this world since before the world changed.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. I only know that he has lived through the entire history of this world. And, yes, he is vital to our success. We cannot defeat the Klopph without his transport device.”
Quentin took a serious air. “Babel, how do you know all of this?”
“When I opened the fortress I was show all of this. I can’t explain it. I just know what I saw.”
They continued their discussion as they walked. And on the fifth day of their journey north, they came to a deserted area of housing; only one of the homes appeared to be not so deserted.
“We need to keep an eye out.” Jims warned. “This man does not know us and he will be leery. We should assume that he sees us as a threat and will treat us as such.”
Most of the people of the village stayed back while Jims, Rusk, Quentin, and Babel moved forward to investigate the house. To all but Babel, the home seemed strange. A relic of past days – the architecture was foreign as was the landscaping. But to Babel, the house reminded him of his father’s house back in Tennessee.
They moved slowly with their open hands exposed, not wanting to give the wrong impression. Babel could see a garden behind the house – the only vegetation in the vicinity – but there was no sign of any life.
Jacques had seen them coming. He didn’t know who they were and didn’t care. He had been alone for so long that he preferred it that way. He had seen what he thought were signs of people to the south of his home but had seen no one. Now that had changed.
He was not aware of how the world had moved on in recent centuries. He stayed to himself and he stayed safe. He didn’t know if these new people were dangerous or not but they were certainly a threat to his solitude way of life. Now that he had been discovered, he knew that he would not be left alone.
The cylinder was in the bag stowed over his shoulder. He could have used the device to go somewhere else – anywhere else in the world. He knew the rest of the world was dead and he would be able to live peacefully, undisturbed; but this was his home and no one was going to drive him from it.
He circled around behind them, to where he knew the rest of the group was waiting about a half mile from his house. His abilities had continued to increase and he used his incredible speed and strength to take out five men among the group before the group could react. He snapped the necks of the five men and was blind with the feel of death when he heard the cries and noticed for the first time that there were women and children among the mass.
Jims heard the cries first. “The village! They are being attacked!”
Without waiting to see how the others reacted, Jims sprinted back to his people and his wife. Rusk, Quentin, and Babel followed suit.
When they arrived three minutes later, they discovered the dead among them. Women and children cried at the bodies of the fallen men. Solemn looks filled the faces of those who stood and watched, helpless to offer assistance or change what had happened.
“What happened?” Jims demanded as he reached his wife.
“It was one man.” Krista’s voice was strained with morose. “He was so fast. He came out of nowhere. He didn’t say anything, he just attacked. And then he just stopped and he is gone.”
“One man did this?” Jims was incredulous. Krista nodded at her husband’s assertion.
They attended to the bodies and the families of those who had died. Afterwards, Quentin, Babel, Rusk, and Jims met to the side of the group. “What do you make of this?” Quentin asked Jims.
“I’m not sure. Who is this man and why did he attack us?”
“He attacked because we came to his home.” Babel said.
Three sets of eyes turned to look at Babel. “What do you mean?” Jims asked. “Are you saying the man who attacked us is the man we are looking for?”
Babel nodded. “I believe so, yes. I was not there when he attacked and I have never met him to determine if was the same person but yes, I think it is the same man.”
“But why would he attack? What did we do to him?”
“Look around. We are in a land in which no one lives – no one even comes to. This man has lived in this desolation for countless years. He is bound to be untrusting of anyone he meets. I would image that he is paranoid and wouldn’t be surprised if he was crazy.”
“Crazy?” Rusk asked.
“Wouldn’t you be if you live alone for so long?”
Rusk considered. “Probably. So what do we do about this man?”
Babel shrugged. “We wait for him.”
“And what if he kills more of our people?”
“Then we’ll need to kill him, if necessary. But first we need to find out where he keeps his device. That is the reason we are here – not to make friends with a crazy man but to take possession of the item that will help us defeat the Klopph.”
They spoke further but all agreed the device was imperative for their survival. And so they waited.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Triana
