He twisted the handle on the trap door and pulled. The heavy door slowly opened on hydraulics. He took a deep breath and peered down into the burner. His children were looking up at him. All five of them. Their faces displayed the horror and consternation of the burner but hope also slipped into their wet eyes as they witnessed their liberation.
Quentin didn’t think about it, he just jumped into the burner. His children were eight feet below him. It was just deep enough that the children could not climb out. Quentin fell to his knees and his children collapsed in his arms. Each of them was afraid if they let go, they would find out that the moment was not real, so they held on.
Finally, Quentin raised his tear-stained face to his children. It had been several weeks since he had seen them. Trapped with them inside of the burner were several charred corpses. They had been without food or water and Quentin could only imagine the horrors that his children had lived with during that time. How many times had they died? Had they burned to death? Did they die from dehydration or starvation? Quentin knew that they would have to deal with all of those questions in time.
“I’m sorry I left you here.” He was barely able to get the words out. “I want you to know that you’ll never be without me again. I’ll always be there for you. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
“So what do we do now?” Jims’ voice was thick. They had witnessed Quentin’s reunion and now waited in the adjacent room.
“We can talk about that soon. Not just yet.”
The tears broke free and trailed Jims’ jawline. “They are my nieces and nephews. I thought I would never see them again. I just need a minute.”
“Take all the time you need. Why don’t you go down there with them? I’ll wait out here.” Jims started to object but in his heart, he knew that was exactly what he needed to do.
Babel walked the hallways to give Quentin and Jims the time they needed. He kept a vigilant watch but they were unmolested within the torched walls. Nostalgia touched him as he walked. “This will be my Palātium.”
The words stopped Babel and he measured his decision. “Am I really going to stay here? I have agreed to be the Császár but in my mind it has always been to lead the people to freedom. Once we’ve taken back over, they won’t need me. Quentin can do the job.”
He wondered the halls in thought until he found himself back at the morgue. Waiting on him with Jims and Quentin were Quentin’s five children. “Guys, you remember Babel right?”
CHAPTER FIFTY THREE
The Klopph were losing. They had underestimated the military in India. As they bunkered along the border, they discovered not only native troops but a host comprised of many nations.
Perhaps the Chinese government had shared intelligence.
“Do you think we made a mistake in coming here?” the Keeper asked the Cancellarrii.
The question was a surprise. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“I’m not entirely sure I didn’t order us to this world out of revenge. The Chokka destroyed part of our world and I wanted him to feel that same pain as I destroyed part of his world.”
“Do you still feel that way?”
“From what I’ve observed here, these nations do not seem to care much for each other. They tolerate each other and I’m sure on occasions they work with each other, but I don’t know that us killing people in India or China is going to make a difference to this Chokka who is from another nation.”
“So we’ve failed. You think we should count our losses and pull back to our world?”
“I’m saying that unless we can find our way directly into the heart of the nation of the Chokka – a place called America – it seems to make the most sense right now. The portal can take us there but with no knowledge of that land, I don’t know that what we conquer there will be vital enough to cripple them. And will the potential loss of our men be worth it if we have minimal impact on our assault?”
“We serve you. We only await your order.”
The Keeper surveyed the terrain and took in the rocks that built the environment. “Yes, it is time to go home.”
“Very well.” said the Cancellarrii. “I will assemble the men for departure. You will call the portal?”
The Keeper nodded. With the Cancellarrii dismissed, the Keeper cogitated the campaign. In the early stages, they had been remarkably successful. Ruthless efficiency, it appeared, won out regardless of the world.
By the third day of the campaign, they had acquired their first region. “What is this place called again?” the Keeper asked the Cancellarrii over a map.
“This temple?” the Cancellarrii asked.
“No, the geography.”
“We are in an area called Uttar Pradesh. If we keep pushing north, we will come to the land of Nepal.”
“And the terrain there is similar?”
“It is. Although as we continue north, the mountains will increase.”
“Amazing, is it not? The vastness of this world. And the map we have constitutes only a portion of this world.”
“It is strange that there is no unity. It appears that each location has its own name and operates separately.”
“If they are independent of each other, then they are weak. We can take one nation and then move on to another.”
The Cancellarrii considered the comment. “We have been lucky so far. We have been able to repel their offences. Some of their soldiers speak of bombs that are dropped from above. We would not be able to defeat such a weapon.”
