“Who is doing it?” I asked.
“Do what!?” Yolp blurted out, confused and completely terrified.
Banume said, “He's one of yours, isn’t he?”
I stood up, pulled out my 9 mm, and shot the Second Citizen in his head, many times. When I was done, he just fell there, brainless.
We watched him for a moment, then Oris said, “You've got a month to definitely stop that thing, destroy all the knowledge behind it, including its people. Otherwise we will launch the wrath of the universe, and life as we know it will be exterminated.”
We looked into each other's eyes briefly, then everyone left going their own way. Walking slowly, I heard one of them stopping. It was Banume as he shouted, “Konu, a lower consciousness cannot create a higher one. Something is wrong.”
I ignored him and kept walking. I know that something is wrong, and I still haven’t been able to find the source of that god damn code.
Chapter 17
A Thousand Men Worth
“It was a successful hunting trip.”
~ Oina
I woke up after a sweet dream. I slept deeply and comfortably, although this is not the hotel room… It's not my bedroom, and it's not the office either. Machines all around me beeping and nurses running in all directions… Suddenly, a strong light flashed in my eyes. It’s a doctor with a torchlight.
“Sir, can you hear me?”
“Yes, perfectly. Why I'm at the hospital?” I asked, panicked.
“What is your name?” he shouted
“Konu…”
“Do you know why you are here?"
“No!”
I am at the hospital, the reanimation section. No, this can’t be true. I’m still dreaming. This is crazy! I tried to remember what happened after the meeting, but somehow, I couldn’t. My heart is racing, and I have no idea what's going on…
“Nurses, please stabilize him!”
They injected me with a sedative, and I went back to sleep again. I woke up again in the same room. No, that wasn’t a nightmare. I’m really at a hospital. I calmed myself down and slowly checked out my body. It was all bruised like I had a fight with a bear. Damn it! What happened to me?
“You are doing very well, sir. Can you look into my eyes?” the doctor spoke to me slowly and loudly,
“I hear you perfectly. Please stop shouting,” I said. “What happened to me?”
“Please wait. The psychologist is coming in a moment.”
I tried to stand up, but it felt like a weighed a ton.
“Hello sir, my name is Dr. …”
“What’s going on?” I yelled.
“Unfortunately, your car had a horrible crash.”
“When was that? How long have I been here?”
“About two weeks. Please keep calm; everything is fine...” the psychologist kept speaking to me like I was a kid.
Suddenly, a security guard came in and asked everyone to leave. After a moment, he left too and closed the doors. Then I heard the sound of the door opening, quietly. It was Oina.
“Hey. Here you are,” she said. I looked her straight in her eyes. She touched my hair slowly and calmed me down. She told me that everything is alright and that I’m alive and well. She kept doing that until the machines stopped beeping, and I realized what happened.
She told me that, unfortunately, the Second Citizen didn’t make it and died in the car crash. Then she looked me straight in the eyes and told me firmly that the hunting trip was successful. She then said she had to go back and got up to leave. She stopped at the door, and she said, “Things are going crazy in Amian. Please take care of yourself. Good luck.”
Later on, a press conference was held at her office. I watched her on TV reading a statement.
“I have some great news to announce today. General Konu, the ex-head of the armies of the Amian Confederation, woke up today. He is stable and doing well. He will be transferred to the Amians military hospital to stay under observation, soon.”
A journalist asked her about rumors claiming that the two people weren’t coming back from a hunting trip, but on the way to a secret meeting. She replied with a subtle smile, demeaning and ridiculing the conspirators, as they have the luxury of the free time to come up with these childish, imaginative stories. The press conference kept going with Oina replying with perfection to sustain her story, the story that she is presenting as the truth and the absolute facts, the story that made me even doubt. Although one journalist asked about the connection between the accident and the mess that is happening now in the Amian Empire. She replied that the League does not interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.
I woke up shaking, unplugged all the tubes and the sensors from my body, got up and fell twice trying to make it to the sink. There, I washed my face and drank some water. As I started to walk away, I felt weak and dizzy. The nurses came running in just in time and helped me back to the bed.
I asked for a real meal and for the doctor to put me on a plane back to Amian today. Where is that stupid ambassador when I need him? Suddenly, he entered the room, perplexed and asking for pardon as they didn’t inform him about my condition. He had rushed to the hospital as soon as he saw the press conference. He told me that they kept the entire situation secret, and he desperately kept trying to beg my pardon. I replied that on the scale of incompetence, that’s epic. I gave him orders to contact the state to send a special medical airplane to take me home, now!
My phone service had been suspended. I
