Two days had passed since the events in the North District. Governor Sanguine had sent a team of investigators to determine what happened at the Alset facility. They found the fifteen bodies at the crash site of the bus. They found Patricia’s body near the wreckage of the flying vehicle. They found the bodies of seven guards at the facility. They found the dead assistant with the Sapes. They found the bodies of three more guards who had been killed in their homes. There was no sign of Demadrian.
Governor Sanguine called Locum to inform him of what had happened.
‘It was a complete massacre,’ said Sanguine. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.’
‘Tell me exactly what happened,’ probed Locum in a serious tone. ‘Even the smallest detail would greatly help.’
Sanguine agreed. He went through in detail all the information he had. He even described in detail the photographs his team had taken. Locum made many enquiring questions along the way. Sanguine obliged by answering all of them. Sanguine informed Locum that he was going to have a press conference later that day to inform the public about what had happened. He told Locum that he would not divulge too much detail. Locum agreed with this approach. Locum ended the call by insisting that copies of the evidence were to be sent to him.
Locum called an immediate family meeting. All the bloodline family members were still in Carrington. Therefore, it did not take long to gather them.
Locum explained to the family what he had been told about Patricia, Demadrian, and the facility in the North District. Everyone around the table was devastated to hear the news.
‘I want to go to the North District,’ said Jenna. ‘I know Demadrian is alive.’
‘It’s too dangerous,’ replied Locum. ‘Governor Sanguine and his team have the best chances of finding him.’
‘I’m so sorry; I should have said something,’ said Jenna as she put her face into her hands.
‘You acted out of loyalty,’ said Locum softly. ‘Sadly, that can be misplaced when others lack it.’
‘Cryptic as always, father,’ said Hadrian, frowning.
‘Not really,’ replied Locum. ‘You just don’t pay enough attention.’
The others at the table grumbled.
‘That’s all,’ said Locum. ‘You may return to whatever you were doing. Jenna, would you kindly assist me back to my room?’
Jenna helped Locum back into bed. Locum grabbed her arm. ‘We need to talk in private about what happened in North,’ he told her.
‘It is both tragic and perplexing,’ said Jenna as she placed her hand on Locum’s hand. ‘Demadrian’s girlfriend has to be behind all this.’
‘Blaming an external party may bring some comfort,’ said Locum as he grimaced. ‘However, this most likely is not the case.’
Jenna pulled her arm away from him.
‘You know Demadrian better than anyone,’ said Locum. ‘His desire to invent and discover has become insatiable. It far outweighs his moral compass.’
‘Are you saying the mothers and the babies were trying to escape Demadrian?’ enquired Jenna as she looked downward.
‘I believe they were there because of Demadrian,’ said Locum. ‘However, it appears Patricia’s arrival prompted their escape.’
Jenna moved back over to hold Locum’s hand.
‘They found one driver, eight mothers, and only six babies,’ said Locum. ‘I think two babies were rescued by an external party. The rescuer would have assumed the North was not safe. She most likely flew them to another district. The Capital District would be the most likely destination.’
‘Sounds reasonable,’ said Jenna. ‘I’ll call the medical centres in the Capital City to see if any injured babies were dropped off in the last couple of days.’
Jenna’s phone calls confirmed that two babies were dropped off in the early hours of the next morning. She sent two employees from the Alset branch in the Capital City to visit the babies.
Later that day, when the employees arrived, Governor Ryan and James were at the medical centre.
‘Have you come to claim your lost property?’ asked Ryan in a stern tone to the employees.
‘No, we’re here to check on two babies,’ said one employee.
‘They were dropped off here a couple of days ago,’ said the other employee.
‘They were rescued from the North facility,’ said James loudly as he turned towards a small group of guards. ‘These two are here to claim them like nothing happened.’
The guards approached the Alset employees. They quickly escorted them from the medical centre.
‘How much more suffering can this company inflict?’ said Ryan in a slightly raised voice as he watched the employees escorted from the medical centre.
‘They will for as long as they are protected,’ said James. ‘Hence the reason they coerced voters to support their candidate.’
Ryan huffed and shook his head.
‘Let’s visit these two wonderful survivors,’ said James in a softer tone of voice.
A medical officer led Ryan and James to the room where the two babies were kept. Inside the room, the two babies were playing inside a crib. Sitting next to the crib was the Hat Lady.
‘Here they are, the two wonder babies!’ exclaimed James in joy as he looked at both of them.
‘Duffo, he Marlon,’ said Duffo as he patted Marlon on the chest.
‘Wow, they’re talking!’ exclaimed James. ‘What are they? Just four or five months old.’
‘Only around 2 months,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘They’re growing quickly.’
‘Big nose!’ called out Duffo as he pointed to James. ‘It’s soo big!’
‘They are incredibly perceptive,’ said the Hat Lady with a grin.
‘So what’s happening here?’ asked Ryan.
‘Alset Company has been conducting experiments on babies,’ said James. ‘They want to further enhance their family’s dominance.’
Ryan frowned; he was not sure how to respond.
‘All the Alset family members have had their intelligence enhanced using something referred to as the blue juice,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘The juice simulates the chemical reactions in Locum’s body, the only member of the family who naturally has this advantage. Unfortunately, the effects of the blue juice are temporary. It appears they have developed something that will make their gains in intelligence permanent.’
‘What now?’ asked Ryan, sounding concerned.
‘We need to expose them,’ said James firmly. ‘Experimenting on babies is abhorrent. Gaining an unfair advantage through enhanced intelligence is also unethical.’
‘I trust you to fully expose them for their actions,’ said Ryan as he patted James on the shoulder. ‘We need to write some laws to protect our citizens from experimentation.’
‘I’m on it,’ said James, grinning.
‘Big, big, big, big!’ chanted the babies as they clapped their hands.
‘These babies are going to need a new home,’ said the Hat Lady as she looked up at James and Ryan.
‘Do they have family?’ asked Ryan.
‘Their mothers were killed in the bus crash,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘The other family members were disposed of through other means.’
‘Care to elaborate on that second point?’ asked Ryan.
‘It is quite grim,’ said the Hat Lady, ‘but I can give you an example.’
‘Please do,’ said James while pulling a sideways grin.
‘Do you remember the Carvaress fire?’ asked the Hat Lady.
‘Of course,’ said Ryan, ‘it was one of the worst tragedies.’
‘The surviving member of the family, a young girl, mysteriously disappeared,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I believe the Alset family took her. I believe she might have been one of the mothers who died on that bus. I found the name “Noilemac” embroidered on the blanket Duffo was wrapped in. It is a very unusual name. She may have been his mother or possibly one of the other mothers.’
‘The Carvaress family was a truly noble family,’ said James. ‘It is unfair that Governor Sanguine should keep their fortune frozen. It rightly belongs to these two boys.’
‘Definitely,’ said Ryan. ‘I trust you to appoint a guardian for these two boys as well as manage their finances until they come of age.’
‘That’ll not be a problem,’ said James confidently. ‘I already have someone in mind.’
‘Excellent,’ said Ryan as he nodded his head.
A few hours later, Governor Sanguine made a statement regarding the events in the North District. He revealed only minimal details of what had happened. However, he did appeal to the public for any information they had on the whereabouts of Demadrian.
Following the governor’s statement, Yensid Media revealed the type of testing that had been taking place in the North District as well as how the Alset family had benefitted from their secret blue juice. The news from both events strongly swayed public opinion against the Alset family. Joan and Sally began preparations for a massive protest to oppose Alset operations in the North District.
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my 
