In Lake, Polly had prepared several dessert dishes in anticipation of Octavius’ return. She had made a fruit flan, pineapple meringue pie, and a trifle.
On the horizon, the Spirocopter appeared. Polly placed the desserts on a table. L6 Linap came out to join her. The Spirocopter landed in front of them.
‘Looks like he wants to see you this time,’ said Polly as she turned to L6 Linap.
‘I think he’s forgotten how outmatched he truly is,’ said L6 Linap as he grinned in contempt.
The Spirocopter door opened. Belford came out. He made several beeping sounds. He was followed by Roger One and Roger Two.
‘Maybe the freak finally died,’ said L6 Linap, rubbing his hands together in joy.
Belford handed Polly the samples of seaweed.
‘I can assure you he is not dead,’ said Jennifer. ‘He messaged me just fifteen minutes ago.’
‘So he’s gone back to hide in his little boat,’ said L6 Linap as he shook his head.
Suddenly, there was a loud roar.
‘What was that?’ said L6 Linap, sounding startled.
‘I think Octavius might have found another mode of transport,’ said Polly as several Sentray came into view.
L6 Linap panicked and ran off to hide amongst the ruins of some nearby buildings.
It soon became clear that Octavius was riding one of them.
‘I brought back some great new allies,’ shouted Octavius as he and the Sentray rapidly approached.
Octavius roared, and the Sentray stopped advancing. He poked the side of the Sentray he was riding, and she lowered her head so he could slide off. Octavius walked over to Polly, who was still standing by the table with the desserts.
‘They brought out my inner Sentray,’ said Octavius proudly as he thumped his chest. ‘We’re now great friends.’
‘You are now their new leader,’ said Polly. ‘That is very impressive.’
‘Well, the leader of this dozen,’ said Octavius as the desserts on the table caught his eye.
‘You have greatly improved our position,’ said Polly. ‘Help yourself to these treats as our show of gratitude.’
Octavius grabbed a spoon and began digging into the pineapple meringue pie. ‘This is yummy,’ said Octavius.
‘I’m sorry I was unable to make you the blancmange,’ said Polly. ‘I lacked the ingredients to perfect the flavour and consistency.’
‘I’m sure Downs has what we need,’ said Octavius as he scooped out the last of the meringue. ‘What happened to the annoying twat?’
‘He’s hiding over there,’ said Polly as she pointed to a building. ‘If you look carefully, you will see the top of his hair sticking up.’
Octavius burst out laughing, ‘He’s not so tough now. My friends made him poop his pants.’
‘My air quality readings suggest that is probably not the case,’ replied Polly.
‘You’re no fun, are you?’ said Octavius as he began eating the trifle.
‘The underground Linap are currently visiting Downs,’ said Polly. ‘It appears that the “annoying twat” is even more valuable to us. Once we have turned this seaweed into a viable cure, as you might say, it is time to “play our cards”.’
‘Our lab facilities are not in great nick,’ said Octavius as he finished his last mouthful of the trifle.
‘They don’t need to be,’ said Polly. ‘This stuff is a wonder cure in itself. It just needs a little tweaking to make it fit for purpose.’
‘Great,’ said Octavius as he stood up. ‘I’ll finish the flan off later. I need to take my new friends to the lake. They look hungry and thirsty.’
The Sentray that Octavius had arrived on was lying down with her tongue out. The others were standing around looking at each other.
Meanwhile in Downs, Orcilla was feeling better. She was sitting up in bed. Yassmay, Vulay, and Eugene had come to visit her.
‘We have great news,’ said Vulay as she held Orcilla’s hand. ‘They are on their way home now. You were right to make that deal with L7. He used his influence to help us.’
‘That is superb,’ replied Orcilla as she smiled.
‘L7’s actual name is Demadrian,’ said Vulay. ‘Our visitors knew all their names.’
‘Not quite all,’ said Yassmay. ‘There was no record of L1’s name.’
‘That is strange,’ replied Orcilla.
‘They’re all strange if you ask me,’ said Eugene. ‘I’m keeping a close eye on them until Freddy gets back.’
‘I should get up,’ said Orcilla. ‘It would be rude for me not to meet our guests in person.’
‘How did you hurt yourself so badly falling over?’ asked Yassmay.
‘I was careless,’ said Orcilla. ‘I just need to be more careful.’
‘You should rest for the rest of the day,’ said Vulay. ‘You can meet our guests this evening. Duffo has organised another feast for them.’
‘Yes, I’ll do that,’ said Orcilla as she nodded.
Later that day, preparations for the feast began. Hamlet and Rico transported fruit from the Central Agriculture Zone. Alex and his team arranged the fruit on different tables. Julie and Walter worked together to bake as many cakes as possible. Yassme made several of her speciality jumbo pizzas.
Yassmay entered the kitchen to talk to her sister.
‘Did you know Orcilla fell down and hurt herself badly?’ said Yassmay as she put her hands on her hips.
‘I didn’t know,’ replied Yassme as she continued putting toppings on the pizza she was making.
‘She’s coming to tonight’s feast,’ said Yassmay as she continued to stare at Yassme.
‘That’s great,’ replied Yassme. ‘She can’t be that badly hurt.’
‘Do you think you could make her her favourite jumbo dessert pizza?’ asked Yassmay.
‘I definitely could, but I don’t have the time,’ said Yassme as she looked up at Yassmay. ‘I have a long list of special requests by Duffo to get through.’
‘We’ll do it together like we always used to,’ said Yassmay as she put her hand on Yassme’s shoulder.
Yassme looked at her sister and frowned. ‘You want to make pizza with me!’ said Yassme as her frown turned into a smile.
‘More than that, I want my sister back,’ said Yassmay as a tear formed in her eye.
Yassme threw her arms around Yassmay, and they both tightly embraced.
Both of them quickly got to work filling Duffo’s request. This did not take long. After that, they made a special jumbo dessert pizza for Orcilla.
A few hours later, the party started. The town square was crowded with both Downs residents and the visiting underground Linap. They all tucked into the huge spread of food. Music blared out across the Commercial Zone. The technicians performed another synchronised dance routine. The Downs residents joined in, but they lacked the coordination and timing of the technicians.
The twins approached Orcilla. They were both carrying a jumbo dessert pizza each.
‘Thank you so much,’ said Orcilla as she smiled and looked at both of them. ‘I feel both energised and inspired.’
‘It’s been so tough on you recently,’ said Yassmay. ‘It’s the least we can do.’
‘How about the three of us share these amazing pizzas?’ suggested Orcilla.
The twins looked at each other, smiled, and nodded. The three of them walked over to the base of the giant statue of Hamlet, where they sat down to eat the pizza.
Lily was standing on the roof of the Hotel Prison. She watched Orcilla and the twins enjoying each other’s company as they ate the pizza together.
‘I suspected as much,’ said a voice from behind her.
Lily turned around; it was Eugene. He was dressed in his ceremonial enforcer uniform. His hair was neatly combed. Standing to his left was Julie; she was carrying a tray of cakes. Standing to his right was Phillip; he was carrying a tray of sliced fruit.
‘I didn’t want you to miss out on this party, friend,’ said Eugene as Julie and Phillip placed their trays on the poolside table. ‘It’s the most spectacular one we’ve had in years.’
‘I must admit I was yearning to join in,’ said Lily as she walked closer to Eugene. ‘Still, it is only fair that I pay for my crimes.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Eugene as he rubbed his fist. ‘I believe in the strong arm of the law. Hotel Prison was my project.’
‘You did an amazing job,’ said Lily as she sat at the poolside table. ‘This place is a powerful deterrent. No wonder Downs is crime-free.’
Julie and Phillip, who were still standing by the poolside table, looked at the pool and hot tub and then at each other. They shrugged their shoulders in slight confusion.
‘It’s the safest region ever,’ said Eugene as he sat opposite Lily.
‘It truly is,’ said Lily. ‘This is 100% because of the enforcers and your superb leadership.’
‘The key is vigilance,’ said Eugene as he grabbed a cake. ‘Search for suspicious characters before they can commit any atrocities.’
‘That’s brilliant,’ said Lily. ‘However, you can’t be everywhere. We have so many visitors; there could be suspicious characters lurking anywhere.’
Eugene leapt to his feet and sprinted to the edge of the roof. His eyes darted from side to side as he rapidly scanned the crowd below.
‘I suggest you install surveillance cameras,’ said Lily as she began placing food on her plate. ‘They’ll give you thousands of eyes all over Downs.’
Eugene turned around and looked at Lily. ‘Sounds like a great idea, friend,’ said Eugene, rubbing his chin. ‘Any idea where we could get some?’
‘I know. I know,’ said Julie as she raised her hand excitedly. ‘Colin has hundreds in storage. Vulay’s teams bring dozens back from their salvage and rescue missions.’
‘You’re very perceptive, friend,’ said Eugene as he walked back over to the poolside table. ‘Maybe I need to keep an eye on you.’
Julie gulped and stepped backward.
‘This region is full of cake fanatics,’ giggled Lily. ‘Julie meets everyone. She knows more about Downs than anyone else.’
Julie smiled and nodded.
‘Right, I’m off to see Colin,’ said Eugene as he ran towards the lift. ‘These fanatics need to be located and dealt with decisively.’
‘Sad that he had to leave so soon,’ said Lily as she looked at Julie and Phillip. ‘How about both of you join me tonight?’
Julie and Phillip sat down at the poolside table with Lily. The three of them began to chat casually while they enjoyed the food.
Once the excitement of the feast had died down, Orcilla approached Miro, who was standing with Duffo.
‘Hello, I’m Orcilla,’ said Orcilla as she held her hand out to Miro. ‘I’m a member of the Downs Region senior leadership team.’
‘I’m honoured to meet you,’ said Miro as he shook Orcilla’s outstretched hand.
‘I’m sorry I have taken so long to introduce myself,’ said Orcilla. ‘I’ve had a few health problems.’
‘I hear health is a major concern for your region,’ replied Miro.
‘Our water supply was contaminated,’ said Orcilla. ‘We’ve been unable to find the cure for the many who were affected by it.’
‘That is such a terrible tragedy,’ said Miro as he shook his head. ‘We have medical supplies that we would happily spare if that would help.’
‘We would be very grateful for your generosity,’ said Orcilla as she nodded.
‘Of course,’ said Miro with a smile. ‘We will need your support in helping us establish above-ground settlements. It appears Downs is the only place untouched by the collapse of your society.’
‘We’ll gladly help,’ replied Orcilla.
‘There is still the issue of our missing ancestor,’ said Miro. ‘I was hoping that you would retrieve him for us. However, Duffo has persuaded me that we are better positioned to search for his whereabouts.’
‘The missing ancestor is Hamish Alset,’ said Duffo. ‘He is the uncle of my father, my adoptive father. He is the most senior member of the Alset family. Therefore, he is the leader of our family.
‘Oh okay,’ said Orcilla as she nodded.
‘Therefore, he’s the leader of all our tribes,’ added Miro.
‘I understand why he is so important to you,’ replied Orcilla. ‘We are grateful that you do not place this responsibility on us.’
‘We know tough times,’ said Miro. ‘We have endured, and we have survived. We wish the same for the lovely residents of Downs.’
Orcilla nodded and then shook Miro’s hand.
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 
