Adoptions were few and far between. However, the number of orphans kept increasing. Tiberius’ organised fights became more frequent and more and more brutal. The children had actually started killing each other. On each occasion, NB14572 stared down Tiberius. Each time he refused to engage with her in any way.
Another six years passed. During this time, Locum had invented the blue juice. The technology revolution had begun. A huge research facility had been built in the North District. The numbers working in the mines had greatly reduced as technology had vastly increased efficiency. Finally, as the surviving orphans became adults, the numbers in the orphanage began to decrease. There was no longer a need for Tiberius’ sick games. Tiberius also had new responsibilities. He often needed to fill in for his father, who had now devoted much of his time to his wife, who had fallen ill.
Tiberius went to the orphanage to inform them that they were going to hold their final fights. All the orphans gathered in the field behind the orphanage.
‘Our humble North has evolved. This place is no longer overflowing with lost souls,’ said Tiberius. ‘Most of you even have your own beds. The Alset Company and our magnificent chief have made this possible.’
‘Yaay!’ cheered Melandria as she clapped her hands.
‘Today, we have our final fights to determine who lives and who dies,’ said Tiberius as he turned to face the children. ‘Let’s have our ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen-year-olds duke it out.’
‘That’s so many!’ exclaimed Melandria.
‘We need to finish in style,’ replied Tiberius. ‘So many of them have never had the chance to take a life.’
Tiberius looked at the children carefully. His eyes met those of NB14572.
‘It’s your time to shine, NB14572,’ said Tiberius. He then quickly turned to NB14564. ‘You’ll fight her.’
‘I’m not fighting him,’ said NB14572.
‘You will if I tell you to,’ shouted Tiberius.
‘He’s pathetic and weak,’ shouted back NB14572. ‘I want to fight a real opponent. I want to fight you.’
‘I’m the captain of the guards. I’m the son of a chief,’ said Tiberius. ‘I don’t fight little girls.’
‘If you win, you can kill me and all the others if you choose,’ shouted NB14572. ‘If I win, this fight is over, and none of us ever have to play any of your sick games again.’
‘You’re willing to die and let me slaughter the lot of you,’ replied Tiberius in amazement.
‘No, I’m going to win,’ replied NB14572. ‘And I’m going to enjoy killing you.’
Tiberius stared at NB14572, and then he turned to his guards. ‘You were an orphan three years ago,’ he said to one of them. ‘You killed two if I recall.’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied the guard.
‘Fight her, and then kill her,’ said Tiberius. Tiberius pulled out a small dagger from his belt and tossed it to NB14572. ‘Here’s your weapon,’ he said, and then he turned to the guard. ‘You can use your own sword.’
The guard looked at NB14572 and chuckled to himself. She just coldly stared back at him.
He pulled out his sword to swing at her. She became invisible. He paused to look around carefully. He saw what he thought was a slight shimmer. He quickly swung his sword but hit nothing. This caused him to stumble slightly. Then he screamed in pain as NB14572’s dagger pierced his leg. He swung wildly, causing him to touch the ground with his hand to prevent himself from falling. Then he felt the cold blade of the dagger press against his throat. NB14572 became visible.
‘Please don’t kill me!’ begged the guard in desperation. ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’
‘I won’t kill you,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘I’ll do so much worse. You killed our brothers and sisters, you shit.’
She began stabbing him in the face. Two guards rushed over to them. They quickly pulled her off him.
‘Let those scars be a reminder that a little girl made you beg for mercy,’ she shouted at him as he lay on the ground, gasping in pain. Her eyes diverted to Tiberius. ‘Come on! Come on, fight me!’
‘Get him up,’ shouted Tiberius as he turned to his guards. ‘We need to get him to the medical facility.’
The guards helped the injured guard up.
Tiberius turned to face Melandria. ‘We’re done here for today,’ he told her. He turned around and walked away with the rest of the guards.
NB14564 rushed over to NB14572. ‘You did it. You saved us all from him,’ said NB14564 as he pulled her back to her feet.
NB14572 wrapped her arms around him. ‘The strength I have is the strength you gave me,’ she said as she kissed him.
Later that day, Tiberius returned to the mansion. Sanguine, who was sitting in his lounge, heard Tiberius enter.
‘Son,’ called out Sanguine. ‘Why is one of my guards at the medical facility?’
Tiberius entered the lounge. ‘He was injured at the orphanage,’ replied Tiberius.
‘How did that happen?’ asked Sanguine.
‘A child attacked him,’ replied Tiberius.
‘I assume that child was punished accordingly,’ said Sanguine.
‘I thought it was more important we took the guard to the medical facility,’ replied Tiberius. ‘I feared for his….’
‘Don’t lie to me,’ said Sanguine firmly. ‘You couldn’t care less about his well-being.’
Tiberius remained silent.
‘When my father was chief, there was a rebellion,’ said Sanguine. ‘They saw weakness, so they tried to overthrow him. Your grandmother and I were taken hostage. Every day, for a whole year, I watched as they raped her again and again. They didn’t even stop when she was dead.’
Tiberius stared at his father with an expressionless look on his face.
‘Eventually we were rescued,’ continued Sanguine. ‘It wasn’t by my father. He was dead. Chief Rundo’s guards rescued us. He had an army of several thousand. They were funded entirely by Locum Alset. The leaders of the rebellion were slaughtered. The rest became slaves to work in the mines. Locum became the steward until I came of age to lead as chief.’
‘Wouldn’t it have been easier to have just kept them as slaves?’ asked Tiberius.
‘Slaves rebel,’ replied Sanguine. ‘Locum granted them amnesty. They believed they were free, but that was only in name. They all still worked in the mines. In some ways, they were cheaper than slaves. We didn’t need to feed them or house them anymore. The wages were actually less than that. Their main concern was figuring out how to stay alive. They didn’t see rebellion as a way to meet that goal.’
Tiberius sighed and sat next to his father.
‘Things are changing rapidly,’ said Sanguine. ‘Technology and new job opportunities are bringing them out of poverty. It builds expectations. When expectations are unfulfilled, dissatisfaction grows. Our position could become precarious like it did for my father. We need to be firm and show them who is boss. We cannot rely on Waldo; he’s not like his father. Locum, as much as I love him, cannot be considered a reliable ally anymore, and I despise the rest of his family.’
‘What do you expect me to do?’ asked Tiberius.
‘Show them you are strong and in control,’ said Sanguine. ‘At the same time, do not go too far so that they see you as the enemy. It begins with how you treat those at the orphanage, but it also extends to how you treat all the residents in North. One day, you’ll be their chief.’
‘I understand,’ said Tiberius as he got up. ‘I know what to do now.’
‘I hope you do, son,’ said Sanguine. ‘There might be much more resting on your coming actions than you know.’
The next day, Tiberius arrived early at the orphanage. Melandria reluctantly invited him in.
‘Yesterday, things got out of control,’ said Tiberius. ‘I want to set things straight.’
‘The fights are over, right?’ asked Melandria forcefully.
‘Yes, they are done,’ said Tiberius. ‘However, little NB14572 still needs to be punished for her behaviour.’
‘I can take care of that,’ replied Melandria.
‘I doubt you can handle her,’ said Tiberius.
‘She can be mischievous, but yesterday was different,’ replied Melandria.
‘So she just changed, and now she’s back to normal again?’ asked Tiberius.
‘It’s that boy, NB14564,’ said Melandria. ‘She’s, well, kinda in love with him.’
‘Ah, young love!’ exclaimed Tiberius. ‘Such a beautiful thing. I understand her reaction now.’
‘So, we’re done then,’ said Melandria.
‘No, get them all out on the field,’ demanded Tiberius.
The children walked out onto the field.
Tiberius and two dozen guards were waiting for them.
‘Step forward, NB14572,’ called out Tiberius. ‘You need to be punished.’
The other children stood in front of her.
‘You’ll need to come through me,’ called out one child.
‘Me too,’ shouted another and then another.
Tiberius turned to one of his guards. ‘Grab that one,’ he shouted as he pointed to NB14564.
The children moved to prevent the guard from reaching him.
‘Get out of the way, or I’ll slaughter the lot of you,’ shouted Tiberius.
All the guards drew their swords.
NB14572 made her way to the front of the children. She walked towards him.
Tiberius put the blade of his sword to her throat.
‘You will beg for forgiveness!’ shouted Tiberius. ‘You will beg to me!’
‘It’s over. You will never treat us like that again,’ said NB14572 as she stared up at him. ‘Now turn around and leave.’
‘Kill the lot of them!’ shouted Tiberius to his guards.
The guards looked at each other. Then some of them started to sheath their swords. The others soon followed.
‘What are you doing?’ shouted Tiberius at his guards.
‘Leave us alone,’ shouted NB14572.
Tiberius stepped backwards, lowering his sword to his side.
NB14672 continued to stare at him.
There were a few moments of silence. The silence was broken when Melandria called the children back inside.
Tiberius stood back and watched them leave. He then turned towards his guards, but they had already left.
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 
