Several weeks had passed since the protest outside the palace. Several thousand enforcers had assembled outside of both the Phoenix and Farnham Districts. The enforcers outside Phoenix were to advance on Cellrebrum, and the ones outside Farnham were to advance on Carrington.
Demadrian had secretly arrived in Cellrebrum City. Over the years, he had established a few contacts. He had informed them about the tunnels. He told them they would need to begin escaping upon his order.
None of them knew about Hadrian. However, they knew about a maximum-security prison. Demadrian believed this was the most likely place they would hold his father. He stole the identification of an enforcer and shapeshifted into him to gain access to the prison. The access was limited, but it was sufficient for Demadrian to find where his father was located in the prison. He believed his best opportunity to rescue his father would be during the chaos of the full-scale attack.
Hermon had made his way back to Carrington City. He gathered the Alset family members, Benny, and the Hat Lady in the lounge of the mansion annex. He informed them about what he and Demadrian had been told by Reveileb. None of them was surprised. They had been preparing for such a day for years. The news of Hadrian gave them hope. They all had faith that Demadrian would be able to find and rescue him.
‘The news of my brother changes things a little,’ said Hamish. ‘Someone will need to give up their place for him.’
‘I’ll drop out,’ said Portia as she raised her hand. Portia was Locum’s second oldest daughter. ‘I feel my experience would be better suited in the present. The future is for my children.’
‘We’ll lead the underground world together,’ said Phallia as she walked over and put her arm around Portia.
‘Really, you would rather spend the rest of your life in a dank cave than wake up to an amazing future,’ said Lendall, Portia’s eldest son.
‘It’ll be a post-apocalyptic future, but probably better than a dank cave,’ rebuked Gilling, Portia’s youngest daughter.
‘Both options are scary,’ replied Hamish. ‘It’s whatever you are most comfortable with.’
‘Okay, I’ll confirm the final list of those to be frozen,’ said Jenna as she looked around the room at all the worried faces. ‘Demadrian, Hadrian, father, Hermon, Wendell, Yvonne, Lendall, Gilling, Benny, and myself.’
‘That’s only ten,’ stated Wendell, Hermon’s younger brother.
‘Seriously,’ said the Hat Lady in an annoyed tone as she folded her arms.
‘Yes, of course,’ chuckled Jenna. ‘It’s difficult to include you when you don’t have a name.’
‘How about useless cripple,’ remarked the Hat Lady as she rolled her eyes. ‘You’re just too ashamed to put your thoughts in words.’
‘Enough of the bickering,’ said Hamish firmly. ‘It’s not productive. Besides, you’re upsetting Benny.’
‘I’m so sorry, Benny,’ said Jenna as she rubbed his arm.
The Hat Lady became invisible.
‘I’m sure she’s sorry too,’ added Jenna.
‘I’m not upset with her,’ replied Benny as he pushed Jenna’s hand off his arm. ‘She’s done everything to help us.’
Later that day, after head count, Jenna approached the Hat Lady. She was on the lower floor veranda.
‘I can’t believe we would ever find ourselves in this position,’ said Jenna as she approached the Hat Lady.
‘You still have no idea,’ said the Hat Lady as she turned to face Jenna. ‘The worst hell imaginable is heading our way. I know I’ve been there before.’
‘You’re going to get through it,’ said Jenna confidently. ‘You’re going to get us through it.’
‘Here we go with the weekly Jenna motivational speech,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I just want to jump up and pump my fist. Oh wait, I can’t.’
‘Okay, I’ll cut the crap,’ said Jenna in a less upbeat tone. ‘They’re coming to slaughter us. Many, even most of us, will be horribly killed.’
‘That’s the spirit!’ said the Hat Lady, grinning slightly. ‘I’m finally rubbing off on you. It only took twenty years.’
‘If I’m going to die, I might as well die fighting for us,’ said Jenna as she placed her hands on the Hat Lady’s shoulders. ‘Live or die, I want you by my side.’
‘Well, it’s all or nothing,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘I’ll give you everything.’
Jenna put her arms around the Hat Lady. ‘I know you will,’ she said as she kissed the top of the Hat Lady’s head. ‘I know you will.’
In a few days, the Capital Enforcers were to join the other district enforcer units for the strike on Carrington and Cellrebrum. Duffo had grown incredibly frustrated. Tiberius’ popularity appeared to have been saved as the fervour for revenge on the Alset family grew. Duffo believed it was his time to strike. He called on the new Linap senior enforcers to organise an assassination attempt. They met in a small lodge on the other side of Ginger’s estate.
‘Our time of opportunity is upon us,’ said Duffo as he paced between the senior enforcers flanking him. ‘Tiberius will be exposed. His protection will be minimal. His dying in combat will not even look like an assassination. We can blame it all on the vile Alset family.’
The senior enforcers began to thump their chests in enthusiasm.
‘I will come back victorious, and I will replace him as governor,’ shouted Duffo. ‘It is time the real Linap took control. He is the past. We are the future.’
Suddenly, the senior enforcers shapeshifted to the senior enforcers that served under Percival. One of them shapeshifted into a hooded figure. The senior enforcers grabbed Duffo. They forced him onto his knees. The hooded figure approached Duffo. He was holding a knife. He pressed the knife against his throat.
‘You treacherous little shit,’ said the hooded figure in a gruff voice.
Duffo recognised the voice. He closed his eyes. He was expecting to be killed.
The hooded figure pulled his hood down. It was Sanguine. Duffo continued to clench his eyes closed. Sanguine stared at him for a few moments.
‘You’re pathetic,’ said Sanguine angrily. ‘You’re arrogant. You’re a coward. You’re a damn fool. You disgust me.’
‘Go on,’ spluttered Duffo. ‘Do it. Just do it.’
‘I should,’ said Sanguine as he put the knife away. ‘But I’m not going to. I’m not even going to have you arrested.’
Duffo opened his eyes. ‘What is this all about?’ asked Duffo, sounding confused.
‘I agree with you,’ said Sanguine. ‘Well, at least in part.’
‘What?’ said Duffo in surprise.
‘Arrangements have been made,’ said Sanguine as he walked past Duffo. ‘Stay out of it, and one day you might lead your miserable kind.’
Sanguine gestured to the senior enforcers. They left the lodge. Duffo put his hand on the wall of the lodge and sighed in relief.
Earlier that day, Tiberius was in his grand office. He had called in Sanguine to discuss the attack on Carrington and Cellrebrum.
‘Son, I would like you to reconsider your approach to Cellrebrum,’ said Sanguine as he approached Tiberius, who was leaning against his desk.
‘Losing them will barely impact our economy,’ said Tiberius. ‘After all, you told me you were opposed to slavery. In a way, you should consider this a form of kindness.’
‘The masses are calling for the Alset family’s blood, not that of those in Cellrebrum,’ said Sanguine. ‘Doing so could….’
‘That’s enough,’ interrupted Tiberius. ‘The new Linap despise them. They will have no qualm over their fate. Maybe you need to think about what I need.’
‘What need might that be, son?’ asked Sanguine.
‘I need to get up close,’ said Tiberius firmly. ‘I want to see the suffering in their eyes and the smell of their piss before they die. I have been deprived of that thrill for such a long time.’
‘Those are the desires of a savage,’ replied Sanguine angrily. ‘A ruler can rightly desire power and wealth, but not the macabre. Any brutality is a means to an end and not an end in itself.’
‘A true ruler decides both the means and the ends,’ said Tiberius. ‘I’m pretty sure you taught me that.’
‘Then I have failed you,’ said Sanguine in a sad tone.
‘You have done no such thing,’ said Tiberius, chuckling slightly. ‘You have been my idol and my hero. I am the best you.’
Sanguine hung his head in shame as his son’s words pierced him.
‘Twenty years ago was the greatest moment of my life,’ said Tiberius as he began to pace. ‘Nothing else has come close since.’
‘Yes, son,’ said Sanguine as he raised his head. ‘I was truly proud when you became governor. That is what I wanted for you.’
Tiberius burst into laughter.
‘Did I say something humorous?’ asked Sanguine with a perplexed look on his face.
‘The grand manipulator, the one who sees all, can be so blind,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘The Grand Final was my masterpiece. I destroyed James Yensid, the genius Alset family, and whatshisname, and I was glorified as a hero in one swoop. Still, these were only footnotes to the height of my pleasure. The screams, the panic, and the sweet stench of suffering and death filled me. I was aroused in new and exciting ways.’
Sanguine stared intensely at his son.
‘That look! Oh, that look!’ said Tiberius in glee. ‘Something I haven’t seen in a while. You really didn’t know. That day comes back to reward me once more.’
Sanguine continued to stare at Tiberius as his breathing became heavier.
‘I stand corrected,’ said Tiberius as his grin broadened. ‘My truly most enjoyable moment came before that. Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!’
‘That’s enough,’ said Sanguine firmly. ‘Say no more.’
‘Again and again and again,’ said Tiberius as he walked up close to his father. ‘Her every last breath filled me with exquisite pleasure. Then, when I looked at you, it was like your soul had been torn from your body.’
Sanguine’s body filled with rage.
‘You have served me well,’ said Tiberius as he placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. ‘When I decide your time is over. I will send you off in a most spectacular way.’
Sanguine turned and abruptly left the grand office.
‘I feel that time was just pushed so much closer,’ Tiberius said to himself as he watched Sanguine leave.
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 
