We went back to the camp.. and we didn’t exchange any serious words during the trip. I had to think whether I should stay or go back to Vycee.. what would happen in either case.. and all the inevitable consequences for either decision.. after some discussion with the Major, he suggested that I should stay overnight in the camp, think it over and then make the decision in the following morning.
The following day, I had breakfast with Alore, and after the usual nice talk, he said,
“Listen Hearts, Major Minah is suggesting that if you are uncomfortable to stay in the camp .. for whatever reason.. why don’t you stay for a while in the cave.. now that it had been cleansed.. Luce cannot hurt you there.. unless you let him.”
“Oh.. hurt me? What do you mean?” I was confused.
“You are smart enough to realize.. as soon as they offered you .. what they call the gift.. they watched your reaction.. anything short of accepting their offer means.. you are not fully programmed.. in other words.. they shall realize what I could discover a long time ago.. you are still a Vino.. that could mean one thing___”
He stopped and gave me an inquisitive look..
“Means what? What do you mean?” I got worried.
“You have to be handed over to the CCP as a captive.. to be reprogrammed.”
I thought for a moment and realized that the possibility existed.. but I thought I might be able to weasel my way around it.. so I slowly said,
“They cannot do that.. they cannot prove it.. after all my return will prove that I was willing to stay___”
“But.. your refusal to get the gift will override everything else.. no.. wait.. let me explain.. even if you try to prove your loyalty.. in whatever crude or vicious way they ask.. you shall be in his territory by your own will.. you shall be stripped of all privileges to guarantee that you cannot run away___”
I signaled him to stop.. His words reminded me of what the hybrid said. “Commander Hort is an apostate” ..Deemeon didn’t accept that at the time.. but now.. oh, now, I instantly realized what Deemeon would do.. under the best possible scenarios, he would deactivate my gateway abilities.. like he did after my return from DC. I would not be able to go to the forest or the camp or anywhere without him controlling my movements.. once I set foot down there willingly.. there shall be no turning back as a human again. The decision was actually made for me..
The cave was changed completely into a hospitable place.. they provided me with a bed and utensils for food, reading and writing materials.. I was given the Vycee horse to use, since the distance to the camp was not too far. The Major himself came to make sure of my comfort and satisfaction,
“If you need anything Hearts, please let us know.. you can stop at the camp at any time, you must know that you are welcome as a member of the family.”
“Provided I carry my own weight?” I noted with a little nod
He laughed lightly shaking his head approvingly and saying,
“Not right now.. there’ll be time for that.. and I am sure you shall be more than competent to carry your share of duties.”
Then Alore, who was listening and actually helped in all the arrangements said,
“Hearts.. please be safe.. you must know that Luce may come to see you here.. Oh..yes.. he can .. he can come here in spite of the cleansing.. he can come into the camp itself.. the only difference is.. here, or in the camp.. Luce has no power.. he cannot force you to do anything you don’t want to do.. but he can, and will try to trick you..remember that he wrote the book on lying.. please again.. heed the warning and be alert.. be safe.”
I spent a few days in the cave and settled into some kind of routine.. there was a lot of game all around and I took some pleasure in catching and preparing my own food.. the scenery on the top of the mountain was splendid.. though the wind and the rains could be really ferocious when they come.. Alore stopped by a couple of times, then he informed me that he had to go on an assignment for a week or two.. he asked one of the campers by the name of Benjamin, to check on me frequently.. at least once, I had to visit the camp to get some water from their reserves.. and they showed me how to save rain waters.. but that visit had also revealed to me the conflicting emotions those soldiers had towards me.. some appeared to pity me.. many were openly hostile.. and yet some of them seemed indifferent.. I couldn’t blame them if they hated me.. I felt deep inside that I was more like a burden on them.. some kind of a headache which they would certainly prefer to do without.. gradually I managed to organize my thoughts and decided to start writing down everything as it happened.. to remind myself of how things developed into the current status and also.. hoping it might help somebody else if they could read it, to understand what they would be dealing with.. nonetheless, in the process of recording all my recollections, I discovered that there were gaping holes in my information and more questions emerged than answers..
Occasionally, the thought occurred to me about what in the world were they thinking and doing down there in Abysnos? How did Deemeon discover my flight and what was the reaction of each of the players down there? The desire to know was never powerful enough to urge me to try to find out.. though the thought of living forever haunted me sometimes and was immediately dismissed by merely remembering the appearance of the monster who occupied this same cave before.
One morning, a few weeks later, I went out hunting, chose the spot where I set up my trap and moved to hide at some distance as usual.. I had my writing materials and got busy.. eventually my expected victim came along and went inspecting the area.. it was a large hare and I put down my papers and prepared to catch my dinner.. however, as everything was going smoothly, a fox suddenly came into the picture.. he chased the hare.. the hare ran into the trap which snapped and caught it inside.. yet the fox didn’t give up.. it jumped onto the trap and broke it.. the hare ran out and fled.. while the fox’s front leg got caught into the broken trap and the animal started moaning piteously trying to run pulling the trap around.. I got out of my hideaway angrily.. stopped near the injured fox.. gave it a long sorry look and talked to it as if it were a human menace without so much as moving my lips,
“Why did you do that.. you stupid animal.. well I guess you want to have dinner too.. go fetch your food away from me.. look what you have done?.. I should leave you trapped and innjured until you die.. right?”
But I couldn’t leave it to die.. I cautiously approached it, freed its injured leg and let it limp away fast. The trap was damaged and I had to set up a new one later.. so I spent the rest of the day waiting and searching and chasing other game with my crude bow and arrow.. and finally I got my dinner and headed back.. when I was a short distance from home, I noticed a stranger near my cave lying on the ground, with several bloody wounds all over his body and on his face.. he was not wearing the uniform of the campers.. I approached the miserable man and asked him,
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah.. I am all right.. if you could help me go back to the camp?”
“You came from the camp?” I wondered.
“Yes.. I was trying to check on the guy in the cave.. but the horse .. something spooked my stupid horse.. it threw me down and ran away.”
Something was clearly out of place in this story but I couldn’t pick it up right away.. I thought I should take him to the cave and clean his wounds first.. so I knelt down, pulled him up to help him stand.. he said,
“You are very kind.. in spite of the hatred of the guys at the camp, you are still helping me.”
I was already holding him half way up when it popped up in my mind.. a spotted horse spooked, kicking his Vino rider??.. that is what seemed to be wrong in the story.. I dropped him to the ground again and walked a few feet away..
“Nice try.. Deemeon.”
He laughed loudly and jumped to his feet..
“No.. not the chief.. his son.” He said in his usual voice, “shame on you Hort.. it took you sometime before you could recognize me.. you forgot your close friend Instine.”
I looked at him for a while.. I seemed to have some soft spot for this creature.. I just couldn’t help it.. but I managed to hold back.. kept my distance and said,
“So you can change your appearance .. like your father?”
“You were so kind to free me from that crude rabbit trap back there.” He laughed heartily
“You? You lousy bastard.” I snapped, “How did you get here?”
“I could’ve turned into a bird and flew away.. but you were so.. so.. kindhearted.. you see.. I can do a lot of things.. down there I was trying to appear .. human.. yeah, like you.. after all, I was human once before.. but now you know everything.. no restrictions.” He laughed again lightly, with a wink.
“What brings you here? You should be busy working on the repairs.”
“Noh.. I just came to see you.. I miss you.. we all miss you.. you are our favorite person.. but then you know that already.”
“I asked you.. what brings you here? If you think you can convince me.. or force me to go back there.. save your effort.. no words and no force will pluck me out of this place.”
“Why Hort.. you had everything you wanted at your finger tips.. you lived in luxury and you are a commander in the strongest army in the world___”
“Save your breath.. I am not going back. Period.”
“Look at you .. living in a cave like the animals.. fetching your food and saving rain water.. don’t you feel cold at night?.. remember the cozy cottages on the greens of the BKC and comfy rooms of your bunker___”
“And the screams of tortured people in the CCP.. and constant endless war.. and.. and .. venomous and consuming hatred everywhere.. you want me to keep going.”
“Yes, but you had reached the top of the food chain.. you were the most feared person in all Vycee.. you had influence.. you had the ear of the chief and became his councilor.. no one could have topped that in all the world..”
“Instine.. you are a fool.. Pryade was at the top of the world too.. he was his son.. just like you.. and as soon as he found someone to replace him, he didn’t hesitate.”
He didn’t respond right away.. I started to walk away and he silently followed me.. then as we approached the cave, he said,
“You know he will not let go.”
I didn’t answer and I didn’t look back.. so he added,
“Deemeon will never give up.. He has his bag of tricks and he will get you.. one way or the other.. he will not stop until he gets you. Make it easy on yourself and just come back.”
At the entrance of the cave I turned around and said calmly,
“He shall try.. and.. he shall fail.. I suggest you take care of your work down below.. you have no way to get out of his clutches and I am sorry for you.. but I am still free.. and I shall cherish my freedom to the last.. good bye Instine.”
The following day I paid a visit to the camp and asked to meet the Major. He was not there, so they promised to let him know. I waited a few days trying to reflect on the inevitable confrontation with Deemeon, expected to happen sooner or later.. I was sure he would make his entrance very dramatic and fearsome like he did the first time I saw him at the palace, and I knew I had to be prepared for it..
A few days passed, and I thought I had to go back to try to meet the Major.. but eventually I returned from my daily hunting trek to find Ben, the friend Alore charged with keeping an eye on me, waiting for me at the cave.. he told me that the Major would like to see me, so we went together to the camp..
I explained to him what happened when Instine came to see me, and I concluded,
“It is almost certain that Deemeon.. I mean Luce, will come to see me himself..and I have to be ready for that.. I know what he is capable of and____”
“Don’t worry Hearts.. he is probably going to send more of his agents first.. to get you weary and sick of their nagging.. and then he would come.. first with promises and great offers.. and if that fails .. he shall start to threaten and frighten you.. so.. as you are already aware of his tactics.. it should not have any effect on you.. these things usually work against the unwary, unsuspecting and gullible.”
I was troubled and he could see that.. for some reason, I wished if Alore was around.. his confidence and reassuring demeanor were always very comforting to me..then the Major did something unexpected,
“Here Hearts.. take this sword.. it is special.. a cleansed sword.. give me the sword you have and we shall cleanse it too.”
“why? What do you expect to happen?” I was startled.
“You saw how he could change his appearance? Instead of showing up as a human, he can show up as a bear, or a mountain lion, to frighten you.. we have no bears or mountain lions on this plateau.. so if this happens, don’t hesitate to strike it with the cleansed sword.. only a slight scratch is enough to let him recoil and return to his original form.. usually he would disappear right away.. he will be too embarrassed.”
“Wow.. did this happen before?”
“Yes.. it happened many times.. unfortunately at least two of our soldiers were not alert enough and the monster which resided in the cave before, succeeded in snatching them.”
“They didn’t have a.. a cleansed sword?”
“They did.. every Vino soldier has one..but they were tricked undoubtedly and were taken unaware.. we only knew they were taken when we found their cleansed swords discarded after they were gone and their horses returned without their riders.”
“So.. Please forgive my ignorance.. but. How.. I mean .. how do you cleanse these swords to have such power?”
He looked at me in utter surprise.. then he smiled kindly.. and said,
“They are cleansed the same way all the babies are cleansed in Vinovia.. like everything else is cleansed.. it is rubbed with oil.”
“Rubbed with oil? What do you mean rubbed with oil.. do babies get rubbed with oil?”
It was my turn to be surprised.. he shook his head like one who suddenly realized the truth about some hidden mystery.. he said,
“Yeah.. now I can see the enigma that you are.. you must have been born in Vinoville.. those people there need to learn..”
“Please explain.”
“You see Hearts.. all babies in Vinovia must be rubbed with oil when they are born.. to be protected against the medicines used by Luce and his agents.. as you have already seen firsthand.. they have that huge facility where they could program people to do their bidding.. anyone who was properly rubbed with oil, like Alore.. and.. and Dusky.. is protected against this procedure.”
“and Deemeon.. um.. Luce.. does not know that?”
“No.. they know that.. and they have been trying all these years to find some way to overcome the oil protection.. they actually think they succeeded.. and we like to let them think so.. it gives us an edge in this constant battle.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You see.. different cities in Vinovia.. have different traditions.. or.. ways of applying the oil rub.. some cities like Vino City.. that is where Alore was born.. do it in a manner slightly different from another city like Vinoville, where you were born.. so.. in Vino City, people are meticulous and put great emphasis on the perfect and timely application.. while in Vinoville, and some others, they are more concerned about the fanfare and.. celebration and other trivial matters which sometimes delay the application or reduce its perfection.. it becomes more.. symbolic.. or.. how do I say that__”
“How symbolic? You mean they do not complete the oil rub application?”
“It is difficult to explain.. but yeah.. in effect the ceremony itself becomes more important than the perfect application of the oil rub.. therefore, it leaves those individuals invariably vulnerable to the medicines and treatments used by the agents of Luce if ever they get caught into their clutches.”
“Do these people realize this? Why don’t we alert them to this danger?”
“We did.. but they do not listen.. their leadership is hardheaded.. they know they still have the protection in the homeland.. but do not realize what happens if these persons are lured by the agents of Abysnos.. you see..once those people are caught.. they never get back.. very rarely, a person like you is saved from their snares.. that is why Luce thinks he has overcome the oil rub.”
My mind went back to the screams.. and the tortured man in the suspended wire bed.. I must have been subjected to all these processes.
“So if the oil rub was done correctly___”
“None of their medicine would have any effect.. like Alore.. he spent a long time being treated in that horrible place.. and he pretended to be programmed.. but he was completely immune.. he actually went there especially to discover the procedure they use.. so that we can counteract it.”
“He must have endured unspeakable horrors in the CCP.”
“Yes.. it is like cutting into someone’s body while he is fully aware.” He said with a sad smile.
“And Instine.. he said he used to be human.. he .. must have been like me.. but he surrendered to the temptation of living forever.. the poor fool”
There was a long silence, then I said,
“Is there any hope of saving such a person?”
“So far.. we know of no remedy.. once he transferred to the Luce nature.. sadly, it is .. permanent.”
For the following several weeks I was expecting the visit by Deemeon any day or night.. I would go on my hunting, with the expectation I might meet him out there or find him waiting for me when I return.. I kept imagining the different ways he may show up, and how I would handle each of his probable tricks.. I never parted from the cleansed sword given to me by Major Minah. Sometimes, I even dreamed of having to duel with the Luce and usually I woke up sweating and exhausted.. until it finally happened… in a different way
I was cooking my dinner on a small fire outside my cave, when sugar babe, the girl I used to meet in the entertainment cottage emerged from behind the brush nearby,
“It’s been a long time sweet prince.. don’t you miss me?”
I was startled for a short while, then I smiled and spoke sarcastically,
“Hello Deemeon, I was expecting you.. is this the best trick you could come up with?”
She looked sad and answered,
“Shame on you.. what makes you think I am someone else? Did you__”
“Try again,” I interrupted, “this is really lame.” I began to laugh.
“You seem to have lost your mind my sweet___” she persisted
“If you were whom you claim to be, you would be gasping for breath after climbing up here.. sugar babe was no leader and had no way to use a gateway___”
Suddenly, everything changed and a furious Wyee emerged in her full charming and loathsome appearance,
“So you are so clever.. huh.. you shall fall, one way or the other, you shall be caught.”
I checked my food on the fire, and after a few moments I said,
“Care to have some food? I feel generous today.”
“Oh, I warned them about you.. so many times, I warned them.. all of them.. but he.. he never listened to me.. I told him to send you back with the re-usable.. but.. no.. he insisted.. ‘he is pristine’ he said.. ‘shall be my third son’ he said.. look at you now.. pathetic.” She was jumping around me and keenly wary about my sword.
“So you were more clever than Cface and everyone else? Or you just feared that I would take your place?”
“It was obvious from the beginning.. you completed the reprogramming protocol in mere eight months.. it usually takes at least twenty grueling months for the average Vino.. it was clear for anyone to see.. you were dangerous.. but.. he even made you a commander.. a commander.. the fool..”
“So, why are you here? Did you think your silly trick of sugar babe would be my demise? Come on, this is really childish.. better go back and think of something original,” I was getting annoyed, “get out of my site you ugly fiend.”
I grabbed my sword, stood up and chased her away shouting,
“Here, let me see how you really look.. you monster.?”
She gave me one of her venomous looks and screamed at me.. then she vanished.
Not much longer after that, the expected visitor himself showed up… I found him sitting at the entrance of the cave.. in his original form as I saw him during the meetings at the CCP..
“Hello Hort.. it’s been a long time___”
“Go back where you belong.” I just spit out the words I had prepared, “You have no business here.”
“Are you serious?” He said trying to be friendly, “if you are honest, you must admit.. you were waiting for me impatiently.. and.. look.. what is that? A cleansed sword..how cruel.. you mean to stab me with this?” He jested playfully.
“Go away.. you know already.. I am not going to go back and I am no longer afraid of you.. your goons had tricked me once before.. but that game is over.”
“My dear commander.. you are a deserter and a thief.. that makes you very valuable to me.. I like that.. so there is no chance I am going to let go of my precious commander.. did you forget how many Vinos you killed at Primore? Or would you like me to send Katcher to help you remember the way to DC ?”
I just smiled as those images rushed to invade my mind in a cruel and stormy crash.. but I succeeded in appearing unaffected.. when he didn’t hear an answer, he knew he had hit a target..
“And.. you stole my horse.. I have to take it back.” He continued.
“You can take it and go.” I rushed to answer and turned to walk away.
He chased me and stood in front of me,
“Don’t run away.. we are just talking.”
“I have nothing else to say.. and I am not in the mood to listen to your foolish talk.”
He moved a short distance away and then turned around in the form of a beast.. then changed into a snake and then again into huge monster. He kept changing into several forms and finally returned back to his original way of appearance,
“which of these you prefer?.. you see.. I can be whatever I want to be.. I could give you that same power as well.” He then levitated away into the air.. stood there for a short while and came back down, “And you.. you can have all this power.. and above all, live forever.. which human being would refuse such a wonderful gift?”
“This human being does.. I don’t want any gifts from you. Just leave me alone.. that.. would be the best gift.. OK?” I yelled.
Then he turned into Lana, the beautiful woman, he used to find with me in the entertainment cottage.. and then changed into other women I used to know,
“don’t you miss her? She will be very happy to see you again? Or should I bring her over .. right here.. you know I can.”
Again the rush of images returned to invade my mind.. and this time I was actually shaken.. so I screamed angrily,
“I shall hit you.. one touch from this sword___”
“And I will come again.” He laughed merrily, “There is no getting rid of me my dear commander.. until you come back and claim your rightful place in my council.”
“Your council of goons? I am here a free human being.. I have my faults.. my stupid faults.. but I am free.. and I shall never___”
“You shall die.. and turn into a handful of dust.. that is what you shall be.. forgotten, useless and rotten.” He now spoke seriously the way he used to speak in the CCP, “You were made up of a lump of genes to be conditioned by everything and everyone around you.. and I was going to program you to be great and strong.. but you prefer to stay a piece of dirt and then return to the dirt.”
“Genes? What are genes? This is another trick of yours?” I said sarcastically.
“Someday your kind will be allowed to understand what genes are.. it shall be a long time coming.. by then I shall have already programmed enough of you to become my agents to transform the world into my kind of world.” He was angrily trying to mock me,
I had to laugh and threw it back at him, reminding him of our discussion at the CCP.
“Wow.. by then you shall be the prince of the world? Right?”
“I am the prince of the world and you make no mistake about it.”
I laughed heatedly and said,
“You are right.. author of the Art of lying.” I kept on laughing.
He disappeared, and my laughing continued until it slowly turned into crying.. and my tears began to flow and cover my face.. the images he conjured into my head were now popping up persistently and I could see the bodies of the Vino soldiers I killed, the women I entertained and the endless schemes I fabricated with Instine and others.. I knew then that tears will never leave my eyes.. only the dead shed no tears.. and soon, my eyes will run dry.
A SEQUEL OF THIS NOVEL WILL BE COMING IN A FEW MONTHS “THE UNDULATING SWORD OF FIRE”