Chapter Forty-Four

The Turn of the Loop

Those who play with fire, most likely end up getting burnt

Aden

5L 21/21/21/14

"I want the forthcoming Celebrations of Freedom to be a grand affair just like the Celebrations of Unity."

King Marcus, Queen-Mother Miriam, HighMinister Benjamin, and Commander Michael were seated around a table in the King's private meeting chambers. Queen-Mother was doing most of the talking. "Every village and town must send their representatives. We need to divert people's attention from Paul's gimmicks and show them that we have the power to protect them. And destroy them as well, if needed," She added after a brief pause.

"Yes, Queen-Mother," Benjamin replied, "the invitations have already been sent. All preparations are underway."

"Let us turn our attention to some more pressing matters," Marcus cut his mother short and turned his attention to Michael. "Whom should we entrust the reins of our forces. We must finalize a name so that we can get it approved by the Council in tomorrow's meeting."

"Christopher is a very shrewd Commander and he knows that world better than any of us. He is the most obvious choice to lead. His deputy Alfred is the fiercest young man I have seen and my brother Roger is also there to assist them. One of my most trusted commanders Brian will lead the troops from here and hand it over to Christopher. All the instructions we need to pass on to Christopher can be relayed through Brian. I think we have enough capable men there to carry out our plan if the Council's delegation doesn't interfere in their decisions."

"The delegation is made up of spineless fools. Christopher will have a free hand. And if things get nasty, we can always use Christopher and these idiots as scapegoats to pin the blame."

"How many troops are we going to send there?" Miriam asked the commander.

"Around twenty-three thousand men," Michael replied.

"Then what about Aurae?"

"I am sorry. I didn't get your point?"

"If I am not mistaken, Paul's son John has escaped the house arrest."

"Yes, a week ago. He wasn't happy with his father's truce agreement. They had an ugly spat and a public fallout. He disappeared from the house the very next day."

"And you bought into this story? Are you really that dumb?" Miriam's change of tone took Michael by surprise. "That apparent fallout was just an excuse to smuggle John out of the house. By staying there Paul has ensured that we don't go back on the truce and by sending out John he has made certain that his fire of rebellion spreads to every part of Aden."

There was a heavy silence in the room. It looked as if no one had even thought of this possibility.

"What do you think they are planning to do?" Marcus broke the silence and asked his mother.

"If I would be Paul, I would attack and take over Aurae, right after the Celebration of freedom. Most of our troops would be gone to the other world, our defenses would be down and it would be easy to assemble all his men inside Aurae on the pretext of these Celebrations. This would be their golden opportunity."

"What do you suggest we do now?" Michael's gaze was fixed on his mother.

"Hold back some troops, around seven to eight thousand, to defend Aurae. It will be useless to win another world there if we lose this one here. Heighten the security on every entrance of Aurae. Turn it into an impenetrable fortress. All the walls and fences, that we built around Aurae in the last seven years to defend against the foreign enemies, might help us against our own people."

"Then what about the Celebration of Freedom? How will we conduct it amidst such tight security?" Benjamin asked.

"Turn these festivities into a display of our military might. These Celebrations must take place under the shadows of the weapons. People should sense that our soldiers are always there. Waiting to pounce on them. Make a few public arrests and even thrash a few commoners. During these festivities, we must send out a loud message that whoever crosses the line will not be spared. Fear is the biggest weapon and we must instill our fear in people's minds."

"There will be thousands of people arriving for these celebrations. What if John's men plan some secret attack during these days. How should we tackle that?" Marcus asked his mother.

"We must check every vehicle entering Aurae and ensure that no unauthorized weapons are smuggled in. No weapons mean no attack. Since Michael isn't going to Tenebra, he can surely look after the defenses of Aurae, as the newly appointed Minister of Security."

"It will be an honor Queen-Mother," Michael said respectfully bowing his head.

"Even if they already have weapons inside Aurae, they won't be expecting such a huge army presence. They must be thinking that we are sending all our troops away, however, they will be surprised to see thousands of soldiers still here. If they try something silly even after that, it might be actually good for us. Michael, I want you to thwart any such attempt as brutally as you can. Make it a spectacle, so that it serves as a precedent for others."

Michael nodded.

"Michael, in tomorrow's Council meeting I will pass a decree to designate a force of seven thousand men to protect Aurae and will appoint you as the Minister of security. Make sure you pick some of your most ruthless and intimidating officers to scare the commoners," Marcus announced.

Benjamin came up with another niggling question. "Your Highness, don't you think that holding back so many men will jeopardize our mission in Tenebra?"

"We already have a few thousand soldiers there and with these reinforcements, there will be more than twenty thousand men in Tenebra. If they can't pull it off with that many men, then a few thousand additional soldiers won't make much of a difference. And besides that, just as my mother said, there is no sense in winning that world if we lose this one."

"One last question, what am I supposed to do about Paul?" Michael asked.

It was Miriam who answered that question, with a sardonic smile spreading across her face. "He is trying to spread the fire of rebellion in Aden. And those who play with fire, always end up getting burnt."

***

The turn of the loop arrived with a bang. The thunderstorms rumbled on, the ground kept shaking and lightning bolts regularly lit up the dark skies. But it didn't stop the Celebration of Freedom. Sixteen thousand soldiers were about to depart to the dark world to face familiar, but the so-called hideously unknown enemies.

All the feasts and festivities took place under a looming shadow of fear. There were numerous check-points, relentless patrolling, and surprise raids. Armed soldiers towered over the crowds at every place and anything out of the line was swiftly dealt with. The regime's efforts to impose its authority over the people were blatantly evident. Dread and gloom lurked behind this cheerful mask of celebration.

The arrangements were top-notch and so was the security set-up. Michael's soldiers made their daunting presence felt everywhere. No major incident was reported during the functions. Marcus knew that after the ceremony people will return to their towns and spread the word about the strong defense mechanism of Aurae. Rebels will have second thoughts if they were thinking of anything adventurous. Everything had gone as per the plan and now he was eagerly waiting for the news he had expected to hear.

***

John had called a meeting of his supporters in his hideout inside Aurae.

"We weren't able to smuggle enough weapons. And with such a large number of troops inside Aurae, we can't go through with our plan of taking over the Council."

One of his men entered the room and whispered something into his ears. John slammed his fist on the table and let out a cry. "I asked him to leave with me. I knew they would do something like that. But he was too worried about the people of his town. He didn't want to give Marcus a reason to slaughter them."

"What happened?" asked one of his men.

"Father was killed in a so-called accidental fire in our house. Burned to death. We all can guess how that accident happened. I swear by the soul of my father, I will make Marcus pay dearly for this. I will make sure that he and his filthy supporters are wiped out from the face of this world and their palaces are burnt to the ground."

***

Marcus stood on the balcony of his room and looked at his beloved city. Thunderstorms were lashing out at Aurae but Marcus's mind felt an absolute sense of calm. The rainwater drenching his body felt like bliss. A situation that had threatened to spiral out of control was back under his leash. His biggest opponent was dead, Aurae was turned into a fortress, and the commoners were scared of his army. Things couldn't have been better for Marcus. Although Paul's death was made to look like an accident, Marcus had ensured that everyone knew that it wasn't. Through this move, he had sent out a clear signal that he wasn't going to spare his opponents. No one now had the guts to point a finger at their king.

The turn of the loop had indeed arrived with a bang.

Both Elisium and Aden were ready to face off.

The Dance of Two Worlds was about to reach an enthralling climax.

***

Elisium

6L 1/1/1/1

Jennifer was unable to sleep the night before the first day of the new loop. The time of reckoning was there. The days, for which generations after generations of Elisium had eagerly waited, had finally arrived.

She walked to the bridge of faith just before the sunrise. With the first rays of the sun, The Abyss of Unknown magically appeared beneath the bridge. Since this site was inside the security perimeter of Aden's army, no one from the current generation of Elisium had ever seen this majestic sight.

David joined his sister on the bridge ."I hope you are not thinking of jumping into it right now. We have some unfinished business here before we leap."

Jennifer's eyes were moist. "Just remembering father. He always dreamt that one day, when he had vanquished the enemies and freed our world, he will stand on this bridge and stare into the eye of this Abyss. "

"He will look at the Abyss through your eyes, but for that to happen we have to first take care of our enemies."

Jennifer nodded. "Jennifer assumes, as we stand here and talk, our enemies will be jumping into the other whirlpool. Are you sure about father's strategy of waiting for them to come to us?"

"If what you saw in your visions is correct and Aden is sending a huge army, then our best bet is to ensnare them in their own trap."

"So, is everything in place?"

"Yes almost. And we still have a couple of days to make further preparations. Simon hasn't been cooperative, but his duplicate Smith has been a revelation. He, posing as Simon, convinced many of his men to follow our orders and help us rejig their maze. And Darren's inside knowledge has proved invaluable to us in devising our strategies."

"You must remain cautious. We cannot afford another stab in the back. The last wound we got will never heal." Jennifer's eyes again brimmed with tears as she remembered her father.

"Well, since you have mentioned that, don't you think you have had enough with Roger. It's been ten days since we buried our father."

"No. We never knew how long they kept our grandfather Nicholas pinned to that trunk. Roger deserves every bit of what he is getting and Jennifer is not letting him go."

David understood there was no point in arguing with his sister on this topic. "I think you should have some rest. We might have some grueling days ahead"

"Don't worry brother, Jennifer is alright. She is just conserving her energy to unleash it when required."

***

Christopher was overseeing the arrival of new troops. Everything so far had gone smoothly without any disturbances, yet too much of this calm was also unnerving him. He knew his enemies had men, weapons, and a miracle girl who can shoot lightning bolts. One failed attack wasn't going to break their spirits. Christopher had no way to know what was happening outside his maze. All he could do for now was to wait and wish.

He was at least relieved by the fact that the Council had heeded his warnings and sent him a very large reinforcement. With this much manpower and weapons, he should be able to quell the rebellion and restore order in this world. But first, they had to reach their fortress and that could be the trickiest part.

It took two days to pull all the supplies out of the river. The weather was relentless, but nothing was going to stop the biggest army of Aden from conquering Elisium. The face-off of the two worlds was now imminent. The two sisters were ready to pounce on each other.

On the third day of the new loop, they were finally ready to move. Christopher suspected their enemies might attack them on their route back towards the Ruins. Their convoy, consisting of hundreds of vehicles, was an easy target. Alfred headed the convoy, whereas Christopher with commander Brian stayed in the middle. He ordered all his troops to remain on high alert.

Brian handed over the reins of the troops to Christopher and spelled out the instructions sent by King Marcus. He made it very clear that the whole purpose of this mission was to enable Marcus to rule Elisium in every sense. He wanted all the resistance to be uprooted and this whole world, with all its people, to fall under his dominion. Aden's superiority must be firmly imposed over Elisium once and forever.

Brian told Christopher that Marcus had given him a free hand and he can go to any depths to achieve this goal. Marcus wanted to break the wheel of transition if it existed and Christopher had to do this dirty job, whatever be the cost.

The convoy moved at the best possible speed for such a behemoth. Christopher kept checking his radio, expecting to catch something on it, however, the ghostly silence and the spooky calm kept him on the edge. He jumped at any little noise, but nothing happened at all. He felt like tearing his hair apart thinking why haven't Elisians made a move yet. What, in God's name, were they waiting for?

At dawn the next morning, Christopher's eyes lit up when he saw the large gate of outpost number three in front of him. Half of his troops had already entered the fortress without any incident and those remaining will be soon inside as well.

Christopher breathed a huge sigh of relief. Maybe he had overestimated the powers of his enemies. They might have been good enough to carry out random ambushes but not capable of fighting a full-fledged war. He thanked the Almighty for getting spared from having more blood on his hands.

Simon's voice crackled over the radio. "Welcome HighCommander. We have been eagerly waiting for you."

That was the signal.

On cue, the calm dissipated and a storm engulfed them all.

Christopher's worst fears sprung to life as his hopes suffered a crushing blow.

After all, losing a battle, with victory in sight, is the most excruciating defeat.