The Innkeeper

“The fact that we return to Earth from the exact place we left is a big flaw,” Richard finally said. “It lets the enemy prepare a trap for us in advance.”

“There is no point in delaying this. Even if there are traps, what can they do to us? We just need to return and take care of anyone who gets in our way.”

“Matters are already beyond that. Do you even know who you can trust? Who will you ‘take care of’ once you return? How many people will you kill as a demonstration? You know, the whole point of leaving us in-charge was to avoid chaos. If we go back and start killing everyone who resists us, what will we do when ‘they’ become dissatisfied?”

Silence filled the room once again. From the moment they had started the meeting, none of them had been able to come to a conclusion on what to do. The truth was, everyone was just evading the problem as long as they could, because once they did, it was likely they would have to kill their own kin. Other than Brandon, who was only 104 years old, the rest were a fair bit older – though they did their best to hide their ages. They lacked the youthful vigor required to tackle difficult situations._.

Just as they were about to begin arguing again, Richard’s personal hologram appeared before him.

“Excuse me for disturbing you, but your granddaughter Selene is trying to reach you. Would you like to allow her into the room?”

“Yes, let her in,” he said quickly. Selene had been on Earth and had not joined him for the games, so her presence here was a great relief. But it also left a hint of dread in his heart – what if she was the one who betrayed him?

The girl that entered no longer had her prior grace and elegance, instead her face was painted with anxiety. The moment she saw her grandfather, she handed him a letter, unsure of her voice to communicate effectively at this moment.

Richard read the letter, his body trembling in anger as read the words, until he reached the end, when his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“The letter is from my nephew,” Richard said, passing it to the others. “That ten nuclear devices have been planted in cities across the world. They have all of our locations of departure from Earth under surveillance. If any of the family heads return to Earth, they will set off 2 nuclear devices for each family head. Someone will come to the Inn to negotiate with us in a few hours, until then we’ve been instructed to stay here.”

His words chilled everyone’s hearts. It not only confirmed their worst fears about being betrayed by their families, it put them in a position where they could take no chances. Unless someone could prove to them that there were no nuclear devices ready, with the people of Earth as hostages, the family heads were unable to do anything. Furthermore, from the Inn they could not even communicate with the mysterious lady they talked to previously and let her know of the situation. All they could do now was wait.

Lex, who had been spying in on the meeting, grimaced. Originally, his knowledge about the politics of Earth had been very limited, but occasionally, whenever he found free time, he would spy on these high leveled Earthlings to learn more about his planet. He had a basic understanding of the five families, and now concluded that the so-called ‘World War’ was a result of their family members revolting against the leaders.

He didn’t care much for their internal strife, but if any of his family members got hurt as a result of this, he would make them pay dearly. In this moment, Lex learnt something about himself. He never realized it, but he had a very serious anger issue, and when thinking of all the things he would do to them should his family get implicated, he was a strong believer in revenge.

*****

Somewhere on Earth, in what looked like a very modern version of the Taj Mahal, Kristine and Vera Joel stood close together, whispering amongst themselves. Around them were various security guards and only a few other people who were dressed casually. Among those dressed casually was Ayesha Shehzad, looking forlorn.

“Are you sure about this?” Kristine asked her daughter nervously.

“Yes, yes, trust me. Well, I’m not so sure about you, but I’ve already determined that I’ll be absolutely safe here,” Vera answered with too much honesty. “We just need to wait out the month, then we can leave this desolate planet.”

“I hope you’re right,” Kristine answered bitterly.

Suddenly, Vera turned her head towards a wall, a smirk suddenly appearing on her face. It appeared as though she was looking at nothing, but a few rooms away in that direction, one of the guards started making a report about the sudden war to a hologram of a woman. It was the same women the five family heads reported to.

*****

Alexander had no knowledge of what was happening on Earth and had his entire attention focused on the task before him. If all went according to plan, not only would this game end earlier than the 12 hour mark, he would take a huge lead on the number of points.

He and his 99 soldiers were running at maximum speed, radiating spirit energy far and wide for anyone to sense. But even if they were noticed, it would make no difference now as they had already taken the tokens.

Despite running at his utmost speed and using as much energy as he could, Alexander had never felt better. Imagine doing the most arduous physical task your body could endure without dying. Now imagine being able to repeatedly do that task without fatigue or danger of hurting yourself. That was how Alexander was feeling, all he was really doing right now was running.

Well, he was doing more than running. He was the beacon that led his troops to battle, the tip of the spear that would pierce the enemy, the front of the vanguard that would clear the path for those who followed.

His idea was simple. He and his 99 troops would charge through the zombies and continuously bombard the node with the strongest, most deadly and destructive weapons they had. With unlimited spirit energy, they were literally experiencing video game cheats in real life.

The first of the zombies entered his line of sight, and he entered theirs. By the time the zombies realized it was not a ball of golden flame approaching them but a person, he was already upon them.

Cutting through the horde like a bullet through a loaf of bread, Alexander has his destination marked. As he laughed in mirth at the wonderful feeling of endless power, his troops began a coordinated assault on the horde.

But in this scenario where their brains were slightly overstimulated by the endless euphoria, coordination simply meant screaming ‘watch how many I kill in this direction’ before throwing their strongest attack that would usually leave them completely drained.

As ridiculously as the situation had become, those who were still watching the match realized that these troops may have slightly… lost their sanity. But who cared? It made for an entertaining show.

Alexander reached the center of what remained of the horde to realize he could not see the node. Was it hidden somewhere? While he analyzed the situation, his six blades spun around him like a saw with a ferocity never before seen, slicing anything that tried to come close.

‘Underground maybe,’ Alexander thought to himself and looked down. It was at that exact moment the ground burst open and an armored hand reached for his leg.

Alexander leaped out of the way, but the hand was faster and longer than he expected. The seven foot tall demon revealed himself, the scaly armor adorning his body free from any dirt despite coming out of the ground, and caught hold of the teenager.

Before Alexander could do anything to protect himself, Pramod used Alexander’s body like a hammer and smashed him into the ground. It was impossible to tell under the helmet, but the viewers got the sensation that Pramod was grinning.