Buy Skulls for only $2.99 (iBooks,Kindle & Nook)
Chapter 30: In Requiem
Jo-Anne reclined into the soft white leather of the sofa and took a sip of a whiskey on the rocks. Her face grimaced a little at the taste of the amber liquid, but after what she had just witnessed she needed a drink.
Cederic sat down on the couch next to the female archeologist and smiled as the woman snuggled into him. He grabbed her drink and almost spat it out after taking a sip. “What is this, rancid mouth wash?”
“Sorry Ced, all we had left was a bottle of Green Label.” The woman took her glass back indignantly and took another sip.
Cederic opened a bottle of beer that he had brought with him. “We do have other things to drink on board.”
“I know, but I really needed something a little stronger than that Mexican piss your drinking.”
Ginger’s salutary voice sounded from the deck of the Endeavor II, “well he’s actually out of luck, all we have left down bellow is some Corona and something I think might be engine additive.” She and Timothy entered the observation deck hand in hand. The pair sat down, one atop the other on a large lounge chair.
“Would yawl mind explaining what happened on land. All I know is the four of you just reappeared on deck and there was sort of this wave of happiness that swept over all of us.”. Timothy was less satisfied with Jo-Anne’s initial explanation that the world was “changed for the better and that he should just kick back and enjoy the ride.”
“Well, as I said the world was changed, even if just momentarily.” she smiled a simple smile. “It was actually Steede’s idea.”
As though he knew he were needed the hulking man stepped into the room and sat down cross legged on the floor. “What are we on about?”
Jo-Anne smiled at the Bonnet and started to giggle a little. “Just how that when we were faced with gaining ultimate power and knowledge, you were the one who decided that it would really be nice if everyone just was nice to one another and that their true feelings would come out.”
“It was utter genius my good man,” interjected Cederic in a jolly tone.
Jo-Anne continued, “Yes, even the skulls thought it was a grand idea, but they said it would have to be temporary. Apparently mankind can’t handle that level of emotional maturity.”
Cederic kissed Jo-Anne on the forehead and smiled, “apparently I am not the only one who finds you to be immature.”
“The whole thing only lasted a minute, but it seems to have worked like some sort of temporary enlightenment. We all realized our true feelings for one another, and even for the rest of mankind.”
Ginger looked at the other four travelers in the observation room and smiled, “I guess I got a little bit of a head start on the rest of the world. The skulls had started talking to me about being true to myself and not be afraid of what others might do to me.”
“Well, I think that may have been more your self conscious and less to do with Aries over there,” Jo-Anne pointed toward the twelve skulls sitting upon industrial shelves she and Cederic had moved up to the observation room for the twelve guests.
“Why do you suppose they wanted to be brought back from their temple?” inquired Steede Bonnet. “Certainly they were better off in the central complex.”
Jo-Anne laughed a little as if a joke only she could hear was told, “Well it turns out Pisces there misses his owners constant polishing and the view from the mantel.”
“They are still talking to you huh?” A look of concern crept across Cederic’s face.
“Don’t worry, they promise not to be so demanding of me so long as we take them all back to their proper regions.” Jo-Anne smiled again as another message came through to her.
Ginger looked around at the rest of the people in the room, a deep thought boring it’s way through her pupils from the dank recesses of her mind. “So, I’m just going to ask what’s on all of our minds. What was with Mr. Movie Phone?”
Jo-Anne smirked, she had been kicking around theories about the prison guard alien thingy. She had decided to call him Lou for no particular reason. “The skulls told me that Lou was one of their creations. It turns out they are the ones who are into genetic manipulation.”
“Lou, you named him Lou.” Cederic took a pull off his beer and managed to look incredulously at the woman nuzzling in his arm pit.
“Its better than ‘Mr. Movie Phone!’” Jo-Anne snapped back. “Well, as I was saying, Lou was created to be this big scary prison guard for the skulls political prisoners.” The woman sipped at he drink and cringed as it burned the back of her throat.
Steede chimed in, “So Lou was just a warden?”
“Not really a warden, more like chief torturer,” responded Jo-Anne. “it turns out the skulls are into capitol punishment big time, and Klaph really pissed them off.”
“To their credit he was planning on killing all of mankind and feeding us to his buddies,” stated Cederic in between drags off his beer.
“Don’t forget taking over his own planet and seeking revenge against his people, presumably the skulls did not want this to transpire.”
“All valid points, but it turns out that his planet is dead, so their was no one left to seek revenge against.” Jo-Anne looked toward the shelving, “Apparently they sent him to prison because he had broken just about every rule in the book when he created those creatures in black.”
“What I don’t understand is this Lou character reminded me of the devil,” asked Steede again. He made a quick sign of the cross.
“Turns out a lot of our religious icons originate from these aliens. Cederic and I were at their base called H ‘aven, and of course they look like angles.” Jo-Anne paused momentarily and smirked again, but tris time because of her own revelation; “Lou is a fallen angle of sorts who torments the wicked. He could be our basis for the lucifer myth.”
There seemed to be a general sense of truth to he conclusion that they all seemed to agree on. “So are you always going to be right from now on?” inquired Cederic.
“As far as you’re concerned, yes!”
