The Tale of the Blood Diamond (37 page)

He kept plugging ahead, his legs heavy as his heart fell deep into the pit of his gut.

“Jayme!” he called out, his voice echoed. Now, he finally had a chance to fall apart — to feel the magnitude of what he’d lose. He kept moving, though optimism was slipping away. When he’d reached the water in which he and his great grandfather jumped, he saw the poor man bleeding profusely. The man put his hand up to halt Xzion’s steps.

“I do not…think I am…going…to make it.”

“Let’s get you back.” Xzion ignored the talk; he couldn’t stand to hear any more of it. Shoved his worries aside, he worked diligently inside of his own mind, trying to devise something, anything, that just may work.

“Go on…leave me here.” Zahar fell to his knees, weariness all over his face.

Dismissing the dying man’s suggestion, Xzion picked the heavy man up and placed him over his shoulder. Zahar protested, but then ceased. He was Atlas, too tired to keep on putting up resistance. Xzion could hear his own heavy breathing as he looked all around, then spotted some twigs and branches piled to the side. He placed his grandfather gingerly on the ground, then fastidiously wound them together, building a rope. The damn cliff was un-climbable without it; there was no way up or down. After three failed attempts, he finally was able to adhere the top of it to half way up the cliff, via a series of thick tree stems.

“Grandfather, the branch isn’t going to hold both of our weights. If you can make up half way, I believe I can climb the rest. There are fragments of broken, hardened rock towards the top.” He pointed to the area. The man’s eyes rolled as he appeared to be trying to focus. “Please try!”

He helped Zahar to his feet. With a little assistance, the old man slowly but surely scaled up half way, then swung, letting go. Xzion’s heart pounded. For a split second, he thought the man was dead. Then, Zahar got the gumption and completed the task, hanging off to the side and waiting, but barely. Xzion moved so swiftly he could hear wind buzzing past his ears. He latched hold to his grandfather’s waist and grunted, straining, but made it the rest of the way up. Once on stable ground and again surrounded by forest, he got to his feet, and not a second too soon.

He heard a clicking nose. All he had time for was to immediately press his grandfather down on the lush ground when Yuledrakes ambushed them from all directions.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” Xzion screamed out. He looked to his right and climbed a tree. Bullets sprayed past his body as he maneuvered, listening closely, ensuring to move and dodge in just the right way to avoid the deathly penetration. Once at the top, he tore the place up with a red glow, and one by one, he decapitated the entire crew in mere seconds. His heart beat a harsh tune deep within as he climbed back down, his adrenaline pumping. Once he reached the soil and raced towards his grandfather, one of his greatest fears had materialized.

Zahar was dead.

****

Jayme’s mouth twitched with anxiety. She was certain that before her husband returned home, she’d be admitted into a mental hospital. She sat in a wobbly wooden chair across from an entity that looked like ‘Ted.’ Yes…Ted the cursing and marijuana-smoking bear; only ‘Ted’ had been merged with a ‘Chucky Doll’, and given the size of a full grown man that belonged on a Sumo wrestling team. This exceeded her stretch of an imagination and as of late, her imagination was pretty damn wide-ranged. To make matters even more incredible, the creature spoke eloquently, as if a pipe belonged in the side of his mouth and he was a host on Master Piece Theater.

“…And that is why we refused to join. At the last moment, we decided to not engage in battle. We’ve been here the entire time, observing. We’ve seen and heard enough to realize that our suspicions were correct. Jatorn sent orders for us to get involved. We agreed to it, but I single-handedly cancelled the plans.”

“What exactly did you observe to cause you to do such?” Cxeza questioned, her misgivings far from hidden as she paced back and forth like a prosecuting lawyer. “You’ve only spoken of it vaguely.”

The bear-like creature lowered his eyes to his lap. His eyes would haunt Jayme for the rest of her days. They were so human, so reflective, and their depths picked up every reflection of light in the warehouse.

“We saw the Yuledrakes robbing, pillaging, attacking innocent civilians. It went against everything we believed in. We only fight when threatened by another.” He paused, looking slowly back up, his expression sad and heartbreaking. “Earth has done nothing to us. We will die, we have no food, but we cannot kill innocent beings unprovoked.”

The Zarkstormian soldiers began to quietly speak amongst each other.

“Shhhh!” Cxeza raised her finger. “Thank you, Bosi. I must say, we were quite disappointed to hear of your involvement in such matters. We went through great lengths as of late to cultivate our soil to be conducive to your dietary needs, but to no avail. We will continue to diligently try to find a viable food source, on your behalf.” She swallowed, then looked the wounded soul back in the eyes. “We know what it’s like to face extinction.” She shot a glance towards Jayme, then turned away…seemingly running away from a possible emotional display.

Bosi nodded.

“Perhaps, Bosi, I can be of service,” Jayme spoke up. She crossed her legs and cleared her throat. “In exchange for your assistance in helping us defeat the Yuledrakes, since, well,” she gave a slight grin, “you’re already here, I will find a way to ensure that our soil is given to your planet until you find another option. I’m sure Cxeza and Xzion as well as others from Zarkstorm can get the soil to you if I find a way to supply it. I have some relatives, on my father’s side, that own a farm and we also have something called nurseries and plant houses. According to Cxeza, your planet is extremely small, only about the size of our state of Maine by comparison, yet I understand your population is quite large. That is still a manageable number of inhabitants to feed.”

Cxeza broke out in a huge grin.

“So, you do alien negotations, now?”

Jayme didn’t miss the smugness in the woman’s tone. She grimaced, pushing past the woman’s chiding.

“Does that sound reasonable?”

“Yes, it does,” Bosi answered quickly. “We do not like what the Yuledrakes are doing, it is wrong, and, my people still need food. Therefore, I agree to your proposal along with the stipulations.”

Jayme ushered all of her nerve, got to her feet and extended her hand for a handshake. This caused the room to burst out in hysterics.

“What?”

“Uh, Jayme, that is a human custom. Lyalts don’t shake on agreements,” one of the soldiers declared, causing more light laughter.

“Okay.” She smiled right back at everyone then looked at Bosi, “Well, then what do you do after an agreement is made?”

“They fuck,” someone screamed out, causing an even louder uproar of laughter. Jayme was certain she’d turned a million shades of red.

It was hard to tell exactly, but it appeared as if Bosi were grinning.

“We’re just teasing you!” Cxeza broke out.

Jayme shook her head in disbelief, more so at the fact the Zarkstormians were actually laughing, versus the little joke they’d played on her. In all of the commotion, she felt a gentle tug at her hand. She looked up, and the seven foot beast was staring down at her, a smile on his furry, dark brown face. He gently shook her hand, and whispered, “Thank you…”

The crowd dispersed, but the sense of relief and elation was quite short lived. Cxeza stepped away from the crowd, disappearing into a far corner of the room to answer her phone. Jayme glanced at her a time or two, and one thing was consistent — a look of anger on her face. Moments later, the woman burst through the crowd.

“Everyone! Jatorn has sent orders to launch the bombs to destroy Earth!” Cxeza screamed.

Immediately, an outburst of panic and voices filled the room.

“Silence! We know where the coordinates are. Xzion, is coming back, but we don’t have time to wait for him to arrive. We must move at once.”

Jayme wasn’t sure what happened, but she felt as if the walls were disappearing and she was standing in a white room all by her lonesome.

“Jayme.” A cold, smooth hand touched her face. She looked into her sister-in-law’s eyes and swallowed. “From what I understand, this was impromptu, so the Yuledrakes are not fully organized. Not only that, they have to reach each location as well. This gives us, the ones already here, enough time to possibly circumvent the situation.”

A tear cascaded down Jayme’s face. “Tell Xzion not to come back here. He could return and then die. Tell him to stay on Zarkstorm… with our son. It’s best he have one parent versus none at all.” She kept herself steady, but inside, she was losing her mind. Cxeza looked at her long and hard. Then, with one shaky hand, she stroked Jayme’s hair, just as a mother would a child.

“Jayme, that’s impossible. I do not have to waste time asking him to do as you request, for I already know his response. The answer, would be, ‘No.’ If he doesn’t come back to help you and your people, he’d feel he’d have little to live for…and Jayme, Xzion
lives
for you…”

****

In a sweat-covered state with his royal battle regalia on, Aton sounded the alarm over all of Zarkstorm. All of the soldiers present on base assembled. He eyed Xzion, now covered in silvery blood and somewhat despondent. They had to pry his great-grandfather’s body out of his hands and restrain him from dashing off. Aton promised the meeting would be brief, but his concern over his prize pupil was growing exponentially.

“I wish to announce that a private battle with the Yuledrakes on Drakenard was successful.”

There was an immediate burst of applause.

“However, we’ve entered a critical period. They have been given orders from their leader, Jatorn, to destroy Earth.”

The room grew quiet.

“According to our calculations, there are at least two hundred Yuledrakes still on the planet Earth, the majority of that population still in the United States, predominately in the state of Baltimore, Maryland, per their last orders from Jatorn.”

“Jatorn is dead.” Xzion got to his feet, seemingly coming ‘alive’ again. The crowd burst in applause. Aton looked at him and imagined he’d worked through his grief on a temporary basis, and calmed himself enough in order to speak clearly and coherently. He was sure it was a struggle for the man. “And so is my great-grandfather, the great Warrior, Zahar!”

The room grew quiet.

“He died, risked his second chance at life so that we may finish and win this war. It was far more difficult than we imagined. We must not let his memory, his sacrifice, be in vain, by continuing to speak of letting the Earthlings be annihilated. He held my son, the one you behold as the key to our continued existence. The way some of you could turn your back on my child’s people is sickening!” Xzion yelled so loudly, he needed no amplification. He stirred the crowd into a stiff silence. No one uttered a word or moved a muscle.

“Right now, my sister and her team have left Baltimore and are going to the four points of location to disengage the bombs. I do not know if they will make it on time, but I am joining them. I will be going to the farthest location, to the largest, most complex bomb, and meet her there. The Yuledrakes spent extensive time building this. Their best engineers brought it to fruition and now, their devious, hard work is in play. One of their beliefs was always, ‘
If we can’t have something we want, no one else will, either.
’ But, we can’t let that be the final word…

“We don’t have much time. I do not trust they will be able to do so in time, and I may not be able to either.” He paused, looking down at his feet. “Matter of fact, I suspect I am already too late. But…I must die trying. I am a Zarkstormian Warrior. This is my mission, and I do not disengage until the mission is complete.” He paused once more. Aton saw the man’s eyes gloss over as he looked behind him on the stage at his Zachary. He turned back to the crowd.

“I am a father. I will show him by example what it means to be a Zarkstormian Warrior,
and
what it means to be human — to care for another besides oneself. I will not adopt the Yuledrake way of thought nor that of my own people, of the Intellects — that of, ‘Out for oneself.’ It is in total contradiction to our rich history! You gain
nothing
without sacrifice!” He pointed to Zachary. Aton quickly took the little one by the hand, leading him to the front of the stage to stand alongside his father. Xzion took the boy’s hand, and looked down at him.

“I’m doing this for you, Zachary, and for your mother. I’m doing this for my people, too, and for the humans. I’m doing this, because it’s the right thing to do! No matter what happens, if you never see me again, know that I love you, and I’m not ashamed to tell you that in front of all of these people.” He fell to his knees and grabbed Zachary’s face hard, squeezing the child to him with all of his might. Xzion’s body heaved in sorrow as he fell apart inside.

“You will stay here, where you will be safe. In the event I do not return, Zachary,” he pointed to his mentor, “Aton will be your teacher and adoptive father. Do you understand?”

Zachary wiped a tear away from his own face, and nodded.