My music changed to “Story of My Life” by Smash Mouth. But I didn’t need this hint.
“I think I know how this story ends. Their leader got into a murderous rage due to real and perceived slights, and threatened to blow up their sun if all the people in his solar system didn’t kowtow to his demands. They didn’t. And then that leader, Mephistopheles, followed through and destroyed their sun, and killed billions . . . including himself.”
“Yes.”
“But the Superiors’ were a created race, something not occurring naturally, and therefore their souls, their essences, somehow survived. Mephistopheles landed here or was drawn here or, knowing the Z’porrah, was sort of aimed here. He made his perfect love match with Ronald Yates. And we’ve spent two or three generations here on Earth killing them, what we call parasites, and what you, I’d guess, call Surviving Superiors.”
“Yes again. They were made to combine and they will combine with any mammal. You have not destroyed all the remaining Superiors, but I am grateful every day that you’ve destroyed all that have come here that you have found.”
That we have found. “Um, are there more in-control superbeings hanging about on the planet?”
“There may be. There were a billion or more Superiors living on the two planets when Mephistopheles destroyed their sun. A billion have not been killed on Earth. They may be landing on other planets, or may still be traveling through space, headed toward Earth or elsewhere, searching for a new host. But they aren’t all gone.”
“That’s why your religious text talks about them.”
“Yes. Unlike this planet’s religious books, we adapt ours as events in the galaxy change.”
“Wise. Far wiser than us, but then we knew that already.”
“Right now, I can’t feel that we are wiser, honestly, or more effective. We seem to have failed in warning the rest of the galaxy against the danger of the Z’porrah’s enticements.”
No wonder Mephs had wanted me to get this intel, and also no wonder he hadn’t wanted to tell me himself. “And now the Z’porrah have ruined the Aicirtap. Was there any way to reverse what they did to the Cettans and Uglors?”
“No, the combination was too well done, in that sense. As for the Aicirtap, who knows?”
“It’s a new form of uplift, isn’t it?”
“Yes, the Z’porrah are, at their cores, scientists. They are ever experimenting, ever trying new things.” He sighed. “When we were friends, they were the ones who came up with the ideas for how to help the younger races, and we were the ones who came up with how to ensure that the souls, if you will, and the hearts and minds of those younger races were protected.”
“I always knew you guys were missionaries, at your cores, I mean.”
“Yes, we are. And they are not. But, in their way, they are now the missionaries and in our way we are now scientists. And neither side is as good at it as the other.”
“Interesting and good to know.” Would have said more but our line came to a stop as my music changed to “Depending on You” by Tom Petty.
“We’re close,” Adriana, who was in front of us, said. “Silence from here on in.”
Wruck had me step in front of him as Rahmi led us through what looked like just more rubble but what, as soon as I really looked at it, was clearly a path, and a rather flat path at that. There were wide wheel marks in the dirt. Had no idea what they were wheeling in and out, but supplies seemed the obvious answer.
We reached a very old, crude elevator. Thankfully, there were stairs next to it, because not only would an elevator make noise—especially one that looked as ancient and rickety as this one—but hyperspeed meant we’d be faster in and out on the stairs, and far more quiet.
Wanted to get up near the front but it was too late now. Almost tripped again, but Wruck caught my shoulder and steadied me. Had to literally regroup because of this, too.
This put us even farther behind the others, but I was tripping far too much to go quickly. Was about to start down the stairs, but Wruck stopped me and indicated he’d go first. Wise. That way, when I tripped again, I’d hit him and he’d be ready for it and keep us both upright. My music changed to “Slow It Down” by The Goo Goo Dolls. Took the hint.
We crept down slowly, me staying close so that if I did trip, there wouldn’t be a lot of momentum to my fall. We made it almost all the way down before I heard someone speaking. It was a voice I knew. A voice that sent shivers down my spine.
“So good of you to join us.” It was Leventhal Reid, and he sounded exactly as he had when he’d been planning to rape, torture, and kill me in the Arizona desert. “We’re just about to start the fun, so come on in and prepare to die.”
CHAPTER 86
WRUCK FROZE and so did I. Reid was still talking. “Let’s see, we have one, two, my goodness, seven of you. And look, Chuckles, your girlfriend’s here to save you, too.”
Reid thought Francine was me. Okay, the original hadn’t known me well, this was a clone, that was her job, after all, and she was dressed like me. Chuckie would know the difference, but there was no way he’d share that or react to let them know. The others wouldn’t, either.
Someone backed up to us. Mossy. Good. So we had the three of us not noticed. So far so not really good but at least we three were out. Was really glad we hadn’t told Jeff to roll.
“And won’t this be fun?” Reid went on. “We get to see the love triangle of the ages play out before us. We’ll let your lady love choose which one of you gets to die pleasantly and which one gets to be tortured first.”
“Leave my wife alone.” Dammit. That was Jeff’s voice. We’d taken too long and they must have figured we’d been captured, so had rolled their plan. Or else Kozlow was a lying sack. We’d find out shortly, of that I was sure. Was certain Jeff knew that was Francine not me, but he was selling it, so that gave us whatever tiny advantage we might be able to assume we had.
“Oh,” Reid said in the scary, lecherous way I still heard in my worst nightmares, “I can’t do that. She and I have so much . . . unfinished business.”
“Enough,” a woman said in a bored tone. LaRue, also sounding grown up. Fabulous. “We can play with the food later. Right now, we have to ensure that dear old Russell learns what happens to those who oppose us.”
So, Kozlow had tried, and failed. That wasn’t necessarily a mark against him. We were all failing right now.
“No, right now, we need to get the DNA for cloning.” This was Cliff. I was pretty sure. But he didn’t sound like he had the last time I’d heard his voice. He sounded kind of shaky.
“You already took mine,” Chuckie said. “Why do you need anyone else’s?”