3.40 Exodus

"Let's get this thing WORKING AGAIN!" Bell kicked the gate, now laying in the dirt. It was about to get even uglier as the sisters arrived on the scene, once again Bell was in the line of fire.

         "What in MEDEL'S NAME is GOING ON inside your STUPID LITTLE BRAIN!" Medena scolded, finger wagging. "You IDIOT! Just you wait until HALIOS hears of this!"

         "You should be ASHAMED of yourself!" Hedena chimed. "You can't be trusted with a SIMPLE TASK!"

         Bell stiffened, he was a well trained soldier, he knew how to remain calm and glanced toward Mount Ekar in search of words, reminding himself of the nature of volcanic science. But when Adon let out a chuckle, it was the final straw, he lost his cool.

         "My simple task" he snapped, "is to move a bunch of FUCKING STORAGE BOXES!"

         The sisters weren't surprised or shocked by Bell's outburst, it only confirmed an expiry was due. Without comment, they picked up their skirts and hurried on into the courtyard, leaving him to guess his own fate.

         The Dog Show was well underway by the time the sisters arrived, the sight was shocking, once again they ground to a halt, breathless. Mel was beginning to lose her voice from screaming and one of the dogons was already out of it's cage, circling her with eager anticipation of a hearty meal. Malodon looked so strange performing on stage in his shiny red suit and Atalon, bouncing with excitement, high as a kite from the unfolding chaos on the dance floor confirmed any doubts Medena had of his mental state.

         "Look at his eyes... I told you, he's gone completely insane!"

         Hedena could see it too now. "Dion was right, we can't let him run the New Empire, this is proof! He's now officially unstable!"

         The sisters skirted the courtyard and hurried up the stage steps, rushing to his side.

         "King Atalon!" Medena scolded but he ignored her. She tugged his sleeve but he pushed her away. "THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" She shrieked. "YOU CAN'T JUST LET THEM ESCAPE LIKE THIS!!"

         Atalon yanked his arm away as she clawed his sleeve again. "LET GO OF ME! WE DO NOT NEED THEM!!"

         Face burning from the slap, Bell had some serious questions now as he pondered the spectacle unfolding. Did the aribu have so little to lose they were prepared to lose it all? What did he have to lose?

         He drew a blank. The truth was, he was bored of his life. Perhaps they were smart to leave? Refusing to allow any sort of dangerous questions was getting harder every second as each sweetly scented Lemurian goddess brushed past him on their way to the ship. Were they deliberately 'brushing' into him? Suddenly he spotted Dena walking up the ramp.

         "DENA!"

         Dena heard Bell loud and clear but she ignored his holler too, she wasn't going to let anyone stop her from boarding Vikkar's ship now, not even Bell.

         Halios was stressed, now he was picking up on clues there were other secret operations taking place; gravel invoices were a moot point at this stage of the game, what was really going on? He left the Gourmet Chamber with a sinking feeling in his stomach, trying not to feel paranoid, had something more serious gone wrong? Was it related to the Soloha? Was the Soloha actually some kind of engineered distraction?

         And as the god of War emerged from Headquarters building he saw more indications of a larger operation underway. Those weren't just Lunies headed for Vikkar's ship, there appeared to be some sort of entire Grand Courtyard exodus taking place! Furious, he stormed down the street.

         "YOU!" He pointed his finger at Bell as he approached full throttle. "YOU'RE DONE! I CAN'T TRUST YOU WITH A SIMPLE TASK! NOW GO!"

         Already in shock, Bell barely flinched, he stared at the General dumbfounded, for a moment it all seemed so staged, as if he was playing a role in some lucid nightmare…

         "NOW!" Halios echoed, eyes slitted, blazing chartreuse with rage.

         Now Bell could see why the aribu were leaving.

         "FUCK YOU!" He flipped Halios the finger, deciding himself now to board the ship too.

         Adon couldn't believe what he was seeing as Officer Bell abandoned his post for the Lemurian voyage to Hellias with such gestures! He actually flipped Halios the finger? This was epic, the unfolding reality today was making him feel light headed, was this some sort of a spell they were under? He scanned the ship, Min's fiery red hair was like a beacon, calling him, she was so beautiful, who were these savages? Perhaps the Lunies were peace loving friends today, but how would they feel about their Atlan friends after they had blown Aquilla to smithereens?

         Seconds later he spotted Josh amongst the crowds, arm in arm with some hot Lemurian goddess.

         "JOSH" he yelled, waving.

         Josh heard his name, he knew who it was, he didn't want Adon tagging along and pretended not to hear.

         Adon darted into the crowd, flowing out of the Grand Courtyard in hot pursuit.

         "JOSH" he hollered, pushing his way through. "WAIT UP!"

         But Josh continued to ignore him.

         Now Adon knew he was ignoring him. Then he realized there was no stopping them, this was real, they were under a spell... This was sorcery happening in plain view!

         The crowds inched past, brushing him gently, nudging him their way with their mystical lure. Like a rock in a rapid, he stood steady, watching all the aribu boarding the ship to Hellias, mind blown. How had it happened? Had they been drugged? Had he missed something?

         His attention returned to Josh, now making his way up the ramp, he of all aribu ought to have known better than to pull something like this… He noticed the female under his arm again… She was quite stunning, she had the roundest ass he had ever seen, her curly chocolate hair looked so good bouncing off her bum in the setting sun...

         "Ha!" Finally it dawned, a smile broke out across his face as he realized the truth. Josh had ignored him because he didn't want him coming along! He studied the stream of Lemurians brushing past with eyes open! He glanced again toward the bow of the ship, Mina and Min really were magical, their crimson red hair looked like it was on fire in the setting sun...

         "Uh-huh... I get it Josh…" It was, in fact, a really smart idea, not to mention the ironic fact they would likely be much safer from the Coming War in said Hellias.

         He glanced over his shoulder towards Mount Ekar, the torches were blazing already… What did he have to lose in Atlan? Chronicles of the New Nefilim Race? Josh was actually onto something really good. Following the flock was a huge risk, a one way trip...

         He returned his gaze to the ship, did he dare? In a moment of wild instinct, the rock loosened and Adon tumbled into to the flow.

         Meanwhile, in the Grand Courtyard, the drummers drummed louder and louder, the dogons inside their cages raged wilder and wilder, pulling at the bars with increasing determination for a chance to sample the sweetly scented feast before them. It wasn't long before a second dogon broke free, Mel was still screaming, her voice broken and weak, she was losing her fight as the terrifying beasts accumulated before her, teeth barred, salivating with hunger, torturing her with their scary yellow eyes.

         "HA-HAAA!" Atalon clapped with wild enthusiasm.

         Like Halios, Halki emerged from the Headquarters and spotted the exodus from the courtyard immediately, but reacted quite differently.

         "Ha!"  From the top step he could see the General standing helplessly by the gate, he couldn't help but chuckle at the pathetic outcome of the Farewell Celebration. With a spring in his step, he made his way down the street to assess the damage.

         "Don't worry" he slapped Halios on the shoulder as he joined his side. "We don't give two hoots if they all run away. They're Garbage Gens. Hellias is nothing but a Barren Wasteland, remember?"

         Halios ignored his lousy humor, his comment revealing, he wondered now about his motivation.

         "We still need them. Or have you forgotten?"

         "So we're losing a few Useless Breeders" The god of Intelligence wasn't too concerned. "They're fools, the best of the worst, Malodon shouldn't even be attempting to make anything worthwhile from them. This is good. Be happy. You only want the ones who are going to be loyal to you anyway!"

         As if illuminated by a higher power, Halios caught a glimpse of Bell walking up the ramp.

         "You're right" he replied. "They're fools. Useless Breeders. Now that you mention it, I am glad it's worked out this way!"

         Still perched in terror on the top bench of the bleachers, Bella watched the crowds filter through the gates with white knuckles. Mel’s screams were unbearable now, she could hardly take any more. Her thoughts were doing the same gymnastics as everyone else, what would she give up if she left Atlan? It wasn't looking so good for her when she asked herself these things... Mel wouldn't be able to mentor her anymore, the Salon would be nothing without Mel…

         "What if it's a trap" she wondered out loud.

         "I think we should go" Bria made the suggestion again, this time Bella was listening.

         "Are they really going to get on the Lunie boat?" Mika asked, bewildered by the whole exodus. "Why would they do that? Don't the Lunies live in Hellias?"

         "You'd understand if you had been here" Bria replied.

         Bella was on the fence. The pregnant thing freaked her out and the honeycomb experience was still stuck in her mind. Even still, the Lemurians didn't look like they were suffering too much, the gods of Music were totally hot... All of them were… Maybe it wasn't so bad in Hellias?

         Akku and Nesh spotted the three goddesses sitting up on the bleachers, obviously terrified by the drama unfolding before them. They smiled and waved to catch their attention. Bella caught the gesture from the corner of her eye and turned to look, she had noticed Akku on stage, his crazy hair was irresistible, she wanted to touch it, was this her chance?

         "Look" she gave Bria a nudge.

         Bria and Mika glanced towards the two, smiling, handsome, irresistibly adorned gods of Music, radiating with affection, arms outstretched towards them.

         "Are you lovely young goddesses staying here to watch the Dog Show, or are you coming to party with us at the Solstice Celebration?"