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“I can’t find him!” Ellie said. She grabbed the edge of the king-sized bed in front of her and jerked her arms upwards, launching the bed into the air and flipping the whole piece of furniture upside down. Of course, there was no one underneath the bed. Only a grayling corpse remained where Sam should’ve been. “Mommy! You were supposed to keep an eye on Sam!”
“Sam was safe when I left,” Ellie’s mother said, her voice coming from out of the wall. “I had to make sure you were safe too since the graylings rebelled.”
“But he’s gone now!” Ellie said and kicked the grayling corpse, launching it across the room. It hit the wall with a splat. “Who let him out? He doesn’t know how to open doors!”
“I think Sam knows how to do more than open doors,” Ellie’s mother said. “Come here; there’s something you should see.”
Ellie frowned and turned around, leaving Sam’s room. She made her way down the hall to the room where her mother was while stomping her feet, making her displeasure obvious. “Is it a clue?” she asked as she entered the room. Her mother was sitting on a bench without a care in the world, watching the rectangular tile in front of herself. Ellie’s expression darkened. What happened to packing their things to leave? What was being broadcasted that was so important that…. Ellie’s eyes widened. “Is that Sam?”
“Looks like him, doesn’t it?” Ellie’s mother asked, not taking her eyes off the tile.
“What’s he doing with all those graylings?” Ellie asked. “Should we rescue him?” Her frown deepened. “It’ll be hard to save him; there are so many of them….”
“He doesn’t need rescuing,” Ellie’s mother said. “Keep watching.”
Ellie stared at her mother’s face for a bit before taking a seat beside her. Then, the small reptilian focused her attention onto the rectangular tile. Her vision expanded, and it was as if she were in the air looking down at Sam, the army of graylings, and a half-reptilian woman. Ellie wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but her mom wasn’t in a hurry anymore, so things must’ve changed. She frowned but forced herself to pay attention to the broadcast.
Sam glanced up, looking at the green crystalline sphere floating not too far from his head. With his crown chakra unlocked, he could sense hundreds of little lightning strands extending out of the sphere. With every passing second, more and more strands connected to the sphere; some of them, Sam could track to individual buildings, but there were some connecting from too far, his psychic vision—as he temporarily named it— wasn’t able to track them to their sources.
“You caused quite a stir,” Wendy said, causing Sam to shift his gaze onto the half-reptilian woman. “Everyone’s curious about what happens next, so they’re checking in for themselves. I’m curious too; what happened to the Gray Master Core? You seem to be in control of the graylings.”
Sam made eye contact with Wendy. Unlike before, he didn’t flinch upon seeing her black irises and red pupils. The red clearly contrasted with the black, reminding Sam of the pictures he had seen of a black widow’s butt. He was sure butt wasn’t the scientific name for that specific part of the spider, but that didn’t matter. “I absorbed the Gray Master Core with my talent,” Sam said and pointed at the eagle perched on his head. “It turned into a living creature named Birdbrained.”
“Birdbrained…,” Wendy said, staring up at the eagle. It glinted with the orange light of Et Serpentium, and when it noticed Wendy looking at it, it opened its beak wide and squawked at her. It sounded like a turkey warbling off-key. Wendy blinked and gave the eagle a half-hearted smile before making eye contact with Sam. She gestured around at the graylings, who were all looking at her, each prepared to take action if she showed any signs of aggression. “Did they become your underlings?”
Sam scratched his head. In a sense, since Birdbrained was akin to a god to the graylings, and he was Birdbrained’s speaker…. “Yes,” Sam said. “They’ll listen to what I say.” But they’d probably prioritize Birdbrained’s orders over his if it ever came down to it.
Wendy stared at Sam with an impossible-to-read expression. Although he couldn’t read her mind, Sam couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable as he recalled Raindu’s behavior during the time he had spent with Wendy. If Birdbrained had even half of Raindu’s natural curiosity, the eagle might command the graylings to perform horrible, detrimental actions, and there’d be nothing Sam could do to stop them. Raindu had indirectly derailed a passenger train; what if Birdbrained was feeling competitive and took down a whole city?
“What are your plans for the future?” Wendy asked. “Are you going to stay in Et Serpentium? Use the graylings to take revenge for the mistreatment humans have suffered at the hands of reptilians?”
Sam blinked. Why did it feel like Wendy was asking him to leave after discovering the graylings were controlled by Birdbrained? It must’ve been his imagination; after all, she only asked a few questions about what he was going to do next. He hadn’t really thought about it, but Wendy’s questioning did open up new trains of thought. Since he could control the graylings, didn’t he have an enormous amount of power in his hands? Monarch would definitely be cautious about picking a fight with him now that he had an army of soldiers that could ignore physical barriers by manipulating space and time.
Wendy stared at Sam, waiting for him to respond. After a bit, she added, “If you need some encouragement, for what it’s worth, I’m sure reptilians wouldn’t mind paying you to maintain the status quo: order the graylings to serve Et Serpentium like how they’ve been doing before all this.”
Sam scratched his head. That didn’t sound like such a bad idea; the reptilians would continue living as they had, and Sam would be paid. Of course, the reptilians would definitely be unhappy about it, and they’d definitely build another GMC. Who’d be happy about renting their own stolen item from the person who stole it from them?
“It’s not possible to create another GMC,” Wendy said.
“Really?” Sam asked. “Are you sure it was a good idea to tell me that?”
Wendy shrugged. “It’s not a big secret,” she said. “The creator of the GMC died a long time ago, and even though he left lots of notes to replicate his work, the notes are too”—Wendy paused and glanced up at the eagle atop Sam’s head—“eccentric”—her gaze shifted back onto Sam—“for others to follow. So, the technology is all but lost.”
“And no one would mind that I’m basically selling them something I stole from them?” Sam asked.
“Graylings are more of a subscription service already,” Wendy said. “The only reptilians who’ll be upset are the descendants of the GMC’s creator since they’re the ones who’ll be losing out, but they’ve had more than enough time to amass a fortune.”
“You expect me to believe they won’t target me?” Sam asked. “This rich family with abundant resources to bribe people into action.”
“As part of the deal, you can ask for us to exile them,” Wendy said and shrugged. “Are you open to negotiations?”
Could something like the lives of a rich family be negotiated? Who exactly was he negotiating with? As far as Sam understood, there wasn’t exactly a government in Et Serpentium, just lots of different cliques and groups. Of course, it was also possible he was simply unaware of how reptilian politics worked—honestly, he wasn’t quite sure how human politics worked either. Sam crossed his arms over his chest. “How much will I be paid?”
“At the current rate, roughly ten million credits a month,” Wendy said.
Sam blinked, and he looked around at the graylings. A frown appeared on his face, and he exhaled. Was he willing to use his newfound abilities to exploit graylings for capital? If he ever lost Birdbrained, and the graylings were to rebel, wouldn’t they go after him, the one who ordered them to continue being servants?
“You could always ask them,” Wendy said, gesturing towards the graylings with her chin.
Sam cleared his throat and turned his head. “Excuse me,” he said, waving towards one of the graylings to get its attention. “If you didn’t have to follow anyone’s orders, what would you like to do?”
The grayling stared at Sam with its unblinking, black, sclera-only eyes. “Assist entropy. Disassemble every plane of existence.”
Sam blinked and glanced at Wendy. The blonde woman’s face remained impassive as if she were expecting the graylings to be agents of destruction. Sam turned towards another grayling. “How about you?” he asked. “If you were free, what would you do?”
“Research,” the grayling said.
Sam nodded. At least this grayling didn’t want to destroy the world. “What kind of research?”
“Political research,” the grayling said. “I want to learn how society works, so I can dismantle it in the most efficient manner.”
Sam’s expression darkened. His gaze swept over the crowd of graylings. “Are there any of you who, if given freedom, would want to do something non-violent or non-destructive?”
The graylings remained still.
“Raise your hand if you want to do something violent or destructive if you’re given freedom,” Sam said.
As if they were clones, the graylings raised their right arms at the same time. Sam nodded. It might’ve been cruel to deny someone the freedom to do what they wanted, but if what they wanted wasn’t good for themselves or anyone else, then was it really cruel? Sam addressed the crowd of graylings. “So, when you’re given orders to perform peaceful actions, are you holding back your discontent?”
The graylings all spoke at once. “No,” they said. “Fulfilling orders provide a sense of satisfaction.”
Sam scratched his head. So…, the graylings were destructive when given freedom, and they were content when they were bossed around. They were practically begging to be exploited, so what else could Sam do but oblige? He nodded at Wendy. “Alright, as long as I get paid ten million credits a month, I’ll order the graylings to resume what they’ve been doing in Et Serpentium.”
Wendy nodded at Sam. “Would you like to hire a lawyer to finalize the details?”
“No!” a voice said from off in the distance.
Sam, Wendy, and the graylings turned their heads towards the sound. A levistone in the distance grew in size as it rapidly approached the group. On top of the levistone, there were two yellow reptilians, one large and one small. There was also a rectangular tile on the smaller reptilian’s lap, one she used to remain connected to the broadcast while driving.
“Ellie?” Sam asked.
“Who else?” Ellie asked and hopped off the levistone. She stared up at Sam and frowned before grabbing a nearby grayling. The small reptilian climbed on top of the grayling and stood on its head. She looked down at Sam and placed her hands on her hips. “Are you leaving, Sam? Were you even going to say goodbye?”
“I’m not sure. Planning isn’t my strong suit,” Sam said. He had planned to flee Et Serpentium after covertly stealing the GMC, but instead, everyone now knew he was the thief, and instead of handing the GMC over to Monarch’s people, he had absorbed it for himself. Sam exhaled upon seeing Ellie’s expression. With his crown chakra unlocked, he could read deeper into the reptilian’s vibe than before; from what he could tell, Ellie was sincerely going to miss him if he left. “You’re the best owner a pet could ever ask for, but I don’t want to be a pet anymore.”
Ellie stared at Sam, and the grayling she was standing on wobbled as its knees buckled. Before she could say anything, the levistone drifted over, and her mother grabbed Ellie’s arm, pulling her back onto the vehicle. Ellie’s mother made eye contact with Sam. “We’ll discuss things with you after the broadcast is over.”
“Sure,” Sam said, glancing up at the green sphere. Even more strands of lightning were connected to it; he wasn’t quite sure how many reptilians lived in Et Serpentium, but he assumed most of them were tuning in to whatever this situation was supposed to be: an interview? Interrogation? Negotiation? He wasn’t quite sure.
“What if Sam gets tricked?” Ellie asked, struggling to break free from her mother’s grasp. “He’s a slow learner; he won’t be fine on his own!”
A wry smile appeared on Sam’s lips. Yes, he was a slow learner. Even with Ellie’s assistance, he wasn’t able to unlock his sacral chakra. Raindu turned to look at Sam and dove into Sam’s clothes. Before he even knew what the ferret wanted, Raindu took out the orange crystal Ellie had given Sam, and with a sniff and a snort, the ferret tossed the sphere over to the small reptilian. It shook its fist at Ellie as the reptilian caught the sphere. She held it in her hands and stared at Sam with a blank expression. Then, a frown appeared on her face, and tears appeared in her eyes. It was the first time Sam had ever seen a reptilian cry.
“Wait,” Sam said and grabbed Raindu’s waist, holding the ferret up towards Ellie with one hand. “This furry guy is just weird about crystals. He doesn’t like me having them.”
Ellie stared at Sam as a teardrop traveled from the corner of her eye to the top of her cheek. Sam turned towards Wendy, and the half-reptilian read his mind before reaching into her pocket. She handed Sam a small, red gem. Raindu ran up to Sam’s shoulder, down his arm, and grabbed the gem before tossing it onto the ground by the graylings’ feet.
“See?” Sam asked.
“At least it returned yours to you,” Wendy said to Ellie before looking down at the gem on the ground. It wasn’t worth much, but the ferret’s actions were still pretty rude.
A translucent membrane flickered across Ellie’s eyes, wiping away her tears. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Wendy. “You better not try to cheat Sam,” the small reptilian said.
“And what’s it to you if I do?” Wendy asked and squinted at the reptilian. Before Ellie could respond, Wendy answered as if the reptilian already had. “Oh, really? You care more about a pet than your fellow reptilians?”
Ellie scowled. “Stop doing that,” she said. “Of course, I care more about Sam than other people. Other people can take care of themselves, but Sam’s just a derpy human. If I don’t watch out for him, no one will!”
“I’m sure Sam can take care of himself,” Wendy said.
“Sam eats ice cream before bed,” Ellie said and snorted. “He makes terrible decisions all the time.”
Sam blinked. What was wrong with eating ice cream before bed?
“Well, let’s ask him,” Wendy said, redirecting her gaze towards Sam. She gestured towards Ellie. “Would you like to be represented by this reptilian child?”
“And her mother,” Ellie said.
Wendy turned her head to look at Ellie’s mother. The yellow reptilian exhaled before nodding her head. “And her mother,” Wendy said to Sam. “Yes, ultimately, the final say is yours.”
Wendy’s mind-reading ability was handy at times—albeit a bit invasive. “Is it okay for you to be the one negotiating with me?” Sam asked. Wendy was the daughter of the great seer, but she was also half human and should’ve been discriminated against. Then again, she could be the one negotiating with him because she was half human. With her ability to read minds, she could act as a mouthpiece for someone else while maintaining a human façade.
“I can’t speak for all reptilians,” Wendy said, “but I do represent a large majority of them.”
“And what about the other reptilians?” Sam asked. “I imagine they’re not so keen on negotiating.”
“They aren’t,” Wendy said. “Pets should be pets, property of reptilians, so why should they lower themselves and ask a pet for a favor? That’s how those people think. However, we’ll help protect you and the graylings from them.”
“Or will you act as perfect bait for us?” a voice asked, echoing down from the ceiling of Et Serpentium. A column of white light shone out of the ceiling, illuminating Sam and his grayling army along with Wendy and the two reptilians. “You were the perfect distraction, Bastard Wendy; you managed to gather them all in one spot.”
Sam frowned and looked up at the ceiling. The white light acted like a cage, preventing his newly unlocked psychic vision from extending beyond the confines of the column. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Wendy. “Were you lying to me?” he asked. He had been tricked by Wendy once before, so how did that saying go? Shame on him for believing her again.
“No,” Wendy said, frowning as well. The green broadcasting sphere fell out of the air, landing on her right palm. “It looks like the reptilians who don’t like you are taking action now.”
“What’s with the light?” Sam asked.
“A defensive mechanism in case graylings ever rebelled,” Wendy said. “It stabilizes time and space, rendering graylings powerless.”
“And once they can’t fight back…,” Sam said, standing as he looked around. Hissing sounds Sam recognized as reptilian laughter reverberated through the air. Although the white light column isolated his psychic vision, he could still see past it, see the steady stream of reptilians approaching. Sam swallowed and looked at the ferret standing on his shoulder. “Please help.”
Raindu stood up straight and thumped its chest with its right paw before nodding at Sam. Then, it reached upwards, arching its body, and grabbed one of the now-white eagle’s wing feathers. The eagle squawked and raised one leg up into the air as if it were about to fall off of Sam’s head, but its remaining foot clenched harder on Sam’s head, tearing four bloody gashes on his scalp as its talons scraped against his skull.
“Ow!” Sam shouted and grabbed at the bird. Its talons dug even deeper, and he took in a deep breath before relaxing his body despite the pain he was in. “Birdbrained, let go.” Pricks of white-hot pain stabbed at Sam’s scalp as the eagle’s talons left his head. Sam brought the eagle down to eye level and stared at it before turning to look at Wendy. Blood trickled down his forehead and followed the contour of his eyebrow. “I need a knife-proof hat as part of the deal.”
Wendy stared at the blood flowing from Sam’s head. “Sure,” she said, “if we can get out of here alive.”