RB Chapter 155 Fallen Cities

Jan, 04, 2200

"The humans are at an advantage. They are pushing our brethren back, with many deaths everyday." A voice echoed within the walls of a cave. The situation appeared grim causing urgency in its voice.

"This...is just...the beginning." Another voice, from someone or something different from the first also echoed. Its words were measured and heavy...treated as if they were gold, precious.

"Really!?" There was thick disbelief in the first voice to echoed in the cave.

A myriad of glowing, cell like organisms floated around, each an inch in size, like fireflies in the night sky.

One, or a bunch occasionally floated near one of the large stones, giving glimpses of the figures occupying them.

They were bioluminescent and they moved along in the air as if they were swimming. A congregation of them were huddled around a hologram floating in the air. They appeared to be devouring the light...the photons being released by the projector.

The projector was from a piece of skin, bloodstained, but with a patch identical to that worn on Eric's hand. The piece of skin was self explanatory. It had been taken from a human.

[Let's all take a moment of silence to honor the deaths of our fellow humans from the fallen five cities.]

A human woman was projected into the air from the hologram. She appeared to be an anchor on the official African federation channel. The image was glitching since the photons were being devoured, making it a bit harder to make out, but the audio was fine.

"Hahahahaha...they lost a few cities! Great! I hope more join those five." A laugh reverberated. It came from a distortion on one of the rocks. Even the photon devouring lifeforms feared appearing anywhere within five meters of the distortion. It absorbed all light to appear like a patch of pure darkness.

"The credit goes to those in the north. We in the east haven't yet done anything." The voice came from the first creature to have spoken in the cave. As the light fell upon it, it appeared to be covered in yellow fur and a black face...a monkey to be precise.

Even though its face wasn't showing any change, an atmosphere of urgency seemed to surround it.

"Wait...our time...has not...yet come." Another, a white furred monkey spoke, treasuring its words like gold. It was watching the hologram but its thoughts appeared to be far away.

"Are we just going to hide until then? I don't care too much about the dying beasts, but they still have the potential to join us, mostly the intelligent ones! When are we going to act?" The yellow furred monkey appeared to have completely lost its marbles, opting to roar loudly.

"You are so impatient! If the leader says that the time has not yet come, then it hasn't! Who are you to question the leader?" The rebuking came from the distortion.

"Hmph!" The yellow furred monkey snorted and steam came out of it's nose, but it didn't throw out any more words.

There were three more beasts in the cave, but they hadn't joined in the discussion, acting as if they didn't hear anything, or have any opinions.

-----

JAN, 10, 2200.

Today, in the northern part of the continent, the sun was bearing down as usual, onto the brown earth. Close to the banks of the river Nile stood one of the tallest buildings to have ever been constructed by man, the Xseed 4000 concept. It housed one of the four known super cities on this continent, Cairo Super city.

At its top, the highest floor, far above the cloud line where the lowest possible clouds to the surface of the Earth, form, the main theater of operations, managing the entire war situation of the continent was located. It also doubled as the conference room for the city heads of the African Federation.

The time was noon, and as before, the top was filled with a cacophony of noises. This time though, they appeared to be orderly, not the market place that it once was.

Chloe, this time dressed in long black pants and a white blouse, was seated behind her desk. The reports needing her attention had dwindled and she was having that rare moment of peace where she was enjoying her coffee.

She was leaning back, taking a sip, but her beautiful face was marred by a frown. It appeared that something was weighing on her mind.

The war situation had improved as the surviving cities had managed to repel the beast tides. Those which hadn't managed had fallen.

"How much of the land have we managed to reclaim so far?" She asked.

"About 30%." Her secretary, also dresses formally answered. She was standing behind her tapping away at her holographic screen. She hadn't even looked up any information as if the answer had been in her mind, prepared in advance.

"Just 30%..."

"Chad city mayor, everyone! May I have your attention." She stood up and beckoned a group of people who had been standing somewhere, over.

"Thank you so much for the efoort that you have put in during the past hectic days." She bowed a little.

"Its our duty as council members. Though...its a pity that some of the cities fell." One of them answered, but also sighed at the fate of the fallen cities.

"It was their own fault...from the data that I have received, the cities which fell are those which provided fake information about their war preparations. I think they deserved it, don't you?" Another man said.

"What you have just insinuated is wrong. The other tens of thousands of normal civilians didn't deserve to die." Chloe tapped at her desk. Her aura and gaze locked into the man.

"Sorry, my mistake." He apologised.

"Contact every surviving city which reported fake military preparations..."

"...with my authority as the federation spokesperson and highest commander of the war, I order the mayors to be stripped of their rank, and others to be chosen to take over, effective immediately." She ordered. Her entire person was radiating an aura of slaughter.

"Won't that bring chaos, madam? What if the replacement was part of the scheme? Besides, such a scheme couldn't just involve one or two people." One person said.