Dead Men Tell No Tales
"C- compto?"
"Never heard of it."
"Me too."
"Well, that's obvious, my fellow friends. It's a secret. And an important one on top of that. You see, Compto is so good that just a kilo can power up an entire small city, and it's not dangerous for the environment. The Govern is already testing it in the suburbs of Milan and Rome, and the results are astonishing. Just imagine the revolution that it will bring when released into the market. And all of this is possible only thanks to you, Miners! You may think 'I'm just a nobody, it's not like I'm going to make a difference', but you are wrong! One kilo means one small city: imagine how many lives will you be able to improve thanks to YOUR contributions."
Lucio was speaking with passion and zeal, explaining the fascinating effects of Compto, while mesmerizing the many people presents. His words were magical and able to ignite a fire inside everyone: they were able to imagine an improved world, a leading Italy.
Years and years of corrupted politicians in the hands of the Mafia, of ignorants party leaders that do nothing but fan the flames of hatred and fear, of Governs that falls and rises every six months without a stable guide and the contempt of the other nations, made the common man wish for a change.
The miners were yelling, shouting while spitting saliva as if they were possessed, only one man was in the sidelines watching everything unfolding with a strange gaze.
Lucio was shaking hands and receiving praises from all the people present. If you were to look it from the outside, you might have mistaken in it like as if we were in the presence of the Pope, surrounded by his believers.
"Wonderful words!"
"You opened my eyes!"
"What are we waiting? Let's go and dig some rocks!"
The atmosphere was jovial, filled with waves of laughter. Lucio was smiling amicably, yet when his gaze fell on the young man, a strange light flickered in his eyes before disappearing as quickly as it came.
"Ok then, let's depart toward our destination, then we will split off in five different directions with our corresponding group."
The 50 people started marching under the three suns. At first, they were still happy, and they were progressing fast, but after 1 hour, the surroundings were deadly silent. The feet that before were gently sinking in the sand, and giving a beautiful sensation, now they felt like burdens... like a weight attached to them with the only aim to bring them down. Each step was difficult and arduous.
The suits indeed had a cooling system and many water reservoirs, but it wasn't able to regenerate the stamina or alleviate the fatigue that those poor men were feeling.
The only person who was still in force was Lucio and the four head squads of each group.
After again one hour, a man muttered:
"I can't go on, Lucio, please let us rest. I feel like I will die if I don't stop, and my water tanks are already half empty. What will I do if I finish them before even starting working?"
"Ok guys, let's camp here for a bit, anyway, we should be near to our target." replied Lucio with a stern face.
He was looking towards the desert, in the distance as if searching for something.
"By the way Lucio, I have a question: if Compto is so good, why are we only in fifty? Shouldn't we, like, bring as much as personal as possible to excavate more of it?" an unknown miner asked.
"Good question, and the answer is: what would happen if we were to overflow the market with a new energy capable to topple those nations that base their economy on oil and the rest?"
"Err, not a good outcome?"
"Probably the Third World War. If not, without a doubt, those nations will work hard to put some limitations on us like how much we can sell it or how much we can excavate it. And that would slow down by a notch our plan to revitalize our country. That is why we will dig up little by little and sell it only to those nations that would like to see the regions of UAE fall. Moreover, we will sell it for exorbitant prices and make the UE dependent on us. Brilliant plan, right? The only thing is that we must be careful and have the utmost secrecy to avoid foiling our strategy."
"Then, I have a question."
A voice cut through the air and grabbed the attention of all the miners present. It was the voice of the young man, who hadn't spoken up since entering the Ruin.
"Please, do ask."
"Since we entered the Ruin you started acting weird and spilling all these so-called secrets: aren't you afraid of spies? Aren't you scared that we will sell these pieces of information to others? You are speaking of international disputes between powerhouses to a group of common men who only care about feeding their family. Something's up with you.
What. is. your. real. purpose? I have known Lucio for a long time, and he has never been this fanatic for the Italian State or knew these secrets, he was like us."
The atmosphere seemed to have chilled down in a second. Even though there were 70 degrees outside, the people were frozen stiff like statues or preys facing a predator.
Lucio's smile was gone, replaced by a calm face that conveys no emotion.
Then, he smiled regretfully.
"Guess it's time to finish this facade... well, it doesn't matter anymore. I have done my part. I'm sorry young boy, but I had no choice. It was me or you."
It was then.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
From afar, clouds of sand started to rise in the air.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
They were coming closer.
"What are those." a man said while pointing his finger toward that storm.
Silhouettes could be seen inside. And they were marching.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
"You asked me why would I tell you all these secrets, right?" continued Lucio.
"Is because... dead men tell no tales."
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United States of America, Washington D.C., The White House.
A man in a nice suit was running along the corridor, sweat was on his forehead, while he was embracing a tablet in order to prevent it from falling.
It was clear that he has been running for a while.
After a bit, he arrived in front of a door, he stopped, and gently knocked.
"Come in." a powerful voice came from the inside.
The man opened the door: inside the oval room, behind a desk, was sitting a person with black hair and a shaved face. He was reading some reports of his subordinates about new policies to improve people's well-being.
He was the President of the United States of America: Jaxson York.
The youngest President ever. He was the man who made universal free healthcare, called back many US soldiers from the frontlines and tried to end the oppression against black Americans.
"Mr President, 10 minutes ago we received this video showing the suburbs of Tokyo. A tree looking monster came out of a Gate." Said the man while showing the images.
"Mmh?"
For the first time, Jaxson raised his deep blue eyes to look at his secretary.
"No need to feeling anxious, Bishop. We knew that there was this possibility, only I didn't expect they would come out this fast.
Call me the vice-president, the General of the Army, of the Airforce and of the Navy, in this order. Announce a conference with the Congress and then with the media, the people need to know. I want every State to report any anomalies with their Gates. If possible, evacuate those zones and send the National Forces. Gather all the Exalted Humans, and... call the Adepts and Apostles too."
"S- Sir, I can understand the Adepts but the Apostles... are we sure there are no other ways?" asked fearfully the secretary. Just mentioning their names made his legs went soft.
"There is no time to waste! Follow my orders, and we will survive this ordeal together, otherwise, we'll be doomed. Now go!"
"Yes!" Bishop stormed out of the room, running again, leaving Jaxson alone.
"So, it has begun. I hope humanity is ready."