ARMAGEDDON

(Author's note: My dear readers, I am sure you'd have expected my update on a new chapter. But it wasn't possible because I became sick plus I didn't have enough encouragement I needed to get on with it. I am strong today and I have decided to drop this one to see if anyone cares about me. Please enjoy and pardon me for not writing. Motivate me too. I really need it)

Julie woke up in a dungeon. "What am I doing here?" She wondered.

She went to the door it was locked. There was hardly light. The only light that shone was from the only window in the dungeon, which was high above her. There were rats and all kinds of insects.

"Oh god! Am in an underground dungeon!" She exclaimed.

What was she to do? She couldn't reason now. Sounds of someone approaching increased volume. Someone was coming with a burning stick. Two figures appeared.

"Wonderful! Julie you would probably remain here till am married to prince Aries and he forgets about you" Derila said wickedly.

"Are you not his wife already?" Julie questioned pointing at her.

"Of course I will be. It's only that you are a threat and I take care of threats" Derila said, her fingers intersecting each other in pleasure.

"How am I a threat to you? I hardly know the prince, besides am not an inhabitant here. Am an alien. Please let me go, I don't know what you're talking about" Julie pleaded.

"An alien? Wow! Anyway, I don't care if you are an alien or not, all I care about is that you are a big threat I must take care of if I want peace with my man" Derila said without a care. She was with one of her guards from her own kingdom, who had come to be with her here in Naomi.

"Have a nice time with the rats, scorpions and insects alien!" Derila laughed and walked away. Her guard following her.

"Wait! Get me out of here!" Julie called after her crying.

"I have to communicate with Alrodes" Julie finally thought. She sat in a yoga style and was about to meditate when a rat bit her toe. "Ouch!" Julie screamed. Lots of rats came out, all speaking in their ratty language.

"What is it you want now?" Julie cried in pain. The rats kept looking at her. Then one of the rats came to cover the injured place with a little cloth cleaning the little blood. Julie was astonished at such a thing.

"Are you human rats?" Julie asked.

"Yes," One of the rats who was the biggest said. Julie could hardly see the rest as the light was poor.

"You can speak English!" Julie exclaimed.

"Yes goddess we can" The same rat replied

"Goddess?" Julie wondered.

"Yes you are a goddess" Another old rat said.

"Any way am Naniel, Julie" The rat introduce.

"And am Romen" The first rat said.

"The king here" He added.

"Oh!" Julie exclaimed still surprised.

"How is it that am a goddess?" Julie asked.

"Shhh! someone might hear you" Another rat named Neo said.

"Hear me? Am I not alone here with you?" Julie asked

"You are, but you see there are some ghosts here, very wicked ones. There are only six good ones here, one has disappeared already" Neo explained.

"Why?" Julie asked.

"Works of the wicked ghosts" Zera another rat said, a female she was.

"Oh!" Julie understood now. They began whispering.

The rats explained that she was a goddess of communication and technology. Now Julie understood where she got her powers of communicating at far limits and even of her inventions.

"Wow! So I have been a goddess all along?" Julie shook her head in surprise.

"Yes," All the rats whispered. The king of the rats instructed some rats to quickly go get woods and stones to make light during the night.

"You are half deity too. You have a twin" The rats chorused. Julie listened attentively. Was this the mystery she was to uncover?

"My dear friends, was this the mystery I needed to uncover?" she entrusted them with her stories.

"Ye, but there is one more thing to uncover" Romen said.

"What?" Julie asked.

"That's for your heart to find" Romen replied. The word kept replaying in her head.

"When would that be?" She thought out aloud.

"Soon!" Romen answered.

"I need to find Alrodes and communicate with him," She told the rats.

"Not yet. Give them some time." Romen said.

Hungry Julie nodded.

"We have gone all poles still cannot find her," Barnabas and his friends said, tired. Alrodes nodded and gave them food.

"Then she must have been hidden somewhere," Alrodes said.

"Yes, but we need to tell the king, he would support us," Barnabas said.

"Of course, he would" Barnabas friend Gero agreed.

"Can you make me believe?" Alrodes said preparing some herbs.

"You are all Aliens. In Naomi, aliens are treated well, the loss of an alien is also equivalent to the loss of a citizen, so the king will help" Barnabas explained.

"Being the first woman to rope walk, surely all citizens will help for her search" Gero added.

"Okay let us go to the king tomorrow," Alrodes said.

Michael and Andrew had gone to the diviner in Naomi.

"Please tell us where our friend is," Michael asked.

"You look for someone?" The female diviner said sitting in a yoga, in front of three burning candles.

"Yes wise one," Andrew said.

"Then you will have to bring in something belonging to her to help me identify her, there are lots of persons that I see" She said her hands over the candles.

Michael always wore Julie's handmade necklace, which he used to communicate with her. He removed it and handed it over to the woman. The diviner nodded as she collected it. She chanted some strange words and threw the necklace into the fire.

"She is held hostage in the land in an underground. She has new friends. She would be redeemed, she needs quick help" The woman said.

"Who held her there?" Michael asked.

"That I cannot tell you. Soon you shall know" The diviner said while removing the necklace from the fire.

"How do we get her out?" Michael asked.

"That I cannot tell either" The diviner said.

"Aren't you supposed to be a diviner that reveals things?" Michael asked angrily.

"Of course I know how you can redeem her" She turned to look at Michael, she gasps "You!"

Michael looked at her in awe.

"You are the god of liberty and mythical things!" She pointed then paused.

"Then tell me how I can free my friend!" Michael asked.

"Your sister!" The diviner corrected.

"Sister?" Andrew exclaimed.

"You never know?" The diviner acted surprised.

"Yes," Michael said.

"Well she is your twin sister. Your second half. The two of you realizing this will make you full gods and goddesses. Julie is your sister, you must find her, because you cannot go on this journey to Homerlus without her" The diviner revealed.

"You know her name" Andrew voiced in.

"I am a diviner, the messenger of the oracle, I know a lot of things. How you would find her will soon be figured out. You will receive instructions but not from me nor Alrodes" The diviner said.

"You know Alrodes too?" Michael asked.

"I know a lot of things, almost everything" She said.

"What's your name?" Michael asked.

"I am Zaphila" She said.

"Now go! It is getting late" She dismissed them.

Michael hurried out with Andrew.

Out of the temple.

"I can't believe my ears," Andrew said.

"Me too" Michael added.

"Well Alrodes must have something to say about this," Michael said as they hurried home.

"You find anything?" Alrodes asked.

"No" They both shook their heads.

Michael went in to thank Barnabas and his friends.

"Thanks for waiting up and for the search" Michael said.

"Anything for a good friend," Barnabas said. He nodded to his friends, bid Alrodes and Andrew goodbye.

"We didn't find Julie" Michael closed and locked the door.

"But we found something" Michael walked towards Alrodes seated on the table. Andrew came in with pancakes and bread with jam, he joined them on the table.

"What is it that you found?" Alrodes asked.

"Zaphila the diviner said Julie is my sister!" Michael said expecting a shock from Alrodes, who instead took a slice of bread.

"Goodness! You finally found out" Alrodes said gently. Andrew and Michael looked at themselves questioningly, then looked at old Alrodes.

"You knew all along?" Michael whispered hurt.

"Yes Michael, from the beginning, but it was a task that you needed to carry out yourself. Both of you needed to find out on your own" Alrodes explained some other things leaving the two friends calm.

"So how should I tell Julie when we find her?" Michael asked.

"Yes, it is now you who would tell her this truth" Alrodes agreed.

"Light up these sticks" Romen ordered some rats, who did as they were instructed. Soon the room was full of light. Julie was happy.

"We rolled in some bread from the outside world" Nei, one of the rats who went to gather in sticks and stones said giving Julie some bread. Julie collected it. It was only a ball of bread. She cut out some to the rats.

"Thank you" Julie appreciated although the bread wouldn't be enough to satisfy her, yet she shared it amongst themselves.

"Zezelula" Romen chanted and Julie's bread increased in size. It was so big that Julie knew she wouldn't eat all of it. The rats said, "We will eat the leftover, just satisfy yourself our lady."

They all ate in silence.

"We need to get out of here soon. I mean our ladyship need to get out of here soon" Nei informed.

All the talking were like whispers.

"I heard the wicked lady Derila plans to kill her in two days' time," Nei said

"Two days!" The rest of the rats exclaimed including Julie.

"So in two days the wicked Derila would come kill our lady? Impossible! We need to get her out of here real fast" Romen exclaimed.

"Neo, tomorrow you would visit Alrodes and tell him where our lady is, you must get there fast!" Romen instructed.

"Yes my lord" Neo bowed.

"Now all of you go and sleep" Romen commanded.

"Wait!" Julie stopped, they all waited.

"Thank you so much" Julie said, a tear dropped from her eye.

"Anything for a noble lady" They said and hurried to sleep. The scorpions that were also part of the gathering smiled at the insects, as they all went to sleep.

"We are going to the king's palace to lay a complain" Alrodes explained all that Barnabas had explained, then they went out, the three of them meeting Barnabas on the way.

"We're off to the king's palace" Michael informed.

"Very well, let us go" Barnabas followed.

At the king's palace.

"Yes you called for my attention" King Agripus said. Aries was seated beside him, Derila stood behind Aries.

"Yes my lord" They all said together with a bow.

"Our friend is missing. She is Julie, the first woman to ropewalk" Michael said.

"What!" King Agripus exclaimed.

"Have you searched everywhere?" He asked.

"Yes, but she is nowhere to be found," Andrew said.

"We need your help great king," Alrodes said.

"Of course we will help you" Aries answered for his father.

"Yes we will" King Agripus agreed. Derila looked wickedly behind Aries.

"You will find her dead body in two days' time" She said to herself as she walked away. Aries was disturbed. "Where could she be?" He thought. He made sure he would go and see Alrodes later in the day. Derila walked into his chambers.

"You are worried over her?" She asked angrily.

"Of course not" Aries denied.

"Oh don't fool me. I know ever since that day, you loved that alien!" Derila said more angrily.

"Derila would you stop getting jealous! True I worry about her, so? Just get out, I think is high time you get over with your vacation here" Aries said and walked out.

"You! You would regret this! Derila said angrily. She walked into her own chamber, then into a secret room, where she worked magic, something that is not really allowed in Naomi. Black magic was banned in Naomi, but Derila practised it.

"Devola siun tun!" She chanted immediately she got into the room. She wanted Aries to love her through magic. She chanted over a fire, after then she nodded thoughtfully.

"I need his hair" She concluded. She went out to get his hair through her faithful servant Nesa.