Chapter 7: Gateway To New Exodus

Max

July 23rd, 2017

12:29 PM

New Exodus, Meridian Prime

Main Gateway

It would seem we now have arrived at New Exodus and our welcome wasn't a warm one. The main gateway was surrounded by a dozen other gibbets Chloe and I spot between us. All of them containing living remains of rebels. Certainly, nobody's rolling out the red carpet for our sake.

"Oh, my God," I said. "Well, I guess that's one way to quash a rebellion."

"I have to wonder if this was always the plan," said Chloe.

"What? To slaughter all the colonists?"

"No, to lure them here in hopes of finding a utopia. Only to rob them of everything they have."

"Well, we dealing with the Herd of Whales."

"Well, that's pretty diabolical. Even for the Herd of Whales."

"I don't even think you know what they're like. Even by today's standards."

"And you do?"

"Don't forget their working with Ares and ConDef considered."

Upon entering the parent colony of New Exodus, the gibbets were being hung on polls sticking out of swamp water. A swamp appeared to be an apt enough place for gibbets and skeletons. That's if Shrek isn't out here to scare us away either.

While getting our feet and ankles wet in the gibbet swamp, Chloe spotted a sign written in a different language underneath one gibbet pole. The language was Latin.

"Nos autem accipere digna factis," said Chloe reading the sign.

"We receive the due reward of our deeds," I translated.

"Especially if you cross Ezra."

"It's a saying from Ezra he was obsessed with. That motivated his HOW members."

"Ezra doesn't strike me as the 'due reward' type."

"Well, in his mind I'm sure he thought he was."

When the two of us approached the gate to New Exodus past the swamp, the gate itself looked concealed by leaves and roots. It didn't seem the gate could ever be opened again unless we had a battering ram to heave with. Which we didn't.

"That gate's not budging," I said. "We need to get up and over."

Chloe then turned over to another sign underneath a gibbet written in Latin as well.

"Hodie mecum eris in paradiso," read Chloe.

"Today you will join me in paradise," I translated.

"Some paradise," sighed Chloe.

I chuckled.

I think I had found a way up and over the gate. We were going to have to use the gibbets again and that's what we did. I climb over a stone structure to reach a gibbet and jump onto it. Then we would balance ourselves upon were the gibbets were hanging and jump over to another wooden hook. That way we would eventually reach the high ground over the gate. We would need to be cautious with the stability of the hanging gibbets, however.

"Those things don't look steady," said Chloe.

"They're not," I said. "Be careful."

I joked around with one of the gibbets carrying corpse saying good morning and how's it hanging? Pun intended. One of the gibbets breaks off from my feet but not from my hands where I could fall off. The two of us reach the wall over the gate where we shimmy and climb upon and we've made our entrance. A far more welcoming one at that.

We now feast our eyes on the utopian colony of New Exodus. Or what is left of it. Waterfalls, green grass and trees, and buildings that still looked untouched from the outside. I could see one building overshadowing the falls above them. Must be another administration building similar to Meridian's. It may look like we would do some swimming to reach the top towards the main building.

"Wowser," I said. "Welcome to Ezra's neighborhood. Our gateway to New Exodus."

"It's a nice place," said Chloe. "If you don't mind some structural problems and water damage."

"Clearly some drainage issues."

"A real fixer-upper opportunity."

Chloe reached for her binoculars to scope out the place damaged by water flooding for recon.

"Okay, so…looks like somebody blew that dam and then flooded the whole place," she said pointing it out.

"You know, I forgot," I said. "Pretty good at this."

"All right, so which one of these do you think is Ezra's?"

"Ah, my money's on…that one. One that's still intact."

"Ooh. You're not so bad at this either."

"Yeah, well, you know, had a little practice. Read a few books-"

"Shit. Shit."

"What? What?"

"The front door."

Chloe gave me her binoculars and I took a peek. Only to spot Alex being trained on by Joanna's gun and that wasn't all. Alex wasn't the only hostage either. A man in military gear was standing next to Alex. Whoever he was, must be a Chrysalis soldier or something.

Alkaline, Ares, and some old man in some weird robe were present too. As well as another hefty looking figure who was taller bigger than Ares caring some kind of ancient battle hammer in his hands. He was as big as the Hulk. ConDef troops were present also. Guarding Alex and the other prisoner or patrolling the front door of Ezra's supposed building.

"Alex," I said.

"She's still alive," said Chloe.

"Yeah, for now. Alright, keep your eyes open for ConDef types."

"Yup."

"And be careful. I think I saw some strange people or – things with Ares aside from Joan and Elias."

"You got it."

Little did we know there were two foreboding figures watching over us from a tree indistinctly. A villainous female and male sent by Ares to assassinate us on sight. Staring at us to contemplate for their perfect strike. Which was now or never.

Alex

July 23rd, 2017

12:34 PM

New Exodus, Meridian Prime

Administration Building

ConDef soldiers open the front doors of what seems to be an admin building of some kind. My greatest guess is the home of Ezra Prescott. Dhaled and I are escorted inside with ConDef guns trained behind us and our wrists tied together behind our backs with zip ties. Joanna, Alkaline, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus walked inside after us. For a place that's over a hundred years old, it was nice seeing most of the infrastructure survived during the war from back then.

"Lo and behold," said Joanna. "The house of my late great grandfather."

"It is indeed," said Apollo. "I served with Ares during the Eternity War that took place here. Where we had caged traitors of the herd until they either starved to death or killed themselves in their own gibbets."

"Ezra Prescott may have conspired against my order," said Ares. "But I will never fumble my sword to Maxine Caulfield as I had done to Ezra. I should have grinded this reminder of a traitor long ago setting foot in this home of my ally's ancestor."

"I hate to interrupt your museum tour, people," I said. "But I know we're your hostages for a better reason than a history lesson."

Ares unsheathed his sword and instantly slammed the tip of the blade on the floor. Jumping me with the loud ass noise it makes.

"You will not speak unless spoken to, prisoner!" Ares shouted. "Or it will be your head!"

"Patience, Ares," said Apollo. "Alex is our only link to the Ark of Genesis. Kill her now and there is no hope of our succession. Let her speak should her words be relevant to our wants and needs."

"Apollo's got a point, sire," I said. "If these words are so relevant enough, I can point you in the right direction. Assuming it is the right direction."

"Your sarcasm sickens me," said Ares. "Keep moving."

Dhaled and I move along with a soldier shoving me with his rifle. Hephaestus's footsteps are pretty loud with every thud he makes on the floor walking behind everyone. I come up with every plan of escape for my co-prisoner and me to shake off Ares's cult and flee but the smartest move as of now was to stay put and play along with every trigger finger at our backs.

The soldiers then open the doors to the main hall of Ezra's house. Where we see a big skylight with a sunray beaming through and a flight of stairs built for a mansion like this one. Some serious architecture that's still standing in ruins after one hundred years. May look dreadful on the outside given the minor damage from the war but I know it once looked prettier on the inside before the war.

"Look at this place," said Joan with a smile. "The home of my ancestor. It may look awful from the war, but I know it was once a beautiful place to live before then. It's like my brother's house back in Arcadia Bay."

"I wouldn't get too comfy here, Joan," said Alkaline. "Living here isn't the mission. Getting to the ark is. Even if settling here was, it's an utter shithole in my opinion."

"Barricade the doors," ordered Ares the ConDef men. "No one gets in or out. It should also slow down Max and her friend to buy us time.

Dhaled and I were escorted upstairs into a room that was claimed to be Ezra Prescott's office since he remembered the place a hundred years before. Once we all entered, it was a dead end. Now that Ares's memory wasn't as good as it once was, he had forgotten there was a secret passage and couldn't remember how to get in.

"This was the office of my former enemy," said Ares. "The dubious man he was, I know his secret passage is here somewhere."

"Ezra Prescott was indeed a conceptual gentleman who believed his secrets would outwit us," said Apollo. "You should be glad we brought the prisoners here for their uses."

"You two, find a way to open that passage. The rest of you, protect this room at all costs and set up an ambush for our traveler if you can. Anywhere in this household will do."

"Sire, shouldn't we leave Caulfield to Nemesis and Thanatos? Isn't that why you sent them?"

"You could never be too sure. As capable as Nemesis and Thanatos are, I won't go easy on them if they fail. Alkaline's men can give them support if need be."

The ConDef troop behind me shoved me again so the Lebanese and I would find a way to open the passage. The other troops were either searching a way themselves or preparing to ambush Max while Joan was making out with the general sarcastically speaking. These loons couldn't keep us, prisoner, forever and the Hephaestus guy overshadowing everyone was making me piss my pants the more I looked at him.

"Those animals take us away for this hellhole," said Dhaled quietly. "I should've died a noble death back in Beirut."

"I should've died a noble death back in a sewer in Seattle," I said. "And yet here we are."

"If that monster Ares knows this place so well, why bother taking us with and not kill us painfully?"

"He needs me for my knowledge of the ark. You're probably just stuck with me, so I don't get lonely on this prison tour. If it makes you feel better, I think I know a way to get out of this."

"And how would we do that?"

"I've got an idea. But you need to trust me, okay? Or we're screwed."

I drop my lighter on the floor in case Max gets here. So, she'll know where I've been. The first phase of my escape plan.

Note: So, I've completed my semester of college, turned in all my finals, and finished all my presentations. Hopefully with a good enough grade to go with them! Of course, I've played the last episode of Life Is Strange 2 and found it amazing as ever! I hope to say the same for The Rise Of Skywalker which I'll be seeing this week opening day. Been rewatching every Star Wars film I could to prepare with only The Last Jedi left for me to watch. Sue me as a defender of that movie.

Until next time, stay tuned and golden! And may the force be with us all.