They Are Not Human

Chapter 21

"Are you going to tell her, or do I have to?" he says taunting him once again.

I could feel my hands balling into fists, as my anger explodes to the surface. "I swear Jakove, if you don't tell me everything right this instant!"

Jakove puts his hands up in defeat, almost to shield himself from the wrath of my anger. "Okay. Okay" he says in a defeated tone. He takes a deep breath "there is no easy way to say this butttt," he says his face red with embarrassment. This was the first time I had ever witnessed Jakove be so unsure and embarrassed over something.

"What is it?" I say annoyed that he was taking this long to just spit it out. My patience was used up for the day.

He runs his hands through his hair, and locks eyes with me. His eyes were intent, and were burning with life. "My dad is the King of Atlantis, so that makes me the next in line for the throne. I am the prince of Atlantis." He finally responds.

His words were like a blow to the stomach, and knocked all the air out of me. Everything began to fall into place. A prince with a limitless power would make for an unstoppable King. This is why his dad wanted to exploit the Mangata in him. I could feel myself collapse to my knees, and the world around me was spinning. This means that Jakove and his family was the reason the world was suffering. Before I could justify his behavior, and say that maybe he wasn't one of the bad ones, but know I knew he was bread from evil to be evil. I was stupid for believing he had good in him just like everyone else. I hated him, and all that he had done to this world.

"Zia?" I could hear him say, but I was numb inside, and could feel my hatred for him blooming inside of me. I look up at him, and I could see the concern in his eyes. We stare at each other for a long time, his icy blue eyes urging for me to say something. "I hate you" I finally say.

The man in background begins to let out uncontrollable laughs poor out of him, at my revelation. He was like the puppet master of this whole show enjoying the agony we were in. Jakove's face was consumed with hurt. "Zia, I-" he says.

"I don't want hear it" I say cutting him off in a quiet tone. "What you can do is let my dad and I go, and we can pretend that we never met. It is the least you can do." I say with venom in my voice.

Before Jakove could comprehend what I just said the man chimes in. "I'm going to stop you right there. This prisoner is not getting out of here alive. Jakove needs to pay for his treachery. It will be hard lessons both of you need to learn" the man shrugs his shoulders at the arrogance of his statement.

Jakove still looked to be in a state of shock, and wasn't fully processing what the man was saying. His reactions were sluggish, and he wasn't doing anything to help the situation. "Are you prepared to say goodbye to your father Zia?" the man says with in a wicked voice.

My whole world was shattering, and I couldn't get the words to come out that were screaming in my head. Jakove finally snaps out of it and transforms into something sinister. His body begins to emit a white glow; like a transformation was going to take place. My words had broken him, and I knew he had lost control.

Paralyzed with fear, I gaze at his face, searching for the person I once knew. Everything seemed to be the same until I got to his eyes. They were definitely not the icy blue eyes that I had learned to love. They were now clouded, lifeless, and a darker blue now. "Let me do it. It's the least I can do for the treachery of my people" I hear him respond in a monotone voice.

His response was like an iron dagger to my heart, and I could feel the uncontrolled sobs pouring out of me. This wasn't Jakove, this was the Mangata. "Please Jakove. Don't do this" I beg.

"I would get out of here, before you're next" Jakove responds in a flat tone. It was like Jakove had been replaced with an emotionless zombie. "Or do you want to witness your father's death" he adds?

I knew in that moment I couldn't stand by and watch; watching him die would destroy me. It would traumatize me in ways I couldn't imagine. I was coward through and through, and I couldn't even stand by him in his last moment of his life. "I'm sorry dad" I say dropping to my knees by his slumped body. "I love you, and...." I say desperately looking for the right words. "Tell mom I said 'hi'".

"5...4....3...." the man in the background starts to count, letting me know that my time was running out, but I couldn't seem to get my legs to respond. I couldn't let go of him. It couldn't end, not like this.

I could feel someone rip me by my arm up to my feet, and I'm met face to face with Kane. "Get out of here" he says in a stern voice, but I was too in shock to even acknowledge him. "Damn it Zia", I can hear him say. Before I could even process what was going on, I could feel him dragging me out of the room, and through the castle. We quickly zig zagged our way to the exit, and he leads me through the gates into the surrounding woods in record time. "Go!" he yells, "Before they catch you. The loss of your father doesn't have to be in vain. Go!" he orders again.

My mind finally snaps out of it some, and I can process what he was telling me. Instantly my legs begin to respond as the fear sets in, and I propel myself away from the establishment. I put one foot in front of the other, and I desperately search the woods for the crusaders, but there was no trace of them anywhere. They were gone, just like my dad. They were my last shred of hope, and Atlantis had gotten to them too.

At this point I didn't even know what I was fighting for anymore. Everyone I loved was gone, and I felt so empty and hollow on the inside. I had circled these woods for hours, in a desperate attempt to find them, and I was exhausted.

Eventually my body gives out and brings me to my knees. Lying there hunched over, I once again begin to projectile vomit. The stress of the situation and the withdrawals from the chip must still be taking a toll on my body.

In a desperate attempt to sooth my stomach, I begin to rub my hand along my abdomen when I notice something peculiar. Once again I run my fingers along my once flat mid-section, and notice what seems to be a little bump there.

Immediately I get up, and lift my shirt to inspect further. I glide my fingers over the hard bump that was now consuming a good part of my torso. Instantly I tried racking my brain over any other possible outcome than what I knew it was.

The reality sunk in when my mind flashed to the night I made love to Jakove. I knew in that moment I was pregnant with his child. I slowly get up, and can feel a fire light inside me. Before I wanted to rescue my dad, but now I had a new purpose. My purpose was now to protect this child at all costs. The outside world couldn't know of its power, and the prince couldn't know of its existence. Just like Atlantis we would disappear from the world, and make a better life for ourselves.

TO BE CONTINUED....