Page 31 of Doom

“How long was I out?” I asked while sitting down at the round breakfast table in the corner of my bedroom. I uncovered the dishes and indiscriminately began wolfing down everything within reach.

“Twelve weeks,” Legion replied as he sat across from me.

I stopped chewing to stare at him with incredulous eyes.

“Things are really, really bad,” Legion said with an air of defeat totally unlike him. “You were right about the Kryptids creating a diversion, but it was an even bigger one than we could have imagined. The way General Khutu had been throwing troops at us didn’t make sense. This massive, synchronized invasion across the entire planet wasn’t simply to make us spread ourselves thin, but for us to throw in everything we had. And while we brought the bulk of our troops to Earth, he sent a huge fleet to Khepri.”

I felt the blood drain from my face, and my vision narrowed. Forcing myself to breathe slowly, I waited for him to continue, refusing to believe what I already knew would follow.

“That vermin killed our father,” Legion said, his voice dripping with hatred and barely contained anger.

“No,” I said, shaking my head in denial. “There’s no way he got through to Dr. Xi.”

“At the same time that Drone Swarm burst out of the stadium you had discovered, General Khutu launched a global attack on Earth and our home planet. Our brothers managed to repel that attack, but too late. The entire city of Khepri has been destroyed, including our creator’s lab with the Xian embryos, the Incubator, and our Shells.”

I felt faint, unable to fully digest the enormity of that disaster.

“Most of Dr. Xi’s research has been lost. He tried to save it and some of the embryos, but only managed to send out the protocols to turn humans into psychics, the specs for the incubators, and only part of the blueprint to create more of us,” Legion said with a gloomy expression. “Simultaneously, the Kryptid fleet attacked our motherships and frigates carrying most of our Shells and a few portable incubators. We couldn’t bring you back sooner because you had no Shells left.”

I looked at my hands, then touched my face, bewildered that I was even still alive. “If I had no Shells left, how did you get this one?”

“We eradicated the Drones in the area where you had fallen then sought out your remains,” Legion explained with a haunted look in his eyes. “There wasn’t much left, but we managed to extract sufficient DNA from your bone marrow. But half of the Shells they produced grew crippled or were defective like the first one Jennuo transferred you into. We thought we’d lost you. Don’t ever fucking do that to me again.”

I gave him a sad smile. Of all my brothers, he was no doubt the one I felt closest to. I couldn’t begin to imagine him dying on me.

“And the good news just keep pouring in,” Legion added with sarcasm. “Our scientists are unable to create more embryos, which means that however many Xian Warriors currently exist is all there ever will be. We cannot reproduce because so far, you’re the only one whose mating glands have activated. But even then, we don’t know that mating with a human can produce offspring with our abilities. Half of our Soulcatchers are burned out. Shoyesh couldn’t reel you in. A full third of the Hulanians, those who haven’t developed soulcatching fatigue, are holding fallen souls in their psychic vessels while waiting for the Warrior’s new Shell to finish incubating. We are dying, Doom. We’re dying by the hundreds every day. Permanently.”

My mind reeling, I ran both hands through my hair, too many questions racing around in my head.

“Dr. Xi believed humans could be better Soulcatchers than the Hulanians.”

“Yes,” Legion said. “The tests began eleven weeks ago. Teenagers, both male and female, are responding extremely well. However, as with the Hulanians, only the females are developing psychic vessels. Many of those who have volunteered lack the psychic maturity at this point to successfully hold souls … Just like us, the human brain reaches full maturity at twenty-five. So, we have a bunch of great candidates that we won’t be able to use for a few more years,” Legion added with a frustrated expression. “On a side note, your woman volunteered.”

My hearts skipped a beat even though I’d already guessed as much. “I know. I couldn’t help reaching out and felt her power.”

“We’ve been keeping tabs on her to make sure she was all right until your return.”

“Thank you, brother,” I said, deeply moved by their thoughtfulness.

“She’s our sister now. But she’s unaware of your status,” he replied with a gentle smile. “Unfortunately, the enzymes don’t work too well with adults. The older the candidate, the slower the process, and it doesn’t work at all if they are over age thirty or so.”

“Is that why after eleven weeks her power is still quite basic?” I asked.

My hearts sank when Legion gave me a commiserating look.

“Her results indicate she will never be a Soulcatcher,” Legion said. “She just turned twenty-nine. However, she is developing enough psychic skill to communicate telepathically. Victoria’s range is still fairly short, but the doctors believe it will expand to respectable levels with time and practice if she continues to take the enzyme until her thirtieth birthday.”

I wanted to go to Victoria to let her know that I was fine. But as I drilled Legion with further questions about the status of the war, it quickly became evident where I needed to be.

“The General is trying to wipe us out,” Legion explained. “What you discovered in that stadium saved our lives. They’ve repeated the same pattern in every city, throwing troops at us in small trickles to keep us busy while building massive Breeding Swamps. He’s not trying to win the war on Earth. All their attacks are suicide missions, backed up by Drone Swarms that kill everything indiscriminately, usandthe Kryptids. Asia and Africa are getting decimated by the Swarms.”

“With such dense populations, any secret Breeding Swamp would have grown massive,” I said pensively.

“Exactly. Many regions have been deemed unsalvageable. Even the human governments have conceded defeat,” Legion said grimly. “We’re providing back-up while they bomb those areas. But the Intergalactic Coalition wants us to withdraw completely.”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed, gaping at him in disbelief.

“Too many Xian Warriors have met their final deaths here,” Legion said. Rising to his feet, he paced around the room before stopping to face me again. He pointed at the food in front of me with his chin. “Finish your meal. I need you strong again … yesterday.”

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