The Icebox - 26. Epilogue

The Interviewer

“Do you think he’ll be alright in there?” Alex asks me.

I can only shrug.

“All we can do is keep surveillance on him for now,” I say. “While this was what I wanted before, I can easily say it feels wrong.”

Alex bites the tip of her thumb as she watches the computer screen.

Every time Zafiro so much as moves a finger, a blinker lights up to try and bring your attention to the screen.

“Because it is wrong,” She shakes her head.

“He asked for this. We could not simply deny him.”

“This isn’t living! He’s practically in a coma!”

I sigh.

Zafiro can barely speak right now. The voices have almost taken over everything.

From what I have gathered in my time here, they seem to have gotten strong enough where they can almost control him like a puppet.

It isn’t the strongest pull obviously. The most they can usually manage are those little pulls and pushes when they speak to him, mainly the twitches and body trembles.

From what I pieced together with Maksim’s death, they forced his hand.

I sadly do not know the specific reason.

That is perhaps the most frustrating thing about this entire experience.

Zafiro has made sure to never delve into his past. If he did, it was the vaguest details possible.

The most I know is that he is the son of a crime boss and a spy in our own network, he killed a man on holo screens across the galaxy, and he had visits from a man by the name of Roy Kyung.

I believe it was romantic.

Somehow he gained a booster chip from the Burn. Somehow he has all these augmentations but he looks completely normal, except his eyes.

I know he must have more stories to explain everything that has led to this.

I’m afraid I’ll never find out.

This won’t stop me from trying.

I promised Henson that I would continue to help Zafiro be cured.

Alex somehow agreed to help as well.

She is to be Henson’s ‘replacement’ in this prison.

She has merely been placed on guard duty.

There will no longer be any squadrons developed here. At least not under her orders.

U.U.P.P. has given Henson’s former rank to Alex but ordered her to babysit Zafiro.

Luckily they decided to keep me with her.

I will do all I can to contact any help available to send doctors here.

It will..take time but I’m determined.

“Do you think he needs more blankets?”

Alex’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

“It was a bit chilly when I finished bathing him. Maybe a heated blanket?”

I smile. “Whatever you think is best. I am going to contact my Syren college. Perhaps she may know a remedy for our friend.”

She nods and gets up to slip into his cell.

~~~

Sophie Banderas

I tilt the hand mirror to the side, examining my nose.

“Well?”

I smile and scrunch my nose. “It’s as if it never even happened. Well…with a few new wrinkles that weren’t there before.”

It’s like Cody never forcibly changed my face to do his deeds.

Ta’rell laughs. “Rest in peace, Avery. Welcome back, Sophie!”

I hum and stand.

Standing in front of a mirror, I check over to make sure I look decent.

I wanted to make a good first impression. Not with a face of deceit.

“I think you’ll be fine,” She says. “He’s not exactly into our kind.”

I raise a brow at her words.

She’s a little green alien with bright pink spots on her cheeks and shoulders. Her hair looks like it is made of pink feathers hanging down her back.

“Had I known that, I would’ve brought a nicer picture of my son. Maybe that would’ve helped our case.”

She laughs. “He looks mighty fine in the one you have. I’m sure it’ll win him over. It must be embarrassing having your mother set up a husband for you.”

I smile thinking about that.

It almost makes me want to do it even more.

I did love teasing Roy that he should date Zafiro.

A shame that never worked out.

As much as I would like to keep this casual, this is anything but.

It isn’t everyday you meet one of the only few Alentians still living; not to mention the king of this…city.

“Do you really think he’ll listen,” I ask her.

She shrugs and smiles. “If not now, there is another way.”

I purse my lips at that.

Unfortunately if this does not workout, Zafiro may have to wait longer than I wished.

I sigh. “Alright, lead the way.”

She hops onto a round floating chair.

She beckons me to follow as she floats out of her house.

I follow.

A rush of cool air hits my face and I hiss slightly.

My skin still feels quite sensitive from the operation.

“Let me know if you need more lotion. It’ll help.”

I shake my head. “I’ll be fine.”

Now that I am here, I am worried.

What if the King chooses to pass on this meeting. He’s an Alentian. He’d have every right to refuse to even look at a human.

Before I came here, I was tempted to trick Mekaias into joining me.

That seemed like it would’ve made this take longer than it needed to be. Having to build up trust with him and then bringing him here is too much even for me.

Ta’rell leads me down a road leading to the giant coliseum in the middle of this city.

Currently there is a fight going on between two teams.

A giant box hanging from the skyline of this city has screens on all sides, showing off the fight for all to watch.

It somehow helps me stop me from worrying too much with this meeting.

We enter the uppermost ring and begin our trek along it.

The King’s lookout is our destination.

I can faintly see him lounging in his chair, examining the fight.

When I glance at the screens, I see a big furry cow-like alien get knocked out by a smaller alien wielding a giant hammer.

I wince at the blow.

Ta’rell whistles as the bigger alien hits the ground.

“That’s gonna hurt in the morning!”

Soon enough we reach the entrance to the King’s lookout.

“Prepare the next party for tonight. We’ll leave in two hours.”

A pink humanoid alien nods and bows their head to the one on the throne.

We currently can’t see him at the moment but I do see those fuzzy ears poking above the top.

They are blonde like his hair.

The pink alien glances at Ta’rell and I with a raised brow.

Her eyes blink horizontally and she walks past, carrying out whatever orders he was doing.

We step in front of the throne, slightly to the side if he wishes to keep spectating the match.

The Alentian sees me and I see his ears and tail twitch in agitation.

His face remains stone cold.

He is gigantic!

I forgot how tall this race actually is. I have grown so used to seeing Mekaias that I forgot the Alentians are normally three to four feet taller than the average human.

This one is slightly hairier.

He has a slightly darker beard and body hair.

Mekaias didn’t have that. Just the furry cat feet.

His face and body have quite a few scars and faint bruises. He enjoys taking part in these matches from time to time.

He wears an open white silk robe with the sleeves cut off.

He wishes to show off how muscular and battle hardened he is. He is proud of it.

He also wears black pants with strange golden letters I do not recognize running down the side of them.

Like all Alentians, he has cat-like feet. Also blonde.

Red eyes practically burn a hole into me

“Is there a reason for this, Ta’rell?” He asks.

She snorts.

“I told you a human had a meeting today. Don’t act coy, Kreyis!”

I get a bit nervous that she isn’t treating him like royalty but he simply rolls his eyes.

“It doesn’t disregard my question,” he huffs in annoyance. He then looks at me. “What can I do for you, human?”

I swallow the bubble in my throat and stand up straighter.

He smiles slightly when I do.

“I heard this place has been breaking into prisons and releasing prisoners. I wanted to ask if you could target a specific prison for me.”

He swirls a clawed finger along the edge of his goblet.

“Why would I do that? I don’t exactly do it for everyone.”

Now I smile. “From what I have heard, that happens to be the case. Those tend to get priority if you happen to know them.”

He shrugs in confusion. “And? I do not know you, nor anyone you wish to see set free.”

Ta’rell clears her throat to grab his attention.

“Kreyis, my buddy, my friend,” She smiles. “My pa-”

“Ta’rell,” He says as a warning.

She snickers. “I’m asking on her behalf. She was the one who set me free from my prison. It would only bring me peace to repay her for it.”

It’s true.

It wasn’t exactly a U.U.P.P. prison but a firelight prison. It was a little before the Star Squad had destroyed the organization.

I was part of a team who was surveilling the operation.

I gave the order to set her free. She wanted to thank me for it one day and we kept in touch.

It is pure luck she happens to be a part of this movement.

Kreyis sighs and seems to think it over.

He drums his fingers along the throne and it has me holding my breath.

“Fine,” He says. “Who are we saving and do you have the schematics of the prison?”

I nod frantically, my heart leaping with joy!

“Yes I do,” I quickly say. “It’s my son. I need to get him out of there as soon as I can!”

He nods along and pulls out a holopad.

I grab mine as well and send him all the files I have, along with a picture of Zafiro on top.

When I see the picture come up on his screen, I see Kreyis’ ears twitch with interest. He not so subtly examines Zafiro’s face closer, ignoring the other information on the file.

Glancing at Ta’rell, she gives a smug grin.

I roll my eyes and bite back my smile.

Everything is coming together, cariño.

I’m coming to save you!

~~~

To be continued…

That's the end of this story A shorter chapter since it was setup for the next Zafiro story.
 
I don't think I have ever struggled with a story as much as this. I think the timing of it wasn't great with real life problems. Lots of things bringing me to a bad place mentally. Writing such a depressing story wasn't the best choice.
 
The only motivation was knowing that this was needed for the next story.
 
I'm wondering if I want to work on the next story with Zafiro or start on the new fantasy story. I'll have to think it through and hopefully those will be way better on my mental.
 
As always, thank you for reading and happy new years!! ❤️