Order of Magnitude

LII. The Beginning of the End

      Chandra, Carlisle, and Turner eyed each other from opposite sides of the tiny room they were being held in. Right smack dab in the center of the floor was a single drop of blood, a deadly remnant of Edison's time in the place. That being the case, the three imprisoned parvs made it a point to stay as far away from it as they possibly could. Turner was so far back that his shoulders were pressed taut against the locked door behind him.

      "What's the matter?" Jacques asked from the other side. "Don't you like your new accommodations?"

      Turner turned around and peered through the hole in the door. "Get us out of here."

      "Give me a break," he laughed.

      "At least move us to somewhere less dangerous."

      "Why would I do that? I'm going to kill you anyway."

      "Yeah, but if we get infected, we could infect everybody else before you execute us," Turner said. "And that would be the end of your little party here."

      "Nice try, but I know you would just try to escape in the transfer. No, I like you right where you are."

      Turner reached his hand through the hole in an attempt to grab his captor, but his arm was quickly knocked back inside. "Temper, temper," Jacques said.

      "What do you think you're going to accomplish, here?" Carlisle asked in frustration.

      "You are going to be made an example of. A display of strength, if you will. Nothing will stop us. Nothing can stop us."

      "And what about Edison?"

      Jacques smiled. "He is my new best friend. We are taking him to the local hospital. It's only a days travel from the Burger World, and it services over 1000 people a day. We're going to bring Edi there, and drain him. Suck every last bit of blood from his body and infect as many bags of human blood as possible. Think about it. For days they will be contaminating giants, over and over, and then they will leave and spread the contamination to all parts of the country. They won't be able to stop it. Heck, they won't even know there is anything wrong until it's too late. Then the parvs will be all alone on this planet, and we can finally claim our rightful place as the dominant species."

      Turner stiffened. "You're talking about genocide."

      "So what if I am. They tried to wipe us off of the face of the world, I'm just returning the favor."

      "Just because they were wrong, that does not mean that you are right."

      "Yeah, well history is written by the victors. In 100 years, no one will second guess what I'm doing here."

       "Maybe not, but there will be people here and now who will."

      "Like last time?" Jacques grinned a wicked grin.

      "Killing one giant is one thing, killing everybody... there will definitely be dissension. And you won't be able to stop it."

      "I won't have any troubles. I command loyalty in this group."

      "Yeah," Turner scoffed. "Like you did with Jean."

      Jacques pounded on the door, driving Turner back a step. "Shut up; you don't know what you're talking about."

      "I know you killed your own brother, your own flesh and blood. Is that the history you plan on writing for future generations?"

      "He was weak, like you. He stood in the way of freedom."

      Turner had hit a sensitive spot, and decided to press on it as hard as he could. "He was lost and scared, like the rest of us. He had to watch his big brother become a monster, and had the guts to say something about it. And what did he get for his troubles? A stab in the heart. I hope your freedom is worth it."

      Jacques slammed the hole closed. "You will be executed at dawn," he shouted through the door. "Make your peace while you can." And with that, he was gone.