THE SLIDE

Chapter 24: All In —

Part 2 | Fantasy, Mystery-Thriller, Crime

Warning: this chapter contains scenes of graphic violence

“The court shows mercy for the suspect, pardon me — the witness and grants her a statement,” the Governor / Judge pompously pronounced.

The people in the court, officers and spectators alike, were silent. Farha was silent.

“Ms Izem, this is what you said you wanted,” the Judge reminded her.

She awoke from her daze.

“Oui,” she began. “The Slide was once chaotic territory where forces of light and dark were balanced. When the military took control, they brought fear because of the military structure. The fear strengthened the darkness and gave it voice. The light matched the dark and hugged it. We all know that the dark cannot exist without the light.

“The Slide has consciousness as it always has. There is darkness here concentrated in this fort manipulating the light and making a way to plunge us all into a greater chaos in the deep well of darkness to the control of all beings everywhere,” she concluded and drank some water.

“We object,” the Magistrate stood, along with Zed. The Magistrate sat. Zed continued, “This is fantasy and prejudicial, and needs to be struck from the record.” The spectators grumbled and talked. The judge pounded the gavel and called for order.

“You cannot object. This statement is not evidence and therefore will be allowed,” the Judge decreed. “Do not waste this court’s time, Monsieur Zed.”

“Oh…” the throng exclaimed collectively and held its breath. Everyone thought the same: Governor Truffaut was a “marked man”. He dared question a member of the Scarlet Service. Poppycock, Judge Truffaut thought.

“One more thing,” Farha stood. “The military needs fear so it can be valued, so it has created a fear of the Slide when there need not be fear. That’s all. I’ve probably said too much.” She could hear Zed, Q, and A laughing inside at her as if she had fallen into their trap.

The judge gave the order for the Magistrate to proceed. He asked Farha what else she remembered from the expedition into the Slide.

March of The Berbers

The Berbers, nomads of the High Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa, were unfamiliar and unprepared for low desert travel. Their numbers were reduced by the Slide’s snake like movement into their forward direction. Between that and new diseases, their numbers were reduced to three quarters of their original number to two hundred seventy.

They arrived and were joined by a few dozen Bedouins.

Farha’s Testimony- Day 1

She continued to describe what had happened to Tee before a small group arrived from the northeast. Pierre, Tem and Farha assumed the three were from the community in the gulley. Tee broke from the group, screaming incoherently and beating himself with his fists — blows to the chest and head. He ran into the ghost made flesh. They tore at one another…

“The ghost made flesh tore off Tee’s right arm and threw it over his shoulder. One of the other corpses arose, picked-up up Tee’s arm and started gnawing on it. We were frozen on our feet. Tee screamed louder when the living corpse began eating Tee’s severed arm.

“We heard a voice: ‘Look away, look down, look at us,’ one of the three burly men who ran towards them.

“ ‘We have to help him. We have to help Tee.’ Tem said.

“ ‘Your friend is gone. If you go, you will be worse off than dead. Come with us.’

“I must have blacked out because when I became awake, it was dark and I was under a film canopy, low to the ground in the gulley shelter. The darkness was not the night. It was many dark clouds that swirled all around us, ripping apart the shelter and pulling people out. There were screams. Someone, or maybe it was two people, lied down over me. When they rolled to either side, I saw that last worm-like cloud going away as the sun’s rays came through the atmosphere. As the rays came, the film just over my head became darker and darker until it was opaque. Louie, my guard, explained in a whisper that the film was triggered by light and that once it became black, it would stay that way until morning when first light broke.

“Sure enough, when it was impossible to see through, little lights appeared everywhere and people talked. I felt relief from everyone around me. I was so tired I fell asleep.

“I awoke in the night. At least my body felt it was night. Louie and another man were talking low and fast. They paused. The man I didn’t know looked down at me and said,

“ ‘I am Ivanovich. This mud-mask I wear is for your protection and mine. Soon we will move our camp-culture. It is less and less safe here,’ he said.

“He felt familiar, but I didn’t dare look at his true identity out of respect and for his safety and mine, at his request. I felt he would tell me everything one day.”

Zed was flexing his fingers peculiarly, as if he was taping out a code.

The SS Office in the Wall

“We have the image of Ivanovich’s face,” A moved back from the scope. The computer is beginning the scan of known faces…

“Zed received a communication from X. We with be receiving the data from the upload of the female’s murder of Lieutenant Tem,” Q said.

They both knew that the memory implant could be hammered into the female repeatedly, forcing a public confession.

On the Witness Stand

Farha’s nose began bleeding and her head fell forward onto the table. Medics were summoned. Defense counsel stopped the proceeding. The Judge called a recess until the next day.

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