Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (79 page)

Sorono told
Connor
to wait here a
s five Keepers stood guard for them
while the others began taking to their tasks of wrangling everyone
to gather
.

Ten minutes had passed and during that time the entire dome had come alive with animated excitement. Many of the Guard that were on patrol had hurried to gather the prisoners while also keeping them at a comfortable distance. Ma
ny Guards came out from behind Connor
because the Changer had done his duty and awakened the other ancient peacekeepers.
They made a solid defensive wall to keep things safe
and orderly
.

There were so many prisoners that it
became
hard to distinguish between the sea of mov
ing heads. To the
left held the B
alancers and just about all of them were men
without their female counterpart
. To
the
right were the Changers as all of their
silver eyes were moving over them
and the male to female ratio
seemed
relatively
even. Then directly ahead laid
the reptilian prisoners who were all standing while trying to get a good look.

Connor
expected to see thousands of hostile eyes glaring at
them
, but there were less than predicted. The prisoners
, who had
been here for however many decades
,
seemed more curious than threatening. Some were impassive and others
were
interested at a change in
their daily routine.

Strangely
,
c
ivilized order remained intact.

Then the Changer
Guard
they
saw in the cabin came out with two coats of different size. He handed
both Connor and Sorono one. Connor
slid it on after giving
his
thanks.
His
bare arms were grateful for the new
sleeves and the warmth revived his
spirits.

Several minutes later the last guard came up and told
Sorono
that all have gathered. By
Connor’s
rough estimate she was correct.

Sorono raised his large clawed hand high into the air and the dome called to order rapidly. There were still a few whispers, but the gathered were all able to hear a normal conversation quite well.

It was remarkable to think about, but
Connor has
already done it
him
self. Sorono touched every mind in the room as he began talking to all.
His stature held the authority and strength of his position and everyone could tell that this wasn’t a simple social call.

“As
all
of you have recently felt, there has been an emergency summons. I have come here with a reasonable proposition for each and every one of you. Before that
,
you must hear what has been happening in the outside world.

“
Several months ago my brother Ranvan sent a tsunami that decimated South
Amer
…”
Sorono then began explaining everything to the gathered. At certain points the
prisoners
were skeptical, but as the story continued they could hear the truth
in
his words. Sorono also introduced
Connor and explained how he
found him while explaining about
his
powers.
A simple demonstration from himself was all that was needed to quell the skeptics.
Then
Sorono
began telling the prisoners about the plan that Ranvan has for the human world and how
they
are doing everything
conceivable
to stop it.
“… all that has been told, I have come here to give each one of you a choice.

“You have heard what we face
and all free immortals have come to do their part to protect lives.
Not one has been selfish and chose to run away
and be a coward
.
What I and my brother have come to grant you is your
immediate
freedom.”

Every prisoner and guard either gasped or were too stunned to comprehend the meanings behind the word
s
.

Connor
stepped forward and projected
his
mind to over seventy thousand others.
“As Sorono has said, we will give you your freedom, but there is a condition that you must uphold. We will call all of your prison sentences completed if you fight with us in the defense of life. If you fight with us and we win, you may go wherever you want to after that. Your debt
will have been settled
.
On a plus side, you may finally be with your mate
s
who
are
all
waiting at our camp.”
Eyes lit up over the entire crowd. It seemed as if they would do anything just to be with those they love once again. If they chose correctly, they would.
“
Whatever you are in here for doesn’t matter anymore
,
just as long as you are with us
completely
.

“You will be screened and you must mean to fight with us. You will not fight to the death with anyone until July fourth. We need numbers and
you can give us a much larger chance at surviving this.”
Every eye was now on Connor
and hanging on
his
word as if it w
ere
freedom itself.
“We will have your word and your bond that you will not fight against us or forsake our fight. It will be your decision to remain here, alone, in this ice fortress like a coward or fight for your freedom.

Then
he
mentally yelled and shouted with
his
voice
“WHAT SAY YOU!!!
?
”

A deafening roar rose in the room instantly.
Small ice flakes vibrated off the dome.
Many were hopeful and some were even cryi
ng. It was strange because all he
saw was happiness where
he
imagined
only
hardened
criminals.

Sorono touched his
shoulder and smiled approvingly. Then he stood tall again and called order once again.
“If you wish for your
chance for
freedom please line up to be screened by the Keeper Guards. If you honestly want to fight for us and are seen as trustworthy you may remain up here. If you are hoping to stay or as seen as traitorous you will all make your way into the Changer and Balancer quarters. Those who are worthy will stay within the
K
eeper area temporarily.

“Once everyone has been seen to
,
you will all be given all of the rations in storage to make yourselves strong once again. Once the food is gone and all are strong enough for the journey
,
we will head directly for our campsite.

“Remain patient and you will be seen to eventually. Please begin forming lines and begin
the
screening.”

For the next two days each and every prisoner was tested for th
eir dependability and honesty. Connor
had also helped the other Keepers screen the inmates. What needed to be done was to enter their mind
completely
,
without overwhelming them
,
and see every aspect of their memories and personality.
Nothing could be hidden or overlooked.
Unfortunately Connor
saw more than was bargained for. The inmates were in here from things like exposing the secret to
humans to
mass murder. As long as they would honorably hold up their end of the bargain they would be released.

At one point
he
met the three changers who tried killing Mark and
his
sister. They were unrecognizable until
Connor
read their mind. They didn’t realize it was
him
, but they would fight for
them
and
he
granted
them their freedom
without bias
.

By the end of the scanning all but one hundred and nine prisoners would be set free. Those who couldn’t be trusted would sta
y behind and alone. Sorono and Connor
discussed leaving them only a single day
’
s rations and let them
see if they could find a way to survive up here on their own. They would be left behind to fend for themselves and hope
they find a way to live, but they
knew the possibility of that happeni
ng and it was very low

Two more days had passed
and
much of the food needed to be cooked
and spread amongst the populous.
Their rations were now heaping. What they
ate in
an entire
three
month
s supply
was given to them all at once. Everyone ate ravenously to regain their energies or nutrients. It was almost like a celebration in the cavern as there were cheers and jokes being spread everywhere.
Not even a minor disagreement could be seen nor even be initiated because of the celebrations.

Sorono,
him
self and all of the Immortal Guard made
their
way up to the surface. The blizzard had ended and the day
became
beautifully
clear. Throughout the day the elevator was in use and brought every single inmate to the surface
,
to have their first tastes of liberty. Most of the growing crowd
remained
speechless, but some cried
out
in joy and others were laughing almost in a madding manner.

It was difficult to tell the exact time, but the day had been bright. Now that the seventy thousand new troops were up and free
,
Sorono entered every mind to gain attention.
“Now that you see that my offer is genuine and I’m proud that no one
has tried leaving
yet
, we may go to our destination. Please, will the Keepers aid the Balancers and Changer
s who are not capable of flight?
The sooner our journey begins the sooner you may warm up, find our mate and eat your fill.”

Connor
watched by Sorono’s side as Keepers dropped to all fours and began carrying up to four passengers. Those Changer’s who could manipulate wings, did. Within five minutes everyone was set.

Sorono then announced
“Follow me.”

He brought his
power forth and began flying. Connor
flew
right behind him.
He
glanced behind to see that the Immortal Guard
made a solid phalanx behind their lead
and behind them flew many Keepers, Changers and a handful of
Pressure
Balancers.

They
flew slowly so that ever
yone could stay together. When he
looked down at the snow there was an enormous moving shadow in a clear sky.

They
continued flying for the next day and the temperature
had gradually increased.
They
also encountered a situation. An airplane spotted
their mass
flight, but two Immortal Guard Keepers broke from the group and forced the plane to the ground. They made a large smokescreen and clogged the filters
of the plane
with debris. The pilot landed safely, but needed to be rescued at a later time and
the mass
would be long gone by that time.

By the time
they
made it past the Canadian
border
they
flew at tree level so as to avoid detection. No more problems were encountered tha
t needed to be taken care of. They
were closing in on home.

The bond with Sarah
kept
relaxing
Connor’s
stress and her loving emotions r
aised his
spirits through the roof.

In the distance
Connor
saw many black dots
hovering
just above the horizon and
were increasing in number. He
was seeing an enormous welcoming committee. And leading them were none other
than the Elders, Veronica and his
princess.