Sapien Loop 3: Chapter 8: The Funeral

Chapter 8: The Funeral

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It was the day of Jenna’s funeral. The funeral service was to be held in the town square. This was the largest outdoor venue in the Downs Region. The road was lined with her favourite pink flowers. A large stage had been erected in front of the statue of Hamlet. It had been beautifully decorated with flowers. In the centre of the stage was a large podium.

By around ten in the morning, the remaining Downs residents and technicians had filled the seating area. The front row was reserved for the Alset family, Benny and Tiberius’ team. They arrived after the other guests had been seated. Eugene and Yassme were standing behind the last row of guests. Eugene had made sure his most reliable enforcers were guarding Daily, who was still recovering in the medical centre.

Suddenly, loud music blared out over the speakers. It was the tune to the Lily G.O.A.T. dance. Then Lily emerged. She was riding in a chariot pulled by a large Sape. She rode the chariot around the guests and then parked at the side of the stage. The Sape onked loudly as Lily jumped off the back of the chariot. Lily climbed up onto the stage as a technician climbed onto the chariot to lead the slightly frustrated Sape away.

Lily stood behind the podium. She looked at Tiberius, who was giving her a blank stare. He was sitting next to Duffo, who was sitting next to Miro. Miro looked the most concerned of the three. Lily turned to look at the guests.

‘Today many of you will feel unimaginable sadness and pain at the loss of our wonderful Jenna Alset,’ said Lily as she glanced at Benny, who had begun sobbing again. ‘Her absence will be greatly felt by all who knew her. This is not the end of Jenna’s story. Her strength, determination, brilliance, and kindness live on in all those she shined on. And her light will continue through them, to shine onto even more.’

The guests applauded, and Lily gently nodded in response.

‘I would now like to invite our first speaker, Benny,’ said Lily as she smiled and looked at Benny, who was now nervously climbing up on stage. ‘Benny was a very close and dear friend of Jenna’s.’

Benny approached Lily. He was trembling.

‘It’s okay,’ said Lily as she rubbed Benny’s shoulder. ‘Just speak from the heart.’

Benny nodded and took his place behind the podium as Lily walked to the back corner of the stage.

‘Hello, everyone,’ said Benny nervously. ‘I’m Benny. I’m a technician.’

The technician guests began to applaud loudly.

‘When I met Jenna, I was no one of any importance,’ continued Benny as he smiled at the cheering technicians.

‘Huh, hark at him,’ whispered Duffo to Tiberius. ‘He’s still of no importance.’

‘Jenna was my superior, but she treated me like a friend,’ continued Benny. ‘We spent years together, working and exploring the tunnels, caves, and underground cities. You made our escape from the evil tyrant of the Capital possible.’

Tiberius smiled at Benny, but inside he was fuming. He did not know about the tunnels until he was trapped in one himself.

‘Oh Jenna, I miss you so much,’ sobbed Benny. ‘Knowing you’re not here brings me such pain. Maybe if I close my eyes you can tell me everything is going to be okay. You can tell me the other world is great and that I will join you one day.’

‘The sooner the better,’ mumbled Duffo.

‘It’s not goodbye,’ sobbed Benny. ‘It’s see you later.’

Benny turned to Lily, and she nodded in response. Benny made his way to the side of the stage, and Lily returned to the podium.

‘I can tell he really cared so much for her,’ said Yassme, shaking her head.

‘He’s someone I see fitting in well here,’ replied Eugene, nodding.

‘I would like to invite Jenna’s cousin, Hermon, to say a few words,’ said Lily as Hermon jogged on stage.

Hermon stood behind the podium, and Lily returned to the back corner of the stage.

‘Thanks for that, Benny; you aced it,’ chuckled Hermon as he pointed to Benny, who had just sat back down. ‘Jenna wasn’t the brains of the family. That honour belongs to me and, to a lesser extent, Demadrian. Sadly, he went off his nut and can’t be with us today.’

Yvonne groaned in frustration.

‘Jenna gave our family stability,’ said Hermon, nodding. ‘She kept all my unhinged relatives from snapping and ripping each other apart. That is no easy task. She would have made a great leader. Such a pity she kicked the bucket before Uncle Hamish.’

Tiberius smiled and nodded at Hermon.

Hermon continued for another ten minutes. He described some of the funnier moments he shared with his cousin. After that, he thanked the guests for attending and left the stage. Lily returned to the podium.

‘I would now like to welcome Hamish to share a few words about his amazing daughter,’ said Lily as she looked at Tiberius, who slowly made his way to the stage.

Tiberius took his position behind the podium.

‘I’d like to thank Benny for his heartfelt words and Hermon for his slightly inappropriate humour; that’s just him,’ said Tiberius. ‘The loss of Jenna, my only daughter, is the most painful thing I could experience. What makes it so much worse is that she was violently taken away from me.’

Tiberius paused. The guests remained silent.

‘I know who the perpetrators are,’ continued Tiberius as his voice became slightly croaky. ‘I know why they did it.’

Tiberius paused again. The guests remained silent.

‘My initial feeling was to shred them apart,’ said Tiberius in a raised but strained voice. ‘Hack them up piece by piece. I’m sure any father would feel that overwhelming desire for vengeance.’

The atmosphere became tense. Tiberius scanned the crowd of worried faces.

‘That is not what my daughter would want,’ said Tiberius in a calmer tone. ‘She would want me to forgive them. She would want me to show them mercy. Who am I to deny her truly sweet nature? Her life was about kindness, and so shall the legacy she passes forward.’

‘What a true leader,’ whispered Miro to Duffo.

‘What an inspiration,’ sighed Duffo as he shook his head slightly.

‘If Jenna can give her most aggrieved father the power to forgive,’ said Tiberius, as he looked at the Alset family members. ‘She can give anyone the power to do so.’

The Alset family members applauded Tiberius.

‘I want to invite someone on stage,’ said Tiberius. ‘This may seem completely inappropriate to most, but I know Jenna is telling me this is right.’

Tiberius turned to his left. ‘Enforcers, bring Vulay up on stage,’ ordered Tiberius.

The guests gasped in shock.

‘This is crazy!’ exclaimed Yassme as she turned to Eugene. ‘There’s no way she’s going to beg for mercy.’

‘This whole thing grows more suspicious by the second,’ replied Eugene as he raised his eyebrows slightly.

Vulay stood behind the podium. There was an enforcer on either side of her. She looked pale and a little unwell.

‘Please stand back,’ said Tiberius to the enforcers. ‘She needs her space.’

The enforcers walked to the back of the stage.

‘Please, share a few words about your act,’ said Tiberius to Vulay.

‘I committed the most heinous unimaginable crime,’ said Vulay in a strained voice. ‘I murdered Jenna.’

The guests gasped in shock.

‘I… I mean, we did this because we were… are afraid,’ replied Vulay as her voice grew ever shakier. The pain in her face was obvious. ‘We are afraid of losing power to the Linap.’

‘When you say we, tell us who exactly you are referring to,’ probed Tiberius firmly.

‘I… I… I… mean myself, Denise, Daily, and… and… Orcilla,’ gasped Vulay as her face started to turn slightly purple. ‘We also made an alliance with Demadrian. That’s why he attacked you.’

The Alset family gasped in shock.

‘She’s fighting every word that comes out of her mouth,’ said Yassme, shaking her head. ‘She knows this is all lies.’

Eugene remained silent. He was studying the body language of both Vulay and Tiberius.

‘I’m sure many of you wondered why Demadrian could not be here,’ interrupted Tiberius. ‘I wanted to tell everyone, but his betrayal pains me so much. I raised both Jenna and Demadrian together. He was like a son to me.’

Tiberius leaned forward and bowed his head down.

‘I told you his loyalty had shifted,’ said Duffo as he turned to Miro.

‘I am truly shocked,’ replied Miro.

‘It has always been about power and control,’ added Vulay as her eyes began to roll up into her head. ‘Orcilla brought the Capital down so we could rule over all the survivors.’

Vulay began to wobble as she grabbed the podium to remain standing.

‘There you have it,’ sighed Tiberius. ‘They wanted it all. They saw the Downs residents as weak survivors they could dominate with ease. I’m so sorry you had to endure this. I’m so grateful we arrived to undo this.’

The enforcers escorted Vulay off the stage.

‘Despite your evil deeds, I’m… thankful for your honesty,’ said Tiberius. ‘We can now begin the healing process. The only fitting punishment for you and your co-conspirators is a lifelong sentence of servitude. Servitude to the underground Linap and the brave residents of Downs.’

The guests were silent for a few seconds, and then they began to applaud.

‘We’re not going to be able to protect Daily anymore,’ said Yassme as a tear rolled down her face. ‘They’re going to take him away.’

‘Looks like mind control, friend,’ said Eugene as he rubbed his chin. ‘She’s told me many times about Jennifer.’

‘Polly was or maybe still is controlled by Jennifer,’ said Yassme as her eyes widened.

‘Then she needs to be questioned,’ replied Eugene.

Lily had now returned to the podium.

‘A day of sorrow, a day of strength, and a day of forgiveness,’ said Lily proudly. ‘Jenna would be so proud of all of you. Especially her father.’

Lily looked over at Tiberius, who had a broad smile on his face.

‘For guests with the gold tickets, please proceed to the temple for a delightful feast prepared by the wonderful Julie and her team,’ said Lily. ‘Thank you, everyone, for attending.’

Lily climbed off the stage. There was a technician trying to coax the Sape back with a carrot.

‘I think I’ll walk,’ said Lily in a haughty tone.

The Sape grabbed the carrot off the technician and ran off in the opposite direction.

Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide

Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.

Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:

• Sapien Loop: End of an Era
• Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time
• Sapien Short Stories: Missing Links

All individual chapters can be found on my @captainhive account.

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