When the hoorays arrived, they met the town of Guara empty, with no one around.
They all wandered silently through the town towards the palace at the back of the town's hall.
The palace was deserted as well, and there were signs of the sudden departure of the inhabitants whose belongings were left scattered all around.
Zuri motioned to the hoorays to search every nook and cranny of the whole town and bring any human found to him.
All the hoorays quickly dispersed, except for his two personal guards, who stood drooling over him protectively as he roamed into the palace main rooms.
Inspecting everything and feeling satisfied. The palace was built over a hectare of land, made with blocks and planks, and a magnificent building was carved out.
The main parlor was decorated with beautiful furniture and well adorned with different artifacts.
The king's throne is festooned with gold, facing smaller chairs festooned with gold as well.
"This seems a nice place to set up our base," Zuri told one of his guards.
"Perfectly, my lord. The outside is built with a security outpost, and the parlor is the only main entrance to the rooms. Perfect for us, sir."
Zuri bobbed his head and said, "We will be settling down here for now."
Some minutes passed, and two of the hoorays appeared carrying a young human lady who struggled effortlessly to free herself from the grip of the two hoorays.
"Who are you?" Zuri asked the young lady.
"Maria," she responded, her voice hard with superfluous courage.
"Don't be worried, just answer my questions," Zuri said. It seemed all humans over here have names, he thought with disgust. "Where are all the inhabitants of this town?"
"They left. We have to walk for hours because nothing is working anymore," she replied, shivering.
For a fleeting moment, Zuri enjoyed the warmth emitting from her body.
How they looked exactly like hoorays except for their thin and weak bodies.
Besides, how queer for humans to have no tail—or maybe they are covering it with clothing. This and much more he needed to find out.
Other hoorays soon returned, and no one else was found.
"Should we kill her?" one of the hoorays asked with bloodshot eyes.
"No, not yet." Zuri watched the girl with a fixed gaze. "She is our first specimen, and we will need more of them."
He pointed at the two hoorays that caught her. "The two of you should watch over her."
"Yes, sir," the two hoorays responded.
The two hoorays walked towards the girl, and the taller hooray with the meanest stare tapped a button on his left hand.
An electric thread appeared, curling around the unsuspecting girl, and she slumped immediately.
Zuri tapped his arm where his phone was located, and a holographic phone appeared.
He pressed some numbers and dialed, waiting patiently as the phone rang for some seconds before being picked up.
"They are not here. Is there any way for you to find them?" Zuri asked over the phone.
"It will be a bit difficult as there is no recent connection with them, but I will keep trying, sir," the voice on the other side of the call replied.
"This is important, as you are aware—or do I need to remind you?" Zuri screeched.
"Okay, sir," the voice replied. "I'm fully aware, and we are working on it. I will inform you of any developments immediately."
"We have found the place we will use as our headquarters. We need all our equipment and stock brought over here," Zuri barked.
"We will be there in a moment, sir."
Zuri cut the call and stiffened his face at the thought of calling his boss, who would be as furious as a volcanic eruption right now.
Having no choice, Zuri dialed the number of his boss and made the most dreadful call of his life.
The phone only rang once and was picked up immediately.
"Remind me of your duty, officer," an angry voice growled from the other side.
"To destroy the scepter, sir," Zuri replied.
"May I know the reason why you can't perform such a simple task?" the voice inquired.
"My apologies, sir. Some unforeseen events delayed me," Zuri paused, drew a breath, and resumed, "I assure you, everything is under control, and the scepter will soon be eliminated."
"I'm giving you just a week, Zuri." The voice paused and resumed instantly, "One week, and I am sending another qualified combatant since you can't perform a simple task." The voice became more furious. "You know what that means—or don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Zuri replied, as the phone was abruptly disconnected.
"What to do now?" Zuri asked his warriors.
"I have an idea," one of the hoorays said.
Zuri looked at him with a fixed gaze. "Yes?" he asked.
"When our gadget arrives, I can connect with any of her family that she thinks of. Through this, I will be able to check on all her family and find out if any of them is with the twins. It's kind of tricky and a bit difficult to explain," the young hooray paused, then continued, excitement beaming from his hardened face. "It's my innovation that I created for this exact time, but I have not yet perfected it," he added.
Zuri looked dumbfounded. "Is that possible?" he asked.
"Yes," the hooray replied.
"If this works, then I promise to make sure you are named."
The young hooray jumped up with excitement.
It is the biggest of all honors among the hoorays to be given a name, and only the most outstanding of all warriors have a name.
To be given a name is to become an ancestor, the quest all hoorays seek with all they have.
You automatically become a leader, richer, and more important.
"What is the name of your invention?" Zuri asked.
The young hooray stood transfixed for some moments. The unexpected question had thrown him off balance. "Em... em... no name—"
Zuri cut into his incomprehensible statement. "Good. I will suggest you choose that as your name." He scratched his head, growing out of patience at the delay of those on the ships. "Connect with them and find me their location, and you will be given whatever name that catches your fancy."
"I will do my best," the young hooray promised.
---
Sebastian walked quickly, his faith growing with each step he took.
Like the biblical Jesus Christ with his cross before being crucified, Sebastian bore his load with no complaint but trudged along with a deep conviction.
"This is my cross to haul," he mumbled. "I can do this, I just can't fail," he continued.
"I am the world savior, this is my cross, soon I shall rise in my full glory."
With each step, Sebastian's faith increased until it became so enormous that he could hear his subconscious screaming back at him.
"We are the world savior," the voice inside him screamed out. Luckily, only Sebastian could hear the eerie cries.
Soon, the group reached the museum without difficulties.
The building was deserted and silent, except for the barking of a big pit bull dog on a chain far off.
"Poor thing," Bobby said as he sauntered towards the dog. He patted it on its head and received a warm lick on his hand.
"Let's keep going then," Bobby said. "Bring the sleeping girl over here and find yourself a bicycle," he shouted at Sebastian, who seemed lost in his world.
"Not so quickly," a voice boomed from the gallery's door, which was soon blocked by some factions of young men. "Are you guys stealing our weapons?" A tall and bulky man in the front walked briskly towards them.
"Get off the road," Elenu barked.
"Drop everything you have stolen, and I may allow you to leave in peace and not in pieces," the man replied.
"Are you the leader?" Brenda inquired.
"Yes," the man replied. "As you can see, we are the Big Tiger's group, and we are in control now." He walked towards Brenda and placed his big arms on her shoulder. "I think I will be taking this one as my—" With his incomplete statement, he lunged at her, jerking her off the bicycle, and held her two arms with his hand while the other hand held her neck tightly.
Brenda quickly stomped on his foot with her hard-heeled shoe, making the man lose his grip for a moment.
She jerked her arms free, turned immediately, and put one of her legs at the back of her attacker's leg.
She dived into him with all her strength. The man staggered backward a little.
He crashed against Brenda's leg positioned at the back of his heel, stumbled, lost his balance, and fell flat on his back.
A knife suddenly appeared from nowhere in his throat.
"You dare not," she hissed, as she pinned his neck with her two knees