The Colline Affair

Chapter 3: "Are You There Val?"

The rooster crows as the sun rises over the hill. It's a beautiful day for Colline, horses and carriages can be heard throughout the town. Valerius woke up to the sounds of loud banging.

"Shit, shit! Im late for work!" Tin shouted

"Wait what's happening?" Valerius asked

"Im very late for work! Oh wait, that was just the coffee timer."

Valerius burst out laughing, but suddenly he remembered he was in Tin's apartment.

"Well I must be going, I have some things to do."

"Okay see you!"

Valerius left Tin's apartment and went back to his, he went to his room then took a bath.

"Val is that you in there?"

"Yes, im taking a bath."

"Okay don't turn the water off when your done, I haven't taken a shower yet"

"Sure"

"Oh and by the way, if you want, you can join me in the fields today?"

"What?"

"I said you can join me in the fields if you want to"

"Oh that's great, I don't have anything to do until tomorrow so sure"

"Okay great"

Valerius hopped out of the shower and as he opened the door, Polemistis was right outside the door, Valerius went quickly to his room, only to discover a mess. his windows was broken, papers were scattered, his money was intact but he was horrified at what he saw.

"Oh Val, did you come back here last night? I could hear someone talking, and I thought I also heard a loud noise."

"No, but at what time did you hear it?"

"Around 1 AM, it's weird, usually no one is out at that time since curfew was announced in 1109."

Suddenly, a flash of light illuminated Valerius's back, he felt a presence, someone was standing behind him.

"Val, are you there Val?" a familiar voice asked.

"Val, are you here?" a familiar voice asked again, Valerius realized it was Zavryei. Polemistis heard Zavryei and asked Valerius.

"Who is that?"

"No one!"

"Zavryei, what's up?"

"I heard someone, do you have someone in there?"

"Uh no I was listening to the radio."

"What do you want?"

"Listen I have news about your father."

"And?"

"Valerius, I have incriminating evidence that they have been plotting against you."

"How did you know? Do you have proof?"

"I have more than enough proo-"

Static cut off Zavryei, thinking it was his signal, he frantically tried to adjust the antenna but nothing changed, it's still static. Thinking Zavryei will just call later, he continued preparing, then left with Polemistis and his father.

" Welcome to Colline during morning!" Polemistis shouted"

"In front of us is the Golden Field of Collinehaut, by the way did you know that that field predates most of the buildings here?"

"Oh, and that tower to your right is the 'Tower of the Great Xarpeia', as you may have already know is named after the 2nd leader."

"Son do you really have to narrate everything we see? I think Val is getting pretty annoyed."

"Oh no sir I'm actually learning stuff from him."

"Oh you don't have to call me sir, you can call me 'Paul''

"This is my stop, see you in a bit"

The three arrived at their destination, the underground farm on Coline. It wasn't in the underground, rather a small cave. Valerius helped the two on their work. Then later in the day, someone approached Paul and started to talk to him.

"Oi Paul! How's life!"

"I hate this guy. Good! How 'bout yours?"

"Mostly good, I just discovered I contracted a disease from working in the mines."

"Well, that's why I quit my job in the mines" *cough* *cough*

"Well see ya!"

As the guy left, the three also left to go home, on the way home, they met Tin and they began to talk.

"So have you heard about the new taxes?" Tin asked.

"New taxes? Again?" Paul exclaimed.

"The government keeps milking up dry, thisnis why we need a new form of government"

"Whoa, easy there son, remember martial law is still up, they will kill you if they hear you."

"What happens happens, it's the theoi's will."

Shortly after their conversation, as they arrived on the condo, Val heard a faint voice coming from a television.

"This is Xareionople, Kosmos to the Cosmos, we have just received a statement from the office of the Imperial President."

The four rushed into Val and Polemistis' room, they switched on the the tv and watched the news.

"The events of today will live as a day of infamy, not only in our nation but in the Kosmos itself. This is a great tragedy for our nation, and especially for our family."

"Why did he say 'our family?''

"Maybe he's talking about their people"

"Shh he's still talking."

"It is with deep sadness that I announce, that the Governor of Leyan, my uncle, Zavryei has passed away."

Val's heart shattered, the noise of the tv and the three faded.

"For those who are tuning in just now, Governor Zavryei of Leyan has passed away. Governor Leyan was president of the Xarvaii generation."

Val immediately ran to his room, he turned on his hologram one more time.

"You have 5 messages"

"Message 1... Are you there Val? Well it seems like you are not but I'll tell you anyways, your father and Zavryei have been planning massive reconstruction throughout the Kosmos."

"Message 2... The first plan is to completely rebuild Matthewsburg to the ground up, they will destroy it completely and rebuild, that's why they forced people out."

"Message 3... The second is to radically change Xareionople itself, they plan to completely flatten the city and demolish every old house and raise the ground. They will also try to emulate a grassland."

"Message 4... What I don't get is, unlike Matthewsburg, they will not evacuate the city, so whoever gets caught will die."

"Message 5... And lastly, the reason why Zarpaii and Latreus wants you out, is because-"

- END OF CHAPTER 3 -