The Holy Quest

Chapter THREE

Kelvin wasn't sure when he slept off but it was quite long and pleasurable for his weakened body. It was Jude who woke him up rather impatiently.

Getting up from his slouched position and staring out the window, he could see they were parked right in front of a deserted airport.

"Let's hurry." Jude said, jogging towards a luxurious jet that hummed nearby.

Kelvin checked his time again. It was 5:11pm. The double numbers were already getting creepy but who was he to complain. The divine playout all signalled the hand of the creator in the current proceedings. Only Jude had a reasonable explanation for what was going on.

Pacing after him, he called:

"Can you at least explain what is going on?"

"You should know by this moment." Jude replied without granting the courtesy of turning to address him.

"But I don't!"

"There'll be an official briefing."

"It could just happen here," Kelvin was ready to play tough. "I'm not going to work my a*s into a danger I'm not aware of into that jet if you don't let me know what I'm getting myself into." Kelvin was ready to play tough.

Jude paused his tracks and turned to Kelvin.

"We don't have precious seconds to waste, believe me." The patience on his face was wearing thin.

"Then count me out of this then."

Just about that moment, someone in semi-rags came out of the jet.

"He-yo!! What the hell is going on? We've been waiting for hours!"

Kelvin looked at him, stunned at his sight and not sure what to make of him. He returned his surprised stare to Jude who simply shrugged in his own defense.

"Is that the God-forsaken dude who's delaying our trip? Man cut him off! You can't jeopardise a team just cos of one lanky dude. We've got no time!"

That was an extra shock to Kelvin.

"There's a team?"

"Sure. You may miss the fun and adventure if you chose to. If you want to be a part, there'll be an official briefing inside." With a wink, he bounced along to the jet. Kelvin followed, grumbling behind as he also got into the jet.

It didn't take a minute before the aircraft took off from the ground.

Kelvin was a little speechless at the sprinkles of diverse race he met inside the aircraft. There was a huge bald headed, bush faced Brit, there was a brown skinned Indian and a Chinese red-face. He was the black dude among them. He simply shrugged at the convenience.

"You might need to change your clothes." Jude said to the gathered crew inside. "You'll find them inside that black compartment next over there. Your names are tagged to your dresses."

He pointed to a black chest fixed close to a long cushion.

"What if they're not fits?" The Brit asked.

Jude gave him a weary stare. Yawning at the statement, he managed to say:

"You have all been profiled even to the number of hairs on your head."

The others laughed at how it all fit in to the Brit's bare head. Kelvin didn't though, he just looked on.

"We've got an official briefing on our important mission and we have to be fully dressed for the occasion," Jude continued. "Now if you'll excuse me."

He pushed Kelvin aside and was heading for the next compartment in the aircraft when the Chinesea asked.

"What's wrong with briefing us here and now?"

"At least we don't have to dress our ears up." The Indian clipped in to which the others laughed.

"When you're dressed up and ready, let me know." Jude said without flinching a smile and shut the door on them.

At that point, their attention zapped towards Kelvin. The Brit arched his right eyebrow while taking a closer look. The Indian smiled sweetly while the Chinese dude just stared blankly.

"Your name boy?" The Brit quipped.

"You go first." Kelvin returned.

"We're three to one here. You don't dictate how it's run over here."

"Yeah right." Kelvin said and nodded. "But I decided how I run here."

Without another word, he pushed past the three to the black chest to get his clothes. The others, including the Brit, followed through.

On getting to the black chest, he saw a newspaper dated on the current date but with a widely different news coverage. It spoke of a conquest by a certain Kel Vinicius the Great.

There was a headline: "Kel... The Second Coming of Christ." And another: "Kel Vanquishes the Pestilence with the birth of the Goddess." This was accompanied by photos of a tall man in sparkling white hair and polished skin and he looked so familiar... of course, he was staring at himself.

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After taking care of their clothing business, and informing Jude about it, they were taken to the main room for briefing. Entering the room just after Jude, the first reaction that they had was surprise.

The room was expansive with huge display android plasmas covering covering the walls. At the posterior was a little raised podium for a speaker to address the desired audience.

If you think it's the rooms expanse and facility that wowed the quartet, you got it wrong. It was the audience. The room was crammed with a lot of people. Roughly about a hundred who had all dressed and sat expectantly to be addressed by whoever would grace the podium.

Kelvin's reaction was epic. It was a rude awakening to find out he wasn't all a golden star in the night sky. There were a lot others who have been commissioned with the task just as himself. And he better fit in if he was to secure the prize.

He was sure that his partners were thinking the same thing cos they all wore the same look. Filing slowly they found their way to four empty chairs somewhere across the middle of the assembly.

"I bet my beards there are a whole lot more peeps being greeted this way in various other jets around the world." The Brit said, getting over the awe.

The house seemed to get the joke cos they all laughed to it.

"Bonus points to them if Jude is not in each and every one of them at the same time." The Chinese chipped in.

That attracted another round of laughter that lasted more than the first one.

Kelvin was settling into his seat and smiled broadly at the joke. He liked the fact that everyone started off by getting along well. Hats off the Brit and the Chinese.

He was sure Jude was thinking the same thing too. His smile looked like a blushing dad watching his kid take the first prize at a graduation ceremony. That only lasted a few seconds. He checked himself immediately and proceeded towards the podium.

Clearing his throat, he began...