The Brother

Chapter Four

“Yeah… yes. I am his brother” Jace replied trying to control his excitement. The idea of reuniting with his brother entered his mind and he started wondering how their reunion would be. It had been three weeks since he had last heard from him. The look on each one’s face, the emotions everything seemed to flood into Jace’s thought process. And he finally asked, “How do you know him?”

“This settlement, Carimen, was your brother’s idea. He built this for us about five years ago."

Five years? Jon’s been missing for just three weeks. Jace’s shoulders slumped as he realized that they may not be talking about the same Jonathan Cooper. But for some reason, his hand went into his rear pocket and removed a brown leather wallet from it. It was a gift from his brother for his eighteenth birthday.

He removed a passport size photo of his brother from the wallet and gave it to Jayram and said,” Is this the Jonathan Cooper you’re talking about?”

“Well yes. There’s only one Jonathan Cooper and that’s him. He looks a bit younger in this picture, but that’s definitely him. Maybe the job of being the Council head has taken a toll on him.” he replied and headed to the other room.

Jace was elated. They were talking about the same person, but how did Jace appear here five years ago, and how was he the head of the Council that governed this region? As far as Jace remembered, Jonathan used to work inside a small cubicle with the support of his teammates who worked under a team leader. And the team leader was at least five spots below the chief coordinator of the city.

Jayram entered the room and the short man, who was around five feet tall compared to Jace’s six, was dressed in a black shirt and a khakhi trouser that brushed his heels whenever he took a step. He had a small white cuboid in his hand as he looked up at Jace, who was still deep in his thoughts, and asked,” Would you like to visit your brother?”

“Yes, sir.” Jace had replied even quicker than he had expected and finally noticed that his host had exchanged his white vest and blue short for a more presentable form of clothing. But the white cuboid in his hand grabbed the attention of Jace, who couldn’t stop staring.

Jayram seemed to have realized that Jace was staring at the object as he said,”This isn’t much. But I couldn’t afford anything better.”

“What is that?” Jace said.”I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“This is a caller. We use it to contact people who are very far away.” he said.

Jayram pressed a blue button at the side of the button and instantly, blue light shone from the tip of the caller. The blue light was more like a sheet which was couple of inches wide and around four inches tall with virtually no thickness.

Jace could see writings on the blue light, it was lighter than the background and seemed to be around one or two words per row. Still taken aback by this, he asked,”Is this how a hologram works?”

“What’s a hologram?” Jayram asked absent mindedly as he clicked one of the words and turned the cuboidal box in such a way that the blue screen was parallel to the ground. Now, he pressed another button at the side, right next to the one he had pressed earlier.

So English is the language these people speak, but that writing wasn’t English.

Jace could see the caller unfolding, and couldn’t help but think of the blooming flower. The process was so silent and then, out of nowhere, a man appeared on the caller. He appeared to be around five inches tall and was a shade of blue and completely translucent.. Jace could see the white button on Jayram’s shirt through the man. He had a bald head and had a bulging stomach.

“Hello Alby!” Jayram said with what sounded to Jace as fake enthusiasm. “How you doing?”

“Well, I’ve been worried for four days.” the man, whom Jayram addressed as Alby, replied.”I can’t wait for this battle to end. How long can we survive this? When will Stryke come to his senses?”

“We’ve got each other, you don’t need to worry. As for the war, I’m really hoping it will be over soon. But that’s not gonna happen. So for now, pray to God for peace.” said Jayram. “I’ve heard rumors that a cargo ship was brought to the north.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that too. Looks like Stryke only plans on getting bigger and bigger.”

Jace did not understand anything about the conversation. From what he’d heard, Stryke was delusional and was having a plan. These people were against it and there is a side that is fighting Stryke. But who is Stryke? Jace thought.

“Listen Alby, can you do me a favour?” Jayram asked the man on the caller with a look on his face that screamed for help.

“For a friend like you, I’d do ten” said Alby.

Jace saw the tensed look on Jayram’s face break into a smile as he said,” We have a family reunion on our hands.”

“Whom do you want me to take to the city? Is that the old man who lives next to you? There are better ways to get rid of him, than to just send him to the city. Tell me what you…”

“No, it’s not him. I’ve got a guest who happens to be the brother of the Chief of Council.”

So that’s what they call the ruler of the nation? Chief of Council?

“You mean Jonathan Cooper?” Alby asked wearily

“Of course, its him you i***t. How many Chiefs does the Council have? Five?” Jayram asked with an irritated look on his face.

“You’re sure he is the Chief’s brother? I don’t want to take a fraud to the city and end up in prison for being a partner in crime.”

The look on Jayram’s face indicated that he was calm and he said,” I’m a hundred percent sure.”

“Okay then, I’ll be there in half an hour. Got some errands to run.” said Alby and disappeared. The caller folded itself and gave out a beep.

Looking at the tired face of Jace, Jayram said,” Get yourself some sleep. You’re gonna need some energy to travel.”

“To Albik?” Jace asked. He knew it was Albik, but he needed a confirmation.

“Yes, to the capital city, Albik”.

Is there a war going on? Jace wanted to ask, but he was too tired. He slowly stretched his body on the brown floor and in an instant, he was sound asleep.