The White City

-1-

General Terror Umar gazed upon his troops covering the hills and valleys surrounding the White City in amusement. They were monsters, killers and savages, and he knew it.

Yet, they were unstoppable, when one falls; he poisons the land where he fell. Where one will succumb, ten will rise. And they had the ability to turn their environment to their advantage.

They ate anything and bred like rabbits. His troops were unbeatable and he was proud of them.

His aid rushed to his lair, an unidentified roundish hell of rotting flesh of the dead and dying people of the plains, the general liked to call it home.

“The white City guards are receiving enforcement soon, the outer perimeter trenches are under vicious attack, new magic, new enemy” he looked at the general in attention.

“Rays or fog?” asked the general. “Fog my general, but it also destroyed the dying city of REN, the allies of the White city are getting desperate.”

The aid took a chunk of flesh from his satchel and started salivating and munching on it.

This was the real cause of the war, hunger. The tribes of T. Umar were ravenous beings, and they marched on, eating everything in sight; until nothing is left. And they never stood hungry for long.

“Send the weak, injured and crippled units to the fog front. This will slow it down, and pile their dead bodies behind the trenches to further slow the fogs advancement.” The general ordered while walking towards the wall of his lair and plucking a mound of flesh to munch on.

“I will dispatch the order immediately my general.”

Then the aid severs one of his fingers on the spot letting his blood run to the ground. The blood pooled and as if it were sentient, it bubbled and raced out of the lair in the direction of the outer perimeter.

The severed finger was then replaced in its place and attached itself back as if it was never cut.

“How goes our dormant cells? And our hidden infiltrators?” the general stopped munching on his squirming meal to ask.

“New report arrives within 80 cycles my general, yet the last report from our hidden infiltrator zeta has great promise for the problem of princess Anima. Should fruit within 600-1000 cycles at most.” The aid idly licked his finger between sentences.

“Good, we wait, and we will feed.” The general opened his mouth at an impossible angle and swallowed the mound of flesh whole.

-2-

Princess Anima paced in her chambers restlessly. Her hand maiden Ocultata watched her through down cast eyes.

Ocultata’s fingers twined and curled as she stood waiting for the princess to speak.

“But are you sure the war stops if I do it?” the distraught princess asked.

“Commander Prodito is about to take over the Umar tribes, and I believe he can end this war” answered Ocultata while her fingers untwined and her hands moved in a sinuous fashion through her attire.

“But, what about the White City guard, they would notice my absence.” Anima’s voice trembled.

“Not necessarily, one of the shifter Umar would replace you for the day you will be gone.” A tinge of hunger passed over the face of Ocultata for a moment then disappeared before Anima could notice. “

Anima knew she could not be harmed by the Umar, not directly. Death of her citizens on the other hand could end her; she would go to the great unknown if all defenses of the realm fell.

This is why she entertained the proposition of her maid. A quick journey to meet with Prodito, an aspiring usurper according to the information supplied by her maid, to receive a portion of her light would end the war.

She understood the ramifications; too much light taken from her would threaten the forces of the White City, as she weakens so would the forces.

Prodito would gain enough power to taken on T. Umar, but he could just use it to crack the walls of the White City.

The light, the gift that identifies and grants the force of rulership, it is her birth right and identity.

“I will go Ocultata; I need to end this war even if it means it weakens me for the rest of my existence.” Anima looked at her maid in the eyes.

“I will smuggle the shifter tonight your highness, I will make preparations for the journey right away.” As Ocultata turned, a smile crossed her face.

-3-

“How fair Hepar?” the leader of the white guards raised his head from the visor to address his second.

“The city of Hepar is on the brink, not from the barbarians, but rather collateral damage from the recent three ray enforcement from the Outside allies.” The second bent a little as he answered.

“And Cardium?” the leader stood up to look at his second.

“For the time being, alright”

“How many Phages survived the last assault?”

“Around a hundred thousand”

“We lost a lot my friend, we have to change strategy.”

“I agree, but what can we do?”

“You know what we can do friend, it is our last resort.”

“I don’t like that plan leader, not at all” the second was fully aware of the desperate plan the leader was talking about. The princess would gather all the forces and move on to Cerebra.

The High City of Cerebra had the strongest walls in the entire realm, they were impervious to attack.

It was desperate because it would dim the light of the princess over the rest of the realm. And it would force the people of Cerebra into seclusion.

They would have to shut the city to the rest of the realm. The High City of cerebra would lose its main function as the main communicator with the other realms.

This might mean the loss of the war or the realm. The Outside communicated through the High City of their enforcements. This meant either the enforcements would stop or be increased unhindered.

Either way, the realm would die.

-4-

“We have been walking for a long time Ocultata, and we are moving towards the center of the camps of the Umar” Terror seeped through the words of Anima.

“We are not far your highness, soon we will be there.” Hunger unhindered was tinging the voice of Ocultata.

Anima was feeling a change in Ocultata, and she was terrified of it. She no longer had a down cast demeanor on her, and she seemed to be growing bigger.

“I can see the lair of T. Umar up ahead, are you sure we are in the right direction?”

“Sure princess, this is where we will find Prodito”

Anima walked in silence. All around her the fires of the Umar were heating everything to an inferno.

Yet, Anima was shivering.

-5-

“Mom, my head hurts a lot” the small boy lying in his bed complained.

“Peter my love, Nurse Mary just gave you the injection; it takes some time to get the fever down.” His mother caressed his head and smiled wanly.

“I know mom, but it is different from any other time. I feel like my head is falling.”

“It will pass honey, it will pass” She leans down to kiss him.

-6-

“Welcome princess Anima, welcome to my humble abode.” General T. Umar beamed at Anima upon her entrance into his lair.

Anima turn to flee, to find the entrance sealed. “Calm down princess, I control my home by my mere presence in it. There is no way out.” The general sat down on a mound of quivering flesh.

“Ocultata, you miserable retch! You betrayed me.” Shouted Anima to her maid. “How could you betray our people, how could you!”

“I never betrayed your people princess” Ocultata seemed to change, she looks more like of the Umar than one of the people of the realm. “I am an Umar, always was, always will be”

“But you were with me since the beginning, how could you have been one of them?” Anima held her head in anguish, she felt as if her head is going to fall off her shoulders.

“I am a shifter, the shifter if I may for I am the mother of all the other shifters.” Ocultata answered in defiance.

General T and his aid Prodito watched in silence. Amusement crossed the face of the general, his triumph was at hand. Just one more push.

“Princess Anima, if you would be so kind and surrender some of your light, I would be obliged to let you go unharmed” General T. started at Anima.

“Never! I would never surrender my light to you” Anima cowered away from the general.

“You and I know you can’t be harmed directly, but your subjects can and would. Bring the prisoner”

The lair unsealed and two Umar grunts drag in a child, Anima recognized his features, he is a REN.

“Start with the legs, do it slowly” smiled the general to Anima.

-7-

A resounding scream rolled over the camp, never to be noticed or acknowledged.

Screams of the dying was an everyday duty to the Umar.

Most of it was caused by them.

Princess Anima cried “Stop, please kill him and stop this, this is too much”

“We prefer our food fresh princess; we only eat the dead not to waste.” The general emphasized his point by grabbing a chunk of the extremities of the boy and swallowing it.

-8-

Two men in white coats stand in front of a door marked by the number 14.

The older man holds a sheet of paper “Peter Richards, aged 7 suffering of ALA, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, we started chemotherapy for him 2 months ago. He was misdiagnosed by the family doctor, and his treatment was delayed around one year. His prognosis is not that good; he is your responsibility from now on. His mother rarely leaves him though, so you will have to council her as well.”

“Why a psychiatrist was not demanded from the start?” asked the younger man.

“The mother refused, you will have to deal with that as well.”

“Ok, I understand”

The younger man knocks on the door, after being invited in, he enters. “Hi Peter, Mrs. Richards, I am Doctor Yassin Adnan. I am a psychiatrist; I am here to help both of you.

“Sorry Doctor, I don’t believe much in psychiatrists, never trusted them” said Mrs. Richards.

“I will just do my best, and hope to change your mind about psychiatrists” smiled Yassin.

“Are you here to give me more injections?” Asked peter.

“Not at all, in fact, I am here to tell you a story”

“What kind of story?”

“The Story of Princess Anima and The white City”

“Anima! I know this word, my father taught me some Latin, it means soul!” peter started excitedly.

“Well, this soul is very special, and her city is magical. And it is all inside of your body”

“In my body? How come?”

“It sure is, they are so tiny. In fact the white city is made up of cells. Which is at war with General T. Umar, you know him simply as ALA. It is what makes you sick.”

“His name sounds like tumor, is this right?”

“Sure is, and I am here to tell you the story, so that you can help princess Anima”

“I can help her?”

“Yes of course, if you think of her and keep fighting, her light grows strong and finishes the forces of Tumor.”

“Light, what light?”

“Princess Anima has light that can destroy the ALA, all you need to do is be strong, have happy thoughts, and send them to her”

“How do I send them to her?”

“Just think of sending your strength, thoughts, and happy memories to her. She will fight for you then.”

“And the leukemia will go away?”

“I believe that you can do this, you can make the leukemia go away”

-9-

The music wafted through the plains, and for once, since months ago, there was sun shining over the valley.

Even though the plains were devastated, child laughter could be heard in the distance.

Anima was chained in the lair of the General. Yet she felt the music, heard the laughter and felt the warmth of the sun.

For days this was what kept her from succumbing to the horrors exacted by the General.

Then, came the voice. “I can do this, I can win this war. Princess Anima, I need you to heal me. I need your light.” The voice was but a whisper, yet she heard it as if shouted by giants.

She felt it in her core. And with it she felt another thing that left the plains, she felt hope. She felt the light growing inside of her.

She felt her chains chaffing her hands, but she knew, she will not be chained for long.

From the lair came a low moan, and light was breaking through.