Read Online Fall of Hades by Richard Paul Evans - Free Book Online Page A

whimper.
    â€œImagine the sight of it, this brilliant cracked mind throwing his pearls to the swine. It was Pound who later declared, ‘All America is an insane asylum.’” Hatch looked at Quentin. “He was right, you know. Except he was too limited in his scope. The whole world is an asylum. And it needs a new director.
    â€œTomorrow you go to the cage. Perhaps there you too will find the insanity of genius.” A cruel smile crossed his face. “Or, then again, maybe just insanity.” Hatch walked to the door. “Eliot was right, not Pound. This is how the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.”
    â€œThere will be a bang,” Quentin said. “The sound of your fall after you’re brought down and made to pay for your crimes.”
    â€œYou’re delusional,” Hatch said. “Who can challenge me? Who can’t I buy off?”
    â€œMichael Vey,” Quentin said. “He’s the good guy. I can see that now. And in the end he’s going to win.”
    For just a moment Hatch’s arrogance flickered. Then his eyes narrowed. “Michael Vey is nothing. And in the end I will feed you his flesh.” He turned and walked out of the cell.
    Quentin curled back up into a fetal position.

E arly the next morning the lights turned on in Quentin’s cell, signaling the start of a new day. Actually, a new life. A terrible life. Quentin wondered how long he would survive it.
    He forced himself from his bed and walked over to the sink. For reasons he didn’t understand he desperately wanted to brush his teeth—a strange desire, considering what was to come. He was shaking so hard, he had trouble holding the brush.
    His heart froze when he heard the sharp, synchronized clicks of heavy boot steps coming down the hall, followed by the hiss of his cell door’s pneumatic lock.
    The door swung open. Quentin turned to see a guard step inside his cell. He wore the scarlet armband of a Zone Captain, just one level down from an EGG. Behind him was a lower-ranked Squad Captain in the purple Elgen uniform. The men were followed by twelve guards.
    Hatch was noticeably absent. Quentin guessed that he was making a point by not being there. He was also making a point by sending a dozen guards when two would have been sufficient. In Quentin’s present, weakened condition, one would have been enough. The guards were wearing dress uniforms, which meant that his internment would be a ceremony of sorts. There would be an audience at his encagement.
    The Zone Captain spoke. “Quentin, face me.”
    Quentin slowly turned around. Since Cell 25, all his movements seemed slow. He looked the captain in the eyes.
    â€œFor acts of treason against Admiral-General Hatch and the Elgen politic, you have been sentenced to life internment in the eastern primate cage of the Hatch Center Square. Guards, take the prisoner.”
    Six of the guards rushed past the captain and surrounded Quentin. The Squad Captain stepped forward. “You are commanded to disrobe.”
    Quentin crossed his arms. There was usually humiliation involved in Hatch’s punishment, but he wasn’t going to allow it if possible.
    The man looked him over, then smiled darkly. “Defiant? You can undress yourself, or my men will undress you. One way will be painful for you, one won’t, but the end result is the same. I don’t care which you choose.”
    Quentin took another deep breath, then took off his bright pink jumpsuit. “I never liked pink, anyway,” he said, throwing the garment to the floor.
    â€œ. . . And your underwear.”
    Quentin bristled. “He’s keeping me naked like the prime minister?”
    â€œThe Prime Monkey ,” the Squad Captain corrected. “No, the general is being more merciful to you. He’s sent you this.” He lifted a loincloth—a simple square of thin brown fabric just slightly smaller than a washcloth. It had