Traitor

Two soldiers were dragging Nade along, who, surprisingly, offered no resistance. In fact, he was grinning brightly. One of the soldiers threw him a strange look but didn't comment. They stopped in front of a cell. One opened the door while the other shoved Nade inside.

'Until further instructions, you'll stay here. Hmph… talking nonsense about darkborns, brightborns… and what did you call those monsters? Ghouls? Damn scientist!' They left him alone. It didn't take long until someone came to visit. When Nade saw who it was, he didn't look the least bit surprised.

'You don't seem surprised to see me. As if you were expecting me.' Nade shrugged and stood up. Approaching the bars, he said:

'Well, it's not every day I get a visit from the President of Great Britain.'

'Just call me Sarah, please.'

'Alright, Sarah. What do you want to hear?'

'Everything, to be honest. But let's start with these ghouls you mentioned. You said they were possessed?' Nade stopped just centimeters from her.

'Yes, possessed — by darkborns. Or more precisely, by a part of them.'

'A part?'

'There are two ways a darkborn can cross over to this side. First, with its full body. Second, through a vessel — in this case, a human. When a human gets possessed, only a fragment of the darkborn can enter. If more entered, the human would die. Imagine a darkborn has 100 energy, and a human can handle only 1. That human turns into a ghoul and absorbs 1 energy from the darkborn. Now 99 energy remains.

The ghoul infects another human. That person receives 1 energy from the first ghoul — but at the same time, the first ghoul draws another 1 energy from the darkborn. So now two ghouls carry 1 energy each, and the darkborn is down to 98.' Sarah leaned forward, intrigued.

'What happens when the darkborn manages to infect 100 humans this way?' Nade's grin widened, disturbingly.

'When 100 ghouls emerge, each holding 1 energy from the same darkborn… they all die.'

'And through their…'

'Through their deaths, the darkborn is summoned. The humans act as offerings.'

'I see!!' Sarah gripped one of the bars, leaning closer. She still had questions, bit she had to digest whatever she had just heard. She inhaled and exhaled, cursing: 'Fuck! Wait how' suddenly, the alarms sounded. A soldier rushed in and saluted.

'Miss President, we're under attack!'

'Attack? By whom?' Meanwhile, Nade burst into hysterical laughter. He strolled to the back of his cell and sat on the chair, intertwining his fingers.

'They're here!' Sarah turned to him.

'Who is here?' The soldier answered for him:

'Humanoid monsters, ma'am. The prisoner called them ghouls. We estimate their numbers in the thousands. Also… we've lost all external communication.'

Now even Sarah cracked a grin. She wiped sweat from her brow and composed herself.

'We have a traitor in our midst. Go inform the other Presidents: no one is to leave. Not that I think they can anyway. Tell them I'm on my way. Now!' The soldier saluted again and left. Sarah took a deep breath and fanned herself with one hand. Nade's voice brought her back:

'You're smart. So… who do you think the traitor is?'

'It must be one of the Presidents. This meeting was spontaneous — only they knew. And now we're being attacked in these numbers? It can't be a coincidence!'

'Are you sure it was spontaneous?' Nade stood again and stepped forward. 'Did you notice anything unusual?'

'I… wait!' Sarah closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she had the answer.
'I did. President Kale said he'd already sent troops to where the Warlord is. That happened way too fast — and if no one can communicate with the outside… how did he do it?' Without hesitation, she reached into her baggy pants and pulled out a key — the one to Nade's cell.
'We have to tell the others!'

'Nah,' Nade said casually. 'I'd wager there's more than one traitor. Just a guess. And even if there's only one — look at the number of ghouls. They're being led. Maybe by a dark priest. Hopefully.'

'Why hopefully a dark priest?'

Nade stepped out as she opened the cell. 'Because if it's not a priest… then it's a darkborn. And trust me, you don't want to fight a darkborn.'

'We have weapons to counter them!' Sarah snapped. Nade's grin didn't fade.

'Hahaha… the best way to truly kill a darkborn is with another darkborn — or a brightborn. But here's the thing: they're all our enemies.'

'Then what do you suggest we do?'

'We build our own army. And first thing: we find the immune ones.'