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The hut looked old and decrepit, even more so on closer inspection. It had to be human-made; judging by the condition of the wood, it definitely predated the Ks’ arrival. It also had a door, which meant that Mia could go inside and explore. Holding her breath in anticipation, she pushed open the door, wincing at the squeaky sound of the rusted hinges.
The interior of the hut was immaculately clean, free of cobwebs and other unpleasant things one might expect to find in an abandoned building. The furniture was old and plain, but still serviceable, with a small table and a few chairs arranged around it. There was also a pallet on the floor, apparently for sleeping. And the place was completely empty. Disappointed, Mia looked around. Why did Korum have this recording? Clearly, nothing was happening.
And then the door opened, and a male K came in. He looked very typical of their kind, tall and good-looking, with black hair and darkly bronzed skin. He wore a pair of grey shorts made of some unusual material, a loosely fitting sleeveless top, and some type of thin sandals on his feet. Hardly daring to breathe, Mia stared at him, but he was obviously unaware of her presence. He did seem nervous, however. Casting a brief, furtive look around, he walked toward the table. Just in case, Mia scooted out of his way, climbing onto the pallet, uncertain what would happen if she physically touched someone in this strange virtual world.
The K moved the table to the side and squatted, looking at something on the floor. Then he pressed on one of the floorboards, and it seemed to give under his fingers. Loosening it further, he pulled on something, and the entire section of the floor opened up. Without any hesitation, he jumped down, and the opening slowly began to close behind him.
Mia’s heart raced as she observed his actions. Here was her chance, but did she dare follow him? How far down was his destination, and what would happen if she jumped after him? Would she be hurt, injured? This wasn’t real; she was just watching a very realistic movie. But certain sensations were still there – heat, smell, touch. Yet falling down on the sidewalk the last time had
n’t hurt at all. And the opening in the floor was closing more with each second. To hell with it, Mia decided. She was already risking her life by being here – what’s a potential injury in a virtual world?
Taking one deep breath, she jumped.
At first, there was only darkness and the stomach-churning sensation of falling, and then the hard floor was beneath her feet, and Mia landed on it easily, like a cat. Gasping for air, hardly daring to believe that she had made it, Mia felt her legs and knees with her hands. Everything seemed to be fine, and Mia’s breathing began to return to normal. She had survived the jump in one piece, and now she just needed to figure out where she was.
The room where she had landed was small and nondescript, but there was a door. The K had to have gone through there. Carefully opening it, Mia peeked inside.
Beyond the door lay a large room, occupied by several Ks, including the one Mia had been following. Her heart skipped a beat. She had never seen so many aliens gathered in one place, and it was a striking sight.
There were five males and two females, all tall and beautiful in their own way. Their clothes were clearly intended for hot weather, with the males wearing shorts and various styles of sleeveless shirts and the females dressed in light, floaty dresses that only covered their breasts and hips, leaving most of their golden skin exposed. Despite their attire, Mia doubted they were there to enjoy the ocean breeze. They looked tense and worried, their gestures sharp and almost violent as they argued about something in the Krinar language. In general, they reminded Mia of a pride of lions, prowling around the room with that animalistic grace peculiar to their species.
Finally, one of them looked at his wrist, where a little device seemed to be attached. Barking out what sounded like a command, he pressed some button and a holographic image appeared in the middle of the room. The rest of the Ks gathered around, and Mia moved closer, trying to see what they were looking at. To her surprise, it was a human man, possibly someone in the military, judging by the uniform he wore.
“We’re all safe,” said the black-haired K in a perfectly accented American English. “All of us left the Center at various points this morning and last night. Are you ready on your end, General?”
General? Mia felt icy terror spreading through her veins. These had to be the Keiths – and they were working with the human forces that John had mentioned. And since she was observing them this way, their identities were no longer secret. Korum knew exactly who they were and what they were up to. Nearly hyperventilating in panic, Mia stared in horror at the scene that she knew could not possibly end well.
The general nodded. “We’re ready. Our people are stationed at the agreed-upon points outside the Centers. The operation will commence upon your signal.”
One of the female Ks, a brown-haired hazel-eyed beauty, approached the image. “And the ones outside? Do you have someone ready to take each of them out?”
“We do,” said the general slowly, “but there’s one small problem. One of them is missing.”
The female’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, missing? Who?”
“Korum. We haven’t been able to locate him this morning.”
The Ks hissed in anger, breaking into angry speech in their own language. The female who spoke gesticulated wildly, trying to convince the black-haired male of something, but he merely shook his head, repeating some phrase over and over. Mia desperately wished she understood what they were saying, but all she could catch was the occasional mention of Korum’s name.
Apparently deciding on something, the black-haired K turned to the image again. “General, this is a major problem. Why weren’t we notified of this earlier?” His voice was harsh with anger.
“We had the situation under control up until thirty minutes ago. Our two best fighters were on him, tracking him as he left his apartment. And then he walked inside a Starbucks and just disappeared. We never saw him come out, and we searched the entire place top to bottom. I was notified of this development a few minutes ago myself.”
“You idiots,” the female spat at him. “How many times have we told you how dangerous he is? Why would he disappear like that? Did he spot your fighters?”
The general stared at her with an impassive gaze. “Do you want us to call off the operation?”
The Ks looked at each other, discussing it some more in their language. After about a minute, they seemed to reach a conclusion of some kind. “No,” the female said in English, shaking her head, “it’s too late for that. If something made him suspicious, then the worst thing to do would be to retreat at this point. We’ll have to deal with him later, and hope that not too many lives will be lost in the process.”
“Do we have your go-ahead to proceed then?”
“You do,” said the black-haired male, and the female nodded.
“Very well,” said the general. “Operation Liberty will commence at nine hundred hours, Eastern time.”
Mia frantically looked around the room, trying to figure out the time now. An old rusted clock hung on one of the walls. It showed 6:55. If that was correct and she was indeed in Costa Rica, then the attack would take place in less than five minutes, since the Central American country was two hours behind New York.
The image of the general disappeared, and another picture took its place. This one was of a forest, with the familiar greenish-brown circular structures in the background. It was the edge of the colony, Mia realized. The Keiths were going to observe the attack from this underground bunker, where they thought they were safe.
