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“I’m coming too,” Alaina declared when we walked in the room. Ryder grinned, almost as if he’d known that she would say that.
“I planned on it,” he answered. “I need you two to keep the women calm after we get them out of there and safe here in the bunker.”
Roan lifted his head and met my eyes. I could see the turmoil there. He didn’t want me to put myself in danger by coming as well, but I wasn’t going to give him a choice.
I stared him down. I’d trained in hand-to-hand combat with my sisters. I knew how to handle a weapon and Ryder had a point.
“The women aren’t going to want to submit and follow a bunch of Vakarrans. It’ll be important for them to see a familiar face. A human one,” I stated. After a long moment, Roan nodded. He knew I was right, and as much as he wanted to keep me safe, he couldn’t deny it.
Plus, I’d been practicing my camouflage ability and I had improved in vast amounts. I could hide in multiple environments, from forest to urban and even indoor conditions. If there was anything I could do to help while using that ability, I was going to do it.
I wouldn’t allow those women to die for me. Nix wanted me, and I was going to give myself to him. Only instead, I was going to kill him.
We sat down with the two of them and discussed entry strategies with them. In the bunker, activity levels increased and before we knew it, we
were in one of the weapon storage room with a good hundred men, all Vakarrans, along with a few strong-looking human women.
Most were battle scarred. Some looked angry while others looked excited. Alaina had only told me a little about the stories of the kinds of men who had arrived there, that some were exiles, some were defectors, and some were a mystery. Others had gone rogue, but all of them were tired of the nepotism and double standards within their society. Commander Nix had pissed a lot of them off, that was clear.
All were ready for battle. Dressed in all black, they’d be extremely difficult to see, even by the light of the moon. I knew that they’d disappear into the brush though, the moment we entered the forest.
Guns were handed out and Alaina quickly explained the laser function of mine. She clipped on a small connector onto the barrel of the gun and told me it was a silencer. I was also handed a switchblade, which I quickly tucked into the waistband of the black jeans I was wearing. All of us were outfitted with special communication headpieces that were connected only amongst us and impenetrable from outside networks.
It was almost time to begin the invasion.
My heart pounded in my chest, but I knew I was ready. Around me, Taraik, Xandaar, and Zac gathered, while Aarom, Morgn, and Davon surrounded Alaina. At the front of the room, Roan and Ryder began to explain key points of the mission.
It didn’t take long before it was time to go.
We all boarded a small hovercraft ship. There were two of them, so we split the group into two. The plan was to ride them part of the way, under total communications shutdown, under the protection of a cloak shield. Above us, the street opened, and I could see the stars above. We floated up till we were just above the tree line and began to move in the direction of the training camp. The ship was completely silent and under the cover of total darkness.
I took a deep breath and waited as we traveled the few miles to a small grassy field a mile or so away from the camp. After we landed and everyone disembarked, I gasped quietly as I watched a group of one hundred Vakarran men disappear before my eyes, camouflaging into the surrounding brush at the blink of an eye. I followed suit, able only to sense where my four Vakarrans were. Alaina wasn’t far away from me, but she couldn’t disappear like I could.
Slowly, we all marched onward, breaking into planned groups that would surround the target from all sides. Each of us had an assignment in order to free all the women from captivity.
The Second and Third Battalions, Alaina’s and my Vakarrans, were taking the largest sleeping tent of women, while the others were spread throughout the camp taking care of the smaller housing areas.
When each group was in position, a small flare sent through the network signaled their arrival, a different color assigned to each group. My body felt warm as I watched each one flare before my eyes and then Roan activated the very last one, ours.
A purple flare flashed centrally before my eyes, and then it was gone.
It was time to move in.
I took a deep breath, feeling the heat from my Vakarrans around me. We stealthily moved toward the back right corner of the women’s barracks. Alaina and her Vakarrans took the north end while I and my captors took the south end.
Roan and Taraik took down a guard on one side of the door while Zac and Xandaar took down the other. Narrowing my eyes, I watched as the guards fought each pair, focused on their locations even though they remained invisible, but oddly enough I walked right by the two of them without even a look. Through the connections I shared with my four Vakarrans, I could sense where each of them was, even though they remained invisible.
Once I entered the tent, I released my ability upon seeing Alaina at the other end.
Bunk after bunk of women lined the sides of the tent, with one narrow aisle down the center. I nodded once in Alaina’s direction.
“Ladies,” I said out loud, quietly.
All at once, movement began to stir around us.
Women lifted their heads, flashes of fear crossing their features once they saw me. I was sure they’d recognize me. Some looked hopeful while others remained scared and I took a deep breath before I began to speak again.
“Nix has ordered the death of every single one of you. I’m here to take you somewhere safe. We have a place for you to hide, where you can live in peace, side by side with the Vakarrans, only not as their slaves, as their comrades instead,” I said.
