AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Danika was just a little bit older than me. She brushed her wild, untamable reddish-brown locks over her shoulder and winked. She’d always been the troublemaker amongst the four of us and her expression now confirmed that she was still the same.
I sighed happily with relief.
“Well, now that I’m here, why don’t you show me around? I’d kill for a strong cup of coffee too, if you have that sort of thing,” I said with a grin. I let go of my sisters and wiped away my tears of happiness at finding them alive, unharmed, and safe.
“I bet we’ve got some tequila around here instead,” Danika offered. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah. That’s good too,” I replied, grinning so hard my face hurt.
We spent the next several hours catching up on the events of the past year, while my sisters showed me all of the underground facility. Alaina explained how the ceiling of the bunker was protected by a thick reinforced ceiling that was impervious to any type of bomb that the Vakarran cavalry had in their possession. In its inactivated form, it protected a mile radius, but when powered on by the Earth’s core, it expanded to a four-mile diameter. It was a vital aspect of the bunker to survival, especially for when Nix and his army inevitably arrived.
There was a weapons room stuffed to capacity. In addition, there were vast sleeping quarters and enough supplies to last for a long time in the event of a siege. One of Alaina’s mates, Davon, had begun to cast his net within dark cyber when this place was first founded, and reinforcements had arrived in droves. Since its beginnings, the Resistance had grown from Alaina and her four men to several thousand in size. It seemed that throughout space, the Vakarran army had amassed a number of enemies and they were eager for revenge, including a large number of Vakarran defectors. In order to house all of their numbers, they’d built a second bunker on the outskirts of the city, which strengthened their position, especially if either location became compromised in battle.
We came to a large cafeteria and I was overjoyed to see a vast quantity of what looked like really good food. Licking my lips, I saw all kinds of meat, fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and bread. My mouth watered in excitement.
As we sat in the cafeteria eating a large plate of spaghetti, I looked around at the diversity gathered around me. Aliens of blue and green, a number of human women as well as men, and large groups of Vakarrans ate together in peace. It was both startling and heartwarming to see. I admired my sisters’ work. I was proud of them for what they had built together. I couldn’t wait to really be a part of it.
“What you’ve done here is incredible,” I whispered, and Alaina smiled. She demurely shook her head and answered, “I had a lot of help. If it wasn’t for my men, I never would have been able to accomplish any of this.”
“Yeah. Alaina did a lot before I arrived, but we’ve grown a lot since then,” Danika added, before pulling a flask out of her pocket. “Just like old times?” she asked.
I grabbed the flask from her hand and took a large swig. Danika laughed loudly, and I passed the bottle to Alaina, who sighed, before taking a sip herself, only a bit more daintily. She grinned and rolled her eyes.
“You’ve been saving that for when Kaela got back, haven’t you?” Alaina pressed, her voice light with amusement.
“Yup,” Danika replied, winking in my direction. “Always got to keep on top of corrupting your little sister, ya know? Right, Kaela?”
“Indeed,” I laughed.
We finished our meal, and the rest of the contents of the flask, spending what felt like hours talking about our experiences over the past year. I learned that Alaina was captured by her men, who’d abandoned their posts in the military in order to stay with her and keep her alive. Then, Danika explained how her Vakarrans rescued her from a terrible group of evil human men, only to be captured by Nix after that. Her Vakarrans then attacked and freed her from Nix and brought her here, where she’d helped to free a vast number of humans suffering under his custody.
Eventually, I told them my story and by the time I finished, both Alaina and Danika were vowing revenge on Nix too. My skin buzzed from the alcohol and I knew my sisters were feeling it too, their eyes bright and hopeful.
“We’ll make sure he dies, together,” Alaina vowed. I nodded in agreement. Apart, we were strong in our own right, but put us together? We would be unstoppable.
When we were feeling a little less tipsy, the three of us entered a side corridor, which expanded into a large open room.
“Whoa, this is huge,” I said.
“This is our training center, where resistance members can battle against holographs, whether it be hand to hand combat or practicing accuracy with knives, laser guns, and bombs,” Danika explained. I looked around in awe. The arena was large, leaving room for plenty of people to practice, but the holograms were what really caught my attention. Bright red spheres came together in the shape of a human form. They were fast, incredibly agile, and strong.
It was engrossing to watch as human women, men, and aliens alike trained together in a single room, some against each other and some against the holograms. Danika pointed to a series of names and numbers on the stone wall and I began to study them, displayed in a yellow light.
“The holograms automatically measure and assess each combatant. There are rankings projected over there onto the wall, mostly for assessing improvement over time. The top ten are listed in terms of strength and precision, as well as time. Humans and Vakarrans are kept to separate lists for differences in physical capabilities of course, but it’s proven to be a fun and effective method to train everyone. The top ten contestants get special rewards, like a special dessert or a few extra hours of sleep time. Number one gets a single request. We provide whatever they want, as long as it’s in our power,” Danika explained.
Wow. This was really cool.
The longer I stood there and watched, the more I wanted to take part. Ever since last night, after I’d spent some time with my men, my strength had returned. My vision was heightened, as was my hearing. I was feeling stronger than ever, thanks to whatever was happening to my body.
I was always up for a challenge, but I couldn’t pass this up. I felt like I was ready for battle and I wanted to test my skills. Plus, with my heightened senses and strength, what did I have to lose?
“I’d like to try,” I said.
Chapter Twelve
Caleb
Time to get down to business. This was war.
