It was dark when Aura woke up. She looked around and found Jack laying next to her. She smiled and tried to sit up, only to fall back when the blood rushed to her head, and she pressed the palms of her hands to her forehead and tried to make her surroundings stop spinning. She looked over at Jack, and smiled at him. He stirred in his sleep, and woke up slowly, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.
“Hey.” She whispered, sitting up to turn and lay on her side to face him. He smiled and scooted closer to her.
“What’s it like?” He whispered.
“What’s it like?” She responded distracted and confused.
“Flying!”
“It’s fantastic! The feeling of the wind beneath my wings, the pressure pushing on my skin, especially when there is a thunderstorm nearby. I love the adrenaline rush of dodging lightning strikes. Especially when I am close enough to feel the heat from the lightning.” She sat up and gave her wings a gentle flap, and stretched her arms, legs, and wings, and her joints popped. She stood up slowly, and gently stretched trying not to get dizzy. She gave her wings a good hard flap, and she lifted off the ground and gently floated down.
Jack stood up, and she took his hand, and they went out of the tent. Jack shuddered from the temperature drop. Aura held up her arm in front of her and had a devilish grin.
“There’s a rain storm coming. Perfect weather for flying, and adrenaline rushes.” she looked over and saw him staring at her.
“You are insane, and I love it!” he said, putting an arm around her waist and kissing her shoulder.
“Thank you. Are you ready?” she said going in the tent and grabbing a piece of rope.
“Ready for… what?” he said cautiously. She stood behind him and tied the rope around the both of them.
“To fly, what else?” she said, wrapping her arms around him.
“Jesus Christ…” he said as she gave her wings a powerful thrust and lifted off the ground.
He felt his breath being pushed out of his lungs as they went up. He looked to the left and saw the sun going down just behind a wall of clouds. She looked the same direction as him and gave a content sigh.
“Beautiful.”
“Absolutely breathtaking.”
“You wanna touch a cloud?” she said with a grin.
“Is that even possible?” he asked with his eyes widening at the thought.
“Yeah. But be careful they’re extremely heavy, so I wouldn’t suggest trying to bring one with you.” she said as she dived in the direction of the clouds. The air started to become more and more still around them as they approached the cloud bank that threatened rain.
“But they look so light, how heavy are they?”
“One point one million pounds. That’s about the same as 100 elephants.” she said casually.
“Santa Maria Madre Di Dio…” he said under his breath.
“What’s that mean?” she asked.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God.”
“Are you religious?”
“Yeah, I was Christened into my mother’s Catholic Church after I was born, and officially baptized into the church when I was five. I never go though.”
“Oh, well I’m not. Never found time for it.”
“That’s fine. It’s your life to spend how you choose.” he said as they flew into the cloud bank.
Jack could smell the electricity and the water that was threatening to drench them, and feel his hair stand on end. He reached out and grabbed ahold of a cloud, only to have it break apart in his hand, almost like smoke.
“It almost feels like smoke.”
“It almost is.” She said reaching out to grab some and it slipped through her hands in little wisps.
She stuck her hand in the cloud, and swished it around. When she pulled it out, it was slightly moist, and she could feel her hair start to dampen as the moisture in the air became thick and heavy.
“Storm’s about to start.” She said drifting through the clouds.
Jack reached out his arms only to draw them back quickly when the air started to get hot. Aura quickly veered to the left and out of the strike zone as a seering white light ripped the sky. A few seconds later peals of thunder shook the air, and Jack covered his ears as Aura folded her wings and dropped a few feet and started flying West. She spotted a lake and then folded her wings and dived. The surface of the black colored lake rapidly came close and just before Jack could open his mouth to scream, Aura opened her wings, and they shot across the surface of the lake. Jack slowly reached out to touch the mirror-like surface, and let the spray of the water hit his face.
He laughed, spitting out some of the bland water that got in his mouth. She pulled up and started to head back to camp. Her wings flapped hard against the wind that was starting to pick up. Jack was laughing and whooping excitedly all the way back to camp. Only to find it abandoned and torn apart, when only an hour ago everyone was wandering about the camp. Jack had untied the both of them and started yelling for everyone.
“Jack, stop yelling.” Aura said quickly, putting a hand over his mouth.
He slowly looked over at her and she took her hand off of his mouth.
“Jack… I don’t think we’re alone.” she said just before her vision went dark and she heard Jack yelled for her.
-Aura’s P.O.V-
Aura had awoken several hours later, although it had felt like days to her, and she looked around blinking the black swishes and dots from her vision.
“Finally. The angel is awake.”
Aura looked around and saw her friends lined up in separate tubes. Boys on one side and girls on the other. The girls next to her had tubes in their hands and wires attached to their heads, thighs, collarbones, and stomachs that lead to monitors that had different lines that meant different things: heart rate, pulse and blood pressure.
The monitors had two different lines; They were the same kind of monitors that they were hooked up to when they trained, but those only had one line for the heartbeat…
These had two…
Ellie’s small frame was almost covered in wires that were pumping a thick white-green liquid with a clear liquid in segments and in small doses at a time.
“It’s time. Welcome to the End of the World.” Aura strained to hear the scientist through the tube that surrounded her, but the noise was distorted almost like she was listening through water, even though she could see through it perfectly fine. She tried to reach up to the tube and found her hands were bound to the table she was standing against. She reached forward with her foot and saw her shoes had been removed.
Aura looked over to Jack and her eyes widened in horror as wires etched their way through his skin almost as if the wires weren’t wires, it was like they were alive and they were eating him alive. She looked to Tyler and Alexander, and saw with sad terror that they had the same thing happening to them. Morgan, Josè, and Jahmni, all had the same pattern of lines and dashes on their faces. She looked at the girls on either side of her and all of them had the same tubes and lines hooked up to them. She looked down and saw the same tubes and wires.
She heard a noise that caused her to look up and she came face to face with one of the aliens. It’s face opened like a flower, but the back of the ‘head’ was elongated and slimy, and the jaws of the creature seemed to almost come out of its skull. The body was heavily built, but the hands only had four ‘fingers’ that ended in claws sharp enough to cut steel. It was almost as if a child had taken apart it’s dolls, and put them back together, but in a sick way, they fit together like a puzzle. It put one of its ‘hands’ on a keypad, and the water dissolved, and she could hear the scientist talk.
“I have successfully captured these “children”, and they will be used to help enslave the human race. The girls will be able to carry, and breed. The boys will be soldiers, and so on and so on.” The Alien that opened her tube made a clicking noise, and a screech that made her cringe.
The scientist looked back and she could see the screen, and Sgt. Mjr. Lawrence and the other scientists she recognised from training and those she had seen in the halls. She looked back at the scientist, and her eyes narrowed as he ran diagnostics on her.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You are apparently unable to breed. Shame.” Aura cursed him and spit in his face, earning a shock as a jolt went through entire body numbing her fingers and her toes, as her head spun and she could see stars.
“What do you mean she is unable to breed?” Said Lawrence trying not to let slip that he already knew that none of the girls could have children.
“Exactly what I said!” Said the scientist irritably.
“Well if she is of no use, then let her go.”
“Hmm. How about no? She can be used for other things.” He heard a groan from behind him and turned around. Tyler was stirring, and looked at the scientist groggily.
“You're not gonna do shit.” He said trying to regain control of his mouth once more.
“And just what do you think you’re going to do about it?” The scientist asked.
—---------------------------
-Tyler’s P.O.V-
I could feel something crawling on my skin, and it was almost like it was being engraved into my body. I heard Aura shout profanities at someone and I shake my head, trying to wake up and fight the deep, tranquilising, sleep that was trying to overpower me. When I could finally get control of some of my senses, I heard the scientist arguing with Payton, and I could finally put my thoughts together.
“You’re not gonna do shit.” I said, finally being able to wake up and have some control of my face.
“And just what do you think you’re going to do about it?” the scientist asked, coming over and getting in my face. I looked at him and then looked at Payton, and he nodded. Then I looked at the scientist again and with a smirk I said: “Nothing.”
The scientist showed no emotion but I could see in his eyes that he was taken aback. He grimaced and replied.
“That’s what I thought. It doesn't take a genius to know that you were pathetic and weak. Although I already knew that and I am a genius.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. Or you won't be able to fit through the door when you leave.” I said with a shit-eating grin.
“Your insolence will ruin you,” he said. Just then the lights began to flicker and then all the electronics in the room shut off. An alarm sounded startling everyone and scaring some of the aliens, and causing everyone to jolt from their slumber and freak out. Aura and I looked at each other and in the commotion started helping the others out of the tubes. One of the aliens attacked Aura and she grabbed the nearest object and swung. It made a stomach curling squish, like someone running over a pile of 1jelles with a steamroller. I could see her face turn a shade of green as she tried not to puke.
“You ok?” I shouted to her above the noise.
“Yeah, you?” she replied, taking another swing to the alien that tried to attack from behind.
“Yeah, you get the girls going and I’ll get the guys.” She gave a half solute and went to help the girls. I headed to help others, but before I could get there the scientist had cornered me and had a gun pulled to my head.
“You aren’t going to get away with this. I’m not gonna let you destroy everything I have worked so hard to create.” He cocked the gun and it twitched and broke in his hand. He looked at me with a sneer then put his hands up and got into a fighting stance.
“Well sucks to suck.” I said as I swung and he blocked it. This went on for several minutes just us swinging and blocking. I tried a different approach in my attack by swinging at him, then kicking his knees out from underneath him. It worked and it knocked his glasses off so he fumbled around looking for them giving me the time I needed to get the others safely out. But as soon as I turned my back I felt a foot press hard into my spine and it kicked me over. I turned and swung hitting it, whatever it was that hit me first, with a satisfying crunch that pulsed into my hand. It was the scientist and as I looked at the unconscious madman laying on the floor, I felt a pang of pity for him, however it passed as soon as it came. I got to the others and went down the row gently helping to unhook them from the IVs and getting them out. I looked at Aura and the girls and they were using whatever they could find to beat back the aliens. I looked at Jack and told him to help Aura. He nodded and ran to help. As he ran to her I went to the main desk there at the end of the rows and worked at guessing the password for the computer.
“Fatum.” I had no idea where that thought came from but I looked around and couldn't see Melanni anywhere.
“Fatum.” I heard it again and I looked at the computer and I pressed my ear against it.
“Fatum.” I heard the word seep from the innermost parts of the computer and it reverberated through the keys and into my brain. I typed it in slowly, and the whole system shut down leaving the room silent save for the hum of the vents and shuffling of feet as everyone tried to make their way out of the room. After standing there awestruck for a second I moved to help the people that were still in tubes to get out, which was only Jahmni, Morgan, José, and ALexander.
Morgan and I had to take a little extra time with Jahmni. We helped him out and when I got to Alexander, I held him to me, never wanting to let go. I heard a gun go off and I looked at Jack and he had held his gun above his head and fired it. I looked at Alex and he nodded.
-Jack’s P.O.V-
It seemed I no sooner got out of the tube they were keeping us in, that I had to go help Aura. Not that I didn't mind. I love her. I grabbed my spare revolver out of my inside pocket and fired a round into the ceiling.
‘So apparently the man claiming he was a genius didn't even think to take my gun…’ I thought as I smiled at her. The idea worked in helping to scare off some of the aliens. It seemed like they didn't like the loud noises. I helped Aura get the others to the door and I held her back and placed a kiss on her lips.
“In case we don’t make it out together..” I said. “I love you.” I could see the tears well up in her eyes at the mere thought. She smiled and blinked the tears away. The crystal drops that threatened to fall from my eyes, and hers, never came as she kissed me ferociously. I kissed back. She looked me dead in the eyes. Her sharp, crystal white/blue eyes are now red with tears. I couldn't help but feel low at the thought of losing her.
We stood there staring at each other and Tyler and the others had finally made it to the door and we headed out together with my hand holding hers tightly.
“Time to go, yes?” said Jahmni, terrified as if the aliens were going to pop out of nowhere and finish us off.
“Yeah, it’s time to go.” I let Aura lead the way and we eventually caught up to the others and they were standing in front of a large door and they were just waiting. We caught up to them and then we realized it was just an image. And there was a small projector set up on the ground.
-Alexander’s P.O.V.-
“Damn. Guys we need to get out of here. Now.”
“Oh Hell, yeah we need to go.” Tyler and Jack started swearing and hurrying us to hide behind a large portion of boxes and wooden crates. I grasped Tyler’s hand and squeezed. I looked behind the crates and saw the girls. I gave them all a tight hug and made sure they were all alright. Jahmni checked them for anything more serious than bumps and bruises. I walked back over to Tyler and I wrapped my arms around him in a loving embrace, and buried my face into his shoulder.
“I love you” he whispered into my ear.
“Jag älskar dig också.” I whispered back.
“What?” he said laughing. I rolled my eyes playfully
“I love you too.” I said laughing with him.
“You could have just said that.”
He kissed the top of my head and ran his fingers through my hair. I didn't want to let go.
“I don’t think that now is the time for that, chicos enamorados.” Ynes said. Her smooth accent is enough to put anyone to sleep, especially if she was singing to them.
“If it’s the last time then yes it is.” I said as I kissed him passionately and he returned the kiss. I didn't want to be away from him for a moment, I loved him too much.
“You don’t know that it is going to be the last time. It could be that we all make it out or none of us make it out.”
“DON’T SAY THAT!!!!” I cried out.
“Keep your voice down!” Morgan whisper-yelled to us.
“You could jinx us!” I whisper yelled to Ynes.
“Well I was implying the first not the latter.” she said.
“Still. You never know what could happen.”
“You’re right. I never know until the moment it happens.”
Suddenly something squeaked from somewhere. Ynes mimicked the squeak. And it sounded again. Closer this time. She mimicked the squeak until the mouse was right in front of her. She picked it up and she talked to it. It was cool to watch. I’ve seen her do it before and it’s amazing each and every time. She put the mouse down and she looked at us and made a motion with her hands to have us gather around her. We did as we were motioned to do and we waited for her to speak.
-Ynes’s P.O.V.-
I waited for them to gather around me and I explained my plan.
“I just spoke to a mouse and it knows the way out. It is going to find something for all of us to fit through and it will come back and we will follow it. Once it leads out of here we should be home free and make it back to base.” Hopefully…
“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
“We are waiting for the mouse to come back.” she said and we waited.
Jack and Aura sat together, Aura sat in his lap and he had his arms around her as she leaned against him and he buried his nose into the crook of her neck. Melanni, Jahmni, Foca, and Morgan were all sitting and hanging out. I was sitting with Tyler, Alexander, Ellie, José, Julia, and Destiny. I heard a squeak and looked over to see the mouse had come back. It climbed up my clothes and I grabbed it and it squeaked.
“It’s time to go.” I said. Everyone started getting up and getting in a group around me. “Alright follow me. I’m gonna put the mouse down and I’ll follow it. Just follow me.” I put down the mouse and it scurried off. I followed it and I looked back occasionally to see if everyone was still following me. They were, so I kept my eyes on the mouse to follow it. It ran into cracks and crevices every once in a while so we waited there around the corner while aliens walked past us and we started following it after it came out again. It led us to a large metal door. Then it stopped and looked at me. I walked over and pulled it open to reveal a set of stairs that led haphazardly down the side of a cliff. It didn't look safe for a second.
“We did it. We made it out.” Jahmni gave a sigh of relief.
“Not yet we haven’t. Those stairs look like they go on forever. Aura, could you look?”
“Yeah.” she gave a flap of her wings and she flew down the length of the stairs before dropping down again. We all gathered on the stairs and shut the door. We waited for a good ten minutes when she popped up again where we were sitting.
“It’s about a hundred or so feet before it goes straight down. And that’s a good solid mile down to the ground, so be careful.”
“Alright, you heard her, so be careful. Watch your step.”
Aura was gliding above us watching in case anybody slipped. It was a treacherous pass to get from the door down the stairs and to the ladder. I just hope no one falls. That would be very upsetting. Somehow I feel like this was just too easy. Nothing should be this easy. “Ynes are you ok?” I looked over at Jahmni who gave me a concerned glance and I smiled. “Sì. I am ok, just worried.” I was not ok, but I gave a smile and a nod.