As the aircraft ascended into the clouds, flying through the sky. All that was left behind was rubble as the facility behind mysteriously collapsed. It made a huge dust cloud rise, covering the entire grassland. For miles, it was the only building there.

Into the night sky, the large aircraft vanished as if it were never there in the first place.

……

On the ship, there were various people dressed in military uniforms, with the only difference being their color. Rosalia was dressed in a white uniform underneath the lab coat she wore. She led the children into a room after passing through different hallways. She led them with a group of guards behind them while the children were in the center.

She opened up, and there was a set of bunks, two side by side, with the major space in the room being in between them. The children were given directives to enter as each bunk had a pair of clothes on them. Gilly was still out cold, with Uyi carrying her in arm as he entered.

When it was Sara’s turn to enter, she was stopped by Rosalia.

“Of course the manager's daughter would be treated specially.”

This caught Uyi, Larry, and Fed off guard. Sara was now to be separated from the entire group. They had no way of protesting, as they had no faith in this new group of people who had rescued them. Most of them had spent their entire lives in that facility, having little to no experience with the outside world. The door was closed, and they were left alone in the room.

Sara followed Rosalia closely as the guards who followed them mounted station at the door to the room where her friends were. Rosalia took her to the next floor, not speaking a word until they arrived at the big door facing the hallway of the floor they had ascended to.

Sara recognised this room; she snuck in when she was little to play with her father when she skipped training. The door was opened when Rosalia placed a token carved behind the tablet she carried around. It opened up, and they proceeded. At the center was a long table, with people seated around it. Five in total.

“I heard that Lora was missing.”

This made Rosalia stop in her tracks as she scanned those seated. To the left were three people dressed in black uniforms. To the right was the old man, Robert. At the opposite edge to where Rosalia stood was another person who had a mask with a number sixteen written on it.

When Rosalia's gaze was fixed on him, she saluted and took her seat beside Robert, leaving Sara standing alone. Sara’s mind was filled with thoughts. That seat belonged to her father, but now an unknown person sat at the seat. She frowned, looking at the masked man.

"Well, its to be expected. I guess you are not aware of the past event.”

Sara went missing about six years ago when her father sent her on vacation. That was when the Federation had her kidnapped. Her father had taken responsibility for the entire incident. He lost his position as manager of that region and had been taken back to base. Sara just listened as her eyes slowly widened.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"It’s not his fault... he...”

She had burst into tears trying to defend her father, but she knew the reality of this world. After all, she had no memory of her mother. Rumors had it that she was higher in rank than her father, but she was assassinated by an unknown faction. She wanted to argue, but she knew all too well as she began to shake looking at Sixteen.

He had gotten up, looking at Sara with his eyes. They had a fiant wisp of smoke that flowed toward Sara like hands. The grabbed her, raising her into the air. For some reason she could only shake in fear, not being able to move.

“My body iis acting on its own… What is this power?”

She was slowly dragged toward Sixteen until she was just a few inches from his face. He used his eyes to scan her before he turned to Rosalia, whose head was down, avoiding eye contact with Sixteen. He looked at the other members, including Old Man Robert, but all refused to meet his piercing gaze.

Sara crashed into the wall as she was thrown to the large metal door. She spat out blood, struggling to get up. He sat down, glancing once more at all the members present before his gaze turned back to Sara.

“Insects should know their place.”

Sara bit her lip, trying to hold herself back from getting angry. The b power just now was beyond her comprehension. She had to study more before she would be able to get revenge. The meeting went on with Sara standing at the door. The discussed first on Ami then on Lora, who were now confirmed missing. When it was over, Sixteen turned, looking once more at Sara.

“Treat her like the rest, Rosalia.”

With that, he turned, using the door behind his seat, and left the room. The three men in black uniform followed him closely, leaving only three people in the room. Old man Robert sighed; he never thought the rumor of Sixteen being brutal was just speculation.

Sara was visibly still shaken as she wiped the blood stain from her mouth. Since she was very fair in complexion, any stain on her body was easily noticed. Rosalia, on the other hand, was distressed. She had promised her father to take care of her when she was found, but now she was not sure if she should keep that promise.

“listen Sara”

Old man Robert called her attention.

“Things have changed since the last time you were here. Its no longer a castle but now a military base. I am sure you understand.”

With that, Old Man Robert left the room. Sara just stood there reeling in thoughts from the old man's word. “No longer a castle.”

“No need to think too much. I guess you get to stay with your friend until things settle down.”

She had bent down to Sara’s level, wiping her bloody mouth. She gave her a faint smile.

……

She had returned to the room without Rosalia. By now she had gotten a change of clothes. She was always on white, but she decided to go with sky blue today. When she entered, her friends were happy to see her. They gathered around her, waiting for an explanation. She took a deep breath, then she told a story most children of this era did not know. She had access to all kinds of books, so she was well versed.

The all sat on the bunk with all gazes on Sara. She looked around, remembering how they used to chat. But out of ten, there were only five left from the original facility.

The world had a long history, which started changing around four hundred years. The earliest was around the time when humans started exploring other planets in their solar system. They were seventeen of those planets, and most of them were not habitable as there were gas giants.

But among the list, there were five that had conditions to support life, but they all came with their problems. First some were tidally locked. Others had strange creatures inhabiting them that were really hard to kill.

Most especially the planet Orion that was the closest to them. It was a world of thirty percent water and seventy percent land. But all its creatures live in water due to the planet passing by their parent star every sixteen weeks, just three hundred thousand kilometers from the star's surface. This was the planet that passes close to their planet every three years.

That era was filled with a lot of inventions, from their hyper-engine travling seventy-five percent of light speed to longevity drugs that extend human life. At first it was just an extension of fifty years, but by the first century, after the first explorers had first left parent planet xalea, it was a boost of about a thousand years.

From there on, things will start to change as the entire planet is being divided. Wars started when the first orbital country was built by the end of the second century with the invention of portals that could be used to travel between strange worlds. This became an issue, meaning the first people who entered the first portal would have access to the right of all the resources they could find.

The world initially had five factions. Some were pacifists, which were quickly eaten up by the three top factions. At the end, one stood as a mediator, managing rights to portals while getting resources cut from both factions who explored. This was the Heavens Gate in charge of all portals on the planet.

Since the dispute had been settled, the two other factions, the Federation and the Orbitals, sent their first crew into the first portal. They had returned six months later, but to the people who returned, they had spent six years on that side. With their return came the darkest event in history.

The spawned appeared...