Lilia sat in the sterile, white room, her fingers drumming against the cold metal table. The faint hum of the fluorescent lights above was the only sound, yet it felt deafening in the silence.

The invasion had happened only hours ago, but the memories were still fresh in her mind. The sky had cracked open, a streak of bright light cutting through the darkness, followed by the roar of ships as they had descended.

She should have felt fear—everyone else did. The news reports had shown terror on the streets, people running, scrambling to find safety. Yet, here she was, in the calm aftermath of chaos, preparing for something that should’ve rattled her more.

But Lilia had always prided herself on being composed. If she could keep her cool through the worst of the war simulations, surely this would be no different. Right?

A pulse of doubt rippled through her. Her heart raced for a fraction of a second, but she forced it down. She wasn’t scared. She was prepared.

But what if she wasn’t?

Lilia was startled awake by a knock at the door. Rubbing her eyes, she sleepily dragged herself out of the pillowy bed.

“Yes?” She answered as she creaked open the door a bit, peeking outside.

Standing in front of her was a perky girl with mousy features, about 15; only two years younger than Lilia. She fidgeted with her feet and hands like she had so much energy it was compulsive. She stared up at Lilia with dark brown eyes, wide with excitement. She had straight black hair, long and down to her camouflage army pants.

“I’m bored.” She simply stated.

“I can see,”

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“Wanna see my room? But after, you have to show me yours.”

“I'll make you a deal. I’ll show you a tour of my room first, but then you show me yours.”

The strange girl looked at Lilia with a mischievous grin. “You’re cool. I like you!”

“Thanks… I think?”

The girl giggled like a little kid. “Come on!”

Lilia stopped her before she could get any more jumpy. “Hold up. What’s your name? Mine’s Lilia.”

“Lilia…” She studied the word. “Like a lily…” She paused for a second, before looking up again and bouncing up and down. “My name is Mineit!”

Lilia smiled at Mineit, her eyes copying her lips and smiling along with them. “It’s a cool name. I like it!”

“Really?” It was like Mineit’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. Mineit grabbed Lilia’s hand.

“Come on, let’s explore!”

Mineit’s room was a lot like Lilia’s. The only difference was that the window was on the opposite side of the room, which makes sense because Mineit’s room was right across the hall from hers.

Before long, Edian knocked on the door to Lilia’s room. The two girls were giggling inside, both happy to have made a new friend.

“Oh, Mineit! Perfect! I was about to go get you after this. Come on, it's time for dinner.” Edian motioned for them to join him, and Mineit hopped up from where she was sitting.

With an airy “Kay,” in a sing-song voice, she skipped over.

On the way to dinner, Lilia met a 16 year old boy with curly brown hair named Julian, whom Edian had picked up as well on the way to dinner. Julian talked a lot. Lilia found out a whole bunch about him on their short trip to the dining hall: he chipped his front baby tooth when he was two, he has a whole bunch of sisters, and his favorite color is green. He kept talking on and on about how he gets distracted so much, which was sort of ironic… and he kept talking throughout dinner because he had to finish what he was saying. Though Lilia wasn't put off by it, it was a ton of overwhelming information to understand. She just smiled at him, and nodded, trying her best to listen.

There was meat for dinner. Some chicken legs and wings, with side dishes of course. This, apparently, was a problem. A huge fucking problem.

Lilia didn't trust the meat. Meat could have salmonella if not cooked right, and who knows how disgusting the animal could have been before being cooked. What if it had a disease? Or was going to make her throw up? She hated the feeling of vomiting. No, no... there was no way she was going to eat that. She stuck to vegetables she rewashed, just to make sure they were clean.

But afterward, she was starving. Her stomach cried at her.

“Bitch, like hell that was enough food!” It seemed to be saying. But it would be fine. Lilia brought food rations with her. She’d eat her food in her room.