Then, Principal Wilken introduced the valedictorian. Everyone went silent. There was a cough. They were waiting on me.
I stood up and walked to the wooden podium. I found the paper where I had written a thrown together speech, but I didn't open it. This class needed encouragement.
"We are a strong special class,” I started. “We all grew up together here in Alice, a small, and almost unknown, town. Yet, when the rest of the world is falling apart, we stand as one. We will all remember this year. Not only for the attack on our country and our planet, but also for the year we became adults and recognized it."
I had only begun the speech, when my gut started to turn. There were a few misplaced feelings in the room, aimed towards humans and the Emréians. I looked into the crowd, but there was nothing. I realized I had stopped talking.
"We are not only classmates, but childhood friends-" Before anything else could be said, the ground started to shake slightly, but then became more heavy as if the Earth was shifting out of place. Then, there was a loud sonic boom, followed by more shaking. The theater crumbled only slightly.
Everyone started screaming. Most covered their heads and dove underneath the seats. I fell to my knees and used my hands as support. I looked up at Aaronmon. He knew it, and my family knew it. The Bremoir were attacking. Many guards surrounded my mother and Trish, while Aaronmon, Phil, and a few others ran over to the stage.
"Everyone needs to find a place to hide and shelter!" Aaronmon yelled as he reached the podium. Everyone was already in a panic.
The doors busted open. Borian warriors stormed in. My heart dropped. This was not good at all. If they sent Borian warriors, they didn't plan on just destroying Alice like they did D.C., they planned on torturing everyone!
"Run!" I screamed. Aaronmon grabbed my hand and led me to the back of the stage.
"No we have to help them!" I yanked my hand away.
"We will, but I have to get you to safety first!" Aaronmon growled.
I heard a woman shriek loudly. My stomach churned. I wasn't sure what was going on out there. Most people were heading towards the stage. Then I heard a charge.
"Let's go!" Aaronmon yelled.
A loud boom. There were thuds behind me on the stage. I turned around and became sick to my stomach. Two students I had classes with, Jenna and Mark, and a toddler were thrown onto the stage by the Urex. Their bodies were bruised, blood stained their noses, and their bodies looked crushed and beaten.
I felt tears in my eyes. Aaronmon pulled me harder and led the way below the stage.
"What about my mom! Where is she? Where is Aunt Trish?" I started to cry.
"There is a safe place down here that we mapped out, just in case." Aaronmon lead me through the hallway. We passed all the changing rooms and arrived at the shelter the school had built during the cold war.
He opened the door and pushed me inside. My mother and a few guards were already there. My mother rushed over and embraced me. She started sobbing in Emréian. Even if I could understand the language, I doubted I would have understood her.
"Are we going to be safe here?" I asked.
"We should. This room was built for a nuclear war," Aaronmon said.
I pulled away from my mother. I could feel her heart tearing. I looked at her confused, and then realized that something wasn’t right. Someone wasn't in the room with us.
"Where is Trish?" I asked.
Aaronmon paused and looked at me. He asked my mother's garnix in Emréian. When the guard replied, Aaronmon had a sense of panic wash over him.
"Trish?" I asked him. My throat formed a lump and my stomach churned.
Aaronmon didn't say anything, but I noticed the way his jaw was clenched, the way he didn't look me in the eye. Whatever had happened was bad. Then I thought back to the classmates. I thought about Jenna and Mark.
"What about everyone else?" I asked, but my voice was stern as tears stained my cheek.
Aaronmon didn't say anything. My mother looked blank with the other garnix. They had no idea what I was saying.
"We must keep you safe," Phil finally said.
"To hell with keeping me safe when everyone I know and love is dying!" I screamed. "I only agreed to all of this to keep them safe, and now, they’re getting hurt anyway."
There was silence for a split second before Aaronmon stepped in.
"Rae(she/her) a mour, eu a nou(we/our) repoble(fault). Nou(we/our) sole medi(help)." I wasn't sure what all he said, other than a few words.
Everyone nodded. I felt mom grab my hand. Aaronmon turned towards me.
"We will go out and help people get here to the shelter. You and Krea Mannannala stay here. Philocalundra will stay with you."
"I need to go," I said.
"Carson-" Aaronmon started to argue.
"I need to make sure my friends get here safe." I shoved everything I felt onto him. All the anger, loss, and pain flowed from me to him, and his face tightened as he took it in.
"Okay," he said tightly.
When the door opened, there were still screams going on upstairs. Aaronmon and Phil stayed in front of me, while three others stayed behind me. I clutched the Urex Aaronmon had given me. We walked into the darkness of the hall.
I noticed a lump in the darkness ahead. As we got closer, Aaronmon stepped around it and pulled me over with him. I glanced as we passed it. I held in a scream when I saw Professor Deville, neck twisted and a blank face.
I covered my mouth and released a sob.
"Shh," Aaronmon whispered.
I noticed two figures approaching us up ahead and fast. It was a Borain Warrior. Aaronmon shot his urex, sending it to the floor.
We made it up the stairs and gazed at the stage. I sucked in air at the sight. One warrior had Mrs. Debriv. He was grasping her arms and pulling them all the way back, while his foot pinned her head to the ground.
The screams and sounds that came out of her mouth made my ears bleed. I heard a cracking sound and felt my stomach churn. I quickly buried my face into Aaronmon's chest, being sure to muffle out any sob that escaped me.
Finally, I heard a loud pop and her screams came out like a lynched cat. Aaronmon tore me from him and pulled out his urex. I heard a charge. Then he let go of the trigger releasing a blast towards the warrior.
I watched as the warrior fell to the ground. Aaronmon ran over to the warrior, who was still alive, and this time fired at his head.
Mrs. Debriv continued to shriek, and I had to tear my eyes away from her mangled body. Aaronmon then aimed his gun towards her. Was he about to shoot her? My question was answered as the blast quieted her.
A warrior bowled Aaronmon over. The other garnix shoved passed me to help him. Phil stayed next to me. I stood there motionless as I watched them kill the warrior. I turned to Phil.
"I have to find my friends," I said to him. It took him a second to respond, but he nodded his head.
When we reached the curtain, I poked my head out scanning the auditorium.
Bodies were strewn across the floor and seats. I spotted some people hiding. The doors were blocked by other warriors. I cringed as I saw warriors seeking out the people who were hiding. Everyone else was in a mob trying to reach the stairs to the balcony. A warrior came up behind them and blasted a urex, sending a lot of people to the ground. Even though Phil was a bit anxious his feelings were calmer than mine, so I fed off his feelings to control my anxiety.
A pinch of guilt came when I looked for my closest friends first. I shouldn't have been so selfish, but I was. I didn't see any of them: not Meagan, not Karlie... not Kyle.
Even though it worried me, I was relieved that I didn’t see their bodies.
I noticed debris moving, no not debris, metal. Metal object started moving. A small cover area had been made to block Aaronmon from being blasted. I realized it was Phil using his powers. Aaronmon then activated his puer, a sheild made to block sonic blasts.
I heard a cry coming from down the right aisle. I noticed
Karlie's mom being dragged out from the bathroom by her hair, screaming and struggling. I knew I’d come out there for a reason. I scanned the area for a good opening and tightened my grip on the urex. I ran, with Phil close behind me, aiming at the warrior and pulled the trigger. The urex charged, and I released. The weapon slammed into my chest knocking me off balance. Phil grabbed me quickly by the arm, picking me up. I gasped for air, and I looked up to see the warrior on the floor. He wasn't dead. Beth, Karlie's mom, scrambled to her feet and ran towards us.
Phil grabbed my arm and started running back towards the stage. I looked around and noted a handful of warriors heading for us. They knew who I was, and they wanted me. I saw Aaronmon ahead of us. He picked up a urex off the stage floor and blasted at the warriors behind me. I didn't turn back to see if he hit them.
The stage was close. I was ready to jump on it. I heard a charging buzz, a loud boom, and like a boulder I felt a force slam into my right shoulder. Everything was fuzzy and my mouth went dry. My vision went black.
My eyes groggily opened, but everything was a blur. I heard blasts and screams. I felt cold, sweaty hands lift me. My chest hit something hard. I blinked. I was thrown over a shoulder. Everything was spinning. I was thrown onto the stage. I blinked again. Everything started to become clear, but my head felt like it was about to explode. The pain in my leg felt like a thousand knives had been stabbed through it, and my face felt like it had been stoned by huge rocks.
I looked at my rescuer, Kyle.
"Get her to safety!" he screamed at one of the Garnix. I turned my head and saw Aaronmon trying to keep the area covered. Kyle then grabbed a urex and turned to face the warriors. He blasted it, bringing three to the ground.
One of the garnix started to lift me up. I started to regain my senses as the pain set in more. I fed off of the garnix's feelings. Fear was better than pain.
He picked me up in a cradle and started to head behind the stage, but before we could make it, there was a sonic blast. I saw an object fly into the air and hit the stage with a loud thud.
My stomach dropped as I saw Kyle's body laying on the floor.
"NO!" I screamed, but it came out as a squeak. "No!" I screamed again.
The garnix started to walk faster. He said something in Emréian, but I ignored him.
"Let me down!" I struggled from his arms still screaming. My eyes burned heavy with tears. Finally, I was released.
I stumbled, making my first steps. My leg was definitely broken. I ignored the pain. I crawled over to Kyle.
"Get her out of here!" I heard Aaronmon scream at the garnix.
The garnix yanked my arm.
"I can't leave him!" I screamed, the tears now falling from my cheek.
There was another sonic boom, and the other garnix that was with Aaronmon went flying. I knew we were all going to be dead soon, but I didn't care.
"Get her out of here!" Aaronmon said taking another shot, but instead the garnix grabbed a urex and began firing at the warrior.
I didn't even care how many there were left. I finally reached Kyle. I grabbed his cool hand. His chest rose weakly. He opened his eyes slowly.
"Carson." His voice was weak.
His feelings were strong. His feelings came out like a ray of sun, warming my heart and soul; it eased every bit of pain I had. They washed over me like an ocean wave and carried me away with the current, leaving the rest of the world behind. It was love. It was the love he had for me.
I smiled and my tears fell onto his cheek.
"I love you, too," I said.
His feelings became weak and his eyes closed. Then, there was nothing. I was ripped back into reality. I held Kyle's limp hand. Aaronmon ran over to me quickly. He scooped me up in his arms. The one remaining garnix covered us. There were still five warriors left.
I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't do anything wrong. These people did not do anything wrong. Kyle did not do anything wrong.
I reached inside myself and pulled up every bit of pain I felt. I separated it from my soul. I inflicted it onto the warriors. They stood motionless for a moment, and I watched their face twist in agony.
I pushed harder. It was soothing to watch them fall to the floor.
The garnix looked at me. There was a slight bit of fear coming from him. He pulled up his urex and aimed at the warriors. I barely paid attention when the blast was released. I focused on the pain. I focused on the warriors. There was another blast, and the last ones were gone and with them any disconnection I had from the pain. Every bit of it hit me like a brick. My heart felt stripped and hacked at; my gut felt heavy and sickening. I gasped for air and released a sob. I let my head fall into Aaronmon's chest and released the pain in tears.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Over the past week, Earth tried to recover from the attacks, but the war that had started continued to destroy the planet. The day of Graduation, Alice was not alone in the attacks. Every capital of the U.S was hit, as well as capitals from other major countries. However, only Alice had encounters with the Borian warriors. The humans could not understand why and everyone was starting to ask questions.
Earth was not the only victim. Emréiana's ships were attacked. The planet was lucky because of the strong guard on it, but a few other planets had no such luck. Amara lost their world capital as well as the Morgons. Helentania had declared a universal war. They wanted resources. They wanted control. They wanted it all.
Alice was almost completely taken out by the Bremoir. Luckily, most family homes were located in the country, away from the attack on the city. Most of the homes were empty because of the death of their owners or the loss of a family member. Kyle had a closed casket funeral. I couldn't bear to watch them put him in the ground, so I only went to the service. Even then, the heartbreak from everyone around me shattered my heart. I loved him so much. I thought I was doing the right thing to protect him, but no matter what I would feel guilty, because he loved me...
When I paid my respects to his family, I was concerned at the lack of emotion they gave me. Kyle's father shook my hand firmly and thanked me for being there. There was no heartache; there was no sadness. There was just angst. I was confused, especially to see his mother wait silently behind him. She didn't seem to give off any type of emotion.
I shrugged it off. There were plenty of people who had lost loved ones this past week who didn't know how to feel. Most felt sad or angry, but even I didn't know how to feel anymore. So instead, I fed off of everyone else's emotions.
After the service I talked to Meagan about Kyle's death and how he saved me.
"We were listening to your speech when the attack started,” she explained. “I was about to run behind the stage, but Kyle told me and a few other students to follow him. We hid in the concealed room that comes out from underneath the stage. His parents were there too. We heard everything going on outside, and Kyle kept watching from the cracks. Then when he saw you get hit…" Meagan's eyes started to swell. "He ran out to get you."
Meagan and I never discussed Karlie. We both knew it probably wasn't good, so we avoided talking about her. Karlie and Principal Wilken had been taken prisoner by the warriors during the attacks. No one wanted to discuss what they thought was happening to them after seeing the brutal attack. Even the news had a hard time covering the events that went down in Alice. Most survivors did not want to relive it.
We found Trish's body among the others. She never made it through the trap door; a sonic blast had gotten her. I was relieved that she wasn't tortured. The Emréians held a custom service for her. They sang Emréian songs and prayed, to whatever god Emréians prayed to, before they lit her body on fire. I stood in the back to watch. I didn’t feel like singing. I didn’t feel like praying.
Aunt Trish was like a parent to me. She raised me; she protected me. I gripped my mother’s hand when they lit her body. I knew it was their custom, but before it felt like she was just in a deep sleep. Now that she had no body to wake up to, I knew she was re
ally gone.
Our grieving period was shortened by the reality of the universe. Even though the battle was over, the war had just begun. Boys were being sent off to learn the ways of the army and the government, and people were being informed of everything they needed to know.
We had finally showed ourselves to the planet. When everyone started asking questions about Alice, survivors mentioned Aaron and the others fighting them off. We prepared ourselves. We knew Earth would be frightened.
It was early in the morning. Our ship was ready to take us home, and we had a secure area and map to leave without provoking the Bremoir. The white ship picked us up from the house. It hovered over and dropped a tall elevator. I didn't know what to expect. I thought we would be teleported or something. Aaronmon had a good laugh when I brought it up.
Right before we left the atmosphere, we broadcasted a message for Earth. I didn't know all the technological details, but the point was it intercepted all the channels. I stood in front of the Emréian screen that was recording me, and I read the speech I had prepared.
"Many of you are wondering why Earth has been attacked on numerous occasions. Many of you have questions concerning Alice. I am here to tell you the reason why. Eighteen years ago I was sent here as a baby to be protected. The Bremoir, the species of the planet Helentania, also the planet that attacked Earth, want me dead because I am the heir to the throne of my home planet, Emréiana. There is a full, long history about this war, but I would like to apologize that Earth has become involved. I have always considered Earth my home, and I would still like to do so. Right now, we are leaving for a duration of time, but I have provided Earth with protection. History of this war and many other need-to-know facts are being uploaded for view. I have representatives talking with government officials about the safety of the citizens and things to come. This will all be public knowledge for you.”
Gemini of Emreiana Page 13
