Eternity's War

Book 1: Chapter 11

The van navigated its way through the busy streets of Shangwu Qu. While the vast majority of commuters opted to ride the subway into the city, there were still more than enough cars filling the roads. In order to combat accidents and traffic jams, the government wisely eliminated vehicles from much of the district by transforming several of the roads into a series of interconnecting promenades.

Sierra turned right and proceeded down Jalan Raya. Stretching from the east end of the island to the west, it was the main arterial that intersected Athenia. Roman lay on the floor of the van, trying to keep his breathing under control.

"What's happening? Who are you people?" he asked again, desperate for an answer. "Who were those people?"

"We'll explain everything soon," Skye said. "For now, just keep calm."

"Calm?" Roman retorted. "How can you possibly expect me to keep calm! They just tried to kill me!"

The van drove along in silence. The other four knew there was little they could say or do at this stage. Roman would eventually have to accept the dangerous game that he had just entered.

"He sees you as a threat," Skye finally explained. "That's why he wanted to kill you."

"Me?" he asked, astonished. "How could I possibly be a threat?" Roman's mind was in a state of shock.

"You recently had a realisation. You reached a certain conclusion and you felt something change within you. Do you remember that?"

Roman stared at him, puzzled. "How? How did you know that? How did he know my name?"

Skye said nothing. It was the same transformation that they'd all undertaken.

"Let's wait until we get back to base," Echo suggested. "Give him a chance to relax a little first."

Skye nodded in agreement. Roman continued staring at them, wide-eyed and eager for answers, but no more words were exchanged for the rest of the trip.

The van proceeded through Nanping. Roman kept his gaze out the window, trying to piece together what was happening. He seldom visited Nanping, instead usually spending most of his time in the more heavily populated Xindian Qu, located north of the business district.

The van eventually came to a halt outside the small warehouse. Skye extended a friendly hand outwards toward Roman, who just looked at him with vacant eyes.

"Come on," Skye urged softly. "Everything's going to be okay."

After a moment's hesitation, Roman climbed across the van and exited the side door.

Skye put his arm around the young man and escorted him to the entrance of the old and rusted warehouse. He exhaled noisily, not wanting the burden of recruiting another member for their group at such a busy time. Explaining everything was a long and cumbersome task, and Skye's mind could only think about breaking into East Tower and killing the president later that night. Nevertheless, he maintained a polite demeanour and opened the metal door for the newcomer. "Welcome home."

Roman looked around their headquarters. Immediately on his right was an open kitchen. Beyond that was a cordoned-off hallway with several adjacent offices, which appeared to function as makeshift bedrooms. The rest of the warehouse comprised of a handful of tables and computers. His eyes then focussed on the large, empty space at the back of the room.

"For training," Skye said, catching sight of his attentive gaze. "We sometimes train over there, and outside."

Roman slowly walked around on his own accord, taking in all of the furniture. The inside of the warehouse was neither modern nor outdated, unlike its bleak exterior. His attention turned to the silver-haired woman sitting by the left wall. She didn't look away from her computer monitors.