On the day martial law is announced and put into effect, the whole city of Nova Aria is on fire.
Lou is stuck on her way home from work. She calls Robert, her distant ex-boyfriend for help, right before a bus crashes into her car. Little does Lou k...
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I swung my feet, hoping to hear something, anything besides the sounds of my erratic heartbeats. The repetitive roars of taking-off and landing jets didn't cut through anymore. My eyes were watery. All of the waking hours started to show their effect. Weariness hit me like a megaton, and I was stuck in an insufferable loop.
"...What if he doesn't come? It's too risky anyway. Are you sure that we can trust him?..."
I let out a thorough yawn, watching Vince and Robert go back and forth on the same topic they had debated for almost half an hour.
"I don't know, Vince," Robert inhaled sharply with his phone stuck to his ear. "I don't know anything better than you do at this point, ok? Maybe we just don't have any other option." He raised his hand to stop Vince's questions. "Hi, Charlie," Robert's voice perked. "Yes... How far are you now?"
I knew Charlie. I had not seen the old man in ages, but I remembered him. He was someone who was hard to forget once you got to know him. Always with funny, witty remarks. His disapproval of the Federation was subtle but enough to make its way into almost every casual conversation. It was that way back then, although I doubted that he changed. A leopard never changed its spots. Charlie didn't care or worry about who might have heard what he said. As a matter of fact, I thought he wanted the whole world to know.
According to Charlie, the Federation was the biggest fraud that directly caused the Fall of Vrago State. He was a paranoid old man, a conspiracist, but at the moment, I couldn't help but think about many things he had said back then. Many of them had become true. It was surreal, but just by hearing Charlie's name, a thread of certainty found its way back into my heart.
Robert turned to me with one of his unreadable expressions before reluctantly looking away. I couldn't help but frown. The faster we got out of here, the better. After this, if we all made it, we could go back to our old arrangement of not seeing each other again.
"Thank you, Charlie, I owe you big time," Robert concluded the conversation and hung up the phone.
"Are you ok, Lou?" Vince put his hand on my shoulder.
I appreciated my brother's concern, but what could I tell him?
"Well, you know... It could've been worse."
The most ensuring smile flashed across my face, failing to convince anyone.
*** Level 05 was as empty as ever. The everlasting symphony of buzzing equipment in the background put us all in hyper-consciousness. We scanned the series of dark, empty rooms as my mind started to wander again.
"You're back?"
A familiar voice rose behind us, snapping me out of my trance. Lieutenant Owens stood in a corner with his clipboard and pen. His glasses hung on the very tip of his nose.
"General Haynes is resting. He shouldn't be disturbed."
Like a gatekeeper, the lieutenant announced while giving us a long, scrutinizing look. I didn't want to get upset. The man was just doing his job, but it was hard.
