Strangers and Soldiers (Book Two of The Upgrade Trilogy)

It Comes Awake (Prologue)

If only I'd seen this coming. Things would have been so much better, for me, for him, and for her. Actually, I owe her one big apology. I treated her so wrong, and she has every right to hate me. I deserve it.

None of us asked for this. We didn't want to be put into this position where the fate of Earth is in our hands. We only liked it in fiction, because the good guys always won. But this is as real as it gets. One wrong move, and the world is destroyed.

This is what I have to do: tell the story, as I remember it.

"Do you even know how to play this freaking game?"

5:16 p.m., June 30, 2014. I was playing Minecraft with Tess. We'd been battling out some Creepers, and they'd blown up our Penis Fountain that shoots lava....and my girlfriend-four times in a row.

"Darn it, I hate Creepers!" Tess whined through my headphones. She didn't go to my school, but we'd met through the game. "Like, for real, all they're good for is blowing up zombies!"

I adjusted my mike so she could hear me. "Yeah, and that's why we don't mess with 'em-their greatest aspect is their greatest weakness. Now our Penis Fountain is a...Pour Lava-nis Fountain."

"I spent a long freaking time on that Fountain, don't you dare insult it!" My girlfriend scoffed, hitting my avatar with her sword teasingly.

"Great, you just killed me!" I groaned, as the "You Died!" screen appeared on my computer. "Now I'll have to rot in Purgatory, with all the zombies!"

Tess laughed. We weren't really mad at each other, we were just having fun. That's why I was happy to have her, and nobody else. "Hey, listen, we have to talk."

"Yeah, sure. Same time tomorrow? I'm going on a campout with Trevor, but I'll be back by noon." I leaned back in my seat, unaware of what she was preparing to say.

"Ethan, no. We have to talk now." She insisted, in a more serious tone. "In the fall, I'll be attending a University, so I that I can a degree in computer graphics. But...it's in Tokyo."

I was confused. "Like, Tokyo, Japan? Awesome! What's the problem?"

"The problem is there's a thirteen hour time difference, moron!" My girlfriend shouted through my headphones.

"Okay, geez, you don't have to yell!" I shuddered, since I had my volume up so high. "I think I get it, you're going far far away, so no more hanging out together! Why are you telling me this now?"

She didn't respond.

"Tess, you still there?"

"....Yes."

"What's your deal? Why don't we worry about that in August?"

"....I'm leaving in an hour."

"What?!"

"I didn't know how to break it to you without hurting your feelings!"

"You can't just leave me! You're one of the only people that understands what it's like to be alone!"

"Ethan, you'll be alright without me! Aren't you going off to college too?"

Not exactly. "Well, yeah, but-"

"See, everything will be fine!" Tess comforted me. "I'll keep in touch during vacations and holidays, and you'll have a great time wherever you're going!"

"You shoulda told me sooner." I grumbled.

She sniffed. "Bye, Ethan!"

I watched, in complete rage and horror, as my girlfriend disconnected from the server, and hung up on me. To express my anger, I threw myself into the lava the broken Penis Fountain was pouring out. That made me feel better.