Humanity at Stake (Completed)

Chapter 12

"So please, please, just let me live my life.
Stop living in my shadow and just make it right" -"It's Over When It's Over" by Falling in Reverse

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Nova shifted in her seat, watching the stage in front of her. Their seats were padded and covered in a scratchy material. She glanced down at the rest of the seats. About twenty rows of the fold up theater seats sprawled in front of her, curving along with the stage. Two squadrons filled each row. They chatted quietly among themselves. Nova glanced next to her to see Leon cleaning his nails with a throwing knife.

"Do you always have those on you?" Nova asked curiously as she watched the blade gleam in what light was in the room. He looked up from his work to send Nova a lopsided smile.

"At least two at all times!" he chirped, wiping the filth off the tip of the weapon. "It's nice to have something on me when I get into a stabby mood."

"You scare me," Pax muttered on the other side of Leon, eavesdropping into the conversation. Leon chuckled, flicking his knife into the air, then catching it by the hilt. Suddenly the room went silent, and Nova turned her head away from her comrades and looked back at the stage. Colonel Marie stood regally, her back straight and chin pointed as she observed the crowd. A few other officials stood off to the side, whisper back and forth to each other.

"Everyone," Colonel Marie's voice boomed through the large room. "We have caught rumors of a High Overseer being within the vicinity. We will dispatch a few squadrons at once to check out this rumor and potentially put down another key component in this war. Major Welsh will list off the units assigned to this mission, and the rest will be dismissed to their regular schedules. Thank you."

One of the men off to the side step forward as the Colonel walked away. The man held a clipboard in front of him. His eyes skimmed over the paper before looking out into the crowd.

"Squadrons of Gaeller, Wallis, Keisner, and Jackson will be sent for the mission. Suit up and report to the pastor for the rest of your details." Nova felt her heart drop as the four squadrons got up, saluted the colonel, and left the room.

She was disappointed that her squadron hadn't been called, but as she glanced down the row to the new girl, Tony, she could understand part of the reason why. They had just gotten over a loss.

As the rest of the groups were dismissed, she couldn't help but worry about the people sent out. It was wrong of her, she knew that. There was nothing special about her squad, so why should she be worried about the ones sent out, especially when they had more experience?

She sighed as they walked through the halls of the repurposed school, peering out one of the courtyards to see the sky was a bleak gray and could rain soon.

"I'm going for a ride," she announced to the group. They turned to look at her skeptically. "Just before the rain sets in. I'll be back," she added. She waited for one of them to react, letting her go. Surprisingly, it was Christopher who seemed to understand. He nodded the group along, shooting Nova one last knowing look.

She took off for the stables once they rounded the corner, her splitting off the opposite way of her group. She pushed the doors open, nodding acknowledgements to passing soldiers.

She treaded lightly, making sure to not step in some recently dropped poop as she made her way over to her horse friend. He was going to be used as a stallion when he settled down, and wasn't used for dangerous missions out. Most soldiers stayed away from him, aside from the horse trainers who were used to his antics.

But Nova had wanted to see what the big deal was about the horse earlier in time. She had heard rumors of broken arms and nips when he first came in. She had heard that the horse had been found roaming near the town without a herd, which was supposedly fairly peculiar. They took him in around the time she was in the middle of her own training and pushed to train him. One time, she had attempted to ride him, only to be bucked off. This happened again and again until the horse had snorted at her and stopped. The two most likely had a mutual respect for each other's stubbornness. They had made a lot of progress with him recently, and was almost ready to be used for patrols.

"Hey there," she cooed, reaching up and letting her hand brush his neck gently. A stream of air heaved out his nostrils. "Let's go for a ride, hm?" She clicked her tongue, prompting the horse to follow her to the building where they kept the gear for the horses.

Suiting him up, Nova braced herself as she climbed. As Nova sat down, his feet shifted uneasily, and she leaned forward to rub his neck again. When he calmed down, she sat back, grabbing the reins. She tugged them in the direction of the gate, noticing that one of the trainers were waiting there for her.

"Hey, Kizzy," Nova greeted the older girl. Kizzy tipped her hat to her, before her eyes glided down to the horse below her.

"You taking out this turd?" She asked in a friendly tone. The horse huffed in response, turning his head away like he understood her. Kizzy laughed, patting his shoulder.

"Yeah, they sent out a few squadrons today after a High Overseer, and I wanted to go for a ride." Kizzy nodded her head in understanding.

"All right, you two stay out of trouble. While you're out there, why don't you think about a good name for him? He hasn't been given one yet, and I think you're a better candidate than any of the trainers." Nova grinned widely as she responded with a 'yes'. "Great. I'll shut the gate behind you, Nova!"

"Thank you, Kizzy," Nova spoke, spurring the horse forward. The gate squeaked behind them, and Nova sped the horse up.

"Gotta go fast, bud," Nova teased the horse as she leaned closer to his neck. They sped around the abandoned city for a while before it started to pour. Nova surveyed the area before leading the horse to a roofed walkway. She climbed off, dropping his reins as they stayed closer to the wall. The animal seemed uneasy, constantly shifting his feet and moving his head side to side.

"What's the matter?" Nova asked the creature. His eyes seemed wild as he looked around, backing away from her.

"He's probably sensing me," a voice whispered, cool breath swirling against her nape. Nova whipped around at the same time that the horse reared up behind her, neighing loudly. Once his front hooves landed, she grabbed his reins, rubbing his neck as her chest tugged internally.

"Qui-Master! What are you doing out here?" she questioned.

"I'm here to check on you. Any new news?" Quintavius prompted. Nova observed the vampire in front of her.

"No," she lied, remembering all that had happened with the other aristocrat, and the Resistance checking into the High Overseer situation. Quintavius' eyebrows rose; his eyes narrowed.

"Nova, don't lie to me. I can hear your heart rate pick up. Now, what happened?" She flinched back, surprised by her name.

"Nothing has happened," she continued, trying to get him off her case. He didn't need to know about what the Resistance was up to. A low growl slipped out of his throat, and his eyes glowed like a heated ember.

"You will tell me what has happened," he demanded, forcing her to spill what had happened. And she did. From Thalia's funeral, to her replacement by the name of Tony. She told him about the Aristocrat that attacked them. Lastly, she told him about the Resistance heading out to check out about a High Overseer. But, Quintavius didn't seem to care about the last one mentioned.

"You were attacked by an Aristocrat? What did they look like? What happened?" She explained the occurrence in greater detail. Nova described the male, and what happened. Quintavius had stiffened, his canines growing longer in anger.

"Xerxes," he hissed out. His eyes flicked over Nova's neck before looking away. He sighed heavily, meeting her eyes.

"You will not remember our meeting. Your horse got spooked by thunder, and you are attempting to calm it down." She blinked, taking in the empty space around her, before looking over at the nervous horse next to her.

"It's okay. You know what, I'm going to call you Thunder, you big baby," she teased, running a hand through his mane. She stared out to the pouring rain, sighing heavily. I hope everyone is okay.