Luminescence

Thirty.

CHAOS IN REBEL BASE. SOS. PLEASE RESPOND.

We all stare blankly at the paper before taking action. What could possibly be so bad that Elaine would be asking for help?

"How do you respond?" I question to Hudson, knowing that he's the brains to this operation.

He points to a circular button that was the size of a thumb. "Push this button, and we will be able to send morse code between both of the devices." He begins clicking away as Priscilla and I watch intently. "I just responded with we are here," he says as he holds his pen out, ready to write.

And not even a minute later more taps began playing on the machine. I watched Hudson listen closely to the taps, deciphering the impossible. How did morse code even work? And how could tapping sounds be made into letters?

WES IN STATE OF INSANITY. REBEL ARMY COLLAPSING. SENDING US TO CAPITOL TO FIGHT PLAGUE.

"No," I whisper. "This is not good. The Rebel fleet versus an entire army of Plague ships? He's sending them on a suicide mission..."

Priscilla nods, as Hudson begins pressing away again. This time, he was sending a longer sentence. The same taps came back from Elaine like a pattern.

MANY REBEL SOLDIERS BEING HELD IN PRISON. WES IS UNCONTROLLABLE. IF ORDERS ARE DEFIED, LONG PRISON TIME OR EVEN DEATH.

The back and forth morse codes went on for what seemed like hours. Priscilla even went to prepare dinner while Hudson was hard at work. I stayed by his side for motivational support as he had been going for hours. I read each of the responses Elaine had sent and was becoming more worried by the minute.

FIGHT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THREE DAYS. ALL MACHINES WILL BE USED. FINAL BATTLE AGAINST PLAGUE.

BATTLE WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO WIN. WES WILL LEAD US TO DEATH, NOT VICTORY.

WE ARE HIDING IN BEDROOMS. ANYONE SEEN NOT WORKING WILL BE ACCUSED OF TREASON. WE ARE AFRAID.

MANY GUARDS STILL LOYAL TO WES BECAUSE OF PAY. THEY ENFORCE RULES.

And the final one read:

BATTLE FOUR OCLOCK ON THURSDAY, WE NEED ALL HELP WE CAN GET.

We stared at the papers for a solid five minutes before saying anything, as our brains tried to process everything. Wes was using Priscilla and I for our powers this entire time and we had no clue. Now that he was defenseless and without a strong person to lead them, he was going insane.

"Do we fight with them?" I ask Priscilla.

She responds with a sigh. "I'm not sure. There are good people in the Rebel base that would side with us, but there are also those who want to kill us as well."

"Well," I say trying to sound confident. "We will take who we can get. The Plague needs to be stopped, and soon."

"I don't think you guys understand the sheer power of the Plague," Hudson says, rubbing his temples. "The armies in the Capitol are some of the best in the world. Not to mention, their defense technology would obliterate our army in a second. Without geniuses who can somehow hack into the mainframe of their computer system, we're doomed."

"Actually," Prisiclla says as her eyes glow with faint mischief. "I may know a few more powerful people who might be able to join us..."

Our eyes widen, as Priscilla looked deep in thought. "I'll take the ship. The journey may take me over a day to complete, but I will be back nevertheless," Priscilla says with a pep to her step.