Luminescence

Thirty-six.

I was gonna save this chapter to post later... but I couldn't wait! ;)

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As we all walk downstairs to the house, we almost burst out laughing at the sight of Connor's blackened face.

He had been hard at work for the past half hour, and clearly his work had gone a bit haywire as the tips of his hair were absolutely scorched.

"Connor, what happened?" Lucy asks coming over to inspect his tiny gadget.

Connor looks down to the ground shyly. "Uh, I might've had some trail and error," he says rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's not easy trying your inventions on yourself."

He begins screwing in an extremely small screw, one that required a machine screwdriver with a tiny head. "And..." he says making a few more adjustments. "That should do it. Your invisibility devices."

The device was no bigger than a rectangular piece of Hershey chocolate. It made me wonder where on Earth Connor learned how to do this kind of stuff.

"How does it work?" Ryan asks as we pass the device around like show and tell.

"Everyone is going to get a nanotechnology device that allow for the molecules—" Connor starts off until he sees all of the confused faces around us, and sighs. "In an easier, non-complicated explanation, the square device coordinates the four buttons here to go invisible and come out whenever you please, but be careful. If the main device breaks then the buttons won't have a source to be controlled by. If the machine does break, then your cover will be blown and it won't be the easiest thing getting you out of the base."

"Wait, we're going into the Rebel base?" I ask confusedly.

Priscilla sighs from the corner of the room. "We might as well explain tomorrow's mission while we are all here. Tomorrow's goal is to break into the Rebel base and hopefully come into contact with Elaine, who is the leader of the rebellion against the Rebels. Confusing, right?" Priscilla chuckles at Lucy and Ryan's weirded out expressions. "The goal is to make a strategy as to where and how we're going to beat the Plague. Connor and I will stay back, serving as a mission headquarters."

"But what if—" Lucy starts off, but is interrupted by the sound of something clicking on the table. Our eyes widen simultaneously, as the Morse code device was making sounds meaning Elaine was okay.

"Pen and paper, stat!" Priscilla says excitedly as she runs to get the device. "Connor, can you do this?" She asks as I hear a visible sigh of relief from Hudson's mouth, recalling the last time he did Morse code wasn't the easiest.

Connor nods, as he scribbles down the first message right away.

WES HAS MOVED BATTLE WEDNESDAY.

Our hearts drop all at once. Wednesday was tomorrow. This screwed up our plan entirely, as a wave of fear spread throughout the room. A few minutes pass as the machine keeps clicking away. Whatever Elaine was about to tell us must've been important.

WE ARE ESCAPING BASE TOMORROW TO A SAFER LOCATION. ONLY FEW STILL SIDE WITH WES. WILL BE EXPLOITING THE LOCATION OF THE BASE TO HOPEFULLY DEFEAT WES.

Holy moly, who knew Elaine could be this smart? It was an ingenious plan, even though millions of dollars would go to waste. The Plague would bomb the Rebel base, thinking that we were weakened. Then the next day, we would come full guns and take them down.

SECTOR 50, NEXT TO THE CAPITOL. 4 O'CLOCK TOMORROW. BRING EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT.

"If I could somehow get Asher or Elle to come tomorrow, that would be amazing," Connor says with a sad look on his face. "But I don't know if Elle would be up for it. And when we left a few days ago, Asher was so overprotective of her, he was like a lion protecting his meal. By the looks of it, he isn't going to come."

Connor somehow continues to scribble Morse down even when he was having a full conversation with us. But the tapping kept going on for minutes, and I knew this next message Elaine was sending would be long.

OUR ARMY IS LOCKED AND LOADED. CALLING IN FELLOW REBEL TROOPS FOR SUPPORT IN HOPES FOR A LARGER ARMY. MISS YOU.

The tapping finally stops, leaving nothing but our high nerves and silence.

"High adrenaline detected. Does anybody need a reassuring hug?" The cleaning robot once again comes out of nowhere, making us all jump, and Lucy even screaming as the silence is broken.

"Jeez," Connor says getting up from his chair and inspecting the robot. "This thing is like 30 years old!" He exclaims. "I'll have to make some adjustments on it, if you'd let me, of course."

"Are you calling me old?" The cleaning robot asks with its female monotone voice, making me laugh. This scene was absolutely chaotic.

Hudson looks at Connor with desperate eyes. "Please make any modifications you want to make it less disturbing."

"Awesome!" Connor cheers like a little kid, before getting back to his work table and screwing away at other small devices he was working on. "I'll work on that after tomorrow when there isn't going to be anymore Plague."

Priscilla smiles and places a hand on Connor's shoulder. "See, everyone. Connor has the mindset that you all should have. I can see the worry in you all, when there's nothing to even worry about! Those holographic soldiers up there were set to a level three times more agile than the normal human being, which means these Plague guards will be like fighting mannequins!"

Our heads lifted and our confidence lifted in a heartbeat. And if Priscilla believed in us, then we could believe in ourselves too.

"She's right, guys," Connor says shrugging his shoulder, while holding a tiny metal ball in his hand. "I'm also developing technology for battlefield purposes only, such as stun grenades and fog balls. Those will help you and the Rebels knock out the ground troops in an instant. And I already know that the Rebel forces have the most elite air squad in the entire country! It's awesome!"

We all laugh at his nerdy side, before Priscilla walks in with a platter of food. "Eat up soldiers! Your body needs this fuel for tomorrow. Use the rest of today to relax, and training is strictly off limits. I care for each of you, and if one of you were to get hurt or exhausted before tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

We all smile and thank Priscilla as we dive into the food, as we replenish our energy tanks that were empty from fighting.

As we laughed, told stories about past times and enjoyed each other's presence, there was something in my gut that didn't felt right. It was almost like foreshadowing in a book— it made me nervous.

And I could only pray tomorrow that the Rebels would be able to come out on top.

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Who do you think will win?😈