The Secrets Among Us

TSAU Ch.24

|Audree|

Me and Zahaire run down the hall that the 'Afro' guy pointed towards. I look around for any doors that may lead to any hangars containing these pods.

This would be so much easier if we could understand what these symbols meant.

"This way guys!" Braylon calls out as he jogs up to us.

Braylon leads the way to the pods and we hop inside of one of them. By the time we're buckled in, Braylon is opening a hatch so that we can fly out.

I can feel the pod begin to shake and jump. There is a soft murmur I can hear in the back, which would be some great ASMR material if it weren't for our current situation. I get that tingly feeling in my butt similar to the one I get whenever I am on an inclining roller coaster.

I look to my side and see Zahaire is gripping his seat tightly and his jaw is clenched. I chuckle because I know it's because he hates getting that feeling.

We accelerate and our heads shoot back to our seat.

"Oww, Braylon, anyone ever tell you to ease on the gas?"

"Sorry. I'm not familiar with this vessel."

The pod continues to accelerate and stop, leaving us in a constant aggressive rocking motion. Braylon fiddles with some of the controls.

I turn around and glance behind us to see more pods filled with enemy aliens.

Our pod's walls begin to turn into a transparent clear and I see the forest.

"Aha! Got it." Braylon shouts triumphantly.

I'm guessing that this is what it's cloaking system looks like from the inside.

"Braylon, buddy, we have enemies on our tails!" Zaharie states as he clings to his seatbelt.

Turning in my seat, I see a green light charging up. The light shoots out and grazes the side of our pod.

I clear my throat. "And uh-, not to be Captain Obvious, but it looks like they're getting ready to shoot at us!"

I glance at Braylon and see him pressing a collection of buttons and then he pulls a lever.

"Curse this damn pod." Braylon states and he pulls and pushes a lever back and forth. "The auto defense system is offline. You guys will have to control the guns manually while I control this vessel."

Zahaire is looking like the most excited person on Earth while I'm nervous as hell. How does he expect us to manage alien guns?

Braylon turns towards me and Zahaire. He keeps his eyes on me.

"You guys can do this, I believe in you. I'll walk you through it!" Braylon turns back to the controls of the ship and clicks a button. A dashboard full of buttons and a lever appears in front of me and one similar in front of Zaharie.

Braylon dodges the incoming bullets as he lets out a frustrated grunt.

"The lever is to move the gun left and right, the button behind the lever will shoot regular green bullets, the circle button can change the gun into beam mode which will shoot out a powerful beam. That'll take out any of these pods if you hit it correctly. Click the button again and the gun will go back to regular green bullets." Braylon glances at us again. "Any questions?"

Zahaire raises his hand and then begins to speak.

"What do the other buttons do?"

"Change the color of the beam, but that isn't important right now!"

"Ooh, can I make mine teal?" I gush.

Zahaire starts shooting his gun and successfully takes out an engine on one of the pods. It starts to swirl as it descends to the ground.

"Click the square button and think of the color and it'll change!"

The pod swerves around a tree. The enemy pods are still hot on our tails.

"Shoot your damn gun Audree!" Zahaire yells at me.

I jump in my seat and push the lever to the left. Positioning my finger above the shoot button, I close my eyes and I aimlessly shoot at the enemy pods.

Once I open my eyes, I see that I've hit nothing but air.

"Come on, it's just like Cold War! Aim and shoot! The circle button is to change your gun, R2 is the button behind the lever, and the analog stick is the lever...I know you suck at the game but you can do this."

I take in a deep breath and tighten my grip on the lever.

You've got this, you're Audree Sinclaire! Audree Sinclaire, A.K.A the baddest bitch out!!

I take a deep breath and look out my screen. I see a crosshair that moves as I move the lever. I move it so that it is over one of the ships and I press the button. A continuous beam shoots out with a loud hiss. The ship then explodes leaving black smoke blocking my view.

"Shit! did I kill 'em!?"

"Right now it's either you or them Audree...I know it's unsettling but right now these soldiers have orders and they won't stop until they see it through." Braylon says.

I feel a pit form in my stomach. My hands start to shake.

I can't be a killer...not like...like...Dad.

Zahaire puts his hand over mine. I look him in the eyes, tears threatening to overflow.

"It's okay. Your aim is shit anyway...I'll take over."

Zahaire gives me a squeeze and continues to shoot the engines of the pods.

Eventually the enemy pods begin to shorten in number, until it's down to the last one. Zahaire gets ready to take aim but this pods stops and retreats.

"Did we scare them off?" I ask.

"Unlikely. My sister probably told them to fall back. For why...I don't know." Braylon said, letting out a sigh.

"What are we going to do now?" Zahaire asked as he turned his seat to face Braylon.

"I don't know...but right now? I'm getting you both home."

With another loud hum and a slight push, Braylon ascends into the air and takes us back to campus.

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