My Kingdom Come Book 1: The Saints We See (Complete)

Chapter 17: Surprise

661 standard years after the signing of the Alliance treaty

Hathu peered through the crack in the cafeteria doors. Just as he had suspected the men with guns were between him and the students with their back to the door. he stepped back and nodded at his two team members. They quickly pulled the cafeteria doors open. The men were shouting, students were crying. Hathu stepped through the doors and fired a plasma bolt up into cafeteria ceiling. "Drop your weapons!" He shouted.

The shoulders of the hostage takers tensed. Students screamed.

"Drop the weapons or I'll shoot."

Several of them glanced back. Hathu shot at the floor near the feet of the closest man who had looked back. A black scorch mark appeared on the floor by the man's feet. "I said drop your weapons."

"Do as he says." One of the men said. The men carefully laid their weapons down on the floor.

"Put your hands on your head and move slowly to the right. I want you to stand up against the wall, facing the wall."

The men slowly obeyed.

"Narish?" Hathu called, keeping his eyes trained on the men as they stood lined up facing the wall.

"Yes?" His voice coming from the other side of the cafeteria was a bit shaky.

"Come here."

Hathu could hear him walking across the cafeteria and up to his side. "Are you alright?" Hathu chanced a glance in Narish's direction. He was pale.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was afraid you weren't going to show up there, for a minute."

"Sorry, I had to explain to everyone else what was happening. What did these madmen want? What were they asking you to do?"

Narish swallowed harshly. "Everyone old enough to be in the game is being sorted into two groups either hunters or prey. They said they were going to send the ones too young to play the game home. Then we were all going down to the game field to play hunter and prey for real. Whoever survived was going to get the chance to be part of what he called 'a new better world'."

"Fuck." Hathu muttered under his breath. "How were you being sorted?"

"Some by choice, some were sorted according to a list they have."

Hathu nodded. "Listen to me, blue team, these guys want to kill you and your brothers and sisters." He glanced right and left along the line of blue team that were watching the hostages' backs with him. "If any one of them so much as twitches, shoot them."

There were nods and murmurs of "yes, Hathu," all up and down the line.

Hathu stepped back and handed his rifle to Narish, then grabbed a couple recharge packs out of his pocket and handed those to him too. "In case you need them."

"Thanks." Narish shoved them in his pocket. His hands were shaking. "I still can't believe this is happening. I'm sure glad you heard their plan."

Hathu turned towards the rest of the cafeteria. "I don't know everything, I just hope I know enough."

* * *

Hathu and five members of blue team had just finished marching the hostage takers, along with the teachers and students who had wanted to go with them, off school property at rifle point when the first explosion went off.

It was a lot louder than Hathu had expected. Five more deep booms echoed through the air and vibrated through Hathu's chest and the soles of his feet. He let out a breath. They had cut it close. He hadn't wanted the explosives to go off before they had gotten the hostage takers off school property, but he also hadn't wanted any of the families to be at the beach when they went off.