Blood War Slave

Chapter 5c: Reactions - the crowd

Chapter 5c: Reactions - the crowd

Alyssa was sitting at a table together with Abigail and Janus. The cafeteria was pumped full with chattering people. Alyssa was beyond annoyed and stirred her fork in her meal. The noise in the room was so damn loud Alyssa could hardly hear her own thoughts. Abigail and Janus both knew how she felt. She was torn apart between furious madness and worries for her best friend. It was obvious by her behaviour. Alyssa was getting more and more annoyed by the second of the loud noise around her. She wanted to think about her options and decide whether she was mad at Angelika or worried about her. She was always trying to calm herself down but all the noise was adding to her madness and anger. Abigail and Janus exchanged views, well knowing Alyssa was about to explode soon. One moment Alyssa took a deep breath to relax and the next moment she had a furious look on her face and grabbed her fork so hard her knuckles went white. It was only a question of time when she would lose control.

Everyone else in the room would have seen only three people sitting on a table eating without much appetite. But for those who knew them, it was more than obvious something else was going on. It was hard to see in the stuffed room but for those people who knew Alyssa it was obvious that she would break out like a volcano pretty soon. But apart from Abigail and Janus there were only some people who knew Alyssa in person. Leana Jones and her sister Joana have met Alyssa before but were not aware she was in the same room right now because they were busy planning a celebration and discussing very noisy at the other side of the cafeteria. Leana and Joana did not repeat the discussions from before or talk about the debate again. They discussed about music, decoration, dancing and how they could manipulate the feelings of the humans through music and a good show. Their intention was to shift the feelings from mourning to celebrations of the new start. Others joined them but only those who accepted their fate and were ready to at least try to make a new start.

A new life was about to begin, but first they had to draw a line beneath their past. Only a handful were ready to do so, but most were simply overwhelmed by emotions. Cries, sobs, screams and shouts added to the noise of the cafeteria. The metal forks, spoons and knives made a horrible sound as they clanked together. Each table hosted more people than it would have on a usual day. But today was not a usual day. Today was the day after the massacre. Last night dozens of humans died, and today a brave woman saved them all from another massacre. She made them think about their situation and the possibilities connected to it. But she also showed what risks might appear. She talked about gathering information, about language, health, trust and friendship, making enemies or allies. By using easy examples like time differences, she confused them and avoided another escalation. Now the debate was over and everyone was talking about it, except for those who already accepted the fact behind it.

But most people were unable to clear their emotions and drowned in them.

Among those were some who only mourned the past, like Amanda, and others who were willing to fight back, no matter to what costs. Those willing to fight were mainly people who did not want to accept the aliens as possible allies. The kidnapping, the cryo sleep, waking up after 20 years, knowing that turning back is no option now, and the massacre were simply too much for most humans to deal with.

But this group was divided into more categories than anyone would have thought. Some were real fighters willing to sacrifice their lives to protect others and themselves and to fight for their freedom. Others were just talking and cursing to release the emotions. The most dangerous person in this sub-group was Tariq. His intention was not to fight himself, but to manipulate others to fight for him. By character he was a coward hiding behind everyone. But at the same time he was a troublemaker. Since he was chosen by the aliens and had to leave Earth, he was trying to gather followers. And a very small group of men accepted him as a leader. Those incredibly desperate souls were blind to see what kind of character Tariq was for real. This little group sat in the cafeteria as well, closer to the table of the three friends than Leana and Joana Jones. Tariq was ranting about Angelika´s arguments. He was furious and could not believe she shut him up. A woman and most of all a heathen dared to stand up against him. Finally, he was the man. At least he thought so.