My Pet Human {UNDER SERIOUS EDITING}

Energy

'Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.'

****

~Axel~

Adam's words, Nothing is impossible, are drilled deep into my head as I stand beside him on the stage that has been set up just outside the Food Station. The Director is fidgety as he addresses the hundreds of other anxious humans, unable to keep the tremors out of his voice. Discovering that he was Adam's closest descendent must have taken its toll. He lets out a deep breath, wrings his hands out and clears his throat. Adam stifles a giggle.

"Hello, everyone." He says tightly. There are a few murmured replies from the crowd. The stage the three of us stand on is that of an old cardboard box. A laquanian sized box, of course. "As you've probably heard, the laquanians up there are disappearing, and they're killing all the humans so they go down with them." He glances around the open space, past the crowd and towards some of our entrance pipes. I follow his gaze, noticing that the floodgates have been left unattended. It's half past twelve, and no water is in sight. Maybe we really are dying.

"Up there, in the pet shops, teenagers are dying." The Director says. "And not just any teenagers. These kids have been through hell and back. They're fresh from the Institute and left without hope. And the Laquanians? They're just going to gas them all. Their last thoughts will probably be of their masters. The masters they never had." There's a chorus of angry yells from the crowd, the loudest coming from none other than Sam, the little boy I saved back at the breeding facility. He's perched on the shoulders of an older man and is waving his arms hysterically.

Sam isn't the only one excited.

"These kids didn't deserve to die." Our leader continues. I can tell he's becoming more confident, as his usual calm is setting in. I can tell there's still fear lurking beneath the surface, though. I don't really understand that feeling anymore. "And it's our job, as The Human Resistance, to help our generations. Our race. So I say, that we should go down in pride. I say, that we do one last raid." He punches the air with his fist. "Together!"

The crowd roars. Kids are thrown into the air and caught by the others. A few men rip their blue shirts off and chuck them skyward. Pin swords are raised. Pellets are tossed. And everyone, every single human chants the motto of the Resistance:

"Godpheus is no master of mine!"

I spot Waverly amongst the others in the crowd, her right arm in a sling and her face bandaged. She waves up at me, beaming. And for the first time since the WCA, I smile myself. Not just a cheeky grin, or a forced curl of the lips.

A real one. A genuine, happy smile.

If I'm going to die today, then at least we'll all go down in pride.

****

~Eve~

"Oh shit, oh shit!" Reuben yelps from behind me, the giant insect in close pursuit. I wonder briefly whether he's seen anything like this creature before. I sure haven't. We crawl on our hands and knees through the slim pipe way, the only lights coming from my own glowing laquanian eyes. The twin beams flash blindly, like a car swerving around. My knees are red raw from scraping against the metal beneath. They sting uncontrollably, but it's nothing. Nothing I can't handle.