Cold

Chapter Five

"Life is beautiful and unbelievable. Sometimes we encounter certain living beings that developed their own life over time. They are truely extraordinary. Truely unbelievable. Truely fantastic. No one really knows when this started, but advanced races, advanced species will continue to flourish for hundreds of years. If you find one, consider yourself lucky."

My mom's book she wrote tells a tale of advanced species. She loved to discover new things and write about it. She was famous because of it. This beautiful cave-city reminds me of one particular book. It explains that sometimes we will encounter  something so advanced, it will blow our minds. This cave-city is blowing my mind. Similar to Von, these guys' ancestors built this city hundreds of years ago. It's amazing how they've come a long way since then.

"Summer" shouted Ariel, the girl who found me. She wants me to meet her seven brothers and her mom. They own a farm near the river. Ariel has been training to be a soldier with her oldest brother, who became first commander last year. I ran over to her and she brought me to her house.

"MOM SHE'S HERE" shouted Ariel as we walked inside. A lady came down the stairs with a baby in her arms.

"Hello. You must be Summer. You can call me Talia" she said. Something about her is oddly familiar. "This boy is Danny. Rooney and Wilmer are in the back. They know where the rest are." She walked into the kitchen. Ariel led me to the bakyard.

"Rooney and Wilmer are twins. They are 7 years old" she said. "Danny is three. That's Zander." She pointed to someone gaurding a soccer net against the twins. "My twin brother." Ariel led me to him.

"Zander this is Summer" she said. Zander barely looked at me. "Where's John?"

"Why do you care? Last time you talked, you shot him. Remember?" said Zander as he looked at me. "What is she doing here?!?"

"This is Summer. She is here because I saved her life. Now she is going to meet everybody. Including John" said Ariel. Some very tall guy walked into the backyard through the fence gate.

"Hey Zander" he said, completely ignoring Ariel.

"Hi John. The devil wants to talk to you" said Zander, pointing at Ariel.

"What" said John angrily.

"This is Summer" she said while avoiding eye contact.

"Hi" he said. "What happened to your leg? Did Ariel shoot you too?" Ariel ran inside crying. I was just standing there, not knowing what to do. Should I stay? Should I go find Ariel?

"Why did you say that?" I asked without thinking.

"She deserved it" said John with a blank expression.

"Did she really? So she shot you. So what. You're ok now, right? How long ago did she shoot you? Judging by your health, I'd say a few years ago. She obviously didn't kill you. So what's your deal? She's your sister. She deserves you back. She didn't shoot me. I have no idea what did. I'm not even sure it's a gun shot. But she did save my life. If that's not enough to show you she deserves you back, then you're an idiot" I explained. I couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of myself.

"Damn. Jasper would love you. Sticking up for his favourite sibling. Well guess what. This is my life, therefore I decide what to do with it" John said as he stormed off inside the house.

This is a dificult family. It reminds me of my own after my mom died. Completely dysfunctional, everyone yelling, my dad trying to take care of two children. If only she could see us now. My brother aiding the enemy, me finding a unique but smart civilization, my dad probably doesn't care what happens to me or Lucas. At least I know Lucas will be safe as long as he does what she wants. Hopefully he plays smart so I can find him again and we can get out of here.

***

John. A fine subject for my next project. He will serve me with shining colours. All he needs is some motivation. Perhaps a chance to get his revenge on Ariel will do the trick. This man will become a hero. My hero.