The War of Elevens| Book 1 of the Space Thief Chronicles

Chapter 19| Crisis and Courage and Comet

The Shifter World

Elliott Way

Lilly was awoken by a scream.

She jerked awake to the bloodcurdling sound, her heart leaping to her throat. To her right, Matilda yawned and Wyx exclaimed, "The green mustard is going to overthrow us all!" 

The blurry edges of sleep fell away from Lilly quickly as she kicked off her covers, swung her legs around, and tucked her cold bare feet into her boots. She opened her dormitory door to the sound of many quiet voices and other doors squeaking open. Thin gray light fell in from the windows across the room and battled with the dim red embers glowing from the fire fountain. 

"What time is it?" asked a groggy Kaitlynn, who had just emerged from her room. She wiped her eyes and sniffled. 

"Too early," Lilly yawned. 

 A girl stood at the fire fountain, clutching a crumpled piece of paper in both of her clenched hands. She turned around; Lilly recognized her as Alkalai Kietjé, and the distress on her face was palpable even in the dimness. Her lips quivered and tears dripped from her chin. "I—" she gasped. "I c-can't believe—" 

"Spit it out!" called a boy to Lilly's left. 

Kaitlynn stepped through the crowd and put an arm around Alkalai. "Take your time," she cajoled gently. "There's no rush." 

Alkalai rubbed her eyes with her fist and shrank into Kaitlynn's embrace."My mom s-sent me an earth-letter. I had to c-c-come out here to read it so I could see." She broke into full-on shrieking sobs, and Lilly wrapped her arms around herself to fight the scared chill slithering up and down her back. "Storm announced his—his presence in Shezekia. H-he made the b-beasts and k-killed my little s-s-sister!" 

Voices exploded through the room. Lilly's guts turned to ice. Some people rushed to embrace Alkalai, but most of them erupted into gasps, tears, and cries of their own. 

An hour later, Lilly sat beside of Kaitlynn, Max, and Zander with the entirety of the Privates around the fire fountain. While some occupied the couches and rocking chairs that surrounded the fountains, most people sat on the floor. They were all discussing Storm; theorizing how the Bloom might have killed him, why the Bloom faked his death, what he was doing back, how Alkalai's mother had said in her letter that the beasts were Storm's creation. How could Storm even make monsters if his magic revolved around the weather? Did he simply make monsters to wreak havoc on the Bloom or was there another reason? 

"I just want to know why," Lilly had interjected at some point in the conversation. "What made him so sick that he had to create beasts that are destroying the Shifter World?" 

At this, Max barked a wry, bitter laugh and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "We had a government that sucks. We have a government that sucks. There is no way around it." 

As the sky turned a lighter shade of gray and thin sheets of rain rattled against the windows, the conversation went round and round in a hundred different directions. None of the Privates were going back to sleep anytime soon. They all knew they had to be ready for instruction periods and get to breakfast in the next half-hour, but none of them were feeling very motivated to leave the warmth of the fire fountain or each other's presence. 

Just as Markus Zazzahime was claiming that Storm was actually an alien in disguise preparing the world for his alien-companions to take over, the double doors of the dormitory opened, and Instructor Amaranth entered. She paused at the threshold of the door, striking as ever in her training fatigues and her long black braids adorned with silver rings.