Zodiac War

Moral Dilemma

“So that barely helped at all.  Now I know how you two met and what you managed to figure out on your own, but that still doesn’t help us answer our questions,” Adrian stated.  He was right and we knew it. We started thinking about how we’d be able to solve this problem, but the only people who knew the answers we were looking for, were the exact people we were running from.  It seemed like we would need to go into the lion’s den to find out what we were up against. I said what we were all thinking, “How do we get into their base?” “And out,” Adrian added. “We don’t have to,” Hestia said.  “What do you mean,” I asked while raising my eyebrows. “We just need to find out who works there and kidnap one of them when they’re not at their base. That way we won’t need to get in and out and they’ll have to give us what we want.”  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was so morally wrong. We’d be just as bad as them. My mouth dropped open and I just stared at her before blurting out, “How could we sink down to their level? I won’t do this.”

Hestia just looked as sure as ever and said, “Fine, I’ll do it by myself.  It’s not morally wrong if that’s what you think. Just playing my cards right.”  After she said that, she just got out of the van and headed up the first hiking path she came across near our campsite.  We saw her disappear into the trees, but didn’t make a move to follow her. She’d probably return at some point and in the meantime we would come up with an actual plan that  wouldn’t involve kidnapping and torturing someone for information. Adrian and I stayed up for a long time trying to come up with a plan, but we didn’t even know the layout of their base and also had no way of finding it out.  Hestia still hadn’t come back and it was already past midnight. We just went to bed since we assumed Hestia would be back by morning.

The next morning, I woke up to the sun shining into our windows and looked around to see Adrian had fallen asleep on his guard shift and Hestia was still nowhere to be found.  I was starting to worry about her even though we always seemed to fight and were enemies in every sense except our common lack of knowledge in this new world we had been thrown in.  But it wasn’t like her to stay away for so long. She typically planned things out down to the minute details. Not that I cared that much though since I was annoyed that she hadn’t listened yesterday and thought she knew better.  My quick wit had saved us in multiple situations before and she should accept that I knew these things better. Oh well, too bad for her. I’d just work with Adrian to figure this out. I shook Adrian awake and said, “We should still figure out a plan of action.”  He sat up startled and seemed to think a while before saying, “Our plan of action is nothing. We’ll stay here and wait for Hestia to return or until we’re forced to go somewhere else while hiding from the WZT and EZT.” I was about to protest when he said, “We can’t abandon our own in a time like this.  And I trust that Hestia can plan this well enough on her own. She’ll come back in due time and hopefully her plan will have worked out like she wanted it to. If not, she’ll be more willing to listen to whatever plan we come up with at that time.”

I couldn’t deny the truth in this logic and knew that he wouldn’t be swayed anyway, so I just went outside to hike and keep myself fit in case it did come down to a fight.  While hiking, I was thinking about what we could do while we waited. I didn’t just want to waste this time. Maybe I could somehow get a job at their base, so that I’d be able to learn the layout.  That would mean that I would need to have a disguise though since they knew too well what we looked like. I headed back and told Adrian my new plan. He didn’t seem to like it, but thought it was better than just sitting around.  In the meantime, he was planning to scout out the area, so if it did come to a quick getaway, he would know what to do. And that way, he’d be able to keep an eye on me and an eye out for Hestia.

Later that day, I headed into town to see what kind of disguise I could come up with.  I headed to an eye doctor to see if I could get colored contacts since my bright blue eyes were my most distinguishing feature.  The next place I headed was a beauty shop. I was thinking of dying my hair, but when I got there I saw a bunch of wigs and decided to get an ash brown wig with waist long hair and bangs.  I then headed to the mall to get some long sleeved blouses, so that I could apply for a position as a secretary in the base of the EZT. That was the safer bet since even if they found out, they wouldn’t kill me right away.  I was on their team, so that would hopefully gain me some time. They’d probably still punish me for having helped Adrian escape, but at least I’d get out of it alive. But now, I was going to head back to the van in my disguise to see if I’d be able to fool Adrian.  

I got to the campsite and was walking around as if I was looking for something.  I could see Adrian eyeing me suspiciously, but he didn’t say anything. I headed right for him as if he was the one I was looking for and he seemed ready to bolt to the van, but he stood his ground and asked, “What do you want?  Stop right there.” I knew that my voice would give me away to him, so I just stopped and removed my wig. As soon as he saw that it was me, his tough exterior melted away and he ran over to hug me. “You scared me half to death.  I thought they had gotten you and had now come for me as well,” he exclaimed. I laughed and said, “At least now I know my disguise works.”

I headed inside to create a fake email from which I would be able to send my fake resume and ask them for a job.  Hopefully, they’d fall for it and ask me to come for an interview soon. In the meantime, I had to practice my back story so I wouldn’t accidentally give myself away.