Altered Earth (Soldiers of the Earth Book 2)

Chapter 12

The scariest part of reality is knowing that while the virtual nightmare is over, my original nightmare still remains. Tyler and Alfie don't remember me. Kieran, Garret, Abe, Jacob, and Angie are dead. Damien and Grace may be too. And I'm still required to do everything I can to stay mentally sane and keep it together despite all of this. Because if I fall apart and the wrong people see, I risk losing everyone I'm trying so desperately to protect.

Rexon, to my relief, managed to intercept and help keep Rebecca from being brainwashed. But I haven't seen her since then. I know Cole and Kira are probably working with her. Trying to find a way to keep her together despite all she's been through. She could choose to forget Alfie, but that could be a whole new nightmare in itself.

There's a quick knock on my bedroom door that wakes me up the next morning, and I open it to find Elliot.

"Hey, I had a quick break and wanted to finally tell you what I found out from Rexon if you have time." He says, his smile forced. I quickly check my tablet and nod.

"Yeah, come in. I've got 20 minutes until breakfast." I wave him in, and he takes a seat on my bed as I sit next to him. He takes a deep breath, clenching his palms together before beginning.

"So...." He clears his throat nervously. "Rexon explained to me that some of the Kofali came here many years before they invaded. 20 years ago, in fact. The Kofali sent to Earth were there to test if they could survive in our planet's conditions and adapt to our world. After working with Cole and Kira as well, I found out some things. One of the Kofali that was sent to our planet....was my dad."

I grab his hand when I see his eye tear up. He clears his throat again, trying to hold back the tears.

"He met my mom about 3 years into his mission of adapting to our planet. They fell in love, and from my understanding, he stopped reporting back to the Kofali in order to protect her. He let them believe he had died. They got married, had me. I never suspected a thing. I don't know if my mother ever knew, but she must have. Once they were captured again, they were subject to testing and that's when my father's identity was discovered and my parents were executed. As far as Cole can tell, they managed to hide my existence from the Kofali. It was never found out that I'm....I'm...I have them in my DNA."

Words fail me. I can't think of anything to say back. Gently, I hold him to me. The aliens that always terrified me seem to become less scary the more I learn. Elliot has always been my friend. This doesn't change that. He still matters to me just as much as he did at the rebel house. And the Kofali, just like us, do anything to protect those they love. I know what that feels like all too well.

I go to breakfast with a purpose, ready to get extra helpings of food dosed up with calming substances knowing that I have to do whatever I can to keep myself together. Today, there's a selection of breakfast foods I'm familiar with. There's scrambled eggs, beef sausage, and a large assortment of colorful fruit. I grab a little bit of everything before taking a seat and browsing through some soldier training material on my tablet.

"Excuse me," A voice that I know all too well speaks up, startling me. I look up to see the dark blue eyes that I haven't been able to get out of my head. Tyler smiles exactly how I always remembered. I start to wonder if I'm dreaming.

"Yes?" I stammer, clutching my tablet as if the feel of the metal in my hands will forcibly tell me that this is real. That he's looking at and speaking to me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your breakfast. I'm Tyler Forrester, I've been training to be a soldier and I think we've had a few classes together. Do you mind if I sit with you?" He asks, gesturing at the chair across from me.

"Um, sure," My reply almost sounds like a question because of how confused and suddenly nervous I am.

"Thanks," He sits down and immediately starts eating some of his sausage. Unsure of what to say, I wait for him to speak. "What's your name?"

"Rachel Collins." I say. So he still doesn't remember me. Then what is this about? We've barely interacted since I got here, and I was starting to think that maybe if I kept my distance it would be safer for the both of us.

"Rachel," He repeats. "Nice to meet you. I...um....I know this is going to seem weird, and I really don't mean to scare you...but...." He pauses, thinking about what to say as he sighs and runs his hands through his chestnut hair that's gotten slightly longer than I remember. "Have you taken your first virtual simulation test yet?"

"Yes," I swallow hard, feeling my heartbeat pick up even more.

"Ok. So did I. And what's crazy is....uh...you were in mine." He laughs nervously. I feel my face flush. Suddenly the smell of eggs and sausage is almost nauseating.

"You were in mine, too." I whisper, words feeling almost foreign to me. His smile falters just a little as he looks at me deep in thought.

"Huh....weird." He sets his fork down, staring at his food now. "I feel like....I think they picked people from our class or from our lives that we might recognize to see if we could still pull the trigger. You know, without hesitating."

"Yeah," I say distantly. I watched him die in my simulation, knowing I killed him. And his simulation, he watched me die knowing he was the one that killed me. I know they wanted to see if their memory wipe was still effective. Turns out that at least for Tyler, it was. I don't know what I expected our first interaction to be like, or if we'd even have another interaction at all, but I didn't quite expect this.

"What do you think the next test will be?" Tyler asks me, waving at some other trainees walking to another table.

"I don't know, honestly I haven't really thought about it. What do you think?"

"I think it might be another virtual simulation. Or maybe a flight test. Not sure, but I think they're still going to see if we're ruthless enough for this." I gaze at him, taking him in. He's stronger, healthier, but also just as sharp. He's already trying to piece things together. If he catches on to what the Kofali have done to him, what would he do? How in danger would he be?

"Tyler," Saying his name feels so much like coming home after being away for so long. "Would you...like to train together?" He looks surprised by my question but also flattered.

"Oh, sure! That would be great." He grins. "Are you trying to become Level One as well?"

"Level One?" I reply in confusion.

"Yeah, you know, the best of the best. The soldiers that work directly with the Kofali leaders. Huge honor and all that." He seems amused that I don't remember. I feel my heart fall.

"Are you?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Of course! Lately I've been training on my own for it. Barely anyone gets selected, so I want to make sure I've got good chances. If you're interested in being more than a Level Two, I'd be happy to help."

I think about how much it would kill me to lose Tyler. How much I want to protect him, and how now I feel like I have the opportunity. It makes my answer easy.

"That'd be great. Thank you."

"No problem, Rachel," He grabs my tablet. "I'll put my contact info in here, feel free to message me whenever you want to train. Or just talk." His smile makes me feel more relaxed than anything else has since I woke up here.

Author's Note: Yaaaay, Tyler's back! Thanks again for reading and supporting this series, please be sure to vote and/or comment if you enjoyed this chapter!

Question: what books have you been reading lately? I'm in need of some recommendations!