Vitality [Teaser]

Chapter 10: The Departure

The lines were quickly cleared, and a pile of Proditor clothes was left stranded at the back of the cave. The once loud crowd suddenly grew silent. They all looked to the front of the cave where a few Advor guards stood there whispering to one another. General Menendez finally strolled in and waved the guards to leave the cave. Everyone watched every step he took until he finally came to a stop.

"WE'RE READY TO DEPART!" He yelled.

Everyone burst into cheers, including Nikos and Orion.

"GROUP A! LET'S GO!"

Twenty people began to run out of the cave following a few Advor guards. As soon as they ran out, the sudden smell of rain rushed inside. The crowd began talking to one another. A few chuckles were heard here and there. A short amount of time passed, and soon, there were only a few Advors left. Alanis walked over and talked to the other members. She was the only one in Group H with children. Nikos and Orion sat quietly looking at the front of the cave, waiting for General Menendez to walk in and call out their group.

"GROUP H! YOU'RE WITH ME!" He called out.

Alanis walked over to Nikos and Orion and grabbed her bag.

"Make sure you guys don't leave anything behind, alright?" She said.

They nodded and followed the rest of Group H out of the cave. The wind and rain grew stronger than the last time they were outside. The sun was barely rising over the valley, but it's shining rays wasn't enough to pierce through the thick gray clouds above them. General Menendez pushed ahead following the few red flags he laid out before. Nikos and Orion eventually lost sight of General Menendez through the dense fog. They soon approach the rest of Group H that was standing still in front of a green holographic flag planted on the ground. Orion walked passed them as he kept his head down.

"ORION, WAIT!" Nikos called out through the heavy rain.

Orion continued to walk until he suddenly bumped his head and fell down on his back. Nikos ran over to him and kneeled beside him.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Damn it. What did I hit?" Orion said as he examined the empty space.

Suddenly a sizeable Advor ship became visible. Its environmental disguise turned into a rusted old metallic vessel. A large door, six feet from off the ground, opened and General Menendez stood there as an Advor guard lowered down a metallic ladder that was not part of the ship for the others to enter. One by one, each Advor went on the frail ladder. It was soaking wet as soon as it was lowered outside, and it only got dirtier with each muddy boot landing right on its steps. It occasionally shook by the wind and thunder from outside. Alanis, Orion, and Nikos were nearly the last Advors in line to climb the ladder. There was only one other person behind them. She was a young woman that was about Nikos' age. She covered up her entire body with a blanket and shivered in the rain. Nikos turned around to face her, but her head was too low to make out a face.

"Hey, you want my jacket?" He asked loudly in the rain.

She tilted her head, questionably.

"You're cold, right? Here, you can take my jacket." He said as he took off his green military jacket and handed it to her.

She didn't move her hands, so Nikos tossed the jacket around her and tied the sleeves at the front. He then nodded and faced forward.

Alanis climbed up the ladder first. Orion tossed his bag up to her and followed after her. Then Nikos trod behind them. General Menendez was assigning people where to sit since there were no other chairs left in the ship. He then looked over at Alanis and her children and walked over to them.

"Alright, I need you guys to head to the back. There's not much room, and I need enough space in here to walk around. There are already other Advors in the back so it might get a little crowded, but we'll be in El Cono soon." He told her.

She nodded and nudged Orion and Nikos to the back room.

"Alright, let's go! That's the last of them! Start the lift-off, in thirty seconds we're leaving this place!" General Menendez yelled out.

He shut the door and walked toward the pilot as he took his position as navigator. The ship's engine began to power on as everyone remained seated. Nikos looked back before entering the back room and saw that the young woman from outside still hasn't come in yet.

"Wait! There's still somebody outside!" Nikos yelled.

"What? That's not right... There's supposed to be only twenty-five of you guys here. I counted each and every one of you." General Menendez said.

"You must have counted wrong then."

Nikos ran back to the door and opened it and looked down to see the young woman slowly climbing up the ladder. She was halfway up to the door. The ladder was utterly slick and covered in mud, and the wind made the ladder rock from side to side.

"Hey, grab my hand!" He exclaimed.

Thunder continued to shake the ground, making it only harder for her to let go of one hand from off the ladder. She looked down at the ground and instead just held the ladder tighter.

"Come on, you can trust me! I'll help you up!" Nikos yelled through the rain.

She kept her head down, but then slowly raised her right hand up to Nikos. He got down on his stomach to reach her hand as the wind continued to shake the ladder. Then finally, their hands connected.

"Fifteen seconds till launch!" The pilot yelled.

General Menendez looked over at Nikos.

"Hurry up over there, kid!" He yelled as he stood up, gazing at Nikos.

"She's having trouble getting up the ladder, but I got her!" Nikos yelled back.

She slightly looked up enough to see the next steps of the ladder, yet her face was still covered in the shadow of her hood. She took a few more steps with Nikos' help and was just two steps away from entering the door. Then the wind suddenly picked up and knocked her hood back down to her shoulders. She looked up at Nikos. Her only visible eye locked in a frozen cold blue stare with Nikos' amber and green ones. They stared at one another as if they were destined to be together at that very moment. She frowned at him as she tightens her grip on Nikos' hand.

"What..." He murmured under his breath.

"You promised..." Iris said as her voice cut like a knife through Nikos' ears.

She then planted her feet against the ship and jumped off the ladder while holding onto Nikos. He fell straight on his stomach against the muddy ground while she barely landed on her knees.

"Nikos!" Alanis yelled from the ship.

She ran towards the door, but General Menendez grabbed her before she could jump off.

"Get your goddamn hands off of me! That's my son!" She yelled.

"I'm not risking your life for another! You have another son that needs you just as much as the other! It's better to have a single-family member left than none at all! Launch the ship!" General Menendez barked.

Alanis pushed him off, but two other guards grabbed her and pinned her back. Another Advor guard took his gun out and ran towards the door and took aim at Iris but was quickly shot by a laser gun on his shoulder. He then fell down to the ground as his skin boiled on his shoulder. General Menendez ran to the door and shut it closed. Iris continued shooting the ship hoping to melt the metal on it, leaving the engine vulnerable. Suddenly the screeching of SkyWatchers was heard off in the distance. The Advor vessel finally blasted off the ground but was instantly greeted with more lasers by the Resinix ships. Alanis screamed from the top of her lungs through the interior, but her voice faded away into the sky.

Nikos looked up and watched the ships fly through the clouds. Iris tossed her laser gun off to the side. Nikos then got up on his feet and ran towards Iris, but she then looked back at him and took out another weapon stopping him right in his tracks.