Hopeless Romance

Chapter Nineteen

January melted into February.  Because winter was so short and mild in Alume, February here was what most of the world thought of as Spring.  It was around this time that R&R missions resumed after the mandatory winter break due to the poor weather that increased the risks exponentially- mostly heavy rains but also the occasional ice storm.  I saw May around.  I was happy to see that she was walking very normal, just a little slower than she had before getting shot.  When March arrived and May was still always around, I finally asked Frank about it.  He told me that she wasn’t running missions anymore but had agreed to train new rescuers.  He thought the bullet wound had scared her.  I wondered if it was actually the wound to her heart I had inflicted.

I was happy to hear she was done doing R&R’s.  The severity of her last attack had scared me and I never wanted her to leave our caves and the surrounding areas.  I had been involved every day in strategy against Rache, but in some ways, being in the cave still felt so safe, removed from the war.  After living with a Rache soldier in my home, it felt really freeing to never see a Rache soldier.  The attack on May had reminded me we were in a war and people could die, people I loved.  Soon, I had another wake up call, a reminder that even in the caves I shouldn't feel too safe, too comfortable.

One day I was walking to the Spring when something like the model airplane I had as a kid crashed a couple feet to my left- although it was much larger than that.  However, it was not as big as a Cessna or other light aircraft, you know the kind that just a couple people fit in.  It was in-between the size of a model airplane and a light aircraft.  When I got closer to it I realized it wasn’t anything like my airplane.  It was sleek white.  It looked like it had a camera or sensor- one big circular lens like an eye protruded from the front of it and it looked like it had a lot more technology all over it.  The thing looked like it must cost a million dollars. 

I was nervous to be so close to it.  Maybe it would explode or something.  I knew Frank needed to see it.  I tried to hide it with branches from a nearby tree and corn stalks.  Then, I went to find Frank.

Frank was in a meeting with a few of the top leaders, but I walked right in and told him, “Listen, I need to speak to you in private.  NOW!”

He looked at me angrily, but must have seen the fear or anger in my eyes.  I had ran as fast as I could there and I was sweating like crazy.  Maybe just the fact that it was serious enough to make me run alarmed him. 

When we were alone, I told him about the airplane.  He told me to take him straight there.  He took a deep breath when we uncovered it and then sat down, kind of fell down.  He told me these things were called UAV’s: unmanned aerial vehicles.  He said they fly so high and quietly we’d never have known it was there if it hadn’t happened to crash almost on top of me.  We had no idea how many more UAV’s were in the sky above us.  Drones could carry explosives but this one wasn’t a combat UAV.  This one was made for reconnaissance missions. It's purpose was collecting information, probably looking for rebels.  He tried to explain all of the remote sensing functions that UAV’s had but it was all super confusing.  I think he said something about electromagnetic sensors including infrared which creates images based on the heat emanating from any object.  He also said they had other biological sensors. 

Frank held emergency gathering and told everyone the alarming news.  He advised that until it got warmer outside, to about the heat of a human, 98.6 degrees, or hotter we should minimize our time outside.  After it got that hot we should always wear camouflage.  He told us not to panic, and nobody ran around screaming, but many people spoke quietly after that which was kind of funny and sad all at the same time.  The caves became more crowded as people who used to work and spend time outside spent more time inside hiding.  When they had to go out, they now walked more like rodents scurrying than humans walking- they rushed, running the quickest route to their destination and back, the entire time bent close to the ground.

I now knew the peace of sitting quietly in nature and had grown to love it.  I wouldn’t let Rache take it away from me.  I still took the risk, as did May who had known it since birth.  Besides, while Rache may not know how many of us hid here or exactly where we were hiding, I figured that with drones already flying overhead they probably already knew about us. 

Sometimes May and I would see each other at the Spring at the same time.  I’d always apologize and leave.  She wouldn’t say anything.  She seemed so sad.  I watched her in the cafeteria sitting silently with friends.  I had stolen her laugh.  I didn’t think anyone or anything could do that.  

One day I was in the library looking for a book, an escape, ignoring Sophia in a corner staring at me.  May walked in and saw me.  She looked around and saw Sophia.  Sophia smiled at her, a sly, smirking grin.  May walked up to her.  Sophia slowly rose.  I expected May to say something awful.  But, May wasn’t really a talker these days.  She punched Sophia in the jaw.