Alpha Paradise: Book 1

Things Go Wonderfully Right! (Read: Horribly Wrong)

As they walked up the path upto the enchanting bungalow, Justice couldn't help but admire the surrounding nature and woodland critters. Squirrels scuttled up to their tiny holes in trees, while their avian friends sang captivating songs perched up high. Rabbits hopped among the flowers in a dance of their own. She felt out of place among this beauty, someone unnatural.

She stood a few feet behind Atalanta as she knocked on the door. A few minutes later, a pair of deep-blue eyes peeked out through the small translucent glass window on the door. She heard a click, and it swung open to reveal a tall, skinny woman. She had round glasses perched on her nose, and Justice was not sure if she was going bonkers or not- but for a split second it seemed like the woman was...angry. Shocked. But she smiled so brightly, it lightened up her mood. Yeah. Probably just her imagination.

"Atalanta! My sweet, strong niece! It has been too long since I last saw you" the woman, Atalanta's aunt, exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

And Atalanta- the strict, no-nonsense sergeant- grinned and turned from a killer machine into a fluff ball in a matter of seconds. So miracles were real.

"Aunty, so lovely to see you again! These are... uh," she seemed to contemplate her relationship with them. Justice rolled her eyes and cut in, "We're her friends. You must be her aunt- nice to meet you! I'm Justice."

Iris extended her hand out for a handshake. "I'm Iris"

Isabelle winked. "Call me Isabelle. Plaisir to make your acquaintance."

Atalanta's aunt smiled. "My name is Junita Sallow, but you guys can call me June. I hear you're looking for plans to spy on the Nazis?"

The girls stood surprised. "How did you know?" Isabelle questioned.

June smirked. "I have my ways of knowing what Atalanta's upto. She may look like she has everything figured out, but tracking her is very easy."

Atalanta gawked at her. "You... you what?! How?"

"That's not really important. And you girls, stop standing outside! Come in- otherwise my mother's ghost will come down from heaven and yell at me for being a bad host" she joked.

They thanked her and entered. If the house looked charming outside, it was even more so on the inside. Soft yellow sofas and bean bag chairs lined three of the walls. Windchimes tinkled softly near the window. A cotton and silk carpet with a pattern of concentric circles covered the entire floor. Once inside, Justice could see a small hallway which led to three bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Pardon me if it's too messy, I don't normally entertain visitors. There are a few bedrooms there- you can occupy the first two, since the last one's mine. I normally use the first one as a reading area, so the walls are covered with bookshelves- you can use it for research- and there's also a computer in it. There's a desk in each room, and the second one is mainly for storage purposes, but it also has a bed, like the first one. You can choose which one to sleep in, and you guys can stay for as long as you like." she said this all so cheerily, that her personality and hospitality made Justice immediately trust her. Absolutely nothing could go wrong here.

Justice, Isabelle and Iris went to check the rooms, leaving Atalanta to have some alone time with her aunt. Iris and Isabelle decided to check out the storage room, while Justice wanted to see the library. As soon as she stepped inside, she was blessed by the heavenly scent of books. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. So this is what paradise smells like, she thought to herself.

The shelves were considerably organized, and they contained volumes of different colours, shapes and sizes. She picked a few out and read their titles. Many were easily readable, but some were so old their fonts tarnished over time. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield, and so on. Little Women. Shakespearean Plays and Sonnets: A must read. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. These sounded nice, and she wanted to delve into their worlds desperately, but now was not the time. She moved to another shelf. This one contained some practical books. She picked up one titled "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. She opened the book to the first chapter, titled as 'Laying Plans'.