Astrid and I partied hard that night. We drank all kinds of sugary drinks. Of course, Astrid drank more than I did. After a couple of cans, I had a headache from the sugar overload. We gorged ourselves in desserts and greasy foods, not really caring how awful we were going to feel tomorrow. I admit, I did feel bad for Luka and Gram because Astrid would not leave them alone and kept rubbing our victory into their faces. Not going to lie, it was pretty satisfying.
I had passed out on the couch in the living room and Astrid had fallen asleep next to me. It was pretty comfortable until we were so rudely awakened.
Something fluffy and thick hit me in the face. As I opened my eyes, a ray of sunlight blinded me. I groaned and rolled over away from the light. I snuggled back into the couch, only to be hit again with the fluffy thing. I felt someone breathing in my ear.
"What do you want!" I snapped. I heard some snickers and giggles. Suddenly, I was very awake. I pretended to be groggy and turned over again. Right when the fluffy thing, which was a pillow, was about to hit me, I swung my leg out, sweeping the person's legs out from under them. I heard a loud yelp.
Ok, that was Wren.
I opened my eyes and raised my fist, prepared to hit the person next to me. My fist was caught by Luka who was only a couple of inches away from my face and stared at me with an amused expression. I immediately sat up, my face flushing slightly. My embarrassment vanished when I saw Wren sprawled on the ground with a defeated look.
"You told me it would work," she grumbled. Luka only shrugged. "I didn't think she was that light of a sleeper."
Wren snorted. "Light sleeper? Yeah, that was way lighter than a light sleeper. She has a sixth sense."
I froze for a second. My eyes narrowed and I felt my heart clench slightly.
I glared at them, got up from the couch, and walked away. I heard some shouts from Wren, but I ignored them. I knew that Luka and Wren didn't mean anything by what they said, but it still hit me hard. It brought up bad memories. Various scenes of my sisters flashed through my eyes. I felt my breathing slow as I heard my own screams from my memories. I could hear myself pleading for them to stop. I felt the dull sense of pain as I walked through the hallways, the only light from the rising sun.
I stepped into my room and locked my door. I stripped and took a hot shower. I relished the sting of the heat on my skin. My body eventually became numb to the intense heat. I stepped out and changed into fresh clothes. A simple white t-shirt and blue jeans. I tied my wet hair into a high ponytail and walked out. When I walked back into the living room, Luka and Wren were gone, Astrid was gone from the couch. I started to fix the couch, folding blankets and picking up pillows. In the distance, I heard the faint voices of people that were very upset. I heard four different voices yelling and a couple other voices that were muffled. I furrowed my brows.
Now that I think about it, where is everyone? A sinking feeling weighed down on my heart. Were they having a meeting without me? Were they talking about me? A bitter smile spread over my face.
It's fine.
It doesn't matter.
I don't need them.
I walked over to the back door to the balcony that overlooked the estate. The green hills rolled lazily into the distance. The sun was just rising above the treetops and there were no clouds to block the sky. I closed my eyes and breathed out a long breath. The gentle breeze kissed my skin. During instances like this, time seemed to slow down and the moment felt like it could be eternity. Of course, they always came to an end. But, maybe this moment could last a little while longer.
I leaned on the rough railing of the balcony. I recollected my memories from the four months that I had been here. The funny, the sad, the painful, and the happy ones all flashed through my eyes. It was nice here, peaceful even. But, I knew I would have to leave. My heart ached at the thought. I had a mission. One that was completely different from theirs. One that they would have to give up everything to follow. I sighed deeply. Why is life so unfair?
At that moment, Astrid strode into the room and immediately spotted me on the balcony.
"Amara!" She called. "We have a new mission!"
I grinned in delight. My previous thoughts vanished. Until the time came for me to leave, the least I could do was have fun on the missions.
"Coming!" I said, hurrying back into the living room and slamming the door behind me in my rush. I caught up with Astrid in the hall where she was waiting for me.
"When are we going?" I asked with excitement. Astrid gave me a serious look. "Amara, you should take these missions more seriously. They are dangerous."
"Especially this time. Our mission is to free prisoners from the planet, Chognaput. It is guarded heavily by demons assigned by Titus. The Association wants us to free the prisoners. Most of them are prisoners from the ongoing war and others are just innocent people. We will be leaving tonight. We must be extremely cautious and we cannot let our minds wander."
Astrid said this with a stern face with her hands on her hips.
"Alright, I promise I will be extra careful," I said. If Astrid said it was dangerous, then it must be pretty serious.
I wondered if the shouting from before had to do with this mission. Now that I examined Astrid's face more closely. I noticed an irritated look in her eyes and her posture was one pent up with concern and anger. She must have been against this mission for a reason.
I sighed. Poor Astrid. She always did her best to make sure the team was safe.
I gave Astrid a reassuring smile. "It's alright. I am sure everything will be fine. I will make sure we are safe."
She breathed out heavily. She smiled slightly. "Thanks," she said and patted my head as she walked away. I felt my heart ache for a second. Astrid was two years older than me, but she acted much older than that. She must have only seen my comment as my way of trying to comfort her. I sighed again. Sometimes, I wished that Astrid would let me help her. She should have known that I truly meant what I said.
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I dressed myself in the special all-black suit that was given to me. I put on my trusty combat boots and grabbed my pocket knife. I quickly shoved everything else I would need into my bag and rushed out of my room to meet the rest of the crew.
Everyone on our team had a different role to play. I was fairly new to this so I didn't really have one yet. Theo, the youngest of all of us, was our pilot and our tech-guy. Usually, he wasn't actually out in the field. Theo was the one that did everything behind the scenes. Gram and Luka were our leaders and they usually led different ops, but this time, we needed everyone for this mission.
Taliya was our investigator and our spy. She was incredibly talented at hiding in the shadows and gathering information. She also enjoyed good mysteries and unraveling plots. Wren was our "personal" Doctor. She took care of most of our injuries in the field. She did fight with us too though. Since Wren was half kitsune, she loved to distract people and trick with them.
The rest of us, which included Astrid, Caspian, Kalina, and I, were usually paired with each other for missions. This time it will be Astrid and me and Caspian and Kalina. Gram would take Astrid and me and Luka would be taking Caspian and Kalina.
I entered the living room where everybody was dressed in similar black outfits. We all shuffled after Archean to the take-off area. We descended a few levels down underground in an elevator and arrived at the docking-bay. A giant space shuttle was waiting for us. It was sleek and equipped with the best technology. Theo ran up the ramp and into the ship with excitement. We followed class behind, separating into our respective areas and storing our luggage.
The trip wasn't exactly long. At most, it would take 30 minutes at top speed. But, it was crucial that we timed our arrival just right.
I settled into my seat after putting away my belongings and fastened my seat belt. Archean discussed a few last instructions and gave them a few warnings before departing from the ship. He waved to us and gave us a thumbs-up before hitting a button with his hand.
A deep rumble could be heard from above, as the ceiling opened to reveal the night sky. With a few slight adjustments and a final wave to Archean, we rose up from the ground and shot toward the sky. Theo quickly put us in top speed and the stars began to blur as the ship gradually increased its speed.
While Theo piloted the ship, Gram sat and briefed us on our mission. Basically, Gram, Astrid, and I would be freeing the prisoners from the west wing and Luka, Caspian, and Kalina would liberate the east. Talia would scout the area before we jumped into action. Wren would stay in the ship with Theo, who would be our "eyes in the sky".
I fidgeted in my seat as I gazed out of my window at the streaks of white that were stars. The whirling of machines and the chatter of my fellow teammates started to fade as I sunk into my thoughts. Before long, our journey across space had come to an end and a dull grey planet came into view. When we approached the planet known as Chognaput, I felt the oppressive weight of gloom radiating from it. A shiver ran down my spine as we descended into the fog of Chognaput. Not only were we invisible, but Theo had installed a silencer in the ship that reduced the roar of the machinery to a gentle hum. I unbuckled myself and pulled my hood over my head and my mask up. I slipped a device in my ear and pulled on my gloves. I followed Astrid out onto the grey landscape. Gram met up with us, double checking that we had everything.
Well, here we go.
And with a final wave, we plunged ahead into the dreary wasteland.