It had been several days since the initial attack on the coastal city of Port-O-Bea, with everyone still attempting to gather themselves on the events that had occurred. The Youden navy itself had stayed off the coast for several more hours, occasionally attempting to fire a barrage of shells onto the town, but the shield Alice established held strong. Eventually, the ships finally began pulling back and away from the coastline once they realized that their efforts were futile and relieved the city for the first time in months from the blockade. Even still, they couldn't have expected the forcefield to be standing much longer, as each day brought more open holes with it breaking down.
Ula was still grateful for the work Alice had put together, as she, Laken, and Jackie were out of the complex and heading towards the local grocery store. With Jackie in her stroller, it made things easier to watch Laken, who stood by his mother's side as they traveled along the sidewalk.
"We safe?" Laken looked around anxiously, not having been out of the place since the attacks.
"I'm sure of it. We'll be okay." the woman assured him, as they came up towards the local grocery store.
Greeted by a long line of citizens, she noticed how one of the corners was caved in due to the naval attack, as the group finally made their way inside. It was rather chaotic, as people shuffled through attempting to salvage any remaining goods still within and not destroyed. This was not going to be easy at all.
"Alright, Laken stay by my side." Ula dragged him closer, as they moved deeper within.
With so few products being made, it was quick to see that there was little for them to buy, and this forced the family to quickly move back outside.
"Mama, I'm hungry." Laken started to complain, his stomach growling.
"I'm sure there's food nearby. Just wait a bit longer." Ula looked around for a cab, but there was none in the vicinity.
Not wanting to stay in place, she began leading them down the street, as people moved about with their lives, whether it was on reconstructing what they had lost to figuring out their next steps for the day. It was a mess from an event that would only make them stronger and pressure them to do even better than before. It reminded them what they were all doing this for, and the consequences of giving up would result in so.
"Mama, my stomach is hurting!" Laken began to grow a fit, which was unusual for him, but considering the circumstances it made sense.
"Laken, calm down." Ula didn't bother looking at him, as a smaller grocery chain was up ahead, although a few more blocks.
"No, I want to eat now!" Laken began to get into an uproar, causing onlookers to stare at them. "I hungry!"
"Laken!" Ula yelled back at him, causing Jackie to wake up, even though she didn't notice. "Be quiet or you'll get no food for real!"
Looking into her eyes, Laken stared his own mother down, balling up his fists, before running perpendicular from them and into a small side street. This kid, Ula just wanted to scream loudly, before hearing Jackie starting to whimper. Just as she was about to move to reach Laken, the baby instantly got into a raging fit, causing Ula to lose focus.
"Not now, damn it." the woman began to panic, as a few of the onlookers began to come to her side.
"Excuse me, if you need us to watch, we can do that." an older group of women approached her, seeing the situation at hand, "I know how the young ones are."
"Thank you." Ula wasted no time handing the closest person the stroller, before beginning to chase down the boy.
Laken had already made his way toward the end of the side street and a quick peek revealed that his mother was already a fourth of the way down the street in mere seconds. Not being able to comprehend the speed adults had compared to toddlers only caused him to get more frightened, as he moved face-first into a meaty object.
Falling onto the ground, the boy was quick to get up and started to see a slim figure stand over him, confused as to what hit him. Stepping back a bit, Laken recalled what his father had taught him, as he started to feel for the power in his right hand.
"Whoa, buddy! What are you doing?" the figure put his hands up, not wishing to hurt him, "Calm down!"
Just as Laken was about to push his leg and attempt to drop him, a powerful grip wrapped around his arm, as he turned about in fright. Ula had finally made it through and had the face of someone that was about to destroy an entire planet with ease.
"Boy!" Ula screeched so loudly, that bits of darkness flared around her, "I've never seen you do something like that in my life, and you want to act up now? When we get home, I swear you'll-!"
"Wait, Miss Mere?" the figure stood shocked at the woman's presence, before giving a quick salute. "This is your son?"
"Yes he is, and he's in big trouble for his behavior. He didn't hurt you, right?"
"But Ma-." Laken was starting to speak.
"Not another word!" she cried down, silencing him quickly.
"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm alright, thanks for asking." the man rubbed his head in relief. "Anyway, my name's Cole Trurner, but you can call me Cole." the figure responded again.
"Well, thank you, Cole." the woman took note of his appearance, "Say, you're not a part of the army are you?"
Based on one's observation, they wouldn't have thought this man had any real authority over anyone, as the person was wearing a simple outfit of khaki pants and a brown polo shirt, although they had a few small badges and a name tag on them.
"Well, technically speaking, yes. I'm a part of the new Coastal Defense Corps." Cole cleared up, "Ever since that attack with the ships and planes, we've realized that the city will be quite vulnerable without the bulk of the army or even Jamal himself. So with the help of the advisors, we've devised a group of five hundred volunteers ready to spring into action when the time comes to defend our small home."
"Okay, well, we surely need that." the woman had to be grateful for, as a small carr rolled next to Cole.
"Ah, that's my ride. It was nice meeting you both." he held his hand out for Ula, to which she shook it, "If you guys need any help just let us know and we can assure we'll do just as good of a job as the army themselves."
Able to just nod, they both watched as he entered the vehicle, before speeding towards the coastline. For a few more seconds, neither of them said a single word, until Ula began to drag Laken back towards the stroller with Jackie.
"Mama, I-." Laken was soon to start again.
"You're still in trouble, so don't think you're getting off that easy." Ula didn't even let him finish, as they continued the path to reunification with Jackie, someplace to gather groceries, and a punishment for misbehavior.
At least for them, the only good thing the city had was a better-prepared defense than before. Youden couldn't truly expect them to go down without a fight, and a fight would be something the people within the city's gates would give. Up until their last breaths would they refuse to give in to a powerful adversary, and make them suffer with each blow.