Apparently, they did not stop at Cedar Falls, where they continued into the woods. The two-hour journey satisfied Elijah's curiosity. As soon as they entered a slightly hilly plain, Elijah could hear faint voices. It sounded like people talking. The voices became clearer, and Elijah saw what looked like a wooden fort a few yards ahead. Like in the old days, forts were circular and people lived in them. The age of the frontier.
As soon as the group arrived, the peering heads of the people appeared from the top of the fort, then they stood up with their stances ready. Earth elements appeared from their hands. Elijah gasped in shock, it was a superpowered human.
"It's Hannah!" Several people shouted from behind the fortress.
The guards at the top of the fort rushed down. As the two large wooden doors creaked open, Hannah's entourage was greeted by the people inside. They were mostly young people.
"What's wrong, Hannah?"
"What's going on?"
The voices peppered Hannah with questions. Many were helping the other rebels carry things inside. Hannah stopped walking and looked at Elijah, Isaac and Map.
"Please take them," Hannah pointed to the three.
Hannah stepped next to someone who was probably the leader. An older man, older than Obadiah. They went into one of the lodges, followed by the others. Meanwhile, Elijah, Isaac and Map were led by two people in the fort to another cabin.
"What is this place?" asked Elijah.
"This is Twin Falls." A girl not far from Elijah's age answered with a smile.
"You're the rebels?"
The girl glanced at the man walking beside her, as if looking for an answer. Their faces were almost identical, and the man was much older. Probably a quarter century older.
The man replied, "Part of it, but we prefer to call ourselves the straight generation."
"As far as I know, the straight generation are people who are trying to live well, blend in with nature. You know, in the twenty-first century," Isaac joked.
"And also correcting misconceptions," the man replied casually.
"I'm Carol, and this is my brother Jacob," the girl said, quickly changing the subject.
Then Carol ran ahead to the lodge and opened the door. Inside, Elijah could see that there were wooden bunk beds. In such a small cabin, there were six beds below and six above.
"Then who is this cute little girl?" Carol asked.
Elijah nodded at Map, as if signaling the little girl to answer and be polite. Map looked shyly at Carol. "Map," she replied.
Carol's brow furrowed slightly and she tried to suppress a giggle. "I'm Carol. Nice to meet you, Map."
"Map."
"Can she just say that?" Carol asked cautiously.
"No," Elijah replied. "It's just that she doesn't really seem to understand what we're saying."
"Deaf? Sorry, I didn't know." Carol looked at Map worriedly. "But there's a part of us that speaks sign language, so that might help Map."
"I mean, Map doesn't speak English. I don't know where she's from, what country she's from," Elijah explained.
Jacob cleared his throat quietly. "Your bed is in the corner by the window. This is the men's section, so the little girl will join the women."
Elijah shook his head. "But Map doesn't know anyone yet. I don't want to scare her without us."
Carol suddenly held out both hands in front of Elijah and looked at Map with a friendly face. "Map, would you like to go for a walk with me? It's really nice here."
Map looked at Elijah and Isaac in turn, then the girl moved and slipped out of Elijah's arms. She reached out to Carol and they held hands.
"I'll take care of Map. You don't have to worry," Carol said.
The three of them looked at Carol, who was happily holding Map's hand. A feeling of safety crept into Elijah's heart, perhaps Twin Falls was indeed safe. There are people with superpowers, if there is a common thread, it is likely that they will not harm their fellow anomalies.
"It's going to be lunch soon, so it would be great if you guys would blend in and help us out here," Jacob said between trying to be friendly and half commanding.
"Yeah, sure," Elijah replied with an awkward smile. Isaac, on the other hand, didn't answer.
"I'll get you a change of clothes and you can clean up."
"Thank you," Elijah said.
Jacob gave only a brief nod and hurried out of the lodge. Isaac peered through the window and watched the young man go.
"Straight generation," Isaac snorted. "I feel like we're in a cult or something."
"Those who live here have superpowers."
"Are you sure we're the brainwashed ones? Or maybe the young people here?"
"At least they're not like prisoners." Elijah pointed at the bracelet on Isaac's hand. "We're under control. They're not."
"Just by offering them a free, primitive life, do you assume they are right, Eli?"
"Then who do you think is right or wrong?" asked Elijah. Isaac just shrugged, then started for the door. "Where are you going, Isaac?"
"From here to the left." Isaac showed his left hand. "You prefer the right, don't you?"
*
Hannah sat in the wooden chair opposite the middle-aged man, her hands clasped around a wooden mug, a thin vapor billowing from the drink. The two remained silent for a few moments while the man waited for Hannah to speak.
"The Orb contains an alien. Just as we suspected all along," Hannah said.
The old man's lips curled and his face clouded. He sipped his drink slowly. "Looks like what we've been doing all this time was for nothing."
"All the humans in the city have been wiped out. They even attacked our base, Dad."
Wyeth-Hannah and Halsey's father just sighed quietly. In his old age, he, who had stopped at nothing to fight the Deformity and the Army, had to accept a crushing defeat at the hands of the alien beings who had come to Earth.
"You met Halsey?" the old man asked quietly.
"She's dead."
Wyeth's body jerked and she looked at her daughter in disbelief. "Are you sure?"
"You can ask the kids I brought, they're from the academy where Halsey is." Hannah sounded upset. "I told you, Dad, no one survived. Even people with superpowers can't defeat those damn aliens!"