I wake up to a slight headache and a blur of memories from last night. The waterfall, sinking into the darkness, being pulled out by Lucian. Him caressing my cheek, stroking my heart with his tender words.

It feels so unreal. Like I dreamed it but my soaked clothes in the corner of the room are all the proof I need.

I hug my knees to my chest and sigh loudly, wondering why the night and my dreams ended.

"Morning sleepy head." Cat has already rolled up her mattress and placed it by the wall. She's wearing the combat gear I saw her in the first time we met and I rub my tired eyes as I look at her.

How long has she been up?

"Here, " She dumps a small brown bag at my feet and it lands with a soft thud. "Remulus dropped off your old uniform."

My fingers graze the edges of the smooth canvas and then I pull out the familiar Plutonian soldier uniform that also acts as a breather suit.

I clutch the black material and trail the long blue lines by the sides. Despite hating the Plutonians, I can't deny that I have some good memories in this suit; my first mission to Cixin with Lucian and his squad, saving General Lyra from the serpents and our stolen moments together in the back room of Lucian's ship.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised that they kept one for me.

"We're meeting for breakfast and then heading to the Amazonian planet," Cat says. She puts a knife in each boot, a gun strapped to each ankle, tucks another one to her side, a machete on the other and hoists a big machine gun around her back.

I stare at the amount of weapons on her and she just smiles at me sheepishly.

"Can never be too careful," She shrugs. "I'll see you at the same tent as yesterday. Everyone's meeting there for a quick meal."

I watch her walk out and then proceed to get ready as well. I wash up with the bucket of water from the waterfall, brush my teeth and then I pull on my uniform. The moment I activate the suit, it shrinks in and hugs every inch of my skin, fitting me like a glove.

I tie my hair up in a ponytail and pull on my boots, making a mental note of the amount of time that has passed.

Not wanting to be late I rush to the curtain that forms our door and pull it open. I stop short when I see Cetus standing by the side with a tray of food in hand.

The tall blue skinned alien immediately straightens up when he sees me.

"Aria, you're late. Everyone has finished eating already." He steps in front of me, almost too close for comfort and I instinctively take a step back into the tent.

I frown at his words in confusion. I don't think I took that long.

"Commander Rigel asked me to bring you something to eat and then head to his ship." He holds out the tray of food towards me and I take it from him hesitantly.

I look down at the sandwich and drink and Cetus pushes me to sit down.

"You better eat fast. The Plutonian brigade is about to leave." There is an urgency to his tone that worries me but somehow something feels off.

I eye the Elcian who has his long pink hair tied up in a ponytail. He has two laser guns strapped to his sides whilst I have nothing.

I pick up the sandwich and smile at him gratefully. "Thanks but where are the others? Joon? Cat?"

"She's at the ship, gearing up." He eyes my movements like a hawk and his forehead creases when I don't take a bite.

I put the sandwich down and stand up abruptly. I try to make my way around him but his long body blocks my way out of the tent.

"At least take a drink, Aria," Now his tone is low, a warning. "It will make this much easier."

My nerves ignite with panic as I slowly realise what his intentions are and I eye the room frantically for something to use against him but there is nothing except the mattresses and the bucket.

I jump to the side just as he does to stop me and dig my heel in the ground to spring back in the opposite direction. I almost make it past him but then I feel his large arms grab my waist pulling me back.

I scream loudly, hoping someone will be able to hear me but he throws me on the ground and pulls out his gun. He aims it at my face and I watch him breathing like a ragged animal, his expression one of utter turmoil.

"Please don't do this, Cetus," I plead.

His face twists in agony and he looks down in guilt. "You know they have my brother and the bounty, fifty million is a lot. My planets in poverty, people are starving. They need the money. I didn't want to this, Aria. But I've had enough time to think that it's for the best."

He picks up the drink and forces it into my hand. "Drink it, please."

"Where are you going to take me?" I look up at him with wide eyes, desperate to buy myself some time.

"There is a troop waiting at a nearby planet. I'll hand you over and then I get the bounty. Now do it," He presses the butt of his gun to my temple painfully, making me wince.

I bring the cup to my lips and he stares at me belligerently, every ready to shoot.

But I take my chances and throw the liquid in his face instead making him back away and wipe his eyes.I use this chance to get up and run past him but then I feel him kick my leg, making me fall to the floor.

My chin hits the hard ground and it feels like my head has split in half. I roll over only to see the butt of his gun once again.

"You are persistent, I'll give you that."

"Do you really believe Lazarus will be true to his word? He is a liar and a cheat, once you hand me over he's going to kill you for helping me escape Earth in the first place."

"I guess I'll have to take my chances with that. He promised me my brother and that's all that matters. I'm sure you would do the same for yours." He grabs my arm and pulls me up with his gun aimed at my head the entire time.

He pushes me to the plate with the sandwich. "I'm only going to drug you not kill you. Now eat."

"You made contact with them?" I freeze in fear, knowing how powerful the tracking system in the command centre is.

"I'm not stupid, Aria. I made contact on another planet."

"Please tell me that planet was in another solar system." Both of us turn to the door to see Remulus walk inside with his gun aimed at Cetus.

"Remulus," I breathe in relief. I've never been so happy to see him but his gaze is fixed on Cetus, who has stiffened next to me.

"Why would I do that? I contacted them outside the atmosphere of the planet next to ours," He says. "Now let me leave with the girl or I shoot her in the head."

"You contacted them from the planet next to ours? Are you seriously that dumb? You have just killed us all," Remulus's face has gone pale, making him look more Plutonian than ever. "Don't you know that once they have your coordinates, the command centre can pick up life forms from all the other planets in that solar system?"

My heart stills and I turn to look at Cetus who is staring at Remulus with his mouth agape.

"I swear I didn't," Cetus mumbles incoherently but Remulus shoots him in the leg and then runs over to grab me. He pulls me out of the tent and we sprint to the main tent to warn the others but a crack of thunder stops us before we reach it.

I look up at the ceiling and watch as a crack propagates in a long zig zag line from above the waterfall all the way to the other side of the terrain. The low rumble of rock cracking groans throughout the large confined space making the people and aliens milling around stop in their tracks.

Everyone walks out of their tents to search for the source of the sound and I watch Lucian, Commander Rigel and the other officers walk out of the main tent as well.

He catches sight of Remulus and I and I run up to him screaming for everyone to evacuate.

Just then another low rumble echoes throughout the terrain like a beast groaning in pain and then another crack of thunder and suddenly the ceiling bursts into a pile of rocks, raining down onto us.

"Evacuate!" Commander Rigel screams. "Sound the alarms!"

Bells chime in the air, signalling for the aliens to carry out their emergency escape measures but it is too late. Large pieces of rock fall down all around us smashing into tents and destroying everything in their wake.

Remulus shoots the boulder above me and it shatters into tiny pieces, the dust and smaller pieces momentarily blinding me.

I run blindly, barely making out Lucian who is a few feet away. He grabs my hand and we run to the centre of the terrain where the ships are located.

Lucian and Remulus take turns to shoot at large pieces of rock falling down around us and I feel smaller ones fall on my head, sharp pieces hit my fingers, scratching them but it is nothing compared to the screams of death that pierce my ears.

I see Luna and Cat running to the sides, avoiding rocks and shooting at the boulders that are falling on the unarmed civilians by the stalls but even they aren't fast enough. The rocks have crushed most of the tents and stalls by now, leaving a trail of blood and dust in their wake.

General Lyra calls out to us as she boards a ship, she shoots a boulder that was about to fall on a child alien. I watch Pollux grab the kid and hurl him into a ship before rushing to Luna who is busy leading civilians to another ship.

Deneb, Sirius and Altair are right behind us and I catch Joon limping behind them. It looks like he has injured his foot.

I am about to head up a ramp when my eyes catch a large boulder catapulting towards the waterfall where a group of aliens have huddled under for protection. My chest fills with panic and I grab Lucian's gun and aim it at the large piece of rock. It bursts into a thousand smaller pieces and both Lucian and I exhale in relief when we see the aliens standing there unscathed.

I call out to them, my throat rough and scratchy as I gesture for them to get over to our ship but then a blast of white light flashes from above and I watch it obliterate the entire waterfall and everyone standing around it.

Lucian's hand tightens around my wrist as we look up to see the space splitter hovering above with the large Plutonian symbol plastered across it's side.

Guys, it was literally a storm I warned you abt haha. A stone storm. God I'm so lame. Gonna shut up now and see you on Wednesday :) :)