scouted
It was starting to get late.
" . . . now titled as "A-ku-a" . . ."
" . . . researchers are unsure . . . "
" . . . people continue to go missing . . . "
This was old news to the shoes of those who knew the dangers of Earth's newest guests. These were the people who knew about the raids before they went to large scale sizes, and were nothing more than myths.
Eyes being tricked.
But the bodies left behind were no hoax.
These raids affected the living by killing the ones who watched out for them. The aliens left plenty of people, though. Mostly children.
These children were ones with still much to learn about the cruel world they lived in. But one thing they did know, is that watching your loved ones be murdered in front of your helpless eyes, is nothing for the diary of sweet dreams.
-0-0-0-
"E!" the tall boy yelled at the shorter one. "Quit petting that cat!"
The shorter one turned and glared with his reflective yellow eyes. He waved goodbye to the cat, in the generous way he only treated cats, and quickly walked to the taller boy. His feet made no sound, despite the glistening, puddle strewn dark bricks he walked on.
The tall boy adjusted his fishing hat and glanced around suspiciously, anxiously, with his spectacled, two toned eyes. One chocolate brown, the other ice blue. He started walking across a rainy bridge with sparkling water running beneath it, his lanky legs quickly swinging as they they needed to. He growled with his fisted hands glued into his pockets. "Seriously, E, what if it had rabies or someother crap disease? You know we don't have the money for medical bills!"
E, the shorter one, did not respond. Steve, the taller one, didn't expect him to. They simply trudged on through the lit up streets.
The sky simmered with the sunset clouds, reflecting on anything it could. City buildings, water on the streets, windows of shops, the white hair of a seemingly mute child.
The streets had been getting sparser and sparser as time went on in their world. No one wanted to be at risk. However, there were still quite a few people perusing the one that the boys walked on, with a light-covered tree for every group of pedestrians that crossed the street that was home to a stream rather than a road.
A stream lit with archsteps.
Archsteps.
The glowing mark that appears in front of an Akua's foot when it steps in water. Glowing, white, upside down Us with a small arc over the top, edged with a gleaming blue.
This made the enemy all too easy to catch, for those who knew the sign. The archstep glowed much, much brighter to affected people. To most, it just looks like a dash of shimmer, appearing only for a second.
Steve glared into the running water, tattooed with temporary archsteps. "They're here. We've gotta hurry." The boy simultaneously shoved his rectangular glasses up the bridge of his nose and grabbed E's arm to start running down the street. He soon let go of E, but despite having greater potential for speed, E stayed right by Steve, footstep matching footstep. The only difference in his step was the sound.
Silent. Just barely.
The two teenagers swept through the streets, careful not to run into anyone. They couldn't afford to get slowed down by an angry pedestrian. They had to get there . . . they had to . . .
Back on the bridge, deep, sharp blue eyes locked on to the jacketed backs of the boys. A woman in a gray business suit, slim short skirt, and small black heels narrowed her gaze, forgetting to focus on her step. One black shoe landed in a puddle.
The fresh archstep glowed, practically ringing.
E pulled on the sleeve of Steve's coat and pointed at the woman, who scowled with utmost disgust as she noticed her mistake. Her short brown hair flittered in the slight wind, giving atmosphere to her dark glare.
"Hurry!" Steve whisper-yelled to E. They picked up their pace, starting to turn a corner.
The woman whispered into the sunset air, a bitter scratch resting in her voice. "At." In that moment, the woman was suddenly in front of the two boys, smack between two brick buildings, exactly six feet apart. They stopped in their tracks.
She raised her eyebrow in an expression that could only say two words: you know?
They very much did know.
Knew the danger that stood right in front of them.
This was an Akua.
The female Akua advanced toward the boys in an effort to push them back towards the stream. Striking a step in that direction, Steve's eyes widened in fear, his eyebrows laced with total hate and disgust. E's, on the contrary, were wide with focus, trying to keep calm.
"Mind."
The slightest shift of vocal chords.
The tiniest disturbance in the air.
Dripping water drowning out any sort of noise.
The sound hardly even existed. But it felt like a sonic blast to E's sharp ears.
The Akua backed away with surprise, the curtains of her windows arched with an effort to understand. She hissed, glared at the ground, whispered "Away," and with a fizz of light, she was gone. There was nothing but the alley and two seemingly stunned boys.
Agitated relief flowed onto Steve's features as he straightened his posture. "That's it? She's gone?"
E shrugged. He then quietly pointed to the direction of where they had originally resided to go.
Steve grumbled. "Hhhmmmrrmhmhhmmhhmgghhghhghgh," he sighed and started to lightly jog that way. "Yeah, okay, fine, fine, let's go, we'll just pretend that didn't happen . . . but still be on the lookout, okay!?"
E smiled knowingly at the dork. That was Steve for you.
And so they went. Turn after turn after turn. Despite their strange meeting with the one Akua, their miniature journey went practically uninterrupted. Before they knew it, they were at the hotel. Steve took big, steamy breaths, the fog echoing in the dusk sunlight.
Steve pulled a piece of paper with some print on it, looking at the building, the paper, and the building again. "This is it, right?"
E nodded and gestured for them to go in. Cautiously, with suspicious looks around their air, they stepped into the spinning doors. The first thing they saw when they walked in was the clock. Steve looked at the paper again right as an intercom sounded.
"The invite-only chess club will be closing its doors and starting in five minutes, so please hurry to your meeting! Again . . ."
"Dang that Akua!" Steve growled under his breath. "Come on, we gotta be quick. If we don't make it to the launch, our only chance of getting into the organization is gone."
E was already headed down the stairs. Steve groaned. Once he caught up, E let Steve go in front. They rushed down the stairs with wind high in the soles of their feet. The stairs were split by a wooden railing, blanketed with red and gold carpets, which was shone in by the lamp-like lights on the walls, which were blurred as they dashed down the steps. There were many levels, the interesting thing being that they didn't spiral. They just went straight down, suggesting the enormity of the building that looked somewhat small on the outside.
At last, they reached the recreation room. Seve quickly knocked on the door exactly eight times, and it flew open and closed with just enough time for them to get inside. A timer beeped in a brawny man's hand, who had the doorknob in the other. He locked it in a flurry. He looked like a P.E. coach, complete with sweats, cropped hair, and a slight pot belly.
"Just in time, eh?" the man commented as he looked at the timer, then at the boys. Steve gulped mildly for air, while E just looked around the room with his big, reflective, yellow eyes.
The man put his timer down on a counter and put his hands on his hips. "Well, what're your names?"
Steve fumbled, and gestured to himself, then to his small companion, "Oh, um, I'm Steve Occleson, and this is E."
"'There somethin' wrong with 'im?" the man nodded his head toward E.
Steve shook his hands in a negative answer. "No, he just doesn't talk. When we first met, I asked for his name, and he just said 'E,' so that's what I call him. I haven't heard him say anything else."
"Hmm . . . interesting," the man scratched his stubbly chin. "You kids got any good skills? Like smarts or athletics?" he asked as he pulled a small blacklight out of a drawer.
"I'm good with computers and stuff," the taller boy replied as the man pulled on Steve's shirt collar and pointed the light at his collarbone. A circle with an arch over the top glowed in the light.
The mark of the affected.
The man did the same to E, with the same result. "E's got good stamina, he's fast, and he can aim like nobody else. We play darts a lot," Steve explained.
"Hmm, not bad," the man grunted, then pointed to everyone in the room, calling them by name. "E, Steve, Gwen, George, Kash, Ming, Luke, and me, Mr. Daun. Yes, you must call me 'mister.'"
The kids all greeted each other. E and Ming went last, because E didn't talk and Ming didn't speak much English, so they just waved. That left a bit of awkwardness in the room. Ming and Gwen, the only girls in the room, stayed right by each other, away from the two groups of boys. Also awkward.
Mr. Daun unlocked the door and gestured for everyone to go outside. The room was on the bottom floor, with double glass doors leading to the outside, here the open sea reflected the majestic, fiery sunset. Concrete outside switched to wooden planks, with two covered things that must have been boats tied to posts. A lady with light brown hair in a low ponytail and hazel eyes started greeting everyone.
"Hey, y'all, I'm Trisha" she said with a smile and gently pushed over a bucket filled with water with her foot. She instructed everyone to step in the spilled water to check for Akua spies. The Archstep would give them away, but none showed any sign of it.
Gwen raised her hand. "Hey, um, why do you check for the mark of the affected and the Archstep? Why not just one or the other?"
"We don't have as much information on the Akua as we like, but it's possible that they can put the mark of the affected on their own people, too, so we just check both to make sure," Trisha answered as she pulled the covers off the boats. They were simple wooden rowboats, several years old. "Okay, girls and small boys in here with me, and the other boys with Mr. Daun."
They decided that Steve and E were the smallest boys, even though Steve was the oldest at eighteen years. For E it was a given, being the youngest and shorter than both of the girls. Ming had explained in awkward, choppy English that she was rather tall for girls of her race and age. E didn't seem offended that he was small, just relieved that he'd be in the same boat as Steve.
They boarded the old boats, trying to find the seats that would give them the least splinters.
"Don't worry, sweeties, the facility is much nicer, we just don't want to draw too much attention to our transportation," Trisha explained as they started to row. Gwen seemed mildly disgusted at their current situation, but she didn't complain. Mr. Daun's boat glided next to Trisha's, just close enough to not hit. Their paddles made little twists in the water that sparkled in the light of the sinking sun.
"So," Mr. Daun started, "why you kids wanna work at the organization?"
"Because you guys told me to," Kash simply stated, his cheek in his fist. some of the other kids looked almost like they wanted to agree, but that wasn't exactly the most heroic reason to join a resistance.
Just as such, Mr. Daun sighed.
Steve, on the other hand, looked as though he wanted to stand up. Passion flared in his blue and brown eyes, like they were daring anyone to fight him in that very moment. "I want to join because I want to get rid of the Akua. They've killed and kidnapped thousands of people over the past five years, including my own parents," he growled. He looked down, and, clenching his pants with his fists, murmured, "Right in front of me."
Everyone stayed silent. The other kids looked a bit awkward, for whatever reasons were their own.
After a moment, Mr.Daun spoke. "Not bad, kid, not bad." Trisha nodded, and some of the others as well.
A few minutes passed, and the sun had sunk passed the point of dusk. In its stead, the moon began to rise, and with passing time and distance from the city lights, stars started to wake up and twinkle in the night sky.
Finally, they stopped, smack in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. Dark water shimmered all around them for miles without end.
Trisha pulled out a walker-talkie and mumbled some nonsense into it that might have been a password. It seemed to do what she wanted it to do, because waves started to appear from below the surface. Up came a large metal box thing, followed by opening metal doors. The adults led the boats through the large doorway and they swiftly rode a current down into the interior. The tube that they came from went back into the water, preventing any human from entering the secret bunker.
The teenagers were all amazed at the display of technology. Gwen seemed a little more happy about their situation, and excited eyes gleamed all around, especially Steve's. The same reaction did not come from E. He didn't really care.
They got out of the haggard boats and stepped onto a sleek metal platform in a large room full of boats of all shapes and sizes. Three people already stood on the docks,mready to meet them. One was a man with a controller in his hand, then a young women with a clip board, and then a another man.
The last of the three came up to the group, followed by the woman. "So you're the newcomers, eh?" The man said with a friendly smile, and promptly shook everyone's hand.
Is everyone here Canadian? E couldn't help wondering. He knew there were close to the border, being in Boston and all, but still.
No one seemed to have the same concerns as him, as they exchanged basic greetings with the man. After they all introduced themselves, the woman asked for their ages. They all happened to be between the years of thirteen and eighteen. She scribbled some stuff on her clipboard's papers.
"I'm so glad you're here to help with the fight!" the man, whose name was Agel, said. He clasped his hands together. "But I don't think right now is the time for formalities, as you're probably tired from your journey. If you'd follow my assistant, she can lead you to your bunks. Goodnight, then!"
That seemed to leave the kids in a slight daze as they followed the woman. They went through sliding metal doors and turned around corners. Everything was metal.
"Right," the woman stated as they entered a larger hallway. "On the left is the boys' side and on the right is the girls' side. They're split into age groups."
That last bit drained the color from E's already pale face. Was he gonna get separated from Steve? Be forced to sleep with strangers?
"You guys only need to worry about two of them," the woman continued. "That is, the thirteen to seventeen year olds, and the eighteen to twenty five year olds."
E's legs wobbled slightly. They were gonna get separated.
"Now then, the doors are labeled so you should have no problem finding where to go. Each room has a director, and they can help you find anything you need and get you situated. Sleep tight!" the woman finished her explanation and rushed off, no questions asked.
Steve frowned sadly and turned to E. "Are you gonna be alright?"
E forced himself to nod, then solemnly followed George and Kash into the younger boys' room. It was dim and spacious, with bunk beds and laundry everywhere you could get your eyes. It smelled, too. Some of the boys were already asleep, others were running around as though they were on a sugar high.
An older boy came up to the three and introduced himself as Sioni. He asked for the boys' names and clothing sizes. He was instantly able to direct Kash and George to their bunks, which were all apparently complete with extra and other basic hygiene items. After some fumbling and shrugging, Sioni had to get a board for E to write on so he could tell him where to go. He pointed to an upper bunk near the door and patted the board. "You can keep it."
E awkwardly walked away with the board and marker tucked under his arm, and silently stalked to the top bunk. He thought the kid under him was asleep, but apparently that was not the case.
"Hey," E jumped at the sound. He caustiosly peered over the edge of the bedframe. There was a boy who, despite his rather small build, looked to be older than some of the others. His arms rested behind his head on his pillow, and his body was twisted to get a better view of the boy above him. He had short brown hair, lots of acne, and large sunglasses.
"Cool bandana, dude. Is that an Expo marker?" he spoke with some kind of accent, but E couldn't place where it was from, or if it was even his real voice. He just nodded and reached down with the marker. The kid removed the lid without grabbing the marker, took a big whiff, and put the lid back on. E retracted his arm as the kid sighed in sastisfaction. "That's the stuff. Oh, I'm Mark. Marker Mark."
He then put himself into a normal position and went to sleep, sunglasses included.
E's eyebrow arched in confusion, but he just mentally shrugged and grabbed some pajamas and towels from the box at the end of the bed. He quickly climbed down and into the bathroom, which was also rather large. It was late, so there wasn't many boys in there at the moment. He padded over to a shower stall, closed the curtains and turned on the water so it could warm up while he undressed.
He stepped in the streams of water, letting it rush his worries away. New ones, however, arose as he could feel the hidden mark on his back begin to glow.
The archstep.
The mark of the Akua.
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