Chapter 31: Hands Held High

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 06:00
Location: Navasota Island

It was a picturesque scene of bliss and harmony. Mother Nature seemed to be pleasantly generous this morning, using her broad pallet of colors to paint a dazzling epic rising from the far off horizon. The sun, a small orange ball, seemed to float weightlessly up over the sparkling blue water. In the distance, the continuous lapping of waves provided evidence that the world was still here. A gentle breeze brushed through the islands, gently swaying the lush palm trees and high grass.

As the sun rose higher into the light blue sky, its beams fell upon the snow-capped mountains of Navasota. Through the brightening sun, the white snow atop the world reflected brilliant beams of light to shine down upon the island like a lighthouse. Amidst the ocean of green jungles and forests, the sun found a metal hatch, protruding like a sore thumb out of the foliage. The rusted handles were freshly moved, as if a night ghost had disturbed the dead.

Through the closed doors followed a series of hallways twisting and turning into the bowels of the earth. Each passageway was lined by identical doors, each unrecognizable from the next. But there was one that was different. Only one stood out from the ordinary.

And inside were two souls entwined with each other in a deep dream. Their bodies, like their minds, seemed to be as one as they peacefully lie on the bed. The room was filled with an aura of passion and serenity, as if nothing could disturb the peace and quiet of the man and woman. It was this very feeling that brought tears to Rena’s jade green eyes.

Rena finally let go, her heart heavy with regret and sorrow. She sobbed quietly as she backed away to the opposite wall facing the door to Nova’s room. A thousand memories flew by, each of them more painful than the last. Tears slid down her cheeks onto her lips and then to her chin where they silently dripped down to rest on the concrete ground. Rena’s body was shaking.

Rey… She thought as she sat with her back propped up against the wall, still unable to move from the presence of Nova’s room. She looked up with tear-filled eyes at the musty black ceiling dimly lit by yellow lights. The yellow beams started to turn red as blood, red as a rose, red as Rey’s eyes. Deep inside of Rena, she realized she was still in love with Rey. However, the other part of her body wanted nothing more than to rip him to pieces. It was the classic story of the angel versus the devil. But Rena was in purgatory, neutral from the fight.

She didn’t know how long it took her to gather up the courage to stand back up, but Rena somehow found herself aimlessly wandering the halls again. Her brain was deep in thought, with emotions clashing in an epic battle for supremacy. Suddenly, she found herself back at the hatch, looking up at the rusty metal lump of a door.

Rena swallowed, trying to bite back her fears and uncertainty. She placed one hand on a rung of the ladder leading up to the surface. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and ascended up into the world.

The door flung open telepathically. Rena’s nostrils were suddenly overwhelmed by the sweet smells of morning dew lingering on the tall grass. The sun had only reached the top of the mountains which radiated like beacons of hope. She stepped out, feeling the fresh grass crunch under her heavy black boots. A few tears shook out of her eyes, melding with the dewy wet grass below. Not knowing where she was going, Rena set off out into the forest.

Date: December 25, 3005
Time: 06:30
Location: In Low Orbit: The Academy

The pillow was still moist with tears when Rena woke up. Her head was pounding like no other as she turned over onto her back to look up at the ceiling with her jade green eyes. She was still wearing her combat suit from yesterday’s training, but did not care anymore. Everything she held true to her heart was gone, away with the one kiss Rey had shared with that accursed woman.

Rena’s boots clunked heavily on the floor as she stood up. She clutched her head in agony as she stumbled around, trying to find the handle to her door. The world seemed to swirl around her in a melting pot of colors. Finally, she had enough and threw the door open with her mind, busting the lock cleanly in half.

She stumbled out into the empty hallways. Sensing that most of the other students were still sleeping peacefully, she staggered and made her way down to the mess hall. Peace… Something I’ll never have again.

The lights bore down upon her like a searchlight searching for an escaped convict. Except this time, they had it all wrong. She was the victim. Nova was the convict. Rena smiled to herself at the irony of the situation. Plopping herself down on a chair, she laid her head down on the cool table. The cold steel almost seemed refreshing after the eternity of hell she had lived in the dreams she had had less than an hour ago.

With hands held high… Rena sang to herself as her head pounded with the essence of a jackhammer. She didn’t want to live on anymore. Every day was torture, and now the added burden of Nova’s cruelty seemed to end all purpose in Rena’s life.

Into a sky so blue… Everything felt suddenly cold, as if the core of life’s warmth had been sucked out of the room, replaced by the frigidity of death’s icy grips. The pounding in her head got worse with each passing second. Rena’s black hair with amber streaks was laid splayed on the table, covering her face, masquerading her sobs of despair.

The ocean opens up… Rena started to shake with renewed sobs. Her tears haunted her like a ghostly spirit, never letting her forget the devil’s face. Nova’s face. It hurt so much inside of her just to think of the topic, but she could not help it. The thought of Rey would never leave her now. His name was welded into Rena’s brain forever.

To swallow you… She suddenly stood up, making the chair topple over in her abruptness. With her tears blinding her, Rena walked out of the mess hall directly for the Academy’s Director’s room. She knocked once and mentally opened it.

“Rena?” The director spoke in a neutral voice, devoid of any emotion. He sat in his leather chair behind his oaken desk, scribbling away at a piece of paper on his desk. “I have to admit, this is a surprise, barging into my office at seven in the morning.”

Rena didn’t care at all, and replied harshly, “I want out.”

The director stopped writing and slowly looked up into Rena’s eyes. For a moment, Rena thought he was going to say something sympathetic, but a smile crept into his face. The director started to laugh heartily, as if Rena was a maniac, “Are you joking? Once you enter the Academy, you cannot leave until you graduate, remember?” He continued to write on his desk, brushing off Rena’s statement as a joke.

Anger screamed out in Rena’s mind, “I want out goddamit! I’ve opened up these scars that I don’t want anymore!” But the director just sat in his seat and shook his head in dismay. He put the pen down and straightened himself up, propping his back on the massive back of the chair.

“Rena, listen. You cannot leave, and you know we cannot permit you to leave. We are floating in space,” he motioned out his window at the infinite stretch of blackness dotted with tiny white balls of fire, “There is no where for you to go. And besides, I don’t know what has disturbed you into wanting to desert. What has happened to you Rena? You used to be our star pupil.”

A lump rose in Rena’s throat as she shrieked out in her mind. Everything told her to scream at the director for being so stupid, for letting this injustice slide, but she knew if she did, she would die. But then again, death didn’t seem to be such a bad idea anymore.

Rena, if you really want to get back at Nova, you have to beat her at her own game. Rena looked up at the director, who’s voice had just boomed into her mind. But he was remained stationary, buried deep in the paper he was writing. With a casual wave of his hand, he shooed Rena out of his office.

But as the door to the director’s office closed behind her, Rena suddenly realized what he was talking about. And from then on, she pledged her life into being better than Nova at everything she did. Where Nova fails, she will succeed, and where Rena fails, she will make sure Nova failed even more miserably.

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 07:00
Location: Navasota Island

Rena sat underneath the shade of a cluster of trees. Their long leaves stretched out and over her like protective arms. She brought her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees. Still sniffling, Rena curled up into a little ball and sat next to the large tree trunk. All of the despair in her life seemed to bear down upon her like a steamroller. Her mind was slowly being crushed by her forgotten memories.

Suddenly, Rena’s ears pricked up. Something snapped to her left, something that sounded like the boots of a man. Rena reached behind her and unshouldered her S-36 Seraph Long Ranged Assault Rifle, She quietly checked the actions of her rifle with a practiced bravado and laid down on the ground with her ear touching the soil. Someone was coming.

But as she continued to listen, the man’s boots were followed by many more. The silent thuds of footsteps reverberated through Rena’s keen ears. She straightened herself up and crept deeper into the forest towards the coastline to the east. Making sure not to make any noise, Rena crept forwards towards the source of the footfalls.

And then she saw them in their black combat uniforms wet from the humidity of the forest. On each of their arms, were the dark insignias of the Nexon Dominion. Swearing under her breath, she retreated back towards the hatch. The footsteps behind her became fainter and fainter, until she couldn’t hear them anymore. By the time she reached the hatch and wrenched it open, the morning seemed to be the same as it did an hour ago, emitting the same peaceful aura.

Rena jumped down the ladder and ran down the dimly lit halls towards Mikhail’s room. But as she rounded the corner, she magically found herself in a massive meeting hall that seemed to appear out of no where. She was sure it had not been there before, yet there it was in plain sight. Up at the front of the room, was Mikhail Shale. Beside him, was Nova and Michael’s squad. Three hundred men dressed in black, all wearing red patches with black swords, sat in front of them in perfect formation.

Mikhail’s eyes met Rena’s as if they were expecting hers, “They are here?” Rena nodded gravely.

The hall was silent; not a soul stirred in the dead quiet. But then, Mikhail’s face opened up into a wide grin. He raised his right hand in a fist and cried out, “EDEN! TODAY, WE FIGHT!”

Rena never forgot the army’s response, for their glorious war cries still rang in her ears to this day. The purpose of those 300 men had finally been set, with their rifles on their backs and their hands held high.