Chapter 14
Edna
A few minutes flew by.
Griffin pushed the door open and walked into the metal tent.
"So, how is it?" Joey asked.
Nobody had moved from their positions.
"There are two aliens outside their tent. The third one is nowhere to be found. I guess he must be inside the tent. I surveyed the surroundings too." Griffin reported.
"What is the vigilance level of the two watchdogs you saw outside?" I asked.
If the patrolling aliens were too suspicious, the difficulty of our escape would increase drastically.
"Their vigilance level is medium. I think they believe Tekita's warning would do a good job in keeping us in check." Griffin replied.
"What about this area. Did you find any information? Describe what you see." Joey said, "We have to discuss everything here. After going out of this tent, no one should say anything aloud or to each other. We would just have to deal with the guards watching us and run as far as we can."
"True." I concurred.
"The structures littering this grounds might be able to distract them but I highly doubt that. When I surveyed this area, I saw white smoke rising at the edge of the horizon. I can see some buildings too." Griffin continued. Joey pursed his lips, "The buildings you saw should be part of a village or town. Since there is smoke in that direction, the place should be inhabitable. If we hide in that place, it should be hard for our captors to catch us."
"Okay. Since we cleared that up, it is time to move." Yulia scanned the faces of each person in the exploration team, "Everyone, please listen carefully. We are working with the smoke Griffin was talking about. After dealing with the watchdogs outside, Griffin would point at the direction he saw the smoke. Everyone has to run towards that place without stopping or talking."
"You have to try your best not to get caught. If we are quiet, Tekita and his goons shouldn't notice our disappearance early. After all, we are supposed to be sleeping." Griffin said.
"If there is something you don't understand, please speak up now. After leaving this tent, there will be no questions or discussions." Yulia questioned.
"I understand everything perfectly." I said.
"Me too." The rest of the civilians chorused.
"Please, everyone should be careful. Try not to lag behind or get caught. The future of humanity rests on our shoulders." Joey said.
"So, this is what we can do. The four women on this team would go outside and pretend to be pressed. We will act like we want to pee. The aliens outside might relax their guard when they see us." Yulia proposed, "Edna and I would find any material we can use in knocking those watchdogs out. The two other women can support. Then, I will return to the tent to signal to the men that everywhere is safe."
"That is a great idea. After everyone is out of the tent, we would all run towards the settlement at the edge of the horizon." Tobias completed.
Yulia nodded.
A small smile was on Joey's lips.
The atmosphere between us was warm and smooth.
"Okay. Edna, Habiba and Gianna, let's go." Yulia said. She went outside.
I and the other two women copied her actions.
We saw the two aliens standing guard right away.
The third alien wasn't around too. Griffin was spot on.
We walked closer.
"Hey! What are you doing outside at this hour?" One of the aliens said.
"Please, don't shout at me. We are just looking for a safe place to pee." Yulia replied.
Her momentum was strong.
The second alien snorted in derision.
"Is that why you guys came together as a group? Each person should have left the tent to pee alone." He said.
"We are safer in a group." Yulia sneered.
"Go and do what you have to do. Don't stay out for too long." The first alien said as he waved us away.
My body was in a tense state.
Adrenaline thrummed in my veins.
The heady feeling coursing through me made my palms sweaty.
Yulia found a place closer to the aliens' tent.
Yulia squatted and the rest of us followed her actions.
I could see a bit in the dark.
Yulia's fingers scanned the ground.
She found something.
She pushed the thing into my hand.
It was an heavy stone.
Her fingers went to work again.
She rose to her feet when she found a suitable stone.
Yulia pointed at the standing aliens.
I nodded.
Both of us stalked towards the aliens little by little.
Finally, we got into a suitable range.
The aliens were standing near their metal tent.
Yulia and I faced an alien each.
I stared at the back of my target carefully.
All my attention was on the male alien.
I raised the angular stone in my hand and brought it down
The alien jerked.
His body was about to turn around.
I raised the stone and hit him in the same position again and again.
I tried to make my actions as muted as possible.
Finally, the alien stopped struggling.
His body tilted downwards.
I caught his body and laid him on the floor gently.
I glanced at Yulia's side.
She was done.
She did good justice to her military work.
The other two women were still at the place we got the stones.
Yulia left the unconscious alien and walked back to our tent.
I waited patiently.
She didn't stay inside the tent for a long period of time.
A few minutes passed by and Yulia came out of the metal tent.
The seven men, including Jimmy, our pilot came out of the tent after her.
The group came to where I was waiting.
Habiba and Gianna joined us.
Griffin pointed at a direction.
Everyone stared at the place he was pointing at with intent eyes.
Griffin took off a second later.
I followed him.
Then, the rest of the exploration team members, including Jimmy started to run..
The windy night air caressed my body as I moved forward with all my might.
My heartbeats increased.
I focused all my attention on putting one leg in front of the other as quietly as possible.
"Ah!" A small scream interrupted the silence and a body hit the floor.
I looked backwards.
It was Habiba.
She was sitting on the ground.
Her hands cupped her leg. Dust stained her clothes.
Something must have tripped her.
If you're loving the book, nel5s.org is where the adventure continues. Join us for the complete experience all for free. The next chapter is eagerly waiting for you! The other humans didn't look back, they were still speeding towards the horizon.
"Wait for me. Please, help me." Habiba cried.
I couldn't watch her sit there pitifully.
I slowed down.
I was prepared to turn around and dash to her position.
I was fast.
We should be able to keep up with the rest.
The expression on Habiba's face changed.
A fleeting light filled with cruelty passed through her eyes.
"Since nobody wants to help me, nobody should blame me for what I am going to do. We are all going to pay the consequences of this escape." Habiba said. "No." I whispered.
Habiba didn't hear my voice.
She was determined to being the rest of the humans down with her.
"The humans are escaping!" Habiba screamed with all her might.
Veins stood up from her skin because of the exertion.
There was movements from the other side of the modified vehicle.
My pace was already slow but I still reduced my speed again.
Whatever I did now was futile.
There was no need to continue running.
Habiba had spoiled everything for us.
No one would be able to escape now.
A metal ball was launched. It grazed my face by the width of a finger.
More balls went past me.
The balls were similar to the ones that destroyed our spaceship.
These cannonballs was smaller than the ones that destroyed our spaceship though.
It might be Tekita's superpower.
"If you guys escape successfully, call my mother a whore!" Tekita's furious voice yelled behind me.
I closed my eyes.
It was finished.