But it’s just so damn hard not to give in to something that is starting to feel good...
Back home, I had no voice. I thought I was free, but I wasn’t. I woke up and did what I was told. Every day that passed was another chance to bury my true feelings inside.
I’ve tried to do my best to carry forward, but I’ve been lonely since the day my father died. I’m a hundred light years away from my past, and now I know what I have to do.
I have to open my eyes and alleviate the pain. I also need to learn a tough lesson: this is my life now. There’s no going back.
I will embrace it, and they will protect me from the chaos that closes in around us.
Lök carries me into a black craft, nudging me in a narrow crevice between two backseats.
Akron shuts the door, but I can hear his muffled voice. “The female. You don’t… love her, do you?”
Uncomfortably, I shift away from the window, but I can still hear their conversation.
To my surprise, Vraik responds with a swift punch in the jaw. “It’s none of your business.”
“You involved me in the execution of a sentinel. This entire thing is my business,” he shouts.
His voice echoes throughout the dimly lit streets. Soon, sentinels and Empire officials will be searching for our whereabouts. I’m sure of it.
“So, what? You’re going to turn us in?” Lök snaps. “Is that your master plan? The Empire will ride your
ass into the ground. You’re involved in this murder, and that means you need to follow our lead.”
I open the door and hiss, “You’re making a scene. Wherever it is you plan on taking me, we have to leave now.”
They stare at me, mystified.
Akron groans. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Lök runs to the entrance. “Believe it,” he says. “A new world is coming. Now is the time to embrace it.”
You can’t stop change. If there’s anyone who understands that point, it’s me.
You can fight all you want. Resisting the tide only makes things worse.
I’ve got a feeling I have yet to see all there is to see.
With everyone in the craft, we fly into a bleeding sunrise. From below, sentinels round the streets, but it’s too late. Akron presses a button, and the ship cruises through the top of the atmosphere. Their laser beams knock against our forcefield, but no damage occurs.
Soon, we are zipping through an open landscape. Old and degraded fences line the overgrown grass.
When we arrive to a lone structure, the sun is shining. The sky is clear. It’s actually a beautiful day, but the aliens don’t seem to enjoy the daylight.
“We’re here,” Akron growls. “Let’s move inside, fast. I don’t want any of the sentinels to pick up on our trail.”
“What is this place?” I ask.
Akron exits the vehicle, but Vraik takes my hand and answers. “An abandoned breeding facility,” he says. “We will be safe here.”
How long will we have to stay in hiding? Will I ever get to enjoy another sun again?
The building is shaped like a pyramid. A golden glow slightly emanates from the outside, but a dark green moss covers most of the brick.
As I walk up to the site, an odd feeling hits my stomach. It’s a mixture of both sadness and excitement. I’m sad because I know things are different. There’s a melancholy to letting go of the familiar.
But I’m also nervous. My life has purpose. And these aliens, as savage as I first thought they were, aren’t that bad.