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Episode 16 - Traitor

ZJ's dead.

That is all what we had in our heads while going back to the plane to say Saminat farewell. I wasn't even on the mood to drive my bike, so McLean mounted it. I peeked inside ZJ's backpack: There was his wallet, his smartphone with solar charger, a frag, a couple of painkillers, his knife and his MP3. I took the wallet and opened it. There was his driver's license, some money and a photo of him, happily holding a brand-new 3DS. At least we could keep a vague memory of him.

-We're here. End o' the adventure for you. Sam.- Joelle said as she stopped the van. We went down and approached the plane.
-I guess it's the last time I see you guys.- Sam told us, I saw a tiny tear rolling down his eye. -One last photo to remember? I got an instant camera on the plane.- He got inside and out quickly. We took two selfies, one for Sam, another one for us. I held high ZJ's photo so he could appear on the picture. To end it, we gave him a big hug, I hugged him last.
-Thanks so much for helping me this couple of days.- I told him.
-It wasn't any problem. I never had this level of excitement since I piloted my first plane.- He said. We gave him a last good-bye as he was climbing on the plane. We then saw the plane flying away from us. There was no going back now.
We climbed onto the van and started heading for Greece. We knew it was a very long way to go, but we had food for a couple of weeks, more than enough ammo, and many gallons of gasoline to keep on rolling many days. Noaxis then looked at an Europe map she bought.
-Going on the highway isn't the best option. We must get a boat and cross all the way to Greece. But where are we gonna get a boat?-

So we started exploring the city, looking for answers. Everyone told us there wasn't any functional boats nearby, but they knew where we could get one: Montpellier, in France. Noaxis looked again in her map -Highway E15 is our best option. Let's get going.-

Towel then said -We can just hope for the best, and since I can't ensure we're all gonna survive, I'll pray just for the end of the Fonias.-
And so our travel began. Many hours of road crossing, chatting, Fonias battling and resting; We crossed the mountains to France. We
reached Le Boulou, a small town. Now there were only ruins of a town, but there was plenty of trees and plants with edible fruits and veggies; Like I said before, Fonias respect Mother Nature.

We slept in the van under a hollow tree. We got some sleep after a troubled yesterday. 10:36 AM when I saw the clock on ZJ's smartphone. As we were eating breakfast, Slint saw something not very far from we were eating. It was a lone Fonias.
-WOO! This should open the day with style! Let me blow this fucker's head!!- Slint shouted as he was lifting up his revolver; he was aiming to his head, but suddenly...

-NO! Don't shoot! Please!!- The ant-bastard spoke!! Slint dropped his weapon. The Fonias came directly at us; we rushed to him and slammed him onto the ground. I pulled my Binary Sword.
-Please don't!! I'm not armed!! I don't even have the army's white bandana!!- He begged for his life, I put the sword against his neck.
-OK, son of a bitch, speak up! We thought Fonias couldn't speak at all!- McLean started yelling at him.
-Well, I built a translator and integrated it to my chest.- I decided it was no use to us to keep him on the ground. I let him get up.
-Start explaining. Who are you? Why are you alone?- Noaxis said her daily morning question in a serious voice.
-My name is Yamesu. I was an engineer that worked at the Fonias mothership, building tools. I betrayed them by giving information to some rebels. They pursued me and then the exile. I walk alone since 3 cycles ago. That's like 5 months for you humans. I want this apocalypse to end. I didn't want to come to this planet. What my race is doing with yours is insane, and I can't keep seeing this anymore.-.
I told him -Well you can help us. We're on our way to destroy the mothership in Greece. Tell us how to reach it-
Yamesu then said - I've got a better idea. Come to where I live. I won't tell you where the mothership is, I'll tell you where the mothership is AND I'll give you a blueprint of the mothership.-

We accepted. We climbed on the van and the bikes, Yamesu climbed over the van. We started our engines and went to Yamesu's home. It was a big, abandoned military outpost in the middle of nothing. We noticed that there were many boxes with ammo, so we took what we needed.
-OK, Yamesu. Where's the map?- Joelle said; Yamesu entered in a small tent and got out, holding the blueprint, a Fonias transmitter and his plasma spear. He then stood in front of us and aimed at Noaxis.
-You know it was a big mistake to trust me, right?-
Slint then told him -Yeah. That's why I put a little C4 on your abdomen while you weren't watching.- He pulled out the detonator and pressed the button. I heard a loud bang then I saw a big splatter of black blood coming towards me. While I was wiping the blackness out of my face, I heard Yamesu's transmitter beeping annoyingly, I shot it. I picked up the blueprint; I guess he was telling a little bit of truth, it really was the blueprint of the mothership.

We got so distracted seeing it, we forgot we needed to get outta there. A scout ship came and fired the big guns towards us. We ran as fast as we could to the van, and during the run, Joelle tripped and fell; the scout ship aimed directly at her and started firing. McLean rushed back to help her get up, but instead, he received all hostile fire for Joelle.

I ran back to Joelle to pick her up, she took McLean's pouch. Towel then unloaded his shotgun at the ship, in a desperate attempt to take the ship down. The ship then stopped firing, and a black smoke cloud appeared outta the back. I heard voices from Yamesu's translator: "You've got to be kidding me! What do you mean by general overheating?!". I guessed it was from the ship, so I decided to rip the translator from Yamesu's dead chest, I knew it could be helpful. We ran to the van and bikes and went back into the road as fast as possible.

-McLean gave his life for me... A dumb girl that tripped with who-knows-what...- Joelle whispered in shock. Towel calmed her down.
-That's right! He gave his life so you can keep living! His death wasn't your fault!- Joelle wiped her tears.
Slint and I on the bikes, and the rest on the van; another member was down, but that wasn't going to stop us from destroying the Fonias race. We were driving, sunset behind us, and the French grasslands to complete the frame. A beautiful scene to calm us down.

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Episode 17 - Happy Birthday!

September 25, 2019, it's good to see ZJ's smartphone still able to tell the exact date. My birthday was the next day, I'd be turning 22, but that wasn't going to relieve me in any way, since we lost McLean. I looked out the window, Towel and Joelle driving the motorcycles.

-Noaxis, can you please give me McLean's pouch?- I asked her; she quietly gave it to me; Inside was his lighter, a pan, a pot, a permanent marker, and his multi-tool. I took the marker and closed the pouch, I pulled a piece of paper from my backpack and wrote on it "Happy Birthday to me... tomorrow." and then I put it on my chest.
Noaxis stared at me and said suddenly -Oh my Gosh!!! Happy birthday, 8! I completely forgot!!-. She gave me a big hug, then we stopped so everyone could hug me.

We detoured to Leucate, a coast city. Slint stopped the van on a gas station to check if there was anything we could get. Two old men came out of the corner store, armed and ready to fire upon us. Towel was about to pull out his machete when Joelle started talking to them.
-Bonjour, nous sommes à la recherche pour les fournitures. Avoir une essence de rechange?-
One of them nodded a yes, then replied. -Mais en échange, nous voulons de l'eau. Et la nourriture.-
Joelle translated -They do have gas, but we need to give them food supplies.- I agreed. We gave them a gallon of water, fresh veggies and seeds, and little junk food we were eating. They gave us more than enough gas.
-Attention pour ceux dégoûtant extra-terrestres- said the other old man. We waved good-bye.

We stopped on a donut shop on ruins to see if I could get something for myself. We were lucky to find the ingredients to make a few for ourselves. We mixed the flour, the water, some well-preserved yeast and the eggs (Where did we found eggs? Let's say there were hens walking on the street.) We baked them and put a little sugar on top. 6 donuts just for us. We slept on the donut shop that day.

Noaxis woke me up with a nice massage on the neck
-Hey there, sweetie. Want your birthday cake?- I'll never get tired of her daily morning questions. I sitted on a chair, in front of the donuts. There was a little match stuck on one of them, Towel lighted it up. -Make a wish!- I blew the match.
-....I wish for this madness to end.-. We all took a donut and ate them calmly.

We picked up our stuff and got out of the store, and went to the beach. There was a Fonias patrol team coming directly at us. I heard a voice from Yamesu's translator -You can't be here! The martial law is still on! Go back to your home!-. They started firing their plasma spears. We started running as I lighted some Molotov.
-Guys, here. Throw them at the count of 3!- I said as I gave Towel, Slint, Joelle and Noaxis a cocktail.
-1... 2... 3!!- I shouted. We threw the cocktails at the ant-bastards. I turned around and shot them, breaking them open and setting the Fonias on fire. We stopped running to see how they burned to a crisp; I could hear nothing but screams on the translator.
-Martial Law? These bastards are messed up! Let's go kill them all!!!- Slint shouted; Towel stopped him on the spot.
-No... There are occasions where we can't help. I know you want to kill any Fonias you see, but that's something I'd call "Overkill"…-
A siren interrupted Towel's speech. People, along with more Fonias, started getting out of the buildings; the Fonias were hurting no-one, and everybody kept on doing their day, we concealed our weapons, went back to the van and bikes, and started driving slowly around the city's downtown: Women washing their clothes, markets opening, a dealer giving Krokodil to a Fonias. Leucate didn't really need us. I wondered if an alien dictatorship could really help this planet; that idea was instantly discarded by the fact Fonias killed thousands and thousands of people.

We were running short on money so I decided to sell my paintball gun; even though it wasn't much money, we had a little more to keep buying supplies. We got out of the city, hoping to see another one like that on out road, with humans and Fonias living on at least relative harmony, not slavery. Though the odds of completion were small, we still had a mission to do.

That was a nice birthday...

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Episode 18 - Boot Camp, Part 1

We kept on rolling and trying to advance through the decayed French highway. The sunset was relaxing and kept me from thinking everything we were doing was in vain. I tried to keep my mind from those thoughts and focused on the scenery; so many wildlife galloping, running and crawling on the sideroad through the plains.

Suddenly Joelle stopped the van, Slint and I followed. She took the gas keg, and poured its contents in the tank.
-That's the last keg. We need to get to a city to refill. Now.- She said in a serious manner.
Noaxis checked the surroundings and noticed a roadsign, so she read it out loud -Béziers | 50. That means a city is nearby. Let's keep going.-

We quickly got on out vehicles and kept forward. We reached Béziers at midnight. We could not see clearly under the moonlight, so we parked behind some houses, put up the tent, and slept there. I needed that sleep after the I-don't-know-how-many-hours drive.

I woke up with a plasma spear pointed towards my forehead. My blurry vision let me see a lone Fonias ready to shoot; just before I could react, my sword went through his neck from behind. I rolled to a side so the corpse wouldn't fall on me.
Noaxis stood behind, with my sword in both hands and still on her pajamas, and fired her daily morning question. -Why the fuck do you leave your stuff away from you? I barely got your sword to kill this and other one outside!- I peeped outside the tent to see another beheaded Fonias.
I got up and put on my clothes. We disarmed the tent and stored it on Slint's backpack. We ate breakfast and decided to take a walk around the city... or the remains of it, as it was run down to ashes.

Just a few trading stands, selling ammo and clothing, but nothing else nearby, so we kept on walking. And then we saw a university campus, we couldn't see how it was named because the sign had so many bullet holes it ended up like Gruyere cheese. It was very well guarded by military men and women with makeshift guns; we walked to one of them and asked for any spare gas.

-Look, no free anything around here unless you can pay for it. But... We can make an exception in exchange for a favor.- He responded, in a thick English accent.
Towel had no time for that. -Cut the bullshit. What do you want?-
-We need instructors for the teens here to teach them how to fend for themselves, and by first glance, you look like you can seriously kick some butt- the guard replied.
He showed us a map of the campus he had drawn vaguely in a piece of paper.
-The Dean's office is in building A. Go left after you see the white fountain and keep straight. Third door to your right.- The guard explained the directions.

And so we followed his directions. We looked around as we walked to the Dean's office: Both adults and adolescents everywhere crafting either clothes, accessories or ammo for their weapons; Noaxis strayed away to get some shells for our shotguns, since we were running low on that kind of ammunition.

We reached the office and entered.
-My men told me Americans were coming this way to check on the instructor issue...-. The dean said in a high-pitched voice with her sitting towards her window.
-Please tell me you have some skill to offer to our students...-. She turned her chair around...

We saw a freaking 11-year old girl with a ponytail and a secretary suit sitting before us!
-What the fucking hell is wrong with these guys around here?! Why is some idiot's daughter sitting on the dean's chair?!- As soon as Slint said that, the little girl already was over the desk and having a Tomcat next to his cheek.
-It's Dean Elena Parker for you, dickwad.-. She put down the gun and started talking again -Back to the topic, what we need right now is someone who instructs them into defending and shooting a gun. Please, stay as much time as you need.-.

We went back to our parking site, and took our vehicles into the campus. Dean Parker was waiting for us at the parking lot -We have arranged a room for you five, it's in building F-. She then showed us the point on our map. As we walked to our dormitory, many bonfires lighted our way with teens singing around them.
Towel then said -Hey. How about we screw the mothership and we stay here forever? They got everything to prosper, we can take advantage of that and live happily here.-
-I made more than a mission briefing back at Glenside; I made a promise to Wade. I'm not staying here- I then said, my eye fixed forward.

Next day, we were sent to different places in the campus to serve as the Fonias-killing teachers. I was sent to the college gym, where a shooting compound was constructed. I stood in front of more than forty-five of 14-to-17-year old teenagers.
-Who here has fired a gun before?- I fired my first question, without even presenting myself. Almost everyone raised their hand.
-Ok. Keep them raised. Who here can say they have experience firing one?- More than a few put down their hands.
-All right. Who here has killed a Fonias before, with a gun?- A few others put their hands down.
-Good. Last question... Who here has killed another human being before?- Everyone else put their hands down except for a couple of girls who raised them again.

I stood motionless in front of them and resumed my speech -Ok. You can call me "8". Don't even think about asking me my real name. That will prevent me from trusting you. I was part of...-
My speech explaining my background continued for a few minutes before starting with the real class. -I'll need some guys with expierence here to teach the untrained ones how to handle and fire a gun. The rest, follow me.- The class I'd be training was reduced to a mere 26.

The class and I spent the entire morning with guns on our hands. I taught them how to clean and dismount a pistol, how to craft add-ons for rifles and once the class was finished, I told them a few past stories when the NG HQ still existed.

My team ended its day exhausted. Back at our room we talked about our classes:
-I taught those twats how to be a nuclear-powered badass motherfucker!- Slint started showing off and exaggerating the fact that he simply taught them nuclear physics.
-I taught them how to make a fishing rod, and also fishing.- Noaxis resumed the talk.
-I was stuck teaching a bunch of potheads first aid techniques. I hate pot- Joelle talked with an angry tone.
-Me? I... had to learn to craft buckshot. Even though I had to teach that.- Poor Towel...
-They still haven't given us gas. Does that mean we have to stay a bit more?- Noaxis said, uneasy.
-Doesn't matter now. Let's sleep.- I told her.

My sight was fixed on the ceiling, thinking about what Towel said yesterday. What if we dump the mission and we stay here on this place, peacefully? We had everything, and I chose to turn my back on that for the sake of destroying the mothership.
Did I make the right choice?