Blue Through the Grey

War Room

PART 5: Ghost

Jennifer.

Glad we have the cloak, we can actually make fire. Jessica finally got to meet Noah, and it’s the Noah that left her behind. I don’t know if there’s hard feelings between them, they aren’t talking though. I cuddle up with Reilly and watch the flames dance in the fireplace. We just broke out of an alien prison, and stole most of their weapons, they’re definitely looking for us.
“Look” He says to me, pulling something out of his pocket.
“Chocolate” I smile. “I cannot believe you took that”
“Believe it” He hands it to me and I instantly put it in my mouth, savoring it.
Evan seems to be liking the new girl, she seems strong, she’ll be good for the team.
I fall asleep in his arms and awake when the sun bounces off the snow and into my eyes. Something smells amazing. I walk into the kitchen and see Noah making breakfast.
“Gas powered stove” He smiles. “I took a lot of food from the base. We’re having bacon and eggs”
“No way” I say. “Liar” I walk over to the stove and peer into the pan. “Ugh, I’m so glad we have you on the team” I pat his back and walk back into the living room. Everyone is just waking up.
“The shower works, hot water too. This place runs on solar power. Awesome find” Jessica says, walking down the stairs, drying her wet blonde hair.
Emily and I smile at each other and run up the stairs, of course, she gets to the bathroom first. I lean against the wall and sit down.
“Hey” Reilly says, sitting next to me.
“This reminds me of home” I lay my head on his shoulder.
“Me too” He says. “We can’t go back to the base. I know a place where we can go, gather up and army, then we can go”
“Huh?”
“There’s a place, called Ghost. They’ve been sending broadcasts for weeks, asking for survivors. They aren’t too far”
“How do we know they are who they say they are?” I ask.
“My father is there” He swallows hard. “Well, he was there. I’m not sure if he’s still alive. But we have to take a chance and go”
“I’m with you 100% But do you think the others will be?”
“I hope so” He kisses the top of my head.

I shower in boiling hot water. I wash the filth of that place off of me. When I get back downstairs, they’re talking about the plan. Everyone seems to be okay with heading to Ghost. No one wants to go back to the base, we’d be murdered. The plan is to head out in the morning, wear our exosuits so we can glide there. Night comes fast and dinner is amazing, well amazing for little supplies we have. We laugh, talk about the old days and eventually fall asleep. Morning, exosuits on, out the door. We glide pretty fast, not caring if the mothership sees us. Send down the drones, we’ll take em’ Reilly leads us down a long dirt road and out into an open field, surrounded by trees. There’s nothing here but stones rising from the ground.
“Where is it?” I ask.
“Under us” He says. “They should be coming out soon”
And he’s right. The ground splits open and an elevator slowly makes it’s way up. There’s a man standing on the platform and two others aiming their guns at us.
“It’s alright” The man says. “Lower your weapons”
“Dad” Reilly says.
The man takes a second and walks slowly towards him. “Reilly. Is that really you?”
“Y-yes” His voice trembles. “Dad it’s me”
The man is in a full sprint now and they collide into a hug. “I thought you were dead” His dad says softly.
“I thought you were too. Do you run this place now?”
“Mostly. Let’s get you guys inside”
He step onto the platform and watch the ground slide closed. This place is huge. Bigger than the base.
“How many people do you have here?” I ask.
“A little over a thousand”
“Great. We’re gonna need all the help we can get. There’s a base not too far from here. Full of those...aliens. But...they look just like us”
“I know” He says. “We have a lot here. A bunch of them were against invasion so when they got here, they left, looking for salvation. There’s one among you now”
He steps forward. It’s Noah. “Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I was afraid”
“How’s that possible?” Jessica asks. Finally speaking to him.
“I was born in this body. I am Noah. My mind was activated in this body as soon as it was conceived”
“So, you’ve been here?” She asks.
“For 18 years. I told you, I was born just like any other person. I went through all the pain and suffering too. My parents were murdered by my kind. I didn’t want this invasion, I didn’t even know about it until it happened” His eyes fill with tears. “I’m sorry”
Jessica grabs his hand. “It’s okay. You didn’t know this was gonna happen. Even know your kind destroyed our planet...you’re innocent”

The elevator reaches the bottom and two doors slide open. We’re in a large open space and there’s tons of people walking around like nothing has happened.
“We found this place right after the military abandoned it. Exo-tech military. They brought them here” Reilly’s dad says.
“Yeah. We figured that out a few days ago. What a disappointment” Emily says.
Hours pass, I’m not sure how many. But we’re set up in a large room with a bathroom, a stove, and a few beds. This place is nice, and when those assholes find out we’re coming for them, they’re cower in fear. David, Reilly’s dad, tells us that the mothership is just floating now, there’s no one aboard but the few people that control drones. If we can somehow take out that ship, the drones would fall out of the sky, giving us an advantage. Later on, I lay my head on a soft pillow and take a deep breath. Where are you dad? are you in a better place? is there a better place? is there even a place? Among aliens, it’s weird. They had an argument whether or not they should vaporize us. It’s not fair, we should have a say in this. There’s a knock at the door.
“Jenn” The door opens slowly and a light on the floor flickers to life.
“Hey” I sit up on the bed.
“What’s on your mind?” Reilly asks.
“Nothing” But there is something, everything is on my mind.
“Will you ever let me in?”
I turn away. “There’s no time for it. No time for romance. No time for anything, Reilly”
He inches towards me and runs his fingers across my cheek. “Jenn. There’s someone here”
Then a man walks in. Tall, muscular, beard down to his chest. I don’t recognize him at first but then I look into his eyes. I know. I know this man.
“Dad” My voice so small, the words barely coming out. “You died”
“I made it out” He reaches for me but I move away.
“No. You died” There’s no tears, I don’t know if I’m angry or not. “You were alive...and you left me out there”
“I was searching for you, Jennifer” He grabs me and pulls me into a hug. I let my arms hang. I don’t know if this is real or not. The camp exploded...and he did too.
“You need to go” I say. “Give me some time to process this”
He lets go and looks at me, his eyes filling with tears. “I thought...I thought you’d be happy”
“Get out” I close my eyes and sigh. “I said get out” Calmly as possible, I don’t want to yell at him.
He takes one last look at me before he slides the door shut. The light on the floor fades and I slam my body down on the bed. Why am I so angry, he didn’t know if I was alive or not. It’s not his fault. I look at the wall across from me, no windows, no natural light. The tears slide down my face and drip onto the pillow.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
I’m awoken from dead sleep, sleep I haven’t had in a long time. The door slides open and Noah walks in.
“Hey” I say. “What’s up?”
“David wants a meeting in the war room. Get dressed up”
“I’ll try” I laugh slightly. But he’s right, I need to get new clothes on. There’s an outfit laid out on the nightstand. Blue shirt, blue pants, and white shoes, vans I think. I brush my hair a little and push it behind my ears, I don’t really feel like putting it up. I slide open the door and walk out into the hall. What time is it? there’s no one out and about. Must be late...or early. David stands outside my room and smiles when our eyes meet. He shakes my hand and tells me how brave I am.
“What’s this about?” I ask.
“You’ll see” He smiles. Something about his smile is comforting. He opens the door and everyone from my team is sitting on the left side of a long glass table with blue lights under it. On the other side, is a woman. Long blonde hair with no volume. She’s dressed in black and her arms are folded.
“Hello, Jennifer” She smiles. “Please sit”
I pull out a chair and sit down. Reilly taps my shoulder and smiles. “I’ve brought you all here today for one reason. To take back what is ours. We’re going to shoot a long list of short commercials. To show them that there’s people here. People alive and willing to fight”
“Wouldn’t that give up our position?” Noah asks.
“No. Radio waves are cloaked. David made sure of that”
“That’s not gonna stop them. They’re a more intelligent race” Reilly says.
“But they’ll know we’re here to fight. We’re not going anywhere” The lady said, I think she’s president here.
“Can I ask something?” I smile, for some reason. She nods. “Who are you?”
“Sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Marlene, leader of the Ghost Colony”
“When do we start shooting these?” I ask.
“Now”