ASCEIA, FATIMA, AND Troy were permitted to enter and be part of the operations as ordered by their General. But it was not welcoming. They felt the tension, sensed the hateful stares thrown at them, and heard the whispers. Moreover, they were offered a big tent containing beds and a table with a computer, giving Troy the chance to check the cellular phone in his pocket. Whereas Fatima, chose to lie in the bed, she was exhausted and feeling light-headed.

On the other hand, Asceia was with the General, along with other soldiers, in a spacious tent. In the sea of uniformed men, she was the only one wearing pants, a pair of rubber shoes, and a black shirt. She was the only woman sitting in there, her focus was only fixed on the white cloth hung on the wall up front that was used to hold the images being projected. They discussed the information they have gathered after days of spying and observing the weapon and how they will carry out the attack. After a few minutes, they were dismissed. The armed men were scattered, off to gear up and prepare the things they will bring. And Asceia went back to their tent.

“Hey…” Troy said the moment she stepped inside. He was rubbing his temple and facing a computer. He looked so tired.

“We’re going out now. Will you two be fine here?” she asked, looking at Fatima who was deeply asleep.

“I wanted to come, but I know for sure I will be useless there.”

“You will be safer here.”

The cover of the tent’s entrance was swept open. One of the soldiers came in and said, “hey you, let’s go. Come with me.”

Asceia threw one last glance to Troy and gently nodded before turning her back and heading out. Out in the open, the soldiers rushed to their vehicles and rode. She followed the soldier and climbed to the back of the vehicle. She sat in between soldiers and the moment the seats were full, the vehicle started moving and went into the woods.

The soldiers riding the three vehicles that were sent to attack were silent the whole ride and only the noise of the engine was filling up the air, tearing the peace of the night. The men were holding their rifles, but Asceia was massaging both of her wrists where she can feel her barbed stinger underneath the skin. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander around the area, trying to intercept any sercean presence.

••°°••

TROY’S FINGERS STOPPED moving the moment he found what he was looking for. His heart skipped a beat and he shivered in fear. He turned his gaze to Fatima and he chose to keep it for the meantime while she was still sound asleep. He took a deep breath and decided to further his inquiry. He dug deeper and deeper, in the hope of finding the root. As he succeeded in tracing the location of whoever sent the message, he noticed something.

“The fuck…”

He rechecked it twice and he was seeing it right. The person he was looking for was approaching the camp, his location, at a very fast speed. He quickly got up and was about to wake Fatima when suddenly, he froze after hearing the gunshots in the air. They were attacked. He immediately dropped to the ground and crawled to Fatima who was also awakened by the alarming noise. It seemed like they were in the middle of a war with all the deafening noise filling up their ears.

Fatima crawled to him. Her eyes were red and she was so pale. “Are we under attack?”

“Whoever is attacking right now called the attack on the lab!” He threw his glance back to the computer but it was already destroyed. “Fuck! We’re going to die here!”

He remained on the ground and looked around. The whole tent was decorated with bullet holes and it kept getting more and more each second. He got no reason to stand up and find a way out. Inside, he can hear cries of wounded soldiers, their call for help, and mercy that brought horripilation to his system. Bright light flooded outside their tent. Through the bullet holes, he saw the fire engulfing the tents. They were trapped in the crossfire and he doesn’t know what to do. Asceia was not in there to save them. Fatima’s eyes were closed and she was whispering prayers. In fear, he also prayed. He asked for forgiveness and mercy, for a miracle that will come out of this alive.

What he feared to come arrived earlier than he expected. The shooting stopped and the armed men wearing black suits flooded into their tent, with their rifles pointing at him. He quickly put his hands behind his head. “We’re unarmed! We’re unarmed! Please! Don’t shoot,” he shouted and cried in fear.

“Hold your fire.”

Troy was dumbfounded to hear the familiar voice behind the men surrounding them. He was facing its direction and his vision went blurry for a second. Tears started crawling down his cheeks and dropped to the dusty ground. The men moved aside, giving way to the person he was expecting the least or no chance at all.

“F…Frejean?”

“Troy? Is she the Frejean you talked to me about?”

He was betrayed. Seeing her wearing a black suit with the logo of Herozoan Corporation on her chest broke his heart. Too many questions came rushing to his head that he badly wanted immediate answers. But he knew, for sure, she was also pulling the strings, especially the attack on the laboratory. He was fooled, they were fooled the whole time they were together. All those times they spent saving and trying to do the good thing for the serceans, it was all a lie.

“Hi, Troy.” Frejean smiled and drew a gun from the holster of the man beside her. She pointed the gun to the ground and pulled the slide back. Then she pointed the gun at Fatima and pulled the trigger. A loud bang and she smiled. “Now we can talk.”

“No! Fatima! No!” Troy screamed in horror and crawled away.

His eyes were only looking at Fatima who dropped to the ground with a bullet hole in her left eye. Blood crawled out of her eyes and pooled on the ground.

“Troy, where’s Asceia?”

••°°••

You can share your thoughts on the other social media platforms by using our official hashtag: #EverAfterSeriesWP #WavesOfScales