“Raven. Wake up…Raven wake up now!”
My eyes shot open and in an instant I was up on my feet with an arrow in one hand and my boot in the other scanning my hut for hungry cougars or bobcats. It was a false alarm. Like it was about eighty percent of the time. I have a tendency to wake myself up like that. And most nights are the same. But tonight was different. Though my hut was empty, I still had a gut feeling that something wasn’t right. And my gut is very rarely wrong. I grabbed my bowie knife and crept out of my hut. It was still dark outside. I snaked my way through the trees and rocks to the neighboring hut not making a sound. I peered into the dark hut and saw two small lumps of quilt. But I knew that under those quilts were Sam and Sabo. I could nearly see their spiky white hair through the darkness. But there was no sign of trouble. I moved on to the next hut. When I examined it, there was nothing dangerous besides the three adorable assassins fast asleep on the floor. Jessi, Maloree, and Alex. The third hut I only glanced inside because I knew it would be empty. Then on my way to the last hut I heard a terrifyingly familiar moan coming from inside. I ran the rest of the way to find Seth on the floor of his hut jerking spastically and fighting with an invisible opponent. I cried his name and immediately dropped my knife and fell on top of him with all of my weight while I wrapped my arms around his and pinned them to his side to keep him from lashing out any further. Though he outweighed me by about fifteen pounds, and he has the strength of an OX, I could usually handle him when he is in this state. He lay there struggling underneath me for about a half an hour more until he finally was still his breathing was evening out and his heartbeat was slowed to normal. Exhausted, I relaxed my arms but remained on his chest letting the movement of his breathing lull me to sleep. And for the remainder of the night, there I stayed.

When I awoke, I almost panicked. I had no idea where I was. But then I paused and looked around. I was in a hut, but who’s? My eyes pierced through the semi-darkness and I spotted a pair of boots. They were size eleven with a little arch in the sole. I knew this because they were Seth’s. I knew everything about Seth. His dark almond colored hair that almost covered his eyes, eyes that were the deepest blue with silver flecks that brought out his dark tanned skin. He was tall and lean, several inches taller than I was. Me on the other hand, I was a lot paler than he was but with a light tan because of the constant sun. I had very short cropped hair that stuck out in all directions. And it was black; black like the ravens that constantly circled the Oasis. But my eyes, they were purple. A deep, dark purple most of the time. But they frequently changed colors depending on my mood.

I noticed that I was wrapped in something. It was Seth’s coat. That’s when I noticed that there was no Seth. Still wrapped in his coat, I got up and wandered out of the hut. The sun was just rising in the horizon. I spotted the silhouette of Seth on the boarder of the Oasis. He was seated on a particularly large, particularly smooth boulder. His favorite perching spot. I silently made my way to where he was. I took my spot next to him and together we watched the sunrise. It was beautiful really. To be in near darkness, then suddenly the world around you illuminates in bright reds and oranges and yellows. Seth and I spent many mornings like this. Sometimes I would look up at him and watch the sun hit his face, so chiseled and serious. He would often catch me staring and his face would break into one of those amazing smiles. Then he would stare into my eyes because in those moments my eyes would become a fierce pink. He is the only one who makes that happen. But this occasion was different. I was trying to soak it all in. I had one of those gut feelings that I was never going to see the sunrise again. At least not like this. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, letting the warmth hit my neck and chest. I heard some shuffling coming from behind me and I turned to see two identical pale skinned boys with matching white hair and sleepy looks on their faces.

“Well good morning you two” I said to them as they shuffled across the sand.

“G-Morin” Sam mumbled rubbing his eyes. They both plopped down on the sand and leaned up against the boulder to watch the sunrise. Not too much later, three girls also joined us. Jessi was the taller, dark freckled redhead. And it wasn’t that terrible red-orange carrot-top red head. It was more of a fiery auburn color that danced with the colors of the sunrise. Maloree was the smaller blonde who despite her size was as fierce as could be. And Alex, she had the same black hair as I did but it was very long and most of the time, hidden by a hood of some sort. These three girls, though so different in styles, were more alike than even the twins. They had a connection with each other unlike any I’ve seen. What they had was a sisterhood. And the family was all there. Enjoying the sunrise like any other day, and not having a clue what was in store for us or how our so familiar lives were going to change in the waking hours.

When the show was over and the sun was well over the sand, I announced “All right everyone, let’s get dressed before it gets too hot. The caravans are coming today.”

The caravans. That’s where we got all of our most valuable equipment. There, we get things like clothes, tools pots and pans, books, and food. But most of all, we go to see how the world has changed.

We all met back up at the rock dressed appropriately for the hot desert weather. I was the first to show, equipped with a long sleeve shirt with a loose turtle neck under a larger short sleeved shirt. I also wore baggy cargo pants tucked into my boots which were wrapped in strips of cloth for better grip on the sand. The next to arrive were the twins. Both had round, silver rimmed aviator goggles dangling from their necks. They acquired these from a traveling vendor the last time we met the caravan. They wore matching plain white T-shirts and black and brown, many pocketed, also aviator jackets which they also purchased from the same vendor. They were also rocking the cargo pants, but they were much too big and sagged over their Nikes.

“You guys excited?” I asked them enthusiastically when they got within earshot. Sam beamed and held two thumbs up.

“Yeah I’m stoked! I can’t wait to show the how strong I’ve gotten. Sabo and I have been doing push-ups every day!” And it was true. We were all very strong and fit physically. I guess living on your own has its advantages.

“What about you Honey?” I asked Sabo as I ruffled his spiky white hair.

“Yeah, excited” he said softly as he looked to the ground. What can I say? Sabo was a man of action, not words. Any time someone unfamiliar was around, his only way of communication was through us. Literally he would whisper into our ears what he wanted to say and we would deliver the message. Otherwise he would stick with his brother silently. They were always up to no good though. Always stirring up some kind of mischief.

Not too much later, Jessi, Maloree and Alex made their way to where we were. They looked like goddesses walking along the sand. Jessi was dressed in a black compression tank top, lightweight camo cargos tucked into laced up black boots with her shocking red hair pulled back into a ponytail. And to top it all off, some badass bounty hunter sunglasses. Maloree, never really one to be too flashy, simply wore a loose long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled at the elbows, khakis and boots to match with her hair also pulled back and ponytailed under her baseball cap. Maloree had on flowing black pants, a loose black blouse, a large dark, dark purple shawl ( the same color as my eyes) to cover her hair and nearly half of her face. And on her feet, she wore some kind of sandal wrapped in cloth. Some people might have taken her for Emo or Gothic at first glance. But really, she was one of the bounciest people I knew. When they arrived, I shook my head and said “it still amazes me how you can live in the desert your whole life and still manage to look like freaking models.” All three girls blushed and giggled, mumbling embarrassed words of thanks. “Well, I wish I had your natural beauty” said Alex from underneath her hood. “Yeah” Jessi chimed in, “you just wake up like that, but this”, and she gestured at herself, “takes time.” At that, all three girls started chattering about what they had to do to get ready. I didn’t know if they were talking to me or to each other. My attention was focused on something else. Or should I say someone else. Seth had just stepped from his hut and I just couldn’t help but stare. He wore a tight, white long sleeved V neck pulled up to his elbows. He had on some dark green cargos, his boots and a pair of dark aviator sunglasses. He looked so handsome strolling over. I was lost in his movement and his steely serious face. This was bad I thought. I mean, we’re practically like brother and sister. I know everything about him and he knows everything about me. It’s crazy, it wouldn’t work I thought, but that still didn’t shake the undeniable feelings I felt. I looked down at my feet, avoiding everyone’s eyes, because I knew what color mine would be.

When we were all together, I cleared my throat and announced “All right guys, you know what day it is, we’re going to do like we always do. We’re going to meet the caravan, lead them here, let them rest up, and most importantly, be nice and ….Sam?” I said as I stared down towards Sam. He took an exasperated breath and grumbled,
“Don’t take anything without asking.” Then he put on a mocking smile and gave a curtsy, “your highness.”
“I’m glad we’re clear on that” I said still narrowing my eyes suspiciously. “All right, now let’s do a weapons check.” I never let anyone leave the oasis unarmed, especially on trips like this. We never know what we might come across. We had to face bandits and thieves many times, and cougars and bobcats even more. There was a rare time when we had to face all three dangers at the same time. This is why I have made training a mandatory subject, along with academic subjects I teach, or at least try to teach.
As for the weapons check, the twins each reached into one of their many pockets on their jackets and came out with a little gadget. “This is our latest invention” Sam said excitedly. It’s like a hidden gun but the ammo, is unlimited and all around you. Rocks. “See, you put a rock here in this little compartment.” He picked out a pebble at his feet and inserted it into one of the sides then he closed the hatch, pointed it at a palm tree and pressed the button. The gadget made a small ping! And the pebble flew out and into the base of the tree, a few inches deep. Sabo smiled triumphantly.
“All right that works” I said approvingly. “Next.” Maloree on her belt had ten tiny knives that she was very skilled at. They were each about the size of her middle finger and she could throw five of them into your face before you had a chance to react.
Jessi had a machete strapped to her waist. She too, made swinging that thing around look easy. She could slice three coconuts in half before the first one hit the ground.
Alex had three daggers always hidden somewhere on her body. They could be at her thigh, they could be in her shawl, no one ever really knows. But I’ll tell you, I would hate to be the one to pick a fight with Alex. She is so quick and deadly it scares me. You could barely see a flash of metal and before you knew it, you’re dead.
Seth had a small carved wooden club. He once killed a full grown bobcat with one blow with that thing. And that is all you need to hear to know about that.
As for myself, I had a bow on my back with a quiver of homemade arrows along with a large bowie knife. Not bragging or anything, but I can shoot a mouse through the eye from eighty feet away. Yeah, I’m real big on protection. And to tell you the truth, we were all pretty well off even without our weapons. The countless hours we spent on perfecting the use of our weapons are no comparison to the endless days we spent on self-taught hand-to-hand combat and martial arts. With the help of many acquired books and diagrams.

“All right, last but not least, water. Do we all have it?” Everyone raised their canteens and water skins. Because our training won’t help us if we all die of thirst. After all, we can’t stab nature in the eye. “OK, let’s roll out.”

The journey really wasn’t a long one; it was just slow paced and dangerous. By ourselves, we could make the trip in no time, but we had to navigate the caravan through the rough, desert terrain and outlast the blazing Saudi Arabian sun. Plus, we weren’t the only ones who knew about the caravan’s voyage. Gangs and thieves lurked along the passage looking for their chance to strike. To take control of a whole caravan was a huge prize, plus the bragging rights. Since we were the guide of this caravan, it was also our job to protect it from harm. We’ve been lucky enough to have successfully guided the caravan with minimal conflicts all these years and I hoped to keep it that way.

After about half an hour of trekking through the desert wilderness under the hot sun and enduring the never ending encore of 80’s rock hits by Sam and Sabo, we finally arrived at the rendezvous point.
“And now, we wait” Alex said dramatically which caused another fit of giggles. We spotted a lone scrawny tree near where we were. All seven of us scrambled towards it and crowded underneath its’ blissful shade. As we sipped out of our canteens and skins, our minds were filled with the possibilities of change and wonders of what would be different. But before we could get in to it, Sam suddenly jumped up and put his goggles up to his head, looking into the distance. We sat there staring at him in silent anticipation. Then, finally a smile cracked his face and he shouted,
“Here it comes!”

We didn’t wait for it to reach the rendezvous point. We all took off and ran to meet it, hurdling over small boulders and dead shrubs in the process. When we reached the caravan, the first person we saw was our good friend Aalim, the leader of the caravan. He was an enormous, round man with a round face that was half covered with a dark scraggly beard. We bombarded him with hugs until we all fell onto the ground in a pile of limbs and laughs.
“Tafl! Tafl!” Aalim shouted the Arabic word for children through his deep chuckles.
“We’re sorry” Jessi said as we all helped Aalim up from the ground.
“No, you’re not” Aalim said, chuckling again. The he wrapped his arms around all seven of us in a huge embrace. “It has been too long, much too long” he said in English, but with a heavy accent. Then he released us and took a step back to examine us with his hazel eyes that gleamed in the sun. “You have grown so much” he said beaming.
“Looks like you have too” Sam said, patting his stomach.
“Oh yes, the wife has been treating me well” Aalim said putting his hands on his own stomach. We all shared another round of laughter. When we had settled down, Aalim said, “Like my own children, you have grown.”

Now that I think of it, we really were like his children. With a very uh- long distance relationship, I guess you could say. But he pretty much taught us everything we knew. How to hunt, read, write, speak Arabic, and about the importance of family. He found us at the oasis he says, when we were very young. He tells the story to nearly everyone he meets about how he had to fight off seven savage children to protect his caravan. This was when Aalim was a much younger, stronger, less round man. He says that judging by our size, Seth was nine years old, I was eight, Jessi was six, so were Alex and Maloree and the twins were four. But what he doesn’t know is that there was an eighth, not a child, but an adult. None of us remember a name, or a face. We only remember a presence. A presence that was there up until the day Aalim stumbled into our lives. It wasn’t a good presence. Nor was it a bad one. It was just knowing. We would learn from it and go to it for help. But we haven’t felt it for over eight years, only a foggy memory. The only evidence we have of its’ existence is the empty hut at the oasis. But, no one really goes near it, except me of course. When I’m confused on what to do next or just need time alone to clear my head, I creep inside to meditate. Every time hoping that I would feel something, anything like the knowledgeable presence that I once knew. Because after it was gone, it seemed that the task of leading our little family fell onto my shoulders. I know I wasn’t the oldest, and I didn’t know near as much as I know now; but no one else seemed to object to my leadership roll so they followed me and respected me, along with each other. But, I did have a lot of help from Aalim. After we attacked him (I’m not even sure why we did) he got us under control along with a few others from the caravan. And when we couldn’t answer his questions of how old we were, where we came from, and where our parents were, he took us under his wing. But when the caravan was ready to move on and we refused to go, he appointed his eldest son, Kian, to lead the caravan the rest of the way while he stayed behind with us. They picked him up on the way back of course, but in those five days he was with us, he taught us how to read, hunt, fight, gave us proper clothing instead of the rags we were wearing. He taught us all the necessary things we needed to know to survive on our own. He said that our ability to learn new things and perfect them was extraordinary. It was almost scary how fast we learned and adapted. On his final day with us, we said our goodbyes. And after much persuading and pleading for us to come with him but with no prevail, he left. And said that he would be back every two years. So it’s kind of a family tradition to come and see Aalim, our more-or-less father

“It’s so good to see you all” Aalim said. “But I believe that there are some people that would be equally excited, and rumor has it that they have something special for a set of twins and three little girls.” He gave them a wink. Next there was a series of hugs, thank you’s and a few excited squeals and whoops! Then they were gone to find the fabric merchant, weapons dealer and “the gadget man,” as the twins liked to call it. When they were gone, it was only Aalim, Seth and I left. “Seth, my boy, how are you?” Aalim asked, taking Seth’s hand and bringing him in for an embrace.
“I’ve been well, very well.”
“I am glad. You remind me more and more of my own son every time I see you. Strong, silent, respectful.” Seth beamed. Then Aalim turned his attention to me. He coughed awkwardly before he asked,
“Raven, may I have a, uh, private word with you?”
“Err- yeah, sure Aalim” I said taken aback by his request. I looked at Seth and he nodded knowingly.
“I’ll get some supplies” he said and walked off. Then Aalim motioned behind him and the caravan was on the move.
We walked in silence for a while. Aalim looked deep in thought with his brow furrowed and his teeth grinding. When he finally spoke, his voice was now solemn instead of joyous as it had been. “Raven.” He spoke my name with such tenderness it almost broke my heart.
“Yes, Aalim?
“I’m going to miss saying that name.” he said almost to himself. “I talk about you all of the time you know.” I was getting confused. Why was he going to miss saying my name he could say it anytime he wanted. But instead of asking, I just said
“Yes I figured you would.”
“Ahh, smart girl, smart girl.” He said distantly. Then all of a sudden, Aalim took hold of my arm and led me quickly away from the caravan. Then he placed me in front of him, got on one knee and placed his hands on my shoulders so that we were eye to eye. His once jolly, round face was now serious and stressed. I could almost swear that I saw an ounce of fear in his eyes that reflected the fading sun. “Raven” he said my name with almost a desperate tone in his voice. “You are the only one that I can trust. I need you to promise me something.”
“A-anything Aalim” I stammered
“No, no I need you to swear. Swear on your life” he said tightening his grip on me.
I looked into his eyes and said “Aalim, I swear.”
“Swear to me that no matter what happens tonight, that you will survive. All of you need to survive do you understand?”
“I-I’m not sure if I do understand.”
“But you NEED to understand Raven. Something is going to happen tonight and when it does, I need you to run. Run and don’t look back, don’t stop to help anyone and don’t’ come looking for me. I didn’t know what to do. The strongest man I knew was now on his knees on the verge of tears in front of me telling me to be strong. But looking at the state he was in, I couldn’t refuse his request.
“O.k. Aalim, I will.” Aalim heaved a big sigh and said some sort of Arabic prayer under his breath then got up.
“Thank you Raven. The last thing I would want is for any of you to get harmed.” Those were the last words he spoke to me. We embraced, and then walked back to the caravan in silence.
It was almost dark. The sun was barely visible over the distant dunes. There were scattered torches being lit throughout the caravan. When Aalim and I separated, I went to find the rest of the family. My mind was swimming, trying to process what had just happened. I found the family thankfully together. The twins were huddled together, examining their new trinkets. The girls were chattering excitedly about their new found fashions, and Seth had just walked up with a basket full of herbs, spices and foods. When he saw the look on my face, he came straight to my side. “What is it?” he asked under his breath.
“We need to leave. Something is going to happen.” I didn’t even have to explain myself he somehow just knew.
“Everyone, listen up!” He said to the rest of the group. Everyone stopped what they were doing and was listening to what we had to say.
“O.k. no splitting up!” I said. “Something is going to happen tonight. And when it does, we are going to get away from here as fast as we can. Does everyone understand?” there were ten bewildered eyes staring at Seth and me probably wondering what was going to happen and when. As if reading my mind, Sam said,
“Sure but what’s going to happen-.” But I didn’t get a chance to answer. Because at that moment, it happened. The explosion.

I was knocked out for at least a minute or two. But when I came back around, I wish I hadn’t. The scene that I awoke to wasn’t pretty. The world was turned upside-down, there were people running and screaming and fire was everywhere I looked. I tried to sit up but there was an agonizing pain in the right side of my head. I reached to massage it and was met with an unpleasant warm and wet sensation. “Ah crap.” I muttered.

Despite my throbbing head and the ringing in my ears, I miraculously go to my feet. It took me a second to get my bearings. It was chaos. There were people lying everywhere on the ground, moaning and crying out in pain. Debris from the destroyed caravan was like a maze of burning wood and fabric. An image flashed through my mind of the family in the state that these people were in. The family! I had to find them. I looked around but couldn’t see any of them. “Seth! Sabo!” I called out. “Jessi! Sam! Maloree! Alex!” I was stumbling around the destruction calling out names while my freak-out meter was to its boiling point.

As I was rounding a corner around a less-burnt wagon, I was stopped short. Not twenty feet from where I stood, was a soldier of some sort. He was wearing all black gear with a slick helmet that covered his whole head. I saw that on his left shoulder was a large, blue, circular patch that had on it: I.S.O.C. in bold letters. But what really caught my attention was the P90 assault rifle he was cradling in his arms. I’d only seen one in the books I had and then was quite interested. But now that it was this close and I knew its power, it was a little more than terrifying. “He must have been the one who set the explosion off” I thought to myself. I had to do something. He was just standing there with his back turned, looking at something that was out of my field of vision. Now was as good of a time as any. I unhooked my bow from my back and pulled out a single steel-tipped, barbed arrow. I got into a good position behind the wagon and pulled back on the bow. Taking three deep breaths, my hand resting on my cheek, I released.

BINK! That was the sound my arrow made when it connected with the back of the soldier’s head. He stood there for a second, with the arrow sticking out of his head. Then as if in slow motion, he fell straight down to his face. Just as I was stepping out to examine my kill, I heard a shout and three more soldiers rushed to the body. Then one (I’m assuming the leader) made some signals with his hands and they separated with their weapons at the ready and one of them was headed right for me. I took cover back in my spot and loaded another arrow. I peeked around the corner to see that the soldier was already over halfway to me. I crouched behind the wagon ready to strike again. “O.k. Raven. You got this girl.” I said to myself. Just as I was about to pop up and shoot the soldier’s eye out I was grabbed from behind and a hand clasped over my mouth to muffle my scream. I thrashed wildly thinking I had been snatched by one of the goons but my captor quickly released me but still kept a strong hand over my mouth. I turned to face my captor but instead was met with the intense blue of Seth’s eyes with a hushing finger over his own lips. I was so relieved to see him I could have cried. He motioned behind him to a gap in the wagon that led inside. I nodded and we both crawled into it. Once inside, we watched through the cracks as the soldier passed by. Once he was gone, I (awkwardly) threw myself at Seth and wrapped my arms around him. We sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. I just wanted to stay there, in the dark cradled in Seth’s arms but I knew we couldn’t. We had to find the others.

I detached myself from Seth and led the way back out of the wagon.

“Who the hell are these goons?” Seth asked as we crept around looking for the others.

“I don’t know. But I did see a patch that said I.S.O.C. on the last guy”

“I.S.O.C.” Seth repeated. “Is that a gang?

“I don’t think so. The weapons are way too advanced for any gangs around here.”

“Where did they even come from? We’re way out in the open, how did we not see them coming? But just then, we heard a blood curdling scream. Seth and I looked at each other with worried expressions because we both knew that scream all too well.

“Maloree.” We both said. Then Seth and I took off full speed towards the direction of the scream. We rounded a burning pile of rubble that led us to a clearing where we were met by the sight of Maloree being drug by her hair by another one of the goons. I could tell she had put up a fight because of her bloody nose and raw knuckles. Plus the goon was limping pretty badly.

“Maloree!” I called out rushing towards her.

“Raven!” Maloree screamed. When I got within distance I flung myself into the air and planted both of my feet into the chest of the surprised goon.

“Oof!” the goon stumbled backwards releasing Maloree in the process.

“Are you alright sweetie?” I asked helping Maloree from the ground.

“I totally had him!” Maloree said.

“Sure looked like it” Seth said jogging up from behind us. Maloree stuck her tongue out at him. The goon groaned from the ground and got to his feet. He looked at us, and we looked at him. The tension was so thick; I thought I could see it floating in the air around us. Then the goon turned his head slightly to his gun which was laying a few feet from us on the ground. We all stood there for a second more, then he lunged towards the gun. At the same time, so did Seth, Maloree and I. but the goon was too quick. He scooped up the gun while we piled up on top of each other. He stood over us with the gun pointed at our heads. Then he did the unexpected. He lowered his weapon and said,
“We don’t want to hurt you.” His voice was slightly robotic; I guess it was because of the helmet. But besides the roboticness, it seemed sincere.
But I wasn’t buying it. “Then what do you want?” I spat from the ground.

“You just need to come with us. He will explain “

“Who is He?”

“You will see. Please just come with us and everything will be explained.” My mind went back to what Aalim had said earlier ‘I need you to stay alive’. This didn’t add up. Why go through all of this destruction for us? I didn’t know but I wasn’t taking any chances. With one move, I swept my legs through the goon’s and he hit the ground with another ‘Oof!’ as if planned, Maloree, with lightning speed, rolled and snatched the gun from the dazed goon while Seth easily put him in a full nelson.

“All right guy.” I said while Maloree had the goon held at gunpoint in Seth’s grip. “It looks like we’re running things now.” Seth brought the goon down to his knees. I crouched in front of him “Who sent you guys?” Silence. “Come on dude who calls the shots? Clearly it’s not you, so speak up.” Silence once again. “Well if I can’t hear you, then maybe we can get a look at what’s under the hood” I grabbed each side of the goon’s shiny black helmet and when I pulled it off, what we saw was completely and utterly unexpected.

“What the-?” Seth exclaimed almost letting go but quickly recovered. It was a girl. No seriously, it was a girl! About my age, maybe a little older. She had black hair tied up in a messy bun. Her stone colored eyes were intense and staring into mine. Her face was expressionless but her rosy cheeks showed that she was flustered. We stood there and gawked. Who in their right mind would send a-a kid out to kill?

“What-how-Huh?” I stammered still shell shocked.

“Surprised?” the She-goon said almost smugly.

“Who did this to you?” was all I could muster.

“To me? I think you mean for me. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He saved my life.

“Who is he?” I asked. She got a weird gleam in her eyes and a creepy smile crossed her face.

“He might be God. But that’s just what I think. His name is Dr. Flynn. Dr. Alan Flynn. But in all seriousness you really have to come with us. Like, your lives depend on it.”

“In all seriousness, you killed all of these innocent people and your friends tried to kill us. So why the hell would we trust you now?

“Flynn always has a good reason for bloodshed. Besides, what else have you got going for you?” I thought for a minute. What else did we have going for us? I mean our whole lives had been spent here in the desert with no real objective other than to survive. I’ve never really thought about it. What if this was what I was waiting on? Clearly we were what this Flynn guy wanted, but why? And was I willing to risk the survival of my family? I looked at Maloree and Seth. Both were looking expectantly at me waiting for my word. The pressure was all on me. Sometimes it sucked to be the one in charge.

“I’m going to trust you on this.” I heard Maloree and Seth both gasp slightly but I ignored them and went on. “But I will let you know that if so much as an unwanted hair gets pulled from anyone from my family, you will be the first one to have a broken nose.”

“I will make it my responsibility to look over you and your family. I promise.” That was good enough for me. I nodded to Seth and promptly, he released her.

“Where is the rest of my family?” I asked.

“Oh don’t worry, they’re safe and sound on board.”

“On Board?” I said with a puzzled look. She smiled at me and flipped open a pocket to reveal a small walkie-talkie. She then pressed the button and said,

“Ok Skip, bring us up. Watch this.” She said to us now and pointed up.
I didn’t know what she was talking about at first, but then suddenly my jaw dropped. Materializing above us was- well I’m not sure how to explain it. It was a plane, or ship, or craft. Anyway it was big. It had a short wingspan maybe thirty feet. And under the wings, were big, round fans. I’m no rocket scientist but I would bet that this was a hover craft. The body of the hover craft was round and not much longer than the wings but thinned out at the end. The whole thing was blacked out with no windows so it looked more-or-less like a giant sting ray. The Sting Ray hovered over directly above us and shined a beam of light down. I suddenly realized just how dark it was around us so I had to shield my eyes from the sudden brightness. This next part even I still have trouble believing it was real. I felt my body get light and my feet leaving the ground. I looked around and the others were also lifting from the ground. I started to freak out. I kicked my feet and tried to get back to the ground but it was no use. “What is this Star Trek or something?” I screamed at the She-Goon.

She just chuckled and said “Just relax” How was I supposed to relax? We were now twenty five feet in the air and about to enter a ship that was taking us to God knows where. I locked eyes with Seth and somehow that calmed me. I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t staring at the quickly receding earth, or because I knew I was not going to be alone going into this. Whatever this was.

I would like to say that that was by far the weirdest experience I have had…ever. But I can’t, because it gets weirder. Believe me.

When we boarded the Sting Ray, we were enclosed in a spacious room. There was a retractable floor that slid under us and closed off the fifty foot drop to our deaths. I was relieved when my feet hit the somewhat stable floor, but I was still on edge. The room wasn’t really anything fancy. It seemed like the cargo part of the ship. There were big crates and boxes that lined the walls and things hidden under tarps that poked out in suspicious ways. “O.k. now where is everyone?” I asked.

“They’re here. Hold on and I’ll show you around.” And at that, she started stripping. Yeah I said it. Stripping. All right she had clothes on underneath her suit but I still felt uncomfortable. She stripped her big bullet proof jacket to reveal a tight compression tank top; similar to the one on Jessi and Oh-My-Goodness she was gorgeous. She was well developed and had a slim waist but an athletic figure. Next, she took off what seemed like the outer layer of her combat trousers because what was under them were just lighter baggy pants that still showed off her perfect butt. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not into girls or anything but she was just Drop-Dead-Gorgeous. Her slim figure that still held all the curves that I wish I had made me feel a ping of jealousy.

Then she released her hair from her bun, and I swear it fell and I swear it fell to the middle of her back in slow motion. Even being up in that bun, it was still perfect. Even her face, once so hard and cold, had lightened to a more kind and gentle expression. In a way, it made me more relaxed around her. Definitely still on guard, but more relaxed.\

“O.K.” she said. “Follow me.” She led us to a door that I had not noticed before. The door was automatic so it slid smoothly into the wall to let us through.
Once again, I was surprised. We walked through the door into what seemed like a G6 private jet. The interior was white and spotless. Huge plush couches lined the room, and the floor was covered by soft, thick, white carpet. I also noticed that the walls were virtually one big window that wrapped around us. Clearly one-way windows, since there was no evidence of any type of window from the outside. But before I had any more time to gawk, I was tackled to the ground in a flash of red, blonde, and white hair.
“OhmygoodnessRavenitsreallyyouwethoughtyouwereagonerbutyourreallyhereohmygoodness!” That was all I heard while Sam, Sabo, Alex, and Jessi piled on top of me.
“O.k. O.k. I’m glad to see you too!” I said from somewhere underneath the dog pile. One by one they got off and released the crushing pressure that I definitely did not mind. Once I was pulled to my feet, I got a good look at my crew. Bruises? Yes. Cuts and scrapes? Yes. Dirty and tired? Yes. Smiles and laughter? Boy was I happy to say, yes. While everyone was mingling, I noticed that the She-goon was kind of hanging back and looking uncomfortable. Knowing me, I felt a little sorry for her. I looked around and I didn’t see any welcome party for her. Maybe they just didn’t know she was here yet. But just then, a loud commanding voice said, “Agent Black, report to The Situation room.” There was no one else in the room so I guessed it came from some kind of intercom. When I looked back at Agent Black, (better than She-goon anyway) her face had turned white though her expression did not change. There was an awkward silence as we watched her cross the room to another door. When the door slid behind her, Sam immediately spoke up,
“All right so who was that fine piece of gorgeous, and who is going to come to our wedding?” we all burst out laughing.
“I think she’s a little out of your age range sweetie.” I said as I ruffled his hair.
“And way out of your league”. Jessi added which caused Sam’s tongue to stick out rudely her way.
“Oh stop it you two.” I said sternly. Jessi flipped her hair while Sam grumbled something about being uninvited.
I walked over to one of the plush couches and felt it with my hand. That couch was probably the softest thing I have ever felt in my life. My hand sunk right into it. I turned around and flopped into the couch and until then, I hadn’t realized how exhausted really I was. As my body sunk into the deep coziness of the couch, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep until I woke up back in my hut in time to watch the sunrise with my family.
The exhaustion must have hit everyone else when I sat down. They all followed my lead and filled the rest of the plush seats with simultaneous sighs of relief. I could have sat there and slept for days, but my luck was not that good. It seemed like as soon as I closed my eyes, I heard the door slide open and let Agent Black in. I opened my eyes to see her motion for us to follow her through the door. We got up and followed her, but my guard was still up and ready for anything.
Through the door was a hall that was lined with shiny metal that our reflections shimmered against and carpeted with a red felt carpet. We walked in silence until we came to a door in the hallway and Agent Black stopped and rounded on us. “Now when you enter this room, you need to have the upmost respect to everyone in it. Do you understand?” we all gave understanding nods. She nodded her approval then turned and opened the door. Inside the room, the light was very faint coming from a single, dangling light bulb above the center of a large, round, wooden table. The dim light cast odd shadows on the faces of the people sitting around the far side of the table. There were two women, and four men with equally grim faces. One of the women gestured to the empty seats which we immediately took. Then a man snapped his fingers in a particular way and two other men emerged from the shadows behind them and placed large glasses of ice water in front of each of us. Then the room seemed to hold its breath to see what we would do. And though I couldn’t see their eyes, I knew they were staring at me. We were all silent for what seemed like ages until someone finally said,
“You’ve all been through a lot today, you must be thirsty.” That set about a zillion alarms off in my gut.
“Um, no were fine” I said trying to sound nonchalant. “We don’t really get thirsty very easily.” Which technically wasn’t a lie, we can literally go days without food or water and it barely phase us.
“Of course you don’t darling.” Said a woman with an eerily cool tone that sent shivers down my spine. There was several more moments of silence. The family was getting uncomfortable and fidgeting in their seats. This time, a man with a deep raspy voice spoke up and said,
“Do you know why you’re here?”
“Um, no sir, we don’t” I said. I could see the shadows of the man’s mouth curve up and his deep voice said,
“You are going to be a very important part of this planet’s future” I heard murmurs of agreement throughout the mystery people but now I was officially confused.
“Um, I don’t think I understand-“
“Speak with confidence child!” a new female voice barked at me. “I don’t want to hear the word ‘um’ come out of your mouth again!” I was kind of shell shocked for a moment. I hadn’t expected such harshness after all of the other softly spoken words. But it ticked me off a little bit. I had just met these people and they were already giving me grammar lessons? Who did they think they were?
I looked to the others and saw equal surprise on their faces, and they were all staring at me. I was their leader and the voice of the whole family, and in a time like this they were depending on me to play my roll. So I straightened my back, planted a more commanding look on my face and cleared my throat. When I spoke, I was almost surprised at the amount of confidence in it,
“ma’am, I’ll have you know that we are very educated and-
“Educated?” the woman cut off again with an amused tone in her voice. “By whom?”
“By me!” I shot back much louder than intended. This lady was really starting to push my buttons, and I was running out of buttons to push. “My family and I have been living on our own for years, and now all of a sudden you guys just decide to drop in? Not to mention killing hundreds of innocent people in the process.” My face was getting hot and my palms were starting to sweat. One of them started to say something, but I wasn’t finished. “Then you send the Goon Squad after out to kidnap us. And now were sitting here exhausted and hungry in something we didn’t even know existed, only to be given some crappy grammar lessons. I-we need answers, and quickly before we um, blow this joint.” After I was done, I was panting slightly and had a light sweat built up on my forehead. But what happened next stunned me.
I held my breath not really knowing what to expect. But I was expecting their response to either be furious that I would speak to them with such disrespect and possibly have me thrown from the aircraft, or stunned into silence and we would have to escape from the craft anyway. But neither happened. In fact, their response was pure astonishment and awe. They were gawking at my face. Some even leaned over the table to get a better look. “My word!” one of the women leaning over the table exclaimed. She was leaning far enough to have her head fully exposed under the light. She was old, but still beautiful (In a grandma sort of way), and had silky grey hair wound up in a tight bun.
“Quite remarkable” I heard someone else say.
“Truly amazing” said another. I was clueless, but still frustrated.
“What? What is it?” I asked touching my face.
“You mean to tell me this has never happened before?” a man asked.
“What has happened before?” I asked feeling like I was being kept out of a big secret.
“Get this young lady a mirror, quickly!” I looked to my family for help and when I did, they all had the same reaction of astonished faces and gasps of surprise.
“Would someone please fill me in on what the heck is going on?” I asked exasperated. At that moment, one of the men who brought out the water emerged from the shadows and handed me a fairly large hand mirror all the while staring at my face in stunned silence. I quickly snatched the mirror from him and stared at my reflection completely mesmerized.
Nothing was wrong with my face at all, besides the redness and dirt. But it was my eyes that everyone was focused on. My once fierce purple irises had become an intense white, with flecks of dark grey. I heard someone in the back of my mind ask softly, “And you are sure your eyes have never been this color before now dear?” I nodded my head slowly, my eyes still glued to the mirror. And as I felt all of the anger and frustration leave me, I watched my eyes return to its original purple. When I looked up from the mirror, one of the men snapped his fingers and said, “Jonathan, Call Flynn.”
“And what shall I tell him sir?” a voice said from the shadows.
“Tell him…we found her.”

We were promptly dismissed after that strange and eventful meeting. Agent Black escorted us back to the previous room with the white couches. I sat heavily down on one of the couches once again and tried to block out all of the excited chatter around me.
“Oh. My. Goodness.” I heard Maloree say. “Raven that was so cool! I had no idea your eyes could change colors like that.”
“Yeah Ray, do they change to other colors too?” Sam asked, practically vibrating with excitement. Seth and I locked eyes and quickly looked away.
“Nope, Not that I know of” I lied.
“Well they were beautiful” Jessi said
“I’m so jealous of you Ray.” Alex added in

“Thanks you guys” was all I thought of to say. But frankly, I was still exhausted. All I really wanted to do was fall asleep and not wake up for a very long time. And just as I thought this, Agent black came in.

“Well, well, this is new.” She said as she strolled over. “I thought it was cool enough that you had purple eyes but now that they can change into white, that just tops it off.”

“Uh, thanks.” I said.

“Don’t mention it.” She said. “Now I know you all have a lot of questions, and trust me, they will be answered. But for now, why don’t you guys get some sleep? We still have a while before we arrive.” She then walked to one of the ends of the long couch and pressed a button on the side. Suddenly the couch extended right beneath us about five feet. Then she walked to a large cabinet and pulled out an armful of pillows and blankets which she set at the foot of the couch-bed for us to share. “This should make you a little more comfortable.” She said as we got settled in. the couch-bed was big enough for all of us to fit comfortably and with plenty of space. The pillows were extra plush and the blankets were warm and soft. It was amazing. Until now, we had never even seen a bed in person. I guess this really wasn’t an actual official bed, but I think I speak for all of the family in saying, I’d definitely qualified.
I noticed that Agent black was silently leaving the room with a rather lost puppy look on her face and I felt bad for her. I couldn’t invite her to sleep with us of course, but I thought that what I did say was a start. “Hey!” I called out. She turned around just as she was walking out. “What’s your name?” The smile that lit her face made me glad I asked. “Wow. You’re the first one who’s actually asked me that in a really long time.” My heart absolutely broke for her and I almost teared up. She looked at me and said, “Its Samantha, Samantha Black. But you can call me Sam for short”.
“Well Goodnight, Sam Black” I said. She smiled and dimmed the lights before she walked out.
When I closed my eyes, sleep welcomed me quickly. I dreamed of the Oasis, as if nothing had gone wrong that day. The sky was clear, the bluest blue I had ever seen. There was a slight, cool breeze that caressed my face and danced with my hair. I smiled, and thought to myself how perfect this was. Then I started to dance. Yes, dance. (Don’t judge, a girl can have her dreams cant she?) I danced through the shady trees and laughed. It had been so long since I had laughed. An actual from the belly laugh. And I enjoyed every second. I found myself out of breath and at the bank of the watering hole. I didn’t remember getting there but I didn’t want to ruin my dream by thinking too much. So I knelt down and cupped the crystal clear water in my hands. I took a sip and let the rest trickle down through my fingers. Then I heard it, the voices. Screaming my name.
“RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN!”
The voices of my loved ones. Jessi, Maloree, Alex, Sam, and Sabo. I tried to call back to them but no sound came from my mouth as if I were being choked.

“Raven.” I heard. This time much closer to me. I looked up to the familiar voice and gasped. What stood in front of me on the other side of the spring was my old, thought-to-be-dead friend Aalim. Well, sort of. He was solid for the most part but I could faintly see through him to the trees he stood in front of. Though he was semi-transparent, his smile was still warm and welcoming.

“Aalim!” I exclaimed. As I started to rise, but he raised a commanding hand that stopped me. Open mouthed, and wide eyed I stared at him. And he stared back with that warm smile of his. Then finally he spoke again.

“Raven, my girl.” He said in his heavy accent. “You have done well. Your family is well I take it?” I was still shell shocked. My mouth opened and closed but no sound passed through, so I looked like a stupid fish out of water. But I finally found my voice and managed to get out, “But- you-you-, the- how?” Aalim burst out in hearty chuckles, and when he was done he said lightheartedly, “Yes, Yes child. I did in fact die in the explosion. Cut right in half actually.” He said matter-of-factly. I looked at him with horror and wondered why he seemed to be okay with being cut in half.

“Aalim, I’m really glad to see you and all, but I have to ask, why are you here? In my dream I mean. And who are these people? Do you know who Doctor Flynn is?”

“Whoa now, I can only answer so many at a time.” Aalim said. He took a breath. “I do not know why I am here. All I know is that he sent me here to help you. So here I am.” I was more confused now than ever.

“Who sent you? Was it Allah?” I asked. This time it was his turn to look confused. He scratched his beard and said,
“No, it was not Allah, but it was. Do you understand?”

“So was it the Christian god?”
“No, but yes?” he asked more to himself. “And when I asked him who he was, he said again, and again ‘I am, who I am’.” There was a moment of silence after that where we were both trying to collect our thoughts.

“Anyway, what were you supposed to help me with? And how?” I asked trying to change the subject, seeing that this was already confusing enough.

“He told me that I was to stay with you and help you through the trials you are to face. Those were his words. He also told me that there was only so much that I could assist you with, or else it would upset the balance of the future.” Aalim paused and looked at me with one of those looks he used to give me that said he knew so much more than I could ever imagine. “It will be a future that no matter what happens in the days to come, you will play a very large roll in. you are special Raven. More special than I ever could fathom. Even more than you know.

“What? What do you mean Aalim?”

“All you need to know right now is that your family needs you. There may be additions to it in the near future but do not forget who your true family is Raven.”

“Additions? Aalim, I confused. And scared, and I have no idea what I’m going to do. We’re traveling with strangers to a strange land, and strange things are happening to me.” I was starting to cry. I felt the warm tears run down my face as I let it all out. I looked at Aalim with pleading eyes. He smiled at me knowingly and though his lips did not move I heard him say,

“Be strong child, and have faith in yourself.” Then he opened his mouth wide and I heard not his voice, but a chorus of my family screaming my name,

“RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN!” then I felt myself lean forward, and forward until I was falling, falling into the spring I was kneeling in front of. When I hit the water, it wasn’t cold. But I kept falling and falling and falling until I hit the floor of the aircraft in a heap of sweaty blanket.

Breathing heavily, I untangled myself and got up. Surprisingly, I didn’t disturb anyone. My family was all still sleeping soundly. I silently made my way to the door that led to the hall. It slid smoothly open to let me through. The hall was dimmed but I wasn’t really sure why I was there. I guess it was just something in my gut that told me it was the right thing to do. I started along down the hall when I saw a dim light ahead of me at the end of the hall. I made my way towards the light and realized that it was coming from a slightly cracked door. I started to open the door but right as I reached out, I heard the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. It sent chills down my spine and stopped me right in my tracks. The voice was singing a song I didn’t recognize, (probably because I haven’t heard many songs before) but I will never forget it. It flowed like silk through my ears and took me to a trance-like place in my mind that I didn’t want to leave. The door was cracked just enough so that I couldn’t see much inside; so I crouched down and crept forwards not wanting to disturb whoever was singing, but I had to see who was making such a beautiful noise. I held my breath and placed my hand on the cold metal door, pushing slightly. I was relieved when the door did not creak, so I pushed a little more…and a little more until I saw a figure standing by a great window with its back turned to me. I was temporarily blinded by the sudden brightness of a magnificent sunrise, made of vibrant pinks and purples that reflected off of the water below. The few wispy clouds that dotted the sky contrasted the brilliancy with temporary white. All of this with the singing was enough to make the hardest of people melt into themselves.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized that the figure standing in front of the morning scene was Sam. Her hair was down and a little messy like she had just woken up. I stifled a surprised gasp with my hand. “Wow!” I thought to myself. “She has some serious talent.” I got up and stepped inside the room soundlessly. I crossed the room and took a spot beside her. To my surprise, this did not faze her. She didn’t jump in surprise, nor did she pause in her song. She actually turned and smiled at me, and I smiled back. We both turned our attention back to the watery sunrise. We were smoothly gliding over the water and towards the blazing sun. In a way, this reminded me of the sunrises back home. But in a way this was nothing like the ones back home. Either way, it made me homesick. I felt a single tear well up in my eye, and as it fell, I sat down and pulled my knees into my chest and closed my eyes.
Maybe I wasn’t expecting it because the song was still playing through her throat, or because we had just met, but it still happened. As I was drowning in my homesickness, I felt an arm come across my shoulders in a comforting hold. I looked up at Samantha in shock. But she just kept singing and staring forward like nothing had happened. I didn’t say anything. I just closed my eyes again and leaned into her, letting her voice drown out my thoughts. I’m not sure how long we were sitting there before I felt another body next to me. I peeked my eyes open to see Seth looking down at me with his intense blue eyes, and beside him is saw three heads poking out from underneath a single blanket. I looked to my other side and saw two messy heads of white snuggled up with an even more surprised Samantha. I blushed and sat up straight. But I was pulled back into Seth’s arms and he whispered in my ear. “You don’t have to be tough, at least not right now. Right now you just need to be Raven. We don’t know how many more moments were going to have after this so just enjoy it. There is always time to be a leader later but for now, just be a spectator.” Even though my mind was telling me I needed to be strong, my gut told me that what he was saying made perfect sense. I relaxed in his arms and let myself go into the beauty that surrounded me. And as I looked around, I realized that he was right. We really don’t know what’s going to happen in the days ahead. So right now we needed to soak as much of this in as we could. The scene around me was so serene how could I not take it in? So instead of counting the minutes, I started counting the waves. I counted the clouds. And I counted the knuckles on Seth’s hands that were interlocked with mine. Then somewhere in the awesomeness of that moment, I fell asleep. I fell into a deep, dreamless, peaceful sleep. I was happy to not think about the train wreck of a mess that was coming. And boy was it coming.

We must have all fallen asleep because when I woke; the first thing I noticed was the mass of bodies that surrounded me. I smiled to myself for a moment before I got carefully up from the floor. As usual I was the first one awake. The triplets (Alex, Maloree, and Jessi) were cuddled up under their blanket practically breathing in unison. Seth lay there on his side with one arm outstretched that I had occupied moments before. And when I turned to the twins, I almost burst out laughing. Sam had his head rested on Samantha’s chest, while Sabo was stretched across her legs snoring slightly. I started to move the two lover boys when I saw her face. She looked like she was in heaven. Her smile was relaxed and her eyes were closed. She actually had an arm wrapped around each of the boys. Then I was hit with a sudden realization. Though the previous night we had guns pointed at each other, Samantha was becoming part of the family. Just like Aalim had said ‘There may be additions’. I stood there staring for a while, grasping the fact that what had happened in my dream was real. Aalim had actually spoken with me and what he said had been true. But before I got a chance to ponder over this, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. I looked to the window and let out a scream that instantly awoke the rest of the family.

What I saw almost gave me a heart attack. It was a woman. It was an enormous, green woman that had multiple horns and a torch outstretched toward us. The family scrambled around on the floor trying to get their bearings and when they did, my scream was echoed.
“What?! What is it?” Samantha exclaimed. We all looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. How could she not see the monstrous woman we were on the verge of colliding with? But as we were nearing the woman, my family and I bolted toward the door readying ourselves for the impact…but there was no impact. We were all cowering in the hall outside of the room when Samantha poked her head out with a questioning look on her face. “Um, are you guys ok?” she asked with concern.

“The woman!” I said, still wondering what was up with her calmness. She looked back towards the window and stared at it with a puzzled look. Then as if finally getting a joke, she threw her head back and started to laugh. Then realizing her rudeness, she tried unsuccessfully to muffle her laughter.

“Raven, do you mean the Statue of Liberty?” I thought about it. The woman had not bashed us with her cone of fire yet; or even poked us with her many horns. It was starting to make sense. Samantha beckoned for us to come back to the room. “Come on, you’re safe I promise. It’s actually quite beautiful.” Her sincere look seemed to comfort me and I cautiously neared the room with my family trailing close behind. I rounded the corner fully expecting to be bashed to smithereens but was pleasantly surprised. The woman, whose name was supposedly Liberty, was actually magnificent. (Now that she wasn’t actually alive.) I had never seen anything that big in my life. In further inspection, I saw that her horns were actually a crown of some sort. She wore a flowing dress that nearly covered her feet. She was standing on a pedestal that sat atop the choppy water, and that was dotted with people that looked almost comically small standing underneath her magnificence. My focus left Ms. Liberty and found something almost even more extraordinary. Along the shoreline were a collective mass of symmetrical stones that seemed to be strategically set equal distances apart.

“What in the world are those?” I asked out loud, mesmerized by the scene.

“What are what? Samantha asked. She looked in the direction that I was staring and said “oh, buildings. They’re like really big huts. It’s where we eat, sleep, and work.”

“You could fit fifty packs of bobcats in there!” Sam exclaimed.

“Oh you could fit a lot more than that” Samantha said with a smile. “Just wait until you see where were going.” We passed over the scene of downtown (which apparently was the name of this place, Downtown New York) and watched all of the different buildings, each one unique in its own way. And the people, walking along between the towering structures looked like tiny ants bustling around. Then we saw the carriages, but according to Samantha they were called cars. Some larger versions were trucks, the small ones were motorcycles, and the only ones I knew were bicycles. They all moved in more or less straight lines along a black and yellow path that was crowded with both the automobiles and people. They only place they did not seem to go was the paths on either side of the big black and yellow path called the road. The “sidewalk” seemed to be only human restricted.
Now I know it sounds like we’ve been living under a rock this whole time, and technically we were. But you have to understand, we were technologically deprived. At the time, all of the modern world was completely new and foreign to us. We had been sleeping in huts and killing our food, while here people slept in beds and picked dinner up pre-killed and cooked. We had been restricted to the same part of desert for so long that this was a whole other world for us. So I guess you could say that this was going to take some getting used to.
After we had a little aerial citywide tour with Samantha pointing out all of the best burger joints and coffee shops, (while patiently explaining all of our questions like what exactly a burger was) we came up to a particularly odd shaped building that looked somewhat like a trapezoid with its slightly sloped sides. We glided over top of the building and slowly descended into a soft landing. Samantha herded us back through the hall and the plush white room into the first metal room. She pressed a button and the floor once again slid open which she promptly jumped down through. I looked down and saw that it was only about a six foot drop so the family and I did the same. I looked up at the belly of the ship and saw, well, nothing. Just a clear blue sky. I looked to Samantha with a confused look on my face. She shrugged and said,

“Dr. Flynn thinks the people aren’t ready for this kind of technology, so we just disguised it. Kind of like camofloug. He thinks people would freak if they saw a “spaceship” over their heads.”

“Well I guess that makes sense” Jessi said. “But why not just tell them it’s not? Like on the news or something, so people wouldn’t worry.”

“We would, but people don’t exactly know about our organization. It’s kind of on the down-low.”

“So were going to be secret spies or something?” Sam chimed in with a big grin. Samantha laughed and said,

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. But let’s get inside so Flynn can explain everything to you guys. I bet you’re probably wanting some answers.” She met my eyes and I knew that last part was directed mainly towards me. So we were going to meet this mysterious Dr. Flynn who wanted to see us and decided to nearly blow us up to do it. Not to mention murdering innocent people in the process. I had it in my mind that I was going to let him know in detail what I thought about that. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Seth who winked at me and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. But I knew what he meant by it. This was the time to be a leader. I straightened my back, took a deep breath, and led my family inside.

The building wasn’t as big as many of the others we had passed. In fact, it was rather small. It was in a smaller neighborhood in the inner city, surrounded by other small businesses. There was a cottage suburb a mile or so away and a big castle looking school a couple miles the opposite way. The sign on the building we were currently in read ‘Flynn’s contracting’. “Good cover” I thought to myself. It even had a van out front. The whole neighborhood was set up pretty nice. But it was missing something. Something didn’t feel right. I’m glad I scoped the area for escape routes before we went through the door on the roof that led inside. That van actually might be of more use than a decoy after all. I just hoped that Raven had the same feeling so she would be on her guard. Once inside, we only had to take a single flight of stairs to get down to the lobby. In the lobby, there was a big front desk with a blonde, curly headed receptionist sitting behind it noisily smacking on her bubble gum. The walls were a plain yellowish color with a single red stripe going around the length of the room. A black love seat and a few matching chairs were set up against the wall surrounding a low coffee that held small stack of home décor magazines. Samantha told us to wait while she went and spoke to the receptionist. We all flocked over to the furniture and awkwardly sat and listened to the really bad 80’s music that was playing through the speakers that dotted the ceiling. I really didn’t know what to think of Samantha. I mean, only last night she had her gun pointed at our heads and her head. But after that she seemed a completely different person. She was pretty, that’s for sure. But my heart is with Raven, and always has been. And while I had Raven on my mind, I went over to her and nonchalantly whispered to her, “Do you have a bad feeling about this?” she looked at me with her I-always-have-a-bad-feeling look and I nodded to her in understanding. “Do you have a getaway plan?”

“Van.” She whispered back. “I read up on how to hotwire one.” I almost laughed out loud. She was always reading back home. I would often see her sitting by the watering hole leaned up against a rock with a book in hand. It was amazing how well she could retain all of the information from those books. She always was so serious when she taught us how to read and write. Her nose would flare when she got frustrated at the twins for goofing off when they should have been studying or while she was reading. She would give them a good chastising but it would eventually end up in a game of keep away and we would all gang up on her and create a big dog pile. I smiled to myself remembering how we laughed until we cried and laugh some more. But I was pulled from my day dream when Samantha called from the front desk,

“All right guys, this way” she motioned us to a door behind the desk. As we passed by the desk, the receptionist winked at me saying, “hey cutie what’s your name?” still smacking unattractively at her gum. I saw Raven’s head whip around from ahead and glare at the back of the woman’s curly head, then quickly neutralizing her expression. But not quickly enough. It was the same expression she had when Samantha stripped down in front of us. But I thought for a second and said,
“It’s Ronnie, Ronnie Hyde.”
“My name is Becky, its sooo nice to meet you Ronnie” Becky said in a very seductive voice. I heard a twin sounding snort that was unsuccessfully covered by a cough. I waved and walked past her pretending not to see her openly checking me out. I looked ahead and saw raven trying her hardest not to laugh. It was so hard to tell sometimes how she felt about me. She calls us her family but the way she looks at me sometimes makes me think that there is something more between us. And when we’re alone, her eyes change color. But only for me. I can’t talk to anyone else about it because I don’t think they would understand. But one of these days I’m going to tell her how I feel.

“So can you tell me how the hell this organization is packed into this tiny little building?” Maloree said as we piled into a very small room with almost no elbow room. “Is there more building behind this one, disguised like the ship was?”

“No, were more of an underground organization” Samantha said as she struggled to reach the back wall.

“Oh so it’s just spread throughout the city” Alex said.

“Not exactly”

“So where’s the rest of the organization? Surely they’re not coming here, we have no more room!” Samantha squeezed past the twins and flipped open a panel that was hanging on the wall. She pressed a few buttons and suddenly the walls around us gave a big shudder and we started to move…down.

“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Maloree. “You really meant an underground organization.”
“Yep, seventy five stories straight down”. Raven and I met eyes and I thought to myself, “Well, I guess we won’t be needing that van”.

There was a small moment of shocked silence as we all stared open mouthed at Samantha that was only interrupted by the quiet rumble of the elevator. “I’m sorry Samantha.” Raven said, finally breaking the silence. “I must have not heard you very clearly.” She made a show of cleaning her ears out. “Did you say sixty five stories underground?”

“Oh, no Raven” Raven let out a sigh of relief that was quickly sucked back in when Samantha said,
“I said seventy five Stories”. I thought she was going to pass out right there. She turned as white as a ghost and I grabbed her elbow for support.
“Samantha, where the hell are you taking us?” Raven asked weakly.
“It’s not too much longer at all, I promise.” She said with a wounded puppy look on her face. “She’s not going to…you know, pass out is she?” Samantha asked me tentatively.
“Actually, she’s going to be fine” Raven said shrugging me off. “And do me a favor and don’t talk like I’m not here.” She walked off to the opposite wall leaving Samantha looking genuinely hurt.
I felt bad for her. After all, she didn’t know Raven was claustrophobic. Hell, even the rest of the gang kind of stood awkwardly by after she snapped at Samantha. I walked over-or rather shuffled over to Samantha and whispered to her, “Don’t take it personally, Raven really doesn’t like tight spaces. She’ll get over it once we get out of here.” Samantha looked up at me with her stony gray eyes and beamed at me. I smiled back at her and thought about how beautiful she really was. But I quickly shook the thought from my mind and shuffled away.

A few minutes later, the elevator shuddered to a stop. Samantha squeezed her way to the door, but before she opened it she said, “O.k. guys, so before we go in there I should give you a fair warning, learn to hold your tongue, if you want to keep it. What you pulled with the elders back on the ship is not going to fly down here Raven” Raven nodded her head but I faintly heard her say,

“No promises” under her breath.

“Typical Raven” I thought.
When the doors rattled open, there was a unanimous gasp of shock. The place was huge! It was five times the size of the oasis. Everything in that room looked industrial and there were people everywhere that were either training, sparring, or doing something productive. Samantha stepped out first and turned to us with a big grin, amused at our awe. Then spreading her arms outward, the said in a very official voice, “Welcome to the Academy”. Then she gave a little bow with a flourish of her hands. When she straightened up she said, “Alright I’m going to give you a quick tour of the place and then I’ll take you to Flynn.” We nodded and herded out of the elevator like sheep following Samantha. Out of the elevator, we walked along a little path that hugged the wall, encircling what Samantha called “The Pit”. It was actually a gladiator style arena that the others were fighting in. and upon closer inspection, I saw that those other people were…kids. None that looked older than I was and some that looked younger than the twins. There were all races, gender and size. While watching, I saw a young red head girl about ten years old fighting hand to hand with a big, muscled up blonde dude that stood at least three feet over her. They circled, waiting for the other to make a move. Then the girl shot forward and gave the blonde dude a round house kick to the chest which knocked him out of breath and made him stumble back. She took advantage of his vulnerability and landed a series of punches that had him on the ground so fast I wasn’t completely sure that I had seen what had happened. She backed off of him and he wiped the blood from his mouth and got back up ready to go. I was so taken aback by the strange scene that I failed to see the group stop ahead of me and I walked straight into Jessie with an “Oof!”
“Ow! Hey!” Jessie exclaimed as she stumbled forward.
“Sorry Jess” I said as I helped her catch her balance.
“Just watch where you’re going next time dooface” she said to me with a wink. She turned to catch up with the others but I caught her wrist before she did. She looked at me questioningly but paused when I put my finger to my lips. When I thought the others were out of earshot I asked her, “What do you honestly think about all this?
“All of what? That?” she gestured to the fighting and I nodded my head. “Well honestly, I think it’s pretty cool. It’s like we’re gonna be secret spies, like in Raven’s books!” she said excitedly. “I mean, I totally get being cautious and all that jazz but what if this is legit? How cool would that be?”
“Yeah it would be pretty cool I said” I guess that was enough for her because she grinned and took off back towards the others. I took a look back at the pit and when I did, about ten heads swiveled back around and continued fighting. “Man this place gives me the creeps” I thought to myself. And it did. From the first time we entered the lobby, I had this ever winding knot in the pit of my stomach that seemed to tighten with every step deeper into that place.

Throughout the tour I realized that whatever this place was, it spread out like an intricate spider web. There were too many corridors and hallways for me to count. We passed at least seven or eight enormous kitchens that were stocked with state of the art refrigerators and stoves. The cabinets and fridges were all generously stocked with all kinds of snacks and meals. There were two gyms and weight rooms at each end of the main hall which held the sparring pit, armory, and training gear. We didn’t go to every room, but Samantha gave us some information on each section. She pointed out many hallways with names like: the hall of history, the hall of mathematics, the hall of literature etc. So as it turns out, we still have to go to school. This did not please the twins one bit. Hence they pouted for the remainder of the tour.

Though being so far underground might have been a little unorthodox, I have to admit, these people did know how to dress up a room. Everything I saw was either cloaked in chrome, or had an expensive looking tile or fabric attached. If you could imagine what the future would look like, then you are picturing this place. It was just absolutely amazing, and big, and luxurious, yet cozy. So I guess you could say that I was more than a little sketched out about the place.

Samantha led us back to where The Pit was when her little tour had ended. There were still a few kids still sparring but most had left, some were sitting together at metal picnic tables replenishing with water and Gatorade. But almost all conversation ceased when my crew and I came into their view. Instead they stared. But it was hard for me to decide if it was resentment or curiosity. Samantha led us to a flight of stairs that led to a balcony type structure. It was funny because I hadn’t noticed it before, and I usually tend to pay attention to detail. At the top of the balcony there was a door along with a wide, tinted window overlooking The Pit. Samantha turned to face us before we walked through. She looked at each one of our faces and said “before you walk through this door I want you, all of you to understand the importance of this man.” Now this was the moment that I was waiting for. To find out who was behind all of this because frankly, I was still pissed. After nearly blowing us up and killing loved ones in the process, I thought we deserved an explanation. Then dragging us out into this weird new world, it was damn near time to meet the mastermind behind it all. “Dr. Flynn has been waiting to meet you guys for a very long time.” Samantha went on. “In fact, I haven’t seen him this excited in ages. So all I ask is that you guys are on your best behavior.” There were murmurs of compliance amongst the family and I shifted restlessly in anticipation. Samantha nodded to us, then turned on her heels and opened the door.

The door seemed to take hours to open, and when it finally did I was totally shocked and confused at what I saw. I’m not sure what I was expecting, maybe a mad scientist, or an army general, or something more over the top. What I can say is that I was not expecting a regular guy in about his early thirties with his feet propped up on his big desk, with his shoes kicked off and playing with a Rubik Cube. The man had mostly jet black hair with just a hint of grey. It was messy and stuck out in certain places that made him look a lot younger. He had a few wrinkles, but the kind you get around your eyes from smiling. He wore black square rimmed glasses, worn blue jeans, and a simple grey sweater over a white t-shirt. I could tell he had a slim but athletic figure, not all muscle-y like Seth, but well in shape. I won’t lie, he was pretty hot.

“Dr. Flynn?” Samantha called into the room. Dr. Flynn looked up from his cube and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Well hello there!” he said with a wide smile. He had a voice that had a sort of sing-song tone to it that made me shiver. You know, one of those voices that makes you relax and kind of zone out. “Please, come sit.”

I’d like to have a seat on your lap” I heard Alex mumble as she stepped in. The triplets managed to disguise their giggles into a brief coughing fit. I wish I could have laughed with them, but given the seriousness of the situation, I thought it would be best to laugh about it later.

We all piled in and filled in the cushy loveseats and couches, Samantha took a seat behind the desk after giving Flynn a warm hug. I kept a mental note to myself to ask her about it later. Flynn’s office was actually pretty spacious, set up much like the aircraft with its simplicity and all black furniture. It was pretty much a concrete box too. The floor and walls seemed to be one solid piece of grey with a few framed pictures here and there. I looked behind me towards the door and realized that the wall facing outward was actually an enormous one way window. “To keep an eye on things” I heard Flynn say. I turned around quickly and answered back with the most intelligent response I could think of.

“Huh?” Flynn chuckled and said,

“I saw you marveling the window, it’s to keep an eye on things. As gifted as they are, they are still teenagers with raging hormones.” He chuckled again. There was a silent moment where we sized each other up and took each other in. “So, I think introductions are due” Flynn said with a clap of his hands and a smile. “I’ll go first. My name is Alexander Poe Flynn.” It was silent for just a moment, then Sam’s voice chirped through the air saying,

“Hi, I’m Sam!”

“Well it is an absolute pleasure to meet you Sam!” Flynn said matching Sam’s enthusiastic tone. I liked how Flynn always had a smile on his face, it made me more at ease; But not unprepared to knock his butt out if anything went down. “So I guess it’s safe to say that you’re the one in charge here right?” Flynn said with a wink. Sam puffed his chest out a little as he said,

“That’s right! I call the shots around here. And if you don’t like it, you can just-“

“Sam!” I exclaimed

“What? I was just gonna say he can deal with it.”

“Sit down Sam” I said dangerously. He started to argue but I gave him a stern look and he sniffed and plopped down next to Sabo pouting.
“Ahh, so the leader emerges” Flynn said softly as he observed us with interest. I straightened my back and used all of the authority my voice could muster.
“My name Is Raven. Those three are the triplets, Alex, Jessi, and Maloree.” They all gave identical and simultaneous Hi’s. “Those are the twins Sam and Sabo, they really are twins.” Sam was still pouting, and Sabo looked up, gave a little wave then went back to studying his feet. “And this is Seth” Flynn gave Seth a little knowing smile that was so fleeting, I wasn’t sure it even happened. There was silence again as he examined us individually. Then he took a deep breath and said,

“So, I suppose the time for small talk and introductions have come to an end.” Flynn took his glasses off, closed his eyes, and rubbed the bridge of his nose before saying, “Let me tell you why you are here.” It seemed as if everyone in the room held their breath as he began. “He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up as he was before. “Let’s start with a little history. Seventeen years ago, the world was at peace, but in dire need. The world leaders gathered to sign a pact, a pact to end all forms of war. The idea was to convert the globe into a sort of utopia of commerce and peace. The problem with this idea was that it would eliminate individuality and free will. The people of the world would have to submit to a new worldwide government called the Natural Recreation of human decision, or, The Neighborhood. The Neighborhood wanted the world to act as a whole; to have one leader, one currency, one way of life.”
“Well that seems easier doesn’t it?” Said Sabo suddenly, which surprised me because of his usual lack of public speech. We all stared at him for a second and he dropped his head again. I immediately felt horrible and started to tell him to continue, but before I could Flynn went on.
“Actually, it did work for a few years. People were compliant because it meant that there would be no war. So instead of creating weapons and tools of destruction, they started creating cures for diseases and world hunger. For a few blissful years, the world was at peace.”
“So what happened” I asked. I was really interested because in the desert, news didn’t really travel fast. I had no idea that any of this was going on in the world around me.
“Well.” Started Flynn. “Word got out that Russia had neglected to destroy their weapons as the rest of the world was required to. In fact, they are planning something new, something big. Our radars are picking up large amounts of radiation, nuclear and gamma radiation; in many areas of Russia that we are unable to pick up on satellite. So the peace council secretly met, concerned about Russia’s intentions. We discussed for hours with no solution. The Russian leaders would not permit any of the council members to enter the country and sealed themselves off from the rest of the world. We have tried to send spies to gain information, but even our best have not yet returned in years and are presumed dead. ”
There was a silence after he had finished. Everyone stared at Flynn in disbelief. Out of all the possibilities of scenarios of how the world would be, this was the last on my list; and frankly kind of disappointing. I would so rather be back at the Oasis, it was a hell of a lot less confusing there. I was still having trouble comprehending everything I had just heard. World peace, secret weapons, nuclear and gamma radiation, spies? My mind felt like it might spontaneously combust. But I had to keep it together. Especially in a time like this, since I was the speaker of the family. So with an un-phased face, I asked “So what does any of this have to do with us?” A strange smile crossed Flynn’s face. He leaned forward and pointed at me as he said
“That, my dear is the question of the day. What in the world are you here for? Why were you dragged halfway across the globe to this hole in the ground?” I was starting to get a little impatient.
“Please fill us in” I said with a little more sarcasm than intended. I received a little nudge from Seth telling me to calm down. He, along with the rest of the family knew too well the warning signs of a raven tantrum. It’s safe to say that they are not pretty.
Flynn didn’t seem to notice my tone because he continued without hesitation, “after countless failed attempts of breaching into Russia, a few strategists from around the globe; including myself, got together to come out with a new strategy. We concluded that our way was much too predictable. The Russian Empire learned all of our infiltration techniques long before the peace. Then the last information we received from the inside was that the Empire was seizing all children, both Russian and non-Russian and sending them to reeducation camps to become perfect citizens, perfect soldiers. So one of my colleges, Mr. Izumi Cho developed a strategy. Cho thought that we could use a new way of thinking, new—younger blood.”
“So you need us to infiltrate the Russian boarder disguised as re-education students, that way we’ll be on the inside to feed you information undetected” No one said anything when Sabo finished. We all kind of stared in disbelief that Sabo, our Sabo; the quiet, wallflower Sabo pretty much summed the whole thing up for everyone.
Sabo shrunk back down into his seat and I immediately felt bad. This was not very encouraging for him to speak up more often. I smiled encouragingly at him and gave him a wink. “Quite observant you are” Flynn said with a peculiar smile. “But yes, that is the gist of the operation.
“But why the desert? Why us?” Seth spoke up. All our lives we’ve had to survive on our own, not knowing what we were supposed to do or why we were there. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Yet, you are here.” Flynn said with slow, deliberate words letting them soak in. “You are all here, alive and well. In fact, even more than that. So you all pass!” Flynn grinned widely at us all. But I hoped he wasn’t expecting any shouts of joy from me, because I—was--pissed.
I closed my eyes and images started to flash through my head, a hundred miles a second. There was an empty hut. One that I overlooked so many times because I knew it would be empty. I saw eyes. Big, round blue eyes framed with dark black hair that was matted with blood. There was a mound of sand with a wooden cross at the head, constructed by the twins. I heard someone say my name, probably Flynn. But I was lost in the past. Memories bombarded me with such a force, that I was close to tears. I promised him, I promised him, was all I could think. I said that I would protect him but I couldn’t. If I couldn’t keep one person safe, how the hell am I supposed to keep six others safe? I would have given anything to break down and cry right there and then. But instead, I replaced that empty sadness for a burning new rage. I opened my eyes and simply said his name. “Joey”.
Flynn stared at me open mouthed. “Astonishing” he said. “Simply Magnificent”
“Joey” I said again, my temper rising. “His name, was Joey. And he didn’t pass. He’s dead now. Because you decided that it would be a good idea to dump a bunch of kids in the middle of the desert to fend for themselves.” I knew he was staring at my eyes, I could feel them burn with the same anger as before but I didn’t care. This guy was acting like none of this even mattered. Like as long as he and this council of his got what they wanted, it was all just fine. Well it wasn’t fine with me, not one bit. I leaned forward and stared at Flynn dangerously, he actually leaned back into his chair. “Would you like to know exactly how he died Flynn?”
“Well actually, I-I don’t think that would be necessary—“
“In my arms Flynn. After being beaten to death by an Arabian gang.”
“Raven, I’m so very sorr—“
“Seven” I said cutting him off. He might not care what we went through, but I was going to make sure that he heard exactly what happened to Joey. My little brother, Joey.
“Excuse me?” he asked softly.
“He was seven years old when he died. Does that even mean anything to you? You’re a smart guy Flynn. Why don’t you use your imagination to picture this: A Seven year old boy, playing outside like a little should. When out of nowhere some desert thugs decide that they want to play too. But I guess they had a different game in mind. One club to the head had him on the ground. I saw pieces of his head fly off from where I was. You know, being too late was probably the worst part.” I could feel all of the emotions coming back to me from that terrible, terrible day. And it only made my anger ever more-fierce. Seth touched my hands that I didn’t realize were clenched so tightly, the white shade my knuckles had taken were gradually turning purple. I jumped up from the couch so fiercely, it slid back at least six inches with Seth still seated on it. I made my way over to Flynn’s desk where I gently set my hands and leaned forward. I think this action frightened him more than anything. I could see the fear in his eyes although his face was composed. “But you know, scratch that. The worst part might have been after he got back up. Tell me Flynn, how do you think it felt for him to have a metal rod shoved through his chest?”
“I, um…”
“Now that I think of it, the worst part, the very worst part, was after he bled out in my freaking lap. The part where an eight year old, a nine year old, two four year olds, and three six year old children had to dig a grave that night after having all of our food stolen and watching Joey’s murderers skip off into the freaking sunset.” I leaned in closer, too close for Flynn’s comfort I was sure…I hoped. And I whispered only low enough for his ears to hear. “That, was the worst part.” And no sooner that I said it, his Rubik cube fell to the floor with a loud bang that intensified the deadly silence that followed. “That’s strange” I thought. “I don’t remember it being that close to the edge.” But the thought quickly left my mind.
“I think it might be time for me to show them The Den, what do you think Dad?” Samantha stood up from behind the desk with a nervous smile.
“Yes, um I think that would be the most, wise, decision at this point.” Flynn said nervously. “How about we pick up on this conversation tomorrow then?” he said this like a question but there was a note of finality in his suggestion. I said nothing, turned on my heels and followed Samantha out of the room with clenched fists thinking “That’s if we will be here tomorrow”.