"Three days ago we faced an attack from these unknown beings, and we fought until we realised that the only ones capable of penetrating through their forces is You." The kids moved in an arranged line, all in fifties, each child was scanned, and a badge was placed upon their breast.
The night prior every kid in Base nine received basic military training, it was nothing new to what they were already being thought in their respective sectors but it was more team evaluated this time around.
From CPR to how to handle injuries in the absence of a healer or a doctor or nurse, they taught the kids everything they needed to know. Then to be safe they loaded extra information into some of the older kids, so every group, whether a group of rescuers, or soldiers going to fight, would have the reassurance of extra intelligence with them just in case the others forgot their training. Even teaching them how to wear protective gear, and how to remove it. The kids knew all there was to know.
But it didn't get rid of their fear.
The next day everyone was woken up and told they were earth's last defence. And so they moved in line, waiting for their badges.
Failing to mask their fear and trembling, the air was filled with anxiety, and stress, every kid fidgeted, some bit their lip, some looked around at every face pupils shaking, some tugged at their hair, some might have stood still hands in their pocket poker faced, but when Nicoleta looked closer, even they were also trembling, though slight.
Once they received their badge they were led away, whether they were soldiers or rescuers they all wore the same gold and white uniform, the only difference between them being their badges.
"The World is facing an enemy man made machinery, cannot fight." The line moved forward, some being badged with both the status of a soldier and a rescuer.
"It is up to You to keep us safe- the world is depending on you- the world needs you" when Nicoleta reached the lady at the front, she waited nervously for a badge.
The lady plastered a red and yellow badge on her breast pocket, it read, Soldier-Rescuer.
Nicoleta's heart raced as she was led away by a man in military regalia.
She was taken to a small dressing room where she found a dozen other girls getting into their protective gear.
A girl with bright red hair looked at her, as Nicoleta reached for her own gear.
"Hi" she said, Nicoleta didn't respond, her mind was racing too much, anxiety was crippling her, how were they supposed to fight in a war?
She along with her mates knew only the things they learned in westinsenson son about fighting, plus some small training from the night prior, and even that wasn't enough for them to be plunged into a war.
Everyone in the dressing room was scared, shaking even, how were they supposed to fight when they couldn't even stand still? When their knees gave out? When their heart pounded so loud they couldn't hear anything.
How would they face the very being that had struck that fear into them? And win?
But what else could the military do when nothing worked? Who else could they weigh this tragedy on when they couldn't bear it despite trying numerous times?
It made sense for them to have the kids go out there, they were the only ones who could cause a dent, Nicoleta alone killed a giant with just her scarlet flame.
But whether she had the courage to repeat that again, she wasn't sure.
The door burst open disturbing the girls, they looked up and saw a woman wearing military regalia, hands behind her back, hair tied into a tight bun.
"Attention!" Said the younger man beside her, the girls scrambled into the stance they were taught, in a rush.
The woman whose name tag read Lane, smirked, "at ease" she said, taking a step forward.
The girls placed their hands behind their backs. General Lane explained what their group was to do.
"You all are a part of the rescue team going to Bologna Italy. Our mission is to find as many survivors as possible and transfer them to the civilian bases in Africa." She looked around at all their faces.
"We will board our hover croft in fifteen minutes. Be ready by then" with that, she turned around and left.
They all got ready putting on their gears as they were taught, and putting their weapons -though useless- in the hooks by their thighs.
They were led outside to join the rest of their group by the younger man.
They all descended the stairs into the launch pad. There they boarded the hover croft along with thirteen more others, six officers, the general, and the captain of the croft.
Two more groups boarded the hover crofts in the pad, the General told them they were going to the front lines.
Which compelled Nicoleta to ask where the front line was, "Greece" the general answered, increasing Nicoleta's fear, and worry for her father.
They all settled into the chairs inside, and secured the belt around themselves.
Nicoleta swallowed saliva as she scratched her fingertips. The hover croft started up, and began to hover then they were pulled and in the sky in no time.
The flight to Bologna took an hour, not a soul slept a wink, and when it came time to eat, neither of them managed more than two bites.
Nicoleta didn't eat at all. Her heart was beating too hard, her stomach was churning, her eyes blurring.
At some point the general shoved a tray of food into her hands, and said, "you should eat something kid" but Nicoleta continued to refuse, her fear overweighing the hunger and growls of her stomach.
It had been exactly three days since the attacks began, she still hadn't heard from her friends, and she didn't know whether her father was alive or dead.
They arrived in Italy and gladly nothing met them on their way there.
When the hover croft landed, everyone reluctantly unbuckled their seatbelts. The general stood amidst them all, barking orders Nicoleta couldn't make out in the haze.
The doors opened after some time, and outside they were introduced to ruins, buildings turned to rubble, houses burnt to a crisp.
Roads made into holes. They all walked out slowly, digesting the destruction in front of them.
Nicoleta's eyes widened when she realised what the black coal-like figures on the ground were.
She gripped the side of the croft and dry heaved on the side, her empty stomach churning with disgust, and shock.
Some of the others actually vomited the food they ate earlier. The general was unfazed as she patted them on the back.
"Toughen up- we have a mission to get to" Nicoleta clutched her stomach, brows knitting as the pain of hunger set shock waves through her body.
Two other hover crofts landed beside them moments later, and the children that came out reacted the same if not worse, with some even fainting upon setting their eyes on the horrid sight.
How cruel could they be? How unfeeling could someone be?
Nicoleta imagined her father in the same state, and couldn't bear it.
"Put yourselves under control. There are people here who need our help" said the general.
She grabbed their collar and lifted them up right, forcing them to step off the hem of the croft.
"You will all be split into groups, Ariti" Nicoleta looked up against her will, "you are with Samson, and Lanark" a boy stepped up beside her along with a familiar face from the sparring competitions.
Bianca Lanark stared ahead, eyes wide like a deer in headlights.
Three months ago they stood across from each other ready to claim a spot in the knockout rounds, now the two of them stood amidst dead bodies trying to hold themselves together somehow.
An officer joined them along with three other boys.
"You head north, you south- " said the general to Nicoleta's group, four kids from the other hover crofts joined them two ahead two behind, they were extra protection for them because against a real threat the officers would be of no use.
The officers moved north, and the kids followed.
They were looking for survivors, Nicoleta tried not to look at the dead bodies littering the ground as she thought about how stupid that sounded when they were surrounded by corpses.
They ventured into a house mostly intact.
Bianca clutched Nicoleta's arm, as she made her way inside one of the bedrooms.
It was empty of life. The bed was mostly okay, the dresser was in ruin, and the door to the bathroom was completely annihilated.
Nicoleta narrowed her eyes at the wrinkled curtains, stepping closer with a trembling Bianca by her side, she let her flame light her hands, and she threw it at the porcelain tiled walls.
It didn't light anything on fire, but it made whoever was inside the tub scream, and leap out.
"We are here to help!" Nicoleta rushed out as the woman made the curtain holder into a weapon, useless against a real threat.
Nicoleta tapped on the bud in her ears, "we- we found a survivor" there was a ton of surprise in her voice as she Said that, because how could this woman of all people survive the massacre that was Bologna.
An officer escorted the woman out, and Nicoleta and her group continued searching the buildings, neighborhood, and so on.
When night time came around they all had managed to find a thousand survivors.
The survivors were all taken to the hover croft where they were given blankets to warm up food to eat, and water to drink.
Most of them rejected the food, and drank water however and Nicoleta followed in after their footsteps, gulping down a bottle of water with a kind of savagery.
She threw it on the ground, and joined the others inside. Her eyes darted from man to woman to child.
All of them were shaking with fear, shivering from the cold, licking their lips from hunger.
Nicoleta settled in the back seats, wrapping her arms around herself to get some warmth.
She remembered the night she and her friends had a sleep over, when May cuddled up next to her, and said- "you're warm" whilst getting more comfortable.
She wondered if they were warm then, or shivering somewhere, scared out of their minds, or worse…
Her bud beeped, and the General's voice rang through.
"We will wait until morning to keep searching. The croft has empty seats." She said, the bud beeped again, and no sound came from it again.
Nicoleta dropped her head down. Right on cue a loud explosion shook the ground.
She lifted her head up, eyes shooting open. The general and the others rushed into the croft, the doors closed almost too slowly, as more attacks shook the ground.
The general told a girl to make a forcefield around the croft and she did so before they went inside.
The croft took off as soon as the doors closed, and gladly whatever had been causing the explosions did not pursue them.
Through the interface the captain announced that they would be going to a nearby rescue bunker, where the survivors would be taken on a different croft, and flown to the bunkers in Africa.
The flight to the bunker was a blur, it must have been hours because when they arrived, the general had to wake some up.
Nicoleta didn't sleep a wink though she was so exhausted that nothing registered to her. The doors opened, and Lane let the survivors out before the children.
When Nicoleta placed her foot on a corpseless ground, some relief settled in, but she wasn't truly comforted. The bunker was already loaded with people, chatter was loud inside, and the sound of mechanical power beeping, roaring, and growling in the background was almost interrupting.
Nicoleta got registered some hours later after the line increased behind her and decreased up front, and afterward, she searched every face that wore the same uniform as hers hoping to find her friends.
From one face to the other, she found not even one that might have been familiar. She returned to the registry desk, where she was registered.
"Has anyone named Isabella Gonzales been registered here?" She asked, the lady up front looked through the computer in front of her tapping, and clicking, five minutes passed, she registered People and kept searching. She looked up at Nicoleta after she was done, and shook her head.
"We have one Isabella but not Gonzales, Rodgers instead" said the woman, typing in more names.
"How about Charlotte Aboagye?" She typed on the computer once again, clicking and tapping.
Nicoleta looked around in nervous anticipation, she shook her hands as a way to stop herself from scratching her fingertips.
"No Charlotte Aboagye" she bit her lip, and walked away without uttering a word to the lady.
Her hands unconsciously harmed themselves, drawing blood quickly because of her previous scratching.
She tugged at her hair, blinking away tears.
People walked past her, people hugged their friends, people hugged their family members, people kissed their husbands and wives, people cried on the shoulders of those that they loved.
All around her she saw numerous people being reunited, yet not a scent of even her step mother was anywhere to be smelt.
Nicoleta shoved her bloody hand into her pocket, chewing on her bottom lip, as she walked by every desk of the registry, watching, waiting for someone she knew.
She stopped by the last one, and walked over to the man up front.
"Has anyone by the name Ambrose Ariti been registered?" He typed in his name, found no results, tried some other things, and turned to her, "No" Nicoleta nodded, she followed the crowd into the canteen.
Inside the huge canteen, she managed to find the group that searched Bologna with her. There she sat down, not bothering to take a tray as her hunger was overtaken with worry.
"Hi" Samson said, voice low, Bianca held a spoon in her hand but it didn't seem to go any further than one inch close to her lips.
Heath, Terrence, and Quinn, all sat by Samson, eating their food slowly, chewing slowly, swallowing slowly, hoping they wouldn't barf.
The TV buzzed to life and a man wearing Military clothes stood before the screen, behind a blue screen. "The militia alone cannot fight this war. These forces are strong, nothing we have seen before," the canteen silenced.
"But there is nothing we cannot face, and nothing we cannot find the solution to."
"Until three days ago we stood no chance again these unknown forces, but now with the Elite forces, there is nothing we cannot stop no one that poses a threat that we cannot handle"
Nicoleta looked around the canteen, at all the children wearing White and gold uniforms, at all her peers wearing a name tag on their breast that had their position on it. And right below was Elite.
She looked all around the canteen, at the officers, at the commanders, the captains, and the survivors, and she realised something she already knew.
They were fighting this war, the men and women of the militia might have taught them, told them what to do, and perhaps straightened them up when they couldn't bear the sight in front of them.
But they wouldn't lift a finger, they couldn't.
This war was being fought by children, they were the elite forces, they were the ones that could fight anything, they were the ones that would protect the world from destruction.
She would have vomited if there was any food in her stomach, instead, she dreaded the badge on her breast, and covered her eyes and ears from whatever else the man on the screen said, about the world's saviors.