Chapter 14
Hannah Maven
I was completely shocked when I heard the Veruka say my sister's name. I was not expecting it at all. But as soon as he saw me, he recognized me. That's when I knew that he had seen Helen. We were identical twins. He had been to Willow Springs. Not only had he been there, but his army was stationed there. It was incredible.
“We have made contact with your fleet, General Razook,” Captain Jex Kailen said.
“You have? That is great news. Have them meet us here. We will go to this Willow Springs together,” Rai said to the captain.
“I will give the order,” the captain said.
Rai looked at me with a big smile on his face.
“See, you have nothing to worry about. This captain was with me at Haven Brook and was one of the army bands that were sent out by the king. I knew that he was in this region, but I didn't know that we were so close to him,” he said.
“I am so happy. I can't believe that he knows my sister. This is incredible,” I said.
“Yes, it seems that the captain has had more luck than I have when approaching a human colony to spread the virus,” he said.
“That is true,” the captain said as he walked over to us. “In fact, when I approached your colony, the humans hid from sight. All except for one brave human; can you guess who?” he said.
“My sister?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes, she was the only one that stood on the grass. She came right up to me. She is very brave,” he said.
“Yes, she is,” I said.
“And you are very much alike. You are very brave too. I have never seen a female as brave as you,” Rai said.
“Your fleet is on the way to our location,” a soldier said as he came over to Rai.
“Good. We shall all go back to your home together,” he said looking at me. I was happy. I was extremely happy. This was all working out well, and I had nothing to fear. My sister was safe at Willow Springs, and I was going to see her soon. Rai had contacted his fleet, and they were on their way.
An hour later, the fleet had joined us. Everyone was in good spirits to see their general again. They were also excited to finally have a human colony destination. They had been hovering in the sky waiting to complete their mission. Now they were going to actually be able to come in contact with a human colony. I was glad that it was my home.
I boarded the ship that was Rai’s main ship. I went to my room. There was still a bag of clothes and some canned food there. I looked around at remembering what it was like to be in there.
“Making yourself at home?” Rai said as he stood in the doorway.
“Yes. I thought maybe I would change,” I said pointing to the clothes.
"Come with me; I want to show you something,” he said grabbing my hand. He led me to the cargo area of the ship. I was surprised. There were boxes and boxes of human food.
“What? What is this?” I asked.
“I had my soldiers do a scout for food. They were the only ones that had permission to leave the fleet periodically when I was with you. They gathered quite a bit of food. This isn't the only ship that is full; the others are full as well,” he said.
I threw my arms around him. I was so happy.
"Thank you! I went on a supply run and was not successful at it. But with this, it is very successful. This can last a year or more,” I said as I kissed him on the cheek.
“So you did have a successful supply run, just not the way you expected it to,” he said.
“Yes, that is true. But nothing turned out the way I expected it to,” I said giving him a big kiss.
Then I went to my room to change out of the clothes and put on a fresh shirt and jeans. It felt good to be in clean clothes, and I could not wait to take a shower when I got back to Willow Springs.
“Let me see,” Rai said as he came into my room.
“See what?”
“Your back. Let me change the bandages,” he said.
“Alright,” I said taking off the tank top. I didn’t mind being topless around him. It felt comfortable. He moaned when he saw me.
“No. Don’t get distracted. Attend to my back please,” I said slapping his hand away.
He laughed. He peeled off the bandages.
“It is perfect. The wounds are closed completely. It will take some time for the scars to go away,” he said.
I turned around trying to see my reflection in the shiny white walls. It was incredible. The wounds only looked like mild scratches now. They didn’t hurt either. Rai grabbed a towel and poured water on it. Then he gently cleaned my back. He was being so tender, and I could not believe that this was the same brute alien that had been so rude to me before.
“You don’t need bandages. You can put on your top. Unless you want to keep it off for me,” he said playfully.
“No, not now. We will never leave this room, and I want to see Willow Springs from the flight deck,” I said.
“Damn. Fine,” he growled. I laughed and put on my shirt.
Together we walked to the flight deck. I watched as we flew over the familiar bay. It was beautiful, and I was so happy to see the familiar sights of the shoreline. Then the ships slowed down, and Willow Springs came into view. There was a group of people gathered on the lawn, and I could see other Veruka ships parked in various areas of the estate. It seemed that Willow Springs had accepted Captain Kailen’s army with open arms.
Then I saw my sister. She was standing on the lawn. She looked worried. I ached to hug her. I ran to the door of the ship, waiting.
The ship landed, and the door started to open slowly. I was so overjoyed to see my sister that I was bouncing up and down waiting for the door to completely open. I could not hold in my happiness any longer. I ran down the ramp onto the lawn as fast as I could.
“Hannah!” Helen shouted at me as she ran to me. We hugged each other tightly. It felt so good to feel my sister again. I thought I would never see her and here she was. She looked good and healthy.
“You are back. You are safe. I am so glad to see you, sister,” she said crying tears of joy.
“I am so glad to see you as well. I have been so worried about you,” I said as I hugged her tighter and tighter.
“I have been worried about you. You were the one that was out on the supply mission never to return. Don't ever do that to me again,” she said pulling away from me. Then she looked at me up and down. “Are you hurt? Are you all right?”
“I am fine. Just a little tired and exhausted from everything. Boy have I been on an adventure, sister,” I said taking a deep breath. I didn’t even know how I could begin to tell her everything that had happened to me. I went out on a supply run and ended up having the biggest mess of an adventure.
“So have I. So much to tell you,” she said.
I looked at her with my head cocked to the side. What had happened to her? Then I remembered that the Veruka that had found us said he knew Helen. I wondered just how well he knew her. Hmm.
“And I have a lot to tell you as well,” I said as I turned to the ship and felt myself blush a bit. General Rai Razook came out of the ship and was giving me a big smile.
“Oh, it seems you have been on an adventure,” she said looking at me.
“Yes, but he also rescued me. But I rescued him right back,” I said with a big smile. I had so much love for this alien.
“So you must be really famous Helen?” Rai said as he came to my side and shook my sister’s hand. I thought it was an odd thing to say, but he was an alien after all.
“Yes, thank you for helping my sister. I owe you everything,” she said shaking his hand.
“You owe me nothing. I would gladly give my life for her,” he said looking at me with so much love in his brown eyes. I was shocked that he openly said such a thing. But it felt good. Very good.
“Welcome to Willow Springs…” Helen said.
“General Razook, at your service,” he said with a nod.
Then a crowd gathered around to welcome me home. I was so happy to be home. Then I remembered that Razook’s army had raided some houses for food. I was so happy that I wanted to share the news. My General Rai Razook deserved some gratitude for all that he had done. I grabbed a chair and stood on it.
"Willow Springs!” I shouted.
"Although I did not complete a successful supply mission, it was only a small diversion. Because with the help of this Veruka and his fleet, they did raid some abandoned houses and found an enormous amount of food!” I pointed to one of General Razook’s ships that had landed on the lawn. Veruka spilled out with boxes and boxes of food.
“In celebration, let's feast tonight! Let's have a bonfire! Let's celebrate and not be living in fear the way that we have been. It is no way to live. We deserve at least one night of happiness to pretend like Earth was before the cyborgs. Let's eat!” I shouted and clapped my hands together.
Everyone cheered. I looked at Razook. People were patting him on the back in thanks. I was so proud. He looked at me and smiled.
We feasted that night, and I told of the brave adventure and how Rai had saved my life over and over. Everyone was eager to listen. This was good. These stories would be spread far and wide. That meant that people would learn that they were there to help us and that was important.