YP – B1: Finale – Chapter 36

238 Days Until Deliverance and The Uncertain End (part 2)

Evester sat playing cards with Crass, Phil, and Rayda. They weren’t playing seriously, for if they were Evester would have lost by this point.

“So what is the plan?” Crass asked as he tossed a card out.

“We get in and —“ Evester started.

“No.” Crass shook his head cut off Evester and Evester didn’t know if it was because he played the wrong card or if his plan was defunct. They were trying to teach him to be better at this game, after all, not that their lessons ever stuck.

“The ultimate plan.” Phil elaborated, throwing out his own card showing that Evester may not have made a mistake after all. “The big one.”

“We need to restart the space program. Get the public approval to do so. I would like to get my father back, as I don’t think he’s alive.” Evester answered as he watched Rayda look over her cards. He then thought of how they would transfer his father’s body… They’d figure something out, and that part of him that held out hope for his father’s survival clashed with his general knowledge of the world and instinct.

“If we can get the public support up through taking down Aralax attacks and finding your father, then getting the program running will be easy.” Rayda agreed as she finally placed her card winning the round. “Do we have a deadline for the latest we can restart the program?”

“One Hundred and Twenty-five days at the latest.” Evester thought to what his father’s notes had said. His father had placed that date as the deadline, there were many others that Evester did not bother to speak on. “More time would be appreciated, however most of the work was completed by the Yasloughve Project in secret. We would need to train crews, get the ships finished. And then to get everyone evacuated. It would be pushing it…”

“Pushing it?” Rayda asked.

“We have to account for the additional Aralax attacks.” Evester stated. “We can’t be certain that they will or won’t understand what we are doing…”

There was always the chance that the Aralax would understand their plan and attack, or worse, not.

“But?” Phil asked.

“They took my father. They didn’t kill him. They took him. For what ever reason that may be. We need to assume that they may be able to be able to communicate with us.” And if they could, then would that not mean that there could be peace as the humans evacuated?

“And still they kill us?” Rayda snorted. “As if.”

Evester had wondered about it for far too long on the LowerLands. Perhaps the species had taken his father to test him or to get his information to know more about this world. However the question then became why his father. It became a question on what the Aralax wanted. 

It was also a question on if his father knew or not. All the information regarding the Night of Oblivion was destroyed for their home. It had the generic details, but Evester knew much had been missing. There was also the case that his father was not taken at all, that his father had followed the Aralax. The question then became why? Why would his father go to study them and not to help? What did the Aralax have that the human race needed? 

His father had tasked him with collecting people, protecting the knowledge of the Project, and then restarting the space program. Nothing else. Or at least that’s what the Project led him to believe.

“That’s the plan. Get Zeydar out of here. Get the public approval. Talk to my mom into restarting the Project. Find my dad.” Evester realized it had come back to him to play.

“If he’s alive.” Crass reminded Evester.

“If he’s alive.” If he wasn’t then Evester would finish the mission one way or another. “You aren’t planning to go with us are you?”

“And miss out on this?” Phil laughed. “As if we could.”

“You may die.” Evester did not want to see his friends die. That idea bothered him more than anything they had ever done.

“Wouldn’t be the first time we were in such a situation.” Rayda shrugged. “Play.”

Evester didn’t know what to say to them. Instead he threw out a card and Rayda collected the cards. It was the last hand before shuffling the cards and Crass spoke over what Evester could have done to do better. Evester’s thoughts trailed elsewhere. There wasn’t much to this mission to save the world that was similar to what they’d done before. Or did he simply refuse to believe it because he didn’t want his friends to be in danger. He cared for them far too much, that much he knew, but was it clouding his judgement?

“What are you doing?” Kori asked from the doorway.

“Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?” Evester turned to her, hearing as Crass shuffled the cards. He was already breaking one of his lessons to make sure Crass didn’t stack the deck.

“Are you playing cards?” Kori walked in to the room. “Can I play?”

“Little girls should be sleeping.” Rayda warned her.

“Little girls have a larger kill count.” Kori sat next to Evester as Phil began to deal out the cards.

“Do you know how to play?” Phil asked her.

“I’ll learn.” Kori smiled, looking to the cards. Crass sighed and motioned for her to get closer to him. Crass made some comment on how Evester was learning too, and learning from him would not help her. That was how Kori came to play with Crass and Phil as Evester and Rayda were a team. Most of Heia’s siblings were tolerable, yet the triplets he’d gotten to know the best. He doubted that would be the case for much longer with Robee and Trace’s beady eyes watching his every move. Or were they watching his friends?

“Kori, Kony, Karla, Robee, and Trace.” Evester tossed a card out for his turn. “We initiate them and train them to be one of us.”

“Five new recruits? We haven’t had new EverDanger members since Lynx and Onyx.” Rayda threw in a card and then eyed Kori as if truly seeing her for the first time. “Are they skilled?”

Heia was picked by the project but her siblings had grown in the war. Kori was curious. Kony was perhaps a Circle or greater. Karla was able to keep up with Kori and Kony despite her held back nature. Robee and Trace were EverDanger material on personality alone. They were all strong fighters although, Heia was better. Heia didn’t fight, however, by adrenaline, but on honor. She wasn’t suitable for being taught by him or being an EverDanger member, even if she could be amazing.

“They are.” Evester answered. Four were reckless and skilled. The fifth was skilled and controlled. They fit EverDanger completely. 

“When do we start?” Kori threw a card for Crass. Crass laughed as he had been caught off guard, but they had won the round. Collecting the cards, Kori smiled at Evester. Did she already know the game?

“It’s already begun.” Crass answered for them all relaxing a bit as he let Kori call the shots, and the game continued.

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Whoops, sorry guys. I just didn’t feel like posting yesterday as I read to finish my Newts. In other news I have one book left (plus three, for the three that aren’t on the list). Bad news, its longer than A Lion Among Men. GG me I guess.

MM

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