Fire and Ice

Chapter 28 [] Ender

Val, Petra and I sat and talked. Completely unmonitored for once. A refreshing change. Val told us about the dreary Earth schools, the vain cliques, the mandatory community service, the dull lessons. She learned most everything she knows from the nets. In return, we told her of Battle School. All the classified knowledge, the training, spoken freely to a civilian.

Graff would have had a fit.

We told her of Command school. The early Training. How weeks turned into months, that turned into years, even though they shouldn't have.

Finally, we told her of Kayleigh. Her fiery spirit rampaging through battles, and putting Graff in his place. Val knew her as the officer who emailed her about the meeting, and inquired where she was right as a motorcycle revved to a stop outside.

‹‹

Light fades into my conscious along with the yelling. A long black braid and bright bronze eyes hover in my memories before my vision snaps to a brightly lit blue sky. I groan. Einri shakes me lightly, which doesn't help my new headache, courtesy of our team leader.

"Mikhail?" He asks gently. I nod and he slaps me.

"How could you let her get away?"

"You say that like it was my choice!"

"It was and you failed," Andrej snaps, jogging up behind Einri.

"Sorry. Next time I'll ask politely to not get hit in the head with a big ass ROCK!"

"She doesn't know we're alive. We need to be in contact with her so we can help and also not get stuck on this big ass ROCK called Earth until we lose our minds!"

"You think I don't know that, Andrej!" I stand up, blood rushing to my head be damned. I grab his shirt collar and pull him closer as I scream "You think I don't want to be with her as soon as we can? You think I like running this team? You think I enjoy watching everyone pout? And be at each other's throats? To not know what's going on? To have t-"

"Enough!" Harvey yanks us apart. "Yelling does us no good! Think Mikhail! You notice more than anyone else! What did you see?" I glare at Andrej one more time before thinking back to the past ten minutes.

††

I pull up to Ender's parents' house twenty minutes after the driver arrived there. I took the long route, even though I don't believe I was followed. That was weird. They knew my name?

They must be Pour la Sauver fanatics.

I flip my hoverbike back into my glove and flick to change into my Lunar Orbital uni. Business time.

But how did they know you would be there?

I tune the voice out, straightening my uniform. I place my hands at my lower back and walk up to the front door.

It opens before I have the chance to knock, Ender's face peering around at me solemnly.

"You need Val?" he asks quietly, half hiding himself behind the door.

"I'll talk to Peter first, if he's around." Ender sags in relief.

"Val," he calls into the house, "do we know where Peter is?"

"Backyard," a young girls voice answers. "He's probably on his desk. I'll message him. Why?" Ender escorts my into the house, my small heels clicking dismally on the polished wood floor.

"Tell him that a pretty girl came to see him. I'm sure he'll turn up," I quip casually, my eyes tracing an ornate blue rug on the spacious living room floor. Petra sits on the large couch, sitting cross-legged, her shoes on the floor nearby. A large tray sits empty on the dark wood of the coffee table, small crumbs littering it from food that was probably eaten by the three.

"Who?" Valentine asks quizically from the kitchen, clanking and clamoring whilst looking for something.

"Our babysitter," Petra chimes, winking at me. The clacking stops instantly, soft padded footsteps following from my left. A girl appears, several years older than Ender, but still young.

Wow.

She looks exactly like Ender. Same hair, same nose, same concerned look on her face that he gets when I'm about to do something dangerous. Similar build, though Ender's has more muscle.

Wow. Is this how people feel when they find out I have a twin? Awful. I hate it.

"Why do you want to talk to Peter? I thought you came here to see me?" Ender looks at me, confused. Same look as Valentine that's so strange! Eyes slightly turned down at the corner, wrinkle on the left side of their nose, weight on the right side of their body.

I shrug.

"I came here to see you both. I'll need all hands on deck for what I'm about to do."

"What are you going to do?" Valentine mutters, frightened.

"I'm afraid that's need-to-know basis information only. I'll let you have a few more minutes of peace." She rolls her eyes at the same time Ender relaxes, content with my answer.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Anytime," I respond with a wink. A young man comes huffing in through the back door.

Shit. This is trippy. Female Ender. Now Jock Ender. Wait. Remember what Val said. Manipulator. Don't fall for it.

He shares the same traits with Ender and Valentine. Dark hair, blue eyes, proportional nose. However, Peter is more muscular. I wonder why? I get an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach the longer he stands there. The type of deep-rooted existential dread that one gets when contemplating death. But then he looks up.

"It's you," he pants. "It really is.. you."

And the feeling gets exponentially worse. Worse than menstrual cramps. And getting stabbed.

Save me! I think yell.

"Yes, it is. Come back outside for a moment with me?" I say casually. He nods eagerly, then, noting our other company, immediately straightens and neutralizes his features, all excitement gone.

Interesting.

‹‹

Think. Think. It's not as easy as it sounds.

I see her, walking plain as day up towards our supposed grave. She was wearing our boots with a navy blue jumpsuit. So close but so far..

She passes us, and I see a large insignia patch on her sleeve, a similar shade to the rest of the uniform. It seems simple, unlike our distinct Lunar Orbital patch.

Two letters.

IF.

The International Fleet. Keeping humanity safe from the buggers. Is she with them? Or did she just steal a uniform? Difficult to tell.

"Einri, look up how easy it is to get access to IF uniforms."

"On it."

She didn't have any obvious weaponry, but then again, she was wearing her suit. She seemed... focused. Internalized. Still aware, but reverent.

She placed stones on our supposed grave.

A sign of eternal love and respect.

She really thinks we're dead.

There was genuine fear when we approached her. Genuine defense. But there was a plan brewing. No doubt of it.

"Hard. Like really hard. More difficult to forge them. They have their claws in everything."

"It looked authentic," Harvey says.

"That's because it was," I state matter-of-factly. "Who else would let her run amuck? They'd be willing to do anything of it meant ending the war. And the car? Tinted windows. Heavy duty hovering equipment. Bullet proof everything if I'm not mistaken. Plus, they can manipulate her easier if she thinks we're dead."

They all nod, deep in thought.

"So how do we get back to her?" Andrej asks.

I grin maniacly.