Krollia

of two Saviors who would help free us from tyrannical rule. They have arrived and now is the time to fulfill our destiny!” The troops cheered loudly. “Now is the time to rise up and take what is rightfully ours. Rol will no longer control our most valuable resource. Instead, we will!” More cheers erupted. “And we will reach out to our neighbors to end the needless bloodshed. We will open the door to prosperity for all!”

  The troops applauded and cheered the elder Narland. He raised his hands for silence, which quickly came. “We all know what we have to do,” he said. “We will leave just before dawn. Be strong and be brave.” That brought more cheers. “Good luck to you all and may Nature guide us on our quest for freedom!”

  Many people stepped forward and shook Pinto’s hand. He graciously accepted their thanks and spent several minutes mingling with the crowd. Mia and Crey stood off to the side, watching the celebration. Mia’s hands shook. Crey gently covered them with his own hands. “We will be victorious,” he said. “Now that you and Jake are here.”

  Mia shook her head. “I hope so.” She started walking toward her hut and the boy followed her. “There’s one thing I don’t understand,” she said, as Crey strode beside her. “I know what I am supposed to do, but what is Jake’s role in all of this?” She stopped at looked at Crey. “If he was captured right way, how is he the First Savior?” she asked.

  Crey lowered his dark eyebrows and shook his head. “I don’t know, for sure,” he said. “But we are taught not to question the ancient texts. So maybe his role will become clear later,” he said. They continued on toward Mia’s hut. When they arrived, he gently touched her right hand. “Goodnight, Mia,” he said. “You are going to be great tomorrow.”

  The boy turned and walked toward his own hut without saying another word. Mia thought about what he said. She realized that it didn’t matter what role any of them played, as long as Rol was defeated and she took Jake home. She remembered that Brax was working on a way to make that happen. Instead of entering her hut, she walked over to his.

  Brax was kneeling before a statue when Mia stuck her head into his hut. She watched his lips move slowly as faint words poured out. Mia cleared her throat to announce her presence. Brax continued his ceremony for a few more seconds before he stood and acknowledged her. “Come in, Mia,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”

  Mia walked in and stood a few feet from the doctor. “I wanted to visit you earlier, but I’ve been busy with my training.” Brax nodded and pointed to a chair. Mia sat down in it and he sat in one across from her. She nervously rubbed her thumbs over her fingers. “Have you found a way to return my brother and I to our world?” she asked.

  “Not yet, but I am very close,” said Brax. Mia’s shoulders slumped. “Don’t worry, I am sure I will have the answer soon. Just get yourself and your brother back here safely and we’ll take it from there.” The doctor rubbed his reddening eyes as he rose. “I think we both need a good night’s sleep,” he said. Mia rose, shook his hand and departed.

  The tense night seemed to drag on forever for Mia. She was so nervous that she wasn’t able to fall asleep until after midnight. She woke the next morning in darkness. She knew that they would be leaving soon, so she dressed in her battle gear and waited outside the huts for the others. Soon, she was joined by Pinto, Jola, Crey and the rebel fighters.

  They marched toward Rol’s stronghold in silence. Krollia’s sun was just rising when the army reached the palace gates. The rebels took the guards by surprise when they launched their attack. However, reinforcements quickly appeared as laser fire-fights took place on the royal grounds. Mia and Crey stood side-by-side firing their weapons at the guards. Some rebels had advanced forward and were engaged in sword-to-sword combat.

  Crey led Mia and other rebels to the site where Jake was last seen. They fought through a gate, then a door to a building, where a long hallway stood between them and the room Jake was reportedly in. Ducking laser fire, they moved slowly down the hallway, firing back at their enemy to keep them at bay. Two guards surprised Crey and Mia, appearing from behind them. The rebels fought them off with their swords. Crey quickly defeated his foe.

  A bronze-skinned fighter stood several inches taller than Mia, and he was clearly much stronger than she was. Mia let her reflexes take over as she remembered her training. Laser fire kept Crey from helping her, so Mia stood her ground. She and her rival clashed swords and moved in circles during the fight. The enemy swung his sword down hard and knocked Mia to the floor, and her weapon slipped away from her. He went to finish her off, when she kicked his legs out from underneath him. He fell to the ground with a roar as Mia regained her feet and her sword. She thrust the tip at his throat, and he suddenly stopped moving. The blade did not make contact with his skin and she stood over him with the tip just inches from his jugular.

  “Kill me if you must,” he said. “But you rebels will never win.” Part of her wanted to cut his throat, but another part would not let her. He was down, beaten, and no longer a threat. She pulled her blade back and rushed past him. Mia heard a shout from behind her, and she turned to see the fallen soldier coming at her. She raised her sword, but a laser blast caught him in the back and he fell again and did not get up.

  Crey caught up with her and they forced open a cell door. They rushed in hoping to find Jake. However, they instead found a man lying on the floor in the dark. Mia turned to Crey and screamed. “Where is Jake?” He is supposed to be here.” Crey had a blank expression. He moved toward the man to rescue him. Mia slammed her sword on the floor and screamed again.

  It took Mia a moment to realize that Crey was standing over the man and crying. She rushed over to see what was wrong. The boy looked up at her as his body shuddered. “It’s my father,” he said. “He’s alive!” Mia looked at the man, knowing that he must be Soren, the warrior thought to be dead.

  She bent down and helped the man to his feet. “Sir, did you see a boy here?” she asked him. The man gave her a quizzical look. “His name is Jake. He looks like me, but a bit younger.” The man shook his head. Mia turned to Crey. “We need to get him out of here,” she said. “And we need to keep looking for Jake.” Crey nodded and they carried the man out of the room. Avoiding more laser fire, they moved slowly down the hall and exited the building. Once outside, a rebel medic took Soren and guided him away from the fighting.

  Mia and Crey sat behind a stone pillar, breathing heavily. “Where else could he be?” asked Mia. Crey had an odd, disbelieving expression. Mia shook his right shoulder. “Look, I know you’re happy and surprised that your dad is still alive. I’m happy too, but we must focus. Where else can Jake be?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Crey. “According to our contacts, he was supposed to be there.” He took several deep breaths and turned to face Mia. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do.”

  Mia slammed her fist onto the ground. She looked around her hoping for some kind of sign. “What about the ancient texts?” she asked. “Did they say anything about where the First Savior would be?” She couldn’t believe her question. It sounded ridiculous to her.

  “No, they’re not that specific,” said Crey. He shrugged. “We can try the other rooms he was kept in, but they are not easy to get to.” Mia agreed and they ventured back into the palace to search the other holding cells.

  Along the way, they faced off against several guards, some in pistol battles and others in sword fights. They checked four rooms with no success. Finally, they came upon a cell deep in the palace dungeon where Mia saw a lone occupant. The person was chained to a wall and looked exhausted. Mia used her laser pistol to force open the cell doors before she rushed to the prisoner. She turned the person’s head and immediately recognized his face. It was Jake.

  Mia hugged and kissed the boy’s face as his eyes fluttered open. He did not seem to know who she was at first, but then his expression brightened. “Mia?” he asked. “Is it you?” She said it was. “H
ow did you get here? How did you find me?”

  “There’s no time for that now,” she said, lifting him to his feet. “We need to get out of here. Can you walk?” He put pressure on his legs and they collapsed. Mia caught him before he hit the floor. “That’s ok. I got you.” She fired her pistol at the chain, severing it from the boy.

  Crey led them out and provided cover fire as they moved toward an exit. They met up with other rebels and fought their way out of the palace. Soon, they regrouped with Pinto, who looked unhappy. “We have done some real damage here,” he told Mia and Crey. “But Rol is still in power and we still don’t know where the hidden water containers are. I’m afraid this battle has been a failure.”

  Jake suddenly grabbed Mia’s right arm. “I know where they are,” he said, weakly. Everyone turned to him. Jake removed a white bandage from his right ankle. Inside it was a tiny, circular disk. “After they captured me, I managed to get to a computer terminal and I hacked into their mainframe,” he said. He handed the disk to his sister. “I downloaded the locations of all of the water containers.” Mia kissed the top of his head and handed the disk to Pinto before she looked back at Jake. “You