The Luminosity Series (Book 1): Luminosity (22 page)

“What is that?” I asked. She took a deep breath before
looking at me.

“Two days ago, I received a letter from Andrea. She
wrote me to tell me Marcus had withdrawn himself from the colony selection…”
she said.

“What?” I whispered, suddenly horrified.

“He told her that he couldn’t live with himself for
what he’d done. That taking himself out of the qualification was what he
deserved. Your sister won’t go through with our plan to hide now.”

“But she has to…” I huffed in panic.

“She wants to stay there. She thinks she can get
Marcus to change his mind, but… there’s no time. And she has no idea people are
after us. Nor does she realize that she’s in desperate need of medical care and
resources for the baby. The entire territory is under a precautionary
evacuation alert. Something to do with enemy threats, or even the risk of a
high category solar flare.”

“What?” Evan swallowed. She nodded.

“I overheard rumors in town the other day that the
military has been warning certain cities to prepare their bags in case of an
unexpected event. It’s only a matter of time before it happens here,” my mother
explained. 

“Oh my god…” I said.

“The entire city of Grand Junction is on alert due to
violence alone, but she won’t leave, Aubrey. So I’m going to her. I have to get
her out of there while there’s still time. That’s where I was off to,” she explained.

“But—but it’s happening here too, mom. People have
been rioting in town. Patients have been disappearing at the hospital, and more
houses are being condemned. It’s too dangerous for you to travel right now,” I
said in a shaky voice as my eyes raced across the floor, as if to find solace.

“I know, Aubrey, but if we’re separated during an
evacuation, we may never see each other again. They won’t put families
together. They’ll divide us into separate regions based on our qualification
results, and who knows what will happen after that. At least we have the cellar
to ride things out if things get worse. I have to bring her back here where
she’s safe, okay?” she asked. I shook my head in horror, glancing at Evan who
was silent, gazing at the floor.

“But mom…” I said, out of breath. But before I could
continue, my mother glided over to me, resting her boney hands on my shoulders.

“Listen, Aubrey… I’ll be fine. I have to do this. I
love you. And I promise you I won’t let this family fall again,” she said, her
body weak with regret. She turned around, carefully grabbing two dark, shiny
objects out of the duffle bag. “Here. I want you both to have one of these for
protection. They’re loaded, so be careful, and make sure you hide them
someplace where the guards won’t find them,” she said, handing us both a
handgun with a firm grip.

“Whoa… where did you get these?” Evan asked, his eyes
exposing too much white.

“I’ve had to hide my family from the government for
years. I’ve learned a thing or two about preparation,” my mother said. He
swallowed before nodding to her in acceptance. “Aubrey, in case I don’t make it
back, there’s enough supplies in the cellar to last two years. If things spiral
out of control, you two can hide there, okay? Don’t wait until it’s too late. When
we make it back, we’ll know where to find you,” she said.

“But how will you get to Andrea with what’s happening?
Isn’t travel restricted during an alert?”

“I’m not using the transport system…” She gave me a
fleeting glance before she looked down at the bag full of weaponry. I made a
confused face.

“But you—”

“I’m going to the fields… they’ll have plenty of
transportation to choose from there. They won’t even see me coming.”

“Mrs. Ellis, this is a bad—”

“It’s the only way,” she said, interrupting Evan’s
train of thought. Then, she stepped over to him. Raising both hands to touch his
cheeks, she smiled through a spurt of gratified tears. “I knew you were loyal,
Evan. And I can’t thank you enough for keeping our secret safe all this time.
Your father would be proud to see the man you’ve become,” she said, withdrawing
her glance. Then, she clutched the duffle bag, swinging it behind her. Evan
remained wordless while my mother’s comments propelled me back to his father’s
funeral again…

We were nineteen. I stood against a tree at the
cemetery that day, observing the burial ceremony from a distance. I waited
until his family left, knowing he’d kept his promise to meet me afterward. But instead
of showing empathy, the toxicity his mother poisoned him with echoed off the headstones,
her words haunting me ever since.

“I don’t want you near that girl
anymore. Her family is dangerous,” his mother said, grabbing Evan by the wrist.

“You don’t know anything about her
family,” he lashed out as she grabbed his wrists tighter.

“If it weren’t for that girl, your
father never would have fallen from that canyon!” Tracy yelled in tears. With
red eyes, he pulled away from her grasp, but then, something unexpected
happened. In a wrathful impulse, she caught Evan by the arm, lugging him back
to face her, his struggle morphing into an excuse for physical force. And
within the seconds of escalation, her palm collided with his jawbone. Six times
she shoved him back before he was thrown onto the hollow ground. He rested on
his side, traumatized by her allegations as he watched his mother abandon him
beside his father’s lowered coffin.

As she walked in my direction, I
flung out from behind the tree, jolting my head back to glance at him when my
foot stumbled on the uneven grass. He called out to his mother to stop, his
voice reverberating across the cemetery. Crawling toward the road, I struggled to
my feet, but she had already caught up to me, grasping me around the waist to
pull me backward. And when her lips reached my ear, her whispers became a
haunting melody—a curse that incorporated itself into my nightmares.

“Hide. Run and hide, little girl.
Because I know who you are and what’s coming. No one will make it out of this
alive. Especially not you,” she whispered.

Only now did the happenings of that day at the
cemetery make sense. She had uncovered my father’s secret, blaming my family
for the unexplained death of her husband to justify her loss…

“Mrs. Ellis…” Evan said, interrupting my memory to
bring me back to the present moment. Tears engulfed his vision as my mother
spun around. “Be careful…” he said, his face stubborn with warning.

She turned in my direction now, tears accompanying her
heavy breaths. I looked toward the window to avoid the pain, my vision just as glossy.
As she hugged me, I released an array of sobs, regretful of my departure all
over again.

“It’ll be okay,” she said. I nodded, swallowing the
guilt.

That day, my real mother stood in front of me for the
first time. That day, she was no longer the same woman I had grown up knowing.
She was a warrior—a fire still burning amidst the rain—a symbol of strength in
a fragile world. Now, even the simplest of things such as a name were but a
memory—a fragment of the past we had been forced to let go of. But we couldn’t
allow the fire within us to burn out. Now, we had no other option than to fight
for what justice remained in this world before the end came. And from then on, I
would.

I waited until her car disappeared, satisfied of my
ability to forgive her in that moment. Afterward, I broke down. Mortified of the
risk she was taking, I threw myself against the back of the door, clicking it
shut in an expulsion of guilt. Evan’s voice was muffled as he lifted me from
the floor, my vision an aura of different blurred colors. My body swayed, the
pull of gravity lowering me down.

Moments later, I woke to the chopping of helicopter
blades and a fading amber light illuminating the wall.

“Aubrey,” Evan whispered. He sat beside me on the bed,
facing me as my eyes flickered open. “Are you okay?”

I nodded as he clasped my hand, his grip a symbol of
worry. Attempting to wake myself, I pulled the damp cloth off my forehead. His
face tightened as he observed me in pity.

“I should get to my place so I can grab a few things
before it gets dark. I figured we should stay in the cellar tonight just to be
safe. Maybe you should stay down there and rest while I’m gone,” he said,
looking down as I groaned in shame, blinking again.

“What? No. I’m fine. I’m coming with you,” I said
stubbornly. He nodded, his eyes tracking my hesitation. “She’s—she’s not coming
back, is she?” I asked, choking on a release of sobs. He struggled to look me
in the eye.

“She knows what she’s doing, Aubs,” he assured. Still
unsatisfied by his response, I nodded my head.

“So do they…” I said, glancing out the window as a
flock of choppers soared across the horizon.

“I tried to stop her. But you can’t stop someone who’s
willing to sacrifice themselves, no matter how high the stakes are,” he said.
Suddenly, Jake came to mind. “Sometimes we just have to trust that we’ll be
okay, even if the rest of the world won’t be,” he said, blinking away the pain.
He leaned toward me in that moment as if he knew I was about to give way. And
within his grip, I unraveled.

♦  ♦  ♦

Within the aftermath of our deadly truth, we sat together
on the floor of his bedroom as he packed a bag of his belongings. One day, we’d
all have to say goodbye to our possessions. The government had a strict list of
items that could be brought with us during an evacuation, most of it narrowed
down to just essentials. Not that we had many luxuries left anyway. But never
had I realized the small things I had once taken for granted. Already, simple
pleasures like chewing gum, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, or the
indulgence of chocolate had become a luxury of the past.

As he finished packing his bag, we heard a pound at
the front door. We looked at one another, reluctant to answer it, certain the
rebels would return to take me. But after a second loud knock and the roar of
engines, we had no choice but to respond. And after moving the blinds, military
vehicles invaded my vision of the once empty street. I hesitated before he
opened the door, but a guard had already let himself in.

“Sir, I’ve been given direct orders to place this home
under immediate military surveillance. You and anyone else on this property are
to stay inside until further notice. A marshal will be assigned to your
residence momentarily,” the guard said. My pulse stopped.

“What? Why? What’s going on?” Evan asked with a quick
breath.

“We’ve been informed of a possible threat. We must
follow protocol in the event of a full-frontal attack. Civilians are to obey
military command until the situation is under control,” the guard replied.

“What situation?” Evan asked.

“It’s just a precaution to keep you safe, sir. Please
step aside,” he ordered.

“No. I want to know what’s going on,” Evan demanded.
The guard turned around, waving and whistling. Just then, a group of soldiers
came running to the door, armed with assault rifles. To our surprise, Aaron was
amongst them.

“Sir, if you don’t comply, we will have no choice but
to detain you,” he said. Evan swallowed before nodding in agreement. I peered
over the railing upstairs as Aaron and two more soldiers trudged through the
house, their thick boots creating a boom that seemed to shudder through me.

“Ma’am, we’ll need you to come down here please,” a
soldier said. “Once you’re cleared, we’ll need to see citizen identification.” I
eyed Evan as I crept down the stairs.

“Arms out,” Aaron said firmly, staring Evan in the
face as he patted him down, hoping the other soldiers wouldn’t figure out he
was our friend.

“Search the bags,” said another soldier.

“It’s alright. I got this,” Aaron said, glancing
backward. The other men nodded as Aaron approached me. My focus flashed to
Evan, the nervous sweat trickling along the side of his forehead. I held my
breath as I reached my arms out. Aaron stood ahead of us, eyeballing Evan as he
patted me on my sides. Evan grimaced at the bag next to me. If they found the
guns, we’d be done.

Time went by in slow motion as Aaron unzipped it, the
other soldiers standing several feet out of its sight. And in the instant he
paused, I thought it was over. But instead, he sealed the bag quickly,
pretending as if he hadn’t seen the guns. I released a breath in silence as
Aaron shot back up.

“They’re clean,” he said, glaring at Evan as a final warning.

“Good. Aaron, stay on guard. As for the rest of you,
let’s get a move on. We have six more houses up here to clear,” the soldier
ordered. And with that, the three of us remained.

“What is going on? Where have you been lately? And why
the hell didn’t you warn Jake about the tunnel?” Evan asked Aaron in a tense
breath, grasping him by the collar of his uniform before shoving him backward.
Aaron’s thick helmet smacked against the wall. “You killed him…” Evan scowled.

“Just calm down, alright? You know I have to obey orders
around here. And casualties are to be expected in times of war!” Aaron shouted.
Evan gripped him harder.

“Quit speaking to me like a soldier and start talking
to me as a friend,” he choked.

“Hey, I saved both your asses, remember?” Aaron
coughed from Evan’s stranglehold.

“Evan, stop…” I said. He released him before
concentrating on the floor. Aaron readjusted his uniform in a huff.

“You both have some explaining to do yourselves. You
could’ve been carted away to the prison camps for having what you have in
there. Go on,” he said, hinting at the bruises Evan sustained, his torn up
house, and lastly, the guns in the bag.

“Not until you explain to us what the fuck is going
on,” Evan said. Aaron snorted.

“What do you think, man? We’re preparing for war like
we always have. It’s nothing new,” he said with a sneer.

“Please… just tell us what you know…” I said. Aaron
glanced back at me before drawing in a breath. He waited as he grasped his
collar again. “It’s okay. We’re your friends, remember?” I repeated. The
stubbornness in Aaron’s eyes faded as he peered at Evan again.

“We were advised of a possible large-scale attack
developing from the east. We’re being ordered to initiate Operation
Vermillion,” he said in a rough voice.

“Large-scale attack? Vermillion? What does that mean?”
Evan asked, shaking his head in a scowl.

“It means that the territories might not exist anymore
if they strike. We wouldn’t have the capability to respond to this type of
attack if they hit here. Our military would be outnumbered by injured
civilians, especially if we’re facing casualties. But we can’t go around
telling people that, can we?” Aaron spit out his message in a gruff tone.

“When are they planning to strike?” Evan asked in
alarm.

“We don’t know yet. But there’s more going on out
there than we think. Our armed forces and intelligence units have confirmed our
enemies still have weapons that could kill tens of thousands of people. They
could wipe out entire cities. We’re not sure what their specific targets are,
but they’ve had their motives in place for a while. This is a high-risk
operation,” Aaron said with weakening eyes.

“What type of weapons?” I asked.

“Missiles, bombs, chemical warfare…” Aaron said. Evan
threw his head back.

“Then why would they put us on lockdown like this?” he
asked.

“To protect you, alright? Look, I’m just following
orders. I don’t have all the answers,” Aaron said. This time, there was a hint
of fear lingering in his eyes, giving away his honesty. And with that fear, I
sensed he too had been damaged by this war in his own way, even without being
on the front line of battle. Evan pulled back, releasing Aaron as he backed up
beside me in surrender. I gazed at the floor while they both caught their
breath.

“Fine. But you still didn’t answer a question I know
you know the answer to. What is Vermillion?” Evan asked, cautiously looking up
at him again.

“It’s an evacuation of the territories,” Aaron said,
letting his shoulders fall in defeat. Evan’s eyes widened, and with the sound
of Aaron’s words, I became paralyzed. Staring at Evan seemed to be my only
choice.

“To where?” Evan asked.

“The only place civilians have left before the big
one—the camps. They’re made for citizens in the event they become displaced,
such as in an attack. Think of them like temporary refugee camps,” Aaron exhausted.

“Where are these camps?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Only the highest in our chain of
command know their location,” he said. Evan stared ahead of him before the
emptiness of horror on his face forced me to look away.

“There. I told you. Now you tell me… what happened to
you guys? And how the hell did you get ahold of a gun?” Aaron asked. I clutched
Evan’s arm, stopping him from his explanation as I opened my mouth to speak. He
had never been a good liar, which was one of the many reasons I trusted him,
and only him. But it was also why I needed to speak for us.

“We were attacked by rebels last night. We managed to
take their guns before they did any more damage, but they got away,” I said,
swallowing back the guilt of my white lie.

“Shit,” Aaron sighed. “I was wondering what happened
here. I figured looters came here after last night’s rioting in town. Are you
sure these people were rebels?”

“They were dressed differently. I’ve never seen anyone
like them around here before,” Evan said, raising his brows. Just then, Aaron
nodded toward the bag.

“That’s the truth, right? You two weren’t planning on
running, were you?” he asked in suspicion. I swallowed as he stared at Evan,
who remained speechless, the curiosity in Aaron’s tone suddenly making him less
trustworthy.

“No. We were just preparing in case something
happened. We saw the riots in town and figured it wouldn’t hurt to gather up what
we could use. And after getting attacked, we wanted something to use in case
they came back,” I chimed in. Evan nodded in agreement, his eyelids flickering.
Aaron stared at the two of us before letting out a heavy breath.

“I have no choice but to confiscate those guns. It was
stupid of both of you to think you could get away with this,” Aaron muttered,
pulling the guns out of the bag. Evan’s expression grew angrier the longer he
thought about it.

“No. What’s stupid is sitting around here waiting to
be killed,” Evan snapped.

“We have no choice. We can’t evacuate the cities and
defend them at the same time,” Aaron said.

“Why the hell not? You have time to barge into
people’s homes on the brink of attack, don’t you?” Evan asked with a snide
look.

“Look, right now it’s only a precaution. If our armed
forces see them approaching on their radar, there’ll be plenty of time to counterattack
before they reach the territories. Your best bet is to lie low,” Aaron said.

“He’s right,” I said to Evan, pulling on his arm, his
jaw tensing as he bitterly accepted our situation.

♦  ♦  ♦

That night, the familiar roar of helicopters and
monstrous vehicles was replaced with an eerie silence. Between the static on
Aaron’s pager, the house stayed quiet. Too quiet. My eyes snapped open from a
restless sleep as the cool breeze brushed against my cheeks. I was curled up in
an awkward position, my head resting against the torn sofa. Several blankets
were wrapped around me, the same sweatshirt and pants from the day before still
hugging my body. The afterglow of dying coals just lit the room as the neon
green glow radiated through the shattered windows. Without the heat from the
fire, the brisk air cut through me as I lifted the blankets. My boots rested
beside me. Evan must have taken them off for me. But when I turned over, he
wasn’t there.

I sat up, blinking to adjust to my surroundings.
Military dogs barked in the distance, their piercing howls ringing off the mountains.
All it took was the sound of their howls for the doubts to invade my mind again,
recalling my mother’s quest to find my sister. That’s when Evan’s words
replayed.
“She knows what she’s doing, Aubs.”
But my confidence in her
survival was fading as the threats loomed.

Eager to find Evan, I stumbled around in the dark.
Through the window, soldiers lined the street outside the house. Gripping their
rifles, they paced back and forth in boredom. Boredom was good. It meant we
were safe. Sitting in a chair beside the front door lied Aaron, asleep with his
helmet covering his eyes. His mouth hung open and head leaned sideways. I wanted
to laugh, but I was too afraid.

My footsteps were inaudible as my feet crept across
the kitchen and up the stairs to Evan’s room. I peered over the railing, making
sure Aaron hadn’t heard me. Luckily, he hadn’t.

Evan’s shadow flooded the floor of the bedroom, the
thin black curtains swaying in the wind. He stood on the patio, leaning forward
against the rail. I placed my hand on his shoulder before he faced me. Panicked
and alert, he seemed caught off guard at the sight of me.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered as I squinted at his
battered face in distress. He blinked as if I startled him out of his gaze, but
he didn’t bother to answer me. “Why aren’t you asleep?” I asked, glancing twice
out at the dark town.

“We’re still out of power,” he said.

“It must be taking them longer to restore it. Why
don’t you come back inside? It’s late...” I asked. He pursed his lips and shook
his head.

“Something doesn’t feel right, Aubrey...” He winced.

“What do you mean?”

“I heard something. It sounded like an explosion,” he
said. His face was serious and afraid.

“Evan, the military is on full alert. If there was a
real threat, they’d warn us,” I pleaded.

“What if they didn’t? What if our so-called enemies
were using the outage to their advantage?” he asked, his expression wide with
terror.

“But we get blackouts all the time,” I said, running
my hand against my forehead, trying to relax. My eyes widened as I continued to
stare at his unaffected expression.

“Exactly. But what if our communication systems were
down? Other cities might be under attack right now and we’d never even know what
hit them...” he said, wincing. I froze in fear as my eyes wandered.

Above us, the sky gleamed in cascading teal and
emerald sheets, casting shadows against the mountains to the west. Below, our
town was a collage of objects obscured in dark grays and blacks. The
luminescent green tones gave way to the shapes of houses and Humvees parked
along each street. Still exhausted, I didn’t want to think about the
possibility. But before I could convince him he was being paranoid, a slight
rumble vibrated beneath us. It didn’t last long. Five seconds at the most, but
it was enough to ignite a deeper sense of panic.

“Something’s happening out there, Aubrey. I know it,”
he said. Glancing back at him, he seemed so sure of himself, his chest
inflating and deflating more rapidly.

Worried, I gazed out across the town again, trying to
convince myself it had only been a figment of my imagination. But before I
blinked, a streak of red light filled the sky just long enough to notice.
Reminding me of a shooting star, it sprawled throughout the auroras before
fading away beyond the horizon. Evan stopped breathing.

“What was that?” I asked, my body jittery from the
rapid surge in adrenaline. Horror flooded his eyes as they wandered toward the
skyline.

“It looked like a distress signal.”

Now, his hands gripped my shoulders as he jerked his
head around in warning, standing mere inches from me. The air from his rapid
breathing brushed my lips as he spoke, his sight beaming like daggers into
mine.

“Aubrey, listen. You need to go downstairs and load
those bags with water, clothes, whatever you can find that’s still here. We
have to get to your mom’s cellar before the other guards notice, or we’ll never
get out of here in time,” he warned in an unstable tone.

“But there’s too many of them. We’ll never make it,” I
shrieked, not having a second to spare. I was too late anyway. He was already
gone.

I chased Evan down the stairs as another rumble shook
the ground. It felt closer this time. The rustic chandelier rattled through the
emptiness overhead, forcing me to a skidded halt. I crept through the darkness
of the kitchen swiftly before my eyes adjusted to the dark, the dying fire my
only guide as I grabbed as much as I could from the pantry. The few remaining
cans and boxes of food crashed to the floor as I attempted to keep a steady
grip on his bag.

Out of nowhere, Evan appeared from around the corner as
the ground quaked again, his head darting in every direction. The lights flashed
on before blacking out again, the shouting of soldiers outside sending me in a
whirl of tension as the adrenaline sparked my pulse. Then, my vision centered
in on the empty chair in front of the door. Aaron had disappeared.

“He’s gone!” My eyes flung from left to right, the shouting
interrupted by the engines of endless military trucks parked along Evan’s
street. A soldier gestured the rest of them with hand signals and commands,
their orders clear, concise, and distinct in their execution.

“Shit. We have to leave! Now!” Evan warned.

In an instant, the rippling of helicopters burst
through the air. We darted to the window, our curiosity a side effect of the
chaos unfolding. On the southern edge of town, a black helicopter struggled to
stay above the mountains. The way it wobbled indicated its fate. It couldn’t be
real. But my doubts were proven wrong as it lost control, dipping downward and
ending its descent in tragedy along the mountain. The horror reflected in
Evan’s eyes.