The Adventure

Just thinking about the name gave chills to Natalia. She had heard stories about how tens of thousands of people had lost their lives in the Dead Zone during the Inter World War between Earth and C-31. And after the end of the war, there were news of how the government severely punished those civilians who trespassed.

Natalia took a long breath and murmured, "Don't tell me we are going inside the Dead Zone."

Alexis snapped her fingers and smiled to ease off the tension, "Correct! We are going in there." Then she casually turned off both of her cell phones and started to prepare for their adventure.

"What? Are you crazy? Did you already forget what happened to you when you were inside that place the last time?" Natalia started to panic when she saw Alexis turning off her cell phones; it meant she was not bluffing at all.

"Relax Natalia, we are going in there through a secret path. And besides, last time the government saw that video and they sent military to search for an alien. They won't know anything now." Alexis smiled at Natalia and put on her mask.

Natalia was afraid but at the same time she was interested to see what was inside the Dead Zone. So she also turned off both of her cell phones and put on the mask. "I hope you know what you are doing."

"Chill! We won't get caught." Alexis was now standing right in front of the manhole. She leaned down and shifted the manhole cover to reveal the secret path. Then she looked around to make sure that no one was watching them. And she signalled Natalia to get in first. "Get in, quick."

Natalia stood in front of the hole and exhaled sharply. She could already feel the thrill by the thought of sneaking into a prohibited area. Then she carefully climbed down the metal stairs, to begin the adventure.

Alexis also followed Natalia into the manhole. She dragged the cover back to its original place after she got inside.

Natalia's thrill had already died when she smelled the horrible gas. She was coughing and saying, "Gross! It stinks in here."

"I know. And it's really dark so feel free to use that torch." Alexis strapped the torch light on her forehead.

Natalia also did the same and then turned on the light.

"Let's start our adventure then." Alexis smiled behind her mask and led the way.

Alexis crouched on her hands and legs and then started to crawl through the smelly tunnel. "Follow me. You don't want to get lost in here."

"Great, and of course we have to crawl for stars know how many minutes." Natalia complained as she also started to crawl behind Alexis.

"We will have to crawl for just 15 minutes. And we will reach the other side." Alexis's voice echoed through the tunnel.

Then Alexis turned her head back and whispered to Natalia, "And I think it will be better if we do not talk while we are in here. We don't want to be heard by others if they are nearby."

"I hate you." Natalia angrily whispered back to Alexis. But at the same time she was also excited to finally go to the Dead Zone.

They crawled for what felt like an eternity inside that smelly and dark tunnel. If Alexis had not bought the torches and the masks, Natalia might have given up within three minutes. But Natalia was delighted when she saw the natural light coming from the other end of the tunnel.

"Move faster Alexis, I want to see what is on the other side." Natalia happily whispered to Alexis.

But Alexis tried to shut her friend's excited mouth, "Shhh…" Then she started to increase her pace as she was also curious to check something.

And in another minute both Alexis and Natalia were on the other side of the tunnel and out in the Dead Zone. They could finally breathe some fresh air from the forest around them. It was the evening time so the soft breeze was caressing their sweaty face as it passed through them.

Natalia took off her mask and took in a deep breath, "Ah, the air here is so refreshing!" She walked a few steps forward and spread her arms to feel the breeze. The wind was softly blowing her hair. She closed her eyes and said, "This is a great surprise Lexi. I love this place."

Alexis also took off her mask and turned off her torch light. Then she took a few steps forward to stand by the side of Natalia and copied her. She spread her arms and let the breeze touch her face that was glistening in the evening sunlight.

"Who told you that this was a surprise? I haven't shown you the surprise that I actually brought you here for."

Natalia opened her eyes and turned her head to see Alexis with her jaw wide open She finally figured out 'the surprise'. "How could I be so stupid?"

Alexis flinched when a bright light hit her eyes, light that was being emitted from the torch that was still on Natalia's head. So she shouted at her friend, "Yeah you bet… Turn off that light, stupid."

Natalia grinned and quickly turned off the torch. She spoke excitedly while she opened her bag to put the torch inside it, "I think I know what you are going to show me. Let's go then, what are we waiting for? It will get dark soon." Then she started to walk happily, ahead of Alexis.

Alexis sneered and yelled, "It's not that way genius, it's this way."

"Right!" Natalia turned on her heel and started to follow Alexis.

Alexis turned her head towards Natalia and then instructed her, "And walk with stealthy footsteps; we do not want to attract any attention from the military."

Natalia was already annoyed by the fact that Alexis was constantly nagging her. So she replied in an irritated voice, "I know, I know. This is the hundredth time you asked me to be cautious. Just walk quickly."

While walking, Alexis was actively looking around. The last time she was in the Dead Zone, she had memorized a particular landmark - a corner area that was covered with colorful pebbles and above which was a half barren cliff.

After walking quietly for about 10 minutes, Alexis finally recognized the place where she had left a hidden treasure before. She was finally able to come back to the battle craft which she had unwillingly departed with the last time.

Alexis turned back to face Natalia who was closely following her. Then with a huge smile on her face she whispered, "Are you ready to see the battle craft?"

Natalia exclaimed, "Do you even need to ask that? I was born ready for this kind of stuff." Natalia rubbed her hands together and said with excitement, "Let's see the baby."

Alexis slowly moved forward and tried to locate the battle craft by waving her hand in front of her. And her hand touched a part of the craft. After touching the craft, she scrabbled around to find the handle of the door.

It didn't take much time for Alexis to find the door because the design of the craft was imprinted in her mind.

Alexis pushed the handle downward and - Clack! - the door of the battle craft opened to display the craft in its full glory.

Natalia gasped and covered her mouth when she saw the captivating sight. She was both excited and nervous to see the battle craft that was right before her eyes. "This was the battle craft that you mentioned in your adventure story?"

"Yes, impressive isn't it?" Alexis was proud of her find. She went inside the craft and scanned her eyes around the craft just like a baby looking at all the toys in a toy store.

Natalia also entered the craft and she still could not believe her eyes. "Impressive? This is super-impressive." She closed the door behind so that she could talk loudly, "Girl! Do you even know which model this is?"

When Alexis was leaving the Dead Zone before, she had thought of finding out more information about this craft to figure out a way to repair it. "Oh! I thought of going through the battle craft models to find that out but I never quite got the chance. But I think this is from C-31."

Natalia sat down dramatically on the Captain's seat and pretended to be a Queen of some sort. "Let me enlighten you, my child. This sweet baby right here is called the Raider 01. This is the first successful model of battle craft from, as you said it correctly, planet C-31 to use the wormhole to jump through space. The first spaceship to use that technology."

Alexis's jaw nearly dropped with that information. "So this… has the capability to jump through space? Holy light! This is a treasure…"

Natalia signaled Alexis to pause her talk and interjected, "Hold on! I still have some more fascinating information. This was also the first model of craft to use Nickel 56 as a power source meaning the battery never dies for almost a century." Natalia raised her brows and continued, "How cool is that?"

Natalia thanked Professor Tobias under her breath for giving a lecture about Raider 01 in her last class.

Alexis exclaimed, "A century?" Then Alexis finally realized something, "That's the reason why the camouflage still works. But it won't start though. I thought the main energy core was dead but that does not seem to be the case."

Natalia cracked her knuckles and got up from the seat. Then she flipped her hair and boasted, "Leave that to the expert. I will find out what the problem is."