Chapter Seven: Iris

During the time that I was unconscious, I had a strange dream.

I was standing in an open field surrounded by fire and smoke. The land had huge craters in it that had likely come from missiles and was covered in debris. The entire field was strewn with corpses and injured soldiers. The sun was setting in the west behind a far off mountain. And if it were not for the destruction that surrounded me, it would have been a beautiful sunset. Next to me stood Hunter, Calvin, Cora, and someone that I did not recognize, all covered in grime and sweat. They were cut, bruised, and looked tired and worn out. Cora's face wore an expression of bewilderment as she said, "We did it. We're finally free."

I didn't quite know what to make of my dream, I didn't understand one single thing about it. The more I tried to think about it, the more confusing it became. So, I decided to leave the matter to rest. I woke to a pounding headache. I vaguely remembered feeling immense pain and seeing Hunter's face as I drifted further into unconsciousness. As I slowly forced my eyes open, the image was first too bright and blurry, but as my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed that Hunter was asleep next to me. He held my hand in his own and I slowly pulled it away, so as not to wake him. I lifted my shirt up to check my wound, but there was nothing there. It seemed almost as if I had never been shot at all. No one else was in the room, so I decided to go looking for them. First, I checked the second room in the hanger and found it to be empty. I then decide to go check the cockpit. I opened the door and found a pilot, who I hadn't met yet, Cora and Calvin all sitting together. Cora and Calvin were having a conversion and as soon as I walked into the room, they all looked up. Calvin in particular seemed more concerned than the others. He immediately rose from his seat to help me settle into mine, "How are you doing Iris?" I replied in a surprisingly raspy voice, "I have a migraine and I feel a little queasy but other than that I feel fine...like suspiciously fine. What happened to my wound? That's why I passed outright? Unless I'm remembering it wrong." Calvin shook his head, "No you're right. You did get shot, but Noah here," he pointed at the pilot, "is a Healer. After you passed out, Noah fixed your gunshot wound and let you rest. Sorry about the headache and the queasiness. That's just a side effect of Noah's powers." I turned to Noah and gave his hand a quick shake, "Thanks Noah, looks like I owe you for saving my life." He shrugged at the compliment and replied, "That's ok. It's what I'm here to do."

Calvin got up and left the room. He came back a few minutes later with a warm cup of tea and a blanket. He handed me the tea and draped the blanket over my shoulders. I took a sip of my tea and looked up at him, "Thanks. You didn't have to do that." He sat back down as he replied, "Oh, it's fine, I wanted to." We stared at each other in the eyes for a few seconds and neither of us wanted to look away. Cora kept looking back and forth between us looking really uncomfortable. Eventually, Hunter showed up at the door and cleared his throat. I and Calvin quickly looked away from each other. Hunter walked up to me, "Hey, Iris. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a bit better. The tea is really helping my stomach." I noticed that Calvin's smile widened ever so slightly when he heard me say that. Hunter sat down next to me, "I can't believe I almost lost you. You looked so pale and felt so cold that I could have sworn you were already dead. If it weren't for Noah, you really would have been." Noah blushed a little as Hunter said that.

I wondered how long we had been flying, "Noah, are we the slightest bit close to the base?" He nodded, "Yeah. We'll be there in about ten minutes. Cora and Calvin will explain the rules and regulations that we have at camp," Noah turned to Cora and Calvin, "and make sure you do it quickly. Don't want them breaking the rules the moment they step off this hovercraft."

Cora turned her attention to me and Hunter, "Okay, the first thing you gotta know is that we have a strict no-weapons rule. If you are found with any kind of weapon it will be confiscated and you will be fined one day worth of electricity rations. The base is on an island in the middle of the Harlow sea and we have very little electricity. This forces most refugees to rely on electricity rations. Because it's a big island, everyone is expected to help out by getting a job. At the end of each day that you spend at work, you are paid with electricity rations. You can also exchange the rations at the shops and markets for necessary household items. All three meals will be provided at the Mess Hall but no exceptions will be made if you do not make it to the Mess during the meal times. There is one other option, you can join the Guard. If you do decide to join, you will be housed in the barracks with the other soldiers and will be expected to complete the training. Joining the Guard will however provide you with unlimited electricity and grant you full access to the entire base, so it's worth it. I joined the Guard myself and I never regretted it. Any questions?

Hunter raised a hand, "Just one. Why do you need a Guard?"

"We don't know if or when the Recruiters will find us, which is why we need to have a way of defending ourselves if or when that happens. But don't worry, the attack is only theoretical, so the chances of anyone actually having to use their training are slim."

Hunter nodded, "Okay, I guess that makes sense. Is there anything else we should know about?" Cora shook her head, "Nope, we're good." Noah suddenly turned to us and said, "Buckle yourselves in. We're getting ready to land."