Page 75 of The Champion
“No, but it’s what I understand.” He bit into the meat of the chicken and chewed while using the back of his hand to dry the juice from his mouth. “When I rant to your mom about the dangers of you living outside our protection, she tells me to focus on the positives. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
I placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “I can’t tell you how much your support means to me. For you to announce our plans to the country and encourage people to apply if they want to be part of Wisdomia was amazing.”
“Why wouldn’t I? We’ve had a large growth in population these past thirty years, and we both know that you’ll need strong Northlanders to outweigh the softness of the Motlanders who are joining you. Promise me that you won’t make Wisdomia an extension of the Motherlands. People need freedom to drink, swear, and be offensive once in a while. The Motlanders take themselves too fucking seriously. That’s why they get their feelings hurt all the time. And because they don’t understand irony and sarcasm. Bringing together people from different backgrounds isn’t easy. I’ve been doing a balancing act since 2436 when Christina, Kya, and your mother crossed the border.
“Dad, I’m nervous.”
Khan reached for my hand and squeezed it once before he let go. “Don’t be. Worrying won’t help anything. If you need to get release from anxiety, I recommend the gym downstairs.”
“Ah, so now I know how you’re staying so fit.”
Letting go of me, my dad moved a step back. “I lived down in that gym back when Magni was in a coma and after he woke up with his grumpy attitude, refusing to embrace life as a wounded man.”
“You two have always been close.”
“He has driven me mad over the years, like the time he kidnapped Athena, but yeah, he’s also my best friend.”
“I thought Mom was your best friend.”
“Your mom.” My dad’s face softened into a genuine smile as he lifted a hand to his heart and breathed, “Pearl has her own special category that I have no word for.”
I melted a little. “That’s how I feel about Victor. He gives color to my world, and everything feels richer and lusher when he’s there.”
“Good.” Popping a small meatball into his mouth, my dad picked up his plate and moved it to the sink before he walked to the door. “Eat your cookies, honey. I have work to do, but I’ll let you know when they are on their way back. I’m sure Victor will want to talk to you as soon as he can.”
CHAPTER 22
Invasion
Victor
Doubt and guilt were eating me up.
Zola had presented me with two options, and I wasn’t sure I had made the right decision.
One was helping the new prime minister calm the people down and potentially get rewarded for my assistance. The other option was to flee the country with Zola’s help.
I had rejected both her offers.
There was no way I would be the government’s lapdog and lie for them. If anything, I wanted the practical workers to win their battle for equality. My political views had changed after living on the third subterranean level for four months. I saw people hustling to get by and aging before their time because of poor living conditions. The government had far too much power if they could destroy someone’s life the way they did with me.
For a brief moment, I had considered the other option of giving Zola my money and sleeping with her. If it meant that I could be united with Freya, I was desperate enough to do it, but I had still rejected the offer. Mainly because I didn’t trust Zola. I couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t make a secret recording and send it to Freya, who would get the wrong impression.
Now I felt guilty that I hadn’t taken the opportunities presented to me. What if it meant never seeing Freya again?
It was impossible to sleep in the nasty bed that came with the apartment in the Berlin district. Ever since I saw that Cameron had brought in a mattress to my old office, I had gone there to sleep from midnight to six in the morning before anyone arrived at work.
What woke me up was the bright light shining through the windows in flashes.
Sitting up, I wondered what was going on. Again, a stream of light bathed the office in a flash and then it was gone.
Hurrying to the window I looked outside and saw four huge drones hovering in the sky. Squinting my eyes to see better, I thought I saw a tube of a kind being lowered to the ground. It made me wonder if the drone was about to suck up something. It was five in the morning and most people were still sleeping. But as I stood looking out the window from the environmental department, I saw the tall building around me come to life as lights were turned on in one apartment after the other. Doors opened and people streamed out of the buildings and into the streets to investigate what was going on.
In quick movements I cleared away the mattress and put on my shoes before I went to find out more. As I ran out of the back entrance, I checked the news media to see if they knew what was going on.
There was nothing from official sources, but on the local neighborhood social network people were freaking out that we were being invaded by aliens.
Jogging down the street I came close enough to see that the tubes weren’t sucking up things. Instead, they were transporting soldiers from the drones to the ground. The soldiers looked large and scary, but no doubt human.
