"Alex Sunders huh? I don't know. He seems like a bit overkill for a simple retrieval mission don't you think?" A man sitting at a desk holding a file looked over to one standing by a window. "Shouldn't we send someone more trustworthy? You know who that boy’s mother was."
The other man turned and looked at the first. "You think so? The target is very important to the Federation. If it were to fall into enemy hands... well, I don't need to tell you what could happen." He stepped toward the desk and took the file. "I think this is just the right man for the job. Sending someone with his qualifications will insure the success."
"Yeah. I guess I can see your point there."
"We mustn't let the Galvantians claim this item. It could turn the tide of this war against us." The man tossed the file down on the desk. "No, we must send Sunders. I feel he may be the only man for this mission."
“Very well, have him report to me immediately.”
Alex couldn't believe what he saw. There were bodies littering the streets. Everywhere he looked there was a body. What was going on? One moment he is enjoying a date at the beach, then the sky turned red and the world seemed to start falling apart. Earthquakes every few minutes. The terrain tearing apart everywhere. It seemed like the planet was about to be destroyed. The worst part about it, there were now runes floating up from the ground in random places. Some were releasing power, some just went into the air and disappeared.
Alex barged though the door to his house. “Mom! Dad! Anyone here?” The only answer he received was the sounds of the fire in the house and explosions in the distance. After looking though the whole house, he decided to leave and look for his parents elsewhere. As he left the house, he heard someone calling his name.
Alex followed the sound down what was left of the road. Soon he came to a woman laying on the ground. He ran up to her and looked her over for injuries. Then he saw her face. It was his mom. She looked up at him. “There you are. Have you seen Alex?”
“What do you mean? I’m Alex.”
She smiled slightly. “Don’t be silly. We need to find Alex. He might need our help.”
“But I’m right here mom. It’s me.”
She seemed to get a bit upset. “Now is not the time to play games. We need to find Alex now.”
“Mom, what is wrong? I am Alex. But I haven’t seen dad.”
His mom broke free from his grip. “Will you stop with the games! Can’t you see what is happening around us!? We need to find your father and Alex now!”
Alex attempted to grab her arm but she swiped his hand away. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Suddenly there was a huge explosion in the sky above them. As he looked up, there was a huge object slowly lowering down from the sky. It looked like it was going to land right were they were. “Mom, we have to…” When he looked down, she was laying on the ground unconscious. He bent down and started to pick her up when there was another explosion. But before he could look up, everything went black.
Alex sat up in his bed breathing heavily. It was all just a nightmare, but felt so real. Almost like he was back on Earth during E.I. Just… that wasn’t what happened. After a few moments, he looked over at the bed next to him. Leila was sitting there, looking at him.
“Another nightmare I take it?”
Alex put his right hand to his forehead and laid back down. “What are you doing? Watching me sleep now?”
Leila let out a laugh. “Not for long, I just woke up and was sitting here. I only watched you once you started to toss and turn.”
“Okay…. Kind of creepy.”
Leila stood up and stretched. “Don’t forget. You have a meeting with the council today. Probably to send you out on another mission.” She let out a sigh and looked down at him. “Life of a Federation Runeist is so busy.” She walked off and entered into the bathroom.
As Alex started to get out of bed, he was worried about how dressed he was. But luckily he didn’t get in till late and just took off his jacket. He really wasn’t used to living with another person, much less a girl. It had only been a couple days since Leila joined the Federation Runeist so this wasn’t normal to him. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. “I still can’t believe they assigned you the same room as me. What did you tell them?”
Leila poked her head out the door to answer. “I told them that the rumor were true. So they let me have the room with you.”
“You did what!?”
She opened the door all the way and stepped out. Even though she was wearing a bath robe, Alex still turned around and looked the other way. She smiled at this. “Since the only way males and females can room together is if they are a couple, I told them the rumor was true.”
“Why would you do such a thing? If they find out you lied…”
She walked over to him and turned him around. “Then why don’t we correct that?”
Alex’s face turned red and he froze in his spot. After a few moments, Leila couldn’t keep a straight face anymore. She busted out laughing. “I’m kidding Alex.” She turned around and walked back toward the bathroom. “You know… if you acted like yourself in public and not like a factory made soldier…” She turned and looked at him. “Then there would be no reason for rumors like that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh come on… You are the type of man any girl wants a rumor to be about. Makes us seem more… innocent. If any of the other girls knew your kind, shy side like I do, then I wouldn’t be the one sharing a room with you.” She turned and started to enter the bathroom. “If something like that doesn’t happen soon. I may just have to make sure that the rumors are only about me.” She looked back at Alex. His silent confusion was just what she expected and laughed. “You are just too easy Alex. If you really want to get rid of me, you have two options. A. find yourself a girlfriend.” Her face turned serious. “Or finally tell me what happened during E.I.”
“I already told you. I don’t know what happened. I was just visiting my parents.”
“You know what I mean. I have no interest on what happened to cause E.I. I want to know what happened to you. All you have to do is tell me your secret.”
Alex let out a sigh. “Are you still on that? I told you, there isn’t any secret.”
“Yeah right. Don’t worry, I’ll find out now that I am living with you. No one masters Runeology in just one week like you did.” With that, she entered and closed the door.
Alex shook his head and put his jacket on. This was going to take some time getting used to. Sure she was always around him when she could be, but this was different entirely. He let out a sigh and walked out of the dorm room.
