ARRIVED IN MILTON BEFORE

Milton is a more extensive Army-Deformity base than New Castle. There was more emphasis on the underground security system, the highly sophisticated equipment and the weapons were state of the art. The helicopter landed on a helipad with enough space for twenty helicopters.

Lucas, Bernice, and Josh trotted out of the helipad after Bone. A jeep awaited the arrival of the Deformities from New Castle, sent by Master Gideon. They climbed in, and the vehicle sped through the wide streets of the base.

"This place is amazing," Bernice commented.

"I remember it having the most Deformities of any base," Bone said.

Lucas seemed to enjoy their journey to the barracks. "What base is this?"

Bone replied, "Omega."

"If this is where most of the troops are, why did they ask us to come here?" Josh asked.

"They've been short on troops since the aliens arrived." Bone said uncertainly. "Or they've lost a lot of soldiers."

Lucas' face paled. He remembered too well how terrible the ants had been when they attacked Fall City. If it hadn't been for Elijah, the ants would have spread out, and fighting the aliens would have been challenging.

The car turned and entered a barracks complex, stopping at a two-story building. They all got out and followed Bone inside. They met up with some of the Army, walking hurriedly with the Deformity members. Bone knocked on the corner door, and someone's voice invited them in.

As the four of them entered, a man in his late forties stood beside a table. He was looking at a map with colored pins on it.

"Good day, sir. I'm Bone, Fall City Deformity from the New Castle Alpha Headquarters region," Bone greeted as he saluted. Bernice, Lucas, and Josh followed suit, although they looked awkward.

"Gideon only gave me a handful of troops. Is it that important here in New Castle?" the man asked, his voice on the verge of getting angry.

"Just doing my job, sir," Bone replied.

The man's lips parted. "How many came from New Castle?"

"Twenty deformities, sir." Bone looked at the three young men beside him. "The others are spread out in other parts of the barracks; the four of us are assigned here."

"I need at least ten dozen of you, but what the hell," the man complained. He looked up and stared at the figures in front of him individually. "I am Commander Jason Rousse. Tomorrow we're going east of Tacoma to see what's happening."

Bone gasped in shock. "They haven't had any field training yet, sir. Master Gideon has just initiated these youngsters into the Deformity."

"Their training will be better on the battlefield." Rousse grinned. Bone did not reply; the man nodded and said nothing more. "Go to the barracks and report to Master Faith. You may go," he continued.

The young men saluted Bone immediately and left Rousse's room. Bone's face hardened, but the man remained silent. The four of them left the building, then walked through the barracks, which looked deserted and partially empty.

Eventually, they came to another barracks section with a sturdy iron fence for a gate. The gate opened when Bone attached his wristband to the scanner box at the end of the fence frame.

"Where are we going?" Lucas asked.

"The Deformity Barracks," Bone replied.

The three youngsters were surprised to see Deformity barracks in the area. The barracks were neatly lined up, no problem. But surprisingly, the barracks were covered by a transparent dome, as if entering a large cage.

Very different from New Castle.

"It's like a prison," Josh hissed.

"It is." Bone just grinned.

"You don't seem surprised. Have you ever been here, Bone?" asked Bernice.

"I used to. But it was only for a short time, before my transfer to Fall City." Bone hurried ahead of the youngsters and entered the first barracks. "I'll report to Master Faith. You wait here."

There were no deformities in the lined-up barracks; it was quiet. A few minutes later, Bone came out with a man with blond hair. From his features, the man was not far from Master Gideon's age in New Castle, between 35-37 years old.

Lucas, Bernice, and Josh just looked at each other.

"I'm Faith," the man nodded firmly.

The three youngster saluted awkwardly.

"I'm the barracks officer in section D, and you must have been under the impression that Faith was a woman. But that's OK... I'm used to it." Faith gave a friendly smile. The three youngsters looked down awkwardly, and their faces instantly turned red. "Alright, I'll show you around," he continued.

There were eight barracks, four on the left and the rest on the right, facing each other. Faith took the boys to the far end of barracks number eight. One barrack contained six bunk beds, with a wardrobe on either side of the bed.

"Just pick the beds you want," Faith said.

The teenagers went to their respective beds and put down their luggage. In the doorway, they could hear the serious conversation between Bone and Faith.

"They should be trained, Master," Bone said half pleadingly.

"I can't argue with Rousse, Bone. I understand," Faith replied. He sighed softly. "We've lost contact with some of the teams around Tacoma. We're sending more troops in two days, including to Auburn."

"Please, give them at least five days at the most."

"Bone, Rousse asked that these kids be sent to Auburn to evacuate the people there." Faith glanced at the three youngsters who must have overheard their conversation. "I think Auburn is safe; they're just rescuing people."

"Under whose supervision? Yours?"

Faith shook his head. "All the new deformities."

"No, they're not. I don't want these children unsupervised, so leave them with me."

"You've been assigned to go east of Tacoma. Contact with aliens is very possible."

"I'll take that risk."

Faith just nodded, and then he left with Bone. Meanwhile, Lucas, Bernice, and Josh sat glued to the edge of the bed in a state of shock.

"Fighting aliens? Tomorrow?" squealed Bernice.

She knew how vicious those creatures were and would most likely face them again tomorrow.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine, Bern. We're with Bone." Lucas tried to reassure her.

Josh stared at Lucas intently. "He lost his whole team; what makes you think Bone won't lose us in the next battle?"