We Are Doomed

"Hey, I heard you were down here, what were you up to?" Justin blurted out as soon as Aiden swung open the door. A concerned crease furrowed Justin's brow, and a frown added weight to his face. His eyes darted past Aiden and landed on Leah, whose tear-streaked cheeks immediately caught his attention. Confusion etched his features, and he turned back to Aiden, his voice edged with worry. "What's been going on?"

"I'll fill you in later. What's the matter?" Aiden inquired.

"There's an emergency," Justin replied, glancing briefly in Leah's direction. "You should come along, too."

The discussion room had an unmistakable tension in the air, and you could see it etched on the faces of everyone present. Inside the room, the chief and his eleven comrades gathered, alongside the sailor. Meanwhile, outside, a group of volunteers stood, anxiously awaiting the impending decision.

Leah, who was originally supposed to be part of the meeting with the chief and his comrades, wasn't spared from the snarky remarks coming from the volunteers. Rukbat, one of the volunteers, had quipped, "Okay, now she can go inside, but we can't," earning herself a withering glare from Aiden. Undeterred by the comments, Leah followed Aiden and Justin into the room, only to be met with worried expressions on the faces of everyone inside.

"We've got a major problem," the chief spoke, his tone grave. "Just got word that two of our ships met their end in the vast sea." The news struck the comrades with a wave of shock, leaving Leah feeling an icy chill in her veins.

"A sudden whirlpool swallowed 'em up," the chief continued, describing the ships' demise. Aiden and Leah exchanged a swift, knowing glance as the realization hit them, their eyes meeting in a moment of shared understanding. Their unspoken connection didn't escape the chief's notice.

"Is there something you both need to share with us?" the chief inquired, directing his gaze at Aiden and Leah. Aiden reassured Leah with a nod, silently urging her to reveal what she had confided in him.

Taking a deep breath, Leah knew it was time. She recounted the details she had shared with Aiden. The book that everyone assumed was just a fairytale turns out to be more real than anything we've encountered. "It's seriously hard to wrap my head around this," the chief remarked. "But thinking about the bizarre occurrences lately, well, anything seems possible," he concluded, his tone a mix of disbelief and acceptance. 

"Why keep this from us until now?" The chief's gaze fell upon Leah, his curiosity evident.

"Same reason," Leah shrugged her expression a blend of regret and resolve.

"We could've fought with them or prepared to fight them," the chief mused, contemplating the situation. "The supremes are coming with even greater destruction than before. But how do you explain what's going on now? They haven't even arrived yet."

"Mind manipulation," Leah interjected. "Though there wasn't anything written about their appearance, their characteristic of mind manipulation is something they used even in the year 2024. Most probably, they are using it again."

"Makes sense, but how?"

Before evacuating Earth, they didn't just pilfer possessions and ideas from us; they also planted these odd tracker devices. The reason they're labeled "supremes" is due to their possession of abilities that surpass what humans can fathom. They're well-versed in utilizing nature against us, but strangely, they lack the technical aptitude, which drove them to visit Earth in the first place.

"Why after thousands of years?" The chief struggled to grasp the rationale behind their return millennia later. The irregularity of the situation rendered it difficult for him to offer a plausible explanation.

"The functioning of these time capsules is contingent upon the orbital rotation and revolution. Moreover, they aren't even from our galaxy; they originate from an enigmatic galaxy they term UBIZE. With their power to manipulate minds, they've mastered our language."

This revelation painted a complex picture, suggesting an advanced civilization with capabilities far beyond what Earth had encountered before.

"Is it even possible to figure out how much time we've got left?" The chief's voice wavered, laced with a sudden rush of sadness. Just yesterday, there was hope, but now it all seemed futile. "This is the end," the chief thought. 

Leah was on the brink of speaking, but Aiden intercepted by subtly clasping her hand, a gesture that seemingly went unnoticed by everyone else. As Leah glanced at Aiden, he then chose to break the silence.

"We can't say for sure. It might be anytime. Chief, we couldn't have prepared for this, couldn't have done a thing," Aiden said, his words masking the truth. Leah was taken aback. Why would Aiden deceive everyone? They had precisely 10 days left, a countdown they should be acknowledging. What was Aiden thinking? Leah contemplated this but chose to hold her words.

The chief, with a silent nod, uttered in a low but authoritative tone, "This word should not leave this room; we'll stick to the plan of approaching the port." After a brief pause, he added, "Dismissed."

The shift in the chief's voice hinted that he wanted everyone out, his tone cracking slightly. His unspoken message was clear – it was time to leave. The comrades began to filter out of the room, casting sympathetic glances at Leah as they went. She was valiantly holding back tears, refusing to succumb to her emotions at that particular moment. She was determined not to break down, not here, not now.

Aiden, who had just taken Leah's hand, guided her out of the discussion room, earning peculiar glances from the onlookers milling about. Disregarding the gawking eyes and the inevitable gossip floating around, Aiden determinedly steered Leah toward the third floor. Amid their silent walk, Leah provided directions to her room, a space she shared with a handful of other women and a couple of children.

"Stay here. I know you must have a million questions swirling in your head, but please trust me," Aiden reassured her, his free hand tenderly cupping Leah's cheek. Her response was a solemn nod, trying her best to contain the overwhelming emotions threatening to spill over.

"I'll be right back, and try not to cry," Aiden said, brushing away a solitary tear that rolled down Leah's cheek. The room appeared empty, as the chatter and excitement were all outside, discussing their arrival at the port and the fervent hope that this time would mark their long-awaited freedom. Aiden then made his exit, his footsteps fading into the distance. With his departure, it was enough for Leah to let her guard down. The reality of the situation hit her, and she found herself overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry, I've failed," she kept repeating, the words escaping her lips as she huddled in on herself, clutching her knees as the tears streamed down her face. This unexpected turn of events had never crossed her mind, and the weight of it was too much to bear at that moment.