Bethany Underwood: The Discovery

     Checking the time on her gauntlet, she realized she needed to hurry up or she would be late for work. She worked the afternoon shifts in a departmental store and complimented her income by babysitting the kids of the Halls family, whose parents were privileged to have high positions in a textile company after the TakeOver. Her employers were patriots of the occupation, claiming they came to save the Earth from pollution, deforestation, poaching and other acts that endangered many species around the globe. They claimed that the aliens used planet friendly methods and power sources in their industries and were curing the planet in the process. Getting rid of the nuclear radiation before it worsened, and stopping nuclear warhead production and storage, was one of the reasons, they said endeared them to the invaders. While all these might be true, Bethany knew that the aliens didn't do all these acts to be seen as the good guys. If they had wanted to help save the planet, they would have done so without all the damages and loss of lives. They came to subdue us, and that they did. She however, kept up with the Halls' gospel of loyalty to the conquerors, due to the fact that she was well paid.

     Looking at the time again, as she prepared, Bethany hoped that Gloria Beckett, her friend, would cover for her. Realizing Scott was not in the house, she texted him about her leaving for work and transferred forty tokens to his gauntlet account for the groceries. Almost immediately, the front door opened and Scott entered the room, carrying an old big carton filled with wires and weird gizmos. Almost seventeen, Scott was tall for his age at five foot eleven. His dark curly hair fell across his face and most of the strands shielded his blue ominous eyes. He was wearing one of Gregory's leather jackets, which seemed to fit perfectly.

Dropping the carton on the table in the sitting room, he waved his left arm. 

     "I got your message," He said curtly.

     "Where have you been, Scott?"

     "Isn't that meant to be my business?" He muttered.

     "What did you say?"

     "Nothing. Is there anything to eat, here?" He moved away.

     "I asked you a question, Scott!" She persisted.

     "Wait a minute, can't I go out anymore and come back anytime I choose? Is that some kind of law that has recently been passed? I'm sorry but I wasn't aware of it," He shot back at her. Bethany was taken aback but she recovered quickly.

     "Call it whatever you want. Where were you?" She asked again.

     "Okay! I was with Martins and Clovis, shooting hoops," He raised his hands in surrender. Bethany stared at him for a while, trying to judge if he was saying the truth or not. "Can I get something to eat now?"

      "There's nothing in the refrigerator. I transferred forty tokens for you to buy the groceries while I'm gone. It's either that or there'll be no supper tonight," She added when he groaned at the information.

      He walked away from her, approached the refrigerator and opened it, bringing out a glistening bottle of chilled water. With his back turned to her, Bethany tiptoed to the carton on the table. She looked in and saw a lot of wires and junk tech stuff that she couldn't recognize. Bethany knew her brother was a science freak and was always toying around with stuff, but this was too much junk. What actually caught her attention was a glass jar that was gleaming brightly beneath, half hidden by the wires. Curiously, her hands dived through the jumble and brought out the jar. It was attached to another weird looking rectangular shaped object that looked like a timer.

Observing the jar closely, she realized the liquid was one of the alien elements present on Earth, but she couldn't just recall its name. The humans called the liquid 'wildfire' due its high corrosive nature and flammability. It was the only known element capable of harming the Imperium metal. Exceedingly dangerous, the liquid headed the list of items humans were prohibited to possess. This made it rare and also sold at exorbitant prices. Any human who traded or was caught in possession of the liquefied flames was subject to death.

      "Scott!" She called out, realizing she was looking at an explosive setup or one that was not yet completed. Her brother turned around at once, a cup of water in hand. Seeing her with the jar of bright green liquid, he promptly dropped the cup on the table and came at her. He seized the jar from her and gingerly placed it back into the carton and tried to cart the items away. Bethany quickly blocked his path.

     "You go through my stuff now, huh? Can't I just have my privacy in this house? Next thing I know, you'll be hunting through my underwear." 

     "Scott! What are you doing with wildfire?"

     "Who told you that's a wildfire?"

     "Do you think that I'm that dumb? I know a jar of wildfire when I see one. What are you doing with it?" Scott sighed and tried to walk past her. "I'm talking to you!" She pushed him back. 

     "Stop yelling at me! I'm using it for an experiment," He yelled again and tried to shove past her but was restrained by the carton he held. 

     "Who gave you wildfire?" She inquired, knowing that he did not have the money or the connections that could enable him to buy the alien liquid. 

     "Firstly, Beth, you won't know, so stop asking me. Secondly, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand a single word I say. Lastly, stop prying into my affairs. Now please, move out of my way." 

     "Not until you tell me what that is," She waited. Damn the departmental store, that could wait. "Go on, I'm listening," She folded her arms to show she wasn't in a hurry.

Scott hissed and shook his head in surrender.

     "It's an explosive okay? Not the lethal kind, but the small minor ones used in fireworks and stuff like that. A company is celebrating its anniversary and one of its directors awarded me the contract of making these light flare displays."

Bethany knew he was lying. The Halls never mentioned anything about a company hosting an anniversary party. They always told her about the diplomatic network, as though she were interested in their business affairs and alien relations. 

     "Which company are we talking about? And who is the director who gifted you this contract? I would love to thank him," 

     "Why bother? You won't even know who he is if I told you."

     "I bet I won't. But the Crugi would, when I tell them someone, a human, is giving out wildfire to...."

     "You would do no such thing. I told you what you wanted to know, now please, shut up. It's a secret." His face tensed up.

She thought for a while and then remembered something rather significant.

     "There was a Resistance bombing at a Crugi barracks, two weeks ago. Where were you that night?" She asked him.

     "What now? You suspect that I'm a bomber now?"

     "You weren't home when I got back from the Halls. You didn't answer my calls and texts and you weren't home when I slept in, yet the next morning, you suddenly appeared on your bed, sleeping. Where did you go?" 

      His answer was interrupted by an alert of an incoming audio message, on his gauntlet. He tried to hide his left arm and pause the message but her reflexes were faster. She caught his arm in a swift motion and held him long enough so she could hear the message, before he yanked away his arm. It was a coded message used by people to deliver encrypted information. The man on the line was blunt.

"Good morning, Lander. Granny's lunchbox is at Frankies. Be a good boy and pick it up before the meal gets cold. And also, Papa John's harvesting his fruits when the sun comes up. Be there to help him with the other two poor men"

     Bethany quickly deciphered the message. She didn't understand the 'Granny's lunchbox', but she knew Frankies was one of the local bars in D-district. 'Harvesting' meant that there was a meeting, and 'when the sun comes up' signified the eastern suburbs of San Francisco. The 'two poor men' meant the time for the meeting was 2pm, and.....'Lander', that's the term commonly used for Resistance members. That meant.....

     "You've joined them too, haven't you?" Scott was silent. "You've joined the Resistance, Scott! What the hell were you thinking? What is wrong with you? You are only sixteen years! Have you forgotten what happened to Greg?" She yelled at him angrily.

     "No, I haven't! Neither have I forgotten what happened to Mum! Or Dad! And that's why I'm doing this! That's the reason why I joined!" Scott shouted back, between tears. "I can't just sit back and watch, while others fight this war! This is also my fight! My war! I have a part to play in this war and I will play it to the very end!" He continued, jabbing a thumb at his chest. 

      "Scott....."

      "I want to do what I can for their memory. Dad, Mum, Greg, and even Malcolm, though he never loved us. I want to avenge their deaths and be a part of those trying to stop the occupation. Everytime I set up a blast and see them burn, I feel fulfilled. Like I have found my purpose of existence." He was crying now, the tears falling freely from his eyes. Bethany herself, was on the verge of tears, and she felt them trying to escape.

"You wanted to know what is wrong with me, so there it is. The occupation, the Myrixs, and all the fucking Crugi scum who think we're theirs to control. I will fight this war. Yes, I will, and no one, not even you, can stop me!" Scott brushed away his tears and entered his room, slamming the door behind him.

     She lost the battle to restrain her tears and sobbed quietly. He had suffered too, all these years in silence. She turned to the photograph hung on the wall and knelt before it. 

"Mum, Dad, I don't know what to do anymore. I need your help. I need you too, big brother. The responsibilities of a guardian are overwhelming. Help me and protect him."

She stood up and touched the infant in the picture. Little Scott, as he lay in his mother's arms, looked very comfortable and serene.   

     "Don't die on me too....." She whispered.