Andena the Rebel Ch. 20

She had never felt so connected with nature, and she decided to have a swim. Completely naked she darted into the breaking waves, and she squealed a little when suddenly a bigger wave surprised her. The water was cool, and her body tingled all over by the time she had swum for a few minutes. Every time she batted her hand into the water the plankton lit up, and it fascinated her how much light the little creatures could create.

The waves had brought her back to the shore, and while she was lying there, she loved how the waves were caressing her body. The gentle breeze cooled her, and the waves started to feel like a warm liquid blanket. Her body responded to the cool breeze and the waves crashing against her felt wonderful. She could feel the water flowing between her legs. While resting on her elbows, facing the oncoming waves, she truly enjoyed the slow build up. The sea was gentle, and wouldn't bring her to a level she wanted, but she didn't care for now. Her eyes were closed, excited by the fact that she had no idea how big the next wave would be. A dark, warm voice startled her, "What a wonderful sight; the sea, the moon, and an enchanting water nymph being caressed by the waves."

With her heart in her mouth, she turned her face to see who was talking to her. She saw a tall man standing just a few feet away from her. In the light of the moon, she could make out his strong build and his long hair was kept from his face with a piece of fabric. She didn't like his posture, for he exuded a dangerous vibe and as she moved back into the sea, she said with a strong voice, "I'm not sure I'm a water nymph."

"Oh? So why do you choose the sea instead of the land?"

She didn't like his question at all, and she moved further away from him and replied, "Perhaps I like to be alone."

His chuckle radiated deep from his chest, and he bellowed over the waves, "No, you don't. You seek comfort which I'm going to give you."

She knew she had to find a way of escaping, and she swam further into the sea hoping he would give up after a while. To her dismay, he stayed and followed her towards the beach as she was swimming away from him. She knew he could see her because every disturbance in the water caused the plankton to light up. It was sad that the wonderful and rare occasion having the plankton light up the scene was now her worst enemy. The only way to have a reasonable chance of escaping the man was to swim to the bottom where there was no plankton. It was worth trying even though swimming under water would wear her out. She knew it was her only chance because the man knew that eventually she had to come out the sea. She swam for a bit, and he followed her until she dived down to the bottom and swam as fast as possible diagonally towards the shore. The noise of the breaking waves was close, and when she moved up for her desperate air, her head bumped into something solid. As she looked up, she saw the man towering above her. Before she could do anything he grabbed her arm and tried to hoist her up onto her feet but she kept her legs bent, ready to kick him in his groin.

He grunted annoyed when he saw she didn't want to cooperate and tried to grab her other arm as well. Still out of breath, she wriggled violently to keep her body and arm out of his reach. She finally saw the right moment to kick him in his groin, but somehow he managed to turn his body away. She cried out from the pain when he stabbed her leg with a short knife, and she knew she was doomed. The salt of the water was biting in her wound and the intense pain completely paralysed her leg. He dragged her out the water and dumped her on the warm sand while keeping his eyes on her. His ragged voice gave her the shivers when he said, "Don't even try to run away."

With one swift move, he removed his loincloth, and she trembled with fear when she saw his crooked face knowing that he intended to rape her. As he kneeled down, she screamed and with her last effort, she tried to push him away with her other leg. As her foot made contact with his chest, it instantly lit up into the most intense red colour. He roared trying to take her foot off his chest, but she gathered all her strength to push him away as far as she could.

With a loud yell she pushed her foot forward and to her utter relief, he flew away into the sea with a deafening explosion.

There was another extremely loud bang, and Andena screamed again.

The cool and fresh air made her more awake, and gradually she realised she was sitting in the metal locker. Her leg was still not right, but then she remembered her core had 'locked' it.

A little startled she saw the text appearing in front of her eyes, "Andena, did you have another nightmare?"

She took a deep breath and realised she was still a bit shaky being woken up so suddenly, she said, "Yes Z. I think I need a few moments to wake up properly."

She sighed, unhappy about the fact that she still had this strange computer core, stashed away somewhere in her body. She was still in a strange mood knowing she had to ask her core to unlock her leg.

It amazed her when it asked, "Shall I release your muscles? You might feel a bit better."

Her voice was still a bit hoarse from her screaming as she agreed, "Yes please."

She felt a strange sensation of discomfort as her leg slowly slid down and at that moment she realised that the heavy door of the locker was gone! Only then did she realise that there was a strange orange-red glow lighting the room which could mean there had been a power cut. It would explain why she was able to open the locker.

Still very stiff from sitting in a cramped locker for a long time Andena tried to get up which was much easier than she had thought it would be. Apparently her muscles were able to deal with those situations a lot better now. Andena felt very uneasy because it was extremely silent and she couldn't put her finger on what was so eerie about the place. She asked her core, "Is it really so silent here or am I deaf?"

"No you're not deaf, and there's hardly any background noise."

While she was carefully looking around, she gave further thought to the silence. She sensed that she was missing something that she would normally completely ignore.

She recalled the huge bangs which had woken her and now everything was out. She gasped when she realised that the air circulation had stopped. Her core confirmed her suspicion when she read the text, "There's no air circulation Andena. You need to leave this building soon."

It was one of the vital parts of the infrastructure which normally functioned no matter what. The only explanation was that the infrastructure had been destroyed! The huge ear deafening explosion must have been a small nuclear bomb planted by Haruz. She knew he had to be stopped! She asked Z, "Any indication why it has stopped?"

"No, I can't find any clues, except that there's no active power source."

"Do you think it could have been caused by a bomb?"

Her core responded a few moments later, "It might. Do you suspect something strange has happened?"

"I think it might be Haruz."

"Can you tell me why you are convinced it is Haruz?"

"You want proof?"

"You can't build a case on assumptions."

She sighed and said, "I guess you're right. I need to investigate."

Meanwhile, Andena had found some normal clothes and a black hoody to hide her vibrant hair. Completely dressed and ready for her mission she looked at herself in a mirror. There was a faint light which shone eerily on her face. Z responded, "You've hidden your hair."

She giggled and said, "Yes, I don't want to stand out."

"You're specially trained for secret missions. It shouldn't be that difficult for you anymore."

Then it dawned on her that she was a member of Lunn's group, and she asked, "Do you see me as a rebel?"

"Yes, Andena. You're fighting against the Archon. You are a rebel."

She giggled and shook her head as she sneaked out of the room, but she had no idea where to go. She leant against the wall, in a barely lit corridor, wondering how to get out the building. She asked her core, "Z can you guide me out of this place?"

She smiled when her display showed a flashing arrow indicating that she should go left into the corridor. The text appeared, "Did you like it that I called you a rebel?"

As she jogged towards the door, she let the words spin through her mind a few times and came to the conclusion, she did! She realised that she needed more time to accept fully that her life had changed so drastically. Her interaction with her core was still a little intrusive but for now, it would do especially if she wanted to complete her mission and she retorted, "Hmm, yes it sounds all right."

The building was spooky because it was completely abandoned and totally silent. She picked up her pace to get out into the open air as soon as possible.

To be continued...