Twell and the Rebellion Read Online Free Page A

a
fuss.
    After a shower, I fixed my hair
into a no nonsense braid that fell down to my waist, then dressed
rather grumpily in the black army uniform I’d been instructed to
wear. Black unisex pants matched the short-sleeved black shirt. It
was plain, except for the Comian army emblem, which was positioned
over my heart. The gold circle held three gold wavy lines
representing water. In the centre, splitting the lines was a gold
figure in a protective crouching stance, arms spread wide in
defence. It represented a soldier, a protector of Como. Someone
like me.
    I stared at the emblem feeling
slightly detached as I tried to connect the figure with myself. The
fabric of the uniform was flexible and easy to move around in, or
kick, tumble, fall…you get the idea. Boring and it did nothing for
my pale complexion. The chunky calf-high, black boots were even
more of a fashion fail, way too hideous to describe further.
    Before I had a chance to get
worked up, Shay was shoving a vial of energy juice into my hands
and hustling me into her pod. Then we were lifting off and on our
way to Caran army base, from where I’d be departing. Shay kept up a
light chatter, engaging me enough to distract me from my nerves
until we were there. Then I found myself standing on a huge landing
for official army pods and unattractively gawking at a humongous
aircraft. Several dozen freaked out cadets were milling in front of
it. Some were from Caran, like me, but I guessed the rest had
already been picked up from our neighbouring districts and
cities.
    As I scanned the unfamiliar
faces, I easily picked out my friend Sazika. Her sunset red hair
whipped around in the breeze as she darted in and out of hugs with
each member of her family in farewell. She had a real genetic
mother and father and even more rare, siblings. Three older
brothers, (whom she assured me made her gift of invisibility a
valuable asset of survival when growing up) were taking turns
poking, pushing, and generally providing her with annoying forms of
brotherly affection.
    “There’s Sazika,” I said to
Shay, because now was the awkward part where we said goodbye. I
wasn’t too worried about her reaction because, as I’d said before,
she wasn’t the emotional scene making type. I however, was feeling
a little misty myself. I didn’t know if or when I’d see Shay again,
or how long the war might last. Plus, I’d never actually been away
from her more than a night or two let alone several moons. I
reminded myself I was graduated and old enough to be partnered…and
to suck it up.
    Shay stretched out her arm and
pressed her hand to my cheek. I raised my own hand in turn and
mirrored her, so we stood connected for a moment. Our eyes met and
held, and in that way we were able to say goodbye without needing
to put it into words.
    “I’ll be up at S3 for the next
few moons, if you need to contact me,” Shay said. I knew she meant
one of the remote outer space stations. She travelled there
frequently to collect intelligence from other planets, including
and especially Abwarz. I nodded and smiled and then without further
ado, Shay was getting back into her pod and leaving, not even
hanging around to wave me off. Bless her. I turned automatically to
look for Sazika again and she popped up right in front of me.
    “Twell!” Sazika cried in a
little voice that matched her tiny frame. Small and lithe with big
wide-eyes, Sazika’s timid appearance definitely disguised her skill
and bravery. She’d attacked Raze without hesitation to defend me in
the caves and we’d become closer friends as an inevitable
result.
    Her expression was currently
wistful, which made sense. She was going to miss her genetic
partner, Mekai. Mekai had the gift of levitation and could
basically fly. Yet he’d been no match for Raze when he’d smashed up
his leg and half killed him to get to me. Although he was okay now,
his leg hadn’t quite healed perfectly and he would have to undergo
rehabilitation before