SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 18: Choices

The blaring border alarm pierced our ears as we approached the land.

'What the hell?' Heather mumbled, clearly stressed. Her expression had completely transformed. The relaxed, happy Heather was gone, and now the determined leader stood before me, ready for action. We parked Emma and immediately rushed to the Narval House, where we found Kate about to leave.

"Here you are," she said once she saw Heather.

"What's going on?" Heather asked, clearly nervous.

"We don't know; the border alarm started five minutes ago," Kate replied.

"This can't be good. We need to find out what's going on," Heather said with determination.

"I'll come with you," I offered.

"Come on, there's no time to lose," Heather urged.

"Sure," Kate replied.

The three of us went to check the border gates, but oddly, everything was normal. Heather deactivated the alarm and checked the system; it was working fine. It seemed as though something had triggered the alarm, but whatever it was, had disappeared.

"This is so strange," Heather remarked.

"It might have been an animal," Kate suggested.

"Could be, but animals usually don't come this close to the gates," Heather continued.

"Have you had intruders before?" I asked.

"Yeah, many times when we didn't have these security measures in place. We have an electric shield that emits a low-voltage shock when anything approaches too closely. The alarm goes on once you breach it," she explained. "We should keep an eye out for any unusual activity tonight," Heather suggested. "This might have been a false alarm, but it's better to be safe."

Kate nodded in agreement, her worry evident. "I'll alert the night watch to be on high alert. If it's an intruder, we need to be prepared."

"Give the night watcher the night off. I'll stay," Heather said.

"Alright, let's go," Kate responded.

"I can stay with you if you need company," I offered.

"Thanks, but no, just go and rest. We'll need you tomorrow," Heather replied, her tone somewhat distant.

Kate and I headed back to the Narval house, where I caught a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow morning there was no news. Whatever had triggered the alarm seemed like a one-off event so we ended up thinking it might have been just a system error.

In the following days, I officially started my role as a Narval officer, and my daily routine changed quite a lot. I found myself with a diverse set of tasks on my plate. Some days, I worked on maintenance tasks at the electric tower, monitored the vigilance room, or patrolled the tunnels. Other times, I was out in the city, dealing with various assignments.

However, my primary and most significant responsibility was working at the border, which meant partnering with Heather. Unfortunately, I hadn't been assigned there yet, as helping with the newcomers' transfers was considered the most crucial role, and new Narval officers like me had to wait their turn. However, none of this worried me much. What occupied my mind constantly was Heather. Ever since that unforgettable night beneath the stars, we couldn't get enough of each other and always sought time to be together. Almost every night, we met at the swimming pool, which had become one of our favorite places. We swam, we kissed, we talked, we kissed again, and sometimes if things heated up we ended up in her room; My second favorite place.

One morning, after getting ready to start my duties I received the message that there was someone waiting for me at the entrance of the Narval House. I hurried to discover it was Eric. He was fidgeting nervously with his fingers and looked somewhat worried.