Earthen Series Part One**Follow Aija, Zuri and Ze, as they are plunged into the dark world of aliens who are working to destroy the human race and take over the Earth; as they are faced with difficult decisions regarding love, feelings, abilities, t...
----Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him.
---- Aija is invited by Etrie for a Harvest Stopping Mission. Aija tells Zuri about Quinn – she's to meet him as an order from the Leadership.
---- Kuna, who works for Etrie, picks Aija up for the mission. Etrie partners Aija with Kuna for the night.
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****10.3 - Aija****
"How do you get the information on Harvests?" Aija inquired eyes still on the road.
Kuna came and stood next to her. "We have teams tracking Harvesters. Harvesters often track their targets a while, to find a routine, an easy way of finding them alone to kill them. It isn't easy sometimes we have to track these Harvesters and targets for days as if they might attack that very day. But, it has to be done to save lives."
"You mean today could be a no-action day?"
He laughed at her choice of words. "Well, very likely, yes."
Aija looked at him. He seemed amused by her.
They were quiet for a long time. Kuna had his eyes on the opposite building the whole time.
"How is it that all of you know perfect CommLang?" Aija broke the silence. They all spoke CommLang as they had been speaking it since they were born.
"We are taught it before we are deployed to Earth," he said, eyes still on the building. "We need to know the language of humans if we need to help them, right?" he looked at her.
She nodded, half in agreement, half because he was looking at her for a response.
"We are taught the language of the planet we are going to be deployed to." Kuna continued. "It is easier that way. And, I was selected for Earth."
"You could go to different planets?" Aija asked considering for the very first time that there was life on many more planets. Etrie had told her, but it had glazed over her.
"Yes." Kuna nodded regarding her with interest.
"I still don't believe why you would save humans, from your own kind; save the human's planet."
Kuna stayed quiet for so long, Aija was afraid she had insulted him and that he wouldn't answer. But, a few minutes later, his voice came soft and careful, "Not all of us have bad intentions."
Etrie had said something so similar.
"We at R'ies believe that every being deserves a chance. It echoes Ytèan history."
She certainly had no clue about Ytèan history.
"Will you tell me your history, one day?"
He smiled at her, his somber mood gone instantly.
Twenty minutes passed in silence. Aija was getting restless; it was still two-thirty. Why had they come so early?
Kuna slowly slid a blade out from under his shirt and Aija stiffened. He gave it to her, and she held it with care, afraid it would slit her skin. Kuna then reached for his jacket that she wore, startling her further. He took out another blade from it, and she wondered where it had been all along as she hadn't felt it.
She turned the blade around in her hand. The metal it was made out of was stunning. Unearthly. It had a black sheen to it, and as she turned it, the light caught the angles, making it look like it was made of liquid.
"Keep that with you, for your safety. I'll keep this." Kuna tipped his blade towards her. She stuck the blade in the space between her skin and her shorts; the feel of the metal on her skin strangely comforting her.
Kuna continued to look out the window, still as a statue. Aija grew restless, and she started to pace around the shelves of glassware; her fingers twirling strands of her long black hair. She was lost in her thoughts as she wandered around the store, thinking of how Innermost contrasted against this small town.
"Aija," Kuna's voice echoed against the shelves.
She went to the front of the store where he was standing close to the window. Several workers were coming out of the factory. It took over five minutes for everyone to be out. They all wore brown uniforms – both the men and women. Everyone looked worn out, and her guilt rose. No one at Innermost came even vaguely close to looking so tired.
When the last of the workers were out, Kuna slid out of the building, and Aija followed him.
"Did you see her?" she asked.
Kuna nodded. "Walk faster and stay close to me."
Kuna walked swiftly, weaving in and out of different lanes, his eyes on the girl. Aija didn't know what the girl looked like and she was focussed solely on keeping up with the Ytai. He was quick, and she nearly lost him twice. The air burned through Aija's lungs, and by the time she caught up to him, she was sure she could hear herself wheezing.
Aija caught up with him, and the two of them followed the two girls, one of whom was the target. They maintained a reasonable distance, and the girls didn't even turn back once. They spoke softly, laughing rather softly as well.
"They're here, tonight," Kuna whispered. "It could be an 'action night,'" he added winking at her.
How did he know they were there? She hadn't seen anyone. She wondered if it would be Luka and Thieron.
The two girls walked into a narrow lane and stopped. They stopped as well, but Kuna didn't insist on hiding. "Careful now," he said, his eyes on the girls. "It's the girl with the black hair."
The two girls spoke standing facing each other. One had blonde hair that reached her shoulders. The other one had black hair that she had tied up in a bun. They were laughing. Then the two girls waved goodbye, making a move to leave in separate directions.
"Get down!" Kuna said, pulling her down. Aija fell to the ground surprised eyes closed from the pain of her fall. She opened her eyes and saw a blade lying next to her. It wasn't Kuna's, and she felt the blade poking her thigh through her shorts.
She looked around, puzzled. Kuna wasn't beside her; he was near the two girls. The girl with the blonde hair was on the ground, and he was shielding the girl with the black hair.
Aija took out her blade and ran to them. As she neared them, she saw a blade in the blonde girl's chest.
She was bleeding profusely, and she was still conscious.
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