Revolution: The New World

24 Hours Later

July 9, 2075

0720 FNT

Inside Admiral Minerva's Hideout, A Bela Cidade

Billy Cooper's Point of View

Huh? That smell. Food? Food!

“I have to pee!” Rachel yells as she rushes to find the latrine.

“It’s hard to tell, but I think we slept for almost twenty-four hours,” Duy says as he gets out of his sleeping bag.

“This gym brings back memories,” Ruby says as she quickly leaps out of her sleeping bag. “I’d probably challenge you to another fight, Sonya if we weren’t in such boiling water. I still believe that your ass got lucky last time,” she says with a grin.

“Um, The Mighty Squad Zeus?” Aayushi says as she enters the gym from the kitchen with several plastic cards in her hand. “I have credit cards for you all, courtesy of Minerva. The hot showers are ready, we have new clothes for you, and there’s also plenty of freshly made mouth-watering food in the kitchen, and…”

“FOOD!!” We all yell.

“Enjoy your vacation,” Aayushi says.

*

3 Hours Later

1020 FNT

Downtown Athenia

*

“Hey!” Ruby shouts to the stranger in the fast-passing car, as she shakes her fist. “Watch it, you punk-ass motherfucker!” She says as she gives him the finger as we cross the busy street by a hair.

“Ruby!” Rachel yells out with a look of disbelief on her face. “We’re not supposed to attract attention to ourselves, remember?” She reminds her in a soft voice. “We’re notorious!”

“In a ginormous way!” I say.

“Well, I can’t help that I’m so, so amazingly beautiful,” Ruby says with a shrug. “I mean, have you seen me? The supermodels of The Old World don’t have shit me!” She says as she proudly shows off her new clothes.

She’s wearing a bright blue one-shoulder crop top with a grey owl on the center of it, a black mini skirt, and her usual “Evil on Tour” beanie. Rachel is wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and skinny blue jeans with two holes in the knee area, and I’ve been given a white T-shirt and brown shorts.

“Look!” Ruby yells as she points at the store sign in front of us.

“A sign!” Rachel notifies us.

“Read the sign!” Ruby responds.

“Adivinhação?” Rachel and I read in unison.

“It obviously doesn’t mean avocado, but I think I know what it means,” Ruby says. “Sigh. Teresa could’ve been the world’s biggest con artist if she wanted to.”

Wait a second. Seina told me about something like this.

“Fortune… telling?” I ask.

“Correct, Billy!” Ruby yells as she gets into my personal space. “The three of us are about to begin another perilous adventure, just like old times!” Ruby says as she opens the door.

“Shh!” The shopkeeper says with an annoyed look on her face, followed by her angrily biting into an avocado.

This shop is so cool. It’s about the size of a gas station store, the curtains are heavily dimming the sunlight, and there’s so much jewelry and fashion accessories here. The shopkeeper looks to be in her early twenties, Black, brown eyes, shiny purple robe and hat, and a cool white scarf.

“You’re so loud! And even though you’re like a duck to water, you scare easy, ruiva!” The woman says with an angry look on her face.

“Me?! Um, Ruby Redheart, and being scared have no correspondence, lady!” Ruby yells back in confidence.

“Ha! Cry me a river!” The lady says.

“Ew! What the fuck just landed on my face?!” Ruby cries out in horror with her hands on her face.

“You lack proper etiquette. His name is HaKiko, and he is an Amphisbaenian,” the mysterious woman clarifies. “Desculpa, he mistook you for a porco.”

“He’s a what?!” Ruby asks, rubbing her lips as HaKiko begins to slither away.

“A legless worm. Despite your rudeness, HaKiko and I have decided to bless you with good luck,” she says as she puts HaKiko in a cage. “Now, Ms. Popular, that will be 11894.73 currency,” she says as she holds her hand out.

“Ha! Well, joke’s on you lady, because that’s… exactly how much cash I have…” Ruby says with a dejected look on her face as she hands over her card.

“Hello there!” Rachel greets as she walks towards the counter. “We would like to have our fortunes told. My name is Rachel Cooper, this is my twin brother, Billy Cooper, and our loud friend is the amazin’ Ruby Redheart. What is your name?”

“Oh my,” the shop owner says with a look of awe in her eyes. “Mmm. Why didn’t you just say so?” She says as she leans forward and bites into her avocado. “Meu nome é Bushra (My name is Bushra), Rachel Cooper, and I foresee a doting encounter between you and me, before your anniversary date,” she says as she adjusts her scarf. “Allow me to read your palm, free of charge,” she says as she extends her hand.

“What an interestin’ term,” Rachel says with a smile as she gives her hand to Bushra.

“It got in my mouth, Billy,” Ruby says with a sad look on her face. “Death by car or lizard is not how I imagined my grand exit.”

Girls are so weird.

“Soft-pedal, loud girl! I must focus!” Bushra yells out in anger,

and hot-tempered!

“Rachel Cooper, your future is filled with numerous amounts of internal and external conflict, leadership, joy, root beer, and stale bubblegum. You are a tough woman with a pure soul, capable of going through fire and water. You’re a walking inspiration, but you must keep your head above water, should you wish to reach your full potential. The confidence you lack within yourself is replaced by your belief that blood is thicker than water; however, you tend to forget to love yourself and focus more on loving others. Take heed, your instability will cause you to make hasty decisions that will haunt you forever, but calm your dismay because time heals all wounds. Your rash decision-making will soon be water under the bridge,” she says with a soft smile.

“Huh?” Rachel asks in confusion.

“Billy Cooper, your souvenir! Free of charge!” Bushra yells as she gives me a strange card with a picture of a woman and a lioness on it.

“Strength?” We all ask in unison.

“You tadpoles done messed with a big fish,” she says in disbelief. “HaKiko and I envisage a rapidly approaching storm, so please exit, as we have other fish to fry before it happens,” she says as she holds the door open for us, followed by her speaking Portuguese to Rachel.

“Wait a second, Ms. Avocado,” Ruby asks in disgust. “What about my palm reading?” She asks as she extends her hand out.

“No, outlaw,” Bushra quickly declines.

“Why not?” Ruby asks in irritation as Bushra motions for us to leave.

“Because I don’t like you,” Bushra clarifies, followed by her slamming the door in our faces.

“I don’t like her or HaKiko,” Ruby says. “She’s fake and creepy. Fortune-tellers don’t even hold water, so let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

“Ruby…” Rachel says with a nervous look on her face as we begin to walk down the street.

What the?! Rachel kissed Ruby!

“Ruby, I’m sorry! I’m just so scared, and I don’t know what to do!” Rachel quickly reveals in sadness as she backs away. “I… I don’t wanna die alone!” She says with a look of embarrassment on her face as she begins to cry and looks away.

“Um, Rachel…” Ruby says as she hugs Rachel from behind. “You’re so, so silly. You won’t die alone, because you have us, and you’ll always have us…no matter what happens,” she says in a calm tone. “I mean, if our lives were a book, it’d be titled “The Mighty Squad Zeus vs. Fancy Dipshits & Smelly Zombies.” It’s us against the world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Nobody really knows what the future has in store for us, but I do know that we’ll be ok, come hell or high water. Teresa once told me that every cloud has a silver lining, so even though we’re in deep shit right now, you have to keep looking forward, because you can’t see what’s in front of you if you keep looking down, you crybaby,” she says as she wipes off tears from her own eyes.

“Everyone… has been talkin’ so weird ever since we got here!” Rachel cries out in tears.

“Sniffle. You’re not wrong,” Ruby says with a chuckle. “Also… I… I like men,” Ruby explains as she ends the hug.

“I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me,” Rachel pleads.

“Rachel Cooper, don’t get wrapped around the axle,” Ruby says with a deep sigh. “The only thing I hate right now is the fact that we’re still standing here. I can feel the wrinkles coming, so let’s hurry and do something fun.

*

Meanwhile

Estádio da Coruja (Owl Stadium), Downtown Athenia

Luke Miller’s Point of View

“OBJETIVOOOO (Goal)!” The crowd roars as the star player scores a goal.

Soccer, er, football is exciting. There must be at least a few thousand people in Owl Stadium. I can’t believe such a thing exists in this world. Nosebleed seats or not, this is incredible.

“Luke?” Sonya says in a soft tone as she cuddles closer to me.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Don’t ever go into another woman’s bedroom again if you want this exclusive relationship to work out, because I swear, I will leave you,” she says with a cheerful smile.

“Gotcha, Sonya,” I say, followed by us giving each other a kiss on the lips.

“Mmm. My boyfriend is a half-human half-zombie. Sounds like the title of one of those books that Teresa reads,” she states as she gets closer to cuddle.

*

Meanwhile

Praia da Coruja (Owl Beach)

Drew Howard’s Point of View

“But I don’t know how to ride a jetski, Duy,” I say.

“Me neither, but there’s a first time for everything. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? I feel like nothing can stop us after the shit we’ve been through,” Duy says as we observe the populated beach.

*

Meanwhile

Downtown A Bela Cidade, Beneath Athenia

Anna Robinson’s Point of View

“Hmph! The rhythmic movement of my body to a captivating musical melody, specifically my hips and buttocks, is not my forte,” I explain to Aayushi and Dara.

“You’re only saying that because you’ve never had a girl’s night out before,” Dara says as she and Aauyshi lead me to some loud club.

“Dara is right, Anna,” Aauyshi attempts to convince me. “You’ll be a stiff in the first minute, but then you’ll be dancing as soon as the beat drops. I am speaking from experience,” she says with a grin.

I just want to be left alone.

“I appreciate the kind gesture; however, I don’t even know how to dance nor twerk,” I say.

“Ah, your brain doesn’t know how, but your body sure does, specifically your hips and buttocks,” Dara clarifies.

“Having fun is in every woman’s D.N.A.,” Aauyshi says.

“What is the point of a club anyway? It seems very reckless and ignorant,” I say.

“The point of a club is to have fun and forget about how messed up things are for as long as you want… or until you pass out, which I don’t recommend. Despite how glamorous things seem, I assure you that the streets are far from safe,” Dara explains.

“We won’t let anything happen to you, Anna,” Aauyshi reminds me.

“Sigh. Thank you,” I say.

This music is pleasing.

“As Minerva’s number two apprentice, I have VIP access to everything in Athens. Including…” she reveals as she slowly pulls out a special badge and presents it to the bouncer. “Clubs,” she says as the bouncer lets us inside…

“Holy shit!” I say.

“I said the same thing,” Aauyshi says with a laugh. “See! Your body is already moving, Anna!”

This music has cast a spell upon my body.

“You should relax while you can, Anna. Fun is hard to come by nowadays,” Dara says as she guides us through the crowded club. “We’ll teach you how to dance, although there’s really nothing to it. Just relax and let your body do all the work…” Dara says as the three of us enter the dance floor.

*

5 Days Later

July 14, 2075

Minerva’s Hideout, A Bela Cidade

2300 FNT

Drew Howard’s Point of View

“Cake is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!” The twins yell out in unison as we all finish our dessert.

Cake is pretty fucking good. I almost forgot it was their birthday today.

“Sonya, I still can’t believe that you’re such a good singer!” Ruby yells out in disbelief as she retunes her new guitar.

“We have to talk about what happened in Alejandro before we leave tomorrow,” Sonya says in a stern tone.

Here we go…

“We kicked ass, back-to-back,” Ruby says.

“No, we got lucky and almost died. We killed people!” Sonya loudly explains in frustration, “Murder changes you. So… who wants to talk first?” She asks as she scans the room.

What kind of question is that?

“I feel terrible,” Luke says first. “I just… lost myself and went into survival mode. It was so easy but so unreal. I hate thinking about it because I feel like a monster. Sometimes I think that I am a monster. I don’t know if I could do it again, but I probably could if I had to. It’s not the same as killing a zombie. Zombies are just corpses, but people… people have souls. It’s what makes us human.”

“I feel terrible as well!” Rachel cries out. “I hate fightin’, but I will always protect the ones I love, no matter what! But I-I don’t ever want to kill a human being again!”

“It’s not that easy, Rachel,” Sonya says with a deep sigh. “Anna, Captain? What do you two have to say?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” Duy says in a sharp tone.

“I concur,” Anna responds.

“Fine, but I think that we should talk about it before we go to Prometheus,” Sonya says with an annoyed look on her face.

The week went by so fast, and tomorrow we’ll be going to Prometheus to do who knows what.

“Ooh! I have an idea!” Ruby announces. “Let’s play, “Spill the Beans!”

“Spill the beans?” We all ask in unison.

“As you’re all aware, I have issues with authority, and some of you don’t know why. The reason for that is because of the stupid unspoken rule,” Ruby says in an excited tone. “So I say, fuck the unspoken rule and let’s spill all the beans. It’s time for us to reveal… our so, so tragic backstories because sharing traumatic experiences brings people closer. The future is filled with a ton of crazy shit, and we’re obviously prepared for it, but… accidents happen. Anyway, as the most amazing member of our notorious squad, I will go first. There are only two rules in “Spill the Beans.” One. The speaker chooses who’s up to bat next, and Two. Your backstory must be told in full graphic detail. Don’t hold back any punches, compreendo (understand)?”

*

7 Hours Later

Minerva’s Hideout, A Bela Cidade

0600 FNT

Anna Robinson’s Point of View

Huh? Why on earth are you pacing?

“What troubles you, Sonya?” I ask.

“T-there’s a storm approaching. Literally and figuratively,” she answers with a nervous look on her face.

An alarm is going off?!

“An enemy warship is approaching!” Aauyshi alerts us as she enters the gym. “We don’t think they’re Prometheans! They appear to be… Royals!”