Commander Paskin paced the floor, examining the new recruits. He was about to choose the recruits who were qualified for the special mission. Out of the eight people standing in front of him, he picked out three. These chosen individuals were to aid in the battle against the Murisii army. The three soldiers he chose were Miya, Sasha and Bradford.
Luckily, both Sasha and Miya were chosen together, as they were sisters. They wanted to be together and never be separated. Sasha was actually Miya’s adopted sister. There was one unusual fact about Sasha; she was not human, but Murisii.
In this strange world, the land was divided into two parts. One part of the land belonged to the humans, and the other part belonged to the Murisii. The Murisii were unusual looking creatures that were half human and half mouse. They primarily looked like humans, but they were smaller in stature. Their mouse-like features were evident in various forms. Their ears were big and round like those of a mouse, and they had a long, thin tail. They also had razor-sharp pointed teeth and pointy claws on the end of each finger and toe.
Miya’s parents found Sasha when she was only an infant, abandoned outside Miya’s house. When she was discovered, she was wrapped in a blanket. Even though she was a Murisii, Miya’s parents agreed to look after Sasha as their own daughter. They believed it would be good for Miya to have a sibling. Miya and Sasha grew up together as sisters and best friends. That was many years ago.
Presently, a war broke out between the two species. Last month, the Murisii invaded the human land, destroying significant buildings and homes. One of these houses belonged to Miya. Unfortunately, both her parents died in the invasion; therefore, she and Sasha were forced to join the army.
Commander Paskin began explaining what needed to be done. “Each of you will be paired up with an experienced soldier. “Your mission is to steal files from the Murisii military about their battle tactics.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” asked Bradford.
“In any way you can. Try infiltrating the military buildings,” Commander Paskin suggested. “Anyhow, I have some unfinished business to take care of. The other soldiers will be arriving shortly.” He exited through a door at the back of the room.
“So, Bradford,” Miya began, “How old are you?”
“I’m nineteen. How old are you two?”
“We’re both sixteen,” Miya replied. She pointed to Sasha and herself.
“Yeah, we’re really close friends. We joined the army because we really wanted to kick some Murisii butts!” Sasha lied. She didn’t usually lie, but there was no other way to conceal her true identity.
“You must be lucky to be friends who are working alongside each other.”
“I guess,” Sasha mumbled.
“Ugh, these uniforms are really uncomfortable,” Bradford complained.
“Don’t think we can’t feel discomfort!” Miya snapped.
Every soldier was required to wear a uniform. It was dark blue in colour, with gold trim on the pants and the jacket. The gloves had metal buckles that clamped around the wrists that were next to impossible to remove and the boots were hard and heavy, making it difficult to run. Each soldier wore a helmet that looked so stupid, that Miya and Bradford had removed theirs momentarily. Sasha kept her helmet on to hide her ears. After all, she was a Murisii.
The door opened and three soldiers walked into the room. These were their mentors.
“Hello, my name is Andrew,” The first soldier said. He pulled out a small slip of paper. “I’m supposed to mentor Miya Wakefield.” He looked at the three inexperienced soldiers who stood before him.
“That’s me,” Miya said. She took a step forward. Andrew smiled.
The next soldier looked at the piece of paper that Andrew had. “I have Sasha Wakefield,” She said thoughtfully. “I’m Taralyn,” She introduced herself.
“Here I am,” Sasha said.
“You girls both have the same last name? That’s weird,” Bradford whispered to Sasha.
“Quiet!” Taralyn ordered.
After the soldiers teamed up with their partners, they all walked into a larger room. The walls of the room were lined with all kinds of weapons. Each soldier took a sniper rifle that was on a shelf on the wall.
“How are we supposed to use these?” Miya asked.
“I’ll tell you once we’re in the next room,” Andrew replied.
The next room was long and narrow and had targets on the far wall. This was where Miya, Sasha and Bradford learned how to use their sniper rifles. Miya could tell that Sasha was nervous. She seemed a little hesitant during the tutorial.
When all the soldiers were prepared, they headed out the door.
It was about six o’clock on the morning and the weather was beautiful. The rising sun shed rays of light across the land.
The soldiers surreptitiously made their way across a grassy field to a huge gate in a sturdy stone wall. Andrew produced a ring of keys, half of which he used in the countless numbers of locks on the gate. Finally, the gate clicked open.
The soldiers walked through. Murisii territory wasn’t too far from here. This was where the three groups were to split up. Andrew and Miya were assigned to explore some housing units to the left. Taralyn and Sasha had to investigate an odd-looking building on the right. Bradford and his mentor needed to invade a storage building straight ahead.
The first pair to leave for their assignment was Taralyn and Sasha. They quietly made their way over to the building.
“Okay, Sasha, do as I tell you. If you disobey me, it can cost us both of our lives,” Taralyn explained.
Sasha nodded nervously.
“First of all, can you see that window? I’ll cut it open and we’ll enter the building through there,” Taralyn pointed to a small window near the ground. Without hesitation, she produced a small knife and began cutting the glass right out of its frame. Once she had removed the glass, she slipped easily into the hole. Sasha followed cautiously.
The new room they were in was small and dark. Taralyn seemed to know what she was doing, so Sasha just blindly followed her.
Room after room, the two soldiers walked down winding passageways and secret chambers until they came to a long hallway with a small window at the end. It was bright outside. It must be almost seven o’clock.
“Be careful, there are some electrical cords on the ground right here,” Taralyn warned.
Indeed there were cords, but Sasha wasn’t listening. She was thinking too much about Miya and Bradford. As she walked down the dark corridor, her feet got tangled in the cords and she tripped and fell. Thud! The floor sounded hollow.
At that moment, a machete shot up from the ground. Seeing the blade poking right out of the floor, Sasha started to run towards Taralyn.
Taralyn spun around to see the ceiling collapsing and Sasha running towards her.
“I told you to watch out for the cords!” Taralyn scolded. “Now look what you’ve done.”
Sasha had no time to apologize. Taralyn grabbed her hand and nearly dragged her over to the window.
Sounds could be heard from other parts of the building. The soldiers were running out of time. Taralyn kicked the window. The glass shattered and she climbed through.
Sasha tried to climb out, but the window was too high. When she grabbed onto the broken pieces of glass in the window frame, one of her gloves ripped and the broken glass cut her hand. Frustrated, she reached through the window and grabbed hold of a pipe attached to the outside of the house and thrust her body through the hole.
Once Sasha was out of the hole, she and Taralyn started running around the building towards the gate in the stone wall. As they were running, Taralyn noticed Sasha’s torn glove and the cut on her hand. She also noticed that Sasha’s hand didn’t look like a human hand at all. It had claws, like a Murisii!
Taralyn didn’t really know what to do. She pulled out her knife and held it out right in front of Sasha. “I never want to see you again! You’re a Murisii spy! You deserve to die—”
Suddenly, Miya came out of nowhere and rushed towards Sasha. “Run!” She screamed.
Taralyn threw her knife at Sasha’s head, but missed by a centimetre.
Miya and Sasha ran towards the giant gate. Luckily it was open. Bradford and his mentor must have finished recently. On and on they ran, around the military training building, through streets and alleys until they stopped on the stairs in front of a store to rest.
Sasha looked at the wound on her hand.
“That was a close one,” Miya sighed.
“What will we do now? The human army knows that I am a Murisii and our old house is destroyed!” Sasha said desperately.
“I don’t know, but at least we have each other. Let’s try our best to stay alive,” Miya said.
The two sisters walked down the street. The sun had risen and its rays shone warmly on the city. If there was something the girls knew they had, it was hope and the company of each other.