The morning of training start didn't quite hit me. ‏Well, ‏first of all, ‏I wasn't too happy about it, ‏and it felt just like going back to military school all over again. ‏Everybody walking around in their freshly ironed uniforms, ‏making the platform feel way too overcrowded. ‏Most of them younger than the old guard, ‏jolly and hyped over the perspective of becoming successful in the battlefield. ‏I felt like a clown coming into the central room, ‏with all my coworkers sitting behind their desks, ‏and asking for my first day's pass. ‏Sergeant Maes was literally laughing in my face, ‏along with Captain Stevens.
- ‏Hope you're gonna have fun, ‏Tarah ‎- ‏she winked at me, ‏while handing me the file. - ‏I hear your brother is entering training this year as well.
‏I nodded, ‏attempting to sustain a smiling face expression.
- ‏That's right.
- ‏He's a junior, ‏isn't he? - ‏Stevens stamped my card, ‏folded it in two parts, ‏then put it back into the pass holder.
- ‏Yes, ‏he's training to become a mandatory officer ‎- ‏I explained.
- ‏I've seen him in his mustard uniform earlier today. ‏Family tradition is still alive, ‏I see ‎- ‏Maes saluted me.
‏Half the room laughed and I smirked like I was just presented with a glue stick for my graduation.
- ‏Have a good day.
‏I gave them a slight wave, ‏then joined Cruise and a few others in the corridor, ‏slamming the door behind myself a little too harshly.
- ‏You ready? - ‏He patted me on the back.
‏I looked at him as though he lost his mind.
- ‏As I'll ever be, ‏Cruise.
‏I rushed ahead, ‏straight to the elevator. ‏Moments later, ‏we stood all packed up, ‏shoulder to shoulder, ‏staring at the glass floor. ‏Noone felt like talking. ‏And that probably saved our lives.
‏The elevator suddenly shifted to the left, ‏and we heard a blasting noise similar to glass being smashed with a hammer.
‏Then, ‏we swayed forward and began falling down, ‏to land in the middle of reception area. ‏The box we were in crushed, ‏and we found ourselves on the floor, ‏with a small group of people watching in awe as we stood up, ‏and a pool of clear dust around us.
‏I didn't even have a second to register what was going on, ‏it all happened too abruptly. ‏The fall wasn't long, ‏barely a floor down, ‏and I was in shock.
- ‏Is everyone ok? - ‏a receptionist bowed over us, ‏holding her phone in one hand, ‏and a shit of paper in another.
‏I took a look around. ‏The guys were already on their feet, ‏and lieutenant Peterson was in the process of giving a hand to Officer Blake. ‏No bones broken. ‏Maybe a few cuts here and there, ‏but nothing too serious. ‏Thank God.
- ‏We're all good.
- ‏Oh, ‏my. ‏I'll be calling the cleaning crew in a second. ‏Do you need paramedics? - ‏she asked.
- ‏No, ‏we'll be ok. ‏We'll just take the stairs, ‏I guess ‎- ‏Cruise made an effort to dust off, ‏but then remembered glass would stick to his glove and refrained from that.
- ‏Sure thing. ‏That's a miracle it only fell one floor down. ‏I hope...
‏She didn't manage to finish her sentence, ‏as all the windows turned to dust and fell onto the remaining glass-free floor.
‏Only then did I realize what was going on.
- ‏It's an attack! - ‏I yelled.
‏Two seconds later, ‏Morena soliders were storming in through the newly made entryways and the madness began.
‏An ocean of people was waving and sending fire tides across the building. ‏Gleams of white armor shining in the sun resembled lightning bolts, ‏and streams of blood from bullet holes created marble-like patterns on quartz floor tiles.
‏I was shooting away, ‏sending golden sparks to eternity and back, ‏wondering how this could have been. ‏We've settled a cease-fire, ‏why on Earth were they attacking our training center?
‏About an hour later, ‏all of them were either dead or arrested. ‏That's when I saw her. ‏Bailey running through the shopping area, ‏crying and stretching her arms out.
‏How the heck did she end up here?!
‏I ran towards her, ‏and snatched her just before Cruise did.
- ‏She's a Morena, ‏what is she doing here? - ‏He demanded.
- ‏She's mine ‎- ‏I protested.
- ‏What do you mean, ‏yours? - ‏He reached to take her away, ‏which made her cry even louder.
- ‏Mine ‎- ‏I repeated.
- ‏What is this child...? - ‏Our Governor emerged from the blood bath in the reception area. - ‏She needs to be put in the carcer.
- ‏No, ‏no, ‏no! ‏She's mine! ‏It's my daughter! - ‏I cried.
‏A brief moment of silence fell while they watched me in shock, ‏and Bailey kept crying her eyes out.
- ‏How can she be your daughter, ‏if she's clearly a Morena child? - ‏The Governor said very slowly.
- ‏She is! - ‏I yelled. - ‏Look at her hair! ‏She's got the light strands just like I do!
‏Only ‎her ‎is ‎a ‎differnt ‎color!
‏
I took a hair tie off her ponytail, releasing her long, black hair with unexpectedly bright, gray highlights.
- Take us to do blood work if you don't believe me! - I said.
The governor sighed.
- Take them, Cruise. We're gonna clean this all up.

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