The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

not. You said so yourself, they’ll probably be back tomorrow; there's no way to keep them out. So we brand them. For all to see. Nobody will let them in after. Problem solved." I conclude happily.

It's still deathly quiet inside the bar/restaurant, somebody coughs, and it sounds like bombs exploding. All eyes are on us and our argument. I can see Lefty's and Righty's eyes grow bigger the longer our discussion continues.

"That doesn't mean you can mutilate them." Blake shoots back.

"If it is the only way to keep their kind out, I can." I counter.

Blake crosses his arm over his chest. "Well, I forbid it."

Despite my anger, I laugh at that. "You what?"

His expression is dead serious. "As your commanding officer, I forbid it."

"You can't be serious. You're not…." I sputter before realization kicks in.

He is my commanding officer. Like it or not, he isthe head of the militia ever since Colin declined. I'm militia, so he's technically my boss. I clench my teeth; I'm used to getting what I want and doing what I please. This is a whole new ball game for me.

"You pull that card on me, and we're done," I say, my voice is ice-cold, just as my eyes.

"Vivian." He says quietly, beseechingly, but by the set of his jaw, I can tell he won't budge on this.

"Fine, I'll do it myself," I yell and turn towards the two men while pulling my knife out.

"Stop it!" Blake is right beside me, pulling my arm back.

"Don't!" I caution.

"Don't touch her little brother." A warning growl erupts from Colin, as he jumps over the table and out of the booth, lithe like a panther.

Blake shakes his head. "Listen, you two…"

"Let her go," Colin warns again.

I stare pointedly at Blake's hand clamped around my wrist and when I look up, all I see is Colin's fist coming down on Blake, the same instant as Blake lets go of my hand.

"Get them out of here." Drew yells at Michael and Richard, pointing at the two prisoners.

They obey instantly and pull the two men—who started all this chaos in the first place, out of the bar. Blake gets up and lifts his hands in a defensive gesture. "I'll not fight you, Colin, you're my brother."

Colin nods grimly at him; he grabs me by my arm and pulls me out of Alfredo's restaurant. His grip is so tight, it hurts me, but I don't complain; I just let him pull me.

Pointlessly I notice that Blake was right; there is a long line on the other side of the door, waiting to be let in. It's chilly outside, cold enough to cool my temper down a few notches. While we were inside, it started to sleet. I lift my head and blink the snow out of my eyes, feel its coldness on my skin, and take a deep breath.

I let Colin stir me into a dark alleyway where he pulls me hard against his body. I listen to the hammering of his heart, realizing mine is beating just as forceful.

"Do you think people bought it?" I ask breathlessly.

"That was the perfect opportunity. You did well." He praises.

I laugh bitterly. "Yeah, whatever. Some of it was true, though."

He kisses the top of my head, "I know.

A side door opens, and Blake comes out laughing. "That was perfect."

He puts his hand up for a high five from Colin and me. At my withering frown he pulls his hand back, waving both in front of him in surrender. "The two bastards will be marked; you have my word."

"They attacked me, thinking I couldn't defend myself, they…."

Colin lifts my chin and forces me to look into his eyes: "Easy, there, tiger. Easy."

"Michael and Richard know what to do. But Drew followed them to clue them in, just in case. Okay?" Blake says defensively.

I take a deep breath. "I know, I'm sorry I got carried away. I'm not as good at acting as you guys obviously are."

"Well, either way, you were perfect." Blake grins. "And you," Blake turns on Colin, "You didn't have to hit me so hard."

Colin just smiles broadly. "I had to make it believable."

"So, you guys will leave in the morning?" Blake asks, more somber.

Colin nods. "Yes, we'll start Operation Clean sweep early in the morning."

Blake nods at us before hugging us.

Did I mention how much I hate deception? Well, I hate it, and it seems to be all I'm doing lately. We've been waiting for a few days for the perfect opportunity for a fight between us, which the two yahoos at the bar tonight provided. We wanted to create a rift between the brothers. A public rift so that nobody would get suspicious once Colin and I leave for our secret hideout.

Only a select few are in the know about the spaceships we hijacked during the fight on Oaron. We'll train and create a whole secret army at the same place where the ships are hidden, to be ready when needed. The Gorongiaths watch us already too much, know too much, working on too many shady deals with our politicians. This will be our ace in the hole.

Besides the ships, we'll recruit others for a second militia army, led by Colin and me. In order for this to work, we needed to create a fallout between the brothers, needed a reasonable explanation for Colin's and my disappearance. I'll miss Blake, Maggie, Martin, and all our other friends dearly and so will Colin, but unfortunately, the Gorongiaths and the politicians have left us with little options. Hopefully, we'll defeat the aliens soon or find another way to be together again. This is not how we wanted things to go, but once we hijacked the ships, things fell into place, and now we have no other choice left.

Tomorrow we'll start to clean out the surrounding towns for more space, but Colin and I'll sneak away for a few hours to check on our secret base. After that, we'll continue helping until we've recruited enough people. Then