Driving past a field, the road stopped at the curtain wall of an ancient castle. A bored-looking corporal manned a small cabin, scanning each of the women’s palms. Satisfied, he radioed for the portcullis to be raised and allowed them to continue. Fee stopped the vehicle at the entrance, next to a large green tent set up as a coffee station.

  "Okay, game faces.” She said as they stepped out of the vehicle. "Try not to piss them off."

  They stood to attention as a disgruntled-looking Captain marched toward them.

  "What am I looking at?" He said, grimacing at the odour. "What the hell is that? Blood? Do I have to cite you people for breaking the code of conduct?" He said. His gaze shifted between Beth, "You look like you grave-robbed a footballer’s wife and YOU." He eyeballed Fee intensely, feeling the heat off his scalp. "I would say you are a disgrace to the uniform, but you're not even in uniform. Is that a stolen vehicle? "

  "SIR, I can explain SIR." Fee said.

  "Enough, " He said. "Things have taken a turn for the worse." He offered them both a grim look. "Come with me." They followed the Captain toward the tent, and he poured himself a coffee. "On this rare occasion, no explanation is warranted. We know about the fake personnel. For some reason, you two were singled out for abduction."

  “Abduction?” Beth said.

  Fee looked horrified. "Fake personnel, sir?"

  "Aye. Your training exercise was confined to castle grounds, but some rogue elements slipped in undetected. Despite this, you did well to make it back in less than a day. You are all to report to the L.C. the moment you return. A video call has been set up in the drum tower on the right. Other than that, help yourself to coffee and for God's sake, take a shower, you both stink." He straightened up. "Alright, dismissed." The two women snapped off a rigid salute and watched him leave.

  In that moment, they adopted a paralysing stupor. Almost without thinking, they busied themselves at the coffee station with detached mindlessness reserved for automatons. No one spoke. They stared out, as if the view was a complex work of art. Fee replayed the Captain’s words in her head.

  For some reason, you two were singled out for abduction.

  Singled out for what? By whom? A strong breeze fluttered the canopy and cast them out of their trance. They watched the dark clouds churn in the sky. Ghostly tendrils of green light danced as wisps of passing auroras.

  "The Dark Armada." Fee said.

  "They're getting closer," Beth said, flatly.

  They continued watching in silent awe until Fee shook her head

  "Right. Time to go."

  She crossed the base to a nearby tower, the dull tread of footfalls resounding off ancient hardwood. At the far end of the room, a terminal had been set up, with a briefcase monitor surrounded by spikes of antennas. The operator removed the headphones, drew his chair back, and nodded toward the two girls on his way out. A semicircle rotated as the signal buffered against a blank screen until the video call of an empty chair appeared. After a few seconds, Amy was seated.

  "Ladies," She said, "Well done in getting back to us, in what I assume is one piece." She narrowed her eyes with appraising curiosity. I see you managed to raid someone's laundry."

  "It was found in a barn, ma'am." Fee said.

  "Where it should have stayed," Amy said. "Did any of your captors say anything of note? Any hints to their intentions?"

  Fee straightened up. "I was told I had to get here by four P.M. or risk being stranded."

  "Mine was almost apologetic," Beth said. "They said something about the fate of the Earth and I was its saviour."

  "Anything else?" Amy said. There was an awkward hesitation as neither wanted to be the next to sound ridiculous. "Come on, no one is going to grill you. We want to get to the bottom of this."

  "My captors had a warning about the future," Beth said.

  "What kind of warning?"

  "That Airwoman Green will bring about the apocalypse.”

  Fee glanced over, her mouth slightly open.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Amy was unfazed. "What does all of this have to do with ACW Green?"

  "These people believe she is a threat to not just Earth, but the entire known and unknown cosmos. I was to convince her that a normal life was the better option."

  "Convince me, how exactly?" Fee said.

  "Verbally or by other means."

  Amy was quiet for a moment.

  "A threat to the known and unknown cosmos?" She said. "You're casting your net wide there, Green."

  "With respect, ma'am," Fee said. "One should always go big or go home."

  “Alright, alright," Amy said, dispersing all triviality. "Let's not lose focus." She paused. "We are currently reviewing surveillance to see if we can pick out any leads; fake soldiers are a threat to everything we stand for."

  "Sabotage." Fee said.

  "Indeed," Amy said. "We believe there is a network of moles. These people are becoming more brazen; what’s worse is that they are slipping through undetected. I’m afraid, Green, that means we can’t bring you into the big house until everything has been cleared up.”

  "Pardon ma'am," Beth said. "How did you know they were fake?"

  "Alarms were triggered when your Palm Trackers breached the designated perimeter," Amy said. "You were supposed to be taken to the Castle grounds for an abduction escape scenario. Ironic, I know. That's when both your signals went off the grid and disappeared. We launched a few drones on a large-scale search, but they must have some sort of jamming tech."

  "Are there any suspects?" Fee asked.

  "No, this lot are super organised. Otherwise, we’ll keep hunting and wait for them to make a mistake." There followed a nervous, unsure silence. "Alright, if there is nothing else. A chopper is on standby to take you back to base. Return to whatever duties remain. You have been through a lot, but that does not excuse slacking off. Remember, you're still on probation. Dismissed."

  The two women saluted sharply, and Amy signed off with a nod. There followed an awkward silence. Fee turned to Beth with the coldest death stare she could muster.

  "Yeah." Beth said, "Sorry."

  "What the hell was that about? What happened to this being a crash exercise?"

  "I didn't want you to freak out and dump me in the middle of nowhere.”

  "So I'm going to destroy the universe?”

  "Crazy, I know, but these people were intense, they believed that stuff."

  "They're nutters, Beth!" Fee said.

  "Normally, I would laugh it off, but why go to all this trouble?" Beth said. "Risk their getting shot on an airbase, for a hunch? That's dedication."

  "I think it's been established they are crazy." Fee said. "Why would I be a threat to the cosmos? I live in it."

  "I am only repeating what I was told."

  "Yet you still kept it from me. Thanks."

  "Excuse me. How come you didn't contribute when asked about your captors?"

  "And say what?" Fee said. "Two psycho’s called me 'your Majesty'? It is stupid just saying it out loud."

  "And mine didn't? This whole situation is crazy."

  Fee stalked off, leaving Beth to stand alone, as the heat of the afternoon bled away.

  ***

  After a meal, they were directed to a secure room reserved for pop-up shower stalls and changed into spare flight suits. Moving through the castle grounds, Beth found Fee on the edge of the large grassy flat of the inner bailey. In the centre was a bulbous red helicopter with two rotors, one mounted on another.

  "What's our departure time?" Beth asked.

  "We are looking at zero hundred hours.” Fee said. "Poor weather is hampering visibility."

  "Good excuse for a nap. If anyone grabs me tonight, I'm breaking thumbs."

  "Roger that."

  They peeled off and found themselves two empty bunks.

  Around midnight, Beth found Fee halfway through a pot of coffee.

  "Just woken up?" She asked.

  "I couldn't sleep." Fee said. "Hands won't stop shaking. I haven't been this rattled in ages."

  "Yeah." Beth said. "The idea that people can just pull you out in the middle of an airbase; I mean, where is safe after that?"

  "All I wanted to do was fly jets," Fee said, dunking a biscuit. "Now cultists want a piece of me."

  "I'm sorry I kept things from you. I didn't want you the think I was the local head-case." She allowed herself a laugh. "If someone covered in blood told me the world was ending and it was your fault, I would push them out so fast."

  "I wouldn't even bother to stop", Fee said, with a smile

  "Oh hell no, that bitch would be airborne, straight up."

  They laughed and talked some more until it was time to depart.

  One o'clock came, and they boarded the helicopter in complete silence. Fee only spoke to humour one of the crewmen, to either politely confirm, deny or 'don't know' to the multitude of questions that came her way. Neither of the women could decide if their reticence was out of their decision to keep truths hidden or the shock of being kidnapped. Upon take-off, she watched the Castle shrink in the distance and remembered what Beth had said.

  "Convince her either verbally or by other means."

  By other means. We'll see about that.

  She could feel the stone idol deep inside her pocket. A singular sentence popped into her mind among the churning thoughts and questions.

  'I am them. ’