Free Earth by Berengaria Brown

EARTH
     
    Born to Rule, 1
     
    Berengaria Brown
     
    Copyright © 2015
     
     
     
    Chapter One
     
    Old Anny clapped her hands together loudly. “ Terah , Raine , Flame, Skye. Come here to me.”
    Terah groaned inwardly. The ancient woman was going to make them sit and
listen to more of her stories. Old Anny was the only one who remembered the
history of their people and she was always attempting to make Terah and her friends learn it, too.
    “When my grandmother’s grandmother was just a little girl…”
    Ugh. Sure enough, the same old story again. When they were small Old
Anny used to say, “Just a little girl like you,” but the rest would be the
same. The story itself never changed.
    “There was a place called North Korea. The leader there hated South
Korea and America. He knew if he attacked America he wouldn’t be able to defeat
them, but South Korea wasn’t as big and strong, so he had his soldiers fire
nuclear rockets and weapons filled with diseases at South Korea.”
    Terah was scarcely even listening. She could tell this story herself. To her
surprise Old Anny stopped talking and said, “ Raine .
What happened next?”
    Fortunately Raine must have been paying
attention. She shook her long, wavy light brown hair back over her shoulders
and focused her bright blue eyes on Old Anny.
    “Other countries who disagreed with their neighbors took the
opportunity to start fights as well. The Islamic State in particular sent
suicide fighters to many countries to cause unrest
while their soldiers expanded their borders.”
    “Very good, Raine . Flame, continue the
history please.”
    Flame nodded, her red bangs falling over her amber eyes. She didn’t
seem to notice as she said, almost in a chant, “Within a few years many
countries were fighting, some in major wars, others just annoying their
neighbors, trying to get back at them over long-held grievances. But the
bacteria and diseases began to spread rapidly in the unrest. Nations were too
busy fighting to deliver good healthcare fast enough to stop pandemics from
developing, so many people died. Entire villages became empty.”
    “Correct. Terah ?”
    “Warriors came from a distant planet and stole some of our women away
to be their slaves. Some went willingly as conditions were so bad in their
countries. Our people were smart enough to hide and remain safe.”
    Skye didn’t need to be asked. She finished the story quickly, her white
blonde hair in a neat braid down her back and her gray eyes closed as she
spoke. “Once in every generation the aliens return for more slaves. They will
come in our generation, too, but we will be prepared and hide where we can’t be
found because we have always survived.”
    “The time has come. You four must leave us now and go to the hiding
place to save yourselves.”
    “Why us? Why now?” Terah argued.
    “You have been taught to count. You have fingers and toes to use to
chart the passing years. How many winters have you seen, Terah ?”
    “All my fingers and toes.”
    “And when did the aliens last come to earth to take our women to be
their slaves?”
    “Before our births. When our mothers still carried us.”
    “That is so. We were very happy to learn your mothers were pregnant
after the fear and stresses of hiding for three long months. You four came as a
blessing on our community. Now you must go. Pay close attention to my
directions for your travel.”
    Terah watched carefully as did her friends, while Old Anny took a stick and
sketched in the dirt floor of the cavern in which they currently lived. She
showed them mountain ranges and desert-like land, and the way to go following
the line of a river.
    “You must always be careful. Other people will look to the river as
well. At times you might need to leave her side for your safety. The most
important thing to remember is always to head south. A little east, a little
west of your journey’s line, you can make up for later as long as you move
steadily