“Yo listen up here’s the story, about a little guy, who lives in a blue world . . . I’m blue da ba dee da ba di, da ba dee da ba di, da ba dee da ba di, da ba dee da ba di,” Blue (Da Ba Dee) [Radio Edit], Eiffel 65, Europop.

Vivian’s POV

As the door slide open, I stumbled out and fell. Rising shakily to my feet, and hugged Marie and Artemis. “Thank you,” I whispered, tears rolling down my checks.

“Don’t mention it,” Marie shrugged, “Do you know where we are? This sure doesn’t look like the Earth we know.”

“The Surface’s HQ and Selection Facilities, year 2075. Right now Earth is an awful place to live, Earth is being taken over, and the average person knows nothing about it. The average person doesn’t know much, really, The Surface is a group of aliens who have brainwashed the human race, and turned them into tools. I just wish we could do something about it.” I turned to where my friends were held captive. “We’ve got to get them out of here.”

“What does Potestas de Varietas do?” Artemis asked.

“Together, we bring The Surface’s perfect society crashing down around them. As far as we know, we, The Group, and my mother, are the only ones who know something about The Surface’s plot.” At Artemis’ shocked look, I flashed them a smile. “Someone’s gotta stop ‘em, before it’s too late.”

“Toppling society sounds fun, I’m in!” Marie yelled, punching the air.

“Then help me free the guys.” I said over my shoulder as I ran to Valentine’s tube.

“Push the big red button!”

“Pushing big red button!” I said, slamming my hand down on it, and taking a step back as the door opened. Before Valentine fell to the floor, I caught him, and gently laid him down.

“Who is he?” Artemis asked.

“Valentine’s my cousin, and, as far as we know, the youngest vampire on Earth.” I replied, not taking my eyes off my cousin.

“Really?” Marie asked.

“Yep. When The Surface first came to Earth, they tried killing everyone who isn’t human. My parents and Valentine’s parents weren’t on Earth when it happened.” I answered quietly, “The survivors either fled to Selo or Lalu, after the magic of the two planets was restored and stabilized. Those who were brave enough, simply went into hiding here on Earth.”

“Selo and Lalu? I’ve never heard of those planets.” Artemis interrupted.

“Makes sense since your only human. Selo is a planet inhabited primarily by vampires, while Lalu is inhabited primarily by members of the Enchantment. Our parents, with the help of their friends, saved the two planets from their prophesized destruction, and were almost killed in the process.”

At the sound of a moan, we turned toward my cousin. “Where am I?”

“You’re safe bumble bee.” I teased, “I thought I’d never see those yellow eyes again.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, pink and blue.”

“What do the nicknames mean?” Marie asked, curious.

“They refer to our eyes, though, at the moment I’m using magic to veil the appearance of my eyes. My eyes are normally two different colors, one pink, the other blue. Let’s go get the others, shall we?” I said, walking toward Valin and Veda.

“How do we free them?”

“By pushing the big red button!” Marie and I said at the same time, hi-fiving each other.

Artemis’ POV

After we freed them and they woke up, we got down to business. “Veda, we need a plan.” Vivian asserted.

“Escape,” Veda replied.

“I know that, I want to know how. After all, you’re the brains of the group.” Vivian snapped.

“Alright, I suggest that we use the ventilation system to try and find a way out.”

“Fine by me.” Vivian said.

Some other stories by Lydia Tall:

• D Is For Dead
• 9/11/01
• C Is For Conviction
• B Is For Betrayal
• Code Red Creations

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