Sola glared at the current box she was unpacking. With the help of D00m and Dom she had moved all of her items into this room he had given her. It was slightly larger than her apartment, which in this city was rather tiny. D00m had even brought Sola’s kitchen supplies. But one thing Sola hated more than the present government, was moving. All her life she had been moved from place to place so her dad could fulfill his job. Now that she was out on her own, she didn’t want that kind of lifestyle… And yet here she was, suddenly moved from her old apartment to this underground Bat Cave that definitely had the words “Bachelor Pad” scribbled all over it.
Just two days ago she was applying for a job when she nearly got arrested and then kidnapped by this odd guy that hired her to work in his poster tube making factory. And here she was living with him under the warehouse, having now joined the rebellion against the government. To Sola, there was just something incredibly messed up about this situation. But maybe that was because her sleeping schedule was off… Dom had her “working” the night shift, which did not sit well with her body. Granted, she kept the same usual schedule, it was just that he had her up late the past few nights to have her sign paperwork.
“Do those two ever sleep?” she grumbled, glaring at her alarm clock. It was currently four AM. Four fucking in the morning, and she was unpacking her boxes to make her new home more comfortable. But still, both Dom and D00m never seemed to sleep. All they did was work and talk, and then play fetch with Dom’s eerie little dog that carried its own zombified leg around as a chew toy. Rarely did she think they actually had a quiet hour or two of just restful relaxing sleep. Granted, when Dom wasn’t down here, he was upstairs in the factory making sure things ran smoothly.
Although, thinking over things more carefully, Sola did remember seeing Dom asleep… once. She had gone to ask him a question and found him asleep in his room across the hall from hers. Granted, it was close to six AM when she had gone to ask him, so she figured she’d let him sleep a bit longer and then speak to him once he was fully conscious. Well, he sleeps, but it’s the other one that doesn’t.
Remembering to last night when she did get up to get a glass of water and then make herself a bit of tea, Sola saw D00m busying herself with cleaning the whole entire basement. No wonder it was surprisingly spotless despite the fact a guy lived here. She lived here too and seemed to be cleaning and doing a long list of other chores from day to day that Dom never bothered with. Was cleaning one of them? Either way, she didn’t know. He had said she was his assistant though. Did that mean they were dating too? Long time girlfriends generally lived with their boyfriends, so Sola only could assume that’s what Dom and D00m were.
Her mind continued to sort out all of the information she had learned about the past few days. This rebellion thing just seemed so farfetched. If they seriously planned on such a scheme, the amount of people they would need to even quell the government was more than this whole place could hold. There was no way Dom could hire that many people.
She’d find out for herself how serious the whole group was. According to Dom, two of his friends, and possibly a few guests were coming with them to their weekly rebellion planning meeting. This sounded a whole lot like they were planning a parade or party… not like they were going to instigate the “Good for You” and “Ritters” party downfall. Hopefully tonight though, she could ask questions and get a lot of answers to clarify just what they were talking about.
Unloading the box she started to put away the clothes and other cherished items: pictures, books, and of course her stuffed animals. Tossing another empty box into the growing pile, she rearranged her desk and carefully set up her laptop, lamp and took a break. Scrolling through her e-mail, Sola then switched on some music. With noise now blaring from the speakers, she took a good long gaze around her room.
She now had posters hung, her bed made, and her pillows and other comfort items now adorning her room. It definitely looked cozier now, and much more livable. Before, the cement walls made her feel like she was living in a jail cell. Now at least it resembled her apartment.
From where she sat she could hear the audible sounds of a dog barking, and then the clatter of pots and pans. Someone was starting to cook dinner, and they were obviously making a mess of it. Or at least they were going to. Sola had offered to cook in exchange for letting her stay there, but Dom insisted either he or D00m prepare the meals. Granted, they weren’t horrid chefs, they just seemed to make quite the mess of the kitchen—a habit of theirs she sorely wanted to break.
A part of Sola wanted to just storm back to her old apartment and leave all this behind her. But then again, Dom and D00m had been very hospitable—minus causing her to stay up all night. Tonight though, Dom did promise that she could go to bed whenever she pleased. If she didn’t, she would have some serious beating to do. Hibernating her laptop Sola left her room to see what was for dinner. To her surprise, D00m was cooking tonight instead of Dom—who she didn’t see at all.
“Where’s Dom? Did he go out to rescue more damsels in distress?” Sola asked, leaning against the counter.
“He’ll be back in an hour. He went to go put flowers on a few graves,” D00m said, dumping the contents of a mysterious package into a pot. Sola blinked at that answer. Dom didn’t seem at all depressed when she talked to him this morning.
“Who died?”
“A few of his friends… it’s from a long time ago. And his dad. Both his parents were activists, along with starting this business,” D00m explained, looking at the pot as she waited for it to heat up.
Just as Sola opened her mouth to speak, in walked Dom with two new people on his heels. Seeing Sola out of her room, he smiled at her as the three of them entered the kitchen.
“Finished unpacking?”
“Almost. What do you want me do with all the boxes?”
“Just bring them out there. I’ll take them upstairs to use tomorrow,” he said. “Sola, this is Ane and Minari. Ane is the mastermind behind this idea, and well, Minari is our reigning monarch,” Dom explained. “Ane, Minari, this is Sola—“
“Let her speak, Dom,” Minari said, cutting him of. She disliked that he was doing all the talking.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Sola said, beaming as Dom started to set the table. She was surprised to see he had actual plates and utensils; most guys she knew just used plastic utensils and paper plates.
The four of them sat around the table as D00m prepared dinner. So far no one brought up the rebellion, which Sola figured they would talk about more. But no, they were talking about the past week, and what ridiculous thing they saw the governemtn do now. As D00m served up dinner, all five of them feasted happily in silence.
All the dishes were cleared away and they sat for some time with papers spread across the table.
“They just came out of nowhere and grabbed them off the street? No one said anything?” Sola stared at Ane as she had just finished explaining the most recent kidnapping she had witnessed.
“Yep. Pulled up and yanked them into a van. Everyone just hurried about, nervous that they’d be next,” Ane nodded.
“That’s horrible!” Sola gasped.
“It’s no surprise. They’re taking this too far. Before we know it, professors and other educators will be replaced. Who knows what they’ll do next,” Ane said, shaking her head.
“We need to stop this. It needs to end before history repeats itself. The Holocaust was bad enough. We don’t need an encore,” Dom said, looking around the table.
“And you plan to stand up to this how?” Sola said, glancing at the other three. D0m was currently staring at the lights in fascination for some strange reason.
“That’s it exactly. We’re going to stand-up and bring this to an end,” Ane said, slamming her hand on the table.
“I know we’ve been talking about this for a while, but you’re positive this is what we should be doing?” D00m said, suddenly speaking up.
“Yes. If we don’t, no one will. And all these problems will get worse. We’ll see things that no one should be forced to experience again. What if they bring back concentration or intern camps? There is no stopping this leviathan from making these decisions,” Ane said, observing the groups’ reaction. It was quiet for several moments as they all processed this.
“What do you feel we should do, Minari?” Dom asked, turning his gaze to the princess. She was quiet for a few minutes, in debate on whether it was the right thing; and of course choosing her words carefully. Her eyes remained focused on the center of the table.
“I’m sure you’re all expecting some great, inspirational speech from me… I mean, princess school taught me to be a great orator. But right now, I’m scared shitless. My family was all murdered, and I barely escaped. Yet here we all are, staring at each other around a table talking… Well, enough talking, I say. Let’s do this,” she said, grinning widely. “By this time next week, let’s make sure we have a few more people to add. If not, we’ll keep searching.” This is of course when the epic music starts.
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