I handed the customer a cup of coffee. "That would be 40 Imperium dollars, thank you."
So you thought I'd be doing something cool. Well, while my friends were cooking up secret plans and finding others, I was working at the local Powerbucks.
(Yeah, I know, right? Total copy of Starbucks. But I mean Imperium is 'power' in Latin so I guess it's not too bad)
Okay, here's the thing - I wasn't being completely honest. Thing is, I wasn't exactly working at Powerbucks twenty-four seven. And no, I didn't belong in the Imperium Army Camp.
As the last customer left, the workers and I closed the shop. One of the guys who were pretty friendly with me, Samuel, came over to me with the usual toothy grin on his face.
"Gem! Hey, man! Wanna go downtown and par-tay?"
Sam was a Libra. (Not the actual Libra, no, the actual one's a girl and you probably already know who she is) He loves to enjoy himself and meet new people, so almost every night he went to parties, made out with cute girls and got drunk. If I decided to go with him, I'd usually drink a little and be the one to drive him home. I mean, yeah, I was technically drink-driving but what's the fun of life without breaking a law or two?
I didn't feel like a party today. In fact, my night was booked. "Sam, I got business to deal with. I'll see you soon, bro? Tomorrow's a day off."
He looked a little disappointed that I wasn't going with him but shrugged it off since some of the other workers were probably going with him. I just hoped their drinking wouldn't get too out of hand. "Sure, dude. See you on Monday. I'm all booked tomorrow."
As they left, I helpfully switched the 'open' sign to a 'closed' one. Making sure the coast was clear, I ducked into the nearest, darkest and emptiest alley, opening my backpack that looked like it had nothing but a bottle of water in it. People like Sam never knew me the way they think they did.
Smirking, I slipped the bandit mask out of my bag. "Alright, Gemini, time to deal with that 'business'."
✯✯✯
I hopped on a bike and rode it down the road - I knew I was 14 but Imperium had different laws and tonight, I wasn't breaking them. Not yet, anyway.
I should be like the others who probably also got sent to the army camps of Imperium or maybe even the country we would be facing in the upcoming war, Fortitudo. These two countries were honestly all I'd ever heard of ever since we were taken away from our orphanage - it felt like we'd disappeared straight off the world map. The only reason I wasn't in the camp was that I escaped ASAP. I didn't see any of the others there, but a gut feeling told me I wasn't alone. Tonight was the night that gave me the biggest feeling. Tonight, I had to track them down. Anyone.
I wasn't alone - I could've gone 'par-taying' with Sam and the other workers. They were friendly enough with me and I could always somehow get along with everyone. But I was lonely. As much as I hated to admit it, I felt bored with Sam. He was nice entertainment and we were compatible as friends in astrological terms, but something about his voice was just...irritating. It sounded like a bee humming next to my ear, followed by more hums - the other workers' laughs. I just didn't find anything they said funny.
Caught in my own thoughts, I didn't realise that I bumped headfirst into another man's chest. My mask fell to the floor, broken as the guy stepped on it.
"Oh...sir. He-uh, hello, sir." The man was in an army's outfit with thick muscles on his limbs to prove its validity. His eyes were sharp and narrowed at me. He had a neatly trimmed goatee that made him look like a general. A look at him was enough to make me shudder.
"What you doin' 'ere, kid?" he barked with his thick southern accent. His hands moved to his hips to signify that he meant business. "'The Fort Spy' is out tonight. Wait...you must be pretty rich there to not be part o' the army, judgin' by that height. Why you wearin' Powerbucks uniform?"
"S-sir, I..." I searched for excuses in my head. C'mon, Gemini, you're a smooth talker, use that to your advantage. "Sir, I'm not from this place. I came to visit my relatives. I only got a job at Powerbucks to take care of myself temporarily. I promise I'm not Fortitudian." I told him, hands in pockets to look casual and convincing.
"Young man, you ain't foolin' me. I'd say you're 14 with a build like that. Where you from?"
"It's this place called...America. I don't know how to get to my relative's home, though. I don't even know who they are, I just heard that there would be a war here so I wanted to s-see...them...sir, you know, before...it's...t-too late..." That's it, Gem. I added in a few fake sniffles for good measure.
The man's eyebrows knitted in pity. "Sad story you got there, kid! Well, how 'bout you tell me anythin' you remember 'bout your relatives and I'll see if they're part o' the army. Well?"
"I-I think..." Shoot. Who do I name? I can't name a girl as it wouldn't be resourceful. I can't name any one of us who might've been taken to Fortitudo...but how do I know which of us are here? I guess I gotta test my luck. "Taurus," I named the first guy I thought of. He was always right in front of me and before me as the twelve of us had a specific order. It was impossible to not think of Taurus. "I think I have a cousin called Taurus."
The general stroked his chin. "I do seem to remember someone by that name..." A new hope surfaced to my chest. "I think he's with the axe guys!" He pulled out a mobile phone and tapped a few times, then held a list of names to my face. The title of the page he had was 'Axe Fighters." I squinted and searched for 'Taurus' in the sea of names...and there it was. Taurus. Neatly standing out in all the other names for his last name was never revealed...because he might not have one at all.
"I found him, sir!" I exclaimed, pointing to Taurus. "He's right there. I really need to see him...and maybe other cousins are with him too!"
The big guy smiled and held my shoulder. "C'mon, chap. It ain't safe out 'ere anyway - some of us army people are patrollin' to make sure 'The Fort Spy' doesn't try anythin' funny."
I frowned and scratched my head. "Sir, who is 'The Fort Spy'?"
"You don't know, kid? Ah, right, you're from...what is it? Ameri...somethin'. Never heard o' your place before. Anyway, Fortitudo had declared war on us six months ago. Then three months later when we got a new batch o' army kiddies, a huge robbery took part at night and almost wrecked half the town! Someone signed 'The Fort Spy' on the wall before he left with our goodies, claimin' to be sent from Fortitudo and ready to steal our stuff and info anytime. The guy also threatened us by tellin' us that he'd be strikin' tonight, so we're all on patrol and kids like you should be indoors safely."
I didn't ask any questions - I didn't have any. I just had a feeling that this 'Fort Spy' dude had a connection with my search for my friends, but I wasn't ready to deduce anything. We walked in silence to the campus after he told me the tale.
✯✯✯
I must've gotten so anxious at the start that I escaped to the other side of the district after leaving the camp in the first place because it took at least 3 hours of driving and walking to get there. The moment we reached the camp, I became insanely ecstatic. "Thanks for bringing me here, sir, I must go find Taurus now!" I was about to rush off when he grabbed the back of my shirt. Instantly, my palms sweated in anxiety - did he realise that I was lying? Had he somehow remembered seeing me in the short 4 hours I was last at this place? What did he want with me?
"Hold your horses, young sir! Look at the time, your cousin and the others are probably asleep. Say, how about I give you an empty room to sleep in and you look for Taurus in the mornin'?"
I barely resisted a sigh of relief. Although this place gave me the creeps and had me feeling like walking on thin ice, I would rather stay here for a couple of days than get caught for what I did at the start of the year. "Yes, sir. I would love to hit the hay for the night first. Thank you for reminding me."
He took me to the main general's office and got me to wait outside the door. I heard some chattering inside the office, but moments later, the general who brought me here returned. "Your room is ready, chap. Follow me."
I had to admit - after thinking about my friends for an entire half of a year, anxiously rushing around in Powerbucks' basement I discovered and secretly lived in and never having enough sleep, it felt magnificent to finally embrace a soft, comfy bed and soothe myself to sleep with the silence of the campus and the faint night sounds of bugs outside, I even forgot the fact that I completely skipped dinner.
✯✯✯
I woke up to heavy pounding on my door. "Y-yes?" I looked around and remembered that I was no longer in the safe surroundings of the Powerbucks basement I used to stay in - I was in a 'guest room' as the general guy with a Southern accent told me.
"Who is it?" I asked, my palms turning into sweat dispensers.
"Open up. This is an order. Now." The deep voice of a male sounded somehow familiar and strangely safe, even though the message was clearly threatening and I'd never heard of the voice.
Or I thought so.
"Are...are you a general?"
"Open the door and we'll find out."
My brain suddenly felt all mushed up. I felt slightly dizzy, my hands trembling, a shiver running down my spine. Should I open the door? Wait...the door wasn't locked. The guy must've come in peace, or he would just barge in.
Right?
I sluggishly got up and laid a hand on the doorknob. Well, here goes nothing, I told myself as I turned it.
I did not expect him out of all people to be standing there.
He was masked, leaving only his hazel eyes to pierce right at me. He wasn't skinny nor fat - in fact, he had an average build for a boy of the same age as me. He was wearing black from head to toe, which made his light brown hair stand out. His title was carefully written in white permanent marker around the collar of his T-shirt worn inside a leather jacket - the title that had Imperium trembling in fear for quite a long time.
I was standing face-to-face with the Fort Spy.
"Wh-what do you want from me?" I questioned, trying to sound brave and strong. "I'm a nobody here. Unless you came for the room?"
He raised an eyebrow, amused for a second. "I suppose you could say that I came for both, Gemini."
The moment he said my name, I almost screamed on top of my lungs. How did he know? I never told anyone my name during my stay here. Not even trusty Sam. "H-how-"
"Did I know your name? Damn, Gemini, I thought you would've recognised my voice by now."
He pulled down his mask and revealed the rest of my face. The action got me in shock.
"Capricorn!" My eyes widened in utter surprise. No. It couldn't be Capricorn. It was the Fort Spy, for crying out loud! Did that mean Capricorn was the Fort Spy all along? Or was he just dressing up as the guy? My head spun as endless possibilities crossed my mind.
That was when I reminded myself of the timeline. The general who brought me here had said that the Fort Spy incident started half a year ago. It fit perfectly with the time I was taken to Imperium - the same probably happened to Capricorn.
"Shhh...We'll exchange stories later, okay? Right now, I need to hide here. Please." He suddenly looked back, looking fearful. "They're...after me. It's only a matter of time before I get caught..."
I peeked out but didn't see anyone. Should I trust Capricorn? I looked at him. Of course I should. I grabbed his arm, pulled him in and slammed the door shut. That made the two of us crammed inside the small room.
"So?" I spun around to face him. I didn't know why, but I was feeling a little pissed off. Capricorn was all around the city doing those dangerous things while I escaped and served coffee to survive. Come to think of it, I didn't even know how Capricorn survived if he was the Fort Spy all along.
He frowned anxiously as he took off his leather jacket - I could almost feel the summer heat radiating off him. "Lock the door."
I did as he told me. Even though it wasn't anyone dangerous in front of me, Capricorn didn't need to be persuasive to get people to do things. He was reliable and almost always knew what to do if Virgo didn't think of it first - no one felt the need to disagree with him and cause an unecessary mishap.
"First off, Capricorn, were you sent to-"
"Imperium." He didn't wait for me to finish his sentence. Typical Capricorn thing to do.
"But you pretended to be from Fortitudo?" I asked, confused.
"...it's a long story. I tried to find out who else was trapped in here, but I haven't had much luck. I managed to steal the main general's file that contained the names of archers and believe it or not, I found Cancer in there. I also think I saw someone that looked like Pisces when I spied on the camp, but I couldn't be sure."
"But, uh, why...why the whole Fort Spy thing? Couldn't you just stay in Imperium and investigate while doing training?"
I didn't expect that to get him slightly offended. "I'd been doing some training of my own too, Gem. Besides, did you stay inside camp like an obedient little puppy and investigate at 'free time' that we would definitely have?"
He was right - the few hours that I stayed in this camp previously were enough to prove how hard the soldiers had to work for the country. For once, his extreme amount of sarcasm didn't get me on my nerves. I could've given him some smart sassy reply, but at the moment I chose not to.
We exchanged looks for a while and he finally sighed. "Alright then, Gem. Sit down, and let me tell you this long, long story of the Fort Spy."