"Uh... where am I?" Drew's eye suddenly opened.

The terrible headache and the blinding lights took a while to clear out. Once he could properly see around his surroundings, he found out that he was in laying on a hospital bed. Around him, there were a few other beds upon which people were lying down. Some seemed to be injured or in bad health conditions.

Just to confirm that he was in no similar condition, Drew started to get up from his bed. However, the spinning started again and he fell down on the floor.

"Whoa! Be careful!" a hand reached out to him. Drew took it and allowed himself to be settled back on the bed. When the effects of spinning finally cleared, he found Zack standing in front of him.

"Zack? Where am I? What happened?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, I had to knock you out. Sorry about that but you were asking too many questions," Zack replied.

"I remember following you. Then we were in some kind of factory and Judy was captured. And then..." Drew's eye went wide as memories of the incident returned back to him.

"Yeah, please don't make me knock you out again."

"You are the Young Lion! You fought those guys and then..."

"Drew, I know you have millions of questions in your head right now. And I promise I will answer them all one by one. But first, do you know where we are?" Zack asked.

Drew looked around at his surroundings. He also noticed some complex machinery along with the hospital beds, confirming his doubts.

"Is this some kind of hospital or infirmary?" Drew asked.

"Yes, but do you know where this infirmary is inside?" Zack asked.

"How will I know? I don't know what's outside."

"Of course. Follow me, then."

With some help from Zack, Drew managed to get up this time and maintain balance. Zack led him out of the infirmary and into a long corridor with countless doors on either side. Drew stopped for a second to take everything in.

"Keep up with me, Drew," Zack interrupted.

After walking for almost a minute, the corridor finally ended to reveal a huge hall in front of them. It was bustling with activities and crowded with more than a hundred people. Most of them were in groups, chatting or playing online games.

Surprisingly, when Drew scanned his eyes around the hall, he noticed that everyone present here was young, probably a teenager.

"Wh-Where am I?" Drew asked.

"You are in the top-secret base of Rebels," Zack announced.

"Oh, hey Drew. You are up already?" Judy walked towards them along with Ava. "I realized I never got to thank you properly for saving me back there."

"I...You're welcome. But you guys have some serious explaining to do," Drew exclaimed.

"You have five minutes to ask your questions," Zack replied.

"Okay, so, first of all, are you really the Young Lion? Or was this all just a dream or something?"

"No, Drew, I really am the Young Lion. But I am not really as cool as you think," Zack said.

"Not cool? The whole internet is crazy about you! And I have been hanging out with you!"

"Err...actually...the videos you see on the internet only contain the good part about me. Before a fight, I install a camera that records everything. Then we upload it from anonymous accounts to the internet," Zack confessed.

"So, you just cut out all the bad parts? Like what happened today?" Drew asked.

"Yes..."

"Zack is still the bravest and best fighter we have here. We just exaggerate him a bit more on the internet to spread our message," Ava explained.

"Whoa! Did somebody forget about me? If I was not tied through handcuffs, I could have taken down all of them singlehandedly," Judy interrupted.

"Ahh... don't stop bickering again. You are the second bravest fighter here, okay?" Ava stated.

"So, everyone here is a fighter?" Drew asked.

"Not everyone. We are trained to be prepared to fight back but some of us serve different purposes other than fighting. My job here is to make gadgets," Ava said.

"And Drew, we brought you here to join us. You carry your father's legacy with you and we really need someone like you on our team," Zack said.

All of a sudden, Drew's face turned cold.

"So, this is what everything has been about? The friendship with me was fake, wasn't it? I was just your mission. And you just want my father's gadget, like everyone else!"

"Drew, you were indeed our mission. But the friendship was not fake. This is why we want you to join us," Zack replied.

"I am sorry. But my father died because of making gadgets for Mecca. I will not be sharing his fate. These gadgets are not for anyone but me. I will not give them away to anyway. All of you just want to use them to win the war." Drew cried. "So, do I get to walk away willingly or are you gonna torture me until I agree?"

"Drew, we will not torture you. This is your choice. You are allowed to leave. But don't compare us to Mecca or Kingston. We don't share their hunger for power."

"My father never wanted to invent gadgets for war. And he won't have wanted me to do the same."

"I don't know what your father wanted. But I know we can help you avenge his death. I know what happened to your father. Mecca forced him to build gadgets for them. Kingstons put a stop to it by killing him. Both sides were equally responsible for your father's death."

"I am sorry. But I do not believe in risking everything to take revenge for a person who cannot even come back."

"I know. This is not just about taking revenge for your father. It is about making sure that nobody else shares his fate. As long as this senseless war continues, innocents like your father will keep dying," Zack said.

"I know Drew that we ask a lot from you. Being a rebel means that your life will be forever at risk. But we allow you to just be yourself. You study Management despite sharing your father's gift. We give you an opportunity to do what you actually like and contribute your gadgets to good use," Ava said.

Ava had fired a shot that went straight through Drew's head. That was all he had actually desired. Three days after his father's death, his mother had thrown away all gadgets Drew had built and made him promise never to make another gadget.

"Can I get some time to think?" Drew asked.

"Take as much time as you want. But I am afraid you cannot leave this base until you make your decision for security reasons," Zack said.

"So, can I ask a question?" Drew asked.

"Of course. What do you want to know?" Zack replied.

"Who runs this place? Zack, are you the leader of Rebels?"

"No, not me. It's true that me and Judy run a lot of things here, but our leader is actually General Bogart. He created this organization and recruited us in it," Zack said.

"Is he here right now? Can I see him?" Drew asked.

"Lemme check if he's free," Zack flickered on his wristphone and made a few taps on its screen. "Yes, he's free. I messaged him."

"So, can we go?" Drew asked.

"Sure. Follow me," Zack beckoned.

He led Drew to the main hall filled with teenagers. Most of them stopped to take a look at Drew for a second before resuming their work.

The hall connected lots of different corridors and rooms to a common point. Zack led Drew to one such room which had a screen displaying the name – 'General Bogart' attached to the door.

Inside the room, a man was sitting on the desk; working with multiple hologram screens. He stopped working as soon as they entered the room.

"Yes, Drew, please sit down. Zack, you may leave," Bogart said.

Drew settled down on a chair and examined the general closely. His body clearly told that he had been a war veteran. His masculine body could have made a majority of people think twice before messing with him. He also had multiple scars on his brown face.

"So, Zack told me you wanted to meet me. Do you have any questions?" the General asked.

"Yes, I have a few. Why did you start this organization and why do you only recruit teenagers in it?" Drew asked.

"Did Zack tell you who I am and what I did before starting Rebels?"

Drew shook his head.

"I used to be the General of the entire Jorda Army. Now Kingston rules over the planet of Jorda. But have you heard tales about mass slaughters?"

"Yes, I have heard rumors. According to some sources, many people of Jorda were slaughtered when Kingston took over. The same happened in Morgan," Drew replied.

"It is much worse than that. They wiped out 90% surviving population of Jorda. Only the useful doctors, engineers, and soldiers were allowed to live so they can work for Kingston. I was one of them. They allowed me to live so I could fight for Kingston. But a month after joining Kingston Army, I managed to escape and started Rebels."

"You still haven't explained why you only recruit teenagers," Drew stated.

"I recruit young blood because they have suffered the most due to war. Just like what happened on Earth due to Keukans, the future generation will be left with a destroyed world. But that's not the main reason," Bogart said, "I told you that around 10% population of Jorda got to live. But do you know that not even a single child from Jorda got to live? My child was one of them. I had already lost my wife during the war. And then, I watched as my child was made to stand in a line along with other children. Those Kingstons practiced their shooting on them. They killed my boy right in front of me, along with countless other innocent children."

The general's voice started breaking as he spoke the last line.

"I want you to fight these bastards and stop them from ruining your future. The adults just fight for money or fame. But teenagers like you fight for making a difference. Your generation is more trustworthy, physically better, and raises less suspicion. I know that being a Rebel means letting go of normal teenager life. But if we don't put a stop to this war, another mass slaughter will follow. This is why I started Rebels to give you all an opportunity to save your future."

So this Chapter revealed lots of secrets about the Rebels. Although I know that many things about the war have not been clear. The next chapter will tell you more about the world where this story takes place.

Also, did somebody notice the word "Keukan" in it? Maybe some of my old readers know what this means 😉