C397 Mommy Is Back

Hammer laughed as he looked at us. “Still dizzy?” Alicia slowly rubbed her head before looking at him. “Why did you hit us? And where are we? We didn't even see how we got here.” Hammer smiled. “Madam, we had to. Right now, everyone in the country is worried about all of you.” He paused and looked toward Laura. “Your family made quite a scene, which is exactly what we wanted. Especially your mother. She even wrote a statement asking the public to help find you.” Laura smiled shyly. “I told them to do it. You told us to make everything more believable.”

The other coaches, who had followed Hammer into the room, began clapping. “You did great work,” one of them said. “More than what we planned. Now everything is perfectly in place.” Laura smiled. Chris suddenly looked confused. “What happened?” He reached into his pockets. “Wait… where is my phone?” Beast shook his head. “All your personal belongings have been disposed of.” Chris stared at him. “All of them?” “All of them.” Alicia immediately froze. “What about my purse?” She looked around. “And my Gold and Diamond?” Beast smiled and pointed toward a nearby table. “Madam, it is there.” Alicia looked toward the table and saw her dagger sitting safely there. She relaxed. Hammer clapped his hands. “Now that you are all awake, follow us.”

We slowly stood up. My head was still heavy, and I could feel the effects of whatever Hammer had used to knock us unconscious. As we walked out, Faith suddenly looked toward Samantha with concern. “Are you feeling okay?”Samantha nodded. “I am fine. What about you?” Amanda looked confused. “Why are you only asking her?” Faith froze for a moment. Everyone looked at her. Faith quickly pointed toward Samantha's head. “Because the gun hit her badly. Look, there is still a small wound on her head.” Sarah immediately stepped closer to Samantha. “Sam, are you okay?” Samantha gave an awkward smile. “Yes. I'm fine.” Hammer, who had been walking ahead of us, heard the conversation. A small smile appeared on his face. He didn't say anything. When we finally stepped outside, Hammer stopped.

He turned around and looked at all of us. “Before we even begin, can we get rid of your real names?” Everyone became quiet. Hammer looked at Alicia. “Madam, did you tell them about their new names?” Alicia nodded. “I am Cipher.” I immediately followed. “I am Cracker.” Chris stepped forward. “I am Bighead.” The coaches burst into laughter. Chris grinned. “See? I told you this name was bad.” Sarah smiled. “Your name is perfectly fine.” She stepped forward. “I am Chipmunk.” The coaches laughed again. Ghost couldn't help himself. “Chipmunk? As in the animal?” The coaches laughed even harder. Chris laughed. “Well, my name isn't so bad after all.” Sarah grinned. Samantha then stepped forward. “I am Survivor.” Hammer laughed. “You have to train hard if you want to live up to that name.” We all laughed.

Faith then raised her hand slightly. “I am Kiddo.” Reaper looked at her. “You look much more like a grown woman. Why Kiddo?” Faith smiled. “I don't know. It was given to me.” Laura stepped forward. “I am Pixel.” Hammer laughed. “Your names are certainly strange. Who even thinks of Pixel as a code name? Do you like animation?” Laura smiled and nodded. “Yes.” Hammer shook his head with amusement. Then everyone turned toward Amanda. She looked confused. “I don't have a name.” She looked at Alicia. “Why didn't you tell me earlier so I could think of one?” Chris laughed. “You can be Silver.” Amanda thought about it for a moment. “Silver?” She smiled. “I think it's a good name.” The coaches looked at all of us again, trying to remember the new names. Cipher. Cracker. Bighead. Chipmunk. Survivor. Kiddo. Pixel. Silver. I couldn't help but smile. Only a few hours earlier, we had been ordinary people pretending to be victims. Now, standing inside a military base, we had officially left our old identities behind.

At least for the next three months. Hammer smiled. “Well, today we will simply look around the base.” We followed him. He led us from one room to another. “This is the meeting room.” We entered a large room with a long table in the centre. “This is the training room. You can practise hand-to-hand fighting here.” He opened another door. “This is the archery area.” We continued walking. “The shooting range is here. Small guns are practised on this range. Large guns are handled outside.” He pointed farther ahead. “Snipers train outside as well.” I looked around carefully. Everything was organised. Nothing about this place felt like an ordinary training facility. It was built for people who expected war. Hammer continued walking. “And this is your bedroom.” We entered a large room filled with small beds. “You will all share it.” Chris looked at the beds. “The beds are small.”

Hammer looked at him. “They are enough.” Chris sighed. I almost laughed. Finally, Hammer looked around at all of us. “Get comfortable. My team will go and prepare the complete training schedule.” He paused at the doorway. “But remember one thing.” His expression became serious. “Training starts at five in the morning with a morning run.” Nobody laughed anymore. “And don't expect anyone to treat you kindly. In a real battle, nobody will care about your age, your gender, your family or how tired you are.” He looked at each of us. “No one will treat you fairly.” Then Hammer and the other coaches left. The door closed behind them.For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then Chris looked at the tiny bed again. “I already hate this place.” Sarah laughed. “Training hasn't even started.” “Exactly,” Chris replied.

Back at the Mooney family home, Emmanuel kept crying. Mary and Georgia had tried everything. They had prepared warm milk, changed his clothes, held him, rocked him and walked around the house with him. Nothing worked. He continued crying. Finally, Peter stepped in. “You two look like you've never been mothers before.” Georgia stared at him. “Excuse me?” Peter laughed. “Come on. Bring him to me. We will take a walk.” Georgia froze. “He is still very young. How can you take a walk with him?” Peter smiled. “He will grow.” He gently took Emmanuel into his arms. Everyone expected him to walk outside. Instead, Peter walked upstairs. Georgia watched him with confusion. Peter opened the door to Malice's old room. The room was quiet. Even though Emmanuel was still crying, Peter didn't seem bothered.

He gently held the baby's tiny hand and moved it around the room. “Emmanuel…” He smiled. “This is your aunt's room.” He slowly walked around. “She would have been so happy to welcome you.” Emmanuel was too young to understand anything. He couldn't see the meaning behind the room. He couldn't understand Peter's words. But Peter didn't mind. He continued walking. He showed him the furniture, the windows and the things that had once belonged to Malice. Then he left the room and walked toward Alicia's bedroom. The moment he entered, his expression softened. “And this…” He looked around. “…is your mother's room.” He paused. “And your grandmother's.” Peter walked slowly around the room, telling Emmanuel about the people who had once filled it with life.

Eventually, he entered the study. Something unexpected happened. Emmanuel stopped crying. His little eyes slowly closed. Within moments, he was asleep. Peter looked down at him and smiled. “Well…” He whispered. “It seems you enjoyed the tour.” When Peter turned around to leave, he found Quinton and Mary standing at the doorway. Both looked worried. Mary spoke softly. “We are sorry to hear such news. We didn't know you had lost a daughter as well, along with what happened to Alicia's mother.” Peter smiled gently. “It's okay.” He looked down at Emmanuel. “Since Alicia is preparing to confront them, I am a little relieved.” Mary carefully took Emmanuel from him. She carried the sleeping baby downstairs. Georgia looked at her in disbelief. “What tricks did he use to make him fall asleep?” Mary didn't answer. Peter simply laughed softly. “I gave him a little tour.” He smiled. “It seems like he enjoyed it.” Everyone smiled. For a brief moment, the sadness inside the house became lighter.

At the Wood family residence, Tracy was carrying Tristan while Monica played nearby. The evening was slowly approaching. The house had become unusually quiet. Everyone was still trying to adjust to the absence of Sarah and Samantha. Soon, Kelvin returned from work. The moment he opened the front door, Monica's face lit up. She immediately stood up. “Grandma!” “Mommy is back!” Tracy froze. She didn't know how to respond. Kelvin, who had just stepped inside, also froze. Monica had already been running toward the door, expecting to see Samantha. But when she finally looked up, she realised it was her grandfather. She stopped in her tracks. Her smile slowly disappeared. “Grandpa…” Kelvin looked down at her. Monica's little voice became quieter. “Mommy hasn't come back.” Kelvin froze. Those words cut deeper than he expected.

He looked at Tracy. She was standing there silently, still holding Tristan. Neither of them knew what to say. Kelvin's heart ached. He had spent the entire day trying to convince himself that everything would be fine. But seeing Monica waiting for her mother made the reality much harder to ignore. Samantha was gone. Sarah was gone. Kelvin slowly walked toward Monica and knelt down in front of her. He opened his arms. Monica hesitated for a moment. Then she ran into his arms. Kelvin held her tightly. He looked over Monica's shoulder at Tracy. Neither of them spoke. There was nothing they could say that would make the little girl understand why her mother had disappeared. All they could do was hold her. And wait.