There Is Hope: Even in the Worst of Circumstances

By Victoria Rasmus

"Remember," they say, "that the darkest hour of all, is the hour before day."
Life was peaceful once, and then they came. Hideous creatures from beyond our solar system, with power and technology far beyond what our imaginations could conceive, and they want our resources. It just so happens that the resources they want are ushumans. With war on the horizon, invasion within sight, what could possibly be done to save humanity?
Can humanity be saved?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Nov 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493129041

Victoria Rasmus

Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Victoria has grown up surrounded by supportive parents and at times encouraging younger siblings. From the age of seven, she has wanted to be a writer. Her passion for the written word was inspired by her teachers, and encouraged by her friends. Her imagination led her to the world of fanfiction, where she could improve her writing style, and now at twenty-three, There is Hope was born. As well as writing, Victoria has studied to become a teacher so that she can inspire children as she herself was inspired in her childhood, and in her free time she dances at her local dance studio where she has also taught the younger students. It has always been her dream to be a writer, to entrance readers in her written worlds, and provide enjoyment to people of all ages.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The streets of Mill Park, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, were awash in the laughter and chatter of school-age children on their way home after yet another day of school. Cars cruised by slowly in consideration of the young children wandering around, and parents called out to friends to catch on the latest gossip. One group of children, all in upper secondary school, were racing each other to certain points along their route before resting and waiting for the stragglers to catch up.

Jade! Wait up!

A young girl with short red hair glanced back over her shoulder as she slowed to a stop, her back-pack falling off her shoulders at the sudden change in speed. She grinned happily, forcing her backpack up so that it was more secure, as her brother and best friend Alexander caught up to her, panting hard. She and Alex had a unique relationship, and there were those who suspected that they were twins, instead of being a year apart in ages.

When did you get so fast? he asked as he caught his breath.

She’s always been fast Alex, Jessica, Alex’s classmate and close friend, stated as she came up behind him. That’s why she’s a part of the athletics team. No one can beat her.

One has to be fast to avoid two older brothers, Jade chimed up as she started to walk away. Never know what they’re going to do if they catch up.

Jessica laughed at her statement, having one older brother herself and knowing what Jade meant. The two girls, while in the same year level, didn’t have any classes together and only knew each other because of Alex. Alex had repeated grade four due to his disinterest in academics, so instead of being a year above Jade, the two of them were in the same year. It was fortunate that the two of them got on as well as they did otherwise there might have been trouble.

Is there any new info about that meteor? Jessica asked as she and Alex hurried up to Jade’s side. Jade shrugged and remained silent, allowing her eyes to follow a car speeding passed them.

When would she have had time to get any information? Alex asked his friend with a laugh. We’ve been at school all day and Jade doesn’t have a radio to listen to. She claims that she doesn’t need an iPhone when she has a perfectly good phone already. That, and she’s a nerd who cares more about school work than anything else.

Jade grinned but didn’t look back at the two just behind her. Jessica grinned as well and focused her attention on her iPod. The white, rectangular music device was never far from her sight and actually attached to her arm under her school shirt. The ear plugs wound their way under her school uniform to appear at the collar and whenever class was over, or in class if the teacher allowed it, the ear plugs would be in her ears and her feet would be taping to whatever music she was listening to.

I know, Jessica stated with a sigh. She looked away from Alex and focused on Jade. You should get one you know? Soon you’ll be the only student at school who doesn’t have one. You don’t need an iPhone, an iPod will work just as well.

I don’t need one, Jade refused. I’m quite happy with the way I am.

Suit yourself, Jessica declared. What do you think Alex?

I think that the government should fire missiles at the meteor so that it will break apart before it hits us! Alex cried in excitement.

Nah, it’s apparently too big for that to work successfully, Jessica dismissed. Latest reports indicate that the UR was asked for assistance.

Urban myths, Alex told her with an eye roll. There’s no such thing as an organisation that rules the world from below the ground.

Whether you believe it or not is not my problem, Jessica said, tilting her head up arrogantly. The news report at eleven this morning confirmed that the UR had been contacted and that all governments were awaiting answers.

They’re just saying that to lull everyone into a false sense of security.

Jade’s eyes watched her brother without saying a word. She knew where this disbelief about the UR came from, and she guessed that if it weren’t for certain circumstances she would be of the same belief. Their parents had made it no secret that they didn’t believe in the UR, thinking that it was more of a rebel gang than a group of people who wanted to better the world. A worldwide organisation was almost impossible to imagine in this day and age.

This is where I leave you, see you tomorrow!

Alex and Jade waved at Jessica’s retreating back as they continued along the main road to where their house was. Alex continued walking first before continuing the conversation about the meteor. As far as everyone knew, the meteor was on a collision course for Earth and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. The entire world knew of the approaching disaster, yet still teachers piled on homework and expected students to turn up to school to learn, something Alex wasn’t happy about.

At the corner of their street, Jade’s phone silently started to vibrate to indicate a new message. She pulled it out of her skirt pocket and briefly glanced at the sender’s name before returning it to her pocket and picking up her pace slightly. Alex altered his speed to keep up before, as soon as they saw their house, he issued a challenge for a race and took off before she could respond. With a laugh she ran off after him, easily overtaking him and beating him home.

Mum! We’re back! she called as she let herself in the front door.

You cheater! Alex cried as he followed her in. I was winning!

No running in the house, their mother ordered as they entered the kitchen. Diana Summers was a wonderful woman who excelled in cooking and worked part time at the local café where she was responsible for all the desserts. The café was very popular amongst the locals. The pitter-patter of little feet upon the hardwood floors alerted the recently home students that the youngest of five children was almost upon them.

Jade! Alex!

The two students looked towards the kitchen door in time to see a four foot tall red blur soar towards them at high speeds. At the last second Alex stepped forward and caught the red blur, revealing a redheaded five year old, dressed in a red crab costume complete with giant crab claws.

Ian, have you been watching cartoons again? Alex asked. Ian, short for Sebastian, grinned and nodded.

Mummy let me watch TV and SpongeBob was on and Mr Crabs was wicked and I found my Crab Suit and I put it on all by myself and then mummy and I cooked some biscuits and then she said that we can go to the park when everyone’s home and now you’re home so let’s go to the park and–

Jade gently placed her hand across Ian’s mouth to halt his rambling and smiled at him.

Sounds like you had fun, she said. How about we go the park after everyone’s had something to eat and rested a bit after school?

Ian nodded seeing as his mouth was still covered by her hand. Alex set him back on the ground and within moments the five year old was gone in another part of the house. Diana smiled and set a dish of pizza dip and corn chips on the table for the two students to eat. With a word of thanks the two dug in, making sure to leave enough for their sister who still wasn’t home, and their oldest brother who was due home from work at any moment.

Diana watched them with a fond smile, brushing a loose strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. She was glad to see both her children home, particularly her oldest daughter. While she loved all her children equally, after Jade had disappeared when she was three years old she had been very protective. It had only been Jade’s newfound friendship with their neighbour, who they hadn’t associated with much, that allowed her to relax. She still worried, any mother would, but with the whole family supporting each other she no longer felt the need to control Jade’s every move. Still, seeing that Jade and Alex had gotten home safely allowed her to breathe that little bit easier.

With afternoon tea done, Jade and Alex went to their rooms to dump their books and bags and just relax . . . well, Alex did that, but as soon as Jade was in her room she shut the door and booted up her laptop. While it was starting she connected a webcam and changed out of her school uniform into something more comfortable. Her maroon top was switched with a pale green tank top and her short blue skirt was swapped for a pair of white jeans. Her hair, originally just floating around her face aimlessly, was pushed back away from her face by a white headband to bring attention to her bright blue eyes.

With her appearance changed to something more suitable, Jade sat down at her desk and connected to the internet. She connected her phone to the computer and used the password to join in on a restricted Skype conversation, and within moments she was in contact with her employer. Her head phones were quickly put on so she could hear and smiled as a familiar face appeared on her screen. The face that greeted her was of Janet the receptionist, and it was only Janet who could approve those who wanted to speak with the Boss.

"Hello Jade, we’ve been expecting you, Janet said with a smile, her voice small through Jade’s headphones. One moment and I’ll patch you through."

Jade nodded her understanding and pulled up a word document to take notes on. It wasn’t the first time that Jade had spoken with her employer over the internet, and she was well prepared for any information that she could receive. After all, as a member of the UR she was expected to keep up-to-date with everything that came through them.

Chapter 2

When she was young, around three years old, Jade had hidden under her house and come across an old well. The boards that had been used to cover it had become weak with age, so when Jade crawled on top of it, they had cracked and she had fallen down several metres, requiring medical attention. The sound of the crash and her subsequent tears had alerted the Underground Resistance to her plight and they had arrived to offer her assistance.

The Underground Resistance, more often known as the UR, had existed for hundreds of years, and only those employed by the UR knew how to reach them. During the Dark Ages, it was through a series of wells in out of the way places. Corridors filled with traps kept any trespassers away and over the years electronic safe guards had also been employed in their place. As years passed, many of the old wells were boarded up and became unusable, and in their places came drain pipes that for all intents and purposes were used by the general public, but in actual fact were fakes that allowed entrance to the UR Headquarters.

Jade had been taken to the Melbourne Base where she had charmed the medical staff with her innocence and cherubic appearance. The Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Aaron Tyson, was not only a skilled doctor who worked part time at a local hospital, but was also the Summers’ neighbour. After keeping Jade overnight in the UR Hospital, Aaron had brought her home to her parents explaining that he had found her on his way home from work. Jade never said where she had been, and being as young as she was no one pressed her for details.

In regards to the broken well, the UR security officers had outfitted it with new boards and updated its security so that it couldn’t accidently be broken into again. Systematically, the rest of the wells in the area were also checked and updated.

Aaron became a close friend of the Summers family, and at least once a week he was invited over for dinner. He and David Summers, the Head of the Summers family, became football buddies, and whenever their football teams were playing each other they went to the game. Aaron was a Collingwood supporter, and David was a Richmond supporter. As Jade grew, he would babysit her when her mother was busy. During that time he would take her with him to the UR Hospital. By the time she was six she knew everyone who worked at the hospital and would visit on the weekend when school was in session.

It was also from this time that she started to learn about the Underground Resistance. The UR stretched over hundreds of kilometres via a series of tunnels in each country around the world. Each tunnel had fast moving horizontal escalators for the shortest routes that would take a long time to travel walking, and for the longer routes there were miniature trains, known as the super-sonic trains. It was the latest technology developed by the UR and was slowly being leaked to the world above.

There was at least one main base and several smaller bases in every country so that information could be collected at a faster rate. In Australia there was one small base under each capital city, and the main base was safely hidden under Uluru where it couldn’t be detected by normal satellites. The larger countries had more than one large base, but there was a central location where all information was gathered and dispersed. And under the North Pole was Head of the UR, their President, overseeing the planet.

Siler Lan was the leader of the Underground Resistance. He had been the President for around sixty years, having taken over during the Cold War, but he had a brain like a computer. The sheer amount of information he could recall at a moment’s notice was enough to have anyone gobsmacked. He, and a small group of people, lived below the North Pole. He never left, and everything he arranged he did by phone or had one of his assistants do it for him. Generally he left the running of each country up to the leaders of each continent, but when he needed to he would step in.

At age twelve Jade became an employee of the UR, working as Aaron’s helper by carrying supplies around the hospital or arranging the stores under Aaron’s supervision. At fourteen she became his apprentice and was allowed to start learning about the secrets of medicine. In her years of wandering around the hospital she had decided that she