“Move!” the alien yelled. “Get in the ship!” He pulled out a gun.
“Please don’t shoot him. He didn’t do anything wrong,” Jack pleaded with him. “He’s innocent. What did he ever do to you?”
“Nothing,” he said. He pulled the trigger shot him in the head.
*          *          *
Jack woke up, sweat all over his body. He still had bad dreams about what had happened to his brother. It had happened three months ago. He was out, farming corn and zucchini, when they had come. They were part of the Nebula, a group of criminals who had taken over the galaxy. They had forced him on a ship and murdered his younger brother, who was too young to fight. The Nebula forced him to fight others, also captured by the Nebula, to the death, with only knives and pure strength. The Nebula watched these matches for pure entertainment.
He looked up and saw Dabo leaning over him. “Are you okay?” asked Dabo.
“Yeah… I guess,” Jack said, still shaken from the dream he just had, seeming all too real. Dabo was a floggen and his best friend. Like all flogenns, Dabo had green skin and tentacles on their heads.
“I wonder who’s fighting today,” Dabo said. “You know, you might be fighting soon. You haven’t fought yet.”
Jack felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. He either had to kill whoever he was fighting or die. “I hope not. I’m not really looking forward to it,” he replied. “Come on, let’s go eat breakfast.”
Dabo and Jack walked out of their barracks to where food was being served. Food wasn’t great. In fact, it was horrible, but they lived with it. They didn’t really have a choice. They had to eat to keep their strength up to fight. This morning, it was raw eggs, as usual. Kung and Kug walked over, two twins that were zedelers. Zedelers resembled crocodiles, the head, skin and tail, just in a humanoid form.
“Hey, Dabo. Hey, Jack. I wonder who’s fighting today.” Kunk said.
“They should be announcing in a minute,” Dabo replied.
As if on cue, a voice sounded over the microphone. “Announcements for today. Today’s breakfast is eggs.”
“I couldn’t have guessed,” Kunk muttered.
The voice kept speaking. “Today’s fighters will be Jack and Dabo.”
Jack and Dabo looked at each other with dread on their faces of what was yet to come. For the second time that day, Jack felt sick. He quietly walked away, leaving his egg half eaten.
*          *          *
  It was two thirty, the time when the match started. Jack walked out into the arena, armed with only a knife. He saw Dabo and looked away. He knew he would have to kill Dabo to survive this. But he wasn’t sure that was something he could do. Dabo was his best friend. How was he supposed to do kill him? He kicked aside some dirt and got ready.
“Three… two… one… let the match begin!”
Jack and Dabo faced off. Jack made a move and rushed at Dabo. He pinned Dabo against the edge of the stadium. But it wouldn’t be over that quickly. Dabo brought up his feet and kicked Jack in the stomach, sending him flying back. Dabo went over and hit Jack straight in the jaw. Jack wiped blood off his mouth, spitting onto the floor. He came back, catching Dabo unaware with a sharp jab in the gut. Taken by surprise, Dabo fell onto the floor. While he had the advantage, Jack kicked Dabo hard in the stomach, leaving his foot there to keep him down.
“It’s over,” Dabo gasped. “You’ve won. I would rather it be me than you dead.”
“I can’t do it!” said Jack. “You’re my best friend! I can’t just… kill you.”
One of the Nebula security guards came over and pulled a small, automatic pistol out his pocket. “Do it or I shoot you both,” he said, without any emotion in his voice.
“Just do it!” Dabo told him. “Please! Save yourself!”
Jack looked away and plunged the dagger into Dabo’s heart.
*          *          *
Jack was sitting in the barracks, three hours after the match. He hadn’t said a word, just sitting in silence. “Are you okay?” asked Kunk.
“Seriously, Jack. Unless you find a way to get out of here, you’re going to have to get used to it,” Kug added. Jack doubted that would ever happen.
A guard walked into the room. “Jack. Come with me,” he demanded. Jack didn’t really have much of a choice. He followed him out of the barracks and won the hallway.
“Where are you taking me?” Jack asked.
“The Nebula,” he replied, coldly. “After what happened today, they want to see you.”
Jack realized that knowing the Nebula, they were probably going to kill him over what had happened earlier. He had to do something. “Get lost,” he muttered. Jack elbowed the guard in the gut while bringing around his leg. He kicked him in the stomach and ran down the hallway to find someplace safe. He turned the corner and found himself at two doors that said Restricted on them. Looking behind him, he saw the guard coming. The guard let loose a stream of automatic fire. Jack pushed open the doors and ran through.
Jack found himself in a white hallway with rooms on either side of it. He turned the corner and hid behind it. When the guard came running around, he punched him in the face. Jack grabbed the gun and ran back down the corridor. He ran into a room and found himself in the middle of a meeting. The people in the meeting were other fighters. He pointed the gun at them. “Who are you?” he asked.
The fighters in the meeting room all looked surprised and scared. One spoke up. “Why should we tell you?” one said. Jack glanced at his gun and looked back at them. One started speaking.
“I am Wlogen,” he said. “Now that you’re here, we might as well tell you who we are. We’re part a rebellion growing against the Nebula. We’re fed up with their dictatorship. We have contacts elsewhere also- this rebellion is not just here.
“Are you the only members here?” Jack asked. “Or are there others?”
“We’re a main part of the rebellion growing here,” Wlogen replied. “There are some others who know about it, but most of the fighters are ignorant.”
“Why are you here? What’s so important that you have to have a meeting?” Jack demanded
“We’re planning to attack the Nebula in two days. So what are you going to do? Will you shoot us? Or join us?”
Jack took a chair and sat down. “I’m in.”
*          *          *
At 6:00 pm the next day, Jack walked into another meeting. He sat down at a long table. The table had twenty seats- eight seats down each side, and two at either end. It was obvious who was the leader. He was a flogenn, like Dabo. Thinking about Dabo, Jack was even more determined to attack the Nebula tomorrow.
“This meeting has been called because the Nebula are starting to piece together what we are doing here. We must attack soon, before they find out what we are doing. If they find out, we’re doomed. They’ll kill us without a second thought.”
“So when is it going to take place, Gnopen?” one of the members asked.
“I’d hope within the next three days, but it depends on circumstances,” he replied.
Suddenly Wlogen rushed into the room, breathing heavily. “The guards! They’re coming!” he said.
Everyone rushed out of the room. The guards would find no traces of what had just gone on.
*          *          *
The operation started in five minutes. Jack had already told Kunk and Kug about it. They agreed to help.
“I’m so sick of the Nebula,” Kug said. “Let’s go.”
They walked down the hallway and came to the same two doors that said Restricted on them. They walked through anyway. The rebellion had gotten a complete map of the building. They knew exactly what to do. Kunk pulled out a metal bar. As they turned the corner, Kunk smashed it on top of a security guard’s head. The security guard didn’t even have time to make a noise before he crumpled on to the ground. Jack unhooked the keys from his belt and they ran away.
*           *          *
Five minutes later, they met up with the rest of the rebels at the Nebula arsenal. Jack pulled out the keys he had stolen from the guard. There were whole shelves full of different models of guns and ammunition. Jack chose an automatic rifle, while Kunk and Kug both chose pistols.
“Let’s go,” said Gnopen.
They split into two groups. The first group would attack the place where the prisoners were located and free them, while the others would attack the Nebula leaders. Jack, Kunk, and Kug were both in the first group. Instead of going back the way they had come, they went another way. They jogged down a hallway that led to an elevator. They all stepped into the elevator and got out into the arena.
Coming into the arena was like reliving what happened just a few days ago. The only thing Jack could think about was Dabo. This was where Dabo had died. It made him only more determined to take down the Nebula once and for all.
Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Bullets landed in front of him, kicking up clouds of dirt. Glass shattered all over. Jack pulled up his rifle and fired. His gun let loose a stream of automatic fire, leaving two guards crumpled on the ground. He ran in the direction of the barracks and dive to the ground as more bullets shot past him. He stood back up right next to Kunk and Kug and started running again. “This way!” he yelled. They entered the hallway leading into the barracks. Jack knocked out one guard with the stock of his rifle and Kug punched the other in the stomach. They ran into the barracks. “Listen up!” Jack yelled. Everyone’s attention was immediately directed at him. “If you want to get out of this prison, follow me. This is your ticket out of here. Don’t miss it.” He turned around and found himself face to face with a security guard. He punched him in the gut and ran back out into the arena. A ship had landed in the center of the arena.  He looked up and saw Wlogen piloting it. “This way!” he yelled. Jack ran next to the ramp, meeting up with Kug and Kunk. They made sure the guards didn’t come over while the fighters entered the ship. Jack sighted two guards firing at them. He pulled up his rifle and shot them.
“Ahhh…” Jack looked over and saw Kunk next to him, part of his shirt stained red by blood. Jack bent down to see where he was shot.
“Kunk! Are you okay?” Jack yelled.
“He’s been shot in the heart. There’s not much we can do for him,” said Kug.
“There’s got to be something we can do! It’s all my fault. I was the one who convinced him to come,” Jack said.
“It’s not your fault, Jack. He told me that he wasn’t afraid of dying for this, as long as everyone else made it,” Kug said. They pulled him up into the ship and closed the doors. “He’s going to die soon,” Kug said. “I still can’t believe it.”
“I don’t know,” said Jack. “But one thing’s for certain… Kunk would want us to keep fighting. And that’s what I’ll keep doing. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to keep fighting. For Kunk and for Dabo.”