It was a quiet evening at Base 13.
Too quiet.
Rina, perched on a chair with a notebook in her lap, frowned. The lights of the base flickered ever so slightly, casting long shadows along the hallways.
> "Something feels off," she muttered.
Across the room, Celia grinned, holding a bag of assorted pillows like a trophy.
> "Relax, Commander," she said, tossing one pillow onto the couch. "We're having a sleepover. Nothing can go wrong."
> "Nothing can go wrong?" Rina repeated, voice trembling slightly. "That's what you said about tea."
> "And we survived," Celia said proudly.
> "Barely."
> "Details."
---
Mira folded her arms, observing from the corner. "You do realize a sleepover in a military base is not… standard procedure, right?"
> "Exactly," Celia said with a sparkle in her eye. "Which is why we're doing it extraordinarily."
> "You mean dangerously," Eira muttered, already curled up on the couch with her blanket cocoon.
Liri bounced in with an oversized bag of snacks. "I brought chips! And cookies! And… well, probably something questionable, but edible."
> "I feel my life expectancy dropping," Rina said flatly.
> "Mission briefing: tonight, we bond as a team!" Celia announced, tossing a blanket dramatically over her shoulders like a cape.
> "Or destroy the base," Mira muttered.
---
The girls began arranging the common room for the "ultimate sleepover."
Celia insisted the pillows be stacked strategically in "defensive fort formations."
Liri added blankets and glowing fairy lights she'd scavenged from the supply room.
Mira organized the sleeping positions based on height and combat readiness.
Rina, exasperated, took mental notes for her inevitable report.
Eira… mostly stared at the ceiling, occasionally muttering, "This is ridiculous."
By the time the room was set, it looked like a hybrid between a military bunker and a child's fantasy dreamland.
> "Perfection!" Celia declared. "Team readiness at maximum fun capacity!"
Rina groaned. "Maximum chaos capacity, more like it."
---
The first activity of the night was, predictably, storytelling.
Celia took center stage.
> "In ancient military history," she began, waving a flashlight like a sword, "there was a battle that lasted… exactly three minutes, because one side ran out of marshmallows."
> "That's not historical," Rina said.
> "It is now," Celia insisted.
> "Your imagination is a threat to operational security," Mira muttered.
Liri clutched a pillow and nodded vigorously. "That was epic! Continue!"
Eira remained silent. Her eyes twitched slightly as she calculated how many marshmallows it would take to breach the pillow fort.
---
Next came pillow fort construction.
Celia oversaw operations like a general in battle.
> "Layer these pillows strategically," she commanded. "Defense is key! And remember, we are not building a simple fort — we are building the last line of resistance against sleep deprivation!"
> "You're making things up as you go," Rina muttered.
> "And yet, it's working!" Celia shot back, dodging a flying pillow from Liri.
Within twenty minutes, the fort had walls, a lookout tower, and what could only be described as a "snack armory" along one side.
> "This is incredible," Liri said, placing a bag of chips on a ledge like a defensive turret.
> "This is asking for disaster," Mira muttered, eyeing the precarious pillow stack.
> "Relax, Mira," Celia said. "I've accounted for all contingencies."
> "Except gravity," Rina said.
---
By the time night fell, the fort had been tested in a series of mock "attacks."
Liri launched a "snack missile" at Mira.
Celia defended the ramparts with a pillow-shield strategy.
Rina kept a clipboard handy, noting damage reports.
Eira… mostly sipped her coffee in silence, occasionally muttering, "Primitive strategy."
Somewhere in the chaos, a pillow tower collapsed, sending a cascade of blankets onto the floor.
> "Retreat! Retreat!" Celia shouted, diving dramatically under a pile of cushions.
> "We are literally on the floor!" Rina yelled.
> "Tactical repositioning!" Celia clarified.
Eira sighed. "This is what passes for training now."
> "It builds agility!" Celia said. "Balance! Reflexes! And teamwork!"
> "Also bruises," Mira added.
---
Halfway through the night, the girls decided to play truth or dare.
> "I call first," Celia said, bouncing on a pillow.
> "Of course you do," Rina muttered.
> "Truth or dare, Mira?" Celia asked.
> "Truth," Mira replied flatly.
> "Do you secretly enjoy chaos?"
> "No."
> "Ever?"
> "…Occasionally," Mira admitted.
> "See?" Celia turned to the group triumphantly. "Even Mira enjoys some chaos!"
Liri, naturally, chose dare.
> "I dare you… to jump over the pillow moat without spilling your snack."
Liri grinned and sprinted across, chips flying everywhere.
> "Impact!" Celia shouted. "Defense breached!"
> "Mission: total snack loss," Rina muttered.
---
Meanwhile, Eira continued to be the calm center of chaos.
> "I do not understand the strategic value of this activity," she said, sipping her coffee.
> "It's bonding," Liri said.
> "It's destruction in disguise," Mira corrected.
Celia ignored them and began drafting a "sleepover battle plan" for the next round of games.
> "Tomorrow," she whispered dramatically, "we ascend to new heights of Tactical Sleepover Excellence!"
Rina groaned. "Tomorrow? You mean… there's more?"
> "Of course," Celia said. "We're Squad 13! There's always more."
---
Eventually, exhaustion began to settle over the base.
Pillows were everywhere. Snack wrappers littered the floor.
The fort, once a proud bastion of defense, now sagged under the weight of bodies, laughter, and crumbs.
> "Time for lights out," Rina said, attempting authority.
> "Lights out… or tactical night reconnaissance?" Celia asked, blinking innocently.
> "Lights out," Rina repeated firmly.
> "Fine," Celia said, plopping down with a dramatic sigh. "We'll save reconnaissance for the next mission."
> "Next mission…" Mira muttered, shaking her head.
> "Yes," Celia said with a grin. "Operation: Breakfast Part 2."
Rina groaned. "You did not just say that."
> "I did. Breakfast is the next battle."
> "We just survived the last one…"
> "And we live to tell the tale!" Celia declared.
Eira closed her eyes. "I'm documenting this in my personal record of absurdities."
---
The girls slowly drifted to sleep amidst the wreckage of the night.
Celia dreamed of conquering the world with pillow forts.
Liri dreamed of snacks raining from the ceiling.
Mira dreamed of peaceful efficiency (without pillows attacking her).
Eira… dreamed of caffeine and quiet.
Rina, tired but smiling, dreamed of surviving another day with this ridiculous team.
---
As the lights dimmed, the base was quiet.
The only sound was the soft snore of Eira, the faint rustle of blankets, and the distant hum of the base's generators.
Outside, the stars twinkled like mischievous spectators, silently judging the chaos within.
Celia murmured in her sleep:
> "Tactical… sleepover… success…"
Liri whispered:
> "Best night ever…"
Mira muttered something about efficiency.
Eira drank imaginary coffee.
And Rina, sitting up briefly to survey her sleeping team, smiled quietly.
Yes, Squad 13 was utterly ridiculous.
Yes, the base was a mess.
But somehow… somehow, it was perfect.
To be continued on Chapter 5: Snackpocalypse Now