REDEMPTION

CHAPTER 11

The next morning I woke up and saw that the tent was empty. There was a mattress on the ground, beside the tent and it looked like it had been slept in. Zoe probably slept on it yesterday night. I felt bad for taking over her tent like this.

I got up and went outside. People were bustling around, looking busy and serious. The sky was still cloudy and the day was bleak and bleary. I spotted Zoe sitting beneath a tree, typing something away on a SmartDisk.

“Good morning”, I said to her.

“Morning”, she said and looked up, pausing her furious typing. “You slept like a baby yesterday. Almost sixteen hours. Thankfully, you didn’t get one of your horrible nightmares, or I would have surely strangled you in my sleep. I don’t like to be woken up when I’m sleeping”.

“Yeah”, I said, still quite embarrassed from having slapped her. “What are you doing?”

“Updating Zac’s SmartDisk so that we can communicate when he is in Eletia. Both of you will leave in an hour. Want some breakfast? I didn’t have any and I’m starving”.

“Okay”, I said, and followed her inside another one of the tents, where all the food was stashed.

We took some canned apples and sat underneath a tree.

As I ate, I observed the people in the camp. All of them had muscles and they were quick and lithe. They didn’t linger or waste time. Everyone went on completing the task at hand, silently, enduring everything.

“Have you seen Derek?”, I asked her.

“No”, she said. “I haven’t seen him since last night.

"Are you still mad at him?”

“I’m not sure”, I replied. I was so confused right now. All I wanted was a moment of peace and surety but that was unachievable at this minute.

“Don’t be too hard on him. He likes you a lot, you know. Yesterday after you fell asleep, after returning with Zac, I talked with Derek for awhile, and it was evident that he had strong feelings for you. It was love at first sight for both of you, I could tell. He’s miserable you know.”

“So am I”, I admitted.

“Talk to him. Sort things out before you go”.

She looked at me closely. Her light blue eyes were very serious. I had never met someone with such contradicting personalities. Zoe could be so humorous and childish sometimes and yet so wise and sagely at others.

I didn’t say anything, not completely sure if I should heed her advice. I was still quite upset, but the initial bitterness of the anger had died down.

Irene approached us.

“Good morning girls”, Irene said with a friendly smile.

“Good morning mom”.

“Good morning Irene”.

She turned towards me.

“Reyna, I heard that you will be leaving today. You will need some clothes and some other things for your trip. Come with me”.

I finished the last of my apples and followed her, with Zoe still staring after me.

We entered yet another tent which had extra supplies of clothes and blankets. She handed me a bag  pack and told me to choose some clothes for myself which were folded neatly and kept in stacks in one corner. There were some boots as well. I chose leather pants and some cotton shirts and a leather jacket with a hood. I changed out of Zoe’s clothes and put on new ones, which weren’t as tight. Irene stood outside of the tent as she waited for me to change. I changed my shoes as well, which had become muddy and torn and put on some calf length leather boots. After lacing them up, I emerged from the tent with the bag pack .