Carrie and Jia were friends before she was captured, but the safety of our people comes first. I slowed down and let Carrie catch up with me. She looks like the Carrie we all know except for her eyes and hair colour. Her transformation is unsettling.
Where we Sopians have different eye colours, but the dominant blue, Topians have just gray eye colour. No blue, no green, no yellow or even black, just grey. We heard that they now have a way to make their prisoners look like them, they must have experimented on Carrie. I feel a grip on my heart. She was newly recruited when she was captured on her first mission. When our scouts didn't find her or hear anything about her, we thought she was dead.
I watch her release her slide and glide on the water. Still adjusting to the water, I put out my leg and tripped her. I glided towards her, hit her on the neck, the chest and tapped her forehead like my father taught me. I watched as the Topian hold on her melted into the clear stream. Her eyes returned to the startling deep blue it always was. I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.
"This doesn't smell like Topia or Sopia." She said, sniffing the air.
"Yes, this is the Amenia water. Do you remember?"
"They want me to follow you and report back, and I'm sure they put a tracker on me."
"That's all taken care of. Do you remember who you are?" I asked, not giving her information much thought for now. My cleansing method not only return her to her former state, it flushes out any toxins or alien body matter. Carrie is as good as new.
"I am a Sopian warrior". She replied, eyes downcast.
"Don't despair, most of us have been there before."
"I want to go home." She said, looking forlon. I know I have done my best to get Wand off our back, but I needed to be sure, so I asked Carrie a question only she would be able to answer if she was indeed truly back to us. If she wasn't, the question would sound all gibberish and dissipate from her mind in seconds. Then I would have to hold her prisoner for the king to decide her fate when we get back home. Our elders foresaw so many situations and proffered solutions incase the situation come to be. This is one of such situations.
"What is your greatest fear?" I asked in my mind.
She looked up, blinked once then replied, "To be left behind."
"Welcome home, Carrie." I pat her on the back then led her home to the others. We exited the hole in the wall with the glider retreating back to the sole of our shoes. Carrie and I walked side by side to the gate. Jia, who was packing saw us first. She ran towards us, asking questions before she even got to me.
"Is this safe." She asked without opening her mouth, still communicating with her mind. I know she worries about her friend, but she worries about the clan more.
"Yes, we are safe", I replied in her mind. We hugged for a while, then she released me to hug Carrie.
"Welcome back, my friend. We thought we lost you."
"I thought I was lost too. I'm glad to be back, Jia". Jia patted her on the back, losing a clan member to the Topians always hurt deeply. That is why she joined the rescue team 2 years ago.
"The king is waiting. I already told him a little, he wants to hear from you, Aba." Aba nodded.
"Then I shouldn't delay us any further. My king awaits". Aba took the rear as usual. They are on Sopian land and could come to no harm, but Aba still felt the need to take the rear.
Tana and Ani were arguing over who owns what. They had both picked some fruits on the way back home and kept them in the same sack. I wonder how they always do that on every outing. Now they won't stop bickering over how many each of them would get. Which is also not a new thing. It seems they enjoy the bickering alot.
"I'll take the extra," I said, so we can have some peace and quiet. Quickly, I divided the fruits in two and picked off the three extras I handed one to Jia and another to Carrie and the remaining one, for myself. Problem solved till they have to do this again tomorrow.
I know this only settles their argument until those two finds something else to argue about. I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me. Those two are something else alright. Soon my thought drifted to my soon to be encounter with the king. There's no point lying to the king or omitting anything, but then, do I really want to tell be the bearer of bad news?
To tell the king and the elders what I observed will not only throw the court into chaos, it will affect the clan members too and chao is too much a situation to be in right now. However, not telling them what I truly observed is going to be a great mistake, so here I am lost and torn. Stuck between throwing my Clan into chaos to avoid bigger and further chaos.
