Chapter 4
1187 Words
Chapter 4
Dinah flew again. This time, she knew the power of her wings and flapped them with strength. Not only did she want to fly away, she wanted to fly to where Cooper was. “Why did you leave, Cooper? I can help you,” she said to the wind. She flapped again, and again.
Not only were they business partners, but they had been friends for a long time. Cooper wasn’t oblivious to life—or ignorant as he often appeared to be to a lot of people. He cared about her, and she knew that in difficult situations, he was a selfless person. Much of the time, she thought Cooper was a better citizen than she was.
She looked down and saw Arik running below, shouting up at her. He waved his hands, gesturing for her to come down.
She circled in the air and then landed.
Arik rushed over, grabbing her shoulders. "You are not going anywhere or doing anything by yourself. This is Xiilok—not exactly the multiversal safe haven. I understand you’re worried about Cooper. I’m worried about my sister, too. Before we left, there was the explosion at my parents’ place, and I still haven’t been able to get an answer from Ciaran because the device he gave me isn’t working. I need you to calm down and help me figure out how to tackle this situation before you take any hasty action."
“Wow, that was a long speech, Arik. I'm sorry I made you worry. I just wanted to try to fly out my frustration. I know we have to come up with a plan.”
Arik exhaled his relief and then sat down on a stone. He buried his face in his hands. "I know I can't afford to make mistakes, but I just don't know what to do right now.”
"I think we should attack the Red Shield tribe. It’s risky, but it’s an immediate action we can take. Cooper said the Red Shield have something to do with Jenny being taken. And they’re just over the hill.”
“He also said the machine that captured Jenny was manmade. Red Shield technology is primitive. I doubt they’d use a machine like that.”
“That's an assumption, Arik. In terms of technology, I don't know what humans are capable of. But if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that humans are complicated. They might not have the most sophisticated technology, but if they have an agenda, they can always force space creatures to use their technology.”
“Am I supposed to feel flattered just because I’m a human?”
“You’re no longer an ordinary human. You’re a Xiilok citizen and the up-and-coming leader of the Yellow Shield tribe. You might liberate this universe for a change.”
Arik rolled his eyes. “I just want to find my sister. That’s all I can think of right now.”
“That’s why I suggest going to the Red Shield. Do you remember a bunch of Grace lookalike robots and the Red Shield camp? They didn’t look very sophisticated. We can get in to see if they have Jenny. I think that’s where Cooper would go.”
Arik nodded. “All right, but we won’t attack directly. And only the two of us will go. I won’t take Yellow Shield soldiers there.”
“Of course not. If we take soldiers, I want real fighters, not liabilities,” she said.
“What exactly are you saying?”
“No offense, Arik, but the soldiers in your tribe have no training.”
“The Yellow Shields are peaceful people.”
“And that’s good when you live in peaceful times. But this is not that time.”
Arik shrugged.
From the corner of her eye, Dinah saw a shadow creeping away from behind a rock. “It heard us!” she said and flew toward the space creature.
It was the scorpion with spider legs. The size of the creature didn't stop Dinah from pounding on it. After taking a few of Dinah’s punches, it dropped a small item from its belly to the ground. Some of its legs were broken, but it tried to retreat on the ones it had remaining.
Dinah picked up the item from the ground. In her palm was a small knife she had made for Cooper. It wasn't a simple knife, but a knife whose blade was coated with the most exotic poison in the cosmos. Cooper would never have left that knife behind. She turned around to look at the creature. “This is Cooper's,” she said. “Did you hurt him?”
The creature tried to scramble away but couldn’t move quickly because some of its broken legs dangled and tangled with the unbroken ones.
"I asked if you hurt Cooper?"
She remembered the electronic notepad Cooper had left behind, saying he was sorry about Jenny and wouldn’t stop searching until he found her. Was that the last she would ever hear from him? What if he was lying in a ditch in Xiillok somewhere, waiting for her to rescue him?
“Where did you take him? Did you eat him?” She jumped on the creature, stabbing it again and again with the very knife she had given Cooper.
Arik yanked her off the pile of what used to be a space creature.
"You’ve killed it a thousand times over, Dinah. That's enough. Calm down."
She pulled herself out of his grip and charged at the dead animal again.
“Cooper is a smart guy. He wouldn't die that easily. Look at yourself—even if Cooper is dead, he’ll come back to life to be angry at you.”
“I don’t need to look at myself. I know what I look like.”
“No, you don’t." He grabbed her and pulled her toward a puddle of muddy water. “Look.” He pointed.
She looked down at her reflection in the water.
She saw a face she didn't recognize—pale skin laced with bloody veins, huge dark black eyes. She was unfamiliar with that look, but she knew it was the evil part of her. She withdrew from the water and its reflection.
Arik pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, and whispered into her ear. "Don't be scared. I've seen it before. It’s not you. But it seems to take control of you when you lose control of your emotion. If you don’t control yourself, it will kill you and those around you. I don't know anything at all about the angel business, so that’s the best explanation I can come up with. No matter what causes this, I need you to trust me and know I'll be right next to you.” He kissed her cheek.
“Jael told me my evil aunt possessed me and put a curse on me before she died. The evil will come out when I’m weak. But I didn't know it was triggered by emotions, too.”
"Now you do."
“My biological profile suggests I don’t have human emotions.”
“Well, apparently you have them. But that doesn’t make you weak.”
“I have feelings for you, but I think it’s merely a positive chemical reaction. I want to love you the way you love me. But how will that work out if loving you makes me vulnerable to the evil inside me?”
Arik stared at her for a moment. She could see in his eyes that he didn’t have an answer for her.
She stood and patted his shoulder lightly. “Let’s go find Cooper and Jenny.”
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