King of Darkness and The White Flame

Chapter 10

“Do you understand what we need you to do?” Yellow eyes asks again. “Remember, we have eyes everywhere.”

I nod as I’m flung back on Chubacca’s back. We’re back at the campsite, only not exactly where everyone was sitting. He put me down a few meters from where he’d taken me. As soon as I’m back on the ground I hear a c***k and approaching footsteps. I turn around to see Lilith scowling at me. “Where have you been?” I’m wondering why she isn’t freaking out about Chubacca behind me, so I turn to look at him, but he's gone. 

“Jo,” Lilith calls. “Is everything ok?” I look at her, I want to tell her to run. To take her soldiers, go back to their protected city and hide. But no matter what, they will find her. I know that now. They’re faster, stronger and smarter than us. We’d never be able to escape them. And they have eyes everywhere, so I wouldn’t be able to tell her anything. They’d know immediately. I had no choice. I had to do as I’m told or Lilith will be the object of their wrath. 

“Everything is fine. Why are we all still here? Has Hunter come back? We need to know whether or not to head forward or back the way we came.”

Lilith frowns again ”We have been looking for you everywhere. Where did you disappear to? Hunter has been back for hours. He said everything is clear going forward, even said there is a gap in the broken wall.” She slowly walks forward, coming closer and closer to me. Her eyes scrutinizing mine as if she's’ trying to read my mind and find the secret I’m keeping. It’s making me nervous and I want to burst. “Where were you Jo?” she asks slowly. 

Think. Think. Think, Jo. Toilet! What? It’s the best I can come up with at short notice, ok? “I needed the toilet.” She raises an eyebrow, crosses her arms and looks me dead in the eye. “For hours on end?” her question is more of an accusation of my deceit. She shakes her head, we both know I'm lying but she looks too tired now to try to get it out of me. "We're losing daylight." she simply says. Uncrosses her arms and looks entirely defeated. It's burning within me to tell her, but then I see it. Imprinted in my brain is the image of Yellow eyes taking his nails and using her body as a rag doll, just as he'd said he would. Carving his name into her delicate flesh. He had even given me a visual, with some other poor soul he'd found wondering. I still hear the poor cries of the man. He'd been reduced to the likings of a boy. Yellow eyes had no remorse, he even looked as if he were enjoying it. I couldn't risk, even the possibility, of him getting his mitts on her. 

"Send Hunter to go and tell the others that we're forging ahead and that they should come along." I tell Lilith. 

"I'm not your servant Jo."

"You will do as I say Lilith. Do not let me make an example of you." To say her face was shocked was an understatement. Lilith was speechless. I'd never spoken so harshly to her before. I was scared for her life. Maybe, if I was a little tougher with her, she'd understand that she needs to listen to me and leave her stubborn ways. 

Lilith conveyed the message to Hunter, but she kept turning to look back at me. I kept my eyes trained on her and she looked very confused. 

Indra and Atticus faces were pale when they realized that I was back. "Sir, we were so worried." Atticus says. I don't respond. Indra's shock was short-lived and soon replaced by a scowl. No doubt wondering why I was not dead yet. 

"What's wrong, Indra? You look upset." I ask. 

"Nothing at all, Sir." He says concealing his earlier aggression. "Relieved that you're still alive." The audacity of this one. 

"I'm sure you are." I say sarcastically. This sends him into another shock wave, which makes me smile. Why couldn't the monsters take these idiots instead?

Making sure all the bags are repacked, we start our long walk toward the wall. All except Hunter, who has gone back to let the others know that we've gone ahead through the wall. 

Lilith is still not speaking to me and remains at Bear's side. I keep glancing her way. I need to distance myself from her and come to terms with the realization that I might never be able to be with Lilith. 

I lead the pack by walking up ahead, the faster I can get this mission over with, the better. The closer I get to the wall, however, the more it hits me. Hundreds will die for one to live. But this one, means more to me that those hundreds. Is it really all that bad?

We get to a clearing. The forest we're in ends and just before another begins, there is an open space of land between. There are holes in the ground as if someone had been digging for something. "Can we take a break here?" Bear asks. I smile at Bear. He's a gentle giant. Nobody could ever be mad at Bear. He protects Lilith fiercely, and I admire him for it. 

"We're out of water, Sir. What are we going to do now?" Agathon asks. Before I can answer, the holes fill up with water. Just like Evan said. I think. Bear takes his flask and goes to fill it. Lilith grabs his arm trying to stop him. 

"Bear, don't. You need to be careful." She says to him. She gives me a pleading look. But I cannot tell her about Evan or Jessie and my argument. She wants to cry because she thinks the same thing is going to happen to Bear. I know it isn't. I want to hold her. I take a step forward, then stop. I need to remember my mission. We both watch Bear take a sip then a long gulp. For a moment I'm questioning the legitimacy of this water. Could it just be another pool of monster water? Or is this the drinking water Omnione sent for us? I hear some movement just then, not far to our right. 

Lilith, Bear and everyone else turns to look too. I breathe out a heavy sigh of relief when I see Jessie and his team drinking the water not far from us. Jessie runs to us, laughing. "He did it!" He yells. Then sees Lilith and stops himself from saying anything else. Our fight must be over because he embraces me and lifts me off the ground. Everyone is filling flasks and drinking straight from the puddles of water that seemed to appear out of nowhere. No mutations so far. So, Omnione must be real then, right? But if it's true. Why was I tortured for hours with no help? Why did I have to watch someone die?