The group stood gathered on the banks of the river, watching the waterfall rush downwards not far away. A couple of albino sentries were keeping watch over them from a distance, but had decided out of respect not to approach. It was enough for them to see that Tau was present and alive- when he was ready, he would give his report. Until then, they kept themselves far away, watching, but not interfering.
Tau smiled as he turned to them one last time, giving a small bow. “I must thank you for all of your help. It is a sheer miracle that we got out of that place alive. Surely it would have been impossible, if I were alone.”
“Are you sure?” Akaru asked, whiskers testing the air as he sat on Shan’s shoulder. “Maybe we didn’t do you a favor after all. You wanted to come back with Sinistra, right? If he’s really gone…”
Tau shook his head. “He was like an older brother to me. When he was captured by the Agents, and then when he turned traitor, it was as though I had lost him, for the longest time. Thanks to you, I was able to find him once again, even if only for a few minutes. That’s enough for me.” He lifted his knife, holding the sheathed weapon out flat, in some sort of salute that none of them were familiar with. “You have earned our trust, and our gratitude. From now on, our tribe is allied with yours. In times of trouble, call, and we will stand together.”
“Ours?” Tori looked around, at the Gifteds surrounding her on all sides. She had never thought about it before, but… They were kind of like a tribe, weren’t they? A group of people, working so close together, like a family, but without being related. Just like Tau had gone back for Sinistra, they had come back for her.
It was… incredible, to think about. Three months ago, she hadn’t even known there were others like her. And now, not only were there others, but to be in a group like this…
“I’m not sure how much of a help we’ll be,” Shan said blankly. “After all, we’re about to all split up, right?”
Tori frowned, looking at him. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s us,” Clara said. She placed one hand on the shoulder of Hisoka, who was looking around nervously. “He’s not like us. He’s timid and scared- not a fighter. He needs somewhere peaceful, somewhere he can heal from all of this. And I think I know a place like that.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out a letter. “The old Gifted base is in ruins- we already checked. But I got a letter from Camdyn the other day. She and Ty have found a hiding place, somewhere they can blend in, undetected. Now I’m going to try the same thing. Hisoka, too.”
Hisoka gave a hesitant, shy nod, not meeting their eyes.
Aden glanced at Tori in concern. He didn’t speak, but she realized she was getting better at guessing what he was trying to say. They were leaving- but what about the rest of them?
“I see,” Tori said. “In that case-“
“Travel safe, you too,” Null said around a yawn. “We’ll head east from here. I know a couple of places the Agents won’t think to look right away. We’ll have to keep moving, but we can regroup from there, and figure out what our next plan of attack is.”
Tori stared at her. Who had made her leader? “Wait a minute. Whoever said anything about continuing to attack?! We haven’t voted yet- maybe we could go with Clara and find somewhere safe! It’s pretty obvious that fighting isn’t working. The least we could do is try to make a life somewhere- especially if there’s somewhere safe!”
Aden froze. What had gotten into Tori? Before, she had been the one urging everyone to fight, to never give up. Until the last of the agents had been stopped- that was what she had said, wasn’t it? What was with this sudden change?
Null met her eyes evenly. “It’s a little too late for that, isn’t it? You already started this- you can’t just drop it now, just because you changed your mind.” A slight scoff. “That Agent tracker you’re wearing kind of guarantees that, doesn’t it?”
Tori’s blood froze, and she slowly looked down. The remains of the black staff that she had used while brainwashed still clung to her left arm, like a long, thick manacle. She didn’t even know how to work it, or how to get it to change. And they hadn’t been able to pry it off. But now that she thought about it… It was so obvious. This thing had to be carrying Gifted trackers!
“You’re pretty much doomed,” Null said nonchalantly, shrugging as she held up her right hand. “Me too- I’ve got one implanted in my palm. We can keep moving, and buy two, maybe three days. But we’ll never be able to sit still, you and I. We’re fugitives for life.”
“No,” Tori said, staring down in dread at the bracelet. “There has to be some way to get rid of it… Some way…”
“Of course, that’s only Tori and I,” Null said, raising her voice. “Any one of you can leave at any time you want, and try your luck alone. But after watching you all charge into Buma like that for her, I don’t think you will, will you?”
She was met with silence.
“East, then,” she said, turning away. “We’ll camp a few miles from here for the night. In the morning, I know a trail we can follow that I’m pretty sure the Agents haven’t found. It’s worth a try.”
Tori squeezed her eyes shut as Null began to walk away, effortlessly taking the leadership Tori had once held herself. That headache was back… She was sure that if she opened her eyes and looked into the river right now, she would see the black, spreading again. But she couldn’t do that, couldn’t worry the others. She had to breathe deeply, focus, empty her mind… Stay in control!
“Well then,” Tau said, watching as the Gifteds began one by one to move after Null, walking away. “I wish you all the best of luck. Travel safely!”
Shan nodded as he accepted the knife Tau had offered. It wasn’t as hard as his artificial diamond one, but it was a nice gesture, he supposed. “We’ll try, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “It’s not going to be hard, though, to run into danger. It seems to find us on its own, lately.”
“Right…” Tau’s smile faded for a moment. “I think… I believe I should warn you, Shan. It’s probably nothing, but… That girl.”
“Hm?” Shan turned to look at Elora, who was tearfully hugging Clara goodbye. For some reason, Konki seemed to have suddenly been struck with distraction, and was standing next to her with an oddly dazed look on her face. “What about her?”
Tau’s voice lowered. “I am not sure. She is just… There is something strange about her. My people have always been more in tune with our instincts, more able to sense danger. We’ve been wrong before, but… For some reason, she feels like a predator, one even more dangerous than the Agents.”
Shan frowned. “I don’t know. She does seem to be growing faster, but… She’s not exactly the smartest person. She doesn’t seem all that threatening to me.”
Tau opened his mouth to speak, then paused as Elora suddenly stopped, looking in their direction with wide blue eyes. His eyes unfocused, and he shook his head, holding one hand to it. “…You’re probably right. It’s nothing.” He looked up and smiled. “Fortunate journeys, friend. I hope that we may meet again soon.”
Shan bowed, copying Tau’s gesture as he pocketed the knife. “I hope so, too.”
Okay, this post alone has me now fully convinced that this blog idea is the best choice- it's just... great. Seriously, I can't wait to see what happens next ^_^.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad to see Tau go; he was a great character, but at least he's not completely written off. It would be kind of strange to leave him with the group, since he has his own tribe.
I do think that the Tori/Null leader situation is going to be delightful- I feel bad that things have changed quite a bit since Tori was captured, but... I love it.
I have a feeling that this is going to be great, even though it should be hard to tell so early on. But I have complete faith in you, Veeri- or Tanya, whichever you want to be called here- and, well, I hope I'll be of assistance if you ever need it.
...This is Ironic, by the way. I decided to comment before actually trying to figure out how to use this website, so I'm not sure what name will come up. >_>
Don't worry. Tau is gone for now, but he may show up in later chapters. :) But yes, he needs some time back with his tribe, and the main group of Gifteds need to get some travelling done to throw off the Agent trackers.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you've got the comments down. ^_^ Any way you want to help or contribute is fine by me. Even guest writing later, if you come up with an idea.
As for names, just call me whatever you want. Anything goes, you know?