“Thank You.” Cecil gives me a quick hug. It’s still so new, but before I can make this awkward, I return the embrace. He bows to us then rushes off. I look at Asorra whose eyebrows are raised in question. “Nice guy,” I say, pointing at the departing Cecil. “What’s this?”
The strange device is the length of both of my hands put together and reaches from my palm to my fingertips. There are buttons on the side that I’m guessing turns it on. Asorra snatches the contraption out of my hand. “We’re all going to die,” she says hitting a few buttons until the screen comes on.
The camera shows the docks. “This place is so interesting,” I say and retrieve it. “We can roam around the complex and still know what everyone is doing.” I press a button and the screen turns to the image of the control room.
Asorra assesses me and I return the admiring gaze. She sticks her tongue out at me and ducks into the dark confinement. I attach the device to my waist and follow her in. I think she likes me. We crawl for about five minutes before I hear a click and Asorra slides down. I pray to God’s Universe and mimic her movements.
We land in a room with a single tree, and all along the walls are paintings. Strewn around the trunk of the tree are piles upon piles of books, some, more worn than others.
Asorra climbs the tree and I blunder up behind her. “What?” I ask as she takes a seat in one of the sturdy cot like openings that she must have carved herself. They appear to be tiny branches woven into some sort of network. I sit down in the other one and we look up at the white ceiling.
Without a word Asorra puts the device into a slot next to her. My seat vibrates. “Do you really believe in your God?”
“Yes,” I say. “Look where he has brought me.”
The corners of her mouth twitch as if she might smile. I imagine it will be indescribable. “You believe he will deliver us from this place.”
“With my hands, your hands, and the hands of all that comply, he will take us to a better place.” I scoot a little closer to her. “He guides my mind, he guides my body, and he guides my soul. I’m sure if you let him, he’ll do the same for you.”
“Why?”
I smile at her. I’m not sure, but I can only imagine that God wishes us to aide others. “A home full of love, respect, and compassion.”
Asorra stares into my eyes. “You are mad. I hope you realize that.” She waves her arms. “The world does not speak or even consider the words you live.”
“I am not the world,” I say. “The world is not me. I can only share and show my beliefs. I will help those who ask of it.”
“Why?”
“I am able to.”
Asorra looks away. “You are quite unusual Saved.”
“I know,” I say, lying on my back staring at the white ceiling. “I was born that way.” When will the day arrive that I never have to say that phrase again.
A warm hand covers mine. I don’t look at it for fear it might be all in my mind. “Unusual is not a bad thing.” My eyes find hers and her face flushes red. Asorra stares at the ceiling. “You speak of love Saved, but I don’t believe you know about the destruction that sometimes follows.”
“You’re wrong Asorra,” I say, lingering on her name for a moment. I like the way it feels. “The love you speak of nearly killed me. The love I speak of knows no possession, restrictions, or limitations. It releases when it’s time, it holds on when it’s necessary, and it never ever wanes.” Yeah, I think, this is it. I have no idea where those words came from or how they spoke my feelings verbatim, but this is the love that I am now.
Silence ensues as the chair vines into a cocoon, drops down, turns to the right and zooms away at a blindly fast rate to the start of the beginning of a new society.
Chapter 13
The moving chair stops. It unwinds and I hop out into a single lit room. Asorra disregards my hand and walks out towards a part of the wall that has a yellow screen on. Seriously? This is getting old.
Just as I am about to tell her to relax, she turns around and smiles at me. She’s giving me a mind numbing headache, I think, as I attempt to grin at her. I don’t know where I stand.
Asorra places her hand on the yellow light. A door shimmers into sight. I stare. “It’s a camouflage door. It’s my best work yet,” she says. If she can do this to a door, but can’t figure out how to start a boat, what do I think I’m going to do?” I shake the moment. I was brought here for a reason. I’m going to keep following my intuition. Asorra opens the door ever so slowly and peaks out. She waits a few seconds then crouches low and ducks out. I follow.
Every fiber in my body is on high alert, but we come across not an ounce of resistance as we make our way down and across the dock to the largest boat I’d ever seen.
Asorra holds a pad in her hand and she clicks away. A large ladder attaches to the opening door and we race up the stairs, down the corridor, and straight to the control room. By the time the chair meets my backside; I’m breathing hard. What happened to the armed guards?
“I can’t believe that was so easy,” Asorra says.
“It was meant to be,” a man’s voice says. The High Councilor that sent me too my doom waltzes in with his four guards, his wife, and Purity. Purity is dressed in some form of high fashion and he won’t even look at me.
“Father?” Asorra says.
The man grins pure sin. “You are the brightest child ever to be born in Serenity, Asorra, but security is not one of your strong suits.” The High Councilor pushes me off my seat, wipes it down and then sits. I scramble to my feet and stand next to Asorra. “I’ve suspected you were up to something from the very beginning. But it wasn’t until you placed a chip into Saved and wrote that little kissing scene, between innocent Purity, that I knew you were on to something.” What? I look at Asorra, her face is so still I don’t know what to make of it. “I did some digging into your mother’s things, and guess what I found?”
“Then why didn’t you stop me?” Asorra asks, totally disregarding his question. What did he find? Was that kiss really staged? Purity still won’t look at me.
“I think you know the answer to that,” he says. “Why don’t you explain to your new friend the reason for your eager aide.” What? What is he going on about? I look at Asorra and she drops her eyes. “Oh, darn that cat. It’s forever hording tongues. No worries, honey, my speech isn’t impaired.” The High Councilor glares at me. “Before you were born dear Saved, there lived a couple who wrote the days for the people of Serenity. As it turns out they also wrote the days for the builders of these magnificent vessels of the sea.” The High Councilor begins playing with his nails like he has not a care in the world. “They built the boats in such a way that only a very specific team could propel them.” The High Councilor finally redirects his attention back to me. “When the boats were complete they escaped to the surface with a child in the woman’s womb. For three months they survived in the deadly atmosphere.” He rises from his seat. “A child of no particular sex, nor shade of gray was born in the midst of poison, completely and irrevocably immune. The last act of the child’s merciless parents was to place it in a boat and send it from the strong holds of my rule.”
The High Councilor pulls Asorra towards him, but I hold onto her wrist. “Don’t Saved, he will kill you.”
“Is this true, did you know this? Did you do this?” What was the charade about? I would have taken her anywhere she wanted me too.
Asorra eyes glisten. Tears will not work in this moment. “Your father, he left my mother a video and instructions on how the boat works. He said that you would one day return and lead us to the island.” She moves closer, I back away. “My mother told me to wait for you.” Asorra stalks me. “I waited for my knight.” My body seizes. Something is taking control of my extremities. My brain isn’t reacting to any of my commands. Asorra touches my face. “And I can’t let you go.” She takes the hand held off of my waist and presses a few buttons. I slump to the floor as feeling returns with a bang. I breathe deep and look up. “You’re the only one that can propel these ships.” Asorra says. If I didn’t find a way to distract you, my father would have had the guards kill you. It was a risk, I wasn’t willing to take.” Asorra pushes more buttons. The High Councilor and his men drop to the floor
