Chapter 106 The Orphan

On the second day, a sail drew near,nearer, and picked me up at last.It was the devious cruising Rachel,that in her retracting search after her missing children,only found another orphan.

-Moby Dick

Emma

It's an extremely hot day and Burns has rolled down the windows of the van. I have put my seat back and lean my feet on the dashboard. My eyes behind my sunglasses are closed.

In the back, Blake is sprawled on his back, fanning himself some air with slow and lazy movements.

We've been on another raid, only this time not for our own group. Russel was in need of a few items and we dropped off Carlos with our spoils. It was strange to leave him there and say goodbye, but he will stay with his girlfriend Cindy now.

It was the first time Russell's group met with Burns. Of course they were informed about our 'tamed' Soul by Max and also by Nate, but I was still nervous about how this would all go down.

But after the initial shock of facing one of the aliens, things calmed rather quickly, especially after seeing all the supplies we brought.

Now we are on our way home again. I can't wait to be back. This heat is unbearable. At least underground it will be cool.

"We should stop for ice-cream," Blake comments.

Burns chuckles. "Sure, why not?" He looks at me. "You too, Emma?"

My eyes still closed, I smile. "Chocolate," I say, "and lemon. Maybe some vanilla too. With sprinkles and whip cream." And maybe afterwards we can find a desolate river bend or creek and take a quick swim.

Burns chuckles again. "Three large ice-creams coming up." And he steers onto the next exit.

It doesn't take us long to find an ice-cream parlor and Burns heads inside to get our orders. He comes back with the ice and a map. "There's supposedly a small creek a few miles ahead," he informs us when unfolding the map.

"Wouldn't it be really crowded with this weather?" Blake questions while digging into is ice-cream.

"According to the boy behind the counter it's not a recreational site. We could give it a try. We have a long way ahead of us before we are home. We've been in the car all day."

I look over my shoulder at Blake. "It would be nice if we could go for a swim."

He smirks. "Unless you got a bathing suit under there, it's gonna be skinny dipping, squirky."

I roll my eyes. "In your dreams." His smirk widens and I narrow my eyes. "Shut up Blake."

He chuckles. "You're making it too easy."

Burns is wearing an amused smile and he steers us onto a sandy road that winds through a forest. It doesn't take long to find the creek, though it's more of a pond. The water seems clear enough to swim in and the trees provide shadow.

Blake is out of the van before we have even parked. He lets himself fall onto the grass and sighs. "This is heaven."

"Maybe we should leave you here then," I say.

He pouts. "Don't be mean, squirky."

I roll my yes and drop my sunglasses on the dashboard. Slowly I make my way over to the water edge. "Do you think it's deep enough to swim?"

"Only one way to find out," Blake says and before I can react, I'm being pushed into the water.

"Blake!" I shriek, but he's laughing too hard.

Burns wades into the water and helps me to my feet. The water only reaches up to my knees. I guess swimming is out of the question, but I still feel refreshed.

"Are you okay?" Burns asks while studying my now soaking clothes. "I think it shouldn't take long for you to dry up."

"Yeah, thanks," I say sarcastically. I stomp over to where Blake is sitting on the ground and wring out my shirt on him.

He gasps and scurries out of the way. I stick out my tongue and he chuckles. I give him a playful push and turn towards Burns. He is standing quietly, his eyes focused on something in the distance.

"Burns?" I ask.

"Do you hear that?" he asks.

"Hear what?" Blake has turned serious right away and is now standing next to me.

"It's coming from over there," Burns points out and now I hear it too. An engine. And voices. I can't make out the words, but they sound agitated.

Blake walks back to the van and takes the gun he always brings on raids.

"What do you think?" I ask quietly as I look at Burns.

He shakes his head and frowns. "I don't know. It sounds like an argument. Souls don't argue, but... I don't think humans on the run would be so loud."

"Seekers then?" I whisper.

Burns sighs. "I don't know Emma. It still wouldn't explain why they are arguing."

"Should we check it out?" Blake asks. He is looking ahead to where the sounds come from.

Burns nods. "Cautiously. As long as we don't know what's going on, we should stay out of sight."

Blake and I nod in agreement. No matter what we'll find, we're still close enough to Russell's hide-out for it to cause a threat to their group.

Slowly we edge towards the commotion. We kneel down behind a few bushes. The roar of the engines comes from two motorcycles and a car.

Four Seekers. And they've rounded up three other people. A man, a woman and a small boy.

"Humans," Burns mutters.

Blake takes the gun and starts to rise, but I pull him back. "There's four of them," I say, "they'll shoot you before you get the chance."

"We have to help them, Emma," he says.

I sigh. I know he's right. But before we can make a move, the situation gets out of hand. The man manages to free himself from the Seeker that's holding him and elbows him in the gut. He takes the Seeker's weapon and shoots at the Seeker that's holding the boy. The child falls to the ground.

The Seeker sinks to his knees holding his bleeding shoulder.

"Run Finn!" the man yells right before he's being grabbed again. "Go! We'll find you!"

The boy crawls to his feet and starts to run in the direction where we are hiding. I push against Blake's shoulder. "Go," I whisper and Blake moves to intercept the child.

The moment the boy passes us, Blake dives for him and covers his mouth to stop him from screaming. "Shh, be calm," he whispers harshly, "before they discover us."

The boy is still struggling, but Blake pulls him down behind the bush. When the boy sees me and Burns, his struggles become less and he stares at us confused.

Back with the Seekers, the remaining Seeker takes out a rectangular tube which I know contains sedative. "Please don't fight," she says, "we only want to help you."

The woman is crying.

Burns suddenly stands up and walks out of our hiding place towards the Seeker. "Burns," I gasp in shock.

"Stay here," he says.

My breath hitches in fear, but when I'm about to follow him, Blake grabs my wrist to stop me. "Let him go," he says, "he knows what he's doing."

I bite my lip.

"It will be alright," Blake says.

My eyes move to the boy who is still being held by Blake. His face is pale and his eyes are wide and he's trembling.

I look back at Burns who has almost reached the Seekers who have now noticed him.

"Please stay back," the Seeker holding the woman says, "it's not safe."

I flinch. That voice.

"I'm sorry," Burns says, "I heard commotion. I thought someone was in trouble. Are those... humans?"

The momentary distraction is enough for the man to break free again. They hadn't taken the weapon from him yet and he's now aiming it at the woman. "Be brave," he whispers and he aims at her chest. There's a loud bang and the woman goes limp.

"No!" Burns and one of the Seekers yell.

The man now points the gun at himself and I can no longer look.

Blake has pressed the boy's face in his shoulder and I close my eyes. Another shot is heard and for a moment it is silent. Then the Seeker with the sedative sighs. "Such a shame," she says, "go find the boy. He can't be far."

"They're dead," Burns says startled.

The female Seeker nods. "Very unfortunate. We had hoped to resolve this peacefully, but they resorted to violence. So tragic. We can only hope to find the boy. He's still young. We may be able to use him still."

A shiver runs down my spine. She's making it sound like it's nothing. As if the two dead bodies, most likely the boy's parents, meant nothing.

"Sometimes," the Seeker continues, "we have to resort to drastic measures. We tried to reason with them, but we could not make them listen."

"I'll see if I can find the child," her companion says and he walks away from the group and towards where we are hiding. Not long now and he will spot us.

"Give me your sunglasses," I say to Blake.

"What? Why?" he asks suspiciously.

"Because mine are in the van. Just hurry!"

He hands them to me. "What are you going to do?"

"Just stay here," I say while hurrying to meet the Seeker. I only just manage to put on the shades to cover my eyes when I bump into him. "Oh, I'm sorry," I quickly say.

The Seeker grabs my arms to steady me and then gasps. "Sky?"

I force a smile on my face. "P-Patt," I say, stumbling on the name I despise. I had been right. I did recognize the voice. Now I have to guide him away from where Blake is hiding with the boy. I just hope I can keep up the act of being Sky. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

His face turns grim. "I'm on duty," he says, "I don't want to worry you, but you should not be here. There are humans at large."

"Humans?" I try to sound surprised and frightened. The last part shouldn't be a problem. I'm terrified that he will realize I'm not Sky. But I have to take the risk. "Is Burns alright? He went this way a few minutes ago."

"Burns?" Patt asks, "tall, ginger hair? Blue eyes?"

"Yes," I smile and I sigh, "is he alright? Please take me to him."

He looks at me hesitantly. "I'm supposed to go look for the remaining human."

"Please Patt," I beg, "I didn't see any human. He can't have gone this way. I'm just so worried about Burns. Please take me to him."

"Alright," he says and he takes my hand.

Burns eyes me concerned when I arrive at Patt's side, but before he can say anything to blow my cover, I run over to him and hug him tightly. "Burns! I was so worried! I ran into Patt and he told me there were humans and..." I look at the two bodies and cover my mouth.

"Patt?" Burns says confused.

Patt walks up to us and holds out his hand. "Carves Snow Patterns. Sky and I are friends from when she first arrived on the planet. I've heard a lot about you."

"Seeker Patt," the female Seeker says, "did you find the human child?"

"No Seeker Reef. He was nowhere to be found."

Seeker Reef sighs. "There's no point in searching. Clean up the bodies. We should head back." She looks at the injured Seeker. "We have to get you to a Healer. That has priority now. The child will never survive on his own. No use in trying to find him."

They head towards their vehicles, but Patt stays behind and looks at me. "It's good to see you again, Sky. It's been such a long time, but I can understand you were busy." He glances at Burns now and then looks back at me. "Rain and Storm miss you. You should visit them. Rain's really upset that she hadn't heard from you."

I bite my lip. I knew this would cause a problem at some point. "I'm really sorry," I say, "we were travelling, but we're going to visit them. Actually we were on our way right now."

Patt smiles. "She will like that."

I force out another smile. I had forgotten how gullible these Souls are. "We should go then. We wouldn't want to keep you from your Calling."

"That's alright," Patt smiles, "I always have time for friends. Do you need me to escort you? There may still be other humans in the area."

"No, that's not necessary," I say, "I have Burns with me and the car is nearby. Besides, you are busy. Your friend needs help."

Patt looks over his shoulder at the waiting Seekers before turning back to us. "Alright, but at least take this." He takes his weapon and hands it to Burns. "Do you know how to use it?" Without waiting for an answer, he goes to show Burns. "Just precaution," he says, "you can give it back to me when we next meet."

"Sure," Burns nods. He eyes the weapon uncomfortably.

"Take care of her," Patt says and he smiles at me. "See you soon, Sky." He hugs me.

I stiffen for a second but quickly hug him back. "Bye Patt."

We watch as they load in the bodies and drive away. I look at Burns and sigh. "Seems like we need to make another stop before going home."