Vai

Owen and I met the others at their quarters. El and Esther wore cloaks. Esther's hood was pulled down to almost cover her light brown eyes completely and it cast a shadow on the rest of her face. El had her hood up as well, but it only framed her face instead of coming forward over her forehead and eyes. Lieutenant Tanpo wasn't there, but she would be prepping her shuttle. I wondered if she had figured out her powers yet.

We walked through the shuttles and elevator in a particular order. El and Shel went first side by side. Esther was directly behind them in the middle. Owen and Minmin flanked her. I took up the rear.

The two security guards didn't even blink when El and Shel passed between them into the shuttle bay. The guard on the left looked twice at Esther. His eyes stared at her. The one on the right was distracted as Owen started asking him what his different badges meant. Of course he knew what they meant, they teach that in elementary school. It was enough of a distraction for Esther's long finger to reach out and touch the security guard on the left's forehead without the one on the right noticing. The security guard's eyes lost focused as he blinked several times. Esther passed through unhindered.

I had forgotten Esther had made Owen lose memories and time when he first confronted her in the corridors - before we knew her. Owen thought she was a ghost.

Warpaint and I were the last to pass. I made sure I was directly behind Esther so my tall frame would completely block her.

"Hey," the one security guard behind me said. I didn't stop. It didn't seem like he was speaking to us. "Stop daydreaming. Did you fall asleep?"

"What? No," the other security guard said.

"Focus," the other one said.

Lieutenant Tanpo saw us and waved us over to her shuttle.

"Has anyone else left yet?" El asked her. Esther slid passed both of them and boarded the shuttle before anyone else could become suspicious of her.

"Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa went to the Remembrance early this morning," Lieutenant Tanpo said. "The rest of the students aren't supposed to leave until early afternoon."

El nodded. "Shall we get going then?" She stepped on board the shuttle.

"I was supposed to go through my instructions," the Lieutenant said to me and Owen as Shel and Minmin ignored her and stepped on board.

Owen patted her arm. "They are good instructions too, friend. I thoroughly enjoy hearing them." He stepped passed her to board.

She looked at me. I looked at her.

"I shall wait to hear your instructions, Lieutenant," Warpaint said by my side.

She paused as she thought about it. "Nah, it's all right. You've heard them before. As long as you all remember, I think we're good."

"I definitely remember," Warpaint said.

"Good, get onboard then."

Warpaint and I stepped passed her. My mechatronic let me board first.

Esther sat in the front with her hood fully pulled back. Shel, El and Minmin sat in the row behind her. Owen sat in the row adjacent to theirs. I sat next to him and Warpaint sat next to me.

Lieutenant Tanpo entered and closed the door. Esther stood. "There are a few things I should warn you about the Awakened One."

"I always wondered why you hated your Awakened One so much when he opened the light inside you," Owen said. "You haven't really said much about him."

"We found him," Esther said. "We woke him. And he told us about the Corruption. We already had our suspicious of an alien race taking over the Gathering. It was one of the main reasons we were so reclusive. About once a year a supply ship would come by, but other than that, we really didn't have contact with those outside the research station."

Lieutenant Tanpo sat in the pilot seat. Esther paused in her story as Lieutenant Tanpo got permission to leave the Shadow.

"You should sit," the Lieutenant said to Esther.

"I need to guide you to him," Esther said. "I'm not sure of his exact location on the planet. I just need to feel him out when we get closer."

"You should sit for that," Lieutenant Tanpo reiterated.

Esther called on her pink light and lifted a foot of the floor. "I'll be fine even if we crash. I can use the light as a shield."

"You are rebellious in the most annoying way for me," Lieutenant Tanpo muttered under her breath.

"Just head to the planet for now. I'll guide you when we are closer."

Lieutenant Tanpo shook her blue head, but didn't argue further.

"So," Esther continued as if she hadn't stopped. "We found him, but he tested us before he would open the light in us. He demonstrated his light. We knew it was powerful. We knew we wanted it. We were desperate for it. Our food had been tainted. It had been a long time since a supply ship had come. We were starving. His light could save the food and us. The leaders argued over what he wanted, but in the end they sent me to give him what he wanted."

"What did he want?" Owen asked. His voice was quiet - rough.

"Us. Three of us. My age. He had asked for the most promising of us. The leaders sedated them and sent me with them to make sure it would satisfy the Awakened One." Huge tears formed in her eyes and spilled out onto her cheeks. "For him to feed us, he wanted to be fed. It was what he thought fair. It was what he demanded. The weaker to feed the stronger."

"No," Owen whispered beside me.

My stomach began to twist. My chest began to weigh heavy. My fists tightened by my side.

More tears spilled onto her cheeks. "I called him a barbarian. I tried to convince him of another way. I tried to convince him generosity was strength. He said to kill was strength. He ate one." Her words choked.

I couldn't look at the others to see how they were reacting. I was trying to push back the tears that formed in my eyes - to push away the hard lump in the back of my throat at Esther's pain.

"I threw myself over the other two," Esther said. "Levi and Naomi. I told him to leave them and take me instead." She stood up a little taller and wiped the tears roughly from her cheeks. "He didn't agree so I told him the deal was rescinded and that we didn't need anything from him. I dragged Levi and Naomi away myself. The nagid was not happy with me. They accused me of ruining them - of killing us all. The supply ship came that night, but with only half of what they usually brought.

"The nagid took the two pilots that came on the ship to the Awakened One and he ate them. It was only then that he would help us. I don't know what this one will want in exchange for teaching us, but I do know I won't let him hurt any of you."

Then she went to Lieutenant Tanpo's side and guided her to the correct coordinates using the ship's computer. I prepared myself for the horrifying words the Awakened One might say to us - of the horrible things he might demand. None of us would give in to such horrible demands - I thought. I wasn't really sure about El.

We landed easily.

"Are you sure this is the correct place?" Lieutenant Tanpo asked. "There is nothing here."

"The Awakened One is here," Esther said. She didn't wait for the Lieutenant to open the shuttle door. She opened it herself. The rest of us scrambled out after her. The air was thin, but breathable. The ground was hard rock and gray dirt. Rocky gray crags jutted up from the ground around us. The sky was dark even though a weak sun tried to shine its light through the gray atmosphere.

"There's nothing here," Lieutenant Tanpo reiterated.

"He's here," Esther said quietly. A small smile touched her lips as she closed her eyes. Her pink light surrounded her. "I'm here," she called out.

Nothing happened. We waited and watched Esther. She stayed still with her pink light blazing all around her.

After several minutes with no sign of movement, El went to Esther and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should . . ."

"Wait," Minmin grabbed a hold of El's wrist. "I hear something."

It grew quiet as we listened.

"Something is getting closer on my sensors," Warpaint said.

Esther still didn't move.

"From which direction?" Lieutenant Tanpo asked.

"Below," both Warpaint and Minmin said.

And then I heard a low rumble from deep beneath us. It grew louder and the ground began to tremble. Little grains of dirt shifted violently. Larger rocks tumbled. To the side of us rock and dirt flew upwards. We all lifted our arms to protect us from the falling dirt and rock and we called on our light as an extra shield. There was now a very large hole in the ground. A tunnel that went straight down deeper than I could discern.

There wasn't any sign of an alien ancient being or anything else that could cause a hole like that.

"Where is it?" Minmin asked.

Esther ran passed all of us - passed the hole. She stopped and stared up. "I'm here. I opened the light in these others."

I looked up to where Esther looked, but didn't see anything at first. Then slowly I realized there was a gray light that I had mistaken as part of the terrain. And then a large alien materialized within the gray light. He was tall - I only came to about his waist. His girth was wide. His limbs were long. His was covered from head to toe in gray fur. His large eyes were yellow. Two large canine teeth came out from beneath his top lip and rested over his bottom lip.

"You did well, little one." The Awakened One's voice rumbled low causing small pebbles around his feet to bounce.

"You're a lot smaller than the other Awakened One," Esther said.

Smaller? I was only half his size and he was small?

"Yes," the Awakened One said. "I am the smallest. I am the weakest."

"Are there more of you?" Esther asked. "You are the only one who called out to me."

"The others sleep." He took a large step towards the rest of us. We remained on the other side of the hole. I wasn't sure how to feel about the Awakened One. He was...terrifying. It didn't help that his lips were blood red and everytime he spoke I saw multiple rows of sharp teeth. And Esther said the other one had eaten fellow Gathering citizens. "They wait to open the light in those that can succeed against the Corruption. We are the only beings left with the light. We must protect it."

He stood in front of El. I never admired her and Shel more as they stood their ground - didn't even blink - as this monstrous creature towered over them.

"We will succeed against the Corruption," El said without a doubt in her voice.

"Maybe," the Awakened One rumbled. "You are few and they are many."

"The Gathering will be many," El said. "This is only the beginning."

"The ones with my brother were the beginning. They failed."

"We won't."

Esther called on her light and floated over the hole to stand beside El.

"Why did you call to me if you thought we couldn't succeed," Esther said.

"I am weak," he said. "They tell me I'm too impatient. I'm too hopeful. I'm too impractical."

"Who tell you these things?" El asked.

"My brothers and sisters."

He stepped away from them and stood in front of Minmin. He could easily step on her and Owen - or pick them up and eat them. I took a step towards her, but Lieutenant Tanpo beat me to her side.

"I lack the strength to be feared," the Awakened One said as he stared down at Minmin.

"The other one was terrifying," Esther said, "and I hated him."

"It doesn't matter if you hate. It only matters that you learn. It matters that you survive." He reached down with one large finger and touched the top of Minmin's head between her ears. "I understand why these others must make fake fur to cover themselves to protect themselves from the elements, but I don't understand why you do."

Minmin looked down at her clothes. She straightened her red shirt and looked back up to - well the Awakened One's finger. I wasn't sure if she could see around it to actually look him in the eye. "Just protocol I guess," she said.

"Weakness," he said. He removed his finger. "If they told you to dress like them, you should destroy them and make them bow to your feet."

"Now you sound like the other one," Esther said. "'Destruction breeds strength', he said. I still believe he was wrong. Generosity and love will give strength to combat fear - to stand to defend those you love rather than give in and bow."

The Awakened One turned his large yellow eyes to Esther. He blinked at her and then moved to stand in front of me and Owen and Warpaint. Warpaint stood in front of me.

"I won't hurt him, machine," the Awakened One said.

Warpaint swiveled his head behind to look at me. I nodded. Warpaint moved to my side instead of in front of me. But he stayed very close. So close that his metal shoulder touched mine.

The Awakened One's eyes scanned me up and down. "You are different," he said.

El stiffened. I hadn't thought my being asleep for 79 years would show itself to the Awakened One. I also didn't think it would cause that reaction from El.

"I've never seen anyone with light like yours." This was the first time I noticed he spoke a different language - a foreign language I shouldn't be able to understand, but I did. I was also relieved he spoke of my light and not my sleep.

"What's different about it?" I asked.

"You don't know?" he rumbled. "I think my people would have destroyed anyone with a light like yours."

"What? Why?" Owen spoke for the first time.

"What is my light?" I asked.

The right corner of his lip turned up into what I assumed was a smile, but all I saw was a very large canine and several sharp teeth.

"It hasn't revealed itself?" He reached out his long finger and touched my forehead. Heat burned into me. "What is it waiting for? Maybe you need a traumatic experience first."

I didn't like the sound of that.

"These Gatherish won't destroy you for your light. They might even cherish you for it."

"Wait," Esther moved to stand between me and the Awakened One. It wasn't to come to my defense. It was to get his attention. "Do you feel the same as I do? Do you think love is strength?"

"I am weak," was his answer.

"That's what your brothers and sisters tell you," Esther said, "but they are wrong. That is why they failed and why we'll succeed."