by C J Benjamin
“I asked you a question! Who are you?” I demanded.
“Eja. My name is Eja,” he replied.
His eyes were large and he was obviously frightened. I instantly felt that I had been wrong about tonight. The mood of everyone was so tense and fearful that this couldn’t have been part of a training exercise. Who was this boy that materialized in front of us? It dawned on me that I was still tightly gripping his arm. I let up a little and decided that I should release him. Instead I offered him my hand.
“I’m 65,” I said.
He hesitantly took my hand with both of his and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was smiling at us.
“You came!” he exclaimed.
“Were you expecting us?” I asked looking back at my friends.
“Yes. Yes. I was hoping you would come. I heard you calling for me so I left you a trail to find me. I knew if you were who you said you were, you could find me,” he said excitedly. “You’re all Truiets aren’t you?” he asked, talking faster now as he walked past me to Sparrow and the others.
He took each of their hands, as he had done with me, somehow verifying that we were who he thought we were. He was as thin as I was and probably around the same age, but much taller and his skin was so dark; it was the darkest I’d seen, gleaming almost black, under the blue light I had cast above us. He was wearing nothing but a thin cloth around his waist and his jet-black hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. It made me shudder for a moment because it bared such a resemblance to Jemma’s hair. The thought of her out here in the forest made me cringe. I shook the image from my mind and tried to refocus on Eja’s babbling.
“Eja, you said you heard us calling you? What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“I heard you. Just you,” he replied, beaming. “I’ve seen your lot in the forest for a while. You make a lot of noise you know?” he said looking at each of us. “But I’m a Beto, and I’m not permitted to show myself to locals. Not unless you call me.”
We all just looked at each other while he smiled at us.
“But Eja, I didn’t call you. I didn’t even know you existed.”
“Ah, but you did. You talk to me all the time, you say you wish to know the truth, you wish to learn more about yourself, your power, your family; but finally you ask the right questions, you ask to be enlightened!”
“Truiet means enlightened ones,” Nova telepathed to me.
“Yes, Yes! Very good,” Eja said.
“You can hear our thoughts?” Nova asked.
“Yes, I just told you, I heard her calling me.”
Nova and I looked at each other and I couldn’t stop smiling. I finally found someone who could help us, someone who could help me find out the truth. I was brimming with excitement; I didn’t know where to start! I turned back to Eja and he was smiling as big as I was.
“I will help you understand, 65. Take my hand and I will show you,” Eja said.
As I reached for his hand I heard a twig snap suddenly and we all jumped. I whirled around again to find Eja had disappeared! Journey went into full hunter mode and telepathed for me to turn off my light. I did as he asked and stayed huddled together with Nova and Sparrow. I staved off my panic and used my powers to see my surroundings as Journey taught me. I tuned out everything around me, and then slowly let certain sounds back in as I was able to identify them. The humdrum of my heart, the slightly faster flutter of Sparrows, the steady beat of Nova’s, the powerful pumping of Journey’s, and then another nervous humdrum. It must be Eja’s. That gave me hope that he was still nearby and hadn’t vanished into thin air. But then I heard one more nervous pitter patter not too far off. Although it was going at hyper speed, it was definitely a human heartbeat and something seemed familiar about its nervous beating. I was drawn toward it and telepathed to the others that I was going to help Journey. Not knowing what I’d caught wind of, the others didn’t fight me. I relied on my vision now to make out my surroundings. I spotted Journey a good ten yards ahead of me. He was going toward the sound of the desperately beating heart as well. He must have been getting closer too because the beating picked up, becoming more sporadic. Still, I had an unsettling feeling that I knew who it was, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
How could I possibly recognize the heartbeat of a stranger? That was it! I couldn’t. This wasn’t another of the Beto people or some local or Grift, it was someone I knew, someone I had connected with closely enough to know the sound of their heart, someone wise enough to follow me out here… In an instant I knew who it was.
I lunged forward as fast as I could to reach Journey before he cornered his unsuspecting prey, but I knew I would be no match for his strength once he locked on and he had such a lead on me. It was imperative that I got there first. I didn’t know what Journey would do if he reached his target before I did. I knew what I needed to do. I closed my eyes and launched an orb between Journey and the sound of the franticly beating heart. It did the trick. He was blinded and stunned as I had been when I touched the leaf. I would heal him as soon as I got the chance, but I had a more important matter at hand.
“Remi!” I called. “I know you’re out here. It’s okay. I promise, it’s okay. Where are you?”
I heard rustling and footsteps, but still saw nothing. Where was he? How was he hiding like this? It seemed odd that I was unable to see him, even with my night vision. The only thing that gave him away was his heartbeat. I recognized its uneven beating as his nerves kicked in. It was his tell every time we had a pop quiz, or when Greeley came around, or even Jemma, and most recently when he decided to audition for the solo.
“65?”
I heard his quiet voice right next to me and turned just in time to see him materialize. He shimmered into view, head first, slowly, like the surf retreating back to the sea. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Remi was standing before me, where only a moment ago there was nothing. We both stood staring at each other, wide-eyed. I didn’t know what else to do, but I had an overwhelming urge to hug him, so I did and he actually hugged me back! For a little while I forgot we were standing deep in the dark forest. We could have been in room 13 or the courtyard or the dining hall. All of our familiar surroundings rushed back to me, filling the empty space with our happy memories. I hadn’t realized how much I needed Remi until I had him back with me that instant. I felt whole again, stronger somehow. And so relieved that I could tell him the truth!
“Remi!” I squealed releasing him from my embrace. “Oh my gods, I’m so glad to see you!” Then I remembered where we were, that I just blinded Journey, and that poor Sparrow and Nova still didn’t know what was going on.
“Come with me,” I said, taking him by the hand.
I lit up the canopy with a large yellow orb, spreading it all the way back to Nova and Sparrow as I walked toward Journey.
“It’s okay. It was just Remi. I’ve got to help Journey really quick,” I telepathed.
Journey was sitting on the forest floor, rubbing his eyes. I was relieved to see I hadn’t blinded him that badly, but I could tell he was still going to be really mad at me. I knelt down and put my hands over his eyes.
“Sorry, Journey. I knew it was the only way to stop you from ripping his head off,” I apologized as I gently placed my hands over his face to heal him.
“There,” I said stepping back. “Better?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Journey grumbled, rubbing his eyes and letting them readjust to his surroundings.
He reached out for me to help him up, but as soon as I offered my hand, he yanked me to the ground and then whispered closely into my ear, “That’s twice now… if you ever mess with me again, I’ll make you pay.”
There was a serious calmness about the way he hissed these words into my ear that sunk them into my mind, where I was sure they’d lay embedded forever. I had no doubt that Journey was serious. Ally or not, I pushed him too far. I knew it was the right thing to do at the time because I wouldn’t have taken a chance that might put Remi in dang
er, but it seemed I had used my last pardon with Journey and I shuddered a bit at the thought of what he might do if I crossed him again. I shook it off as best as I could, because the others were coming toward us now.
“What happened?” asked Sparrow breathlessly, reaching us first.
“What the heck is he doing here?” demanded Nova glaring at Remi.
Journey was already on his feet and he extended a hand to me, with a stern look, but I accepted it and let him pull me to my feet. Remi stood behind me, shifting his weight uncomfortably while he waited for me to somehow explain how and why he was here. I turned to him and repeated Nova’s question.
“Yes, Remi, what are you doing here?”
“You mean to tell me you didn’t invite him?” Nova said, with a slightly nervous twinge in his voice.
“No, she didn’t. None of you did. No one would tell me what you were up to and I needed to make sure that she…” Remi trailed off.
“That she was what?” challenged Nova, stepping closer to Remi.
But I heard the end of his thought. Somehow I could read Remi’s mind. I could feel his genuine concern as his mind finished what his lips could not. He wanted to make sure I was safe. He was worried about me; he still cared about me, maybe even more than ever now; even after how I treated him lately. It made my heart swell. I pushed past Nova and hugged Remi once more.
“Well,” I said, “I’m not sure how you got here, but I’m actually really glad you’re here and that I don’t have to keep this from you anymore.”
“Yeah, I think you’re going to have to do some explaining, 65. What are you and how can you do those things?” asked Remi wide-eyed.
“What about you?” shot back Journey. “Why couldn’t I see you?”
“Because it’s pitch black out here in case you haven’t noticed,” Remi said gesturing to the now brightly lit forest around us. “Well, it was before… Before, that thing,” he said pointing at my orb of light.
“That was me,” I boasted, smiling proudly. “I lit our way out here, but I couldn’t see him either,” I said turning to Journey who looked agitated. “That’s not supposed to happen, right?”
“Right,” Journey said. “Unless he’s hiding something from us.”
“Like what?” asked a confused Remi. “Are you mental? It’s pitch black out here without that light. It was all I could do to follow you. Then the light went out and I panicked. I thought I was going to be lost out here forever.”
“Remi, you know how I can make this light? Well, Journey can see in the dark and he’s taught me how too. It’s like how nocturnal animals see so they can hunt. We can see everything. It’s amazing. But what’s puzzling is that we couldn’t see you. That’s why Journey is confused. I think it’s abnormal that we couldn’t detect you following us.”
“Nothing about this is normal!” Remi shouted.
“He’s a Truiet,” came a small voice behind us.
It was Eja. He reappeared again and was approaching us.
“How do you know that, Eja?” Sparrow asked.
“Same way I know you’re a Truiet,” he said, bringing his hand to his heart. “I feel it.”
“Who is he?” Remi asked me with wide eyes.
“I can show him!” said Eja excitedly. “I can show you all.”
“That would be wonderful, Eja,” Sparrow said. “How do you show us?”
“In here,” he said pointing to his head.
“Okay, I think it’s time for us to be heading back,” interrupted Nova sarcastically, not buying anymore of Eja’s quirkiness.
“No!” I said stopping him in his tracks. “This is why we came out here. We all need this. We’re in this together.”
“Fine,” Nova sighed. “Let’s just do this fast. We can’t stay out here all night.”
“Sit, sit,” Eja said, making a sweeping circular motion with his long, tanned arms.
23
We all took a seat on the damp, mossy forest floor. Eja sat next to me and held my hand, nodding for us all to follow suit. Once we were holding hands, he told us to close our eyes and he took his free hand and placed it on my forehead. There was a sudden flash of light and then rapid images began flashing before me. Images of the Beto tribe, their history, their way of life, morals, powers, beliefs, the fable about Ravin and Mora, the war with Lux, then the story of Nesia and Kai, and Jaka sacrificing himself to the volcano. And then I finally got the rest of the story that Nova never finished telling me. That a chosen one would come, one who would restore Hullabee Island to all its glory. The person would bring free will and equality to all of the island’s people, and be someone destined for greatness. This person was called Eva, meaning new beginning, restorer of light among the dark. Then I gasped at what I saw next and recoiled away from Eja. This broke our little circle of knowledge and everyone’s eyes flew open.
“What’s wrong?” Sparrow asked.
“Tippy?” Nova said looking concerned.
The others just stared at me. Even Eja seemed shocked. I sat there wondering if they saw what I did. I saw myself as the image of Eva! It couldn’t be true. There was no way I was the one to unite everyone and restore Hullabee Island. Maybe they all saw themselves. Maybe Eja was playing a trick on us so we’d help him with some devious plot. We didn’t even know him; maybe Nova was right, we should have left earlier? We had no way of knowing who Eja really was or what he wanted from us. I looked to Nova pleadingly, but the expression on his face said it all. He did see what I saw. He saw me as Eva and he believed it. My eyes began to water. This wasn’t at all what I wanted. I wanted to find out the truth about my name and my family, not be thrust into some crazy destiny to unite a ruined island! I wasn’t going to let this happen. I stood up.
“We’re done here,” I said wiping my eyes. “Thank you for sharing with us Eja, but we need to go back now.”
“You still seek the truth?” he asked. “You have a mission and I can help you.”
We all looked around, wondering how he could know what we were up to.
“I share with your mind as you share with mine,” he said.
“You were rooting around inside our heads just now?” barked Journey taking a menacing step toward Eja.
“That’s how it works. I can’t help it. Your minds were completely open when I was sharing my mind with you. It was impossible not to see your thoughts and plans,” replied Eja. “I mean you no harm. I’m here to help and I can see you need my help.”
We looked at each other for a few moments feeling uneasy. It was true that none of us liked the idea of being forced to work with this boy we barely knew, but he knew about our plan to get sent to the locker to learn about the legend of Lux. He obviously knew we had powers as well. It seemed we had to work with him or risk that he would use this information against us. I could tell we were all on the same page with this. Well, all of us except Remi. He just seemed frightened and utterly confused. I spoke up first breaking the silence.
“Eja, can we trust you?”
“Yes, yes. I told you, I can help you. I knew you were here and I heard you asking for my help. That’s why I led you here, so I could teach you what you need to know.”
This was a step in the right direction, but the group still didn’t seem completely satisfied. Sparrow approached Eja slowly edging her way past Journey.
“Eja, are you alone out here?”
“Oh no, no. I live with the others in the forest,” he said nonchalantly.
“The Betos?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” he smiled.
“That’s impossible,” said Remi unable to keep quiet any longer. “Everyone knows that there are no Beto people left. Those who weren’t killed in the war were wiped out in the Flood.”
“That does seem to be what everyone thinks,” Eja said with a sly smile. “And we like it that way because no one bothers us now. No one from Lux comes to fight with us anymore. It’s almost safe again.”
“So you mean to tell me that yo
u and the rest of the Betos have been hiding out here in the forest all these years? How has no one seen you? We work out here everyday with the locals and the Grifts,” Nova argued.
“Ah, yes. We see you out here. We know when you will be coming so we take caution and stay out of sight. We’ve had the Truiets help us charm the forest so that we will be alerted if someone is getting too close. We have gotten very good at hiding over the years. None of you saw me all the times you came out here at night. Not even the one who can hunt,” said Eja, as he nodded his chin toward Journey.
“We can both hunt,” I said defensively.
We were all silent for a moment considering the information Eja just gave us. He had a point. We had no idea he was out here watching us. Even our powers hadn’t alerted us to him or any other Beto people. Again it was Sparrow’s kind words that opened the lines of communication once more.
“Eja, can you teach us to be like you? So we can go undetected? It’s very important to our goal.”
“Of course! That’s why I’m here,” Eja smiled proudly. “But, I am more curious to know how this one went undetected by even me. Maybe we should have him teach us,” he said pointing at Remi, who was turning bright red and backing away.
“Yeah, Remi, you’ve been avoiding the question. How did you manage to get here without being seen?” questioned Journey. “Even I couldn’t see you when I was using my powers,” he continued. “But somehow Tippy knew it was you.”
“I don’t know!” Remi croaked, looking more flustered than ever. “I don’t know what’s going on!”
I blocked Journey’s path to Remi and tried talking to him on my own.
“Guys, can I have a minute with Remi?” I asked.
The group mumbled and nodded and gave us some space. I walked Remi a little further away and then began whispering in his ear.
“Remi, seriously. How did you get out here without us seeing you? Journey and I have this special night vision and we can see everything as bright as day, but I never saw you. The only way I knew it was you was by your heartbeat.”
