“We just wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright. You took quite a fall.”
She paused and looked from Remi to me and back. I couldn’t take the silence so I finally motioned for 22 to join us and said,
“I know I didn’t fall, okay?”
“Oh! Good, I didn’t want you to think we weren’t going along with the story. But now that it’s out, how did you do that!?” 42 said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“With Jemma…that’s what you call her right? How did you throw her like that?”
“Yes, Jemma, but we really shouldn’t say that to her face, you saw what happened right?” I said pointing to my bruised face. I was trying to lighten the mood, but this just made 42 wince.
“I’m Journey,” said 22, looking serious as he stood over our little group.
This was the first time he’d spoken since entering our room. He didn’t offer anymore, just his name.
“And I’m Sparrow,” whispered 42. She had a huge grin on her face.
“Guys, seriously I think we need to lay off the names it’s just getting us into trouble,” said Remi.
“She can protect us,” said Journey with such a confidence I almost believed him, except wait—he was talking about me?
“What?!” I said standing.
Sparrow scrambled to her feet as well.
“65 that’s why we’re here, we wanted you to know we’re on your side and we’re with you, ya know? We’ll help you,” she said breathlessly.
“I don’t know what you mean, there’s no sides, I … I…”
“It’s ok 65, we’re like you,” she beamed.
Just then there was two quick knocks at the door. All of our heads spun towards the noise. Remi jumped and for an instant we all froze. Then I remembered that it was Nova’s signal. I ran towards the door, turning back to look at their startled faces before I left the room.
“I gotta go, we’ll talk later,” I called over my shoulder.
I did a jerky walk-jog to the courtyard. I wanted to get there fast! I needed answers! But each time I would start to run, my head would protest and I would get funny glances from the Grifts I passed. I skidded to a stop just in time to avoid slamming into a large tarcat as I entered the courtyard. It was Khan, I could tell from his jeweled collar. He was my least favorite because of his extra ornery disposition. He was the largest of all the tarcats at the Center and Greeley’s personal favorite. He had paws the size of my head and teeth so sharp and long that he couldn’t close his mouth all the way, creating a constant snarl on his face. He narrowed his bright-yellow eyes at me and twitched his long whiskers. I took a step back and bowed to him. This is how you must proceed if you don’t want to offend a tarcat. They’re very temperamental creatures. My heart was pounding as I continued to bow and my mind was screaming “walk away, walk away, please, walk away, Khan.” He shook his snow white coat and sniffed the air. Something else seemed to have caught his attention because he turned away from me, and I had to duck to avoid getting smacked by his black whip-like tail. I breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t decided to drag me to Greeley’s office. Finally, the coast seemed clear and I darted to our secret meeting place.
“Took you long enough,” Nova joked.
He was leaning against the wall, chewing a blade of palm grass, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. This infuriated me. After my confusing morning, I was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on and I didn’t want to play Nova’s games anymore.
“Nova, I need to know exactly what’s going on, right now!”
“Ah, she’s getting tough, huh?” he teased.
“I’m serious, Remi just told me that I somehow magically threw Jemma without even touching her, and then 42 and 22 confirmed it, and said they’re on my side, whatever the heck that means. Oh, and their names are Sparrow and Journey in case you’re wondering. They came in just offering up names and help. What is going on? They said they’re special like me…? Nova, I don’t want to be special, I just want everything to go back to normal.”
“Well you can forget about that my dear little Tippy, you’re the one we’ve been waiting for and your whole life is about to change,” he said with a proud smile.
Chapter 6
Nova was right. Nothing was the same after that day. We sat behind our palm in the courtyard for hours while he filled me in on all the details that would change my life forever and would set into motion a chain of events that would change Hullabee Island forever.
He recounted the confrontation with Jemma in the field when she hit me. This much I remembered, but the bizarre thing was how she had suffered the same injury as she inflicted upon me, without me or anyone else ever laying a hand on her. I was at a loss for how this could be possible, but Nova had some theories of his own on why this happened. He proceeded to fill my head with the fairytales and legends of our island. I say fairytales because surely I thought none of it could be true. But as I later learned, Nova was just beginning to open my eyes to the strange and wondrous world of the island I called home.
Nova told me the legend of Hullabee Island, how it had once been a flourishing land of peace, equality and harmony. Lux was so large and expansive that it dotted the entire coast of our island with its shimmering white-stone buildings. Everyone was welcome in Lux or anywhere on the island for that matter. There were no citizens or locals or orphans or Grifts, all people were cast of the same cloth and all were respected by each other. There were also tribal people on the island that lived a simple life, deep within the rainforest and were said to have magical powers that they used for good. These powers helped to keep the peaceful balance among all things on the island. The pleasant people, the bountiful crops, the ideal weather, the docile animals, all were thanks to the indigenous Beto tribe that dwelled in the lush depths of our forests, near the volcanic heart of Hullabee Island.
Of course, as every fairytale goes, things could not stay this good forever. A simple man named Ravin would ultimately destroy this utopic paradise. He was a man who always needed more. He always wanted to be the best at everything. He was never satisfied by what he already had, or where he’d already been. For Ravin, contentment didn’t exist. He first focused on building his muscles and sculpting his body into the perfect specimen that even the gods would admire. After achieving the perfect body, he decided he needed the perfect home. He picked a site on the highest cliff above all of his neighbors. He spent years erecting his white-stone palace. It was the largest home Lux had ever seen and everyone came to admire it. Ravin loved the attention and bathed in the power it made him feel. But still he needed more.
He set out to find himself a wife to live in his enormous white home. Of course not any woman would do, he was looking for the most beautiful woman on the island, and he was so arrogant in his quest that he abandoned the idea of loving his wife and held an audition to find her based solely on beauty. Women from everywhere flocked to Ravin, hoping to be selected as his wife. But Ravin wasn’t impressed. All the women looked the same to him. They were all tan with dark hair and dark eyes, just as he was and as was everyone on the island. He wanted to have something special, that no one else had. On the third day of his auditions, he grew hopeless that he would ever find anyone that could be as beautiful and perfect as he was, and was about to settle on an athletic girl named Tonia when he saw her.
Her name was Mora and she was walking along the soft, sandy streets with her mother, carrying baskets of exotic fruit from the forest upon her golden-blond head. Ravin had never seen something more beautiful than Mora and was instantly taken by her. He pushed through the crowd of women fawning over him and ran over to Mora and her mother. The hulking site of this gigantic, muscular man running towards her frightened Mora and she hid behind her mother when he approached. Ravin tried to explain to Mora and her mother how lucky they were that he has spotted her from afar and instantly knew she was the perfect woman he was looking for to become his wife. T
his brought the Beto women to giggles and they tried to ignore this obviously raving madman and continue down the street. But their laughter angered Ravin and he told them that he was the most desirable man in Lux and that Mora had to be given to him. At this time Nevia, Mora’s mother, spoke for the first time. She explained that she and her daughter lived in the forest with the Beto people, and while they were flattered by Ravin’s admiration, they would both be returning home after they finished trading their fruit. Ravin was stunned by Nevia’s boldness to defy him her daughter. He saw there was no use reasoning with the old Beto mother, so he picked up Mora and threw her over his shoulder and ran up the hills to his home. Mora was terrified of Ravin. She screamed for her mother the whole way to Ravin’s home. He tried to quiet her and convince her that she would be happy with him, but she only begged harder to be returned to her family. So the frustrated Ravin locked her away for the night.
Each day he would try to win her over with lavish gifts and sweet words, but each day Mora grew more frightened. Nevia sat outside Ravin’s home every day chanting and pleading with him to release Mora or she would have no choice but to summon the island gods for help. Ravin grew desperate that someone, perhaps even the gods themselves, would eventually come and take Mora away, so one night he took her from her room and led her out the back door of his house. At first Mora was elated. This was the first time she’d been outside in weeks. She stared up at the bright moonlit sky and drank in the beauty of the stars. Her flaxen-blonde hair seemed to come to life in the moonlight, dancing across her slender shoulders and down her back. Ravin grabbed her wrists and pleaded with her once more for her to love him, but when she turned her clear-blue eyes away from him, he knew he would never win her, so he did the only thing he thought would guarantee that no other man could best him by winning Mora’s heart. He threw her from the cliffs of his home into the dark, greedy sea. Mora’s fateful scream awoke Nevia, and when she found out what Ravin had done, she was inconsolable with fury and rage. She returned to the Beto people and told her family of the grave misfortune that had befallen their beloved Mora. They were all shocked and devastated by the news, but none more so then her twin sister Nesia. Nesia and Mora were identical twins and she had always shared a special bond with her sister beyond their delicate, pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair. Their connection was so deep that Nesia was said to have felt her sister’s pain when Ravin held her captive and finally killed her. She went to their tribe’s leader and demanded that her sister be avenged. Jaka, the Beto’s leader, said the only way to appease the gods and restore balance after Mora’s death would be to sacrifice Ravin into the volcano, and then everything would be forgiven and could start anew. But of course Ravin would not comply with such a thing, and secretly Nesia was happy because she believed Ravin deserved to suffer a death far worse than that.
So, the Beto people released a wrath upon Lux that had never been seen before. A war broke out between the people of Lux and the Beto tribe. Although no one in Lux condoned what Ravin had done to Mora, none of them would help the Betos stand against Ravin. The Betos saw this as a traitorous act against their people and went after everyone in their way to avenge her death. The people of Lux had no choice but to fight back and fiercely defend their homes and families from the ruthless Beto warriors that pillaged and burned their once-beautiful city. Without the Beto tribe using their powers for peace on the island, things quickly changed. There were divisions between the populations, the weather turned turbulent, and the citizens of Lux began to take notice of the treacherous wildlife that surrounded them. The regal tarcats they once revered became savage, blood-thirsty beasts. The indigenous plants of the island swiftly overtook the crops, and the hostile waters made it impossible to fish or trade by sea. For four years Hullabee Island was locked in this tumultuous battle that nearly destroyed all of Lux.
It is said that Nesia made it her goal to find Ravin and avenge her sister. She was fueled by such hatred that she became somewhat of a legend herself. She was feared by all because she no longer felt any allegiance to her people or those in Lux. She was ruthless and would kill anything that crossed her on her mission to destroy Ravin.
On her quest she found herself spending a great deal of time in solitude, hiking the cliffs and mountainous shorelines of the island in search of Ravin. One day she slipped and fell, injuring herself badly. She had lost all hope of rescue, when suddenly a young man appeared. He approached her without fear, although he surely knew who she was from her tribal attire and long blonde mane. He was wearing traditional white linen pants and shining gold cuffs, he was clearly from Lux and not a friend, but he helped her nonetheless. Nesia was confused by his kindness, and as she stared into his light-blue eyes, the light in them reminder her of her sister Mora and the kindness and love she had always shown others. Hadn’t her own eyes looked this same way not too long ago? She began to weep at the thought of how much Mora would have hated this bloody war being fought over her.
Nesia began doubting her motives and spending more time with this man called Kai. She was stirred by the feelings she held for this kind stranger that cared for her and nursed her injuries. She soon found she was in love with him, and him with her. And what’s a fairytale without forbidden love after all?
Nesia and Kai tried to hide their love at first, but found it impossible as the fighting escalated between Lux and the Betos. Secretly they wed atop the cliffs where they met. They lived in blissful solitude far away from the fighting and started a family. It is said they had two daughters. One with hair as dark as the night sky, the other with hair as white as the sandy shores. They represented the light and the dark, the sky and the earth, the balance that Hullabee needed to restore peace. Nesia went to the Beto leader Jaka and asked him if there was any way to stop the war, because she feared for her daughters and she believed they might be the key to bringing peace back to the island because they were created out of love between the Betos and Lux. Jaka was intrigued and asked to meet the daughters. He was shocked to find that they were as Nesia had said and more. He blessed them and said they were the indeed proof that Lux and the Betos could live in peace once again.
After meeting Nesia’s unique daughters, Jaka said he would sacrifice himself to the gods so the island could be reborn. The Beto tribe begged for another way, but Jaka explained that his people would have all they needed in Nesia’s daughters. They were light and dark, sun and moon, sky and earth; they had the power to sooth the unrest and heal the island. And with this he sacrificed himself to the volcano and the rest is history.
“What do you mean the rest is history, Nova? I’ve heard parts of this story before from the locals, but if it were true wouldn’t we all be living in peace and harmony in beautiful seaside houses in Lux? It’s nothing but an old folk tale.”
“That’s just it, Tippy. It’s not that old, and I’m not done yet. Do you want to hear the rest or not?”
“Alright, but get on with it!”
After Jaka sacrificed himself into the volcano he set in motion what we refer to as the Flood. He said the island would be reborn, but he neglected to say how. He said that those on the island who had become evil and poisoned by the war would be eliminated. That is what caused the rains, the winds, the lava, and the peril. Everything had to go so the land could be cleansed and start anew.
“Yeah, but we didn’t all die did we? You’re still here and so am I.”
“Exactly!”
I gave him an impatient look.
“You see we were the innocent, we survived the Flood because we were meant to.”
He paused for a moment, looking into my eyes; searching for more understanding than I could give him. He leaned forward and took my face in his hands and continued.”
“And some of us were meant to do even more,” he said almost pleadingly.
I was mesmerized by the way he gazed at me. I found myself drowning in his languid green eyes. I felt my mind spinning and my cheeks flushing. My heart quickened again and I
felt short of breath. Why did this keep happening to me?! Damn Nova and his hold over me. I loved and hated it at the same time, and yet was powerless against it. Nova released his hold of my face and my soul simultaneously.
“Are you alright? You look flushed. Maybe this is enough for today. I’ve given you a lot to think about.”
I shook my head. “Oh no, all you’ve done is tell me some old fairytale. None of this explains what happened between me and Jemma, and why everyone but me has a name, and why I all of a sudden have friends on my side? You need to do a little better than this.”
“Ok, I will, I promise; but it’s getting late.”
I looked around and he was right. The shade from our palm had grown into a shadow that cloaked the courtyard in darkness. My time with Nova had slipped away too quickly as usual.
The Geneva Project - Truth Page 4
