The Katapies Experiment; Part 5

Tsuni 

     The sun finally disappeared, taking the light with it. Not for long, however; small blue lights started growing, trailing away and following some unseen path. Of course, we followed them. And followed them. And followed them. They never seemed to have an end.  

     Tempest volunteered to fly overhead and see where the lights went. She had taken a nap before we arrived, so she was bright and chipper and full of energy. We sat down and slept, thankful for all of the untouched, pillowy shrubbery.  

    Tempest didn’t return in the morning, but we just shrugged it off and kept moving (except for Leccii, he wanted to stay and wait). Experiments were supposed to die anyways, why wait for a dead girl? She wouldn’t be much help anyways. A sparrow isn’t the best crewmate. 

    Unfortunately, the lights dimmed as soon as the sun came back up, so we had no way of telling which way to go. We all voted to stay put and wait. Leccii decided to go get some water, leaving Eclipe and I alone. 

    I didn’t know how to act, how to talk, how to breathe. I had really never felt anything like it before. I couldn’t see my face, but I supposed I was blushing. We waited in silence before I finally spoke.  

    “What do you think happened to Tempest?”  

     Eclipe turned his head to look at me and shrugged. “Anything could happen in these woods. A hawk could have snagged her. Or an owl.” He grinned and shook his head. “I wouldn’t do something like that, though.” 

    “If I’m correct about this whole Experiment thing, there are sixteen kids in total taking part in this. Twelve other kids out here... do you think one of them could have captured her or something?” 

    “Tsuni, the only ones we really have to worry about are the Mages. Summoners aren’t very good at flying, and Messengers have their wings bound before coming into Disarus. Mages are powerful and ruthless, and I doubt they’ll spare a tiny Shifter.” He frowned for a bit, then waved his hands in disagreement. 

    “Wait, wait, Summoners could still get her, I change my mind. They’re haughty and eat right out of Katapies’s hand; they’ll find a way to kill her.” Eclipe looked at my face and smiled. “That was getting kind of dark, wasn’t it? Let’s change the subject.” 

     We began talking about where we thought the trail would lead, where Leccii was going to get water, how tough the other participants would be. It was nice, sitting there. Leccii finally returned with the water and we spent the rest of the day trying to filter it. 

    Nightfall came quickly, and we continued to follow the lights. They continued to be confusing, leading us to places we’d thought we’d passed already, like the same pattern of moss on a tree. Maybe the Disarus Forest was just one big maze.  

    Finally, we came across a small, secluded clearing. Dawn was creeping up on us, so we settled down in a comfortable area and tried to find food. I still had the small piece of bread Avalain gave me before I was picked, so I shared it with Leccii and Eclipe.  

    I desperately hoped that nothing would come out of the bushes and attack us from behind. I was having a genuinely nice time; although I still couldn’t help blushing whenever Eclipe spoke to me. We got up at dusk and started walking again, this time coming across a secluded bush area. 

     Leccii wanted to explore a little more and left me and Eclipe alone. Again. I was tired, so I think I just slept. I jerked awake when Leccii and Eclipe started shaking me, pale with horrified looks on their faces. 

    “Tsuni, we found Tempest.” 

    “What? Didn’t Tempest disappear? Isn’t she dead?” I sat up, glaring at both of them wildly. 

     Leccii looked at Eclipe with a pained look on his face. “She might as well be.” 

     They led me to a patch of the forest where a small cave was easily visible. A black-haired boy sat there, probably no older than eleven, smiling and talking to Tempest. He laughed and moved a hand slightly toward the grass, lifting it up suddenly and revealing a small misty figure, probably a bird or some sort. 

    I didn’t see what the problem was at first because I was still groggy from just waking up, but Leccii rolled his eyes and pointed to the boy. “Tsuni, he’s a Summoner. A spirit Summoner, I know, but when there’s one, there’s more. There’s probably an undead Summoner somewhere near here. Tempest is being held captive, I know it.” 

     Eclipe nodded along with him, but I kept looking at Tempest and wondering if she really was captured. She didn’t look sad or angry or scared; she was laughing along with the Summoner, touching the spirit bird and giggling as the mist waved away.  

    Even though I was more than a little bit skeptical, Eclipe and Leccii were probably right. You couldn’t really take any chances with Summoners. They weren’t as bad as Mages, but they were still pretty dangerous. 

    We turned to leave the bit of forest we were in when Leccii stumbled and fell on a twig. He tumbled out of the forest, right in view of the Summoner. Tempest jumped, startled, and frowned. “Leccii? Wait, why are you here? Are Eclipe and Tsuni here too?” She stared into the bushes where we were hiding and looked at the Summoner. 

    “I think I’ve got to go, Leuko. Say bye to Deccie for me!” She skipped over to where we were hiding and looked at our confused faces with complete oblivion. 

    “What was all that about, Tempest?” Eclipe looked at her with a touch of contempt, then glanced at the Summoner. “Why were you hanging around with Summoners? They could kill you, you know.” 

    Tempest puffed up her cheeks and frowned. “They’re nice! That Summoner I was just talking to is Leuko, and- oh! There comes Deccie!” A girl with wavy red hair ran out of the cave and hugged Tempest, nodding hello to us. “Soros and Ragnis are probably sleeping right now, but get this! Their trip getting here was way different from ours!” 

    Tempest went on and on, recapping the Summoners’ entire journey and letting Deccie and Leuko (I think that was their names, anyway) explain the more dramatic parts. It was actually very entertaining; Deccie was hilarious and Leuko was really in-detail about each detail of the fight. 

    Both Deccie and Leuko trailed off in the exact same place of the story, looking at each other in discomfort and apprehension. Even Tempest looked a little scared, her eyes darting from the Summoners to us. A noise from behind Leuko broke the silence, and we saw that the other two Summoners had woken up and were looking at us, confused. 

    “Hey, uh, Deccie, why are there three more people here? I thought you said only Tempest was going to stay with us. Are they Mages?” The girl with golden hair and coffee skin gasped and pointed to Tempest. “Are they the other Shifters who came with you? Nice!”  

    The boy next to her yawned and ran his fingers through his fluffy brown hair. “You were all storytelling, right? Wonder why you guys paused. Can I just finish it for you?” None of the Summoners nodded or even moved, but the boy kept talking anyway. “So, after Exan Summoned Leuko, he drank this weird stuff from a tiny bottle, maybe it was a spirit or something, and turned into this huge misty dragon thing, I guess.” 

    Despite Leuko and Deccie trying desperately to get him to stop, the boy obliviously kept chatting. “Then, get this, Leuko killed her in one swipe! Just one! Man, spirit Summoners are more powerful than we ever thought, huh.” 

    Everyone’s face blanched in horror. Tempest tried to explain, tried to get us to stay, tried to convince us that this murderer wasn’t of any harm to us. None of the Summoners even objected remotely, just looked disappointed that the brown-haired boy would ruin everything they had worked for. 

    “Tempest, we’re going to go. It doesn’t matter if these kids are your friends or not; they’re not safe. We have to keep following the lights.” 

    Tempest’s face flared up in anger. “This is where the lights lead! I kept following them and they all led to this cave, right here.” She pointed to the cave. “I was waiting for you all the whole time! You guys didn’t even question why I turned into an eagle and kept my clothes while flying!” She shook her head in frustration and gestured to the cave again. 

    “I’m staying here. For all I know, these Summoners are better crewmates than you three will ever be. They acknowledge that I’m an Alter. Go back to the forest; why should I care?”  

    I opened my mouth to speak, then stopped. An Alter? Alters were rare, usually one in a million or less. One hadn’t been born for centuries. They could turn into any animal, even mythical creatures. They kept their clothes on when transforming, they could make themselves look like a different person; they were ultimately the superior form of Shifters.  

    And Tempest was one? Frail, small Tempest, who never spoke her mind, who never disagreed, who my parents didn’t want me to talk to because she was so quiet. How could she be an Alter?  

     We didn’t know what to do. Stay, where we would coexist in the same spot as risky Summoners, or leave, where we would be safer but completely disobey Glo’s orders?  

     Both were dangerous, but which danger were we willing to face?