Chapter 30

 

Fotuf’s point of view

 

“I had hoped you would have stayed.” I stated as I sat near Kevin.

He just grunted, his back turned as he sat recovering energy.

“You are a valuable asset to us,” I commented, “and a good friend.”

“What kind of friend attacks a companion?” he snapped.

“She charged first, Kevin.”

We remained silent. Several minutes passed, and I wondered what he was feeling. Anger? Regret? Confusion?

“Is she still angry at me?”

“Pardon?” I blurted out, my train of thought interrupted.

“Solin…… She must be pretty mad at me.” He half smiled.

I shook my head calmly, without expression. “She hasn’t been angry since she returned and told me of your little conflict. She has been….. afraid.”

“Afraid?” Kevin echoed, facing me. “I thought she was avoiding me because she was pissed off with me again!”

“You have surpassed her now. You are stronger.” I claimed. “I think she fears the same; that you are still angry with her. She dares not risk another fight with you.”

“I…. I don’t know what got into me…” Kevin looked away shamefully.

“It’s not your fault.” I comforted.  “It wasn’t Solin’s fault she acted too swiftly either.”

He glanced back at me quizzically.

“Anubis created us, remember?” I continued. “He is a dark lord. Even evil! When he resurrected us, he created us with a greater vulnerability to corruption and dark deeds.”

He stared at me with surprise. I shook my head again.

“I am sorry, I should have told you about this sooner.” I apologised quickly. “I just thought it wouldn’t matter. You seemed kind and true enough to not need that knowledge.”

“No… no, it’s …not that vital. You don’t need to apologise.” He replied.

“This vulnerability is much like your Christian ‘Original Sin’ – we have a greater tendency to do evil compared to good.” I added. “Sometimes even we reformed Soul Creatures can lose control.”

He sighed. “You know, every night I go up on the surface of the mountain look at that small

Spiral galaxy in the far distances of space. That’s my home galaxy. And since I’ve discovered my potential powers, it seems closer now …..than ever before.”

“Are you ready yet?” I questioned casually.

Kevin closed his eyes, shaking his head. “A while longer. I don’t have a lot of energy yet.”

“A few more of your Earth hours?”

“I can never tell.” He laughed quietly. “Can’t keep track anymore. That’s a bad thing about being a Soul Creature.”

“Well when you do, we can only guide you to Orion’s Belt – that is as far as we have agreed to go towards Earth. The satellites and telescopes would probably spot us any closer than that. It will take about 5 Suns (days) to cover that distance. Solin can show you the way there.”

“Fotuf, we’re not exactly on the best terms right now….” He claimed.

“Maybe you could work things out along the way. I don’t think either of you would like to leave on bad terms.” I suggested.

 “I was pretty violent….”

“She is an intelligent creature. I’m sure you can reason with her.”

He nodded with agreement. Unexpectedly, I stood him up, and clasped his small human hands in my big scaly claws, in the dragon culture’s ancient way of saying farewell to an old friend. “I will miss you, Kevin.”

He grinned in appreciation. He blinked and looked away.

“Is something wrong?” I probed curiously.

“It’s just…. Déjà vu.” He hesitated, blinking tears. “My Valedron friend, Flyer. He said that to me too, about two years ago. It just seems like I’m forever saying goodbye.”

“You knew him for far longer, yes?”

“About 12 or 13 years.” He wiped away tears. “Sorry, I still get pretty emotional. Even as a Soul Creature.”

“You retain many human tendencies.” I stated. “But that, I feel, is not a bad thing.”

“Thanks for all the training.” He in turn followed my example and clasped my claws in his hands.

“Have a safe journey, Kevin.”

 

Kevin’s point of view

 

Solin swam through space ahead of me, leading the way. She didn’t glance or look at me, and kept a good distance between us. Fotuf was right – she was afraid. I felt a pang of guilt: I could attack her at any minute and win easily, and she still thought I would, but it was my own fault anyway. I was the one who retaliated with such great strength, and was very harsh with her. I brooded over my thoughts, following Solin towards the constellation of Orion.

Fotuf had suggested we stop on the second day at an uninhabited planet or moon to regain some energy, and we followed his advice. I found it hard to rest – the fact that when we reached Orion’s Belt, I would be a day’s travelling away from Earth was only just beginning to sink in.

Three days passed, and we were still travelling. Solin had still not said a word to me. It was about time I tried to sort our issues out.

“Solin,” I called gently. “Wait up.”

I sped up so we were swimming side by side. She was tense, so I veered sideways slightly so as not to invade her personal space.

“Solin….” I began hesitantly. “Thank you.”

She looked at me, afraid and confused.

“For helping me out – for everything.”

She found her voice. “Why? I tried to kill you.”

“Exactly!” I grinned. “You see, if you hadn’t attacked me, I wouldn’t have retaliated and wouldn’t have found my true potential. Now I’m heading home because I’m strong enough alone. Thanks to you, that is.”

“Oh,” she replied solemnly.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind besides that, haven’t you?” I observed. She seemed more than just afraid of me. Something else was bothering her.

“It’s….. its not important to you anymore: You’re leaving.”

I raised my eyebrows: “Let me be the judge of that.”

“No, really I-”

One look at me told her I wasn’t backing down. My curiosity was aroused and now I wanted to know.

“You’ve made me realise there’s more to mortals than I thought.” She explained. “You could have been destroyed if you hit that chasm floor in physical form. You risked your own existence for Dommur.”

She looked back at me, with a slightly enlightened expression: “I trust you, Kevin. So, if you would risk destruction for a mortal, then they must be worth saving. They mustn’t be as bad as I have believed for so long.”

I smiled at her gratefully. “That’s good to hear.”

“Do you know the way from here?” she asked, trying to create more conversation. “Do you recognise any constellations?”

“They’d all be backwards or muddled up from here. They only look like they’re supposed to from Earth.” I replied.

She chuckled quietly. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“It’s a good job you know where you’re going!” I commented.

“I could tell you too if you wanted.”

I nodded. In case we got split up or something bad happened to Solin on the way, I should really know the route too.

Solin stopped, and floated calmly on the spot. I stopped too.

“You see that triangle of stars ahead?” she pointed them out.

“I seem them.”

“Well, in the centre of that triangle is another star. Can you see it?”

“No, not really.” I admitted.

“Throw your vision further forward.” She told me with mock harshness. She playfully pushed my shoulder, and I began to float sideways. “I thought you said you had potential, Mr. ‘I’m-too-powerful-to-stay-at-Karnak’!”

“Hey, I’m no expert!” I retorted with an equally amused expression, kicking back to my former position.

We both laughed, and when it died down, I followed her instruction.

“OK, I see it now.”

“That star is the centre star of Orion’s Belt. It’ll take us two Suns (days) to get there. From there, you’ll have to go it alone. You should see a kind of spiral of stars if you look directly ahead from that star. Follow that spiral and it should lead you to your own star, Sol. Earth orbits Sol, if I remember right. It’ll only take one Sun (day) to reach Earth from Orion’s Belt.”

Earth. The word sounded more welcoming than it ever had. In three days, I could finally find Kristin, my Mom, my brothers, Howie, AJ, Nick and Brian again. The anticipation was too great and I suddenly sped off ahead, towards Orion’s Belt.

“Hey, wait up!” I heard Solin shouting. I slowed a little to let her catch up. “Why the hurry? It’s not like the Universe is going to end in a few days!”

She grinned and I replied, “I’m just eager to see my family again.”

Too busy looking ahead, I missed the expression of longing Solin held for a few moments.

 

By the fourth day, the star we were heading for was clearly visible, even without throwing my vision forwards.

“Not far now.” Solin commented. “Soon you’ll be on your own.”

I didn’t like the idea of being alone, even for one day. Yet, I knew it wouldn’t last long. The reward for my persistence would be well worth it. I suddenly remembered speaking mentally with Brian. I had managed to speak to him over the vast distance between the Valedron Empire territory. Now, only two days away, I could speak to him no problem. Then I realised there was a problem – I had accidentally mentally spoke to Brian, and didn’t know how it was done. A second problem came to mind – I had a moderate amount of energy left but using it up to try and contact Brian would be a bad option. I didn’t know if there was anywhere to rest along the way. I couldn’t sleep in space as any sudden unconscious movement could send me floating off course and when I awoke, I could be miles away from my route. My mind conjured up an image of myself waking up in unfamiliar space, completely lost for eternity. I shuddered.

“Solin, can I ask you something?” I quizzed out of the blue.

“Sure.”

“We Soul Creatures have a law saying that we can’t go any further towards Earth than Orion’s Belt, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“Then why are you letting me go beyond it then? I may be trying to get home, but I am still a Soul Creature.”

“The circumstances of your resurrection were not the same. You have many similarities to the rest of us, but you are also far different.” Solin claimed knowingly. “You were tricked into accepting your resurrection, not torn away; you never became evil; you were accepted among the mortals.”

I nodded silently. She was right – I was very different. I was the only human Soul Creature too.

“You have your true home to return to,” she added with finality.

“You can head back now if you want.” I told her. “You can return to your own home now. Back on Karnak.”

“We haven’t reached Orion’s Belt yet.”

“We don’t have to. You don’t have to go all the way there with me in tow.”

“You’re sure?”

“I know the rest of the way home. The central star is only a day away.” I smiled at her warmly. “Have a safe journey back to Karnak.”

“Have a safe journey to Earth.” She replied.

She gently tapped my forehead with her shadowy paw, then held her arm across her chest.

“That’s my original race’s way of saying goodbye to a good friend.”

“This is the Earth way of saying goodbye to a good friend.” I claimed.

I pulled her into a hug. She tensed up, not realising what I was doing at first. I pulled back and looked directly at her.

“I don’t suppose I’ll ever see any of you again.” I commented solemnly.

“You may, in time.”

I turned to start heading off on my own.

“Kevin….” Solin began hesitantly.

I turned back around questioningly. She stayed thoughtfully silent for a few moments, not saying whatever was on her mind.

“Oh, never mind,” she waved her paws casually, dismissing the unspoken thought, yet there was a hint of doubt and disappointment in her tone.

Too eager to start heading towards Earth, I didn’t push to the point, and waved at her indifferently.

Solin waited a few tense moments before turning around and heading in the opposite direction.

 

***

 

 

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