When I appeared at the place we’d heard the thunder bolt, I found myself at a deep valley. At the bottom were Phoebe and Chen. He was examining her arm and then, after saying a few words, he sent her off toward Keunjib. As he started back up the slope he finally noticed me.

“Oh, gosh Kai! Scare me much?!”

“What were you and Phoebe doing?” I asked suspiciously.

“That bai chi almost got herself killed! First toxic water then a close call with a snake... I tell ya, someone has to keep an eye on her,” he sighed.

“I know what you mean. I caught her sneaking through the rooms earlier this morning.”

“That kind of curiosity can kill.”

“Yes; and more than just the curious person,” I hinted.

“What do you mean?”

“When I found her this morning she was in Kris’s room. She… she asked me about this diagram she’d found in one of his desk drawers. I’ve never seen it before.”

“Well what’s so bad about that? He’s a leader and I’m sure even you, as second in command, are aware of things the rest of us aren’t,” Chen pointed out.

“True, but there was something unsettling about it all; especially the part she asked me about.”

“What was it?”

“It was marked on a calendar three days ago and said “contact,” but it doesn’t say with who or what.”

Chen looked at me nervously, “You don’t think it could’ve been Anonymous, do you?”

“No,” I shook my head immediately. “He would’ve told us. I mean, it might not even be a person. It could’ve meant “made contact with clean water or fresh soil.” It could potentially be anything.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Chen agreed, though I could tell he was still uneasy.

“Come on; we should head back. If we’re not there right when practice resumes we’ll have to face an angry Kris, and that’s really not on my bucketlist.”

---------------------------------

For the majority of the afternoon we worked on powerless defense and attacks, along with team skills. Kris’s earlier words scared me. Just the thought of being too weak to even consider battle made me work my very hardest.

By the time we got back to Keunjib the sun was very low and both moons were beginning to rise. Everyone else went to the dining hall while I went to get Phoebe. I found her in her room sleeping. When I walked closer to wake her up I noticed an ugly burn on her arm.

“Phoebe?” I gave her a gentle shake.

“What?!” she shot up, startled.

“Dinner will be ready soon. What happened to your arm?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she shrugged.

“Was it Chen?”

“How did you know?” she asked in surprise.

“Well I saw you two down in the valley, and then he said he saved you from a snake.”

“Oh, yeah; his lightning bolt kind of singed me.”

“Come on, we’ll have Lay fix you up,” I motioned toward the door.

“Alright,” she got up and we headed out of the building.

“Does anyone else know about what happened with the snake and the lightning?”

I wasn’t sure why she wanted to know, but I assured her that if anyone else knew it was beyond my knowledge.

“Good,” she sighed. “Because I really don’t want Kris to know. I feel like if I do anything wrong he’ll use it as an excuse to get rid of me.”

“He’s not so bad once you get to know him.”

“I’ve heard that one before.”

“Hey, the guy’s been through a lot. His dad-,” I stopped myself before revealing too much of Kris’s past. It was a sensitive topic for him, and if word got out that I was speaking freely about it, things would not be pretty.

“What about his dad?” she prodded and my defenses went up.

“Never mind.”

“It never occurred to me that you all had families who you lost in the war.”

“Yeah,” I shrugged. The last thing I wanted to do was get emotional. There was too much to worry about for reminiscing on the past.

“Did you have any siblings?”

“I had an older brother. He died in battle.”

“Oh Kai; I’m so sorry,” she said sympathetically.

“Don’t be,” I shook my head. “There’s nothing anyone can do. It happened and it’s done.” My throat was getting tight and salty tears stung behind my eyes. I was relieved when we reached the dining hall.

My dry salad tasted like sand between my teeth. During the whole meal my mind was preoccupied, reliving the past. Old memories resurfaced; memories I swore I’d never dwell on again. Phoebe’s questions had hit a soar spot.

Okay, I have to focus. I lost everyone I cared about once; I can’t let it happen again. I won’t let it happen again.

Announcement: This story will now be updated every Tuesday and Thursday evening, rather than every Sunday. (I am updating now simply because I was too impatient to wait!)