Chapter 10

Zylis paces fast, until she hears the movement of the handle on the door. She stops so abruptly that she almost falls over. She catches herself as they walk in and squeezes four fingers in one hand tight while she shakes furiously. Even more so when she sees Megan.

"I-is sh-she-"

"Not anymore." Max says, hint of anger resides in his voice,

Zylis squeezes her fingers tighter. "Max, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, it wasn't you. This, is Sagé."

Zylis's eyes widen, Sagé bows and smiles. "Pleasure."

"Sagé, can you take her for a moment?"

He nods and takes Megan in his arms. "Alright Max, to the end of the conveyor belt."

"The conveyor belt?"

Sagé looks at Zylis and frowns.

"You'll see." She says,

Max walks over to the conveyor belt covered by a round, fold over lid. He lifts it up and looks down at the red velvet colored fabric body. The white almost comic book like eyes stare up into nothing.

"Whoa, wait wait wait! The AI! The one that Pilo mentioned! She's with you!?" Sagé cheers,

"How do you know about her? Whatever, in a second."

"Touch your hand to the head Max."

He does as instructed, a few seconds pass and the body's eyes blink several times, the fingers twitch and the body sits up, it turns and looks at them.

"Hey." Kiara says,

Her slender, tall body hops off the conveyor belt and to her feet. She looks at Sagé and Zylis, then back at Max.

She turns and reaches into the conveyor belt and pulls out a strange hemisphere with a cylindrical dent in it and slaps it on her back, it sticks. Then she reaches in again, grabs a skinny red velvet cylinder and puts it in the groove and it sticks.

"This is a weapon, a staff."

"You created a body." Sagé smiles,

She looks at Sagé, "what do you know about me?"

He shakes his head, "Not much I'm afraid. My people designed you, but humans took credit."

Kiara's eyes narrow, "What? I would have remembered that."

He shakes his head, "They wiped your memory, to had been activated and in our care for many years before the humans took you. But, that's all I know. I'm not sure why or anything else."

They all look at each other, Max walks over and takes Megan. "Now, to my village?"

"What about me?" Kiara asks,

"I suppose that's up to you, should I introduce her? If not I could-"

"I think it would be fine." Max says,

Kiara looks at him, then back to Sagé. "If Max trusts your people, I do as well."

"Then we will welcome you back. What do we call you?"

"Kiara."

Kiara looks down at her hands and rolls her fingers, "So this is what you all feel? Sort of."

"You can feel your fingers?" Zylis asks,

"Her body should have many sensors, like the human body. She can feel everything except pain."

Max studies her, she looks up at him, she has no mouth, but her comic like eyes bend, forming two lowercase n's, giving the intention that she is smiling.

"This feels good." She says,

Max smirks, "I'm glad, you deserve it Kiara."

Her eyes narrow slightly but bend harder, as if she would be smiling bigger. "Thank you for your help Sagé."

He nods, "Of course. Now, should we go?"

"Where are we going?" Zylis asks,

"We are helping him."

"Okay." She says,

They walk out and wander into the trees. "Sagé, how long have your people been here?" Kiara asks,

"Many years, my friend. Many, many years, before I was born. Perhaps our leader would know better."

"Leader?"

"In a way, he's our king. But he is treated as any other person. His name is Gasaf."

Zylis looks up and stares at the blue sky, two neighboring moons orbit the planet, one white, the other is brown. They walk until the sun begins to set.

The trail they walk down finally opens up. They walk onto a white beach, Max's eyes widen, there are so many campsites and tents. With them, there's so many Atalipi, they wander from tent to tent, or they sit around unlit campfires.

As people begin to notice, they rise to their feet in alarm, they don't make it far before they are stopped by an Atalipi, a little smaller than Sagé.

They talk back and forth in their native language. Max looks around at everyone as they gather around and back to the two talking.

Finally the smaller one turns and walks away. "Sagé?" Zylis asks,

"He is getting Gasaf for us. We are to wait here."

Max looks around again, some people smile, like they are ready to pounce, others stare with curiosity. Zylis for the most part, keeps her head down.

A larger man soon returns with the one that Sagé talked with. The larger looks at us for a moment, scanning us in silence.

"Why did you bring them?"

Sagé points to Max and Zylis and begins talking in his native tongue. As he talks, Gasaf looks at Max, his eyes widen. He looks back at Sagé and asks something.

Sagé nods, he then points at Zylis and continues. Gasaf nods and waits for him to finish.

"If you will help us, we will help you, with that." He says pointing to Kiara,

"You know who she is?"

"We know something that may help, but you will help us first. As compensation, tonight, you will be our guests, we have a place for your changing friend to rest. Sagé here will tell you of what we know about our predators."

Max looks down at Megan and back up, "You have our word, we will do what we can." Max says,

Sagé grabs Zylis's arm. "Come with me, Max will catch up."

The two start away with a few others. Zylis looks back at Max as he walks with Gasaf. Guilt has overtaken her inside and out, how could she let herself be controlled so easily? She technically speaking DID kill one of her allies.

Sagé bumps her gently, "She lives, what happened was not your doing. We will tell you of the Frauts, where they hide and what we know of them."

"Frauts? Is that what took over my mind?"

Sagé nods, "Yes, evil green things! When you help us, we will help you." He says smiling,

She forces a smile that is strong enough to convince him. Zylis stares at the ground, wondering about the vision she had when she was fighting for control over her body.