- Puzzle 1

I see Ethan placing some kind of vegetable on the counter which I am unable to recognise. He quickly gets on to cook. He seems to be taking more time than usual to cook. So I plan to quickly look into the instructions on usage of Webopedia .

However I did not want to take a chance of searching anything , as giving commands to the search window while he is here may create unnecessary problems. I also don't want him to know that I have already reached so far. Adding on to all of it , as I had missed checking out the instructions much earlier, I was not aware on how to close any of the open windows or go back to the previous page of an open window. The last time around I guess when I had turned the tab off, the index had closed on its own . So for now I felt it was the best and safe bet to turn the tab off. I turned off the tab and sat there silently waiting.

Ethan turned back and looked at me and uttered something which i couldn't follow. He saw the blank expression on my face and gave a quick smirk and turned back to continue with his cooking. Eventually when he finished I saw him putting the contents into a bowl which looked like dark green noodles from a distance. One thing I noticed was he had not added the grey powder this time.

He must have taken at least 30 mins to cook which I had mentally noted down. But I may be wrong. I had find a way to use the clock in the tab. That way even if used the tab to check the time while he is around he may not doubt me . And since the time on earth and out here might be different, I also had to do a quick comparison. I sighed thinking how much more I had to learn before making my move.

I finally saw Ethan walking towards me with a bowl and 2 sticks which resembled chop sticks. I can't say if I was glad that I no longer had to drink soup, as I had completely lost interest in food. I just had to eat to stay alive till my goals are accomplished.

He pulled the stool with his leg which was in the corner of the room, towards where I sat while he held the steaming bowl of food in one hand and two sticks in the other hand . The sticks were not as fine as chop sticks but still could be used to eat. He placed the bowl and the stick on the stool and sat on the chair next to the cot.

While he saw me not showing any interest in the food, he pulled out Bozu set it to normal mode and proceeded to explain what the food was. Bozu then repeated the same to me in English which still had a few unknown words which I could not understand. I just nodded my head and did not bother to ask what those new words meant.

I guess finally he noticed my dampened mood and my swollen eyes and then he decided to switch Bozu to auto thought mode. I also saw him quickly adjust some kind of grey earplug near his right ear, which I had not noticed until now. It took me sometime to realise it was a also language converter, especially when Bozu was in auto thought mode. How else could he understand what I was speaking to him without having Bozu translating it back for him which was possible only in the normal mode.

He quickly asked me if I was alright and what was wrong with my eyes. I just nodded my head again. He asked me eat first as he thought I was upset because I was hungry. I silently took the bowl and started eating. I could feel his intense gaze on me but I did not really care to bother about it.

I took a while to finish eating the food. He took the bowl and the sticks from me and placed it on the stool deciding to wash it later. He did not see my mood improving even after the food and I guess that got him worrying. He again asked me if I was ok? I just nodded my head like before. I found it strange and confusing that he seemed to be concerned about me. Why would he be concerned if he is a member of the dark force? Why is he providing me with food to keep me alive? While my thought process continued I again heard him ask what happened to my eyes. I finally felt now was the right time to ask him, without giving out too much information.

Rachael : "I dreamt about my family while I slept. I am feeling homesick. I want to go home and I need your help."

I still hesitated to tell my brother was in danger as I was not sure if Ethan was a member of dark forces.

Ethan: "You can go home and I will help you. But you need to increase your protection and energy level"

With the response he gave , it was highly likely that he may let me out anytime soon

Rachael: "Listen I have some critical and urgent work to be completed and I have very less time. If I don't finish that task on time my family will be in danger. My family is depending on me to finish that task"

Ethan : " If I may can I ask you what is that task and will it be possible for me to do it on your behalf? While I do the task you can concentrate on increasing your energy and protection level"

Rachael: "The task has been bestowed on me to be completed and no one else and I have been instructed not to divulge the details to anyone. I have been sworn to secrecy. And if I don't complete the task on time.. "

I quickly put my head down feeling upset thinking about the consequences.

Ethan : "Ok I get it. Tell me how can I help you?"

I thought this was the right time to get as many details as possible from him. I had to carefully craft what I had to say. After thinking for a minute i said -

Rachael: "You did mention to me about my strong scent that attracts beasts and they will take seconds to kill me. So I believe the place where you found me must have been safe, as you were able to get me here safely . Am I correct? "

Ethan probably was not expecting this question from me, but he was the one who had let out the clues. I saw him thinking for a moment before answering.

Ethan : "The place where you were found is not safe. Incidentally I was there having nectar while you suddenly showed up in an unconscious state. So even before any beast could lay hands on you I was able to safely get you here."

Rachael : " Oh! okay. But if you were able to get me safely here , you can help take me back to that place and under your protection and I can look around to check how I came. And may be I can also go back in the same route. Can you help me ? I was trying my best to convince him.

Ethan: "While I had found you , you were unconscious and was very weak .That had reduced your smell. So it was easy for me to get you here with my protection level. But now that you are conscious and have been nourished your scent has become extremely strong . It would not be easy for me to take you back there. That's one reason I have not allowed you to get out of this dome. "

I felt my patience running out. I decided to throw the ball in his court.

Rachael: "Ok in that case what is the fastest mode of getting out from here. I hope you understand "

Ethan: "I totally understand your concern. There may be a way out , but before that did you get a chance to look at the Webopedia and how to use it ? "

Oh god ! I was so hoping he would not bring this up . But luckily I had prepared myself for this question .

Rachael : " I just woke up a while before you came. I had a headache in the center of my forehead. " I pointed my fore finger to the exact spot where I had pain. " I just had begun looking into the device , when you came in."

I intentionally told him about the headache and I knew it had hit him in the right spot as I saw his face darkening. But he quickly recovered and came back to his normal self within seconds. He smartly skipped the headache part and continued his conversation around the tab causing my suspicion to rise.

Ethan : " Sorry I was not able to show you how to use Webopedia completely the last time around. Do you want me to show it to you now ?

Rachael : " That's ok. I will figure it out. That way I'll have something to spend time on. You can just tell me, what I'll need to do or work on to get back as soon as possible "

To be continued...