The next right thing

Tobin still hadn't mentioned to Alec, what it was he said he wanted them to do. The phrase; The next right thing, wasn't even making any sense at all to Alec. They had abandoned the volunteered comrades for the mission ahead, at Alec's secret underground lair, to spend the night there. Alec was quite fed up already, he was still seriously annoyed with Tobin for the way he behaved. Observing the way Tobin was so restless and thoughtful the previous night, made Alec start to worry. That morning, Tobin was still in the sheets, dead to the world. Alec bumped into the room where he lay like a log of wood, snoring away with no care of the world. Alec slapped him hard against the shoulder till he eventually woke up.

"Get up Tobin, haven't you had enough sleep already?" complained Alec.

Tobin strung up to his feet immediately.

"Gosh, I slept in," he said.

"Enough of all this Tobin, you're going to tell me now, or else this mission is going to be over," said Alec.

"No need for the rush, I was going to tell you that right away," said Tobin.

He stretched his limbs and gave out a long yawn.

"Then start taking. Why did you have us abandon my comrades in the lair?" asked Alec.

Tobin scoffs.

"Who said they're abandoned there? After all, the lair is secured," answered Tobin.

"Let's be honest," he said, "We both know that this mission we're about setting out for, is more or less a suicide mission. We have fifty-fifty chances of accomplishing it, and either there may, if not must, be casualties. Lives might be lost along the line, and comrades might end up sustaining life-threatening injuries," explained Tobin.

"So what now? Are you suggesting we give up? asked Alec shortly.

"Not that. I think now is the perfect time... I'd made peace with my friends, and once again, reunite my unit, thereby solidifying our legacy, as the strongest unit they've ever been. Because I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to do that again," said Tobin.

Alec halted from where he was, walking to and fro across the room. He gently went to a nearby chair beside the window and sat down to hear from Tobin. He was astonished by the sudden seriousness displayed by Tobin today, unlike his previous nonchalant attitude the previous day at the lair. There was a moment of silence, but it was short-lived as Tobin finally continued.

"Honestly man, I'm sorry for being such an ass-hole yesterday. I know you must be pissed, but believe me, I'm really taking this mission seriously. As a matter of fact, It's more serious to me than anyone else. I mean... It's my parents we're talking about here, and believe me, I don't want to lose them that easily. I know how hard it is for Zelta and Zain, who have lost either one or both of theirs. I'm not in for any of those now," he said at last, with a million miles gaze.

"It's okay Tobin. The safety of both your parents and that of your fellow comrades is going to be guaranteed, I promise," said Alec in assurance.

"Please I want you to come stand by me while I apologize to them both," said Tobin.

"Then let's go now and do the needful, for we are in a tough race against time," replied Alec.

As expected by Zain, the temple was so hazy, filled up with people, all in the wonder of what had happened. The pile of books and scrolls on the floor, and the damaged benches and reading desks, left the people in awe and wonder. The temple was so crowded today, as the people questioned among themselves, what resulted in the scattering of the temple. This incident was something rare, because the temple, out of many other places in the realm, was the most sacred and exalted place. Zain wrapped silky black clothing around her head. The cloth covered almost her entire face, leaving only her eyes and forehead. She had a strange feeling that the men that chased after her at night were hanging around, searching for her. She knew that they wouldn't mind killing her just to be sure that their secret is safe, so she tried to keep a low profile. The busy crowd created an opening for her to sneak her way with the idol she damaged the previous night, and return it to its stand. She retreated to the back and sat down on a bench beside a certain young gentleman. As she was seated there, a particular thought and image kept on reappearing in her mind. She kept on wondering why she was thinking about him now, but it was true and obvious to her now that she had been missing him so badly. For some reason unknown to her, she was missing Tobin, but she couldn't accept it. Sitting still by the end of the bench, something caught her attention. There was a man standing benches away. She wasn't quite sure, but part of her was convinced that he was one of them. This man had a remarkable resemblance with one of the men who attempted to kill her the previous night. He looked like the one she hit with a rod, but she just wasn't sure yet. She hid her face, pretending not to be looking at him, but she was actually studying his every with an eagle's eye. He was standing before a girl of her age who sat on the beach. He was interrogating her. Zain saw the girl hold out her both arms to him. He examined them, after which he left her and went to another girl of the same age bracket, doing the same to her. She was trying to understand what it was the man was doing. As she was still keeping a close watch on him, another man approached him, holding an axe. The man whispered to his ear and handed the axe over to him. Zain's heart skipped and banged so hard as she saw this happen. She could vividly recall from her last night's encounter, that one of the men had an axe with him. Slowly she shifted close to the young man who was sitting with her on the beach.

"Excuse me," she whispered to him, "Do you happen to know who that man is?" she asked, pointing at the man with the axe.

"Yeah that's Raja, De voe's right-hand man," answered the young man.

Zain got more terrified, realizing that the man was not just one of De voe's men, but his right-hand man. It was clear to her now, that the men she saw about to perform a sacrilegious sacrifice, were De voe and his blood-thirsty hounds. She remembered the young teenage girl that was bounded. She would probably be behind bars somewhere. She prayed for the girl's safety. Zain felt like she had to do something quickly. The young man beside her tapped her and whispered to her,

"Rumors have it that De voe's men were searching for someone within these very walls of the temple last night, that's why the temple is so scattered like this. I think they found a clue about the one they were looking for, that's why they are inspecting every young maiden between the ages of about seventeen to twenty. They're definitely going to inspect you," he said.

Zain looked around her. Now she realized that there were other men around, interrogating girls of her age, and inspecting their arms. She thereby wondered why they were inspecting the arms of the girls. Everything was just happening at the same time, and it made her so confused. She heard Raja make a comment to one of his men, and it explained everything to her.

"Search every high and low, I feel like she's somewhere around here," he said, "And remember, it's a fresh wound she's got," he added.

Zain remembered that one of them wounded her arm with his blade during the chase. She realized that they found out about it, and we're now using it as a point of identification. She exhaled in relief, after checking her arm, and seeing that the injury was gone. There wasn't even a scar left on her hand. She was fully confident now, knowing that they were searching in vain. For them to use a wound as an identification mark, meant that they didn't get her face. She made sure not to let them see her face last night, and the only means of identification; the scar, was gone. She was grinning widely within her. One of the men approached her where she sat, looking at her intently as if suspecting something. She just avoided making long eye contact with him, as she displayed no sign of tension or intimidation. Without wasting any more time, she held out her arms to him, without being told to do so yet.