[12] To Save You Was My Purpose, All Of You
Layana stared at Sally, shivering under the blankets. Clutching a wet white cloth on her bloodied hands, she ran her hands along Sally's arms. They have barely escaped the past, its sharp talons caught on the loose string on their shirt. Now, words repeated inside Layana's head. Words from a certain person with such bizarre eyes. 'I am here to help you.'
The very moment they have set foot in the clearing. Layana had laid Sally and Nyla carefully on the soft patch of grass. Fetching a couple of tattered clothes and a bucket from inside their shabby tent; Layana has filled the bucket with river water and started with Nyla.
Mason and Andriette came to help, Mason quietly, Andriette whispering sharp remarks and reprimanding Layana. "You're a tough one, aren't you? You just can't listen, can you?" She had said.
Nyla whispered what to do while the three tended to the three of them.
It took them a whole afternoon to clean the wounds and stop the bleeding. Now, Sally lay peacefully on the soft, fur blankets inside the tent as Layana carefully tended to her. Nyla had insisted to sit outside and watch the crack of noon instead of in the comfort of the tent, saying that, "I'd rather sit outside in the fresh breeze."
Layana folded the piece of clothing and placed it on the rim of a small, white bowl beside her. Her eyes never left Sally, her face was riddled with fresh cuts, no doubt from the thorns on their run back to base. It felt weird saying that word, base. As if they were in a battle of sorts. Layana knew how awful a battle must be from the poems she has read. But battles aren't something she neither prepared for nor thought she could ever experience.
"We all face battles inside," she remembered her grandma saying that once. "But only once we are ready..."
Sally groaned, drawing Layana's attention back to her.
"How are you?" Asked Layana.
Sally groaned in response, standing up slowly.
Layana quickly helped her up, hands shooting forward to take any fall. But Sally held up one finger to stop her and proceeded to prop herself against the big bag pile Nyla called storage.
"Let's talk," she sighed.
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"What do you want to talk about?" Asked Layana, playing with the water. They have moved to the river banks to talk. The clear water reflected the milky whiteness of the moon, the breeze sighing slowly as their hair swayed in the wind.
"Thankyou--and I'm sorry," Sally said abruptly. Her head was bowed down, matted hair dropping over her face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lashed out at you back there. I only stalled time."
"Why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong." Silence followed her gentle words.
"Don't you ever wonder that maybe," she picked at her shirt. "We're wrong?"
"Wrong about what?" A confused chuckle left Layana. The cool breeze of the night blew by and caught her hair in its fingers.
"About--about the Bible, about God," her answer silenced Layana.
After a few moments of silence, she replied, "why do you think that?"
"Back in there, I--I saw some peculiar things," she turned to Layana, eyes sparkling with tears.
"But I held on--I held on as long as I could--I really did! I even prayed to the Lord for help but..." Sally sniffled, averting her gaze to the moon.
"But what?"
"But He didn't help me," a moment of silence once more. Layana gulped, her throat seemed parched, Sally's words leaving her wordless.
Sally turned to Layana with a certain urgency and frustration in her eyes. "Why did we have to go through this? Maybe staying in the cell wouldn't get us to this mess. The guards didn't do anything wrong--I doubt they will, they've left us alone for the rest of our lives. I mean, we were comfortable. We were safe. We didn't have to go through this. Nyla seems like a nice woman, she could leave us if we resisted--"
"No she cannot," Layana cut her rambling, holding her by the shoulders. "Sally, listen. Do you remember what grandma told us when we were talking about battles?"
"I don't--what does that have to do with anything?"
"'We all face battles inside, but only once we are ready' that's what she said," Layana smiled at Sally who still looked confused. "Do you get what I mean? Battles are for warriors, Sally."
"But what if I'm not yet ready to become a warrior?"
"You may not know it. But maybe you're stronger than you think. Why would God put you on that battlefield if He knew you couldn't get through it?"
She smiled at Sally. "So yes, we do have to face this battle. We do have to step out of our comfort zone. Because once we do, only then will we realize how strong we really are."
A comforting silence overwhelmed the two as the moonlit waters rippled with the wind, gently lapping at the shore. The stars twinkled and shone on Layana's upturned face, Sally's head bowing down the river. She ran a finger through the silver waves, shifting ever so often.
Sally gulped, "don't you feel bad leaving our home?" Her words were quick, and if Layana wasn't paying attention to her words, it would've sounded almost like a mutter.
"To think we once called it home," Layana said, jaw tightening and eyebrows furrowed.
Home. That's all Layana ever longed for from the very moment she stepped foot in the clearing. For sixteen years, she and her unusual family have lived in their unlikely home. If she could even call it that.
But back 'home,' there were no riddles she had to unravel. No deadly guards seeking to kill them. There was no running. No anxious breaths, palpitating hearts. No people to save. No guilt.
No battle.
But as she stared at the painted greens swaying in the wind, the whispering peace so fragile she forgot to breathe, she knew there would always be a battle. From now on.
So her answer was, "no."
~~~
Layana was walking. The leaves beneath her crunched, she allowed it to. The crickets continued its deafening noise in the background, blending smoothly with her subconscious. She had just climbed out of the tent where the others lay fast asleep. It was already morning, but the moon is still high and silvery against the velvety sky.
Layana doesn't like to think she was a night person, but she can't help the fact that she savored the feeling of the silver shine on her shoulders. It was cool.
But more than that, her eyes were transfixed on a single person standing. The figure stood there still, arms to her sides and chin jutted to the sky, curled nest of hair sticking up as if she had just woken up. Nyla was as still as a corpse, one of the main reasons Layana let herself be heard. She didn't want to scare the older woman when she looked that solemn.
"We failed to find Cathy," she said each word softly, carefully pulling Nyla out of her trance. She blinked. Inhaling deeply, she turned to the young girl as she stopped beside her. It had been true, Nyla was having a moment. To be frank, she was reminiscing, but she'd rather not relay it any longer now that she has company.
"Do you still wish to save her?" She asked, turning back to the heavens. Nyla trusted the kid enough to put her guard down.
"Of course! No doubt about it," Layana was quick to answer. "Will you...finally help us save her?"
There was silence for both of them. Layana was waiting for the woman's answer, and Nyla was deep in thought. She had originally planned to stake out at the shores of the island, possibly teaching the children how to hunt and how to live. That had been her concrete plan, the plan she had for nearly all the years of getting ready and saddling up for this responsibility.
But she had been foolish, and she had only caught a glimpse of the shores, the beginnings of the ocean when all her hope was crushed. There were multiple quads of guards patrolling the ground, dozens of lighthouses sizzling every grain of sand at night. There was no escape.
But the time has come, and she couldn't delay her responsibility any longer. Her father had estimated that Cathy wouldn't be very useful or even alive at this certain point in time. She needed to find the children already. She'll teach them until they can fight, and maybe they'll have a chance against the guards. Just a little opening would be a breath of fresh air.
Just a little opening.
So she rescued the children, three of them at first, though they had lost two, four able bodied people might still stand a chance. That's right, she'll see how useful these children could be, she'll train them hard and after that, they'll wait until the competition within the headquarters is finished.
Nyla isn't very well versed in the inner systems of the headquarters, haven't even learned their name yet. But she did read from her father's letter about the gruesome experiments that happened within. His father didn't go through much detail on such, and only said the experiments were made to find something important. 'Something' was yet to be specified.
But right before he had apparently left, news was circulating that the main leader would be hosting a competition. A competition of wits, power, brains. Capability. Capability for what? Neither Nyla nor her father knew.
But with the children, she figured it'd be easier to hide and blend in once these young competitors go back to where they came from. She'd seen them prowling around the forest, they were young and tough, some were rich, and could definitely afford to fly through a helicopter. But Nyla couldn't really find any launchpads to prove this matter. The building's roof doesn't seem very stable either, as a bulging room had been struck smack dab in its middle.
They'd surely have to leave by boat.
She'll dress the children as competitors and have them sneak into a boat.
The end of the competitions would be in a couple more days, to her estimate at least four more months.
Nyla exhaled, realizing she thought too much, and Layana had already left her side. The moon has disappeared now, too. Leaving her basking in the warm rays of the sun. Nyla moved for the first time, upturned face leveling back to its usual place.
Nyla immediately buckled, headache spreading through her nape. She whimpered slightly, it had been a wrong decision to leave her head at such a lolling position.
She leaned against a tree, looking back at the space she and Layana had stood. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she considered the kid's question yet again. '"Will you...finally help us save her?"'
Her jaw was loose, and her mind even looser, sleep slowly taking over her mind. Her natural instincts said 'no' but something within her seemed to pause. That day. She remembered the day they first talked about the subject of saving Cathy.
She had noticed the light that disappeared from her face when she said 'no.' Cathy had meant something for Layana, for Andriette, Mason and Sally. Every single one of them. They want to save Cathy, right?
Nyla wasn't very good at noticing people's feelings or emotions or all of that emotional part of the Human brain. But she noticed the light their eyes captured when they even mentioned Cathy once. And the night Sally was sleeping and everyone was taking care of her, she had spoken, mumbled the very name. A quick look of solemnity hung on Andriette and Mason's faces.
But Layana...come to think of it, she did cave in far too easily when she dismissed their idea of saving Cathy and Sally. Well that was mainly because Layana had planned to save them herself all along. What a foolish plan. But Nyla managed to learn more about this young girl even more now.
She doesn't want her family to get hurt. And she'll definitely save them if she could. And...Nyla's mind traveled to the young boy and his poor fate within the walls. It had surely left a huge, gruesome scar on the children. Though Layana doesn't seem like she understands her fault, she subconsciously tries to avoid that mistake, albeit creating more mistakes. But the effort was still appreciated.
Layana would definitely still save Cathy, no matter how much Nyla stops her. Even when it seemed irrational, Layana seemed to always follow her heart wherever it may get her. Nyla senses trouble. Though she understands the young girl's resolve, and relates with her grief, Nyla is still the adult here. She would have to steer Layana away from the building as soon as possible.
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