The Truth that wasn't there

Eight

Owondiki swayed in the back seat as the galloping road pushed her into the door. She hissed and sat up, unaware of where they were. Her eyes were covered, and the windows were up so she couldn't hear, see or smell the environment outside the truck.

All she knew was that they'd been driving for hours.

It had to be dark, already. The inconsistent bumps on the road that they'd recently begun to encounter meant they'd left the main roads. They were either driving through a forest or a village because the driver kept turning left and right and left and right at varying patterns.

The truck turned into a bend and started descending a hill so steep that she had to hold the head of the driver's seat to keep from leaning forward. A few moments later, the truck leveled into a straight drive on more bumps. About ten minutes later, it slowed to a stop.

The car opened and hot air and the smell of trees and leaves hit Owondiki as someone took her arm and led her out of the car. She lifted her head to see if she could look under the blindfold as she walked in, but she saw nothing.

"Kajera," she heard as a noisy crowd moved closer, causing the people leading Owondiki to swerve to avoid a collision. Most of the people broke into Jiki, speaking excitedly as Jera's voice could be heard in the mix. From the accent, they were Izecha villagers. The intonation and accent of non–English speaking Jiki was amazingly easy to pinpoint, and these people were uneducated. At least in the Western sense.

"That's okay, people," a man said from the crowd. "Let her pass. Once she's showered and eaten, you can see her in the morning."

"O te nuoh." I missed you, Jera said to him.

"O te nu di." I missed you, too, he replied. "You look horrible," he said familiarly.

"Where are you taking me?" Owondiki asked, pulling back from her handlers.

"Is that her?" he asked in a whisper.

"She can hear you," Owondiki said, as she was pushed to keep walking. "Where are we? Stop!" she said. "Just stop for a second."

Surprisingly, they let her go.

"Take off her blindfolds," Jera said as someone untied it from behind Owondiki.

The man standing beside Jera was taller than Owondiki and Owondiki was not a short woman. He had long, braided hair that was held back in a wrapped bun with a full beard. He wore a headset over his head, a pair of lens-less frames on his face, wedged low on his nose, and a tablet in his hand.

Owondiki looked around the place, taking in the huts that were lined around a large, clearing in a circle. From where she was standing, she could see only circular huts, going to the left or the right, but the one in front of her was a square hut with a thatched roof that resembled the popular, modern huts that were built with cement and tar, but painted with the colors to mimic the original huts. She was sure that if she took off the thatch on the roof, she'd see modern materials.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To your room." Jera nodded and the women handling Owondiki pushed her into the square hut, with Jera and the man following behind.

Unlike the outside which was covered in mud and natural furnishings. The floor was covered in gray tiles, while the walls had a mural of a maiden run. It stretched over all four walls to the sides of the elevator doors. The light overhead was a dim, blue light that offered enough illumination for them to see each other, but only so.

As the metal doors slid shut the whole room sunk beneath them. Owondiki stumbled back at the wall. An elevator. She wasn't shocked by the idea that people had fitted an elevator into native structures. It was a common occurrence among most clans-blood who had underground property in villages much like this one. She was only surprised because she hadn't been aware of it.

"Where exactly are we?"

"Is this how she talks to you, Kajera?" the man asked, looking at Owondiki as if she was a naughty child.

"Would you like me to bow when I speak?"

"That would be preferred. Yes," he said, toying with her.

"Jera–"

"Excuse me?" he asked, all jokes disappearing from his face as the woman beside Owondiki looked at her as if she had sprouted two heads. "What did you just call her?"

Licking her lips and holding back all the angry things she wanted to say, Owondiki took a deep breath.

"Miss Franklin," Owondiki said. "Where are we?"

"Boboyile," Jera replied, leaning on her walking stick, looking unfazed by Owondiki's tone.

Owondiki couldn't help the gust of laughter that emitted from her.

"You can't be serious," she said.

"Do I strike you as a joker?"

"It isn't going to work. If you want to overthrow the clans, you won't find some supernatural fountain hidden in a pit in Boboyile. It's a myth."

"Of course, it is," Jera replied, rolling her eyes. Like Owondiki was the crazy one. Like Owondiki was the one who believed in crazy fantasies.

"Even if it's real, you need blood from all four clans," Owondiki said, holding up her bound wrists to show four fingers. "In case you haven't noticed, there aren't a lot of them lying around these days."

"I'm resourceful."

"You will lead this country into chaos."

"Careful," the man said, lifting a hand between Owondiki and Jera when Owondiki tried to move closer to her.

"You think we're in trouble now?" Owondiki continued, ignoring him. "Jiki resources exist for the clans. Not us. If you keep angering them, the land will reject commoners altogether."

"The land hasn't accepted a commoner for two thousand years, Owondiki."

The elevator doors opened at the base of the shaft and they all came into a larger area, lit by brighter bulbs. The walls were painted yellow and the room was round, with the elevator at the center. There were two, wooden doors, oblong. The string drawings here were more elaborate, sprinkled with more color and detail of a commoner's water celebration that occurred at the beginning of every rainy season. It showed a bunch of villagers, in various positions of prayer, each holding a variety of water containers.

Frowning, Owondiki took a tentative step forward.

"I know why you brought me here and I won't help you."

Jera nodded at the women and they took Owondiki into the room on the right side of the elevator while Jera and Steven headed to the other one on the left.

"I won't help you bring this country into ruin, Jera–Miss Franklin. DO YOU HEAR ME?"

They shoved her into the room and shut the door as she heard the clicking sound of the locks sliding into place.