Mahingga

Chapter 21: Kevick

Ako walked in silence, blindfold and hand restraints still in place. They'd since been shoved into another car, and they'd driven for perhaps a couple hours before they stopped and got out. Now they were walking inside some building. Ako guessed it was inside because the lighting was dim, and every sound echoed around them.

This whole experience seemed like some giant hoax. What was wrong with the Pawids? It didn't make sense for there to be all the crazy factions. It also felt weird that they were all so desperate to control him. Granted, Leypower was pretty awesome, but they didn't have to take him at gunpoint in order to get access. This seemed like it could easily be resolved diplomatically rather than by forcing Ako into things.

Even in his thicker Pawid clothes, the air inside this building was a bit chilly. He was grateful he wasn't wearing his old school robe.

They were told to stand still as voices whispered quietly around them. It felt like people were just staring at them, and Ako felt wildly uncomfortable.

"They've probably never seen anything that looks as weird as you," Kita said to him, as if reading his mind.

Ako said nothing, but gritted his teeth a little harder.

"Remove their binds and take off their blindfolds," a deep voice said, resounding through the room.

When his blindfold was removed, Ako took a quick scan of his new surroundings. The dimly lit room was crowded. There were about two dozen people standing there, and as he expected, they were all staring at him.

The man who'd spoken came forward another step. His face had started to wrinkle with older age, but his hair kept its dark, sandy color. "So, you're Ako, the young engineer from a distant island, eh?" He smiled as he looked down at Ako with his big blue eyes.

"I suppose I am," Ako said with little enthusiasm.

The older man nodded. "I'm Kevick. And you?" he asked Kita.

"Kita?" another man said, shouldering his way to the front of the crowd. Kita's pale green eyes went wider than Ako had ever seen them. In fact, her face somehow managed to go even paler than it normally was (though truly, her skin had turned a darker, golden color during their trip across the ocean). The man's mouth hung open, his lip trembling in a slight movement as if he were about to cry.

"Father!" Kita exclaimed. She bounded two steps forward until she and the man hugged each other.

"Ah," Kevick breathed with a nod.

Ako was floored. "What? I thought you said your dad died or got carried away in one of those westward storms or something, Kita." Okay, this is it. This is really just some big hoax.

Kita was still too elated to answer him, but it only frustrated him more.

"Kita, what's going on?" Ako all but shouted the words.

She finally spoke to him. "Ako, this is my father. I wasn't sure if he'd made it, and I never heard back from him or anything." Despite her momentary elation, she was now frowning. "Why did you never reach back out, father?"

"I'm sorry, Kita, but I couldn't," her father said. "My boat was destroyed on the trip. We have no aircrafts nor the fuel to spend on traveling that far. I wish I could have, Kita. I'm so sorry about that, but at least you were able to find your way here, and you've brought help as well."

It took a moment for Ako to realize that her father was speaking to them in Mahinggan. And what did he mean by saying that Kita had brought help? Was that a reference to Ako or something? "Okay, okay, great," Ako started. "I'm glad you two are back together, but what's going on?" He still spoke in Pawidan, hoping that maybe somebody else might pay attention as well.