Invited

Fifty - Timber

For a long time, Paul and I walked through the Garden in silence. The leaves squished under our feet as we made our way along the not-so-used paths through the trees. People weren't around. It was just the two of us and nature – artificial nature, but nature all the same. The animals were less shy, and that relaxed me. Out in the more popular areas of the Garden, not seeing even a squirrel weirded me out. If it weren't for the birds chirping overhead, I'd have been even more worried by the lack of wildlife. The animals must not have been too used to all of the people yet either.

Katana, of course, loved the Garden – with or without squirrels. I had to bring her with. She was well trained enough to not have to be on a leash. Her missing me also helped with the matter. She didn't seem to ever want to leave my side, like she was afraid if she did, I would go away again only this time I wouldn't come back. Since there weren't a lot of other dogs on the ship, she didn't have anything to distract her from me. Though, she did love people, she knew better than to jump on them. My cat, Shuriken, on the other hand was giving me the cold shoulder. He probably missed Talia. He'd always liked her more than me.

"You're quiet today," Paul said.

I shrugged. "You're the second person who's commented about that. It's like people expect me to talk all of the time or something."

"Usually, you have questions or things concerning you."

"I'm tired of being concerned over stuff. I figured I'd try not worrying for a change."

"I saw the video," Paul said softly. "And I know you well enough to know you are worried."

Sighing, I kicked at the ground as I walked. "Fine, yes, I'm worried, terrified, confused, shocked, a lot of different things. What if she's being hurt right now?"

"The Gorgachan would not go against their word in a negotiation. They know better. Doing so would result in them not getting what they want. Layla promised Talia would not be harmed in any way. She will be true to that promise. Though, I'm sure it will be a huge disappointment to her. The Gorgachan are known to be violent for the sake of alleviating their boredom. It is one of the reasons the Achlivans do not trust them enough to share their technology."

Alleviate their boredom? Talk about messed up. I'd heard stories of humans who'd done things like that before. Kids who hurt people because they had nothing better to do with their time. They were few and far between on Earth. People usually still had a moral compass guiding them. I couldn't imagine an entire society living in chaos and anarchy because they were that bored with their lives and had nothing else going on. How could they function, let alone survive?

Paul stopped and gazed ahead at a tree, seemingly lost in thought. "I'm more concerned for Wicken. He will be harder to get out of there than I originally thought. I don't think they know who he is, not entirely, and that is something to our advantage. However, I also don't believe they are willing to let him go. Layla seemed to have a fascination with him. Reading her body language, I would almost say she thought of him as a possession."

I hadn't been paying enough attention to Wicken, which probably made me a jerk. The whole time we'd been on the video call, all I could do was keep my eyes glued on Talia. I was afraid to blink because I didn't want to close my eyes, open them, and find her gone. Getting both Wicken and Talia back was important to me. Chevelle deserved happiness too, and it would be nice to get to know the guy better so we could eventually be friends. I'm sure he'd understand if I told him I wasn't watching his every move. In fact, he'd probably be glad. Why would he want me paying so much attention to him in the first place?

Reflecting on Layla's attack, I did notice she seemed to have a different kind of fire in her eyes when she attacked Wicken. There was obsession and jealousy present. Was she in love with him? Or simply infatuated? What kind of relationship did they have in the first place? I didn't want to think he'd cheat on Chevelle, least of all with an alien, but I didn't know if this Gorgachan woman would force him into something he didn't want for the sake of allowing him to keep breathing.