A Nagas tale

re-acclimating to an old life

I walked into the office building I had not seen in a few months. "Audrey! good morning! how was the after party last night!?" I watch the manager walk up to me as if I had not been gone for months now. His hunched back and grey hair reminded me of the different world I was in. I smile at the old guy thats always tried to be part of the young crowd. "It... was great." I answer despite my not being at any party. "Are you ready for the next assignment?" he asks handing me a folder. I look at it and take the folder "The archaeologists in Gaza have found an interesting piece of history! The Infamous Doctor Henry Morales asked for you!" He sounds excited. I look at the folder in my hands 'Dad asked for me?' I look at the plain ticket in the packet 'How would he know I was back?' I nod "All alright, I'll get this done." I whisper 'This is a nagas Aura!' The words the elder said before echo in my head. He nods "You're a bright kid so do your best." he pats my arm before walking away. I look at my bag that I usually bring with me to work. I turn back to the main door and head back home to pack a bag. I get my bag with the news on in the background. "Breaking news! A firefight has started in the historic excavation sight in Gaza! The local gangs have killed at least one Archaeologist and are creating barricades." I lift my head seeing the live recording. My eyes widen seeing my dad run out of the frame away from the danger. I quickly pack up and rush to the airport. 'this is the sight I'm supposed to be at! What's going on!?' I stop seeing the piece of Kogen's sleeve. I had put it in a small box to keep it safe. I close the box before shoving it into my carry-on bag and rush out of the house. The plane ride took two days and a few layovers. I had to be given a privet plan due to the airports refusing to fly over the chaos below. Once I got out of the plane A soldier walked up to me taking my bags and shoving a cevlar body armor over my head and a helmet. "Miss Audrey Morales!?" They ask as they walk me out of the terminal. I nod "Yes sir!" I answer ready to get some information. "Okay! We need to get you away from the area! we have set up a base and a camp outside of the city limits!" he tells me 'a base and camp outside the city limits?' I look around seeing a lot of the nearby buildings are smoking. 'what happened in the two days I was stuck in the plane!?' The man quickly shoves my head down as a bullet zips by. I gasp in horror as he shoves me into the Humvee. "Keep your head down! we will brief you on the way!" he shouts the instructions. I do as he said keeping my head down as the sound of gunfire echos from god knows where shooting at god knows what. "Go! Go!" the order is shouted I watch this man close the door as the humvy takes off. "Alright, this will have to be fast." he huffs "My name is Lieutenant Danial Argentina!" He introduces himself. "I am in charge of keeping you safe while you try to gather the information on what we found." he tells me. I nod "The item in question is currently being transported with us in a different truck. The Archeologist Henry Morales is in the truck with the item." He tells me. 'Dad!' I shudder turning behind me but there are no back windows. "He told me you are his daughter. Don't worry he will be fine, he's been through this before." He assures me. I nod "W.. why are these people attacking us!?" I ask wanting to understand what they have so far. He frowns "It seems these people are an extremist religious group." he answers. "A... a religious group!? that use guns! and kill!!?" I asked for the idea was crazy. He nods "When we found the item they came peacefully asking us to leave and to leave the item." he frowns "But, Doctor Morales said we need to take this to a safe place to study." he seemed angry. 's...so dad started this!?' I gasp as my head hits the metal door. I look up as an explosion throws up sand at the front of the humvy. "Get down!" I am dragged onto the floor of the Humvee by the lieutenant as a large blast makes my ears ring and the Humvee fly. The lieutenant holds onto me as we are thrown around. I close my eyes as I wait for this to stop. The moving stops and I feel sick to my stomach. I can hear shooting and men screaming. I get up smacking my head on the seats. I look up and look at the men in the Humvee. the driver and the other girl were Knocked out. "Lieutenant." I whisper seeing his head is bleeding but he is still breathing. I hear men screaming coming closer. 'oh no.' I reach for the gun on the lieutenant's hip. The image of a bloody war freezing me in my spot. 'Cadet! run! run! don't worry about me!' goosebumps rise on my skin. 'Cadet! don't try to be a hero!' The same voice from before shouts at me. I put the gun in my bag before finding a larger gun. The sounds of chains catch my attention. I look up at the broken window where a man is looking in. I gasp backing away he says something before reaching for me. I kick his hand as he grabs my leg pulling me towards the door. I scream trying to kick his arm away. I groan in pain as I'm dragged over broken glass. I feel hot sand under my arms as the man stops dragging me out. 'I found a live one!' I shudder understanding this man's language. 'She looked fresh, she will be a wondering addition to my wives.' He grinned reaching for me. I lift the gun I held onto and fired away 'No fucking way!' I'm pushed against the sand with how hard the recoil hit. The man falls back his head missing and his blood splattered on me. My ears were still ringing but I knew this was not going to be good. I see chains already attached to the door. I listen to them talk 'This is the same language the elder used before.' I recall the first time I met the elder this same language echoed in my head. They turned to me getting guns out holding the gun down at my hip. 'Breath cadet! don't act like the gun is a snake!' I press the trigger letting the bullets rain. I hit another two of the men which alerted the other men. I stop when the third guy falls to the floor. I realized that staying in here was not safe when the smell of gas hit my nose. I turn to the Humvee whose doors are still closed. I pull at the door handle but the door is lodged in the sand. I hear a crane start cranking and the chain is losing slack. I move out of the way hiding near the front door. I cover my ears as the sound of metal breaking and bending sounds horrible. I watch as the door is yanked free from its hinge. I look over at the people who are rushing for the Humvee. I quickly crawl back inside grab the lieutenant and start pulling him out and trying to drag him outside. 'hurry.' I feel like I am going to puke from the anxiety that fills me. 'Cadet! if seeing a dead body makes you sick! then Lay down and be a good dead body!' That voice shouts at me. I bite my lips as I manage to get the lieutenant out of the Humvee. I see one of the guys has started to wake up. "He..hey! Hey!" I shout "Get up! get out!" I shout as I hear more men coming to us. I lift my head seeing we are the only thing aside from the craine and two enemy trucks. 'no way. they left us!' I see the men from the trucks rush to us. "Hurry! we need to get away from the humvee!" I shout dragging the lieutenant by his vest. I clench my teeth wanting to cry with how much bullshit. 'why did Dad ask me to come!?' I wondered as I slipped on the sand in time to avoid a gunshot. I let go of the lieutenant and grabbed the gun. I felt so annoyed that I was stuck in this mess. 'I thought it was just gang violence.' I turn onto my stomach and aim the gun firing the last I have. The other guy managed to pull the lady who was still unconscious out. "We need to move!" he orders. I frown"I am aware of that! but people are coming!" I shout pulling out the pistol and shooting at the guys coming our way. "We are in charge of protecting!" He fires at the three men flanking us. I clench my teeth as I manage to shoot at least three men myself. "With what numbers!?" I ask as the gun clicks without firing. I grab the lady's gun and let the bullets fly some more. I backed away as they got closer. Once the last guy fell the gun clicked marking the empty magazine. I feel my body lose its strength. The adrenaline is fading as I fall onto the shell-covered sand. 'this is too much for the first few days back.' I feel scared but it's not enough to keep me frozen. This situation feels too familiar and I don't like it. My shoulder felt painful but I was alive. "Miss Morales! we need to go!" he shouts I nod grabbing my shoulder backpack with my papers and extra clothes. The man pulled out a few bags from the Humvee before he grabbed the lieutenant. "Can you bring the cadet?" he asks. I look at the lady and nod. I grab the girl by the vest and drag her with me. "T...that was some quick thinking." the guy huffs as we walk past the dead bodies. I nod "Where are we going? how far is the camp?" I ask. He frowns "It would have taken a day to get to the camp with the humvee." he answers I look at the trucks. "Why not take those?" I ask. "They are rigged with trackers and explosives, we've lost several men to those rigged trucks." he answers. I nod struggling with the girl I stop 'Ha she's not a light lady.' I look at the sand thats sliding into her vest. I pull out any of the items in her vest that would be useful before removing it from her body. 'I'm putting you in danger but I need to get you out of here.' I grab her arm and try my best to throw her onto my back. I groan feeling how heavy she was. I take a deep breath and start walking after the guy. "ya'know you seem very used to these situations." he states. I shake my head "No, not really." I answer as I catch up to him. "I'd much rather Ugh." I feel her start to fall. I tose her up again grabbing one of her arms. "be in a tea house sipping Gensing honey tea." I huff. He laughs as we walk "Same buddy same." he answers as he looks out at the sand. The headband I wore to hide my third eye has sand in it making it itchy. I close my eyes and rub the headband to get the sand out. "there is a large rock here." he points after walking for an hour. My legs felt like Jelly and my eye felt so irritated so I agreed. "We can take a break and treat the lieutenant's injury." he tells me as we get closer. I huff in pain from the extra weight. We get to the base of the large rock formation giving us cover from the right and there is a small nook created by a few other stones giving us a little more coverage. I lay the girl down under the stones and he puts the lieutenant in there too. I find the bottle of water I had with me and take a chance to wash out the sand from my eye. "Don't go too far!" he calls out as I step away. I nod leaning my head back and letting the water wash out the sand. I blink a few times as the sand falls away. I sigh shaking the sand out of the headband. I look around the area spotting several spots with auras. 'what is that?' I take a step closer "Hey! don't go too far!" The man grabs my arm pulling me back behind the rock. I gasped looking up at him his eyes were wide with disgust. I quickly cover my forehead and turn away. "S...sorry I just thought I saw something." I mutter "Th.. three eyes?" he asks. I frown knowing what would come next. "Come on, we need to stay out of sight." He leads me back. I nod "So you are the docs kid huh?" he chuckles. I look at him curiously "What do you mean?" I ask sitting down by the lady. He points to his forehead "He is a classified important personnel for the government." he answers. "He is a very old guy that even my grandfather remembers being around." He explains. I look at him shocked "Y..your grandfather?" I ask he nods "Yeah, the old man is going crazy nowadays but he always has such a clear memory of Doctor Morales." he sighs "he used to go by the name Doctor Archi and a few other names but he is the same person." he answers. "I'm sorry but how do you?" he nods "I am Lieutenant Samual Darthie I've been around a lot of anomalies regarding this study." he chuckles. "this study? and what is that?" I ask curiously. He nods "This country used to be a lush country a long time ago an age before We were even born." he answers pulling out a small map. I look at the map seeing the large mountain at the center. "These people had a history of large trees and lush forests." he murmurs. "so, you're investigating why it went dry?" I ask. He nods "According to my grandfather, before he was born his father and his father's father were in charge of the doc." he sighs "So it's a generational job?" I ask. He nods "Yes, the doc asks for the children of the families that have worked with him the most." he answers. "they found a large cave at the base of this mountain." he points to the largest mountain in the area. "Inside they found large skeletal remains of snakes. these things are larger than the mega conda from the prehistoric era." he explains. "The doc said these bones belonged to something called the Ancestor." he sighs. I feel my body shiver at the name. 'the ancestor? it exsited here too?' I look at the map. "He has been investigating what happened to it and how it affected the beings of this world." he explains. I look around us at the dusty sand and hot sun. "I've managed to send our location to the main base. I hope it doesn't take them too long to get to us." he shows me the GPS he is holding. I nod and look back out into the sand. 'to go from snowed in, to being cooked alive in three days.' I groan. I lift my hand seeing my age lines and my aura. 'I can still feel Kogens aura.' I curl up as I try to process what this guy just told me. 'So the military is aware of us, they are actively helping Dad try to find out why everything changed here. I frown 'but thats Dad's thing. I want nothing to do with it. I would have been happy with just living my life with Kogen.' I feel like I wanted to throw a fit but felt too hot for it. "Here sit under the rock." I watch the guy move the girl to one side. I don't argue with the offer feeling too hot. I sit under the rock tucking my headband into the bag. I sigh closing my eyes "I feel exhausted." I whisper. "Hey! wake up!" I flinch opening my eyes seeing it's already really dark. "huh? did I sleep the entire day?" I ask. He nods "It's fine, but we need to hide I see lights." he whispers pushing me into the little nook. "but won't they find us here?" I ask he shakes his head and sits in front of me. I fall back I catch myself before I hit the rock behind me. My hand touches something pointy. I turn and see clearly despite the darkness a pair of animal teeth. I move my hand away seeing a larger pile of bones. 'ugh we are going to die.' I turn my attention to the guy who peeks out. As stressed out as I felt I knew he felt more stressed. 'Audrey!!!' I shudder hearing Dad's voice. I crawl out Samual pulls at my arm trying to pull me back inside.  'Where!?' I look around the area. 'my aura! follow it! don't stay there!' He instructs. I search the area when I find his aura coming from in front of us. I grab the guy's shoulder he turns to me "What?" he whispers. I put my finger up to my lips. I point towards the front. He looks in the direction and nods. I quickly pick up the girl this time well rested and ready to get the hell out. Her weight felt like nothing with the boost of adrenaline I felt. The sound of trucks coming from where we had come from put a bigger pep in my step. 'be careful! they are coming!' Dad warns. I nod as I slowly run with the weight of the girl and the sinking sand it was hard to run any faster. I hear men shouting and the ringing of gunfire. 'holy fuck!' I panic as I slip falling face-first on the sand. I groan as the girl rolls onto the sand. I frown 'fuck fuck my clumsy legs.' I get up as the lieutenant runs past grabbing my arm and pulling me with him. He runs past the girl "No! wait!" I shout not wanting to leave her behind. "there is no time! She will die in her sleep!" he shouts. I look at him and then back at the girl. 'I never met her before but I rather die than leave somebody behind!' I felt this deep in my soul. I pull my arm out of his hand. I run back to the girl picking her up. I gasp seeing the trucks get closer I turn and start running. The men shout in the same language as the elder 'Over there! I see them!'. "Audrey!" I hear Dad scream my name. I look at the armored truck rushing for us. I am too busy trying not to vomit from the anxiety that only spikes as they start shooting. I close my eyes flaring my aura hoping it would do something to protect me from the bullets that are rushing for me. My feet slip again sending me tumbling onto the sand with the girl. I can feel the bullets graze my aura before hitting the armored truck. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I see Dad running towards me with a few other men. I get up and crawl over to the girl. I check her breathing seeing she is still alive. Dad grabs my arm pulling me up. "wait! Dad!" I shout as he holds me under his armpit and runs for the armored truck. "The girl! wait!" I shout kicking at him "She is fine! The men will get her! I'm not letting you die again!" he shouts as he tosses me into the armored truck with both lieutenants already inside. He gets in as the gunfire continues outside. He pulls me into his arms tucking my head down to shield me. I cover my ears as the screaming starts to haunt me. 'I'm not letting you die again!? what does he mean by that!?' I feel my body start to shake and the overwhelming fear starts choking me. 'It's too confusing.' I clench my jaw. 'I wish Kogen were here.' I close my eyes trying to think of Kogen and the good times we had. The loud shooting and screaming stop followed by shouted orders. I lift my eyes to see Dad looking out of the window. "It's safe." he lets out a huff. I nod dropping my hands from my ears. My heart is still pounding in my ears though. I noticed Dad's aura seeing how huge it was. I frown seeing the red color it gave off. 'This is the same color aura that dragged me out of the house.'  I grab his clothes "What the fuck is going on!" I demand as I regain my gusto. He turns to me shocked "W..what do you me..""you know damned well what I mean! the spell taking me back to Grandpa! the way you brought me back even though I was just fine over there with Grandpa and..." I frown shoving him away. I sit down and shake my head "W...why?" I ask simply. He seemed to deflate "Audrey, I felt the aura shift in that forest when you went missing." He answers "I didn't tell you anything before because I was not sure if you were the same soul as my child." he answers. I look at him "What?" I ask to which he nods "You were born to a dead soul in this world." he tells me. I flinch "Your first mother died ages ago, and your soul has been going through the process of rebirth I believe this is the third life." he tells me. I grab his shirt again shaking him "You knew I was being forced to die and be reborn! YOU KNEW I HAD TO FORGET EVERYTHING BEFORE BEING REBORN!?" I shout shoving him against the truck again. 'he was aware of this cycle! He was aware of It and said nothing to me!' The men in the truck turn to me with weapons ready. Dad picks up his hand. "Audrey, I could not risk you being born in that world." He tells me. I shake my head "Why Did you wait so fucking long!?" I shout at him as the pain of what I lived through this life starts tearing at me. "Why? if you knew there was a chance I'd be reborn why did you let that bitch take care of us!?" I demand balling a fist. "that bitch! that bitch that made me feel like a burden! the bitch that forced me to skip meals and starve! that bitch that tried to sell me off to a rich family!" I hiss lifting my hands ready to punch him. His face drops with guilt "I wasn't aware of her abuse until you went missing." he answers regrettably. "I was so focused on the sight that I never noticed how miserable she made you." he explains. The truck shakes as we move in the sand. I feel the anger rise to my chest. "Family matters aside." I turn to the one man I had ignored. "So this is the little naga you said was needed to keep researching." He offers me a smile. I turn to Dad "So what happened to the ancestor here?" I gave up on getting answers from him once I remembered what was going on I flopped onto my seat. "Oh, did the lieutenants brief you?" he asks. I nod "Yeah, Grandpa also said something about the ancestor before." I sigh. "ah you met the old fart." Dad chuckles. I nod "yeah, he's.... mental." I turn away from him. "Listen, Audrey, I understand you are angry with me but please." he begs. I look out of the window seeing the dark world. "so, they killed the ancestor here huh?" I ask remembering what Kogen's mom told me before. "You know something?" Dad asks. I nod "Not a lot but I have been told some things." I answer. My eyes spot a few auras that are similar to the forest aura back home. "Grandpa said the nagas that are born from the ancestor have to maintain seals around the area of his grave." I tell him what I deduced from his stupid reproduction rant. "Is this ancestor the same as the one back home?" I ask not facing him. "no, from tests I've run this ancestor is different from ours." he answers. I nod "Then there is nothing we can do." I answer with a sigh. "I didn't get any information that would seem important just a warning from extremist cults that believe the blood of a naga would unseal the ancestor." I told him what Kogen's mom had warned me of. "A nagas' blood can unseal the ancestor?" he asks. I shrug "It's not reliable information since it's what the cults over there preach." I answer turning back to Dad. He seemed to be lost in thought. "Doc?" Lieutenant samual asks. "Do you think?" the other man asks. "Then you have brought the right information." he whispers. "The first sight we found ages before you were born." he mutters "There was the blood of a naga not of the ancestor." he frowns "How did they manage to kill the ancestor?" I asked understanding what he was saying. He frowns "I'm not sure I've been trying to figure that out." he answers. I nod looking out at the auras my eye picked up. "We found the bones of the naga that matched the blood." he tells me. I turn away from him seeing two small auras behind Lieutenant Samual. "I have a theory." I whisper as I think of what could have happened. "Did the naga not produce an heir to look after the seals?" I ask remembering Grandpa's rant. "I've been searching but aside from us there have not been any other nagas." He answers. I nod looking at my hands "Then this world being as it is." I feel sad "It's become a purgatory, where souls come to die." I look up at these men. "If the nagas of this world were unable to reproduce an heir to the duties could it be that this world is just naturally dying?" I ask turning to Dad. He closes his eyes and nods "I thought the same but, there has to be a reason that Naga was unable to reproduce." he states. "As a male, he can have many wives to produce a child with. So why?" he asks. I frown disliking that custom of the older generation. 'I don't want anyone else!' I flinch recalling my argument with Grandpa. "M...maybe he wanted only one wife, and she was unable to produce one." I whisper my suspicion. "what? That would be stupid! not to mention selfish!" Dad scoffs. I look at him as he crosses his arms. "Did you have many wives?" I ask "That is not appropriate for the times." he answers. I turn my eyes to the three auras behind Dad. "Right." I whisper turning back to the man in front of me. "You've got some bad scraps." he points out. I nod "I'm fine." I ignore him. "Audrey, you are acting so cold." Dad sighs. "I have a lot I need to scream at you for... one being put into this shitty situation." I scoff as my phone rings. I pull it out of my bag 'hm? service?' I saw Aaron texted me. "hey girly! I hope you are feeling better! Milton and I will be busy for a few days." He wrote to me. 'oh I forgot to tell them I'd be overseas. I sent him a text letting him know where I was and that I wouldn't be home for a few days." I feel Dad peeking at my phone. "Oh, Aaron! Are you two dating?" he asks. I flick his forehead "No, Aaron is gay and is already married." I answer grabbing his cheek "Which, I would have been married too. if you had not dragged me back here." I hiss at him. "Oh so you found somebody." he chuckles. I frown "Yes, I found somebody, but you had to go and..." I sigh pushing away his face. "Will you be marrying more than one person?" He asks. I shake my head "No, I don't want more than one person." I answer honestly. "Audrey! you are going to..." I glare at him "I do as I please selfish or not I have not the patience for more than one partner." I stop his rant. He rubs his cheeks and chuckles. "I see letting you stay there for a while helped bring you out of your shell." he smiles. I look at him "So you knew where I was and you let me stay?" I ask. He nods "Yeah, I felt guilty about what you've been going through so I let you escape it for a while." he answers. I sigh "I see." I mutter. He nods "I also tried to let you stay there for your birthday so your body could stop aging but." I nod "Yeah, something new to look at.... but why did you ask me a journalist to come? wouldn't it be better to ask somebody else?" I ask he nods "Yeah, it would but I trust you have  better skill than most other people so I thought why not create a father-daughter duo!" he gives me a big grin. I scowl at him not really liking the idea of being dragged around in these dangerous missions. "hmm, well if this helps me find a way back home I won't give you problems." I resting my head on the metal panel behind me. "hm you are already calling it home?" He asks. I nod "I found a place I am happiest, with people I care about and they care for me." I answer looking up at the ceiling. "so this better also give me a way back. I'm not trying to die again and forget everything." I mutter.