The Experimentals: Choose your own adventure

Meet with Luke (1)

Sariya waited until Azan took his pod to retrieve more supplies, then she took a smaller pod he kept in the back. Azan had shown her how to work it and she programmed in the coordinates Luke gave her. As the pod flew into the waterfall, she looked back on the small house she had shared with Azan and forced herself to look ahead. She had to stop thinking about the past if she wanted to live. She had to move on. Perhaps she could come back to Azan after she met up with Luke. Or maybe she would never see him again. She couldn't think about that now. She continued looking forward until the pod stopped. She got out and found herself on the outskirts of a small village with mud huts and thatched roofs. Small, round Wislets bounded about in the distance and she smiled as she watched them playing with each other.

"Sariya," a voice called out to her and she saw Luke standing a little before her. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come. I know you've been through a lot, but I'm glad you're here."

She took a step towards him. "Why am I here?"

He looked at her. "You tell me."

She was taken back. "I don't know. I guess deep down, I knew you cared about me and I owed you an apology. I didn't know what I was doing."

He smiled. "You don't owe me anything. You don't need to explain yourself. You made the best decision for yourself in that moment with the information you had, and I can never fault you for that. I realized that I was pushing The People's agenda to get you back to them. My job was to care for your safety, but I realized I wasn't caring for your well-being. The Aceiavay have put a bounty on your head. Every slave trader and bounty hunter is out here looking for you."

"So I'm supposed to just go with you? I can take care of myself."

He nodded. "That could be, but I want to know that you're okay even if it's not with me."

Sariya looked him. "I guess that's why I came here."