INKWORLD

CHAPTER SIX

June 6, 2091 - June 25, 2091

Wunmi went into business mood and grabbed her paper. "Please, have a seat."

Dr. Sakshi took a seat and Caleb and I took the other seats nearby.

"Dr. Sakshi, what area do you specialize in?"

"I'm a psychologist. I deal with mental health."

Wunmi slowly looked up from her pad with a question in her eyes, one I was also wondering. Why did she want to go with us and what did her career skill add to us?

Dr. Sakshi seemed to understand the unasked question. "I've thought of it. Several people were left on earth. If there are survivors like the rumours say, they must have been infected and have been through a lot. I would like to study that, but most importantly, I will like to help them."

I nodded. That made sense.

Someone knocked on the door and poked her head in, it was my secretary and I knew that meant my attention was needed. I excused myself, gave a thumbs up to Wunmi and then walked out. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

For the rest of the week, we got a few more volunteers but we only agreed to three. Wunmi's friend, Mr. Brown, who was a scientist and was more vast in the ink research had agreed to go with us. We had also gotten a historian and researcher, Prof. Thomas. He had a sharp tongue and carried himself in a proud manner. Wunmi and I weren't a fan but we agreed to let him go with us. His reaction, as if he was sure we couldn't refuse him, almost made us change our mind and throw him out of the door.

The other volunteers were just curious people who seemed to have made up their mind to volunteer when they noticed others volunteering. I didn't want anyone to be a burden to us, so we turned down those we felt couldn't help us.

With six of us; Wunmi, Ben, Dr. Sakshi, Dr. Brown, Prof. Thomas, and I; and seven other flight crew members, we were ready to go.

The day before the journey, I went to check out the spaceship once again. The engineers had worked on it to prepare it for the journey. A few days ago, they had taken a test ride outside Inkwell and returned. I wanted to make sure everything was ready. It would be a shame if we crashed before reaching earth or if we reached earth and couldn't get back to inkwell.

I met Wunmi carefully arranging some boxes in the spaceship we are taking.

"What's this?" I asked, moving closer.

She glanced at me before turning back to the boxes. "A few bottles containing the cure for the inky infection. There have been a lot of experiments since we found the cure and some upgrades. You said there are survivors so they might definitely need the cure."

I nodded. "But will it be safe to give them on earth, if it's still covered in ink?"

Wunmi shrugged. "I don't know. It's better to just take it in case."

I nodded in agreement.

Two weeks after Tobi's call, we were ready to blast off to earth. It was a tearful send off. The team hugged their families and I watched with tears pooling in my eyes.

Wunmi's family was there for her. Her mother had become better after taking the cure for the infection but Wunmi and her dad still fussed over her. Wunmi's husband looked like he was reluctant to allow her go with me to earth but she was having none of it. If there were people on earth who needed our help, she was determined to help.

Shewa, Mrs. Abimbola's daughter, and Caleb were there to wish me off. I carried Shewa in my arms and splattered kisses on her face.

"When will you come back?" she asked, in her tiny voice.