INKWORLD

CHAPTER NINE

June 26, 2091

"Forget about this and go back to Inkwell."

That seemed like a logical decision, and at the same time an outrageous one. The latter was why we had all turned to glare at Prof. Thomas.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence. "There's no one here. The person you think called is probably dead. We've passed through several places but no motion was detected, what do you think it means?"

"You don't know what you're saying," Wunmi argued.

"Really? What are we going to do now? Hover around, desperately hoping for a human being? For how long? I know it's hard to go back to Inkwell and tell everyone you were wrong," he said, now facing me. "But you have to accept it. We can't keep grasping unto nothing and pretending it's something."

The others looked uncomfortable. I was sure they wanted to argue with Prof. Thomas but they didn't know what to say. He had a point. We hadn't seen anyone or any sign of motion on our journey to the village. We had no lead now and how long were we going to hover around searching for what I wasn't sure of.

I thought of going back to Inkwell with nothing. My opponents will laugh but most importantly, all those that had hope would be distraught. I thought of Angela Cassey. I was sure in looking for a way out for us, she had faced times where she wanted to give up. But she didn't. She kept pushing on.

A determined look crossed my face, maybe it was my stubbornness or just a feeling that I shouldn't give up, but I faced the others. "Let's get back in. We will hover around for a few more hours before we head back to the spaceship."

Prof. Thomas looked shocked. He obviously didn't expect me to do the opposite of what he just said especially after he had explained the futility.

There was a smile on Wunmi's face and she hung back with me. "I can see Mrs. Abimbola's stubbornness and Angela Cassey's determination."

I smiled back. If Wunmi had known my mother before she died, she would have also seen my mother's pride. My mum was not one to back down without a fight. When she was alive, she had told me of how she had sprained her ankle a few days before a beauty pageant. Against her doctor's orders, she went for the competition. She walked in front of the crowd in heels with her head held high and a smile on her face despite the brain shattering pain she felt in her leg.

She won the competition but she had to spend a few days in the hospital because of the inflammation of her leg. She said she spent those days with the beauty crown she had won on her head. I smiled as I remembered her. I missed her. The years that went by seemed to erase the memory of my parents face but I still clutched zealously to any memory I could remember.

We returned to the hovership and hovered around. Prof. Thomas had retired to a corner like a child who had been ignored. Two hours had almost gone by when Prof. Thomas came to seat with us, a smug look on his face. I could tell he wanted to say he had told me. However, my pride wouldn't let me give him that satisfaction.

I turned to Marcus who had been unusually quiet and had an uneasy look on his face. "Marcus, are you alright?" I asked.

He turned to me and gave me a small smile. "I think so."

"Wait! Why don't you use your twin intuition and see if you can tell us where your sister is. Even if we don't find Tobi, we might find a survivor," Wunmi said.

"Or a skeleton," Prof. Thomas said.

We all turned to glare at him. I turned back to Marcus, deciding to ignore Prof. Thomas. "That's a good idea, Wunmi. Do you think you can do it? Try to find your sister."