Chapter 29 - End of Darkness
July
Even the darkest place feels like home if it’s filled with the people you love.
But it can reach a deeper shade of black when the souls of those you love act like strangers.
What if Galen faked his friendship all this time? What if…What if…. But it’s hard enough to run in the dark, wounded, tired and in pain, let alone with your head full of dangerous thoughts.
What was a cautious, silent walk to put enough distance between us and the destroyed Chella has rapidly turned into a race to safety, hushed only by the soft, wet forest’s undergrowth.
Or at least this is what I think it is because all I can hear, over Tabitha’s whispered orders to keep moving and Galen repeating he doesn’t need to be carried like a sack of potatoes, are the songs of night birds and the frantic scurry of animals running away from our approaching steps.
If not for the intermittent rays of moonlight slicing through the treetops, I would fall on my hands and knees every few steps.
“I thought you were taking us to Sector 43.” It’s the first thing I dare say, and in such a low voice that even Tabitha, leading the way inches before me and mimicking the sounds of birds, probably didn’t hear me.
“She is. We’re actually inside its last, natural green heart. Also—we don’t call it Sector 43. Our home is not a lab.” Jyn’s voice hops behind me whenever he adjusts Galen on his right shoulder.
“What do you mean in the heart—” I must have misunderstood, but Tabitha cuts me off.
“Why don’t we stop and start a campfire to make it easier for them to find us?
Keep your feet moving and your mouth shut.
All of you.” Her steps are surprisingly light.
“The glorious Sector 43, as you call it…well, you’re about to see what’s left of it with your own eyes.
And, once we’re there, please refer to it as Ventiol. ”
None of their statements makes sense to me, but this is all I can get given the situation.
Our steps grow slower with every leaf that crunches, with Galen’s every uncomfortable moan. Each disembodied sound freezes us until everything around us is silent once again.
“We will soon be unable to lift even a finger if we don’t rest and take a breather. Tabs, please,” Jyn states, as Galen’s pain becomes too loud and impossible to ignore.
But she replies without stopping, “Not a chance. If we stop, Merya and the others will gather our remains. We’re too exposed. And we’re on the wrong side of the river…”
Checking my back for the invisible threat Tabitha has been mentioning since we set foot in the forest, I pick up the pace. “Who are they? Are the Herionos after us?” I cover my mouth, blaming my empty stomach and fatigue for my audacity.
Tabitha comes to a sudden halt. An amused note softens her voice when she comments, “I forgot how—” but Galen starts coughing, interrupting her.
She casts him a quick glance before adding, “I forgot Galen warned me about your mouth working faster than your brain sometimes.”
“I never said that,” Galen objects, trying to get off Jyn’s back without much success.
“Alright,” Tabitha throws us a quick look, “Brilliant brain. Is that better? Now, if everyone can please stay quiet and stay low—”
Without warning, she grabs my arm and yanks me down to my knees just seconds before small dots of light start flashing in and out of the foliage before us.
“What is it?” I ask, tasting damp soil and sharp little stones under my hands.
But Tabitha presses a finger over her mouth before turning to Jyn, who crouches beside me after setting Galen against a tree.
“Am I reading it correctly?” Tabitha whispers.
Jyn remains still, staring at the odd sequence of lights for a few seconds. “Same word? How many times?” he asks.
“What are they talking about?” I turn to Galen, who’s managed to prop himself up on his elbows. The lights reflect on his pale face as he looks at me silently, nodding slightly as though inviting me to do the same.
“I think it’s…give me a second…” Tabitha mutters, tapping a finger on her thigh.
Twenty and something seconds, I count about one for each flash of light.
Tabitha slams a hand on the ground, with a grunt, sending shards of stone and little lumps of soil flying. “Bloody hell, you taught her well, Jyn. It says R O G U E. When did she get so fluent with the code?”
“You know, there is not much to do when you’re hiding with limited access to sunlight, surrounded by the same faces every day.
It is either perfecting survival skills and personal knowledge—or sex.
I told them we don’t have space for more hungry mouths unless those mouths can catch their food themselves. ”
I swallow a laugh as Galen chortles beside me, “How I missed you guys! But—sorry to ruin your little moment of pride. I don’t think Merya is behind that message.”
I startle. When did he find the time to befriend these people?
Jyn and Tabitha snap their heads towards Galen simultaneously, and with such speed, my thoughts evaporate.
“You’re not saying…Jyn?” Tabitha slowly turns to him with an accusatory expression.
“He promised he would stay put.” Jyn scratches his neck with a bashful smile, “But you know Mack. He’s like an octopus…” He shrugs as if that helps explain everything.
Tabitha sighs deeply through her nose and slowly gets up, brushing away some dirt from her hands and trousers. “I’ll have a word with him once we’re back. In the meantime, don’t make yourselves too comfortable. Anyone else could have spotted those lights; we still have some ground to cover.”
I realise my jaw has dropped in confusion when Galen moves towards me on all fours and pats me on the back. “They may sound unconventional, but they know what they’re doing.”
“Do not do that to me,” I point at his smile, “You’ve lost that power. I don’t know what game you and these people are playing, but I’m still deciding if I can trust you.”
“Oh.” He tilts his head. “At least, help me up?” He stretches a hand towards me with a stupid smile plastered on his cracked lips.
“You have enough freaking stamina to keep secrets from me…” I slap his hand away, “You can stand up on your own.”
But as I straighten my legs, which have turned numb from the time spent crouched, a firm hand grabs me by the collar of Galen’s jumper and pulls me up, ignoring my objections.
“You’re still alive and breathing purple, love. And talking. A lot,” Tabitha hisses in my ear, forcing me around to face her. My back brushes against a tree. “What else can we do to convince you we’re not the enemy here? Roden is, and those scumbags who support him.”
I shake her hand off, arching my brows. “Well, you have to admit that if Tabitha Lorne shows up in Libera when the island falls under attack, I’m entitled to ask myself one or two questions.
I’m glad I’m alive, but this doesn’t kill the doubt that you have something else for me in mind—after we get to wherever you’re taking me. ”
In the cold moonlight, her lips press to a line so thin that her mouth nearly disappears. She steps back, scanning me from head to toe, with a hand on her hips.
“Glad to hear Roden Breith still depicts me like a fucking traitor. But, remember, girl, I’m not the one who asked you to condemn a gifted soul to Roden’s ‘special treatment’.” She jabs me in the forehead with a finger.
“Tabs!” Jyn and Galen exclaim at the same time.
“What?” Tabitha replies serenely. “I’m sure she’s done two plus two a while ago. If Galen took her to me and he knew about Roden’s plan…”
“And Galen has clearly kept himself busy, having fun with the Chapter and the rebels,” I add, stepping next to Tabitha and mirroring her stance.
“Hey,” Tabitha whispers.
I shrug. “Sorry, but this is how I’ve known you all my life. Point is, everybody seems to know a lot about this poor Rogue, except me, so…”
“Fair enough, we’ve been called worse. No offence taken,” Jyn says, grabbing Galen by his armpits to lift him. “Can you stand on your own, boy? Yeah? Good.” He brushes some locks of hair off Galen’s eyes and pats him on the head.
For a moment, I study the trio’s interaction: Galen smirking at Jyn pinching his cheek, Tabitha’s face softening while looking at the two.
“How far do you reckon?” I ask, pointing at some lights that are flashing the same word repeatedly to break their uncomfortable bubble of familiarity.
“It’s not the distance that worries me,” Tabitha breaks her stare and presses her right index finger on her lips, tapping the left one to her ear as if inviting us to listen. “The right question is: can we run fast enough?”
We’ve all experienced, at least once, that sticky, muggy feeling that precedes a downpour. Uncomfortable, heavy. Endless—until the rain comes, bringing fresh air and freedom.
As we all fall silent, the clammy layers of an invisible threat weigh on my mind, fogging my senses. Until Jyn loops one arm around Galen’s, and his boot steps on a skinny branch that cries like a massive, wounded beast.
We freeze.
Four pairs of eyes widen in unison, and we hold our breath as best as we can. Galen moans in pain and presses his face against Jyn’s shoulder to muffle the sound.
The trees around us start shivering with the echo of heavy marching steps, attacking the ground with such violence I feel sorry for whatever may end up under them.
Rain finally comes in the shape of Tabitha’s voice. “Shit, they’ve found us quicker than I thought. Fuck this! Let’s make it interesting and guide them closer to our barriers. Run to the lights and do not die.”
Jyn bows his head before scooping Galen onto his shoulder, ignoring his cry of pain and complaint. “Sorry, mate. We’ll go faster this way.”
Sprinting like an athlete, with an agility nobody could muster, while carrying the weight of another person, Jyn starts running towards the lights, looking way stronger than the man I saw pushing the fruit trolley back in Libera.