YEAH! A new chapter! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry it's super long, but you're gonna love it! So exciting…Okay, so if you haven't seen the ninth doctor episode that has Nanogenes in it, they are tiny golden pieces of dust that can heal people. Sorry, had to explain that for this chapter to make sense. Anyway, my sneak peek last time might have left you a little excited for this chapter, so without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 5: The Red Snake
Dawn's POV-
My eyes flutter open to the sound of the long, low horn again. At first, I wonder why I'm not inside the hut, but then all of the memories come back from last night. I sit up, stretch my arms out, and then look at Dusk. He has one arm all the way out, the other scrunched in, one leg folded, and the other straight. He's also snoring. I chuckle quietly at his position.
Leaning over, I use one arm to shove him a little roughly, and then say, "Dusk, time to get up!" He groans, so I add, "Don't forget you have to fight today. Don't you want to do some extra training, practice, rehearsal, whatever they call it?"
That's when he shoots up into a sitting position and exclaims, "Oh yeah! I forgot! I promised I'd meet Gantin for some more training right before the battle this morning. Thanks, Dawn." He races off, and I yell, "Wait, Dusk, don't you want to-," but he's already gone. I sigh and shake my head, then stretch out my legs, and finally decide to stand up.
Resisting the urge to yawn, I make my way over to the hut, going inside. The first thing I notice is that the basin of dirty water was replaced with new, clean water. Walking over to it, I splashed some on my face, arms, and legs, knowing it's no shower, but it will have to do for now.
Next, I reach beside the basin, where I put an extra change of clothes yesterday from the TARDIS, and start to change. The outfit is a teal t-shirt with khaki shorts. Plain and simple, but that's how I like it. Oh, and, of course, I top off my brown hair with my light blue beret.
Finally, I do one final stretch, and then peek outside of the hut. The Mazai are eating breakfast, so I walk out to join them. Taking my place at my now "regular" seat, I notice Dusk's seat is empty. I guess he's skipping breakfast, I chuckle inwardly.
"Hello, Dawn," I hear Marlon's voice greet me. Glancing up at him, I smile, and reply, "Good morning, Marlon." "I wish," Marlon sighed. "But no morning is good if the future results in war." I frown, a little irritated with his pessimist remark. Whoa! Irritation? Since when do I get irritated? Strange…maybe it's the whole "being around people" again. I mean, I've been lonely and sad, but I don't remember feeling irritation that much.
I don't respond to his comment, but instead nod and continue to eat. It's the "pancakes" again this morning. I notice that several of the Mazai men and boys are talking, while the women and girls stay silent, eating their food with a sad expression on their faces.
I notice one of the very young girls, however, has a different look on her face. It reminds me of the expression I saw on Markis's wife's face…only this young girl's face obviously represents concentration, not sorrow. Or maybe the expression is supposed to be a mask of anxiety? I can't tell.
And that's when the girl looks at me. This young, tiny little girl, probably four or five years old, looks at me. She gives me an expression of pure, absolute terror. And then, she just bursts into tears. Silent tears, though. You'd think she'd want attention, but the tears are quiet, and no one seems to notice.
My heart shatters at her expression, reminding myself of when I was little, and would look in the mirror everyday, seeing a look of loneliness on my face. And that mask couldn't be removed, even when I was happy, there was still a hint of loneliness. It stayed on until Dusk came.
Our gazes are locked, and I can't look away. I don't know why, but I really can't. That's when one, single, tiny thought goes through my brain. The thought might have been a short sentence, but boy did it have a lot of meaning: I'm scared.
When I blink, our connection is broken, and I shake my head. That thought wasn't mine; it was the girl's. Something in my heart tells me I need to go and comfort her.
Standing up, I begin to leave the table, ignoring Marlon when he asks, "Is something wrong, Dawn?" I head to the small table, only large enough to fit four other girls her age, and reach the little girl.
She looks into my eyes, and I crouch down until I'm her height, and whisper, "Hello." The word seems to break the distance between us, and she grasps me in a hug. I pick her up, take her away from the table, and set her on the ground a little further away.
The girl continues to cry, her sniffles piercing my heart. I remember, when I was five, and Mum left me, I would cry almost every night, because I missed her.
"How did you do that?" I ask, looking the little girl in the eye.
"I can send messages to other minds," She explains, whispering. "I wanted someone to come and make me feel better..and…and…" She continued to sniffle and tears dripped onto the ground.
The girl holds up her hand, I carefully examine it, and find what she wants me to see: A snakebite scar. "Ah, yes," I realize. "I forgot about the whole getting 'super powers' when you're bitten by a Mazai." I put quotations around the word super powers. "So why the tears?"
"I-I'm scared," The girl begins. "Papa's going to fight today. I don't want him to…to…" The girl couldn't continue. "Where's your mother?" I ask, wondering why the girl's mum isn't comforting her. The girl simply points to the sky, and I nod. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I lost my mom, too."
"Where's sh-she?" The girl sniffled. "Lost," I murmured. Or getting arrested, a little voice in my head whispered.
"Tell you what," I begin, looking at this little tiny girl, knowing what she's been through. "I have a friend going to fight today. He's not even a Mazai, did you know that?" The little girl nodded. "And I know he'll come back," I nod, hoping I sound more confident than I feel. "You know what else I know? That whether your father comes back or not, you have a whole, big family here that is willing to take care of you. And that includes me," I tap her nose. "Even if I'm only staying for a while longer. So you don't have to worry at all, hon."
The little girl smiles slightly, and then whispers, "Okay."
I chuckle, and ruffle her hair. "Now, you should go finish breakfast, shouldn't you?" The girl nodded, and skipped back to her table.
A little hollow feeling filled up my heart when she was gone. Then I chuckle inwardly to myself. I didn't know I was capable of comforting a child. Then I remember something River Song told me Amy Pond said to my dad: "You never interfere unless it involves children crying then, is that it?" I smile. "Guess I'm the same way," I whisper to myself.
That's when realization hits me like a baseball bat hits a baseball to get a home run. Several images flash through my brain: The look of concentration on the girl's face, the look on Markis's wife's face, the snakebite scar, the telepathy, the two words "Markis's Wife" on the corner of the diary page…
I gasp, slapping a hand to my face. "I'm so stupid." The look of concentration on the little girl's face matches the one on Markis's wife's face. "I'm missing something, though," I murmur, knowing how stupid I must look standing in the middle of camp, but at the moment, I don't care.
"Alright, playback."
One of the many capabilities of a Time Lord or Lady's brain is that they can go back through their memories and zoom in, out, or slide it around, as if looking at a picture. This is what my dad did on his first adventure in his eleventh regeneration, or so my Mum says.
I think back to when I first entered Markis's home. I saw him, and his wife. Zoom, I thought, and the picture I had captured with my brain zoomed in. Okay, let's take a closer look at Markis's Wife… The picture started to zoom around every inch of her body, and that's when I spotted it: A tiny space between her hair and the skin on her neck. Zoom. There it was, a little scar, randomly creasing up and down, over and under…identical to the little girl's, which mean their ability is the same: Telepathy.
My eyes shoot open, and I smile: That must be it. Markis's wife was concentrating on sending me a telepathic message, but she couldn't get through because one: my brain is guarded because of its Time Lady awesomeness, and two: we didn't make eye contact long enough.
New objective: Talk to Markis's wife and figure out what she wanted to tell me.
My heart skips a beat when I realize that means sneaking into the Tenepiscus's camp, which is now hostile territory. "Awesome," I smile. "Some excitement."
Noticing that the rest of the Mazai people have finished his or her breakfast, I decide to slip out of the camp without telling anyone, because I'm sure Marlon wouldn't allow me to go if I told him. Silently, I creep over to the Trail of Sorrow, and look around one last time to make sure I'm not being followed. Then, I run for it.
I run as fast as I can, knowing that if I'm spotted, it might cause some awkward questions. Worse than that, it could result in being forced back to the camp.
Suddenly, I hear a light, girly voice cry, "Dawn!" For just a moment, I stop, frown, sigh, and then whip around, the happy mask back on. And that fake mask becomes real when I realize I'm face to face with the little girl from earlier.
"How do you know my name?" I ask her.
"I read it in your thoughts that first time," The little girl explained.
I nodded, and the girl continued, "I want to give you this." The "this" sounded a little more like "tis", but I guess all little kids kind of sound like that.
The little girl pulled out a shiny, blue stone. It was about the size of a pebble, but I could see that this was no ordinary rock. It was round and smooth. When she put it in my hand, it began to glow. "She likes you," The little girl giggled.
I stared at the rock in astonishment, wondering what exactly it was. The little girl and I locked gazes, and she replied to my thoughts, "She's a wishing stone. You tell her all of your wishes, and she keeps them a secret. She can talk telepathically, and she's pretty, too. That's how she works for me." The little girl shrugged, and her last sentence ran through my brain.
My one question was this: Will it work the same way for a Time Lady?
"What's your name?" I suddenly asked.
"Abigail," The little girl replied, smiling slightly.
"Isn't that a human name, though?" I question.
"Yes…but Papa likes it. And Mama did, too. She said foreign names are beautiful. Auntie Leia has a foreign name, too, because Grandpa liked those pretty names, also."
My eyes widened when I realized Abigail must be Marlon's niece, because "Auntie Leia" must be Leia. "Who is your father?" I asked Abigail.
"Salnom," Abigail replied, smiling sweetly. "My brother is Gantin."
I smiled. "You have a very nice family, you know?"
"Yes," Abigail laughed. "I do know. It's a very big one, also, according to you."
My grin became even bigger when I realized she was referring to what I told her earlier. "Dawn," Abigail started cautiously. "Where are you going?"
I sighed, figuring I'd have to tell her eventually, and I didn't want to lie. "Promise not to tell?" I whisper. Abigail nodded. "I'm going to visit the Tenepiscus."
Abigail nodded. "That's what I thought," She whispered. "I saw it in your head. I-I won't tell, because…well, I know you have to know how they got there." I nodded. "Thanks," I replied.
Abigail smiled, waved, and then started to leave.
Then, I continued to travel to the lake.
• • •
When I finally reach the lake, it's around ten o'clock in the morning. So I still have a few hours until sunset, which is when the war begins.
I realize I'm going to have to swim in my clothes, but just before I'm about to dive in, I realize there's something I need to do.
Taking the wishing stone out of my pocket, I gaze in wonder at it. It begins to glow again, and my gaze locks on to the blue light. "What are you?" I whisper.
Exactly what young little Abigail told you: A wishing stone
I realize the wishing stone just had a telepathic connection with me.
And I'm a girl, by the way.
Giggling, I wonder inside my head, what can you do for me?
You tell me a wish, and I keep them safe for you. I can also help you with your troubles.
"I wish I could get safely to Markis's home." I laugh.
Ha ha ha, that's a wonderful wish.
"Thanks," I whispered. "By the way, what should I call you?"
Nitero.
"Okay," I start. "But how are you in a stone?"
Sometimes, strange things just happen in this universe. I have gone from owner to owner, hand to hand, listening to wishes and healing people.
"Why?" I asked.
Because when you are countless years old and like to help people with their troubles, it's the only thing to do.
"Then thank you," I replied, nodding. "On behalf of everyone. I think that's a very kind thing for you to do."
Thank you for saying thank you.
I laugh quietly, and then ask, "I suppose you want to come with me, then?"
Well, of course. Where else are you going to put me?
Giggling quietly, I whisper, "Well then, get ready for a big fall."
Running up to the edge of the lake, I dive in. Once in the water, I swim upwards, take a large breath, and start swimming.
It's the same process as last time, and thankfully there aren't as many Tenepiscus as I thought, and most of them that are swimming are women.
Eventually, I make it to Markis's hut undetected. Entering, I take in a long breath, and realize Markis isn't there. Only his wife is.
"Excuse me," I say. The wife doesn't turn around. "Strange," I whisper. "Ex-"She can't hear you," A voice from the corner says. I whip around, and see a Tenepiscus child.
"Why?" I ask.
"She's deaf," the boy explains. "Ever since she was bitten by those traitors, Mum hasn't been able to hear. But she can read minds, and send telepathic messages. She told me she was expecting you."
I nod. "Yes, I need to speak to her. Can you get her attention for me?"
The boy closes his eyes, and even I can feel the intensity in his brain, because his facial expression shows it.
Suddenly, the wife turns around, and smiles when she sees me.
I wave, and smile back. Something about her makes me feel at peace, and safe. Markis's wife and I make eye contact, and inside of my head, I ask, What's your name?
Stellia, She replies. I know you wish to know the secrets of how we got here. I can tell you even more than anyone else could, because I know the thoughts of others, also. And I know your intentions are pure. In one glimpse into your mind, Dawn Melody, I have picked up so much.
I can tell, I reply in my head. Now, tell me, how did you get here?
I can show you.
Stellia takes two of her hands, and places them on my cheeks. Immediately, a burning sensation courses through my veins, and I know it must be energy, but all the while, it's incredibly painful.
"Please!" I gasp. "Stop!" Sure enough, the energy stops abruptly, and I realize my eyes are closed.
"You now know what if feels like to have the curse of a snake run through you," Stellia sighs. "It is ever so painful, but it was the only way to make you understand what I'm about to show you."
"Wait a second," I whisper. "You're talking out loud."
"Yes," Stellia replies. "Open your eyes. You will understand."
I open my eyes, and sure enough, realization immediately hits me. There's a scene around me of a camp that looks exactly like the one we were previously in, but I know it's not the same.
"We're in your head," I realize. It's not a question, but a statement.
"More specifically," Stellia begins. "My memories. They cannot see you, don't worry," She adds.
"So, what happened?" I ask, my eyes narrowing.
"Look around, Dawn Melody," Stellia replies.
So I observe the scene in front of me. Two Mazai men are carrying fish on some spears back to the camp, several women are weaving baskets, and children are kicking a ball around. But something is off about the whole thing…and that's when I see none of them look happy. Each person's face is worried. I look beyond the camp, and what I see frightens me: A gigantic red crack, going all the way around a large "canyon," which was encircling the camp.
"We were surrounded," Stellia explained. "By the red crack. And each day, the light streaming out of it grew brighter and brighter, until one day, it swallowed the whole camp, and we ended up in the other lake."
I nodded slowly.
"The children cried in fear," Stellia shuddered. "It was a frightening event when even my husband, Markis, didn't know what to do."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, not sure of what else to say.
"So lonely," Stellia suddenly murmured.
"Excuse me?" I tilted my head.
"You," Stellia explained. "Such a lonely, sad child. And then that boy, Dusk, came. He likes you a lot, you know. Thinks you are very intelligent."
I giggle, and reply, "Yeah, I like Dusk, too."
"He is not who you think he is, though, Dawn Melody," Stellia whispers.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"I cannot tell you," Stellia sighs. "It would interfere with the future. You must discover the secrets yourself. I can tell, though, that it will not take long."
I wondered if that meant that Dusk was not a good person. But is that really true? Is Dusk really tricking me or something?
"No," Stellia laughs. "It is not like that. He is just not who you think he is. Dusk does not even know half of his own secrets. In that case, not many people who are one third alien do."
I sighed in relief. "Good," I replied. "I don't want to have to drop him back off at his house or anything. But, did you just say he's one third alien?"
Stellia started to reply, but then sighed, "Something is interfering with our connection. We must leave, or something may go wrong in the connection."
"Okay," I nod regretfully. "Let's go."
I brace myself for the energy that courses through my veins again, and sure enough, it comes, almost harder than before. My breathing grows fast and shallow, and then, it's over. Just like that.
My eyes flutter open, and I look around. Suddenly, I notice that Stellia isn't in front of me, she's bending down over me. I crouch down next to her, and am about to ask what's wrong, when a voice cries, "What the heck are you doing here?"
And then, everything goes black.
Dusk's POV-
It's amazing how life out on the battlefield is. I remember just this morning, the Mazai guys and I had a little meeting, discussing our battle strategies.
After that, Gantin and I went to do more training, and then headed back for lunch. The weird thing was that Dawn wasn't there. I mean, I guess I wasn't there for breakfast, either, but that's a different matter, because at least she knew where I was going…probably.
The even weirder thing was that she wasn't at dinner, either. Marlon noticed her absence by this time, but he said we couldn't send a squad out to search for her, because Marlon needs all of his men for the war. But I bet she's okay, because I have a feeling Dawn is one of those people who can always find their way out of difficult situations, ya know?
So here were are now, it's about five minutes before this whole war thing starts, and Gantin and I are hiding behind a rock, waiting for the Tenepiscus to make the first move.
"I hope Dawn's okay," I whisper to Gantin.
"She will be, don't worry," He replies quietly. "Right now we need to focus on-," A large battle cry erupts into the air. "That. C'mon, let's go!"
Tenepiscus and Mazai start to race at each other. Honestly, I don't really know what we're fighting for. I guess it's territory, but maybe it's just a cruel rivalry.
A Tenepiscus boy charges at me, so I swiftly dodge and stick my spear to the side as he passes. I hear him yell in surprise, and then his face goes red.
"Whoops," I mutter. "Looks like somebody just got really angry."
Preparing myself for his next move, a flash of red caches my eye, and there's a little stinging sensation in my hand, but I ignore it.
The Tenepiscus boy charges yet again, but apparently he hasn't learned his lesson, because this time I do the same thing, but on his other side. "Really?" I ask, and this time I take the offensive move, charging, and then he dodges, but I predicted it, and gave him a blow straight to his knee.
Finally, the guy retreats. Guess he's had enough. Maybe this whole "battle" thing will be a little easier than I thought…
• • •
Dawn's POV-
I can hear voices in the background, but my head is throbbing so much I can't form words out of their sentences. Eventually, I can hear my own thoughts though, and try to recall what happened.
Honestly, all I remember is hearing a voice, and then this sharp pain in my arm, and after that, everything just goes blank. I try to remember things before that, but all I remember is seeing Abigail, then receiving the wishing stone, and coming to see Stellia.
The throbbing pain in my head is now even worse. I guess it's because I'm awake.
Awake. The word echoes in my brain. That's it, I think. I must've gotten knocked out. The throbbing makes me want to cry out in pain, but unfortunately, I can't. It's like I'm stuck under ice, and I can't break out.
I wish this stupid throbbing would go away, I think, even though I know no one can hear me.
I can help with that, a voice says inside my head.
I realize it's Nitero.
I can feel something tickling my face. Wait, I can feel? Since when can I feel?
Oh yeah, I laugh inside of my head. Since about five minutes ago.
Finally, my eyes flutter open, breaking open the ice. And I'm very surprised by what I see there. It's seriously the last thing I would expect. I'm so surprised, my eyes close again.
Nanogenes! I gasp inside of my head, and Nitero's voice says, Finally, you realize what I am.
But how? I reply.
My wishing stone is not really a stone. It's a spaceship. A tiny one, but yes, a spaceship.
So how are you telepathic? I ask.
I tried to heal little Abigail's snake scar, only to discover I cannot, and some of its effect rubbed off on me.
Nanogenes with a voice…I giggle inside of my head.
I suppose you could say that.
Amazing how things in this world work, isn't it? I laugh.
Yes.
Eventually, I open my eyes again, only to see that I'm still in Markis's home, only this time there's another woman here along with Stellia.
The woman notices my eyes are open, and she approaches me, saying, "Well well well, look who's up! Tell me, what exactly did you do to my friend Stellia earlier?"
"I didn't do anything!" I spat out. "You're the one who broke the connection while we were telepathically communicating, which causes the Tenepiscus brain to shut down momentarily, causing the leg muscles to relax, obviously, and…you don't understand anything of what I just said. Sorry, Ti-never mind." I sigh at the last part.
"So, you're saying that I find a Mazai's guest here with an injured woman, and you expect me to believe your little story! Ha!" The woman laughs humorlessly, and I glare at her.
I try to get up so I can approach her, but realize I can't, because my legs and hands are tied up. "Oh, wonderful," I sigh. "Isn't this just great? Well, how about you ask Stellia what happened? Ever think of that?"
The woman threw me a glare, and then made eye contact with Stellia. Stellia closed her eyes, and by the time she opened them, the woman was facing me again. Her face was a little softer, and so was her voice when she said, "Oh, well, I'm very sorry then…I-I guess I just overreacted, because everyone expected a raid party to come here during the battle, but we have no men here, because they're all fighting, so…"
"It's fine," I smile. "As long as we're all clear that I'm good. I just came here to have Stellia answer some of my questions, that's all."
The woman nodded, and then continued, "If you don't mind, I think I'll still escort you out though. There is a war going on out there, after all."
"Wait a second…there is?" I cry. "You mean I've been knocked out for like, seven hours?"
The woman nodded. I did a mental face palm, and thought to myself, I sure hope Dusk is okay.
• • •
It was nighttime by the time I reached camp, and I guess the battle is over, because the Trail of Sorrow and its surrounding forest was deserted. Taking a deep breath, I push aside the ferns that block the entrance to the camp.
Immediately, I'm greeted by the smell of smoke from a fire, and I can see several men sitting up that have women and girls tending to their wounds. My eyes begin to scan the crowd for Dusk, when suddenly, a voice cries out, "Dawn!"
I turn to the direction the voice came from, and see Marlon. "Where have you been? I have been worried." Disappointment nags at my brain, but I ignore it, and reply, "Uh, sorry…I went out this morning to do something at my ship, and a coconut fell on my head, so I got knocked out."
Oh yes Dawn, best excuse ever, I thought sarcastically, and stifle a chuckle.
Marlon still doesn't look like he completely believes me, probably because they don't really have coconuts on Vipera, just brown thingies that look like coconuts. But despite all of this, he still nods and says, "All right. I must go tend to my people. Please, stay in camp for now. Even though we won this battle, the Tenepiscus will still be hostile."
Marlon walked away, and you know what? I'm starting to realize I don't really like this guy…well, not right now, because really, I just want to make sure Dusk is okay.
Finally, I saw Dusk sitting next to Gantin. I smiled, realizing he was okay, and then we made eye contact.
He ran up to me. But it wasn't my Dusk.
Immediately, I noticed that his eyes were a little too bright, and his energy was a little too bubbly.
We hugged, and he exclaimed, "Hey, Dawn! Hi! Hey, isn't it great, we-," "Dusk," I began cautiously. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, totally, why would you think I'm anything but alright? I'm great, the best I've felt in-,"
Dusk's excited voice was cut off by the sound of harsh, evil coughing. I realized the sound was actually coming from him.
Dusk was now on the ground lying on his back, and was pale. I immediately knelt down next to him, and Dusk groaned, "Dawn, what's wrong with me?"
"I-I don't know," I stuttered.
"Help," Dusk moaned. "Really…burns…"
"I will, Dusk, I promise," I replied. Dusk put a hand on his forehead, and what I saw on the back of his it made my stomach flop, and my hearts skip a beat.
A snakebite.
"Dusk," I whispered urgently.
Dusk groaned, and I continued, "Listen to me, Dusk. I need you to not concentrate on the pain, and concentrate on my voice. Stay conscious. Listen, okay?"
I got closer to his ear, and whispered, "Can you hear me?"
I saw Dusk give me the feeblest nod I've ever seen, so I continued, "We're going to get help as soon as we can. You just need to stay conscious until I can get you under supervision, and then I'll go to the TARDIS, and…" I continued talking.
Honestly, I don't really know what I'm even saying right now; I just know I have to keep Dusk awake until I can get him some help. Looking around for someone who can help, I say, "Dusk, do you remember how you told me about Lily the other night?" Dusk nodded. "Think about her, okay? Remember, she had blue eyes, blond hair? And Grace, remember her? The little collie puppy?" I continue to talk about everything he had told me last night until I finally made eye contact with Leia and gave her a pleading look.
She got the message; because I saw her nod to the man she was tending to, and then walk over to me.
"It's a snakebite!" I told her. "Dusk was fighting. I guess someone must've accidentally bit him." Leia nodded, and murmured to Dusk, "Come on, hon, let's get you to a hut, and the nurses and I will give you a little TLC, yeah?"
I gave Leia a grateful glance, and then explained, "I have to go back to my ship and get something, okay? Please, take good care of him."
I sprinted out of camp, my legs moving as fast as I could possibly make them go. I took out Nitero while running, and murmured, "I wish Dusk will get better." Tears are stinging at my eyes, because I know how few people, especially humans (or at least future humans that learn how to travel here), survive Mazai bites.
But then I remember what Stellia said in her memories this morning: For that matter, not many people who are one-third alien do. One-third alien, I think. Does that mean he has a better chance of living? I sure do hope so. Which reminds me…
I pull out Nitero again, and think, why are you here, anyway?
I was exiled from my home planet, as I was mutated. I cannot save people's lives, only heal their wounds, Nitero replies in my head.
I'm sorry, I think. But that's amazing, because it doesn't stop you from healing those people and their friends.
I suppose so, Nitero sighs. But that's the sad thing. Is that I can't save people from death, because then I would kill myself, as once I'm inside their bodies for that split second of healing, I can't come back out. I'd also lose this telepathic connection.
Still! I cry. It's amazing that you're doing this!
We reach the TARDIS, so Nitero doesn't reply. I open up Sweetie's doors, and rush into my room, saying, "Sorry, Sweetie! No time to explain!"
After rummaging through a few papers on my desk, I finally find what I'm looking for: The letter I wrote to myself. Well, at least, me from the future.
I read the last line: Also, when you need a little reassurance, fold this letter diagonally, then in half, then in half again.
I followed the instructions, and parts of letters formed more letters, and letters formed words, which read: What the heck are you doing standing here reading this? Go get some Nanogenes into that reckless Sanare!
I laughed, despite the circumstances I was in right now. That is so the type of thing I would tell myself.
And then, everything clicked: Dusk is one-third Sanare!
Picking up my Mum's diary off of my bed, I flipped to the seventh page, which is about Sanares, and read it over again:
A "Sanare" is a healing alien. They look a lot like humans, only their hair is always silver and their eyes are always an icy cold blue color. The race can harness Nanogenes, which means they can heal themselves and others. All Sanares are born with Nanogenes inside of their bodies, but only a certain few actually have enough to heal themselves and others. Adolescent Sanares, however, can only harness the ability when they experience a very strong emotion. Usually, around the age of twenty, they can fully harness their powers.
As the life of a Sanare goes on, they lose some of their Nanogenes, which means that they eventually cannot heal themselves and others, so they die around the age of ninety, much like a human.
I closed the book, and smiled. Jason James is one-third Sanare! I thought, and laughed. How strange…but if he's only one-third, does that mean he was born with enough Nanogenes to heal himself?
I understand, Nitero's voice said inside of my head.
"Sorry, what?" I asked aloud.
It is possible for me to save a life, Nitero explained. Or at least it is possible for me to save Dusk's.
"Oh," I gasped. "If Dusk is only one-third Sanare, that means he'll need more Nanogenes to heal himself…d-did you just volunteer to go into Dusk and practically kill yourself, just to save my friend?"
Yes, Nitero replied.
"I can't let you do that!" I cry.
If you don't, Dusk dies. And I have lived countless years on this planet. Besides, I won't die. I'll be alive within Dusk, and doing my favorite thing: Healing People.
"Are you sure?" I whisper. "Absolutely sure?"
Yes, Dawn. It was very nice getting to know you, but I'm afraid now is the time I must leave. I will live on within Dusk, though. Remember that. We will be a team, going around and healing each other.
"Okay," I sigh, caving in. "Is there anything I can do though, just…I don't know. Just because?"
Give young Abigail my spaceship. I liked being with her. She truly is a sweet child.
"All right," I replied. "And you're sure about this?"
Just do it.
• • •
After asking Gantin about which hut Dusk was in, I head to the one he pointed at.
Barging in, the first thing I see is Leia kneeling by Dusk, speaking softly to him, and he has a wet cloth on his forehead. She glances up and notices me, waves, and then continues to talk to Dusk.
"Is he still conscious?" I ask, and Leia nods.
"Barely," She replies.
I kneel on his other side, bend down so I'm closer to his ear, and whisper, "Dusk?"
He makes a feeble little whine. I grab his hand and squeeze it. Most people may take this as a romantic gesture, but honestly, I'm doing it as a symbol of friendship.
"Dusk, listen to me," I murmur in his ear, and take Nitero out of my pocket. "If you want to live, open your mouth. Trust me, okay?" Dusk sighs, and I take that as acknowledgement.
All right, Nitero…do your thing, I whisper in my head.
Thank you, Dawn, for everything.
My pleasure, I reply. Good luck.
The Nanogenes start to flow out of the little spaceship, and even though it's about a handful, I still hope it's enough.
Dusk's mouth opens ever so slightly, but it's enough. The Nanogenes race into his mouth, and the last lingering Nanogene whispers into my brain, Goodbye, Dawn Melody, and then flies into Dusk.
"Okay," I whisper. "Now, the hard part."
"What was that?" Leia asks.
"Nanogenes," I explain. "Healing particles. Very useful."
She nods, and then I get close to Dusk's ear again, and cringe when I remember the pain he must be going through. "Dusk, are you still awake?" He moans. "Good. Now, listen to me very, very closely." I look at Leia, and as if she can read my mind, she stands up and leaves the hut. "I need you to sum up all the emotion you can, okay? Just…do it. For me. For yourself, too, okay?"
Dusk nods weakly. "Remember your Grandpa, and Lily, and your parents…okay? The blue bandana? Gather all the emotions that come from these memories, got it?"
I squeeze Dusk's hand once more, when a voice from behind me says, "It's not fair!"
I realize the voice is Abigail's, and suddenly, she's in front of me, on the other side of Dusk. "My Papa came back," She whispers.
"Oh, Abigail, that's great!" I reply, smiling at her. "Dusk, did you hear that? This is Abigail. Oh, right, sorry, focus on the emotions, kay?" Dusk nods weakly again.
"But it's not fair!" Abigail cries again. "If Papa lives, Dusk should, too. You promised, remember?"
I nod, and feel my eyes begin to water. "Don't worry," I murmur to Abigail. "He'll live." Seriously, I hope I sound more confident than I feel.
"Remember, Dusk?" I whisper in his ear. "You made a promise to me last night. You said you'd come back in one piece, right? You've got to keep that promise, got it? Please…I don't want to be alone again. And I don't want you to…to…" A tear slid down my cheek, and landed on Dusk's and my hands, which were clasped together as if nothing could tear us apart.
And as if that one sentence, that one tear drop, was the key, it started to happen: Dusk's whole body started to glow, beginning with his hand, and then the rest of it was surrounded in little gold particles: The Nanogenes.
I smiled. "Look, Abigail," I whisper. "It's working!" She smiles, and suddenly, Dusk sits up, our heads bang together, and he puts a hand to his head while crying, "Oi, that was one heck of a sugar rush!"
"Dusk!" I laugh, and we hug. "You're okay!"
Dusk laughs. "Of course I am," He replies, and I swear I can hear him smiling. "I promised, didn't I? And I guess you're right, too."
I laugh, "Usually I am. But what am I right about, exactly?"
"Sometimes, I get so reckless, it's like I want to kill myself! Gosh, I can't believe I didn't notice this," He glances at the scar on his hand. "Sooner!"
We break apart, and I reply, "I'm just glad you're okay."
"Me, too," Dusk laughs. "But how did you do it, exactly? I just remember you saying something about pooling all of my emotions together, and then you said something about the promise, and-"I'll explain later," I interrupt.
Dusk shrugs. "M'kay."
"Right now, I think we should say goodbye, head back to the TARDIS, and get a good night's sleep before tomorrow's adventure," I smile at the last part.
"We have an adventure every day?" Dusk cries.
"Would you want it any other way?" I reply, giggling.
"No, of course not!" Dusk laughs. "That's awesome, man, I'm so excited!"
"Come on, Dusk," I sighed happily. "Let's go."
• • •
It's now ten o'clock in the morning, the day after Dusk's whole "Snakebite" incident. Speaking of a snakebite, I'm still wondering what his "powers" will be, but I can't tell yet, because the scar isn't completely done forming.
This morning, Dusk and I reluctantly said our goodbyes to everyone. For me, it was really hard saying goodbye to little Abigail. I gave her the spaceship back, and in return, she gave me a big hug.
So here we are in the TARDIS, floating in the middle of space. I'm messing around with a bunch of controls when Dusk walks in the console room with wet hair and bright eyes.
"Feeling better?" I ask cheerfully.
"Lots," Dusk sighs. "A little tired, but better."
"Wonderful," I giggle. "Want to know where we're going today?"
"Later…first, you never did answer my question," Dusk began.
"Yeah? What question was that?" I wonder curiously. Honestly, I forgot the question he asked me yesterday.
"How did you save me?" Dusk whispered. "Because I know I was on the brink of death."
I sighed, and then turned to face Dusk. "Jason James," I began.
"What would you say if I told you you're one-third alien?"
BUM BUM BUM! The "evil" cliffhanger. :) I hope you liked this chapter, cause I thought it was pretty darn good. But that's for you to decide! Any guesses on what Dusk's power will be? REVIEW!
P.S. Sorry it was so long. ;)