Before either Helen or Thane could see the fireflies that illuminated the colony, Isabel was overwhelmed by the smells and sounds of her home. She could hear the children being gathered to prepare for their lessons. She could smell the cooks boiling the inside of the insects that they had caught for the next meal to be shared around. Although she wanted nothing more than to bring her people to the surface without fear of the Dragons, she had to admit it was nice to have this welcoming feeling.

The three of them emerged from one of the tunnels and was instantly spotted by the lookouts on duty. They almost failed the signal the horn because they were shocked to see Thane alongside the mother and daughter duo. When they rang the bells to signal the rest of the colony, everyone stormed out of their homes like rats looking for their next feast. Isabel and Helen were soon swamped by dozens of people hurling questions at them. The doctors hurried past them to check on Thane. He protested, trying to play the tough guy and act like he was fine, despite how obvious it was that he wasn't in a fit state.

''Let me through!'' Sir Lucan's voice bellowed throughout the colony as he and other members of the council shoved their way through the crowd. ''Let me see my son!''

He stopped in his tracks, staring in disbelief as he saw Thane alive and well standing before him. Despite everything this man had put Isabel through, the young woman couldn't stop the feeling of her heart being tugged as the old man's eyes welled up with tears and he rushed forward to hug his son. Thane grunted in pain as he let his father hold him close. Helen and Isabel shared a look between them. It was amusing to see Thane being coddled in such a way.

Isabel's eyes were averted slightly in a different direction and that's when she caught Jess in the crowd. They both froze, unsure of what to say or do. There was no way for Jess to muscle her way through the crowd to get to Isabel, so she did that for her. Isabel weaved through the people, feeling them patting her on the back and ask hundreds of questions in the span of a few seconds, but she didn't care about all of that right now. All that mattered to her was seeing her best friend. She stopped in front of Jess, almost stumbling into her.

Jess's face was red and she looked away to hide the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. ''I knew you'd make it.''

Isabel smiled. ''I hope that means you didn't worry.''

''Of course, I worried!'' Jess sobbed beneath her smile. She then felt herself being swept off her feet as Isabel hugged her tightly. Jess happily returned the hug, not caring that all eyes were on her and Isabel.

Back with the council, Helen watched her daughter with a wide smile. Yet, her heart ached to see the way Jess wrapped her arms around Isabel. Helen shrugged away any thoughts of jealousy. This was for the best. What she and Isabel were doing was just to help her daughter through an unusual phase. At least, that's what she told herself.

''Helen,'' she turned to see Giovanni approaching her. ''What happened up there?''

Helen turned to him and the other members of the council that were listening. ''We need to move to our new home. See the prisoners free. I'll explain everything in private.''

''Their leader agreed to the trade?''

Helen looked back and forth between them and Thane. ''Not exactly.''

XXX

''Dear God,'' Giovanni gasped after listening to Helen and Isabel's full story. ''It sounds like you two were lucky to have made it back in one piece.''

''Literally,'' Isabel commented.

After exchanging pleasantries, Isabel and Helen had been invited to a private hut to tell the council everything that transpired on their journey and how they saved Thane. They explained in as much detail as they could recollect about how Angelique guided them to the slave-trader camp and with the help of a crew of Vipers escaped from them and a hybrid creature. The only thing that captivated their audience more was when they told them of Cruise's offer about finding a weapon that can kill a Dragon. Everyone in the hut was speechless.

Helen was able to finish the story without any interruptions. Isabel glanced at her mother. The only part of their story that they left out was their…intimate moments together. The young woman glanced at an open window, hoping that she would see Jess standing outside, but everyone in the colony was instructed to stay away until further notice. Isabel hardly had any time to talk with her friend and let her know about everything that happened. In a way that was a good thing. Isabel thought that it was the right thing to tell Jess about what she did with her mom, but she would only do that with her mom with her. She didn't want to imagine how that conversation would go down.

''Son,'' Sir Lucan whispered, turning to Thane. His face was completely pale. ''Do you believe this Viper's story?''

Thane shrugged. He then grunted as one of the doctors tended to him, dabbing a ragged, wet cloth against his wounds to clean up any dry blood. ''I don't know.''

''He risked his life to save ours,'' Helen said. ''I doubt he'd do that if there wasn't some truth to his words.''

''May I see this device he gave you?'' Giovanni asked. Helen nodded and handed him the walkie-talkie. After a minute of inspecting it, he returned it to her and rubbed his chin. ''This would be rare even if it wasn't in working condition. No one would just willingly hand it over out of the goodness of their own heart.''

Isabel leaned forward. ''So, we're going to meet up with him and help find this weapon?''

Helen nodded and then turned to a table in the middle of the room where a drawn map of the tunnels lay before them. ''First, we need to get the colony to safety. We continue as planned to the new site. From there, Isabel and I will find Cruise and help him on his quest. If anyone from the colony wants to come with us to help, it should be their own choice.''

''I don't understand why we need to move,'' one councilmember stated in a gruff voice. ''If this slave-trader is dead like you said, we should have no worries.''

''We let her followers go, the ones that Isabel saved us from,'' Giovanni said. ''If they wanted to take their revenge, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves from an attack.''

The councilmember seemed undeterred by the threat and pointed towards Isabel. ''Then she will defend us. As you said, she saved us from them once before.''

Before Isabel could say anything, Helen stood protectively in front of her. ''The slave-traders worked under a Drake. If he hears about what happened, he could be tracking us. We barely escaped from a hybrid creation of theirs. I don't want to take the chance. We stick with the plan and move on.''

''That is a decision strictly for the council to decide…''

''Enough!'' Sir Lucan shouted, silencing his fellow councilman immediately. ''They saved my son from certain death. I will not have them looked down upon in my presence.''

''But she is not on the council…''

''She is now.''

Everyone stared in disbelief. Helen was frozen on the spot and Isabel's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected to hear something like that. Helen almost forgot to breathe. For years, the council have looked down upon her and the way she conducted herself by looking into the past for answers. All that she could think to do at that moment was bow before Sir Lucan. ''Thank you.''

''You are our people's best hope for survival,'' he said. ''If you trust this Viper, then do what needs to be done.''

Suddenly, Thane rose to his feet and stood tall. ''We will not let you down, father.''

''You will do nothing,'' Lucan said. Thane's shoulders slumped as he stared at his father in confusion. ''You are still weak and healing. Isabel seems more than capable of dealing with these Vipers. You would only get in the way.''

Even Isabel found it difficult to laugh at Thane's expense. He was practically being scolded by his father right before the council and higher-ups within the colony. He looked like a lost animal. His eyes locked with Isabel's. She could see defeat and shame plastered over his face. However, there was a flash of something else that caught her off guard…anger. He kept his lips shut and sat back down on the ground.

Sir Lucan rose to his feet. ''Tell everyone that we need to leave immediately. Giovanni and Helen will lead. Once we make it to our new home, we will decide what to do next. Pray to the sky that we live long enough to make any more decisions.''

Helen needed to rush out of the hut so that she could breathe. Although, she realized how much she missed the air from above. Soot and dust floated all around the colony. It was strange to think how a place she's lived all her life could look so different after experiencing a new world for only a few days. Others rushed to the homes of everyone that lived close by, instructing them to pack and leave. But one person remained by her side, beaming like a child that received their first gift.

''Mother, you're on the council!'' Isabel squealed excitedly. ''I can't believe this.''

''Nor can I.'' Helen chuckled.

''You deserve it. It's about time they treated you right.''

Helen's smile faded as she turned to her daughter. ''That doesn't excuse how they've treated you over the years. I still frown on them for that.''

Isabel waved her hand. ''I don't care about that. Things are going to be different. I feel like there's hope again.''

''We must take this one step at a time…but, I do agree.'' Helen smiled.

The two stared into each other's eyes and Isabel's eyes flickered down to Helen's lips. She noticed this and the two of them stared awkwardly around them at the people who were hurrying to get everything ready before they moved. They wanted to be closer together, but also thought it would be best to keep their distance.

Isabel rubbed the back of her neck nervously. ''I'm going to find Jess…I think I should tell her about…''

Helen sighed but forced a smile. ''You do whatever you feel is right.''

''You should be with me. I wouldn't feel it would be right to talk about us if you're not there to…''

''It's fine,'' Helen said. ''If you trust Jess with our secret, I trust you.''

It wasn't the answer that she wanted to hear, but Isabel found herself smiling anyway. ''It's nice to see so much trust going…''

She stopped and turned her head to one of the tunnels leading out of the colony. Her ears perked up and her nose caught a whiff of something that smelt like burnt meat. She stared down the dark tunnel but was unable to see anything. However, she couldn't shake away the feeling that there was something in the distance slowly moving towards them. It wasn't a creature like the Scorpula, but it didn't feel human either.

Helen noticed the way her daughter's head snapped towards the tunnel. ''What's wrong?''

''I don't know,'' Isabel answered. ''But the sooner we leave the better.''

XXX

HELLO MY SWEET SUPERSTARS! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS NEW CHAPTER? DO YOU THINK THE EVACUATION WILL GO WELL? WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THANE? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK WOULD BE JESS'S REACTION WHEN/IF SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT ISABEL AND HELEN? I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE THE UPCOMING CHAPTERS. THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF EXCITEMENT COMING SOON. NEW CHAPTERS ARE ALREADY POSTED ON MY P/A/T/R/E/O/N. I WANT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU READING THIS TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE AMAZING. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST AND HOPE THAT LOTS OF GOOD AND CUTE THINGS COME INTO YOUR LIFE. I FEEL LIKE THE LUCKIEST WRITER IN THE WORLD TO HAVE SUCH SUPER READERS. THANK YOU ALL AND STAY SAFE. WASH YOUR HANDS AND WEAR YOUR MASKS. TA-TA FOR NOW.