Enjoy the chapter!

Sequoya walked back to the Hotel. Just as she was about to enter the back door, she heard a call for help from a small Poleepkwa followed by yelling in the distance. She follows the small Poleepkwa's cries and finds two teenage boys bullying a youngling. Sequoya yells at the teenagers, and they quickly turn and run away. The small Poleepkwa cowers against the wall as Sequoya approaches.

"It's okay." She reassures the youngling. "I'm not going to hurt you. Those guys are gone now. Are you okay?"

The youngling seemed shaken up and hesitantly approached her. "Yeah!"

She noticed he had a greenish, brown exoskeleton with golden eyes.

"What are you doing out here?"

He seemed hesitant but answered anyway, "I was taking a shortcut back home and ran into trouble."

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

"Here." She held out her hand to the youngling. "I'll help you get home safely."

The youngling took her hand without hesitation. His demeanor changed.

"Okay." He replied eagerly.

She led him back to District 9 and still avoided the back alleyway.

While they are making their way there, Sequoya makes small talk with the youngling.

"What's your name?"

The youngling glanced up at her, "I'm Alex."

"Nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Sequoya."

"Nice to meet you, Sequoya."

"So, what were you doing so far from home?"

"I was supposed to meet my brother in the alley, but I lost my way."

"In the alley? Which alleyway?"

He pointed towards the back alleyway.

At this point, they had almost reached the fence, but Alex tugged at her hand and tried to lead her towards the back alleyway.

She suddenly stopped, "Wait! Your brother is supposed to meet you there?"

"Yes!"

Sequoya gazed fearfully at the back alleyway.

"Please, take me there! My brother might already be waiting for me."

She glanced down at Alex, and he gave her pleading eyes.

She took a deep breath to calm herself and continued onwards.

"Okay, let's find your brother."

He trilled excitedly.

As they approached closer to the alleyway, Sequoya couldn't help but frantically look around to make sure there were no Poleepkwan gang members around.

They entered the alley, and Sequoya stopped dead in her tracks as she saw a familiar small, gray Poleepkwa.

She sighed with relief, knowing that he wasn't Arus.

"Brother!" Alex excitedly ran towards him.

He embraced his younger brother and held him.

Then he peered at Sequoya. "Hello, Sequoya!"

She gave him a small wave. "Hi, Zaev!"

He turned and looked at Alex. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I got lost. Sequoya helped me find a way."

"She did?"

"Yeah, two teenagers were harassing him, so I chased them away."

"Thank you for bringing him here safely."

"Your welcome! Just keep him safe. He shouldn't be wandering the streets by himself."

"I will keep a close eye on him next time!"

Zaev turned to leave with Alex in his arms.

"Wait!" Sequoya stood in front of him. "Where's Arus?"

Zaev shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't know where he is right now?"

He shook his head once more. "No."

She noticed a slight twitch of his antennae. "Are you sure?"

"Do you need to speak with him?"

"I do, but…" she paused and glanced toward the alleyway leading to the Hotel.

Zaev quickly replied, "Then he is waiting! I have to go!"

He turned and left in haste.

"No, wait!" she called out.

He left without looking back. Sequoya could see Alex looking over his shoulder and giving her a wave goodbye.

She muttered under her breath, "Shit!"

She turned toward the Hotel. Zaev's words rang into her head. Then he is waiting. Had he been waiting this whole time? If that's the case, then Zaev lied to her about knowing his whereabouts.

She saw someone come out of the Hotel to dump out some trash in a distance.

This was her chance.

She hurried into the alleyway towards the Hotel. She got halfway there when she saw that the person started walking back to the Hotel. She started sprinting.

Suddenly, two people came around the corners and blocked her path. She stopped and backed away when she noticed that they both carried a knife. She immediately recognized them as the same teenage boys who were harassing Alex earlier.

She held up her hands and continued to back away. "You don't have to do this!"

"You let that little prawn get away!" the taller one yelled at her. He was slightly taller than Sequoya, and the other boy was slightly shorter.

"He is a child just like you!"

"Shut up, bitch!" He lunged at her, causing her to back into one of the dumpsters.

She whimpered as he held the knife to her face.

"Do you know what we do to prawn supporters like you?"

She whimpered again as he brought the knife down to her throat.

"We gut them like fish and feed them to the prawn. Prawn only care about themselves."

Sequoya locked eyes with the shorter teen boy who had the look of terror in his eyes. She gave him pleading eyes, hoping to reason with his accomplice.

"You said we were only going to scare her." He said to the taller boy.

"No. That wasn't part of the deal." He yelled to the shorter boy.

Sequoya saw a flash of gray, and the taller boy was suddenly thrown against the brick wall. The shorter boy turned to run away, but he was caught and thrown against the brick wall.

Sequoya stood frozen by the dumpster, still trying to process what had just happened.

"Are you okay?"

She glanced at the very Poleepkwa she desperately tried to avoid.

"I'm okay." She replied while shifting her gaze down at the ground. Her gaze then turned to look at the unconscious boys.

"Are they dead?"

"No. But I can make sure they are dead."

Sequoya looked at Arus in horror. "No, don't do that. They're just kids!"

"They tried to kill you!"

"They don't know what they're doing. They're just kids!"

"Then you will let them go unpunished?"

Sequoya gazed at the boys once more and softly replied, "Yeah!"

She turned to leave, but Arus stood in her way. "You've been avoiding me."

She nervously replied, "Yeah. So?"

"I thought we were friends."

She didn't respond and remained silent. She feared that he would hurt her if she gave him a truthful response.

"Are we still friends?" He approached relatively too close, causing her to step back against the brick wall.

"Yeah! We're still friends." She timidly replied and added, "Thanks for saving my life."

Arus reached up and caressed her cheek, causing her to flinch somewhat.

"Your welcome!"

He was too close for comfort.

Sequoya glanced at the Hotel entrance, thinking she should make a run for it.

"You should come with me." He said as he caressed her shoulder. "I'll make sure you are safe."

She felt her heart racing and her stomach turning. Her body was screaming at her to get away from him.

Thinking quickly, she shifted her gaze to look behind him and screamed, "Watch out!"

Arus let go of her shoulder and abruptly turned around.

Sequoya sprinted toward the Hotel entrance.

She only made it halfway there when Arus suddenly grabbed her from behind. She let out a scream as he tried to take her away.

"Hey! Let her go!" Ojaji yelled as he approached with a shotgun aimed at Arus.

"Let her go!" He repeated.

Arus let out a growl and reluctantly let Sequoya go.

She ran towards Ojaji and stood behind him.

"Get out of here! Or I will call MNU!" He shouted at him.

Arus ran through the back alleyway. He disappeared into the darkness.

Sequoya made it safely back to the Hotel with Ojaji.

Once they were inside, he asked her, "Are you alright?"

She responded by nodding her head.

"Did he hurt you?"

Sequoya shook her head and began sobbing uncontrollably. Ojaji hugged her and held her close.

"Hey, you're safe now!" He said soothingly.

"Thank you!" She managed to say through her sobs.

The next day after school…

Aaron and Oliver arrived by the fence and patiently waited for Sequoya's arrival.

After a few minutes, they decided to play tag by the rubble near the fence while they waited.

An hour passes by, and there's still no sight of Sequoya.

Aaron couldn't help but worry if something had happened to her.

He turned to Oliver. "I should go to the Hotel and check to see if Sequoya's okay."

"Don't worry, Aaron. Maybe she forgot something and is still on her way." Oliver tried to reassure him.

Aaron shook his head. "She is never this late."

"Let's wait a little longer and see if she comes."

Aaron reluctantly agreed, and they waited a few more minutes. He grew more impatient.

"I'm going to the Hotel to check on her!"

He rushed through the fence to the other side.

"Wait!" Oliver shouted, "Don't leave me here! I'm coming with you!"

Oliver rushed through the fence and caught up with Aaron.

The younglings run to the back alley towards the Hotel.

"I thought you and Sequoya were avoiding the alleyway."

Aaron didn't respond and kept running. If Arus and the other gang were here, he would have sensed them by now.

The younglings finally reached the Hotel entrance.

Aaron peeked through the glass door and saw a familiar human male sitting behind the desk and reading a newspaper. He hurriedly knocked on the glass door.

He watched the man lower the newspaper and gave him a confused look. Finally, he put down the newspaper and approached him.

He opened the glass door, curiously gazing down at the youngling.

"What are you doing here, little one? Shouldn't you be in District 9 with your parents?"

Aaron was surprised by his fatherly tone.

"I'm here to see Sequoya. Is she here?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't see her leave anywhere."

Aaron and Oliver glanced at each other.

"Are you with him?" the man asked Oliver.

"Yes."

He opened the door wider.

"Come in." He said and gestured them to enter.

The younglings enter inside. Oliver nervously looked around. Aaron knew that this was his first time being inside the Hotel.

"Follow me! I will show you to her room."

The younglings follow the man upstairs.

Aaron and Oliver pick up a strange scent as they walk along the hallway. It grew stronger when the man approached her door.

He knocked on the door. "Sequoya! Are you in there?"

Again, Aaron noticed his fatherly tone. He wondered if he, too, had a friendship with Sequoya.

They hear a muffled response. "Yeah, I'm here, Ojaji."

Ojaji? Was that his name? Aaron wondered.

"You have two little friends here to see you."

The door immediately opened, and Sequoya looked at the younglings in surprise.

"Sequoya! You're okay!" Aaron happily said. He also noticed the intense aroma of the strange scent.

Ojaji noticed it as well. "Have you been smoking in here?"

"No! I was burning some sage."

"Are you sure?" His tone was firm.

"Yes! I swear I don't smoke. I'll show you!" Sequoya walked towards her bathroom while Ojaji and the younglings entered her room.

She walked out holding a strange object that Aaron had never seen before. It was a cylinder-shaped object.

"It's just sage." She said and handed it to Ojaji, who carefully examined it.

He handed it back to Sequoya. "Be careful when you burn that. You might set off the fire alarms."

"I promise I'll be careful."

Ojaji nodded and left her room, closing the door behind him.

Sequoya gave the younglings a concerned look. "I can't believe you two came over here by yourselves. It's dangerous out there!"

Oliver nervously replied, "I tried to tell Aaron to wait, but he wouldn't listen!"

"I couldn't wait any longer. I thought something happened to you!"

"It's okay, Oliver. It's my fault. I lost track of time when I was…" she paused to gaze at the sage in her hands, "praying."

Aaron curiously peered at the sage in her hands. "Is that like cedar?"

"No. Sage is different from cedar. It's stronger."

"It is stronger. I can taste it in the air."

"I'm sorry. I tried to air it out earlier." Sequoya approached the window and opened it slightly.

"You have a nice room." Oliver complimented while he looked around.

"Thanks, Oliver. It's not much, but it's good enough for me."

"At least you have a TV," Oliver replied.

"Do you want to watch some cartoons?" Sequoya reached for the remote on top of the television and turned it on.

Aaron couldn't help but notice her hands slightly shaking.

Oliver seemed too excited to notice.

They all sat on the bed and watched cartoons for a while.

Aaron didn't pay much attention to the TV. He would often look up at Sequoya, who seemed fixated on the TV, but he could tell that her mind was elsewhere.

"Sequoya." Aaron finally said.

"Yeah!" She turned her head to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

She seemed caught off guard with his question. "What?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." She said with a smile.

Aaron looked at her, concerned. "You don't look fine."

Her smile had faded. "It's been a long day. I'm just tired."

"But you look like you're afraid!"

She glanced away and appeared to be holding back her emotions. He could see her tears forming in her eyes.

She muttered, "I am afraid."

Aaron climbed on her lap without even thinking and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"It's okay!" He tried to reassure her.

Oliver watched them and also decided to hug Sequoya.

She wrapped her arms around them.

"Thank you, guys. I really needed a hug."

By this time, her tears were flowing. She then told them what happened yesterday with Alex and the two teenagers. She also told them about Arus saving her from the teenagers, but he tried to take her away.

"I know, Alex," Aaron said.

"You do?"

"He's the one I tripped after he bumped into me. And then he wanted to be my friend, but I wouldn't let him."

"Do you know his older brother Zaev?"

Aaron gave her a surprised look. "Zaev is his brother?"

"Yeah. Do you know him too?"

"David knows him, and he told me to stay away from him."

"Zaev tried to recruit me once, but my father chased him away," Oliver said.

"So it was all a trap. With Alex and those boys."

She stood up from the bed and began pacing the room.

"I think Arus set a trap to get to me, but Ojaji ruined his plans."

"What does Arus want with you?" Oliver curiously asked.

Aaron turned to Oliver. "Whatever he wants is bad!"

"Yeah! He knew I was avoiding him. And I found Alex while I was walking to the Hotel's back door."

"When we came here, we went through the back alleyway. Arus wasn't there."

"But he's probably still watching that area. So I wonder how we're supposed to leave here without him detecting us."

"Maybe he won't detect you. You still smell like sage."

Sequoya gave him a questioning look. "Will that work?"

Aaron turned to Oliver. "Remember when she smelled like cedar? We couldn't pick up her scent!"

"That's right!"

"Well, I hope you're right about this. Let's plan a new route to get you both back home safely."

Sequoya pulled out the map from her bag and laid it out on the bed. They plotted out their new route. She was thankful that Aaron and Oliver knew the outlay of District 9 and where all of the possible safe routes they could use. They even pointed out the location of the Nigerian compound within District 9.

They eventually agreed to meet on the other side, further from their usual meeting spot. And before they knew it, it was already almost sundown.

"You should be much safer meeting there. It's close to a human neighborhood." Oliver said.

"But how are we going to sneak out of the Hotel?" Aaron asked.

Sequoya gave him a smirk. "I have an idea."

Later on, Sequoya walked out of her room wearing a black shawl with a fedora hat and sunglasses. She somehow managed to tuck her long hair into the hat and left a few strands hanging out to make it look like she had short hair. Aaron and Oliver clung to her underneath the shawl and remained hidden.

She went downstairs, passing a few people, and left through the back door.

A cab was waiting for her, and she casually got into the back seat.

She told the cab driver where to go, driving to the neighborhood.

"Could you stop here? I'll be right back."

He simply replied, "Okay."

She got out of the cab and walked toward one of the houses. She walked between the tall wooden fences until she reached an opening. She knelt and removed her shawl. Aaron and Oliver let go.

"We made it out!" Oliver trilled excitedly.

They headed straight for the barbed wire fence of District 9.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" Aaron curiously asked.

"I don't know yet. You guys have no school, right?"

"Right! Tomorrow's Saturday," Oliver replied.

"We can try the park, but…" She paused in deep thought.

"But what?" Aaron asked.

"I'm thinking about taking a cab again. That way, I can check to see if Arus or any gang members are around. If they are waiting there, then we can go somewhere else."

"Good idea!" Aaron said.

"What time should we meet here?"

Aaron turned to Oliver. "Do you think your father will let us leave in the morning?"

Oliver shrugged, "I don't know. We should ask him?"

Aaron then turned to Sequoya. "If he will allow us to leave, then we will meet you here at eight in the morning."

"Okay. I will wait here."

Aaron and Oliver hugged Sequoya before walking through the barbed-wired fence. Aaron looked back and watched Sequoya disappear between the tall wooden fences.

The younglings walked back to Christopher's shack.

Once they entered through the door, Christopher greeted them, who stood by the table.

"Welcome back! Did you two have fun playing with Sequoya?"

"Yes, father! We did!" Oliver joyfully answered.

"How about you, Aaron?"

"Yeah. We had fun." Aaron responded rather nonchalantly.

"We got to watch cartoons!" Oliver eagerly chimed.

Aaron gawked at him and shook his head, but it was already too late.

But Christopher casually asked, "Sequoya has a TV?"

Oliver didn't respond and glanced at Aaron.

Aaron sighed, "Yes. She has a TV. We watched cartoons together."

"I see."

Aaron glared at Oliver, who gave him a nervous look.

"Oliver," Christopher called out.

"Yes, father!"

"Can you go down below and check on the binary systems of the ship?"

"Okay!"

Oliver walked over to the opened latch and climbed down.

"I'll go with him!" Aaron said and turned to follow Oliver.

"No. You stay here." Christopher said firmly.

Aaron didn't want to, but he reluctantly obeyed and stayed put. He watched Christopher disassemble a strange black box and pour a strange liquid into a tube, then into a silver cylinder-shaped object.

Aaron didn't know what it was, but he knew it had something to do with their secret mission.

After Christopher was done, he turned to Aaron. "I know you've been keeping a secret, Aaron."

"What do you mean?" He asked nervously.

Christopher then reached in the pocket of his vest and pulled out a familiar object, the dream catcher.

Aaron shifted nervously, but he tried to keep his composure. "Sequoya gave it to me as a gift."

Christopher released a sigh, "Aaron, I know Sequoya is a human."

Oh, no! How did he find out?

Aaron began to panic. "I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want David to know!"

"It's okay, Aaron. I understand," He tried to reassure him, "But you shouldn't keep secrets from me and David."

"But I'm afraid David will hurt her if he finds out that she is human!"

"Then I will talk to David about it."

"Please, don't tell him!" Aaron couldn't contain his tears and broke down.

Christopher lifted Aaron and hugged him. "It's okay, Aaron."

He let Aaron sob, and then he noticed Oliver peeking out from the opened latch. Christopher gestured him to go back down, and Oliver nodded his head and climbed back down.

After a while, Aaron finally calmed down, and Christopher sat next to him on the bench, rubbing his back.

Aaron curiously gazed up at him. "How did you find out?"

"A friend of mine told me. He saw you and Oliver leave with a human that other day."

Aaron gave him an inquisitive look, but then he remembered seeing a yellow Poleepkwa in the shack a few days before.

"Was he that yellow Poleepkwa helping you with your mission?"

"Yes. I asked him to follow you and Oliver because I was curious about your friend Sequoya. And also, I wanted to reassure your brother that she wasn't a Poleepkwan gang member."

Aaron actually felt relieved that Christopher knew about Sequoya.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"It's fine, Aaron. I understand how your brother feels about humans. But his anger is misplaced. He will never find peace in harming other humans."

"There's something you should know."

"What is that?"

"David and Sequoya have agreed to meet on Sunday at noon, but I'm afraid David will get angry when he finds out that Sequoya is human."

"Do you need me to be there? In case he loses his temper."

Aaron gave him pleading eyes, "Will you? I just want Sequoya to be safe."

"Yes, I can be there."

Again, Aaron felt relieved knowing that Christopher will be with him.

"Can I come too?" They hear Oliver say as he was peeking out from the opened latch.

Aaron trilled happily, "Of course, you can come!"