My eyes kept reverting back to the helmet man currently kidnapping me. He hadn't said a word since we left my hut; he just kept walking out in front of me in a stoic fashion. Meanwhile I tottled along behind him curious if I was doing this whole "abduction" thing right. Now I know that might sound utterly insane but hear me out. Master told me that this day was coming and that I would someday return to Takodana. I trusted my great uncle whole-heartedly. Thus, I knew that this helmet-wearing rogue- if he is a rogue- wouldn't kill me. That much was certain at least. Comprehending that, I was more curious and puzzled by him than afraid of him. So many questions swirled around inside my head: why didn't he take off his helmet; where did he come from; what did he get for delivering me to god knows where?

I kicked the ground with my foot, unsure what to say and if I should say it. He didn't seem too interested in talking to me. I peered up at him from the corner of my eye again. This time he caught me as his head turned ever so slightly to the side. I watched him, wanting some answers to my mountain of questions. But instead my lips stayed shut and I glanced straight forward. We were entering a dusty, rocky terrain- one I never visited. It's not that I was afraid of this place; it's only…. Actually, never mind; I am scared of this place.

The ground wasn't totally smooth; it was enviable that I was going to trip on a rock that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I stumbled forward like an idiot, only for my feet stable me seconds later. I glanced up and saw helmet man looking my way; he had stopped momentarily too. When it was clear I was alright, he started walking again and I took that as my cue to follow him.

So strange. Master said he and I balanced each other. What does that even mean? He won't even talk to me; never mind "balance" me. And I have no clue how I could possibly offer him any balance. I guess I was too busy considering this to pay attention to our surroundings. If I had, I would have noticed how close to the castle we were getting; somewhere Master forbade me from going.

I only paused again once helmet man did. To my surprise he stopped and glanced upwards to the side. My curiosity got the better of me as now seemed like the perfect time to talk to him. "What's wrong?" I heard fall from my lips. He didn't reply, instead electing to scan around attentively. It was quiet for a moment- too quiet. But my nerves suddenly shot up when his hand reached for his gun. Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on? What is he doing?

My question was answered within seconds. Some man- though I doubt he was human- leapt out of nowhere with an axe in his hands. He also had one of those beepers on him which went crazy whenever he was near me. Without hesitation, helmet man pushed me away from the pair- hard. He shoved me so hard in fact that I went flying across the gorge, landing in the red dust afar. I blinked up while still in shock to witness helmet man and the new guy fighting. This creep was trying- and failing- to strike helmet man with his blunt axe.

To my horror, another creature who looked just like the first one soon joined the battle; none of the men were paying any great attention to me. This gave me a brief moment to consider. Now what? What should I do? I can't fight, and I have to honour my vow. So I won't be any help to helmet man that way. But I have a sneaking suspicion that they're after me; they both have those red blinking trackers- the same I saw earlier at the hut. If I stay, they'll keep fighting… But trying to run might not help anything either. Still, I can't just lay here and do nothing. I can at least get them away from helmet man; once I'm back in the forest, I'll be able to evade these freaks. I'm familiar enough with forest terrain. Plus there's two of them and one helmet man…..

Having already decided, I hopped right to my feet. This grabbed none of their attention, but all eyes were certainly on me when I began to run away. My arms waved back and forth at my sides as my feet carried me as fast as possible. "You're not going anywhere!" One of the creeps roared at me. I think he was intending to throw his axe at me, but helmet man stopped him; I didn't see. And I would have kept on going if the sound of helmet man electrocuting one freak ground my mad scrambling to a halt. My eyes peered over my shoulder to see one of the remaining monsters charging at me while hollering; his axe was raised high above his head.

Before he could reach me, helmet man shot him- and by "shot" I mean disintegrate. There once moment, gone the next. My wide eyes gawked at helmet man bewildered. He gazed back at me, slowly lowering his weapon and trailing his stare to the tracker now on the ground. After seeing what he was looking at, I bent down to pick it up. It was beeping like mad now.

"What is it?" I asked, glancing back at my abductor. He responded by marching up to me and holding out his hand expectantly. "Give it to me." I looked at him for a moment before doing as commanded. Helmet man gave it a once over, then tossed it down and broke it with his foot. My eyes slowly rolled back up to his covered head, very confused by now. "Who were they?" My voice was quieter this time.

Helmet man stared back at me for another minute before continuing his trek down the sandy path. "Let's go," was all he told me. I watched him, waiting a second to lag behind; making sure to take one last look at the ravine before we left it completely.