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Sinai and two members of his clan approached the city. Anger and fear went through his body. "Why did she do it? All these years. She knew my voice, often answered.''
"Didn't she recognize it?"
Ishe and Kiau went together along the main street, the mask of invisibility covering their bodies. They climbed to the nearby building and watched. Sinai joined them. He growled loudly, wishing that Elli hears him.
They continued to move, silently. Here and there were signs of recent hunt. There was nobody in the street. Before, after their arrival, streets would be heavily guarded by human guards. Police officers, as people called them. They would watch and protect humans in the streets during incidents, trying to stop us. But now, there is nobody. Everything is silent.
"They think we're gone," he thought, "or, they are waiting for us to make mistake", Sinai laughed at the thought mockingly.
''Human fools.''
Sinai had separated from Ishe and Kiau like they agreed, and moved on. He started walking the route he followed Elli for the first time after she moved from the suburbs to the city. She looked impatient and excited, as if she had entered the new world, some different universe.
Several trees adorned the entrance to her building. She was watching it. Wanted to touch the leaves with her hand, but she couldn't reach it. She only needed a centimeter to do it.
Sinai was watching her. He approached. The wind blew softly, and then, slowly, he lowered the branch. Leaves touched her fingers. Smile appeared on her face. She closed her eyes and said "Thank you!"
Quietly, almost unnoticeably, he approached to her and whispered in her ear "Elli".
She turned, opened her eyes, and looked around, but no one was there. The street was almost empty. She thought she was imagining it. She looked at the trees once more and entered the building with a smile.
Remembering that, Sinai firmly said to himself, "I wasn't wrong", and went on.
He held a small blue pendant with carved symbols in his hand."I have to get you home," he said, and pressed it tightly in his hand.
Elli quickly walked out of the woods. It was a forest she would often go for a walk when town would began to suffocate her too much. The forest was small, but beautiful. Small stream burbled near the woods. It wasn't frozen yet, but it will be, soon.
Coldness began to penetrate through her coat and clothes. Snow began to fall. "It's gonna be a white Christmas this year." She smiled at that thought.
She loved Christmas and snow. Those days she would feel like a little child who was eagerly awaiting the first snowflakes. Neither coldness would prevent her from being outside and waiting with anticipation.
As she approached the city, she was feeling more and more anxious. ''Will I find Annie? How will I explain her where I was till now? How long has it been since I left? "
Bright city lights greeted her when she came out of the woods. It was nice to see them, though, she was never a city type of a person. She likes suburbs more.
She lived with her parents near town but had to move because of work. And, she met one guy there, but the relationship didn't last long. She didn't know what went wrong. He just stopped calling. She felt guilty, maybe she was too careful, or was she bothering him somehow?
''But it doesn't matter now. If I compare him and this new, big guy... What new guy? '' She interrupted herself.
"There is no guy! Did I really call Sinai ... ?!"
She continued walking. Tiny Christmas lights were put on few windows and doors of the buildings. She also recently bought small lanterns with tiny light bulbs. Although she always spent Christmas and New years alone, she loved decorating her apartment.
Annie had invited her many times to her parent's home, to spend Christmas with her. But, somehow, she didn't have the courage to go. She was afraid she would feel sad because of her parents, who were no longer with her.
She continued walking down the streets enjoying the feeling of snow under her shoes. She hadn't felt it for a long time. Then, she remembered Sinai.
"Where is he now? Is he looking for me? Did he even realize that I'm gone. That I came back? How will I hide from him? Do I even want to hide from him at all?"
Wind started to blow and almost carried away the scarf wrapped around her neck. She grabbed it with her hands before it flown away. Then she heard the voice. Quiet, but clear.
His voice.
Is he calling her, or she is imagining it? Pain stuck in her heart. ''Don't look for me!''
''Please!''
She was approaching the street she lived. Her legs had already begun to hurt from walking. Cold has long since entered her body. Her fingers were blue from the cold.
"I hope Annie will not be angry for getting so late and after a few days away. I'll have to go to my apartment and pick up a couple of things too. I'll try to explain my boss why I wasn't coming to work. Hope he'll still accept me at his other cafe. ''
"Just to survive this night and let these creatures go away. Then, everything will be allright again." At least she hoped it will.
She was standing in front of the building she lived, remembering the night she was taken. She was almost at home.
"If I was faster, none of this would have happened. There wouldn't be Sinai and I wouldn't feel so lost. I would go to work in that other cafe and look for a new, warmer, apartment. ''
But, she already had it, and she left it ... She was never as happy as when Sinai had taken her. She couldn't admit to herself, she couldn't accept it... "How is it possible?"
With a bit of fear and little bit of hope, she entered the building. She went to apartment where Annie lived and knocked. Nobody responded.
''Look like she is asleep.''
She knocked again. She heard steps, and yawning. Annie opened the door and saw Ellie. She threw herself around her neck and started crying.
"I thought you were dead, that they dumped or hijacked you, like some of those people in the city! Where were you?'' Annie asked.
''Long story, I'm thirsty.''
Elli didn't realize how hungry and thirsty she was. '' When was my last meal? In that room. Sinai brought me a meal. He showed signs of caring, which I haven't felt for a long time by anyone, anybody.''
''Except Annie.'' She looked at her.
Annie was living with her grandfather in same building where she lives. Their apartments are separated by five floors. Although they are good friends, they didn't get too attached.
Annie's grandfather was in the late eighties, but he had a spirit of a young boy. Only his eyes were greatly weakened. He wasn't bothering her. She was delighted to have him as a company every day. He is very interesting and good man. Full of stories and legends of his people.
Annie's grandfather belonged to an old Indian tribe which name she couldn't accurately pronounce. She had only part of that blood. But, she was proud of her origins and past.
Since the crime has increased in the city, her grandpa moved to her apartment. To take care for her. He felt little better knowing he is there, even though he could help her much. And, he wanted to see what attracted her so much to the city.
He liked Elli, too. He would often say to her that she has the spirit of his ancestors, though she didn't carry their blood. Elli liked him too. Sometimes she wanted her grandpa to be with her .
He greeted her with relief and asked, "Have you come with him?"
Annie and Elli did not know what her grandfather meant with this question, although, Elli was a little bit suspicious, but she did not know how would Annie's grandfather knew what had happened to her.
Annie quickly warmed up the soup it had left after dinner, and Elli quickly ate it.
She was glad Elli had returned. She did not know what to do without her. Elli was not the only friend of hers, but she was the only one honest and true. She could always count on her.
Sinai finally approached Elli's building. Still under the disguise of invisibility, he stepped inside. Doors of the building weren't locked. He listened the silence of walls around him. He knew where Elli lived because he had already followed her here.
Slowly, he approached the door to her apartment. They were not closed either. He walked inside. Cold wind was blowing from all sides. Windows were opened, and the apartment was all messed up. He was looking all around but she wasn't there. She hasn't returned yet.
People were here. They were searching for something. According to the appearance of the apartment, he concluded. He decided to wait. It will not take long until she comes. He sent a signal to Ishe and Kiau that this job will take longer.
Listening voices in the hall, housekeeper of this building approached Annie's apartment.
''Finally, the time has come Elli, to pay your debts!'' With a maniacal smile he returned to his apartment and called someone with a telephone.
It wasn't long before two men appeared in front of their building. They looked around and entered it. They went to his apartment. After a brief conversation with him, they headed toward the door of Annie's apartment, their housekeeper with them. He knocked.
Annie immediately knew who it was. "Ellie, have you prepared your rent? Our housekeeper is extremely impatient."
She opened the door. Of course, it was their housekeeper, Dave. He came with unbuttoned shirt and a maniacal smile on his face.
"You still use the same perfume," Elli said, turning her eyes around.
"Just for you," he replied.
Suddenly, the other two men who were with him came in. "Where is he?" They asked. '' Your boyfriend! We know you went with him on a romantic trip! "They laughed mockingly.
"You'll never find out," she replied.
Although she ran away from him, she didn't want anything happen to him. They are reasonable beings too, but with a different culture, which she did not approve of.
Dave eagerly asked, "Where's my money? And what guy? If you're planning to move in someone to the apartment, I'll charge you a double rent! "He said.
"You don't have to," she replied. "Anyway, I'm leaving the apartment." she laughed at him.
''Where, to your boyfriends? I hear he has a little more luxurious apartment. " One of the two men said, laughing mockingly.
"You have no idea," Ellie replied.
'' Yes, we do!''
That frightened her, how could they know where she was and how that ship looks like?!
Grandpa looked from other side of apartment, scared. He knew that people want their technology. Even as young boy, he saw people searching their masks, equipment, and they have found several of it. But so far they haven't been able to figure out how it works. In fact, they were barely scratching the surface.
Annie's grandpa never spoke to her about visitors from sky. He only told her some stories, but he never explained that they were real stories. Not just the legends.
His tribe was little and very peaceful.
Hunters from heaven would often came near the place where they lived to hunt. They didn't hunt his tribe. They were hunting their surrounding warrior tribes, who were often attacking his tribe. Sometimes that tribes would kidnap women and kill men from his tribe.
Hunters sometimes even helped his tribe to protect them from these tribes. His grandma told him that one warrior tribe kidnaped her sister Ishi.
Ishi had an adventurous and restless spirit and they did not caught her easily, but there was too much of them. They took her to their tribe camp.
At that time The Great Hunters appeared. They caught few men from the tribe that kidnaped Ishi. They found her with them, but they didn't do anything to her. They recognized she was member of that peaceful tribe by the blue pendants attached to her hair. They wore such hair decorations. They released her and returned her to her tribe.
But, with her restless spirit, she decided to go with them. She told her sister she'd be back. But she never came back. Her sister never knew what had happened to her. There were no visits from The Great Hunters after that.
The two men looked at Annie's grandfather. ''We know you know! ''
With a mocking smile, they gave money to Elli's housekeeper and said, "You were very useful. Now, help us bring them out. We need her boyfriend. Surely he will not so easily leave them to us. ''
"If you scream or try to do something you won't see your grandfather anymore." Annie looked at her grandpa in shock.
"I'll be back," Elli said to Dave, "and then you better watch yourself!" She threatened him.
"I can't wait!" He replied.
Dave and the other two quickly overcame Annie and Elli. Annie's grandpa couldn't help much. Annie had no choice, she was afraid for her grandfather. She is clever, she will figure something up till they move away from the apartment.
"Can I have some fun with Elli?" Dave asked the two men who kept them.
"We have no time. You will play with her when we return them. If they stay in one piece'', they laughed mockingly.
Dave was not happy with the answer. "This is not over yet, Elli, you know what follows when you come back!" He licked his thick lips with a slimy tongue.
Elli disgusted the thought of her housekeeper. He was allways around her and her apartment. She often acted as if she weren't at home, so that he would walk away.
They took them out of the apartment to the parking behind the building. Annie was trying to figure out how to get out of this mess that they got in... Elli for the first time wanted Sinai was here. She waited for him to appear from somewhere.
Sinai waited for Elli. Impatience and anger began to flow in his veins. ''Do you really want to run away from me Elli?''
He got out of the apartment. He will deal with her later. There is another unfinished business that has to be done. He looked at the blue pendant in his hand. It had two symbols engraved on it. His father asked him to bring it back.
Walking down the stairs and passing through the corridor, he saw an apartment with the open doors. He heard someone's hard breathing and crying. He was nervous and he didn't want to deal with other people right now, but he felt something is not right.
He walked over to the door of the apartment and stepped inside. Annie's grandpa heard the steps. Then, by the weight of the steps, he realized who, in fact, what stood in front of him. He heard voice, like the voice of his grandmother.
"I knew you'll come back," he said in his tribal language.
Sinai was surprised to hear those words, but he recognized the language of his grandmother. He replied in the same language:
''She wanted to bring this to you. My father has searched the rest of your tribe for a long time. He sent me with her last wish.''
"What happened to her? She said she would come back." old man said.
"She became a great warrior hunting acid dragons. She died while hunting one of them. She had a baby. My dad. He kept pendant in order to return it, but your tribe has departed since then. We've been looking for you for a long time." He handed the pendant to Annie's grandfather.
He took it with shaky hands. Under his fingers he felt simething carved in. Two symbols, symbol of his tribe and of The Great Hunters. ''Ishi had really become one of them. '' he thought.
Her sister, his grandmother, almost went with them too, but his tribe stopped her before she left. They didn't want to lose them both, they hoped Ishi would get back to them. To her sister.
"You're looking for Elli," he said.
"How do you know?" Sinai asked.
"She has the same spirit as your and my grandmother. I knew you would meet one day. It was inevitable. You're late. They took her... And my granddaughter. Annie. Your cousin. Find them! " He asked him.
Sinai clenched his hand tightly and hit the nearby wall. The heavy blow was silenced by the walls of the apartment and the corridor. Anger began to accumulate in his veins.
"Where did they take them?" He asked, slightly losing control.
''Close to where my tribe lived before we moved long time ago. There is an underground military base. Access there is strictly forbidden. They probably took them there! Help them, please!" The old man started to cry.
He tried to get up from his chair, but his legs were too tired. He couldn't withstand this happening. Sinai grabbed him firmly under his arm and raised him to his chair.
"Thank you," the old man said.
Sinai pressed the symbol on the metal armor on his wrist. He invited Ishe and Kiau to come here. It's not safe for the old man to stay here. Not while these people have Elli and his granddaughter. He said to him that two more hunters will come here and take him to a safer place until he returnes his granddaughter and Elli.
The old man did not complain. He was to tired and too overwhelmed.
Sinai went as the old man said.
Soon, Ishe and Kiau came and took the old man with them.