Hi folks... thanks for being patient!
My sincere apologies to those of you who are probably feeling restless regarding the slow progress of the story. My reasoning is that if I had rushed into it, there would have been no character development or anticipation to look forward to.
If it's any consolation, I'm really enjoying writing this fic, and have been looking forward to messing about with this particular chapter for a while now. I'm really proud of the finished product, so I hope you like it.
Alternate Destination
Chapter Nine
A large pot-hole was ultimately responsible for Linka's abrupt return to reality. She had been dozing peacefully until the front tire of the taxi forcibly hit the crater, launching her body forward against her seatbelt. The back-left tire was the next to collide with the hole, sending her head crashing into the window.
"Ow," she complained, gingerly rubbing the affected area. Blinking several times, Linka pressed her forehead against the window and observed the scenery, seemingly light-years away from the bustling port of Manila.
The travelers were approaching a small, sea-side town. The aqua-marine water was visible behind the small, fibro-board houses that lined the winding dirt road, stretching out of sight into the mountains beyond. Small children played in the dirt, waving to the strangers as they passed in the rattling vehicle. Linka grinned and waved back, feeling oddly at peace. The town was very picturesque, something that Linka was not expecting. She was more attuned to seeing this type of community within towns in North America.
As they passed the main town and shops, the driver took a sharp left turn and slowed down, peering at the numbers on a red letterbox by the side of the road. With the address now confirmed, the driver gently hit the accelerator and began the slow ascent up the gravel driveway.
Linka's heart was now hammering as they approached a small, cozy-looking brick house with red shutters beside the windows. Three cars sat in the driveway, parked alongside a paddock which contained about a dozen goats, grazing leisurely. A tiny three-wheeler bike lay discarded by the front step, it's front wheel spinning idly in the breeze. The taxi stopped behind the third car, but Linka didn't move. She could only stare at the bright pink bike and various other toys laying scattered on the front veranda.
She has children.
Linka felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, as if Gaia could sense her muddled thoughts. The young woman nodded and drew a shaky breath, preparing herself for the inevitable confusion that their surprise presence would bring.
"What if she does not wish to see me, Gaia? She has moved on, she has a family..."
Gaia sighed. Some things never change. Linka had always been insecure and lacking in confidence, despite the tough exterior she portrayed to others.
"Linka, she is your best friend. Stop fretting, that's my job. Now, are you going to help me out of the car, or shall I do it myself?"
Spurred into action, Linka quickly paid the driver and opened Gaia's door, helping her into standing position . The Planeteer had to choke back a cry when she saw Gaia's feet; discolored, cracked and obviously painful.
As the taxi drew away in a cloud of dust, Linka supported the former spirit under the arm as they hobbled towards the front door. The hammering of her heart returned with a vengeance, and Linka had to swallow in order to prevent herself from throwing up. She was so nervous, a sweat was beginning to break out on her forehead.
Gaia, on the contrary, was supernaturally calm. Her expression was one of grim determination, as if each breath required the utmost concentration. It was Gaia who knocked on the aluminum screen door as Linka listened intently from behind her, almost trying to hide herself from whoever answered.
The sound of a child was audible, as well as cutlery clanging about from somewhere inside of the house. Voices murmured to one another, then footsteps which became progressively louder as they trod the floorboards. Linka gasped and held her breath as the sound of a lock was turned.
The timber door swung open, and a tall, slim man of Asian origin observed them curiously with a polite smile.
Gaia broke the silence before the man was able to inquire as to their identity. Her breath now came in short gasps, but she pushed on relentlessly.
"We must speak with Gi, immediately."
The man raised his eyebrows, but nodded. He opened the screen door to let them in, and yelled Gi's name.
"Honey, there's people here to see you..."
Linka nearly stumbled over the thresh hold with her charge, and the man reached out to assist.
"Who is it? I'm already late for ..."
A woman stepped through the kitchen area, wiping her free hand on a white apron tied around her waist. Black, glossy hair fell past her shoulders. A small toddler was balanced on her left hip, little arms clinging around the mother's neck. She had put on weight since Linka had last seen her, but that was inevitable after child-birth. The surprised woman's glance immediately fell on Gaia. Recognition passed fleetingly across her face as her mouth dropped open at the appalling condition of the old woman.
"Oh God, Gaia!"
Gi shoved the little girl into her husbands arms and practically tore Gaia away from Linka. The Russian stood uncertainly, frozen in the doorway as she realized that Gi hadn't yet registered her presence. Gi's attention was focused elsewhere as she led her former mentor into the warm kitchen and helped her into a chair. Linka was now alone in the sitting room with who she presumed to be Gi's husband. The man stretched out his free hand and introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Max Liu. Please, sit down," he offered politely, beckoning towards a lounge. Linka sat nervously, trading the odd glance towards the kitchen where Gi could be occasionally seen through the small door-way, pacing back and forth with food, clothes and bandages.
"I'm...um," Linka fumbled for a moment, not knowing what to say. "I am Maria. I'm...," she trailed off, lost for words.
How am I supposed to introduce myself in a situation like this?
Max smiled encouragingly. He followed Linka's pensive glance towards the kitchen, before rubbing his daughters back in soothing strokes.
Max's attention turned back to Linka. "So, I'm guessing that the woman is Gi's old boss? How did you find her?"
Linka shrugged and looked down. "It is a long story."
Max nodded, struggling to keep a hold on his energetic daughter. He placed her on the ground and she stood for several seconds before overbalancing and falling. She turned her head and looked up at Linka, grinning with a single tooth showing through.
"That's Lin. We call her our little vampire."
"Lin," she breathed, watching the baby crawl towards the kitchen where her mother was currently bombarding Gaia with a million questions relating to the spirit's appearance.
"Yes, Gi wanted to name her after Linka. You know, the Planeteer who died..." Max excused himself, scooped up his daughter and hugged her, indicating that he was off to work.
Linka nodded numbly, barely registering the third presence who had just joined Gi in the kitchen. The man was now kneeling in front of Gaia's chair, staring at her in wonder and delight as Gi applied bandages to the former spirit's feet. Brown hair was matted to his neck, as if he had been in the shower when they had arrived. The man was solid muscle, a hulking individual with olive skin and hazel eyes. His face betrayed his appearance. He seemed to have an inherit kindness about him, evident in the way in which he assisted Gi. A red band encircled his thick forearm, and he now turned and looked in Linka's direction.
The man spoke briefly to Gi, pointing in Linka's direction (She brought her here?) and wandered out to thank this mysterious stranger.
Upon closer inspection, Linka jumped to her feet and held onto the back of the sofa, afraid that her legs would give way.
Ma-Ti?
"How did you find her? God, we can't thank you enough for bringing her back to us?" Ma-Ti smiled encouragingly and waited for a response, finding the girl strikingly pretty: clear complexion, dark brown hair and a curvy figure in jeans and a singlet. The stunned expression on her face didn't quite compliment the package... she looked on the verge of crying.
"Are you... "
"She found me."
"What? I don't..."
Again, the whispered reply, so soft that Ma-Ti had to strain to hear what she was saying. "Gaia found me."
Ma-Ti stood rooted to the spot, not quite comprehending the alarm bells that were going off in his head. His sixth sense was playing up, but he didn't feel threatened. There was something comfortingly familiar about the girl's voice, the hint of a foreign accent lulling his senses. He observed her closely as the bells began tolling with a newfound urgency. His scrutiny of her face embarrassed her, causing her to cast her eyes down ward and bite her lip self-consciously. This only served to alarm him further as flashbacks began assaulting his senses, memories of a certain deceased Planeteer with exactly the same endearing habits.
Ma-Ti's mouth opened, as if he were to say something. He thought otherwise and pursed his lips. Instead, he reached forward and pinched Linka on the arm, causing her to yelp in pain and smack him back.
"Bozhe moi, that hurt! What did you do that for?" she hissed, rubbing her throbbing arm and glaring at his disbelieving face.
"Oh my God... Oh my... you have got to be kidding me?" Ma-Ti was babbling now, as he reached out and touched her again, this time her hair. "This is some kind of joke, right?" he whispered, prodding her intrusively, as if he was seeking confirmation that it was her, in the flesh.
Linka grabbed his hand in order to stop him from the persistent jabs, however Ma-Ti maneuvered her wrist around first and held it up in front of his eyes. Linka immediately knew what he was looking for: the scar on the underside of her arm, a reminder of one of their many battles.
She watched solemnly as Ma-Ti found and identified the faded, 2 inch mark. He looked up and their eyes met in an electric moment of familiarity.
"Is it really you, my old friend?"
Linka smiled, concerned about his pale face. "Da. I was about to ask you the same question!" she smiled for the first time since arriving, lighting up her face in a manner that was difficult to resist.
He embraced her, picking her slim body up and affectionately lifting her off the ground. Linka laughed happily and returned the hug, so happy to see him, even if he did look like a pro-wrestler!
Gi Shang-Liu tended to Gaia's wounds diligently. She had called in sick for the day, determined to get some answers from Gaia about many issues which had gone unresolved. Unfortunately, Gi doubted that they would be forthcoming any time soon. Gaia hadn't said a word in the half an hour since the brunette had arrived on her door step with the missing spirit.
Gi was troubled, nonetheless. Gaia was now in human form, and had aged considerably since... well, since before Linka had died.
What happened to her? Why is she in this state? She looks about 100 years old...
"GI, GET IN HERE!"
The 'water' Planeteer poked her head around the door to see Ma-Ti embracing the stranger as if she were an old friend. Shaking her head in amusement, she chuckled and moved Gaia into the sitting room, placing her on the lounge with a blanket.
Clapping his hands gleefully, Ma-Ti slapped Gi on her back and bounded out of the room.
"I'll leave you two alone! You have lot's of catching up to do," he yelled over his shoulder, eager to retrieve his personal communicator and message the others. He hoped that they were listening.
That boy confounds me, sometimes, she thought, watching his retreating figure.
"I'm sorry about that. He's here for a couple of weeks and can be quite a handful, at times."
The brunette stared at Gi, obviously amused by the statement. The pretty girl spoke softly, with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"And since when has Ma-Ti ever been a handful, Gi?" A lilting Russian accent accompanied her sparkling green eyes.
Gi dropped her head to the side, trying to mentally picture her with blond hair. On closer inspection, blond roots were beginning to show through. Hair dye?
"Wait a minute..."
The stranger laughed and self-consciously touched the thick strands of hair. She forced herself to meet Gi's eyes and shrugged.
"This color was a better choice that chlorine green. Less noticeable, I should think..."
Gi's hand's moved to her face, so that only her eyes were visible. Tears began to run from the corners, dropping onto her cheeks and leaving a wet trail on her skin. She shook her head several times and blinked.
Exhaling shakily, Gi wiped the tears away and took a deep, hitching breath. Having lost her composure somewhat, Gi recalled their last moments together.
"I offered to put lemon juice on your hair that night, didn't I?"
"Da, you did." Linka replied, wanting to reach out to Gi, but found herself stopping short.
The tears were forming as Gi continued, her voice rising in pitch and hysteria .
"Ya know what pisses me off the most, Linka? It's not that I didn't get to say goodbye to you... or that Wheeler totally wont speak to any of us anymore, or that Gaia simply... disappeared when we needed her the most. It's that my last words to you are forever etched in my mind, and I was talking about FRUIT!"
Linka finally gained the courage to step forward and grab her hands. Gi was falling apart in front of her, and she tried desperately to explain her sudden appearance. Ma-Ti had returned by then and was sitting at Gaia's feet, also waiting for an explanation. Linka sat down on the opposite couch, but Gi remained standing, a haunted look on her face.
"I have no answers for you, Gi. I don't know exactly why I'm here, but I think Zarm is the reason I died, and Gaia brought me back."
"From the dead, Linka?" Ma-Ti inquired, "I mean, you were... well, dead. We buried you on..."
Linka winced at their memories, but interrupted Ma-Ti in mid-sentence. "Da, I saw the grave." Ma-Ti and Gi both winced at this revelation.
Gi shook her head, confused. "I don't understand, how could this..."
"I remember Sludge kicking the bucket of chlorine...it turned my hair green. I remember coming home during the storm, and you guys were running around in the rain like...like crazy people. Wheeler and I sat talking for a while. I had a shower and went to bed. I woke up in the forest..."
Gi joined her friend on the sofa as Ma-Ti moved forward, listening intently as she continued.
"My watch had stopped, and it was cold... it felt like winter. I could hear noises, so I ran to the main camp expecting to see you all..."
Gi groaned. She knew what would have awaited Linka. "There would have been nothing there, right."
"Not quite. Zarm, Blight, Greedly and Rigger were on the island with me. That's how I found out that I was... well, you know. Plunder had hijacked a cruise ship to come and pick them up. That's how I got here, I stowed away with them..."
Linka's predicament slowly dawned on Ma-Ti. "You mean that you have spent the time since you woke up... with them?"
"Da, there were more of them, actually. Duke Nukem, Verminous Skumm, Plunder, of course. Sly Sludge told me to enjoy my coffee, and called me sweetheart!"
"Bosze moi," Gi breathed, eliciting giggles from Linka.
"Hey, that is my language, Gi!"
Gi smiled at her long-lost friend, still reeling from her sudden arrival. Her attention was diverted by Lin's hands tugging at her trousers, so she picked her daughter up and balanced the child on her lap, seemingly lost in thought.
"Have you contacted the others, Ma-Ti?"
The man nodded. "It's all up to them now."
"Do you think they'll both come," asked Gi,
Ma-Ti shrugged helplessly. "Kwame will, for sure. The Yankee... who knows?" he replied, throwing a worried glance in Linka's direction.
Linka's temper began to flare uncontrollably. She needed to know what happened, since she couldn't depend on the idle gossip that she had been exposed to on the ship.
"Do not treat me like a baby. What happened after... that?"
"Um... we traveled to the mainland, stayed overnight in a hotel together and by morning, Wheeler had already gone."
"He was pretty gutted at the time, so it's understandable, I guess," recalled Ma-Ti. "Didn't he take Linka's ring, too?"
"Yes. Linka, we've had three reunions since we left the island. Wheeler hasn't turned up to any of them." Gi looked angry... and bitterly disappointed.
Linka was confused. "Surely, you could find him with your ring, Ma-Ti?"
The Indian looked up, surprised. "I guess you don't know. We can't make them work without five members. When you died, we were left powerless. We found that out on the first night without you in the hotel."
"But, I am here now, so... " Linka paused, as the idea slowly sunk in with her friends.
Ma-Ti was up and off the couch in a split second, making a mad dash towards the guest room for his ring.
"Do you think it will make a difference?" Gi's voice had a warning tone to it. She didn't want to get her hopes up.
"Da, well if Ma-Ti is able to beam him, he might realize that there are five of us... " Linka stopped, as a dangerous thought occurred to her.
"Plunder and his people were coming here for you, Gi. I think that they were after the rings. It will only be a matter of time before he retraces his contacts and finds us."
Gi looked positively green at the news. "Here?" she choked, glancing at her daughter, sleeping peacefully in her arms.
"Ma-Ti, have you beamed them yet?" Gi yelled, startling both Linka and Lin.
"NO! I can't find where I put my ring..."
Gi looked at her friend, eyebrows raised as if to say 'some things never change'.
Linka watched with amusement as Gi took a breath and called out, "okay, there's been a change of plans. We need to meet them somewhere else, or Plunder'll be crashing the party!"
"HUH?"
Gi rolled her eyes, before placing her daughter in Linka's lap. She stood and rounded the sofa before enveloping her arms around the Russian beauty's neck from behind, and placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"Welcome back Linka. You were certainly missed."
With that, Gi turned and left the room, leaving Linka sitting on the sofa and watching Gaia sleeping opposite. She jiggled the child on her knee for a while, listening to Gi and Ma-Ti arguing comically in the next room.
The sound of Gi's voice was comforting, even though she was currently chastising her fellow Planeteer.
"Geez, Ma-Ti! You've only been here for two days, and you've already turned this room upside..."
Linka grinned at this all-too-familiar scenario. She hugged little Lin close and breathed in the her scent. She smelt like baby powder and Napi-San, a pleasing combination. No more than six months old, Lin contentedly sucked on her fists, unperturbed by her mother's ranting and raving. Linka leaned back and closed her eyes, lost in her own thoughts.
"You've always been good with children, Linka."
Gaia was awake and watching Linka, a small smile apparent on her lined face. The girl smiled in response but said nothing, concentrating her attention on the squirming child.
"He'll come back, Linka. He'll come."
Gaia closed her eyes once more, leaving Linka to her muddled thoughts again.
Da, I hope so.
Okay, that chapter came a lot sooner than I expected, but I had the overwhelming urge to get it down.
Special shout out and hello to extra special reviewers: Emerald Angel, Star3, Buffalo1, Ray 1, and CPC reviewers (Gromia, DaiLou, Ruthie etc)
Thanks again for the reviews. Keep it coming!
Luv, Missgoldy (Sarah)