Chapter 37- The Complete Puzzle
After the day they had yesterday, hardly anyone on Krait Island slept, especially Josh.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Danni asked him for the billionth time.
He liked that she cared so much. No one had ever cared so much about him, but then it might've been because he was so disagreeable. At least that is how Mega appeared to him in his dreams. How could anyone love that? Even Tai-San had to be re-programmed to love him.
"I wish you would stop making a big deal over me, you're the one who was held at needlepoint with snake venom."
Danni rolled her eyes, "Fine, I won't fuss anymore. But it is about time you start talking."
"About?"
"Your amnesia. You didn't tell me you remembered so much."
"I was afraid of what you'd think…"
"Think?"
"I'm a monster Danni!"
"No you're not! Look at what you did for me yesterday. Had you not talked her down or kept Éowyn from leaping at Lani I'd be paralyzed," she paused, "…or worse."
"But I'm the reason we're here in the first place. If I hadn't of created the second virus…"
"If my father hadn't of created the first virus none of us would be dealing with these kinds of issues. We'd be worried about pimples, parties, and universities. The truth of the matter is the past is the past. We are going to find Tai-San, and everything will iron itself out from there."
Josh had an overwhelmingly powerful impulse to reach out and caress her cheek, but his fingers only managed to twitch at his sides. And he was glad. He didn't know why he had developed such an attraction to Danni, but she clearly didn't feel the same. She liked Dragon.
"Thank you, for everything Danni. You're a great doctor and an even better friend, but I don't need a doctor anymore. So you don't have to hang out with me. You should go enjoy the beach with Patsy, Kyra, and the others.
"My time is much better spent with you. Besides, Patsy's the only one enjoying the beach. Kyra, Dragon, and Éowyn are planning for our next trip, and after yesterday I just want some quiet."
"You don't like her very much do you?"
"Éowyn? She and I, we had our differences in the past. She made my job as a doctor difficult, to say the least."
"You sure that's it?"
"She maybe stepped on my toes a bit, but I'm over it."
"The past is in the past?" he smirked.
She nodded, "Exactly."
~0~
Patsy was in awe of all the chaos. She felt bad for all parties in this instance. Kyra, leader of a tribe whose disillusioned visions started this whole chain reaction, seemed to feel the same. The woman hadn't been herself as of late and with each new shocking twist in the tale of the Technos, Patsy witnessed the light in the woman's eyes fade a little more. But she suspected it had less to do with the chaos and more to do with something Kyra was hiding.
"I know I'm just a kid in everyone's eyes, but I'm not the little girl Dragon found pleading for her life anymore. You can talk to me."
Kyra mustered up a smile for her, but Patsy wasn't fooled. It wasn't real.
"You are so intuitive."
"I think I got it from my brother Paul," Patsy smiled, thinking of her long lost brother.
Kyra looked out at the horizon beyond the beach. She had left Éowyn and Dragon to deliberate amongst themselves. She couldn't think straight anymore.
"I joined the Technos because we once stood for something. We provided hope to frightened kids when we were just kids ourselves. We wanted to make this adult-free world structured, but we got greedy. We became so entangled up in the power that we began to lose sight of everything we stood for. I mean I was right up there with Ram and Mega, having been here from the beginning, and then the kindness of one prisoner changed that all. He took the blinders off my eyes and I realized what this world had become, and I had to make it right. Unfortunately that meant losing him."
"He died?"
"No. But I was undercover. I couldn't be seen making eyes at a virt, especially one so heavily associated with a resistance against us. So I had him removed from my camp. I knew I was sending him to where Tai-San was, but I didn't count on her escaping so quickly. I lost track of Tai-San until we began this journey, and I'm hoping when we find her, we find him too."
"Seems like Tai-San holds the key to a lot right now," Patsy sighed, "but she's going to cause some issues as well. She always causes issues."
Kyra knew this too. Once they found Tai-San things were going to be tense between Danni and her newfound friend, Josh. And knowing his past as a Mallrat and a little of his relationship with Danni, if Bray were also there, there'd be tension between her and Danni too. And what if Bray and Tai-San had hooked up? She shook the thought from her head.
"We'll climb that mountain when we get there. Have you seen Skipper and Geo?" she suddenly hopped up.
Patsy knew that was all the honesty she was going to get from Kyra today, most likely all she'd ever get out of the woman. She shrugged, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen them since last night."
Kyra left without another word. Patsy noticed there was a new light to her eyes. But it was different than one of joy; it was like a blazing fire.
~0~
"I can't find my prisoner!" Kai growled at Kyra as soon as he saw her enter camp.
"Well I can't find two of my crew! You should've heeded Josh's warnings about Viper."
"And you shouldn't have ever come here!"
"Look, don't take your frustrations with Éowyn or your dislike for my brother out on me. If we hadn't of come here you wouldn't know about the antidote and your tribe except Keahi would most likely die of the virus."
"Look let's just stick to the matter at hand. Now, you're missing two of your crew, and I'm missing my prisoner. Maybe she broke free and took them out."
Kyra shook her head, "No. I brought those two with me so I could keep a close eye on them. I've had my suspicions about them for awhile now, and I would be willing to bet wherever they are, Lani is."
"Well this week just keeps getting better and better!" Kai threw up his hands.
"They probably snuck out during the night, but my boat is still anchored."
"None of the Krait boats are missing, I checked. They have to be hiding out in the jungle somewhere."
"Lani is clearly too weak to be tramping about in the jungle. Unless…" Kyra looked around camp.
"Unless what?" Kai tried following her gaze around the camp.
"Your medicine man, is he a part of this tribe?"
"Niko grew up here like thirty percent of this tribe, but he comes and goes as he pleases. He even lives in his boat which has a small cabin below deck rather than sleeping in a hut. He trades with surrounding islands for medicines. He and Charis used to make their trading travels together. Oh…" he stopped as things became clearer in his head, "Niko and Lani were the best of friends growing up. Until the virus hit and Lani finally managed to snag Blaze full time, she and the medicine man were a small item."
"Lani said she put herbs in Charis' tea, but they weren't friends so she'd have to have someone else do it for her, who better than someone Charis trusted?"
"Our midwife went missing around the time Charis found out she was pregnant. That was also around the time Lani re-appeared and lead us all to believe she had amnesia."
"With your midwife gone Charis had no one to turn to but the medicine man."
"And he administered all her meds and treatments."
"And his boat is still anchored?"
"No actually I saw him off at dawn."
"Did he say where he was going?"
Kai looked grave now, "He said he was making his usual round trip."
"Which entails?"
"We have to ask Éowyn if we can go through Charis' things. She had detailed maps of her travels with Niko."
"Could you also tell her that I'm not an invalid? The medicine man told me I didn't have a concussion so I can care for my own son?" Blaze stepped out of his hut at hearing Éowyn's name.
"You mean Keahi's not with you?" Kyra looked at Blaze incredulously.
"No it says right here in this note she's concerned about my head and that she'd look after the baby," he held up a half crumpled piece of paper.
"Blaze listen to me, Éowyn is on the beach with my brother and Patsy, but she doesn't have Keahi."
Kai paled, "They've taken Keahi!"
~0~
"I can't believe how easy it was for us to slip away," Niko grinned at Lani. He loved her, and he believed she'd realize finally that she loved him too.
Growing up he had always been her anchor. When Blaze left Lani all alone under the jetty their first time together, or he took Charis to the dance instead of Lani, Niko was always right there with wide open arms. He would do anything for Lani.
"Don't get too giddy," Skipper put a damper on their glee, "it won't take Kyra long to piece together the rest of the puzzle."
Niko nodded, "And the sleeping pills I gave Blaze are due to wear off any minute. He's going to be on the hunt for Keahi."
"At least the little brat likes Geo, I would've had to kill him if he didn't stop screaming," Lani glared at the sleeping child in Geo's arms.
"You can't kill him, if we don't find Tai-San we're going to have to experiment with his blood," Geo seemed to grip the child a little closer.
He hadn't wanted any part in this evil scheming and he didn't want any harm to come to Keahi. Geo genuinely liked being a Techno under Kyra's rule, but Skipper was his brother, and you didn't turn your back on family in a time of need. Skipper's wife, who had been in the City when the second virus hit had contracted the disease and the man was just as desperate as Lani for the antidote.
"But you guys have geological coordinates right?" Niko asked.
Skipper shrugged, "No one knows for sure if it was Tai-San's homing beacon, and even if it was, there's no telling she's the one who set off the device."
"Well if it was her, we've got a half a day head start on Kai and the others," Lani found enough energy to smirk. "We'll definitely reach Tai-San first."
"Let's just hope she knows by now that she's in possession of the formula."
~0~
Tai-San's guilt was eating her alive. Even Lex had begun to notice she was acting strangely. But she still kept quiet about the homing device, and the dreams. Her dreams were becoming increasingly unclear. Or maybe her memories were returning to her clearly now and she just couldn't distinguish them from her re-programmed memories.
She was glad to have Salene off her case, that made things easier, but still she had to tell Lex and the two tribes the truth before Ram or Trudy beat her to the punch.
"We need to talk," Lex slid next to her on their bed, "Whatever you're hiding, I need to know. We promised no more secrets."
"Lex everything is fine."
"Everything is not fine! Tai-San you're jumpy, you don't sleep, you…you hardly eat!"
"I've just got a lot on my mind Lex. I've been dreaming again."
"Of what?"
"Some things I can't make out, some things I wish weren't so clear."
"Tell me!"
"I don't think you want to know."
Lex stood up, he wasn't outraged as much as he was frustrated, "How can you marry Cloe and Ved, and Ryan and Mikhail when your own marriage is so upside down?"
"Lex!" she cried, truly hurt by his words.
"It's called communication, Tai-San! You can't have a relationship with someone if you don't communicate."
"I know…I'm sorry it's just…"
"It's just what Tai-San?"
"Remember when I said some things are clear, and some aren't so clear?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember my bracelet; the one I told you was a homing device?"
"Yeah you said it wasn't on long enough for anyone to find you."
"That may not be the case. Ram thinks…"
"You've been talking to Ram about this?"
"I told him as soon as it happened. He thinks that they've advanced their systems and may be using a triangulation method to find me. That is consistent with my dreams, but Lex there are parts of my dreams that are unclear to me…"
"Like what?"
"Memories that aren't mine, at least I don't remember them. And people I don't know are coming."
"Why would you wait to tell me this, we have to tell the others. We have to be ready…on our guard!"
"Everyone will find out tonight at the Tribal meeting Amber and Khail have organize…I just…there's something we can't tell them."
"What do you mean? We have to tell them everything."
"Lex someone is going to die…and it's unclear to me who…I think it might be me."