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ANIK

I stared over Emma's shoulder at the Indian landscape just outside the window. There was a forest bordering the tarmac, with tall green trees and shrubbery. I heard Emma gasp in awe, and turned to see Edison, who was unimpressed. This was where he had lived for his whole life, I guess. I glanced at my parents who were unbuckling their seatbelts and yawning, still blinking away sleep.

Emma was excitedly getting out of her seat and hurrying me up. I slowly got out of my chair, unclicked my seatbelt and stepped into the aisle, getting my and her suitcase down.

We exited the plane, mumbling 'thank you's' to the airhostess who replied with 'I hope you had a nice flight. Enjoy your stay.' And then we stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac where a wall of humidity and heat whacked me in the face. I had already begun to sweat.

'Welcome to India,' dad said with a smile.

We had two rooms booked in the hotel; mom and dad in one, and Emma, Edison and I in the other. I held the room key in my hand, slid it into the cardholder and the door beeped, swinging open.

Three single beds were lined next to each other, opposite the bathroom, which looked incredibly small. I saw Emma grimace as she peeked inside.

'This bathroom is… tiny,' she muttered, and flung her suitcase on the bed near the closet. I placed mine on the bed next to hers, unzipping it and letting all my clothes spill out. Edison moved to the window, sweeping away the curtains and letting the sunlight stream in. We both immediately turned into tigers.

'So,' Emma began, sitting down on her bed. 'I guess there won't be a lot of time for sightseeing then. Kelsey told me we are going to see Phet tomorrow.' There was an unreadable expression on her face. A mixture of uncertainty, fear, confusion and excitement. I licked her hand and she smiled wistfully at me, scratching behind my ears.

'India is an amazing place,' Emma murmured, and fell back among her heap of pillows, quickly falling asleep.

KELSEY

I yawned as I scooped scrambled eggs onto my plate and joined Ren at our table. He smiled slightly absently and picked up my hand, squeezing it softly.

'I never thought I would ever see this country again so soon,' Ren murmured, glancing outside at the humid landscape. His expression was empty, but I could have sworn he was sad, as if looking at something he couldn't have.

'Do you miss it?' I asked, catching his gaze.

'Miss what?'

'You know,' I answered, waving my fork in the air. 'Running in the jungle. Being free, only you and the wild.' Ren was already shaking his head.

'Kells, being out their in the jungle was a cage, no matter how free I was. I was all alone. And being in the circus was not much better. In my whole life, I have only ever been happy with you.'

And I knew he meant it. I leaned over the table and kissed him gently.

'Me too,' I said, because I couldn't think of anything else to say. That was when the three kids interrupted us.

Emma bounded over, her face lighting up when she saw the buffet.

'Wow,' she nodded appreciatively. 'Gotta try everything right?' She almost ran over to the mountainous display of food.

Anik and Edison walked in after her, Edison with a smile and Anik with a frown. I sighed.

'Good morning Mr and Mrs Rajaram,' Edison greeted cheerfully. I fixed my gaze on Anik, who was scowling.

'Morning Edison,' Ren replied. 'But please, call me Ren.' I was about to offer some coffee to Anik but he had already turned away, heading towards the buffet.

Emma was the first to return, and I snorted softly when I saw her large plate, full of steaming bacon and eggs, pancakes, sausages and two muffins. She started to eat immediately.

'If you eat any more than that you'll burst,' Anik observed mildly, sitting down with his own food just as large. Emma shook her head.

'Don't worry. I'm going back for seconds,' she answered, with her mouth full. I rolled my eyes and sipped my tea, concealing a smile. Once Edison had sat down, I cleared my throat.

'All right. Today, you are going to see Phet. You are going to spend the next three days in the jungle. Hopefully he will tell you what to do, and what the next step is. The jungle where he lives is on the way to the Rajaram estate we still own. After the three days we will go back to the house to figure what to do next.' I glanced around at the faces that stared back at me. Ren's was the first I looked to, and I saw his eyes firm with determination but also concern. Edison looked grim, but resolved. Anik stared at his empty plate, his jaw set. And Emma had her chin tipped up defiantly, refusing to show any weakness.

'Boys,' Ren added, glancing at his watch, 'you have about six minutes of human form left. Get your bags quickly and meet us at the Jeep. It's time to leave.'

EMMA

I leaned against the door of the Jeep, a backpack filled with necessities slung over my shoulder. I chewed on my thumbnail while I waited for Edison and Anik to arrive, a habit I had long ago got rid of. Anxiety was clenching in my stomach and I tried to control my nerves. I took a deep breath. Exhaled.

Fear still clouded my mind, but I put it aside. There is nothing dangerous about camping in the jungle, I chided myself.

Edison and Anik appeared at the hotel steps, and leaped down them nimbly. They smiled at me before jumping into the back seat, immediately turning into tigers. I averted my eyes, feeling queasy before sliding in next to them.

Kelsey and Ren were already in the Jeep, a map spread between them. They conversed for a while on which route they would take, before shifting the gears and pulling away from the hotel and onto the road. On the wrong side of the road.

I pulled out a book at random and began to read, the road ahead stretching out for miles.

What did you think? Sorry there was nothing really interesting in this chapter… The next chapter will be much better.

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