Chapter 2

"Emotionally Scarred"

Eliza Thornberry had saved a young cheetah's life…she had saved a herd of elephants from certain death by an electric fence…she had saved her older sister's life by sacrificing her special gift of talking to animals. But at a great emotional cost. Opening her eyes widely, she cried out in her bed of the dream she just had. Her chimpanzee companion and best friend, Darwin, was also awakened by her cry.

"Ugh, Eliza," the chimp muttered, getting twisted in his hammock. "Must you have another nightmare?"

"Sorry Dar," Eliza gasped, looking over at him. "I don't know what is wrong with me…this is the third time this week."

"Let me guess, it's those poachers again," sighed Darwin. "You just can't seem to get them out of your mind, can you?"

"I can't Dar," Eliza cried, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "They wanted to kill us, Dar. First Donnie, then you…"

Eliza lowered her head in shame at the idea of what was she had experienced in her dream. Darwin also found it difficult for his best friend to process being trapped in the Blackburn's trailer with all their equipment.

'I pleaded them to spare you, but they didn't and that they…"

Eliza buried her face in her knees and cried quietly, not wanting to wake any of her family up.

"Don't worry, it's only a dream, Eliza," comforted Darwin, wrapping himself around Eliza.

"Is it, Dar?" Eliza cried. "Is it a dream that…that I got sent to London at my grandmother's insistence? That we had to go through the torment of Sloan and Bree? To see Debbie nearly being thrown off a cliff? Darwin, why did this have to happen?"

As Eliza continued to sob, Darwin felt that Eliza was hurting, not physically, but mentally. In fact, he wasn't the only one. Upstairs, the rest of the Thornberrys were also feeling the same way for their adventurous member. Lying in their own bed, both Nigel and Marianne could feel nothing but sympathy for their children, but Eliza, especially.

"Nigel, I can't bear to hear Eliza like this," she sighed, putting on her glasses. "I'm going to go check on her."

"Poor thing," Nigel remarked. "Ever since Sloan and Bree got arrested, it's like she's living this nightmare over and over again. If only I can get my hands on them…"

"Don't Nigel, it's not worth it," Marianne cautioned. "That's why the authorities are handling the matter."

"It isn't enough," Nigel said, his hatred of poachers being taken to the next level. "I'm not one for swift justice, but I feel they need to be severely punished."

"We all want justice served for our children, Nigel," Marianne said, climbing out of bed. "But, it doesn't work that way."

The matriarch of the Thornberry family looked out of the window of the comvee and saw downtown Narobi in the distance. It was in this city that the justice the Thornberrys were seeking would be obtained.

"I'm going to check on Eliza now."

Donning a bathrobe, Marianne made her way down to Eliza's bedroom where she heard her daughter quietly crying with Darwin's arms wrapped around her. Gently, she ushered Eliza to lean next to her.

"Aw, honey, it's okay, it's okay," Marianne whispered. "I'm here…we're all here."

"Mom, I've had…" Eliza started to say through her tears, but was shushed by her mother.

"I know, it's all right. That's why we're getting to the bottom of this together. We're here for you, Eliza."

Upstairs, Nigel listened in on what was going on and he felt nothing but sadness for his youngest daughter and anger for the tormentors that put the Thornberrys through this nightmare.

"Dad?" he heard another voice coming towards him belonging to his oldest daughter, Debbie. "She's at it again, huh?"

"I'm afraid so, Debbie," he sighed. "It's another nightmare."

"Funny, I got my life put in danger and I should be having those nightmares, not Eliza. Dad, I…I want to help Eliza."

"As do I, poppet. As do I."

Both father and oldest daughter continued to listen to Eliza cry quietly down below and the more Eliza cried, the more hurt they felt for her.

"Let's just hope that this therapist Jomo recommended will help her."

…

The next morning, the rest of the Thornberrys awoke for breakfast except for Eliza who was still asleep having been up for part of the night.

"How is she, Marianne?" Nigel asked.

"Asleep, finally," Marianne answered. "It just makes me so powerless, seeing Eliza this way. I wish I could just go back and erase everything that happened, but I can't."

"Sending her to boarding school at my mother's insistence was probably a big mistake," Nigel said remorsefully, shrugging his shoulders. "I should never have listened to her, none of us should. Coupled with those two monsters who tried to destroy our family, it just makes me so…so…"

Nigel grunted angrily at the struggle of finding words to complete his sentence.

"This doctor we are taking Eliza to," Debbie asked. "How good is she?"

"I hear she's really good," Marianne answered. "From what I also hear, she's a big animal lover like Eliza."

Debbie then looked away briefly and remembered what was warned if Eliza's secret was ever revealed by her.

"What if this doctor talks to animals like Eliza does?" Debbie thought to herself. "Could my little sister and this doctor have a connection? Like, that would be something."

"Well, we'd better get ready to head into Nairobi," said Marianne. "Eliza's appointment is in an hour and a half."

So the Thornberrys finished their breakfast and prepared to head into Nairobi. Emerging from the bottom of the comvee, Eliza could see that she had missed breakfast.

"Did I sleep…?"

"It's okay, Eliza, we wanted you to sleep in," Debbie said.

"Oh, well, sorry about that."

"Why are you apologizing, poppet?" Nigel wondered. "You've gotten nothing to be ashamed of."

"Having these nightmares, thinking that Sloan and Bree are going to get us, keeping you guys up at night…"

"Eliza, you really do have nothing to apologize for," Marianne said. "It's okay to cry and let out your emotions sometimes."

She had seen Eliza cry before as did Nigel, but this was completely different.

"Anyways, I think this doctor will help you out, honey and she's an animal lover like you," Marianne continued as she got in the driver's seat.

Eliza let a brief, yet, pained smile form on her face. It was good to meet a fellow animal lover, but would it be enough to help her deal with the scars she had obtained?

…

…