Free Me

Old Ones

Kahlan was left with a desperate kiss, a promise of return, and Cane her bodyguard, as usual. She was upset that Lost had to leave so soon already but she knew she would return in no time. They'd be reunited as always and hopefully they could stay together for a little while before another mission. But she still couldn't help being sad, knowing flights to Africa would take almost two days, almost four counting the trip back.

Lost sat in her seat and stewed. Her flight was almost complete. She had a tablet on her lap and Kahlan's face was smiling at her, but she was distressed at being so far, and it showed on her face. "You're almost there," Kahlan was saying, and Lost nodded. "How long do you think it'll take to talk to these old people?"

"Old ones," Deanna corrected from her seat across the jet. Lost wasn't using earphones so Deanna could hear every word of the conversation. Lost turned the tablet around so Kahlan could see Deanna, and Deanna went on, "And it will take an hour at the most, if they're not fiesty. But it takes a few hours to get to their tombs from the airport."

"Tombs?" Kahlan asked, a little put off.

Deanna nodded and adjusted her many pillows. "Shifting plates and rock settlement forced them underground. Their tombs are hidden in catacombs. It's quite fun to play in if you're not human."

"If you are human?"

"Well..." Deanna grabbed her own tablet and started tapping at it. "Your kind tends to die when they come across the catacombs. Sorry."

Lost returned her tablet's screen around so she could lay eyes on Kahlan again just as Kahlan said, "The more I learn about you guys, the more the movies seem right."

Deanna chuckled dryly. "Maybe, but they always get the truly important facts wrong."

"Thankfully," Lost put in. "If humans really knew how to summon or destroy old ones, the world would be a much weirder place."

"As if it's not weird enough," Kahlan mumbled. She smiled at Lost and made a kissy face. "You'll do fine. I'll be waiting for you here like always.

"Be safe, okay? Protect the baby."

Kahlan forced a happy smile, disturbed by Lost's words. She kept her thoughts to herself. Then she blew a kiss and logged out. Lost felt something strange in her chest, Kahlan's emotions, but she wasn't sure what it was. She slipped down her seat slightly and crossed her arms over her chest, dropping her chin so she could take a quick nap before they landed.

-----

Deanna had a car waiting at the airport. Lost marveled at how much the area had changed since she was there last, and remembered to call it Harare now. Her and Deanna drove non stop through Zimbabwe, having already stocked on food and drinks just in case. Their destination was Manhenga, or at least an area near there. It took almost three hours to reach the little strip of flat land that passed for a road near the old one's catacombs. Lost exited the car and shut her eyes against the heat. Deanna groaned and fanned herself, grabbing a water bottle for later. The land across the horizon was blurry to both women, the hot air morphing the sky. Lost squinted against the sun as she shut her door and was glad that her kind could survive extreme weather, but that didn't mean she was comfortable, and she hated when she begun to sweat. She did not miss this kind of weather.

"It's this way," Deanna said, waving her arm with the least amount of movement possible. The heat was stifling and her face was in perpetual distaste. "We have to walk from here on."

Lost nodded and skirted around the car to follow Deanna. She asked to borrow Deanna's phone so she could inform Kahlan of her advancement, but Deanna refused, saying there was no service here. Lost sighed heavily and kept on. "I don't miss this," she mumbled. Dirt and sand kicked up around her feet as she sulked.