The Hope Of The Three (Book 2 of the Hidden Trilogy)

Chapter Thirty-One: Plan C

Eliana
(SLB)

"Ouch," I grumbled as I tried to push the weight from my back. Umair got up as fast as he could and offered his hand to me, I gladly took it and he pulled me up.

"I suppose that I forgive you then," Umair grumbled to Kaito, not upset that he had to forgive him, but upset that he lost. It was quite humiliating and enjoyable to watch.

"Not that that wasn't a great show to watch but we have to find Aswa and soon. Kaito, do you have any idea where he is?" Alena asked, taking charge as usual and pushing away all her emotions. She seemed to do that often and I felt a twinge of pity for her. Sometimes it was better to let the tears flow.

"No, I have no idea, I'm sorry," Kaito apologized but I could hardly hear him because I remembered. I remembered a key detail. I remembered the vision I had while I was still on earth. I had been fighting on a planet, a war against the darkness, a camp full of people who had been helping hide Aswa. I had been there undercover. After Aswa killed everyone I was close too, I knew he was after me next, so I hid and joined the army, hoping that it would keep me hidden at least for a short while. I had been down in the dungeons, looking prisoners who could give us insight into his next plan and then a Nortoche appeared, the Sourita. Killing my group, including Nadi. It came for me and skimmed me but that was enough to worm its way into my soul and start controlling me. I had been extracted from the site by my fellow comrades before Aswa could find me. But Aswa had been there, and something, a feeling deep within me, told me that that where he was hiding.

"I know where he is," I said, pulling myself from my thoughts. The heads of my friends turned to me in surprise "He's on the planet Yuro, don't ask me how I know but I do," I looked into each of their eyes, silently begging for them to trust me, to believe that I knew what I was doing.

"Then that's where we'll go," Alena's eyes narrowed with determination and I gave her a grateful smile for trusting me "Gather the weapons and get some rest, we leave at dawn," Alena yelled to the group. I looked over the horizon to see the sun setting, we only had a few hours before we left. And who knows what we would encounter when we get to Yuro.

--------

"Kaito?" I asked as I approached the frost-haired boy. He looked at me and something flashed through his eyes. Maybe fear, guilt, potentially remorse. It was too quick to be sure for one moment I saw it and the next it disappeared. I didn't want to be alone with him, but if I were to start fighting alongside him in the morning, then I must trust him.

"Yes?" Kaito questioned, his eyes shone with curiosity.
"Can I ask you something?" I wondered.
"Sure," worry crept into Kaito's voice, wondering what I was going to say next.
"What image do you put in Umair's mind?" I couldn't explain why I wanted to know so badly, but for some reason, my heart just burned for me to ask him. Kaito looked at me blankly for a few moments and then burst out laughing, taking me by surprise. That's when Umair walked into the tent. His hands were clasped into tight fists as though ready to punch something. He then looked to me and relaxed a bit.
"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly. He probably had thought that Kaito was trying to kidnap me again.
"I'm fine," I smiled, trying to get Umair to relax "I was just asking Kaito what he did to daze you so much while you were sparring,"
"Would you like to tell her?" Kaito smiled mischievously to Umair, who turned a bright tomato red remembering the incident.
"No, and no one will, right Kaito?" He implied the message quite clearly, he didn't want anyone to know what he saw. Umair then promptly walked out of the tent without another word.
"You sure know how to push his buttons," I complimented. I was surprised he knew Umair that well and what would catch him by surprise.
Kaito just shrugged modestly.
"You don't need to be a mind reader to see what he cares about," he gave me a knowing wink that was definitely implying something and I couldn't help but feel the blood rush to my cheeks.
"You should go see him," Kaito's face turned grim "You and are really the only ones that know what we are up against," I almost forgot that he had known Aswa. It didn't surprise, it just felt odd "Who know if it will be the same when we get back," Kaito looked at me meaningfully and my heart rate sped up. I knew what he meant. I knew that maybe not all of us would make it back. And then Kaito hugged me. Not in the romantic way that he would hug Tsuki. But in a comforting way. Whether to comfort him or me, I didn't know.

"Now go talk with Umair," Kaito said, snapping out of his worrisome stupor. I nodded and ran out the opening of the tent. I could barely see Umair for it was dark out now. Tsuki, Rayn, and Alena were finding wood for a fire and would be back in no more than an hour.

Umair was throwing his spear at a tree, and missing by meters. Which made me spurt a giggle. Umair turned to see me and smiled.
"He didn't tell you right?" Umair asked, turning back to the tree so I couldn't see his face.
"No, you wished to keep it a secret, so he did," I responded, shrugging, no matter how much I wanted the curiosity was burning me mind.
"How are you?" I ask politely, it wasn't like we had anything, in particular, to talk about. And I gathered to steer away from the topic of the potential death we could be facing.
Umair smiled and shrugged, he then sat on the ground and patted the ground beside him, motioning for me to sit beside him. I did and the ground underneath was slightly damp and quite cold.

"How are you?" He asked back. I shrugged as well.
"We really don't know much about each other do we?" I spoke after a moment of silence "I mean, you know that I'm a murderer and all that," I looked down and couldn't tell if Umair was looking at me or not, so I continued "But, we don't know the simplest things. Like, what's my favorite color?"
"Um, yellow?" Umair asked, a smile playing at his lips, he was clearly enjoying himself, which made me relax and I started to enjoy myself too.
"No! Yellow is my least favorite color! I like the color turquoise," I laughed.
"I just thought that because the sun was yellow...," I gave him a look and he trailed off.
"What's your favorite color?"
"I think green is a pretty nice color," he responded "my favorite food is popcorn in case you were wondering. I'm scared of fish, their kinda creepy," I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The scary thing was, I couldn't tell whether or not he was joking.
"I love chocolate, and can't stand cheese. I'm scared of drowning, considering that I can't swim," I listed off facts about myself. Yet once I finished, an uncomfortable silence filled the air.
"It's nice to get to know you more. I just wish we could have talked about this sooner, not right before we go into a potentially fatal battle," I sighed. It sounded weak, but I was scared. Completely terrified, who knew what was going to happen the next day. Umair put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I won't let it," he said, his grip becoming stronger around me and blood rushed to my cheeks for the second time that night.

We looked to the stars, they were glittering in the night sky, I tried to find Ali's, it was gone.
"They are pretty spectacular huh?" Umair said in my ear. My heart dropped. Stars...Alena.
He said he didn't think of her that way anymore, but maybe in the back of his mind, he still does. I don't blame him, she is a catch.
"I guess they are," I said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.
"That one's mine," Umair whispered, his breath tickled my ear. His constellation was bright and clear and gorgeous. I hope by tomorrow it would still be there.
"Thank you, Eli," he whispered again, grabbing my hand in his own, his rough palms tickling my soft one and squeezing mine.
"For what?" I looked at him and met his eyes. They were sparkling almost as bright as the stars.
"I don't know, everything I guess," he smiled and I smiled back "Promise me that you will be safe tomorrow," his eyebrows furrowed as he spoke the words and his voice took on a slight edge.
"I'll try," I whispered. My eyes started to feel droopy so I leaned my head on Umair's shoulder and closed them.Done