Captured | Completed

Chapter 49

Kalika awoke to Nilo standing over her impatiently.

"I thought you'd never wake up." He said, making her stand up.

"I was hoping..." Kalika mumbled to herself, stopping herself before she could finish the sentence.

Kalika started to walk back towards the wagon and got in. Nilo untied her hands and handed her a plate of food and a small pot of water. "Just because I'm untieing you, doesn't mean I'm trusting you, no funny business." He said going to the front and hitching the horses to the wagon.

Kalika ate, she was starving, but food served by Nilo, not her ideal meal. She knew that she had no choice, she had to eat.

Finally, Nilo got the hitched up, everything ready. They were on their way to somewhere. Somewhere that Kalika would stay, somewhere Kalika didn't know what to think of.

Kalika finished with the food on her plate, the bread and the fruits and vegetables. Her pot was still half full, she kept drinking, but not too much.

She couldn't help but feel hopeless, useless, and as if there was nothing she could do. What if there wasn't anything she could do? What if she was stuck there? What if she would never see her family again?

~*~

Oceana knew she couldn't just sit there and wait for her sister's return, if she ever did return. She knew she could and would never do that. She could only pace her room every single time she thought of Kalika, which was most of the time.

"Hey, hey, she'll be alright," Marcus said as she watched her pace in his and Kalika's room.

"No, I want to know she's okay, I want to know that Nilo didn't take her to some other... other..." She searched for the right word, "world!"

Marcus stood up and patted her arm, finally getting her to stop moving, he pulled her over and made her sit on the bed next to him. He smiled and did his best to convince young Oceana that she'd be okay, but at the same time, Marcus was facing the hard truth. What if she didn't come back?

"We'll find a way Oceana, and we both know Kalika well enough to know, she is the toughest and the strongest girl we'll find," Marcus replied as he gave Oceana a side hug.

"I know, but she's my sister, I can't help it, especially since she's the only sister I have, the older one who's suppose to help me through everything." She said sighing and hanging her head low. "Plus, it's either her or those doofs," She added trying to make a joke to lighten the mood.

Marcus could only laugh, but he couldn't reply. He thought about what Kalika would want, he knew that she'd want him to take care of Oceana, but she would want to see her again. Marcus felt like she had to play an older brother for her, no way would he be allowed to turn back from that.

At the same time, he knew that she'd want him to go find her, he knew she was afraid, whether Kalika showed it or not, he knew that she would be. She hated Nilo, he knew that and he knew that she wouldn't want to stay with him, but he also knew that she'd do anything to keep the family safe.

He knew, that as long as they were safe, she wouldn't return, because that was the only thing keeping them safe, but he didn't want that to happen.

He knew he'd rather live a life in danger with her than a life of safety without her.

~*~

Kalika found herself without bonds, she looked around. Where was she? She remembered stirring in the night because she felt as if someone was touching or moving her, but she had ignored it.

Now she found herself untied and asleep in the back of a wagon but under a tarp. She couldn't lift it, so she was stuck there. She found food and another jug of water. It seemed familiar enough to her that she felt like she was with Nilo, or so she thought.

~*~

Marcus watched as the stars came out, finally, it was time to take the tarp of. He did and smiled as he watched Kalika peacefully sleeping underneath. He went back to the front and kept the wagon going.

Kalika woke up, she sat up silently, trying not to disturb Nilo, or who she thought it was. She watched as the stars went by, didn't she pass that way already? She knew this path, the path back to the Spartan palace.

"Hey, wh-" Kalika stopped abruptly as she faced the man steering the wagon.

Kalika found herself in the back of a wagon, but this time, it wasn't Nilo steering the wagon, it was Marcus.