The Nibiru Effect

Memory 42

Jonn is missing.

I never liked the grey-haired soldier, but now that he's gone, I realize just how primordial he is to the success of our mission. Kara is a badass fighter, but Jonn is plain badass. Without him, we have no chance of reaching our destination in one piece.

"Dad!" calls Kara. Her voice echoes throughout the tunnel for a moment before the dirt muffles the call. She tries again, but her cry is once more snuffed out by the earth.

"Jonn!" I call out.

No response.

Kara and I continue calling out the grey-haired soldier's name, pausing every few seconds to allow him to answer. But no amount of silence results in a reply. I can tell Kara is growing desperate by the tone of her voice. She may act calm and composed, but her father's disappearance hits her hard.

"I'm going to look for him," she announces after a few minutes of infructuous hollering.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "What if you get lost too?" I would like to say I have Kara's best interest at heart, but the truth is I'm terrified of what will happen to me if Kara leaves and never returns.

"We can't just abandon him," snaps Kara. It's the first time I've seen her lose her cool with anyone other than her father. I can't help feeling hurt, though I know her anger has nothing to do with me.

"I'm sorry," I say. "It's just that—"

"I'll go," says Korri. I'm not sure how he understood what we were saying, but there's no doubt in my mind he's fully aware of the precariousness of the situation.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I can navigate the tunnel with ease because of my size," he explains. "I'm also very fast."

He's right. If anyone can find Jonn, it's Korri.

"All right. You can go." I'm not sure why I say this—it's not like I'm the leader of this expedition—but it somehow feels appropriate. Korri gives me a big smile and hands me his torch.

"You're very brave," says Kara once I explain what Korri is getting ready to do. "Thank you." She crouches and places a kiss on Korri's forehead.

Korri is about to depart when a shape emerges from the darkness.

It's Jonn.

"Dad!" cries Kara as she rushes forward and leaps into his arms. Jonn awkwardly catches her mid-flight and holds her tight. His limbs are shaking, and there are what appear to be tear streaks running down his grimy cheeks, but I'm not about to point it out. Jonn may be an insensitive goon, but he's a brave one.

"What happened?" asks Kara once her father releases her.

Jonn tries to speak, but his voice cracks. He clears his throat and tries again.

"I got stuck."

Now would be a perfect time to make fun of him, but that feels way too mean. Of course, Jonn wouldn't hesitate to laugh at me if the roles were reversed, but I'm not like him.

"We should keep going," says Korri.

"He's right," agrees Jonn once I've translated the korrigan's suggestion. "The sooner we reach our destination, the sooner we can leave this stinking place."

Korri leads the way. I go second. Kara insists Jonn be in third. I expect him to argue, but he comes to stand behind me and matches his pace to mine. Kara closes the walk.

We travel for a good fifteen minutes—every so often I catch Jonn staring at his locket, and I once more find myself wondering why it means so much to him—before finally reaching an exit. The tunnel ends as abruptly as it started. One second our footsteps are dulled by the restrictive nature of the tunnel, and the next they echo throughout the massive cavern we now find ourselves in.