The Tree People Chapter 5

Brand

Is this really happening? Has my father actually disappeared? My breath becomes shallow and weak, nausea overtaking me. This can't be happening, Midas has disappeared. He can't move that quickly, so he had to have been kidnapped, that is the only logical explanation.

It dawns on me. Rhys. Rhys was the last person I saw my father with, and he hasn't returned yet. I speak up. "Where's Rhys?"

"Rhys has also disappeared." The man replies confidently.

My mind goes haywire. I cannot comprehend what has been told to me. First my brother signs himself away to the army then my sister is told that she will ruin everything if the Council does not find a way to stop it and now, my father is gone, and he is probably with the man who killed my mother.

I make my decision immediately. Vera gives me a look like she knows what I'm planning. She nods her head as if accepting what I am about to do.

"I'm going after them. They couldn't have gone too far."

"There's a problem with your plan. There are four different ways they could have gone." The man replies.

Charlie realizes my intentions. His brow wrinkles. "That is true, Kel." So that's what his name is. "Maybe we should gather a search and rescue team to find them. Two people for each direction."

Kel nods his head in agreement. "I think that's an intelligent idea. Can we spare that many people though?"

"We won't have to spare more than four or five. We can send Brand to the North,Vera to the South,Kai to the East, and you, Kel, to the West."

Gwen, who I forgot was in the room, speaks up. "I volunteer to search for them. I know Rhys well enough to know places he would go. I think if I went with Brand we would be able to help each other well. Brand knows his father and I know Rhys."

"I'll take Loa with me if you are okay with that." Kel speaks his thoughts out loud.

"She is our best Growth Consultant!" Charlie immediately interjects. He sighs. "But if she is who you wish to take with you, then do so. I want our best people on this mission. It is our top priority, above the Gathering, speaking of which, we need to postpone for a few days. We can offer the villages some sort of compensation,but it must be delayed."

Kel pulls out another technological device. I never knew how heavily we depended upon them until now. Kel's voice echoes across the entire Cavern. "I regret to inform everyone that the Gathering has been postponed. I repeat the Gathering has been postponed. Please spread the news around. We will have updates being spread as soon as they are available."

He stops broadcasting to everyone. He looks at my curious expression and says, "It's an intercom device. If you weren't aware or didn't realize, it allows rapid communication with a large number of us."

"I noticed. Why are you the only ones that have these devices? I mean, we learn about them, but it's odd to see the amount we actually have in our posession."

"It may seem we have a lot of these devices, but not nearly enough for all the villages. So, we are forced to keep it all here." Charlie interjects. "We would have to learn how to create more if we were to want to spread it to everyone. It's too complicated."

"I think I understand."I reply softly.

A silence follows. My stomach grumbles and I feel something move through me.

"Who will go with me?" Vera thinks. She is frazzled and quite shocked at these turn of events. She finds out she might be the cause of the destruction of their people, and then their father disappears, all in the same day.

Charlie brainstorms ideas inside of his head. There are countless people that work for him and at this moment his mind goes blank. He pulls Kel to the side and consults with him in private.

During this exchange Vera comes closer. She places her hand on my shoulder and for the first time, a chill travels up my spine. I shake it off. I have to trust her. After all, she is my sister. My only sister. She has always been honest.

"Why did father leave us?" Vera whispers. "Why would he abandon us?" She sounds heartbroken, as if she feels this was a personal attack on her, and her alone.

"I have been asking myself that same question since we heard the news. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand. I intend to find out."

Charlie returns us to the actual situation and not the reasons behind it.

"I just talked with a colleague that will be bringing people here momentarilly. We will have someone for each of you. Don't worry."

He goes back to chatting away with Kel.

Vera turns to me and continues to voice her worries. During these exchange of worries, I don't notice them enter the room. I smell smoke. I feel a sharp pain. Everything goes dark.

Kai

They take me back into a small room that leads to a hallway that ends in a larger room.The tech in this place is absolutely breathtaking. I almost forget what I have been brought back to do; sign myself away to the army they have created. The one nobody knows much about.

I try to ignore the overwhelming sensation that this is wrong. It's nerves is all, I am nervous about joining a military force. This sounds too much like the humans and it scares me.

Humans didn't make very intelligent decisions. They had a ruler called the President. The president was almost always a man. Very seldom was there a woman. The first 45 presidents were men. Very rarely did I ever agree with who they chose to lead them. I have no problem with the people, they just aren't the ones I would have put in charge.

Now, I am in the process of becoming like them. The people I learned about were not good, nor did they have any heart. They were cruel people who killed each other for reasons beyond anyones comprehension.

Every once in awhile there were those who were good of heart and spirit, but even they were few and far between. I decide I want to be like them, the valiant ones.

As the woman leads me toward my imminent doom, I take in my surroundings. I notice crooked picture frames that line the walls of the hallway. They are beautiful pictures that both intrigue and frighten me. One picture is of this man who looks to be in a lot of pain, another man has stuck a knife through his back. The blood drips down his back and sets into a pool below. The other man has a smug look on his face. He seems to wish that this could have been avoided. They were probably friends and I see the regret on his face. Whoever painted this did a good job capturing emotions. I have an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach, and there is a vague familiarity that surrounds these two. I force myself to walk away, It will bother me, and I cannot afford to think about trivial things.

I continue following her as she guides me out of the cavern from an exit I never knew existed. When we exit, the view in this unknown expansion is awestrucking. I rub my eyes closely, as I do not believe what I am seeing. Everything we learned about surrounds me. This is a hangar. Inside are all sorts of vehicles, artilery, ammunition. They range from small cars to strong tanks. There are pistols and rifles hanging from the wall in order of size. The entire structure is made out of metal. There is a helicopter, and replacement blades in the center of the room.

The woman opens a filing cabinet filled with manila folders, one of the manila folders contains my name. She takes it out of the cabinet and places it on the table in front of me. She grabs a pen out of her hair, she had been using it to keep her hair in a tight bun. She hands me the pen and speaks, "Here you go Kai. I will show you where to sign. Basically, this contract states that you will devote your time and energy to the army and in return we will help your family fill their needs. You are required to work for a ten month period before your first break, which will last for two months," She pauses to clear her throat and turn the page explaining more. "The contract itself signs you on for three years with two months break each year working for our army. Are you ready to Kai to join the most important military force of our people?" She holds the pen out to me.

I hesitate. The pit in the bottom of my stomach grows larger. I look around, thinking deeply. I contemplate what this would mean to my family if I did, or didn't, join the army. I grab the pen and chew on the pen cap, out of nervousness. Ultimately, I decide that my family is more important than my freedom. I must be strong for them, provide for them, make sure they are content in all that they have. I stop chewing on the pen. "I'll do it," I say as I sign on the dotted line and X where needed. It's official. A weight I didn't know existed is lifted off of my shoulder.

"Congratulations Kai, Welcome to the Army. Oh, and one more thing before I send the General in: You must not discuss anything you are about to learn with anyone besides those in the army. To break this code, means certain destruction."

My stomach drops. What have I gotten myself into?