Chapter II
“Why did you come back?” Myka asked. As she stood at the door of the tent.
Mic put his hand on her back to guide her towards the corner away from the other team members. The sight of the tornado scared him but didn’t want to insight fear only that they needed to move quickly. He whispered, “The tornado changed direction. We need to get out of here.”
Myka kept her shock and fear buried. “What do you want me to do?”
“There is a break in the storm North of us. We need to get the pyloxes and ride away from camp.” Mic’s whispered turned to his authoritative voice, “Candor Team, I need your attention please.” Mic took a few steps forward he pondered on how to start his orders, “We need to head north on our pyloxes soon. Pack up any loose items back into the shipping containers. This storm is bad, but there is a break not far from here. As soon as you are done, suit up and meet us at the pyloxes.”
Myka and Mic left to get the pyloxes prepared for departure. They had two unloaded from their containers but still needed to unload two more. Keeping one eye on the tornado, they swiftly unloaded the pyloxes. What took a matter of minutes felt like hours.
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After Mic and Myka had left the tent Harkle blurted out, “What do you think he is doing? Aren’t we safer inside?”
The continued sound of thumping on the side of the tent heighten while each team member looked at each other for confirmation or rebuttal of what Harkle just said.
Finally, Tica spoke up, “If there is a break in the storm it might make more sense to head towards it.”
“I don’t think Mic is telling us everything.” Harkle continued.
Etheridge was starting to fume inside. She was best friends with Myka and respected her and her decisions. And if she had decided to follow what Mic had said it would be for a good reason. Etheridge struggled with Harkle’s insubordination. She didn’t want him on the team in the first place but knew that it wasn’t her decision.
“Team, I don’t care what you all think. Right now we need to follow orders. I have been with Mic for many missions and he has ALWAYS had the team’s best interest at heart.” Etheridge paused only to notice they were all still frozen in what she assumed was fear. “Start packing and MOVE!”
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As the team filed out the tent carrying some of the trunks of supplies that they could hook onto the pyloxes, Mic couldn’t see any of their expressions but knew their silence meant a lot. He could lose team members by making this bold move, but he knew staying could mean losing everyone. By now the team must have seen the tornado in the distance heading towards them. He hoped they realized the urgency in his decision, but no matter what he first needed to follow God’s direction, not his teams.
Mic shouted out instructions, “Myka take Etheridge and Harkle. Declan take Luz and Pence. Ch’aska take HuSiy and K’antu. I will be taking Tica and KuKuYu. Each need to help load a few supplies on each pylox.”
After everyone was loaded up, Mic looked out toward that ball of light. Was he the only one that saw it? What if they saw it? What if they don’t see it? Mic just shook those thoughts out of his head and pointed in the direction of the light and shouted, “Head north. I’ll take the lead. Myka you take the cola.”
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Lekla noticed as he got deeper in the storm that the wind tunnel was turning towards the camp and gaining speed. He let out a clicking sound that helped catapult his roncol forward. He squinted through the storm trying to see any movement of the creatures. He started to make out some dark specks getting closer with a bowl of dust following behind. His thoughts started racing, why are they so fast? They don’t seem to be on two legs like I saw them before. Maybe they are riding their own roncoles. I am surprised they decided to leave their camp. Most people would assume staying inside would be safer. As the gap between them shrunk Lekla finally realized he might not know how to communicate with them. He wanted them to follow him back to his underground cave. Would they be more scared of him? He looked quite different from them. They might be expecting that this planet is vacant. Would they be more afraid of him than the storm? Every gallop his roncol took meant the chance to save lives.
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Mic had his eyes fixed on the ball of light. The closer they got an outline of a figure appeared. He wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. Something or someone was in the middle of that ball of light. Was it possible that this is an angel? Could there be an alien race on this planet? He knew that this team could see the outline of a creature by now. He might be the only one that saw the glow of light around it. He still felt the urge to draw closer to the creature. His team remained silent even with the looming danger coming behind them and the possible harmful alien race coming at them. Mic had accidentally overheard their previous discussion in the tent. He understood their fear, but how could he comfort them? What advice could he tell his team? This was not home. They couldn’t just call for help to rescue them. The rocket that had dropped them off already returned to the main spaceship and it will be out of range for communication for at least two weeks as they orbit around the planet. And the next chance for a rescue could only happen for at least 45 days.
They reached the creature riding towards them within minutes of their departure. Mic finally broke the silence, “It looks like we aren’t alone here. Assume he or she to be friendly. They know this place better than us. --- Maybe he or she will know where to hide from this storm. Agreed?” With that, each teammate said, “Yes, sir.”
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For a moment Lekla slowed his roncol down hoping that they would too. When they both reached close enough, he noticed they all had put their extra head back on. Oddly, they all had the same skin or fur. Maybe they all came from the same mother? But then why were their second heads all different. Should I try to speak to them? Do they have another language? His thoughts were only a distraction. He decided he didn’t want to waste time by confusing introductions, so he turned his roncol towards his cave motioning the creatures to follow him. He raced forward hoping they would all beat the storm. Lekla prayed, “Why did you lead me to this group, Great Ch’uya?” He had no idea what he was going to do next, but he was hopeful that the Great Ch’uya will give him answers.
