Reality that I kept trying so hard to stuff down hit me again, and my tears began to fall. This was real. It was possible I would never see my family again. My annoying ass, embarrassingly loud, pain-the-neck family. The triplets were turning three next month. I would probably be missing that and the newest sibling addition. Lark walked over and wrapped me in his arms. He patted my back softly but said nothing. Just let my tears fall. Patiently, he waited until I had settled down, with his arms still wrapped around me. He was always great about that. I appreciated this man in many ways. "It's time to go," he said, giving me one final squeeze before walking away.
He nodded back at me. After I took a second to wipe away evidence of my momentary weakness, I followed him out the door. I had to be my strong, confident self in front of this creature. We still didn't even know what we were dealing with. What she wanted or what her plans were. All I knew was that I didn't want to be in the middle of any war she was a part of, and I didn't trust her. No matter how nice it was to look at her. No matter how cordial she's been. As I turned to shut the door behind me, I heard them arguing already. Lark, usually the peacemaker, decided to assert himself a lot today, "What's the problem?"
This vixen growled at him, and with it, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Her voice still sounded soft and calm, though, "What! What's the problem, you say?" she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. She loved to flash him the death stare, it seemed. "The problem here is huge, and while you are also rather large, large men tend to have large heads that are very empty between their shoulders, so I don't think the likes of you would even comprehend."
"Try me." His tone matched her own underlying sharpness, and it took me aback. Where did all this obnoxious confidence come from suddenly, and why did he have to use it right now of all times? Toward an Ancient. Did she even actually say she would keep us protected? Unharmed? No! She said to take her help or don't. That doesn't count. At least, I don't think so! It could be "help us to our deaths" for all we know. We could be walking into a trap, and the only thing saving us is her good graces. Lark will be the executioner of our own deaths. She's going to hang us all up on meat hooks and drain us dry. Suck out all our blood until there's nothing left of us but shriveled pieces of humanoid jerky. I started feeling queasy.
She threw her arms in the air, and the shirt rode up with them. Her midriff was on full display. Toned but not muscular. Soft. "How can I even begin to when even to me it is incomprehensible!!" The confusion was written in the expression on her face. "This is not what should be!" her hands were on her hips now. "Getting around in... this! The environmental implications of its existence!" She gestured toward Lark's car. "Communicating on... these!" Holding up Gran's communicator, she shook it toward us. "You're in the year 2998! Impossible! It's archaic! So... primitive! What I left behind..." She folded her hands and rested them on top of her head as she began to walk in a small circle. A groan of annoyance came out of her as she let them fall back to her sides.
She stopped abruptly, speaking more quietly to no one in particular, "It's as if what I provided was completely altered to achieve... the exact opposite." She was deep in thought with an arm draped around her waist and the other propped up on it. She had her finger on her chin, tapping it. Seemed to be looking through us versus at us before she continued her circling. There was silence as the three of us exchanged glances. The Ancient pondered, and so did I. Lark and Gran had to have been wondering, too. Her words struck a chord that didn't sit well with me. No story anywhere depicts a God providing blueprints for advancing technology. It was always war, death, and random miracles or gifts. History is brutal, to say the least. These Ancients are not known for providing any kind of help unless it benefits them as well, and it usually comes with some kind of catch.
