Champion of the Bots ✔️

Chapter 32 ~ MARIOLA

Mariola stared at her, more unsure where this conversation was heading to. She didn't know where or who the hell she was anyways, so it didn't surprise her when Loma stood up and dragged her out of the room.

"What's happening?" Mariola asked as the older woman whisked her to the living room then to a balcony.

She wasn't particularly waiting for a clear response when Loma answered, "We are going to the Trunk Council to try to find your memories."

A thrill shimmied down Mariola's spine. "Can you do that?" She asked, her voice hoarse and hopeful.

"Let's go find out," Loma said, gesturing to a strange worn out rope hooked on the meat of a thick branch that snaked to a destination Mariola couldn't see.

Squinting, she could only see the line trailing north far, far, far away. Her finger tapped the strange string, and it bounced and buzzed like a jelly snake. "So, what is this?"

"It's a rope. It's the fastest way to get to the Trunk Council."

Loma bent down to a chest nearby and heaved a wooden object from it amongst other wooden junk. "And this is how you'll be getting there."

Dumping the wood into Mariola's arms, Loma continued, "It's basically a chair. You sit right here," she patted the rectangular wood affectionately, "and you just enjoy the view as you glide on by as fast as the breeze."

"Huh?" Mariola turned her transportation device around and still couldn't wrap her mind around it.

Loma sighed, as if to show how desperately Mariola needed to be reminded of her memories and of common sense. She took the anomaly, hooked it around the rope, and motioned for Mariola to sit.

Gulping, the girl first looked down the balcony to gage how high up she was—and she quickly backtracked away from her doom. "No, no, no, I hate heights!"

"Oh, come now, don't be such a wimp," Loma snapped, her voice tinged with anger and fear. "Hurry before the whole village awakens!"

"B-but," Mariola stuttered, "I'm scared."

The woman stood a hairbreadth away from Mariola. She had to bend her chin slightly to meet Loma's eyes, but she could hear the words loud and clear. "You are in Level 1 of Eden's pyramid. Like it or not, you are stuck here until you get your way to the top." She flicked a finger to the sky. "And trust me, darling, not a lot of people make it up there. In fact, none of us knows who is up there and who have failed and died in the process."

Mariola's eyes widened. Loma continued staring and said, "You know what fear is, child? Have you ever faced the Beast on the day of Grey? Have you ever been snatched by a Bot by the tip of your shoulders to a fate you can't change?"

The woman didn't wait for a reply. "No, you have never faced what I have;and you never will." Mariola sighed inwardly; but relief swept in too soon as Loma continued, "But you will face harder challenges. A tide of dark is coming. I can feel it." The woman shifted her eyes left and right and left as if a camera was recording her every word.

She took a breath and said, "We are all brought here for a purpose. There is a reason why you are here." She clutched Mariola's arms tightly and affectionately. "Maybe you'll be the new inventor to fix up our village. Maybe you'll discover that you have a knack of art. Maybe you'll be our new hero to save us all from Eden." Loma whispered her last sentence that no camera nearby could detect, but she said it fiercely.