Chapter 16: The truce
“Why would you say a thing like that?” Steven turned to look at Jodi, his face full of confusion.
Jodi shook her head. “Don’t you see, that’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Sheila raised her eyebrow. “You’ll have to do better than that, Jodi”
She hesitated, worried about bringing up her past, but sheila’s stern gaze compelled her to speak. “My father’s lab was based in Melbourne. All his work and research is there. The satellite was activated from there, I’m sure. It can’t be a coincidence.” She pointed out. “Besides, it’s in the direction the Vampyres are heading.
“Yes, it makes sense...but why? After twelve years, why would the Vampyres move now?” Patricia looked at Jodi who could only shake her head in bewilderment.
Samuel spoke out. “Well, that seems to be another question to add to the many that we need answers for and Melbourne is a good a place to begin searching for them as any.” He glanced at Jodi. “Do you remember where the lab is?”
Jodi frowned and searched her memory. “I don’t really, it was a good twelve years ago. But I know the direction from my house; we could start there.”
“It’ll have to do.” He responded. “Everyone, go to your rooms and rest. Tomorrow’s a big day.” He turned to Sheila, jerked his head in the direction of the dining room and walked ahead for her to follow. Jodi watched them leave.
Laurie put a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Jo. We have our orders. Let’s get some rest.” Jodi turned her head to look at the older woman as she spoke, but her eyes caught sight of a silver shine. Nate stood behind Laurie, his gaze fixed on her, the monopoly playing piece around his neck glinting in the shine of the lanterns. Jodi felt her heart beat faster and instead of following Laurie out of the meadow, she stayed behind and turned to him. Damien stood a few metres away, watching her, with a stern look on his face, but she ignored him and approached Nate.
“We need to talk.” She said.
Nate nodded and glanced at Damien. Jodi looked too and sent Damien a pleading look. He stared back and sighed. “You can talk.” He called to Nate, “but I stay in the room.”
Nate nodded and turned back to Jodi, who was smiling in gratitude at Damien. Without looking at Nate she shouldered past him and walked further into the meadow, within in sight of Damien, but out of hearing range.
Nate looked over his shoulder at Damien who stood still as a statue with his arms crossed over his chest and his face expressionless. He stared straight back at Nate with such ferocity that Nate looked immediately away before he could stop himself.
Jodi stopped walking when she came to the middle of the meadow. She looked around the room with a small smile on her face. “You know this place hasn’t really changed much in two years.” She chuckled. “Same pond, same farm, same everything.”
A small figure looked up at their approach and bounded towards them on all fours, tail wagging.
“Jack!” cried Jodi as she held out her hands to him. “I remember you boy.” She cooed. “Look how much you’ve grown!”
“Looks like he remembers you.” Nate said to her, smiling softly.
“Yeah.” She grinned. “Y’know the first time I met him, he grabbed my jacket and refused to give it back. Made me play chasey with him.”
Nate remembered, although wisely stayed silent. At the time he’d been watching her from a distance and she hadn’t known he’d been there.
She folded Jack’s ears against his head and turned her body slightly so that she could look at Nate, although most of her body was facing the dog. Nate wasn’t the best reader of body language, but even he could see that this wasn’t in his favour.
“Nate,” she sighed. “I know you must hate me.” Nate opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand for silence. “Let me finish. The soldiers have been convincing me for a while now that the only reason you or anyone else wants me back is because of the guns that I can make.”
“That’s not-“
“But I’m not a fool, Nate.” She interrupted him smoothly. “I know of my brother’s ability. He was there when Grandma was teaching me and even though he wasn’t very good at it, he has the knowledge and the ability to teach another.” She turned her gray eyes on Nate whose mouth gaped at her, and resisted the urge to laugh at him. This was too serious. “So that leaves me the question of exactly why do you want me back?” She looked away from him, down to where the herd of sheep grazed in their paddock.
“Because you’re one of us.” Nate responded. “Not them. You’re not a soldier, Jodi.”
“That’s not for you to judge.” She hissed at him, her head suddenly spinning to look at his with such speed it was almost like her head was on spring.
“Jodi-“
She sighed and closed her eyes in defeat when he said her name and he was suddenly reminded of her new name.
It’s Jo.
“Nate.” She moaned. “I can’t keep doing this. I don’t have the energy to fight with you.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I don’t want to fight.”
“I don’t wanna fight with you either.” Nate replied.
Jack moved so he stood between them and look from one to the other. Both humans were in turmoil, but he couldn’t sense anything threatening from either of them. He sat on his hind legs and watched the two humans who stood in silence, the male looking at the female who was looking studiously away at the floor.
“Jodi,” Nate said.
“I don’t want to so I won’t.”Jodi looked at him, her eyes cautious, her mouth set in a thin line. “Nate, I’m asking for a truce.”
Nate was silent, but Jack could sense confusion hanging around him.
Jodi continued to speak. “This journey is going to be the most challenging thing either of us has ever done, and not just because either of us might die.” She held up her hands in front of her chest, trying to gesture to him to make him understand. “But also because this journey is going to take us closer to my father; to the person you hate most. If we are going to understand what’s going on we have to understand him. And I’m sure you won’t like that. But I don’t want you to take anything out on me.”
Frustration filled both humans now, rolling off them in incessant waves, making Jack’s nose twitch. He whined softly, but neither human noticed.
“So I want a truce.” She continued. “No fights, no trouble, until this journey is over.”
Nate glared at her. “I’m not going to fight with you. I don’t need to make a truce.”
“This isn’t just about me.” She said. “This is for my friends. I’m being watched all the time, Nate.” Her eyes flickered over his shoulder, and Nate didn’t need to look back to know she was looking at the poker-faced soldier from earlier. He had no doubt it was the man’s stone face glare burning into his back, making the hairs on his arm stand up.
“They don’t trust anyone who lives in your community, especially you. I want the truce started so they’ll cool down much faster,” she said “and I want it done by you because you’re the one I have most to fear.”
Nate continued to glare at her as he crossed his arms in from of his chest. “What happens after the journey?”
“I’ll be going back to the regiment with the soldiers.”
Nate had to restrain himself from protesting against her words. He desperately wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some sense in her. But instead he gritted his teeth dug his heels into the dirt to stop himself from storming off in anger.
Jack felt his fury and got to his feet preparing himself to move between the two should any fighting ensue. He whined again, this time pleadingly, trying to calm the humans down. Frustratingly, neither responded, nor did the anger die down.
“Do we have a deal?” Jodi stuck out her hand for him to shake, waiting.
Nate stared at her hand for a long moment, but a minute later he grasped her hand and shook it firmly.
“Truce.” He scowled at her, much to her surprise. What was he mad at her for?
“Truce.” She agreed, and he let go of her hand.
He made to move past her, and she let him. But a moment later she spun around to face his withdrawing back.
“Nate?” she called.
Nate stopped walking immediately and looked over his shoulder at her.
“If you dare break this truce, Nate Walker.” She called. “I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”
Jack didn’t know what the female human had done to make the male feel the rush of emotions, but the incessant roiling of many emotions suddenly boiled from him. Anger, frustration, grief, defeat. Jack’s nostrils stung from them as though they were acidic vapour.
But Jodi didn’t know what Jack knew. All she saw was Nate’s expressionless face, partly covered in shadow. As she watched, he opened his mouth to speak.
“I won’t if you won’t...Jo”
Jo sucked her breath in through her teeth and flinched as though he had slapped her, but Nate had already turned away and walked to the stairs on the wall of the meadow-room that led up into the bedrooms.
Jodi stood and watched him for a while. A slight pain throbbed in her heart. She pressed her hand to her chest breathed in, rubbing it with the palm of her hand. When the pain didn’t recede she let her hand drop and turned back towards Damien, letting him lead her down to the room she had yet to sleep in.
Jack stood where he was as he watched her go. In the distance, a sheep cried in its scratchy, high voice, and one of Jack’s ears lifted in answer, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
In life it seemed humans spent so much time hiding their feelings and not enough time expressing them in ways another could understand. In all the communication these two humans had done nothing they’d said had done anything to calm the other’s emotions. Jack had sensed the deep turmoil going on beneath these too; it was clear in everything they did. But he also knew that neither of them had known about the other’s feelings.
Jack panted slightly and turned his head towards the meadow, where a lone lamb was standing, whilst the others slept peacefully. The lamb looked back at him, and from the way it was standing he knew it was trying to decide whether or not he was a threat. He sneezed as he watched her and then turned and looked away, knowing that this small gesture would be enough to signal to the lamb that he was no threat. Sure enough a minute later, when he looked back, the lamb had settled down to sleep.
Jack sneezed again. In a moment he’d calmed the lamb down without even communicating to it.
Too bad it wasn’t that easy for humans.
Cause we all wanna know what's really in a dog's head.
I know, i know. i'm stalling - but you could also say i'm building up suspense (maybe). if you don't like philosophy, sorry about Jack, but i wanted to try something new. besides. you all know how i love my supporting roles :)
ok, i'll skip the romance mushy stuff as much as possible and head straight to the action, cause we all know that's the real reason you're all reading this.:)
vote and comment.
Tigerlily_x