Lori spotted the man 50 feet ahead of her in the thick jungle. She worked her way through the morning mist without a sound and came up on him from behind. He was not looking out as he should have been but rather was staring inward toward the compound he was guarding. Lori took her walking stick, swept across the sentry’s ankles spilling him to the ground. He let out a yell, but Lori was on him. She laid her stick across the man’s throat as she straddled his body.
“You should be a lot more aware of your surroundings,” she said. “You’re Ryan, aren’t you?”
“Lori! Is it really you?” Lori relaxed, removed her stick from Ryan’s throat, and helped him to his feet.
“Yes it’s really me,” she said. “Stop gawking and go tell Andrew I’m here. I’ll meet him at my apartment. But don’t blab it all around. I need to talk to Andrew in private first.”
Ryan ran off towards the center of the compound to find Andrew. Lori straightened herself and walked towards her apartment. She was leaner, tanner and more chiseled than when she had left. Her clothes were worn and torn in places, and her shoes had barely enough leather to cover her feet. As she approached her apartment there was no one to greet her because at this time of day everyone was at work or in class. This was fine with Lori. She did not want to spend a lot of time with hellos and welcome backs. There was work to be done. She entered her apartment and looked around. The simple comfort of the place seemed alien to her. She left the door open and sat down at her desk. She heard Andrew running up the walk.
“Lori! I’m so glad you’re back. How did you get here? We heard about Bill. What a tragedy! How are you? Where’s Jason? “Andrew was excited to see her. He looked somehow less sure of himself than Lori remembered him.
“One question at a time, Andrew.”
“Okay, Where’s Jason?”
“Dead.” That simple word dropped like a stone into the silence that followed. “He was murdered on the trail. I killed the man who did it, and dragged his body into the woods to rot. I did the best I could…the best I could for Jason. He deserved so much more.” And then the tears came. The tears she had held in for the past two months. The tears for Jason, for their life together that could never be, for the fear she felt for her people. Andrew dropped to his knees beside her in the chair and held her as she cried.
“Lori, Lori,” he murmured, “you’ve been through too much. But you’re home now. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“Oh, but I do, Andrew. We all do. We’re not safe the way we are. There’s so much we have to do.”
“There’s time for that. We have to tell the Council about Jason. We’ve planned a memorial service for Bill, but we wanted to wait for you and Jason. When we heard nothing from you, we assumed you were somehow on your way.”
“Yes, a memorial service would be good. I tried to have one for Jason, but I was…so alone.”
“Why don’t I stay with you for a while? You can get cleaned up and rested. I’ll send someone out to get some food for you. When you’re ready, we’ll convene the Council and you can report on the mission. We are very glad to have you back.
He doesn’t understand what we’re up against, “ Lori thought. None of them does. She was glad to be back, but not happy. She didn’t think she would ever be happy again. There was a lot of groundwork needed to get her people ready for the foe they faced. She needed to make her world safe; not only for her people, but for the new life she was carrying. Jason’s child deserved a safe place to grow and flourish. A part of her raged in anger and grief, but another part nourished the hope, coupled with a steely resolve to make it happen, for a better world for Jason’s child ... for all of their children. If her people were to prevail they would have to become much more ready than they were now. There would be a day of reckoning when her people would take their place in the world, but that day was not today. It would require patience and planning. She would play the long game--the game of waiting and preparation.
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