I’m not sure how to appropriately maneuver the situation. How to empathize, even sympathize. For one, I need to look at itnotfrom a scientist’s perspective, but the other—just a human who cares. But like the terrible bitch I am, I flip my notebook open and click the pen.
My mother’s voice echoes in my ears,“You’re a waste of investment, Xiaoyu.”In its feral repetition do I find solace in my detachment. I am gonna go home and prove her wrong.
Instead of comforting Sunny, I ask, “What did they look like?”
She gives me a sorrowful look, responding, “Skinny. Mangled. Broken. You can tell they’re Terra. Their eyes glowed weird. Like black and purple chrome.”
I jot this all down on the paper whilst feeling terrible. “How were their teeth? Claws?”
“Not all of them looked the same, but yeah, sharp teeth. Bigger than the female Terra’s. Much, much bigger. Sharper.” Her voice thins, and she is on the verge of tears again.
I can only imagine how traumatized she is after getting kidnapped andalmosteaten alive. I pat her shoulder, an attempt to comfort her. Before I can stop her, she sobs and clutches my dress.
“All I wanted was to be okay. I’ve been having such a hard time back home. I thought going to therapy was going to turn me around, but it’s just making it worse.”
Something nudges at the back of my head.
Therapy?I recall one of my weakest moments. A mood questionnaire. A seemingly innocent, innocuous question about dreams, then proceeding to ask if I had thoughts of self-harm. That had only been a few days before Ingar—Moriarty Organics—came to offer me this job. Literally just five days ago.
“Where did you apply for this therapy?”
“Online. I just filled up a form, and someone reached out to me the day after. Asked me if I wanted to join this experimental treatment.” She sniffles.
I feel sick to my stomach. IknowI’m missing something important. The silence makes the clawing at the back of my head worse.
One of Datu’s tree guardians sets down a coconut shell filled with water for Sunny. She winces away, but I reassure her he is friendly. Hesitantly, she takes it and gulps it all down. I had not even thought if she was thirsty or hungry. Speaking of…
“Would the mistresses like some fresh meat or fruits?” The guardian asks, sounding more like a polite butler than a gigantic tree man.
“I miss meat,” Sunny curls herself closer to me. “If that’s alright?”
“Of course, mistress. I shall hunt game for you.” He seems too pleased to cater to Sunny. His eyes find mine. “I will be back,hara.” With that, he happily pounces away, disappearing into the treeline.
Ugh. He didn’t ask me what I wanted, but that’s alright. I reckon in their culture, it’d be disrespectful to Datu if he did.
I rub Sunny’s shoulders, starting to get used to her touch.
“Tell me more about this therapy.” I probe.
She frowns, a line forming between her brows. “I agreed, signed papers and all. I realize now that I’ve been duped, too. It had a hidden page.”
“What did it say?”
Anxiety creeps into her features while she scratches her wrist. Hard. “Can we talk about something else?”
I suck in a calming breath. I’m on the verge of a crisis, but Sunny is not in the right condition to be answering questions like this. “Can you tell me what happened to the other girls?” Palm-on-my-face question. Nothing like rehashing trauma to calm a person down. Brilliant, Xiaoyu.
“I’m pretty sure they were taken by the other males.”
“Where did this happen? The beach?”
She shakes her head. “We were on our way to one of the Terra’s villages. West village? The tall mushroom woman Gyra…someone bit her head off. And in the middle of the woods, things just started to come alive. From the ground, from the trees like that oldReturn of the Living Deadscene.” She starts sobbing again. “Cora fell into a giant pitcher plant! I was taken before we could fish her out.”
I cover my mouth in shock. If Datu is so in tune with Esoterra, why hasn’t he told me?
Why would he even tell you this, Xiaoyu? What are you to him?
I don’t like feeling I can’t trust him. He’s been kind and caring, but earlier, I’d seen another side to him. A vicious, brutal killer who had ripped another Terra in half like he was nothing.
