It wasn’t the same as before. There was still a small pile of oats, but…
Some of the flakes were in a different spot, asif a breeze came through the dining room and blew the oats into…a weird pattern. Was that anH? It was followed by a line. The oatmeal letter was about two inches in length, but—maybe her exhausted mind was attempting to create sense from a random pattern. Regardless, one single piece of dried oatmeal was shifting across the floor as though being carried by an ant, and it went exactly to the end of the straight line beside theH.
Sasha’s heart stopped at the possibility of what it could mean. Her curiosity was piqued.
“Excuse me. What are you doing?” the father at the table asked impatiently.
“Nothing. I’m just looking at…the oatmeal.” She was careful as she drew nearer, bending her knees to inspect the area better. The single piece of oatmeal waved back and forth like a signal flag.
She bent down further, close enough to see it was no ant.
A slim woman, about half an inch tall, with brown hair and dirty clothing, jumped up and down, waving her arms. The faintest sound of hollering could barely be detected. In large, exaggerated motions, she pointed in a particular direction using both arms.
Following the direction with her eyes, Sasha’s gaze tracked along the floor, not paying attention to the family at the table, who were clearly bewildered at her sudden fascination with the carpet. Nor did she move out of the way for the cleaning person who asked her to please step aside. The soft sound of achimp screech caught her attention first. She found a tiny mass of dark fur, but he wasn’t alone. There were also tanned limbs and a body underneath. Reaching toward this with her finger, the chimp’s head suddenly turned to her.
“There you are you little devil!” she said, delicately knocking against it with the edge of her fingernail. “Go on. Get the hell off.”
There was a hushed gasp behind her before people started chatting among themselves—likely about her weird behavior.
Sasha turned to the cleaner, blocking the area with her body so there was no chance of anything being swept away from the carpet. “Can you please come back later? I need to be here right now. This has become…an area of scientific interest.” She put as much agency in her voice as possible, as though she had some kind of authority here.
Everyone sort of glanced at each other with dumbfounded expressions, unsure what to make of this, but she wasn’t taking any chances and didn’t care how odd the whole situation appeared.
“I’m sorry to ask, but can you please sit over there?” she said to the woman with the toddler, motioning to a different chair at the same table. “And can you please help your girlfriend or your wife or whoever this person is to you? It’s not fair you can just sit there staring at your phone while she’s struggling to eat,” she said to the man. Eyes wide with shock, he could only silently obey, taking the toddler into his own arms. They kept watching her as the resortemployee backed away.
Returning her attention to the carpet, the chimp had completely vanished. Instead, there was a man lying on his back. The woman by his side pressed against his shoulder. With her free hand, the woman pointed at each of them and then at Sasha, saying something she couldn’t make out.
“This is amazing,” Sasha said, carefully sliding her hand toward them until it was beside them. The woman helped the man, who was clearly injured, get up, and they crawled onto her palm. She slowly lifted them, cupping her free hand underneath to provide as much protection as possible so she could transport them safely to her room.
Knowing she found Catalina and Trey, after all this, gave her a renewed sense of hope that she could finally set things right. She would at least do everything she could to fix things for them, despite what Mankind2Mars wanted.
She drew her palm closer to her mouth and, in a light voice, said, “Don’t worry. I’m going to help you.”
Then Sasha pulled her cell phone out with her free hand and made a call. “Dr. Cutchin. I’ve found them.”
Chapter 26
Catalina
"Oh my God. Trey! Trey, baby, are you okay?” She shouted, rushing toward him.
His skin was clammy and pale, looking as though he were about to pass out.
Jubilation, in realizing they were rescued, faded when seeing how hurt her husband was. This wasn't how things were supposed to work out. They were just meant to be saved and then live happily ever after.
Hearing Trey struggling with the chimp was almost more than she could stand. Catalina was about to say screw the whole oatmeal plan because what was the point of being rescued if it was just her? She preferred to live the rest of her life small and insignificant, being forced to survive on iguana kitchen scraps and sleeping in a seashell, rather than for Trey to sacrifice himself in order for her to be a normal height but have a life without him.
Also, Buddy was making her furious. Right when she was about to toss aside the dried oat flake in her hand and start ripping out chimp hairs, a shadow overtook her. Someone peered down exactly whereCatalina was! She waved the oat to catch any attention, jumping up and down. “Over here! I’m here! I’m here!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. A relieved sob ripped from her throat when the eyes locked on her. Oh God, she’d been seen! Trey’s plan had worked!
Her husband, screaming in pain, returned her attention to their current situation, and if anyone could save him in a hurry, it was the giant woman towering over them.
“Over there! Look over there!” Dropping the oat, she flung both her arms toward Trey’s direction, hoping to put the spotlight on him and end this once and for all. She then sprinted toward them, seeing the chimp screech in fear as the tip of a fingernail effortlessly knocked him away. He rolled across the floor, panicked ape noises filling the air.
“Trey!” Fear gripped her heart at the sight of blood. His shoulder appeared to have been gnawed on, the skin ripped, and his shirt in shreds.
“No, get away. I don’t want you to get hurt.” He pushed her back, not realizing Buddy had already scampered away, sounding annoyed about the whole situation. The animal turned one final time, showed all his teeth in a fearful grimace before flipping them off, and raced under a tablecloth.
“Wow,” said her husband, sounding punch-drunk. “You’re so badass. You’re the most badass person I’ve ever known. I love you so much.”
