James, the wedding celebrant, rushed back into the room, covered with sweat. He handed over the two certificates with both hands, uttering, "Congratulations to the blessed couple!" And then he turned to Director Worth, looking incredibly stressed. "Director, if you don't mind, could you please arrange for someone to take me directly to the airport with my luggage? Like immediately. Now. As fast as possible."
"Certainly," Director Worth agreed. "Ena, please arrange it."
Ena led the wedding celebrant out while he mopped his forehead with his pocket handkerchief and dragged his luggage case that had been standing by the door. He paused at the door looking around at us, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't know if he should.
"Go," I told him and Shigure nodded with me. "Thank you for your work and help. Don't worry about us. We will meet again if the Creator wills it. Hurry before you miss your flight."
James swallowed his words and bowed to all of us, before rushing out, urging Ena to walk faster.
When the door shut, all eyes turned to Shigure and myself. Big Brother heaved himself up to take an empty seat, while Director Worth and Mr Holt sat opposite to us. Shigure recounted our experiences and I gave my account up to the moment when we were locked in together.
The phone rang with an urgent tone.
The Director picked it up and listened with a frown. She put the phone down without a word and then sat back down on the couch with us, looking a bit stressed.
"Continue," she told Shigure.
There was a knock on the door and one of the secretaries opened the door without even waiting.
"Director, a crowd of an assortment of lizards have gathered at the edge of the city. We have tried to get someone to communicate with them but we don't understand what they are trying to say. They only sent an image of a naked Kim Na. Some scared people have tried attacking them and we're quickly injured. Thankfully the lizards didn't kill them. They just stunned them and knocked them back. The leading lizard is the size of a four wheeled drive and its tail is the length of two cars. We're not sure what to do when Kim…" the secretary spotted me on the couch. "Kim!"
"Alright," the Director waved her away with a hand. "I understand. You can go. You are to keep secret everyone and anyone you are seeing in this room right now. Understood? Close the door."
"Yes, Director," the secretary backed out of the room, looking confused.
"It looks like I'm up," I said, standing up and then collapsing with pain when my legs refused to take my weight. I had forgotten they were still broken.
Shigure pulled me back onto the couch before I could fall on the floor. He hugged me tightly and rested his forehead against mine with tears in his eyes.
"Don't go," he whispered.
"I can say the same to you," I retorted. "Don't stay. You make your decisions and I make mine," I told him, preparing my heart. "I'll be alright. At least we know I'll come back alive."
There was a whipping of warm wind that pushed Shigure away, while there were exclamations of shock from the others in the office and then I disappeared.
*"I'll tell them the rest. Be safe. Be careful,"* Shigure sent.
*"You too. You be safe too. Make sure to organise our stuff for our departure and to have someone meet Homeward and the team,"* I replied.
I landed on the dusty ground and saw the edges of the city not far away. Lizards surrounded me and they all froze, stopping to stare at me with surprise. In the distance, near the city, I saw soldiers and City Agents milling in a defensive wall.
"Big guy!" I shouted at the largest lizard both mentally and aloud. "I'm here!"
The group of people milled and stirred, shouting with surprise. I slowly pushed myself up into sitting, feeling my entire body aching. None of my wounds had been healed much. I was still covered with bruises and after trying to stand just now, my legs were both aching in the bones. It really hurt.
The big lizard turned around and made its way toward me at speed, its tongue flickering with excitement. I felt its alien mental power pushing its way into mine to communicate and winced at the discomfort it brought. I had to allow it in through the mental barriers that Shigure had helped me to somewhat repair. They would need more time to fully heal and recover, but I had to prevent them from being damaged again.
*"Female, you finally arrive. What took you so long? Ah. Your scent is filled with the smell of your mate. You mated well."*
*"Big guy,"* I said weakly, feeling Shigure partially keeping some of his attention on me while he was reporting what the Creator had warned us of. *"What are you doing here?"*
*"Rather than remaining in the desert and dying without purpose or the chance to find a mate, I decided to come and find you,"* the big lizard said with a cheerful swish of his tail that tripped two lizards over by accident. *"My followers decided to follow me when I left. We are your shield of protection,"* he said proudly, puffing out his chest. The lizards around him all followed suit and struck a proud pose.
*"Great,"* I said. "Do you know where we are going?"*
*"We go where you lead,"* the big lizard nodded its head up and down, examining me. *"I will carry you. I will be your legs."*
"Kim! Is that you? Are you alright?" a City Agent recognised me and called.
*"Can you let the humans over?"* I asked the big lizard.
In reply, the big lizard made a few barking noises and all the lizards retreated to behind me, standing almost in ranks.
"I'm fine!" I shouted back at the City Agents and soldiers. "You can come over now."
They came over to me cautiously, sizing up the lizards and keeping their hands on their weapons. I recognised a few people from the prisoner of war hall.
"Hey, you guys are all alive. Good to see you again," I greeted, raising a hand.
"Why are these lizards here? What's going on?" a City Agent stepped a little closer to me and saw the sweat on my brow. "Are you really ok? You look in pain."
"I was already injured before. If anyone has some painkillers to spare, I'll be very grateful," I said. "The lizards are here for me. I have a dangerous mission to the tribes. They've come to accompany and protect me. Could I trouble someone to help me up onto the big lizards's back? We're kind of pressed for time."
"Uh," the City Agents and soldiers hesitated.
"I'll give you some warning in brief," I told them. "I'm going to warn the tribes of the same thing. I don't have any concrete evidence for what I'm going to tell you, but please hear me out. The Blue Gulf is going to come under attack again any moment now. The city and the surrounding areas are not going to survive the war this time. If you believe me, please contact your family and all those you care about. Have them immediately grab their essentials and start evacuating. Head for the next city. They should be safe there. The Tangled Mountains and even the desert will not be spared. Of course, we'll be defending our city and this area, but our enemy is coming with a weapon we can't fight against. If we won't surrender to let them in to exploit us, they're going to completely destroy us and eliminate what they consider to be a danger to them."
The City Agents and soldiers looked at me with some consternation.
"You can not believe me," I told them, "but by the time the first attack arrives, everything will be in chaos. It will be hard to escape then. I don't know all the details or where or how the first attack will arrive. I was told only to warn as many people as possible, so that the innocent people can leave in time."
"We need evidence before we act and orders," a City Agent told me. "Of course we want to believe you. You and Shigure are the heroes of the attack two years ago. The two of you can't beat the enemy back again this time?"
"We're going to try," I made a face, but there's only so much two people can do. "Last time, we had the support of four different area guardians, but all the area guardians are evacuating with their creatures. I can't get in contact with them anymore. They're too far away. They pretty much exhausted their energy in helping deal with the last attack, and it only bought us these two years or so of time. They still need another decade or so before they can regain that same strength that they expended."
"Nobody's reported any movement from the desert or the Tangled Mountains," said a soldier.
"I don't know," I shrugged. "I'm only repeating what I was told. I'm just following orders. You can all make your own decisions."
"Pain killers, ma'am," a soldier came forward with some pills and a bottle of water.
"Thanks," I nodded and was about to take the pills when a smaller, curious lizard beside me licked the pills out of my hands. Moments later, it convulsed, knocking me aside with its writhing tail, screeching in pain. The big lizard picked me up in its mouth and swept the dying lizard away with a sweep of its tail. The smaller lizard died, bleeding from all of its orifices.
There was a long silence.
*"Do not take anything from the humans,"* the big lizard warned me. *"Poisoners. Liars."*
The lizards all hissed at the humans and they all stepped back. Carrying me in its mouth, the big lizard led the way and his followers ran after him, leaving behind the dead lizard and the shocked and confused humans.
I wasn't sure whether the pills had really been pain medication which just so happened to be poisonous to these lizards or whether those pills had actually been poison disguised as pain meds.
Through my link, I felt Shigure's shock at what had just happened to me and he was rapidly telling the Director what had just happened. I sent him reassurance that I was fine, if uncomfortable at being carried like this in the big lizards's mouth again.
*"Big guy, can you not carry me like his?"* I asked. *"It's very uncomfortable and painful."*
*"They are chasing us in metal boxes,"* the big lizard told me. *"No time."*
The big lizard led the lizards into the wilderness where the vehicles would have difficulty following. It was only a long time later when I had started throwing up from motion sickness that he slowed down and stopped. He put me down and circled me with some concern.
*"I'm alright,"* I choked and emptied my already empty stomach.
When I done and had caught my breath, wishing for some water to at least rinse my mouth, a small local lizard emerged, rolling a melon to me.
*"Eat and rest, female,"* the big lizard told me. *"There is water in this fruit."*
Giving my thanks, I sat down to eat but then realized I had no knife or way to open the melon. I was weaponless. Again.
*"Next time if you find me naked and clothe me again, may I have a knife or at least a weapon?"* I asked the Creator Father.
*"The clothes are needed, the weapon is not,"* the Creator Father replied.
That was a 'no' then. I sighed and looked at the melon.
Seeing my predicament, the big lizard slashed the melon with a claw and cut it open for me.
*"Thanks, big guy,"* I waved and the big lizard preened, watching over me as I broke up the melon to eat.
*"Your face shape is not well suited to eating melons or eggs,"* the big lizard commented.
I agreed. At least not without tools or the way the other lizards were eating. Pretty much all of them had been given a melon by the sudden swarm of little local lizards that were popping out of the ground all over the place.