“Whisper is gone.”
It was all Glima said as she opened the door to our bunk after the three days and motioned for us to come out. She caught Gesai’s arm and shook her head as the rest of us walked out. The older woman shut the door behind the two.
“What do you think they’re doing?” Oz looked at me.
I looked into her green eyes. "I have no idea.”
“HEY!” Sylph was at the top of the pyramid and waving for us to come up. "Breakfast is getting cold!”
I had to poke Rix to get her to come back to reality. The redhead was staring in the direction of the Warehouse. I knew she wanted to go see if Neme was still there, but now was definitely not the time to go exploring.
“Rix, come on.” I poked her again.
“Huh?”
I pointed at the others, who had already started climbing towards the top of the Pyramid. "Food. Move.”
I gave her a light push and she started moving towards the stairs, but she was still in a daze.
The food was delicious, much better than the meager rations we’d been eating since the incident. We ate mostly in silence, though I could tell that Sylph wanted to talk, but she could read the room enough to know that none of us were really in the right frame of mind for it.
The two older women showed up just as Sylph had started to clear off the table. Jord walked in behind them.
“You’re okay!” Justia was the only one to speak, but I saw a smile on Ren’s face and relief on Oz’s. Rix was still just stunned, going through the motions and nodded as the three of them sat down.
“Glima thinks he learned an important lesson and that he’d been punished enough.” Gesai announced as she accepted a plate of food from Sylph.
The blonde Noble just smiled and waved away the offered plate.
“Jord, you need to eat something, even if it’s not much.” Gesai nodded at the plate. "Healing like that takes a lot out of you. If you don’t eat, then your body will start breaking down.”
Jord nodded and took the plate.
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“Is Whisper going to be back?” The silence was unnerving and I thought that it was best to ask the question that everyone was fearing.
“No. There was an issue in Vefe that required his attention and it will be a long time before that can be resolved.” Glima looked around the table. "The accident has left the bunker understaffed.” She paused, “Rather than continue to do business, I thought it prudent to lock the door.” She tapped the crystal band on her arm. "I have full control of the door now. The few who are left are gathering their things and leaving in the next few days for other sites.”
That posed a very interesting opportunity.
Justia opened her mouth, then closed it when Glima held up her hand.
“I can not open the door for you.” Her eyes narrowed as her voice issued a warning. "And I am the only one who can operate this device.”
“But what you’re saying is that in a few days we’ll be able to go basically wherever we want in here?” I looked at Rix, hoping that she’d perk up at having free reign to explore. "Without having to worry about running into someone?”
Glima just inclined her head in a single nod. “We need to talk about your class schedule.”
I tuned her out as she began going over details with Gesai. I got up and almost pulled Rix out of her chair as I walked towards the exit.
“We’ll be outside.” I spoke soft enough not to interrupt, but loud enough for the others to hear me.
Rix got up and followed me out the door.
Once we were outside, Rix said her first unprompted word.
“What?”
“We’ve got to get you over this.” I gestured at all of her. "Because we need you to be…” I tried, but I couldn’t come up with a single word. "...Rix.”
The redhead shook her head. "I made a mistake.” She looked out at the Warehouse. "I should have thought about there being a high level person here. I should have investigated more.”
“You didn’t put the sword in his hand.” I pointed at the Warehouse. "Yes, you could have guessed the chain of events, but Neme didn’t pick up a weapon.” I closed my eyes. "Gesai said a few days ago the reason why she attacked Sipher when he came to kidnap us was because she would rather have died fighting an unwinnable battle than died standing still.” I opened my eyes and looked at her. I hoped she wouldn't point out the flaw in what I was about to say. "You presented him with the option to die on his feet and he took it. If Whisper hadn’t been here, then we would all probably be free. Is what happened tragic? Yes, but you can’t claim full responsibility. Learn what you can and move forward.”
She looked back at the container we’d just left. "But Jord…”
“Jord did that to himself and has only himself to blame.” I grabbed her hands and turned her to look at me. "We were all given the same order. We stayed and he tried to run without us.” There was anger seeping into my voice. "We didn’t try to sneak out in the crates because of what might happen to the people left behind. He didn’t think about anyone but himself and got what he deserved.”
“But…”
I grabbed her cheeks with both hands to keep her from looking away. “We have a chance in the next few days to find the exit, but for that we need you.” I moved to follow her brown eyes. "So go to whatever place you have to go to so we can have back the Rix we know and love. Then you can go back to brooding once we’re free if you want.”
She nodded slowly, so I let her go. I took a step back and pointed with my thumb over my shoulder.
“How about we go back inside and talk about what our next move is?”