If Zachary had enough time, he would have liked to make sure that Wander was his strongest. Wander was the most special, even more than Doro. On the outside, Wander looked like an ordinary turtle. One could find many of them in this jungle if they looked hard enough. But other turtles couldn’t freely manipulate a powerful shield. They didn’t have a miraculous healing ability. They didn’t know the secret to summon the eternal.
“Wander, don’t beat Voodoo up too badly.” He said.
“No promises!” Wander replied cheerfully.
Zachary shook his head and went to train with his other summons. He brought out Onkie and Doro. He let Doro practice its movements underground. The goal was to increase speed while maintaining stealth. Doro could travel through the earth like it was swimming in an ocean. It was perfect for sneak attacks despite its size.
With Onkie, he focused on her strength and toughness. Looking around at the surroundings, he pointed to a large exposed rock.
“Onkie, use this rock to train your body.”
“Alright! Zachy, watch me!”
Onkie dug her feet into the ground and leaped forward. A blur of brown fur flew through the air and collided with the boulder head-first.
Pa!
Onkie bounced off and tumbled backward a few times. She quickly got up and shook her head.
“Bad rock!” She shouted and slammed the side of her body against it.
Over and over, she attacked the immovable object wildly, fully intent on flattening it. She wanted to turn it into dust despite her inability to do so. She was still at the One Path Adept Rank but she had gotten a lot stronger lately. Physical training was also effective for certain Ensouled.
Zachary smiled wryly. If he smashed his head into a rock like that, he would lose his life at worst or turn into an idiot at best. Onkie seemed to suffer no ill effects. Human bodies were so different. They were so weak.
While he was pondering how to improve his summons further, he heard a strange noise. It was a dull, constant sound. It was something that the jungle was incapable of producing. He looked up at the sky as the sound grew louder and louder. He finally recognized it; it was a sky ship!
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Soon enough, an unnatural object appeared in the sky. It was gray and oblong, wide in the middle while tapering to a point on either end. It was moving slowly, more floating than flying. The source of the noise came from two whirling propellers on either side. It left a trail of white steam clouds as it meandered over the vast jungle.
As he watched, two large bird-like creatures flew out of the sky ship on either side. They flapped their wings and picked up speed, easily outpacing the sky ship. One of the beasts soon flew overhead and Zachary noticed that it dropped countless leaflets in its wake from a bag held in its claws.
“Blue!” He called out and pointed at the sky, “Catch one of them”
“Chrr!”
Blue took off and quickly returned, dropping a piece of paper in his hand. The words on it were familiar. It was a simple statement.
He read it aloud, “Prisoners, in one week, it will be exactly one year since you arrived at Outpost Emerald. If you want a chance to go back to the Old World, return to the beach where you landed…”
It was finally time.
Zachary quickly ended the training session and recalled his summons. He returned to the village to find Heather for him. She called him into her hut and closed the door.
“You saw it?” She asked.
“Yeah. I didn’t think they would be nice enough to warn us.”
She glanced at him questioningly, “They sent one previously at the half-year mark. You didn’t see it?”
“No.” He replied, not mentioning that he was stuck in an underground lake.
“There were a lot more seagulls half a year ago. That’s too bad.” She looked up at the sky, seemingly wishing ill will on the summoners in the sky ship. She sighed and looked back at him, “Are you going?”
“Yeah.”
“Nellie, Shuhua, and Carlos are going. I didn’t want to go but I will to support them. The others are staying.”
She took a step toward him, closing the distance so that they were face to face, “Is there nothing I can do to convince you to stay?”
Zachary rested his hands on her hips and pulled her closer, “No, but you could try…”
“Pig.” She muttered.
He leaned in and whispered, “Pigs can be cute.”
“Then you’re a lucky one.” She said as her lips brushed against his.
He hugged her to him, pressing her soft body against his. He greedily devoured her mouth, causing her to moan and gasp. The two of them were never meant to last. It was the momentary joining of like-minded souls, helping each other to survive.
He broke away momentarily to pull her hand-made shirt off. She returned the favor with equal fervor. Soon, they were kissing again, their naked bodies pressed against each other, feeling each other’s desires.
“Heather…”
“Zach…”
He kissed her neck while she clawed his chest. With a low growl, he pushed her backward and into an empty wall. She gasped in surprise at his aggression. Smiling, he kissed her roughly even as she fought back with her tongue. She always liked to be in charge but not this time.
He lifted one of her legs and thrust himself inside her. Her cries of pleasure filled the wooden hut, over and over. Their sweaty bodies intertwined, they went from the wall to the table and finally to the bed.
He had to leave but she didn’t want him to go. She tried to convince him but his mind was made up. They were two willful souls bonding for what could be the last time.