Albert and Oliver went from joy to shock in a second. Mark and I already expected as much, but somehow, we hoped that the truth would be different, that it wasn’t as disturbing as we thought it would.
“Abused? A sweet little girl like her?” Oliver said blankly. Like most veterans who survived the Saudi Arabia War, Oliver might have seen many things, but it was always witnessing the aftermath of innocent people being hurt, tortured and killed that hit him the hardest. During the war, other units even encountered child soldiers which was perhaps one of the worst atrocities humanity could ever commit. Many came back physically, but not mentally. We were among the fortunate veterans who came back with both intact. They said this war was much worse than the early 2000s’ Iraq War, but in the end, was there even a difference?
“Mark, Jack! You already knew?” Albert asked in disbelief.
Our silence spoke more than enough. As the air got heavy, I finally realized we were the center of attention outside the lobby. Hospital staff, police officers and other ADF soldiers, everyone was staring at us, or more accurately, at Lord Ar’Taz, who was, as always, towering over everything around us. Some of them even took pictures of Him with their phones. Lord Ar’Taz on the other hand, never paid them any attention. I guessed the secret was simply too big to cover up, even for the government. There was also the whole giant monster invasion going on, so I doubted they even bothered at this point.
“We already contacted the town’s police.” Sergeant Mackenzie resumed. “They had to check the town’s record to know who she was living with. But there is problem.”
“What problem?” I asked.
“She wouldn’t say anything. In fact, she seems even more scared than before.” Mackenzie said in frustration. She took a breath to calm herself. “I asked Rhea if there is any way we can do to calm her down. She wanted the man who saved her to be with her when she talked. Well, namely you, Lieutenant.”
I figured as much. However, I was a soldier of the Australian Defense Force and I had my own duty. But right now, a child was suffering and she was asking, no, begging for my help. Then, there was the case with Lord Ar’Taz that I…
Someone put a hand on my shoulder which pulled me back to reality. It was Mark, he was looking at me with those same eyes from earlier.
“It frustrates me when I couldn’t do anything.” Mark sighed. “Neither back then nor at the moment. That time, if I had done anything, you wouldn’t have lost your arm.”
He paused for a moment, then said: “I know you don’t like it, Jack. But to us, you are a real hero. We have seen how hard you have worked, you deserve it.”
Hero, I never liked that word. Back when superheroes’ movies were a “thing”, everyone loved and praised them, as if they were real. Even though, people knew that it was acting, that it wasn’t real, they still praised actors, actresses, even sport athletes who starred in those movies, as if they were real heroes. Meanwhile, the “real” heroes who kept breaking their own bodies, overcoming their own limits for strangers’ sake and to save others’ lives, received little to no recognition. When we signed up for the military, we thought we were fighting for freedom, to protect the innocent, which to most of us, was a cause worth fighting, even dying for. However, in recent years, riots, protests, cultural deterioration and conflicts kept happening in so many countries that it looked like the world itself was slowly becoming a ticking time bomb and all it took was someone to push the button.
Though the idea of “Hero” wasn’t the root cause, it still made us weak, dependent on others, instead of trying to make ourselves better. I knew what I did, but it wasn’t heroic or anything, I simply did what I was trained to do, to fight and come back alive.
“Now go and be that kid’s hero.” Mark said as he gave me a pat in the back.
I chuckled and said. “Hero, huh? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Don’t worry, I will talk to them.” Mark said as he noticed I was worrying about Oliver and Albert. It was reassuring to see Mark had recovered from his earlier state of mind.
“Okay, I will go with you.” I told Mackenzie.
“Thank you, Lieutenant!” She smiled and said. I glanced back at Lord Ar’Taz who said nothing and simply nodded. It felt like I was starting to have some sort of an understanding with the mysterious Entity.
“I will go with you.” Albert said, which surprised me. “I am free right now anyway. Besides, two is better than one, don’t you think?”
I didn’t know what he was planning, but I was glad to have him come along. It was better to have someone as reliable as him to depend on when things went south.
“Okay!” Mackenzie agreed to let Albert come with me. “But I think you guys should change first. We have spare uniforms in the facility’s changing room.”
When she said that, I reflexively smelled myself and damn, I really was stink. Since weapons weren’t allowed inside the temporary medical facility, we already left our gear outside the vehicle. Maybe that was why the smell was so strong. It was kind of strange when guns weren’t allowed inside, but a giant alien was. Most likely, they thought Lord Ar’Taz was given permission by the Colonel or some higher officials.
I followed Albert to the changing room to change our clothes. Thankfully, a couple of the uniform sets were around my side, since some of which were either too small or too large.
“Do you know the Sergeant, Albert?” I asked him as I began changing.
“You mean Sergeant Mackenzie?” He asked as he took off the vest to change. “Well, somewhat. She joined a few years after us, if I remember correctly. What about her?”
“Nothing, I was just curious.” I decided to ask no further since it was kind of insensitive to delve too much into others’ past.
After we finished changing, we headed for the third floor where Rhea’s room was located. Major Ackerman and two uniformed police officers, one male and one female, who were outside the hallway, seemingly waiting for us.
“First Lieutenant Geralt, Second Lieutenant Forge!” The Major addressed us. “Colonel Hannibal has important matters to attend to, so I am here to help you work with the AFP (Australian Federal Police) regarding the case at hand. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, Sir.” I said. “We are glad to have you with us, Major.” Albert chimed in.
In contrast to Colonel Hannibal who barely had any beard, Major Ackerman had an anchor beard. Combined with his high and tight haircut, as well as his thick Southern accent, it struck me as a battle–hardened veteran who just came back from tour in Afghanistan or Iraq. Though we rarely interacted with him prior to this operation, Major Ackerman seemed like a capable field commander. The fact that Colonel Hannibal entrusted him with overseeing the battle at David Town spoke more than enough.
“This is Inspector Pullman and Sergeant Bright from South Australian Federal Police.” He introduced the pair of officers to us. “We evacuated the civilians and set up camps in the outskirts of Adelaide. They were helping David Town’s police force with the logistics and transport.”
The male officer had light skin, thin and a taller than me. The female officer was slightly taller than Charlize and had shoulder length blond hair. After the Major’s introduction, one of them stepped forward with his hand held out and said: “Gentlemen! I am Inspector Zachary Pullman, she is Sergeant Selina Bright. We will take over the case with young Rhea.”
I shook his hand and out of curiosity, asked him: “South Australian Federal Police? I thought it was supposed to be the town’s police in charge of this case.”
“Well, they are currently too occupied with the evacuation camps.” The Inspector said. “You guys know how messy it is whenever there are natural disasters like forest fires and hurricanes, right? Imagine that with nearly nine thousand people who are confused and scared. The government had to allocate personnel from other cities to help, so I think you understand how big the crisis we have here.”
“When the Major contacted us, we could barely leave our post due to the sheer amount of paperwork.” Sergeant Zoe Bright added. “Fortunately, they had personnel from neighboring towns to handle things over there, so we were dispatched here.”
Albert cleared his throat and asked them: “So, did you talk to her?”
Inspector Pullman shook his head. “We tried to ask her full name, her acquaintances and who did that to her, but she refused to say anything. She told Sergeant Mackenzie that she only wanted to speak with you. We really need your help here, Lieutenant Geralt.”
“Okay, but I am not really familiar with how due process works.” I told him. “Do I need to write down her words for testimony or anything?”
“I will go in with you.” Sergeant Bright said. “She seemed particularly scared when she saw the Inspector. Maybe it was because of how tall he was or that he was a man. I suspected whoever had abused her must have been a man.”
“We’ll stay outside, but don’t take too long, okay?” The Major reminded me. “We have much work to do.”
“Yes Sir.” I said and glanced back at Albert.
“Just relax, mate.” He told me. “I know you can handle it, but you don’t have to take on everything yourself, you know?”
“I know, thanks mate.” I thanked him and followed Sergeant Bright into the room. She knocked on the door announcing our presence.
“Come in,” Sergeant Mackenzie said.
Since it was a temporary medical facility, the room was small and had only four beds. Each bed was separated by curtains. From what I had learnt, the floors below were reserved for injured soldiers. Due to her current mental state, they reserved this room for Rhea alone. She was sitting on the bed next to the window while Sergeant Mackenzie was sitting on the other bed. Sunlight shining through the glass allowed me to have a better look at young Rhea.
Compared to when I first saw her inside that wretched house, it was like looking at two different girls. She was much cleaner and had changed into a blue hospital gown. Her hair was neatly tied into a ponytail. However, she still had that distant look in her eyes when we saw her, as if she never escaped that house.
“Mr. Jack!” She said when she saw me approach her.
“Hey Rhea, how do you feel right now?” I said softly as I sat down at the chair next to her bed, while Sergeant Bright sat behind me joined by Sergeant Mackenzie.
“Much… better.” Her reply sounded almost like a whimper.
“That is good to hear.” I said. “I know that you are scared for some reason, but I am going to ask you some questions. If you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t have to answer, just nod for a ‘Yes’ or shake your head for a ‘No’. Is that okay with you, Rhea?”
“Okay!” She replied, her tone sounded clearer. I glanced back at Sergeant Bright who already had a logbook and pen ready. She nodded, signaling me to proceed.
“Now then,” I took a breath and started asking. “First, can you tell us your full name?”
“Rhea… Sterling.” Rhea answered.
“Are you living with your parents?”
“Yes, but mom hasn’t been back home for…” Her words faded, as if she was trying to remember how long her mother had gone. “A month… I think.” She settled.
“What about your dad?”
“He is… mostly at work.”
“What does he do for a living?”
“He works… for a construction company.” While answering my questions, Rhea always kept her head down, eyes darted a bit.
“What about your mom?”
“She works… at the Thaumier’s, a small restaurant near the main road.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No.” Her tone sounded clear but at the same time, uncertain. It was like she didn’t even know whether her answers were true or not.
Suddenly, I had no idea what to ask next. I looked back at Sergeant Bright for some suggestions. She was writing something while Sergeant Mackenzie was leaning over. Then, she held her notes up, I read and begin to follow her instructions.
“Okay! Uh… Do you go to school, Rhea?” I resumed asking.
“I stopped going in… May, I think.” She muttered. “Mom needed help at the restaurant, so I’ve been helping her since, or else I wouldn’t get allowances.”
“Why does she need help at the bar? Aren’t you too young to work?”
She thought about it for a moment. “She said her business was failing and some employees had quitted. I was only helping in the kitchen.”
“What about your dad? Doesn’t he give you give any money?”
“He…” She paused for a few seconds, her hands shook a little. “He does, sometimes.”
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I was prepared to ask the next question based on Bright’s suggestions, but I remembered something. I asked Rhea: “Does he drink a lot?”
Young Rhea looked up at me, her green eyes focused on mine. It looked like I was close to hitting the nail on the head. She asked in disbelief: “What do you mean?”
“We found a lot of beer and alcohol in the fridge inside your house.”
“I… I don’t… I don’t know.” She began shaking.
“Does your mother know about this?” I asked.
“She… I’m sorry… I don’t know.” Her voice cracked.
“Is he the one who beat you or is it your mother?”
“Rhea, you need to tell us the truth.” Sergeant Bright said from behind me. “We are here to help you.”
“No, it’s… I’m sorry… I don’t know.” Rhea was on the verge of tears again. She held her hands up, as if pretending that she couldn’t hear us.
“Please, Rhea, you need to…” Sergeant Mackenzie said but she was interrupted when Rhea hurriedly stood up.
“I’m sorry. I need to go back.” She said as tears trickled down her cheeks.
I held my hand up, blocking her. “No, Rhea. You don’t have to go back anymore.” I said with a stern voice.
By now, Rhea was on the brink of complete breakdown. Perhaps, the only thing prevented her from that were my words and me stopping her.
“The house is already destroyed.” I said firmly. “You are free.”
“No, he won’t like it. If I am not there, he will…” She said as she sniffed her tears.
“Who won’t like it, Rhea?” Sergeant Bright insisted. “You need to…” I glanced back and interrupted her. I looked into her eyes with the implication of telling to her let me finish my questions. She relented.
“You are safe here, Rhea.” I said. “We will protect you.”
She was crying profusely, but her crying had no sound. It was like someone who was trying not to cry, but ended up failing horribly.
“Really?” She looked into my eyes and said, eyes and nose kept watering. “I don’t… I don’t have to… go back anymore?”
“No, you don’t.” I maintained my tone.
“I am… free?” Her voice sounded like a whisper.
“Yes, you are.” I asserted with her.
After two more seconds, Rhea finally broke down. She slumped back on her bed and started bawling. Her cry was so loud that it reverberated across the entire recovery room. Her tears kept flowing like a waterfall. I couldn’t even imagine what this little girl had gone through to suffer this much. At this point, Sergeant Mackenzie already got up and pulled Rhea in with her mother–like embrace to calm Rhea down.
We let Rhea cry for over a minute and until she finally calmed down, I resumed asking questions. This time, it was much easier since she had already been mentally liberated. At least, it was what I had hoped it to be.
According to Rhea, her actual father had divorced her mother – Michelle J. Sterling, two years ago. She remarried with another man whose name was Fred Glover last year. At first, the relationship between the couple was going well. However, things started going downhill since early this year for some reason. They argued almost daily and even poor Rhea was dragged into their quarrels. She thought that it had something to do with her mother’s restaurant business going downhill but she suspected there was something else. For many months, Fred had violently beat her whenever her mother wasn’t home. From her perspective, it seemed like he was venting his anger on her or frustration. She tried to tell her mother about it, but Michelle didn’t really care. According to Rhea, she looked and sounded “indifferent”. Every time she tried to call for help or simply tell anyone about him, that bastard, Fred, abused her even more. He always locked Rhea up in her own room and never let her out of his sight. He turned out to be an alcoholic and the frequency of abuse increased, while that woman never cared about her own daughter. Apparently, when the ADF came into town and evacuated everyone, she heard that it was something about hazardous chemical leak. The rest was murky, since my mind was clouded with pure rage at what this little girl had gone through. I let Sergeant Bright finish asking the remaining questions. I seriously couldn’t imagine what would have happened if Mark was here instead of me.
“Lieutenant! Lieutenant!” Sergeant Bright calling pulled me back from my own thought. As I glanced over, she was sitting next to me. “We are done here. We appreciate your help, Lieutenant Geralt!” She said. I checked my watch and realized the questioning had taken us nearly 30 minutes.
“It was nothing. I am just doing my job.” I said. I looked back at Rhea and saw her hospital gown was soaked from her tears and sweat.
“Mr. Jack!” Rhea said, while Mackenzie was wiping the tears on her face.
“What is it, Rhea?” I asked.
“What happened to your arm?” She asked, eyes staring at my prosthetic arm.
“Oh, you mean this?” I held up my arm. “This is just… It was an accident. I got careless and lost my arm.”
“Does it… hurt?” She asked with a soft voice.
“Well, just the first time… but now I am all good. Look at the bright side, I got this cool metal arm, you know?”
I tried to say anything that could cheer her up. However, it wasn’t until much later, I realized that I sounded dumb as hell. Damn it! I really suck at interacting with kids, I thought.
She touched the plastic padding on my palm. Again, her eyes began to water.
“It’s warm!” She muttered as a little bit of tears trickled down her cheek. “You guys are so nice to me. No one has ever been so nice to me.”
At this point, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I gently pulled Rhea in and hugged her. She began crying again, but this time, she held it in. I didn’t care if I got my uniform stained, I already had enough of seeing her like this.
“I kept crying… begging him… to stop… beating me!” She snuffled. “But he just… he… I tried to call for help, but he found out and… and...”
“That’s enough! You don’t have to say anymore.” I reassured Rhea and gently stroked her hair. She smelt rich of shampoo which was much different from when she was under that basement.
“You are safe now. No one can hurt you. Not anymore.” I asserted.
Rhea nodded and I let go of her. Being watched intently by the ladies made me kind of flustered.
“Rhea, do you want to meet my friends?” I asked.
“Your friends?” She said in surprise.
“That is right! Do you remember those uncles who stood next to me, and that big man as well? They all helped me save you. Do you want to meet them?”
“I think… Yes.” She hesitated a little. “I want to… thank them. For saving me.”
“Lieutenant, Sir! I don’t think that is a good idea.” Sergeant Bright said. “She is still…”
“It’s okay! She is fine now.” Mackenzie said. “We are still waiting for Doctor Huxley with the test result anyway.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Mackenzie!” I said. She smiled and nodded in return.
I stood up, held Rhea’s hand and led her to the door, followed by the two ladies. As her hand tightened around my palm, I noticed it was really skinny compared to most kids I had known. In addition, her slightly pale complexion worried me. However, the fact she wanted to go made me somewhat relax. When I opened the door, Albert, Inspector Pullman and Major Ackerman who were waiting outside the hallway were chatting about some quite interesting topics, but for some reason, I couldn’t remember exactly what they were talking about.
“So, this must be Rhea, huh?” Albert exclaimed as soon as he saw Rhea.
Rhea gripped my hand a bit tighter and stood behind me. Perhaps seeing three adult men, especially with someone as imposing as the Major, must have been a bit much for Rhea right now. Still, we needed her to confront her fear, or else her mental state wouldn’t recover.
“Rhea, this is Albert!” I introduced Albert to her. “He is one of my friends who helped me save you.”
“Really?” She timidly asked. “You are one of uncles who saved me?”
Albert laughed and said. “I didn’t really do anything. This guy did most of the work, I was only waiting outside.”
As she acknowledged his answer, her grip relaxed a little.
Inspector Pullman took a step towards Rhea, but paused and kept his distance to avoid scaring her. He leaned down and said: “How are you feeling, Rhea?”
“I’m… fine now. Thank you, Mr. Zachary.”
“That’s good to hear.” He said, then glanced at Sergeant Bright. “You got everything we need, Sergeant?”
“Yes, I think it was more than enough.” Sergeant Bright said as she put away her pen and logbook. “We can open a case file right away if we head back now.”
“Now that’s some good news for the day.” Inspector Pullman said in high spirit.
“This is one of our bosses, Major River Ackerman.” I introduced the Major to Rhea.
“Good to see you are doing well, young lady.” The Major said. Rhea was still shy and simply thanked him for his concern.
“Well, I think it’s time we head back now.” Pullman said. “Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen! We appreciate it. We will contact you if we need anything else.”
“You are welcome!” Major Ackerman said and shook his hand.
“Come on, Rhea!” Sergeant Bright told Rhea. “We will take you to the town and find your relatives.”
Rhea seemed hesitant, her grip tightened again. After a few seconds of consideration, she finally said: “I want… to stay here, Ms. Selina.”
They were surprised by her response. Bright was about to ask why, but Rhea promptly said. “I want… to thank them… for saving me.”
“But you have no acquaintances here.” Bright stated. “They are all in a different town now.”
“It’s okay. We can take care of her.” I asserted. “Isn’t that right, Sergeant Mackenzie?”
At first, she didn’t really understand my intention. However, she caught on quickly and answered. “Yes… of course. We aren’t too busy anyway. Taking care of Rhea shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge.”
“Are you sure about that, Sergeant?” The Major asked.
Without missing a beat, she answered: “Yes Sir.”
He sighed, then turned to the pair and said. “Well, you heard the lady. The kid is staying with us, for now.”
“We have tons of work on our end, so this helps a lot. Thank you, gentlemen!” Pullman thanked us the last time. Together with Sergeant Bright, they followed a security personnel and headed out of the facility.
“So, you want to thank us, Rhea?” Albert asked.
She nodded firmly. He turned to the Major and said. “Can we take her to for a detour, Sir?”
“Where to?” The Major asked.
“To where our special guest is. He did save her after all.”
The Major checked his watch, 9:00 AM, then thought about it for a moment.
“First Melbourne, then Sydney, now the largest outback town of Australia was turned to a literal warzone.” Major Ackerman commented. “I doubt they can do anything even remotely similar to covering up about Him anyway.”
“Does that mean we can take her to see Him, Sir?” Albert implied.
“Yeah, but you are responsible for her, okay?” He said. “I’ve got a lot on my hand right now, so babysitting is out of the question. If anything goes wrong, you give me a call. Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant?”
“Yes Sir.” Albert happily replied.
“Alright, gentlemen! Sergeant, you stay with them.”
“Yes Sir.” Mackenzie replied.
When the Major returned to his post, we began walking back to the lobby, to where Lord Ar’Taz and the others were.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Geralt!” Mackenzie told me while we were walking down the hallway. Whereas Albert was talking to Rhea, it was good to see her slowly open up with Albert as well.
“You are welcome, Sergeant!” I awkwardly said. “But I didn’t really do anything, you know?”
“No, Lieutenant! You did more than I could.” She said. “I could help her recover physically, but not mentally. I couldn’t handle seeing children suffer without being unable to do anything.” She paused for a second. “Not anymore.”
She didn’t specifically say what she had gone through, but somehow, I understood what she meant. Perhaps, a few years of discharge from the armed forces made me forget the naked truths of those within our profession. Ultimately, the only thing that mattered was our sanity and I was glad that ours remained intact.
When we reached the lobby, I noticed there were more people than earlier. Obviously, they were here to see Lord Ar’Taz in person. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder why they would allow Him, a literal alien from another dimension, with this level of liberty. Normally, I imagined dozens of agents with “Men in Black” style swooping in, erasing everyone’s memories and escorting Him to their headquarters for interrogation, or something similar. Apparently, none of that happened here.
After we pushed past everyone, I saw an unexpected and awkward sight. Oliver was cheerfully chatting with three nurses, while Mark was talking to some ADF personnel. Next to them, Lord Ar’Taz was standing near the balcony of the second floor where Charlize and another female uniformed service member were taking measurement for His height. Finally, there was Colonel Hannibal who was standing next to Lord Ar’Taz, fascinated by what he was seeing.
“My god! 430 cm!” Charlize exclaimed. “You really are giant, Sir Ar’Taz!”
“Our height is normal within the Ascendancy.” Lord Ar’Taz casually stated.
Everyone was clearly shocked to learn His real height. I saw one ADF soldier giving money to his friends for losing the bet about His true height. Even Rhea was gluing her eyes on Lord Ar’Taz as well. In her young mind, she was looking at a literal giant.
“Alright, you all have enough fun.” The Colonel said. “Now back to work, everyone.”
When the crowd slowly dispersed, Oliver waved us over. “Jack, Albert!”
“You lads are finished?” The Colonel addressed us.
“Yes Sir, we are taking her for a tour.” Albert said. “Young Rhea wants to thank the guys and Sir Ar’Taz herself.”
“Really?” Mark said as he approached us. “Are you feeling okay now, Rhea?”
“I am fine now. Thank you… for your concern, Mister…”
“Call me Mark. I am really glad to hear that.”
“And you can call me Oliver.” Oliver gleefully jumped in.
“What were you doing with those nurses?” Albert asked him.
“Oh, them? They asked me to take pictures with Lord Ar’Taz. Well, more like with Him as the background, since He is too large to fit inside the photo. He is a giant alien, you know? Honestly, who wouldn’t want to take pictures of Him?”
“Okay, but anyway,” Albert cleared his throat. “Now that we are here, let’s get to business. We have other work to do.” He addressed Rhea who had resumed holding my hand. “Rhea, do you have something to tell them?”
She nodded, then stepped towards the pair. She took a deep breath and said. “Thank you, Mr. Mark, Mr. Oliver, for saving my life. Mr. Albert has told me about what you have done for me.”
Mark was delighted beyond words seeing Rhea recover from her physical and mental trauma. Oliver looked like he was about to get emotional again, but managed to control himself. They were speechless to her sweet words. Thus, they simply smiled and gently stroked her head. She flustered a little bit when receiving such warm gesture. Rhea looked at Lord Ar’Taz who was still standing near the balcony. She walked over to Him, with us adults in tow. An innocent child who was neither a warrior nor an adult was now approaching an overpowered alien entity. I felt like I was witnessing something significant to our history as a species, but I couldn’t exactly describe what the feeling was. When Lord Ar’Taz looked down and acknowledged Rhea, she stopped a few meters from Him. The height difference between Lord Ar’Taz and her was astonishing.
“How do you feel, child?” He asked.
His voice was lower than normal, but to a kid like Rhea, it was no less intimidating. Rhea shuddered a little bit, though she wasn’t as scared as last time.
“I’m… I’m fine now.” She stuttered. “Thanks to you, Lord…” She had a bit of trouble pronouncing His name. “Lord R… Taz?”
“You can refer to us however you want.” He said.
“Okay,” She said. “Lord R Taz! Mr. Albert has told me everything, about what you did for me,” She paused and lowered her head. “Thank you, for saving my life.”
“Your gratitude is unrequired.” Lord Ar’Taz said. “It was these men who saved you, we only helped them.”
“But, Mr. Albert said that if you hadn’t been there, I would have surely lost my life.”
“It was only coincidence.” Lord Ar’Taz stated. “What matters is you are not suffering, child. Not anymore.”
“How… How do you… know?” She said. “Who are…?” She whimpered.
Her eyes widened and she was silent for a few seconds. Currently, the only people who were aware of her actual circumstances were me, Sergeant Bright, and Sergeant Mackenzie after all. Albert didn’t ask her anything in details, so he was excluded as well. The moment she realized this mysterious giant had been aware of her suffering broke her. It hit Rhea more than I thought, as she began to tremble again. I put my hand on her shoulders to calm her down, but she didn’t stop. Upon witnessing this, Lord Ar’Taz closed the distance between us with just two steps. He stopped just before us, Rhea was too scared that she didn’t even dare look up. She closed her eyes and seemed to be bracing herself for what she thought was going to happen. In her young mind, she must be thinking that she was in the presence of an angel or the devil itself.
Mark wanted to jump in, but Oliver and Albert stopped him. They try to calm him down, to wait and see. Lord Ar’Taz knelt down and reached His right hand forward. With the same hand that could effortlessly crush a fully grown man’s skull, He proceeded to gently touch Rhea’s hair who was still shaking from fear. As He touched Rhea’s head, the trembling stopped almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and looked up, I noticed her eyes were dry from the earlier crying, but the fear remained visible.
“Rhea Clarisse Sterling!” Lord Ar’Taz said her full name. “The shackles that bound you are no more. From now on, you are free!”
Another detail I managed to notice about Lord Ar’Taz was that He could always say such powerful words without showing even a slightest hint of expression. Well, half of His face was covered with a mask, so how could I ever know? Still, His words made Rhea finally calm down. She followed the motion of His hand and looked up at Lord Ar’Taz. She muttered: “I… am… free?”
“You are. From now on, these men will protect you.”
She turned to look at me, then at Albert, Mark and Oliver who were already standing around me.
“You don’t have to be scared anymore, Rhea.” Mark said. “You are safe here, with us.”
“That’s right, kid!” Oliver patted Mark’s shoulder and said. “This guy here has a soft spot for children. He’s got a lovely son. You two will get along just fine. Actually, scratch that. You are meeting him after this is over. Tommy is going to love you as his big sister.”
“I... I’d love to,” Rhea smiled and said. Her smile was so heart-warming. Being able to see her smile after going through so much melted our hearts.
After nearly a minute of chatting, Colonel Hannibal finally stepped in and talked to me: “Now this really isn’t something we see everyday, huh?”
“No kidding, Sir!” I chuckled. “Sir, have you finished the business with Lord Ar’Taz?”
“Yeah, I already talked about it with Sir Ar’Taz. Looks like you are going to Canberra with Him. The Prime Minister and President Donald Eisenhower are expecting Him.”