Chapter 56: Sparrow (Part 1)

Sneha: "So can someone explain to me how …"

She looks at the scene in front of her.

Sneha: "a fish is supposed to help us get out of here?"

And as she says that, our newest comrade (temporary though) seems to share the same concern.

Ro: "Yeah, I want to know too. How are we getting out of this island from this pond?"

We are, at present, surrounding the pond and the golden fish seems to be listening in on all our conversations. For whatever reason, she is not responding.

Wait! Was that attitude only for me? Or maybe she is afraid of Sona and so is not saying anything? Well, probably the later.

Sona: "Hah!"

She sighs exasperatedly and says,

Sona: "We are all not going to get out of here together. Only I, a spirit-user, can use something like this to get out of the island."

Sneha and Ro are looking more confused now that they have gotten the answer to their questions.

Sona: "I will go out of the place and bring or send an aircraft here for the rest of you."

Sona seems uninterested in the whole conversation as if it's pointless but Ro is too cautious to take the same approach.

Ro: "And we are supposed to trust you with that?"

He furrows his brows and asks so in a doubtful tone.

Sona: "Yes."

She says in a matter-of-fact way, to which,

Kais: "Well, I trust her."

I add to make the conversation end. Ro seems like he wants to retort so,

Ethan: "Yeah, I trust her too, though it's more like me being able to see her true intentions through my eyes but who cares?"

Our fifth member, the one who had unexpectedly been silent this whole time, speaks while his hands are folded and his voice is plain, devoid of emotion. Ro, surprised by our answers, turns to Sneha to see how she answers and,

Sneha: "I guess I trust her too."

And with that, all our real members agree that we will take this approach. Ro, who is just tagging along to be honest, knows that he doesn't have much of a say at this point in time and so he takes a long breath and,

Ro: "Fine!"

And just as he says that, the fish makes a big splash of water right in the middle of the pond, as if she had been waiting for this conversation to finish.

Sona: "That's the signal."

She says and points to the waves in the pond that are flowing out from the center forming beautiful circles that keep growing wider. Seeing that, in a plain voice, Sona explains,

Sona: "Now, by stepping in this pond, I'll find myself at any place in the world that I have in mind, provided I have already been to that place at least once."

That is how she is supposed to get out of here. And by doing that, she will then book a private jet (or she could just steal it) then bring it here and finally we will all be able to get out of here. If nothing else, it's going to take some time.

Ethan: "Well then, what are you waiting for? Go."

He keeps his arms and folded as he goes onto lean against a tree and say that in the same plain voice he has had for a while now.

Sona: "Of course, but there's just one thing that I want to confirm before going in."

Even if her voice at this time is also plain, her words grab all our attentions.

Sona: "I'm fine with Ro tagging along with us but what about the other two? Where are they?"

It's not hard to guess that she is referring to Walter and Dyne.

Sona: "Who's to say they won't try to do anything while our group has one member less?"

A valid question but,

Ethan: "I can assure you they won't."

With a little smile back on his face, the greatest contributor to our recent victory against the two monstrously powerful people says in a somewhat deep voice.

Ethan: "Barry told us that there's a thing called Knight's Code among Spectres. If they lose a fight that they considered to be fair, then for the next 72 hours of losing that fight, they can't hurt their opponent."

Yeah, that's chivalry alright. I can't help but notice that Ethan regained a bit of his 'evil' side when this topic came up, as if he's trying to mock their code despite the benefit it's giving us. Well, I'd do the same to be honest.

Ethan: "This code gets nullified if their opponent hurts them but we are not foolish enough to do that."

He continues in a slightly gleeful tone, probably gloating over the fact that his strategy worked against the two of them.

Sona: "Yeah, that takes care of Spectre Dyne but what about Walter Schmidt?"

As he hears that, the faint smile on his lips grows wide enough for anyone to call it a malicious grin.

Ethan: "Oh, him. He's the honorable knight who suggested for there to be this Knight's Code among Spectres."

That's … surprising. As I scan the surroundings, I see that my reaction is shared my Sona, but not Ro and Sneha. I guess when Barry, Ro, Ethan and Sneha were discussing thing back on the beach, this topic had already come up and so the two of them already knew about this.

Ethan: "He's a true knight in spirit. He won't do anything either."

Even as he says that, it seems Sona still harbors a little doubt.

Sona: "Are you sure though?"

She says while narrowing her voice and speaking in a slightly anxious tone.

Kais: "Don't worry, Sona."

So I say that to assure her.

Kais: "It'll be fine. You just need to bring a jet to this island within the 72 hours and everything works out."

At times like these, the best thing to do, instead of assuring the person with your own strengths and guarantees is to leave the burden on them. At least, that's how it works for people as skeptical as me and Sona.

Sona: "Hah!"

She sighs and says,

Sona: "Fine, I guess I'll have to trust you with that."

She says while closing her eyes and then takes a long breath. After which, without saying anything further, the spirit-user steps in the pond without opening her eyes. Hence, the four of us are the only ones who witness how it looks like when she is dissipating in the water as deeper as she goes in it.

Well, I did do the right thing by leaving the burden on her shoulders. That is to say, I did the right thing for her. For me, I don't know. I am getting more and more worried about her the more I see her body looking like it's gently evaporating into the water. But, I can't stop her. This is bigger than any one person. I can't let my worries drag all of us back.

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Walter: "You sure about this, Dyne?"

Walter Schmidt says in a melancholic voice to his friend who is sitting on the beach staring at the sea.

Dyne: "Yeah, we should follow the Code and let them go, for the next 72 hours at the very least."

Dyne replies in an equally melancholic voice to his friend also staring at the sea besides him but while standing and having his arms folded.

Walter: "Well, I guess that's that."

With that, they decide that they won't attack the four people that'd be left on the island. And no conversation on the topic is to be brought up again within these 72 hours.

Dyne: "But anyhow, what about us going back?"

Dyne shifts his gaze from the sea to the man diagonally above him.

Dyne: "Our jet is safe and we can just leave. Why don't we?"

Walter shifts his gaze to look back at Dyne with a questioning look.

Dyne: "I mean, well, it's not like we have anything to do in the tomb now that even Sagax's soul seems to have left the place. And besides that, this island isn't much of a tourist spot, is it?"

Dyne becomes a bit sarcastic towards the end but he is asking the question seriously.

Walter: "Yeah, you are right about that."

Walter scratches his head as he says.

Walter: "We should probably leave."

He says blankly as he looks at the clear blue sky filled with clouds that look like they are within a hand's reach but aren't. And on seeing that,

Walter: "No, we should definitely leave."

He says with a smile on his face.

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