“He pried my legs apart and pushed himself into me. It seemed like it went on forever as he kept breathing his foul breath into my face. Finally, he laughed and then he got up. As he buttoned his pants, he kept looking at me as if he were trying to fix the scene in his mind and then he left. I’ll never forget his chuckling and whistling as he walked down the hall.
“I don’t know how long I stayed on the floor. I couldn’t stop crying, and then I was gasping for air. After a while, I was able to put my pants back on, but the crying still wouldn’t stop. I should have fought more! I should have killed him!”
Rasa spoke up for the first time, “I’d like to link with your mind and body to check you out. Will you let me?”
Valentina left her head down and nodded.
Rasa gathered elemy, touched Valentina’s life-line, and followed it up through her body. She healed the small tears caused by the rape as well as the bruises she encountered. What she really wanted to know is if she had contracted any sexually transmitted diseases or, worse, if she were pregnant. She mentally sighed with relief when she found nothing on either account and took the extra precaution to seal her womb to prevent any embryo from attaching in the next few days.
She continued her scan up Valentina’s body and healed all of the bruises around her arms and neck. Rasa sent the elemy into her brain to cause soothing energy to calm her mind and help ease the shock from her. The last thing she did was to relax her body and allow her to fall asleep. She pulled her powers away and helped Juila ease Valentina down onto the bed.
“I think she didn’t sleep much last night. Rest will be the best medicine right now. Leave the light on so she won’t find herself in a strange place in the dark. Then we can go downstairs and check in on all of the people you brought home. I must say, they are an interesting bunch. What made you decide to bring them along?”
“They were refugees wanting to go to Earth. I think their ancestors were from Earth, but I can’t be sure of that just yet. I read through the captain’s journal and found out he planned on making them all into slaves on his world, and he had very little incentive to find Earth for them. I couldn’t take everyone, but I was able to ask for all of the women and children. I wish I could have done more.”
“You did the best you could. Come on, let’s talk to them and find out what they want to do now that they’re here,” she whispered as she led the way out of the bedroom.
They walked down the stairs expecting to hear the voices of the guests; however, the room was silent. Juila led the way through the foyer and saw everyone sitting around in the living room and kitchen with plates of food in various stages of being eaten. Juila imagined her father had created the dishes since her mother’s skill in the art was unequal to the large task.
Just as she turned toward the kitchen, she gasped and said, “Ozias! What are you doing here?”
“I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to see where you were from and how you could have learned so much at such a young age. We don’t get opportunities like that on Heliok.”
“But what about the refugees? I only had so much room, and you took someone’s place? How could you be so selfish?” Juila could feel her anger rising.
“Everyone who wanted to come was already on board. I didn’t leave anyone behind, Juila. Don’t you see? I would never do something so terrible. Besides, Viceroy Blair would have punished me for lying to him about the plan to restart the thrusters.”
“You didn’t lie; the thrusters were going when we left.”
“They were? I never dreamt it would actually work. Well, that’s a relief, at least they will all be able to make it home.”
“What about you? What are you going to do about getting home?”
“I want to stay here…with you.”
Behn walked over since he could see Juila becoming agitated. He put his arm around her and asked, “Is there a problem here?”
Ozias looked from Behn to Juila and noticed the proprietary way in which he held Juila. He had been mistaken in his ideas regarding Juila. She was obviously involved with this other person. Now he had no idea what his plan would be.
“No, it’s fine,” Juila said and turned away from Ozias to prevent any kind of scene.
“Where’s Valentina?” Behn asked.
“She’s asleep in my bed. She was up all night last night, and she was exhausted. Don’t you think you and Jon should be heading home now? Your parents must be getting worried about you.”
“I called them last night and said Jon and I were spending the night at Luke’s house and Val was staying here. It almost sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me. What’s going on, Juila?”
She chuckled nervously and answered, “Nothing, Behn. We have a little bit of chaos going on around here unless you hadn’t noticed. We need to talk to these people and get everything sorted out. Jon’s exhausted, just look at him,” she said as she pointed over to where Jon was almost asleep over his plate of food.
“Okay, you have a point!” He laughed and gave her a big hug. “I’m glad everything worked out so well, and you all came home safely. Don’t ever do anything like that again!”
“Trust me; I don’t plan to!” She returned his hug while pressing a kiss to his neck. She pulled away, playfully pushing him toward his brother. “Take him home now.”
Juila breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw Behn and Jon go out the front door. Her mind reeled from everything which had happened over the last two days. She did not want to have Behn see his sister until she had her emotions under control. Luckily, they had not missed any school which would have been interesting to explain to the Wilsons. Hopefully, they would never find out about any of this adventure.
She turned around and surveyed the people in the house. They were a ragged looking group of women, children and a couple of men. She counted and found there were only nine of them. Her eyes were drawn to one teenaged girl who sat curled in on herself in the corner of the couch. She went over to her and sat down next to her. “My name’s Juila. What’s your name?”
The girl raised her head enough for her to see Juila and whispered, “Gevena.”
“That’s a pretty name. How old are you?”
“Sixteen anons.”
“So am I,” Juila replied excitedly.
Gevena’s eyes lit up a bit. She drew her arms around her thin body a little tighter.
“Are you cold? I could get you a blanket.”
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
“Did you get something to eat?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’d like to help you and your family. Please let me try.”
“I don’t have any family here.”
Juila frowned a little at this new revelation. She wondered what this girl’s story could be if she had no relations among the other refugees. “Do you want to talk in another room where it’s more private?”
She nodded and slowly stood up. She followed Juila down the hall and into the library. They sat down in the wing chairs facing one another. She lowered her arms until the book she had was resting in her lap.
Juila wanted to ask her about the book but decided to wait until the girl felt more comfortable. “Were you part of the Roanoke Colony?”
“No. I…” she could not think about how to explain her strange situation. This girl could not possibly understand what she had been through. She glanced around her and saw all of the books and opulence. No, this girl would definitely not understand.
“Where are you from?”
“I lived in Desio with my father.”
“Is your father still in Desio? Can we contact him so you can go home?”
“NO!” She looked up in alarm and then realized her outburst was uncalled for and continued on in a more subdued voice, “I don’t want to go back to him. He’s a drunk.”
“I see. Is there anyone else we can contact for you? Any family who you could stay with?”
“No, I don’t have anybody other th
an my father. I won’t ever go back to him.”
“How did you end up on the space ship?”
Gevena clasped her hands tightly over the book in her lap. She did not want to talk about it, but it seemed this girl would keep asking questions until she knew her whole story. She sighed and began talking, “My father drank a lot, and he liked gambling. He met a man named Politun who was from the Roanoke Colony. The colony had recently started camping outside our village, causing all kinds of problems as they stole food and clothing from our people.
“We don’t know why they came, but my father was only interested in his gambling and drinking. Nobody in town would play with him anymore because he couldn’t pay what he gambled. Politun was an outsider, and he was willing to play cards with him. For a while, my father was winning. He bought more liquor and got sloppy.
“After losing several nights in a row, my father came home and told me to gather my things. I had no idea what he had done, and I did as he asked. He took me away from our home and gave me to Politun. He took my arm and began dragging me away from the village. I kept crying and asking my father to help me. He turned around and walked back to our house.
“Politun told me to shut up. He said he had won me fair and square in their last card game. I could not believe what he said was true. I called him a liar and told him to let me go home. When we got to his tent in the woods, he shoved me on the ground and told me I was home. He ordered me to make him dinner, so I did it. I figured I’d be able to sneak away when he was sleeping and go home.
“He must have anticipated my plan because he tied my leg to his tent stake that night. After we were done eating he told me to take my clothes off. I refused, and he ripped them off of me. I screamed and screamed knowing someone would come and help me. Nobody seemed to notice. Politun hit my face until my eye swelled shut and my nose was bleeding.
“He told me I was his property and he could do to me whatever he wanted. I had no idea how far he would take this idea until he removed his clothes and pinned me to the ground. I couldn’t get away with my leg tied to the tent. I didn’t have anywhere to go since my father had betrayed me. I was alone.” Her last words came out in a whisper.
For the second time that night, Juila was confronted with a young girl being raped. She wondered what was going on that would make these things happen. An idea came to her that it might be a good idea for Valentina and Gevena to talk to one another. They would be able to understand the pain they had each endured; and they might be able to help each other through this terrible time in their lives.
“I’m sorry all of that happened to you, Gevena. You don’t have to go back to Tuala if you don’t want to. We can find a family for you here on Earth, and you can start your life over. What do you want to do?” She tried to think of how she could get her and Valentina to talk to one another without betraying either of their confidences; this was a sticky situation.
“I don’t want to go back. I have nothing there; nothing and nobody.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
Gevena smiled for the first time. Her life just might be okay with this girl’s help.
“What is that book you have?” Juila asked.
“I took this from Grobin’s things when we were leaving the space ship. I thought it might be important. Maybe it could help you,” she said as she picked it up and handed it over to Juila. She was glad to give it to someone else.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she replied as she took the book and stood up. “I’m going to give this to my mother and then I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Don’t let anyone see it, they might get upset,” Gevena cautioned.
“I’ll be careful,” she said as she left the room. She almost ran down the hall and slowed down only when she got near the living room. She looked all around for her mother and could not locate her. Scanning the room, she made eye contact with her father and tipped her head to get him to come over to her.
His curiosity was piqued as he wove his way around the furniture in the living room. “What’s going on, Juila? What is that?” he asked as he gestured to the book in her hands.
“The girl, Gevena, who I took into the library, said she took it from Grobin’s things before she got onto the telepod. She thinks it might help us figure out what’s going on. I was going to give it to Mom, but I can’t seem to find her. Do you want it?”
“Sure!”
“Gevena said it shouldn’t be seen by any of the people from the Roanoke Colony. Maybe you should take it to your office,” she suggested since it was closer to them than any other private place.
“Good idea,” he said as he turned her around so they could head in that direction down the hall. In a quieter voice, he said, “I’ll put it in one of the secret cubbies until we can have some time to investigate it. What do you think we should do about all of these people?”
“We have enough room here at the house if they share beds. They could stay the night at least and then we can find out more in the morning.”
“You’re full of good ideas. I think I might place protection wards around our rooms just to be on the safe side. We don’t know what these people might do now that they’re in a strange place. I’m sure they’re worried and scared; that combination drives people to do extreme things.”
Juila wished her father were not right with his assumption, but she could see the wisdom in being cautious. She tried unsuccessfully to cover her yawn of exhaustion. She just realized how tired she actually was.
“Your mom, Rasa, and I can take over from here. Why don’t you head on up to bed?”
“I’m going to say goodnight to Gevena first. Dad, she’s had a bad time recently. She’s…I don’t know how to put it…delicate?”
“They all seem to be. We’ll tread carefully. I’m so grateful you made it home safely!” As they stood in the office, he pulled her into a hug and rubbed the back of her hair to comfort himself that she was actually okay. He had nearly lost her because of his negligence in maintaining his telepod. “I’ll check the mechanics on the telepod before work tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I had to make a repair weld on the crystal’s contact bracket. It’s going to have to be replaced. I’m sorry I damaged your telepod, Dad.”
He sputtered and said, “You have nothing to be sorry for, I’m the one who should have made sure it was safe to fly. I’m sorry I put you in danger.”
“I was the one who crashed it down onto the sand at the Roanoke Colony. I’m pretty sure the impact is what caused the damage to the bracket.”
“Maybe we’re both to blame then, in any event, I’ll check it out later.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
SCHOOL SEEMED RATHER mundane after the excitement over the weekend. Sofia cornered Juila and Jena in their first period writing class before the final bell rang. With her back to the classroom, Sofia whispered, “I’m so glad everything worked out so well with you Juila.”
“Me, too,” Juila agreed wholeheartedly. “It could have gone a lot differently if Ozias hadn’t agreed to help us.”
“I still can’t believe you two didn’t tell me the truth!” Sofia accused.
“We’re not really at liberty to talk about it, Sofia. Besides, how do we explain the reality of our situation? It’s not really very believable; you have to agree,” Jena reasoned.
“True, but after you healed me, you could have told me. I already suspected something because of that day anyway.”
Juila hugged Sofia and said, “We can’t change the past, but I’m glad you know now. I hated having to lie to you and keep secrets. It will be so much easier now that you know everything.”
Sofia squealed a little with happiness at being included in their inner circle. The second bell rang, and the students began to take their seats. Since the teacher had yet to arrive, the girls continued to talk.
Jena asked Sofia, “Have you seen Behn, Jon, or Valentina yet?”
“We saw their car in the parking lot, but I have
yet to lay eyes on any of them yet. If nothing else we’ll be able to get together at lunchtime.”
“True,” Jena agreed and then had to end their conversation because the teacher had arrived.
After class, they parted company with Sofia. They kept their eyes roaming the faces of the students around them as they made their way to the biology classroom. Again, they were unable to find any of the triplets.
By the time lunch rolled around, Juila was concerned. Usually, Behn walked her to each of her classes, and yet she had not seen him at all. Juila and Jena met up with one another at their locker and they shoved everything inside haphazardly and hurried their way to The Commons.
They spotted Behn first as he was entering the room from another hallway. Rushing against the flow of students, Juila grabbed Behn’s arm and said, “Where have you been all morning?”
“I’m sorry; I should have found you earlier.”
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?” Juila demanded.
“There’s something wrong with Val, and she won’t talk to us about it. She claimed she had a migraine and needed to stay home from school.”
“So she’s home alone?” Jena asked.
“Yeah, I don’t like it much myself.”
They got to the lunch line and began filling their trays with food. Jon cut into the line and joined them with a grin at Jena’s look of mock sternness. They paid the cashier and made their way over to their regular table where Luke and Sofia were already seated. Jena sat down beside Luke.
“Hi,” she said shyly. “I’m sorry about the movies on Saturday night.”
“Don’t worry about it. You had something more important going on,” Luke shrugged.
“Do you think we could reschedule?”
“Of course. I’m not available tonight since my parents invited some friends over and asked me to be there. What about tomorrow night?”
Jena nodded enthusiastically. Feeling as though she had mended the awkwardness between them made her feel much better. She had dreaded thinking about what kinds of questions Luke would have. She was relieved he respected her privacy and did not push for any explanations. Luke was certainly easier to work with than Willian ever had been. This was just one more point in Luke’s favor.
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 17