Sally awakened to find starlight shining down on her. How long had she been asleep? How much time had passed by? She didn’t know where she was. Yesterday had felt like a dream. Now she was struggling to remember all that had happened. One thing that she just couldn’t forget was that Inola was dead. How should she feel about that? In theory, she should feel good. After all, didn’t that mean she was finally safe? Sally wouldn’t have to live in fear of Inola anymore. So, why did she feel like crying? Why was her mind filled with happy memories of all the time she had spent with Inola?
Those had been built on lies and Sally knew it. She didn’t need Inola. Sally sat up and glanced around. Jorden, Lisa and Riley were also asleep. The world felt still and calm. The only sounds that Sally could hear were the soft sounds of the night. A tear trickled down her cheek. She didn’t want Inola back, not really. Lisa could take care of her. Sally’s life with Lisa really had been much happier in many ways, even if surviving had been a struggle at times. But Sally couldn’t block out the awful memory of Inola’s face as she died. The look of terror in her eyes had been soul-piercing. There had been so much blood all around her. Inola had looked both terrified and angry. That was an expression that Sally was used to seeing on her sister’s face.
Sally shook herself and lay back down. Dwelling on unpleasant things never made the unpleasantness go away. She just hoped that the fight in the town had been solved peacefully. Riley still seemed a little bit confused about what had happened. That made sense. She was still learning how her powers worked. Sally herself was surprised that she had been able to do what she did. Mind shaping was something that could only be done if you were willing to share your own mind with the people around you. It was something that Sally had never attempted. Even there, she hadn’t been trying to do it. The whole thing had just happened.
Her eyes closed as her mind drifted over to happier thoughts. It really was amazing that they had been able to do the mind forming. Would it leave a lasting impact on the humans and Formas they had influenced? Hopefully, it would change something, even if the change was very small.
“Sally!” The sound of her name pulled Sally out of her sleepiness. She could feel Lisa’s hand on her shoulder. They were surrounded by a group of strange people. Sally’s heart began to race. Riley stepped in front of her and glared at the strangers. Sally didn’t know who any of these people were, but she knew that those uniforms belonged to the Forma government. Hm, perhaps this was the end.
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Her heart was racing, but she felt far too sleepy to really feel afraid. The strangest thing was that the others didn’t seem to be afraid either. Lisa and Jorden were talking to the strangers with relaxed voices. Riley looked very on edge, but her face seemed calm. What were they talking about? Maybe she wasn’t in danger after all. Maybe these people weren’t here to hurt them. Every single person that Sally had met in the world so far seemed to want to hurt her. Well, besides Lisa and Jorden. If they weren’t a threat, did that mean Sally could roll over and go back to sleep? She just didn’t want to do anything but rest. It had been a very long day for her. But Jorden and Riley were standing up now.
“Come on,” Lisa gently took hold of her hand. “We’re going with them. I don’t think they want to hurt us. I think they just want answers.” Lisa’s voice sounded almost hopeful. The words coming out of her mouth didn’t make any sense. Lisa gave Sally’s hand a gentle little squeeze. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you,” she added. Sally stood up. If there was anyone in this heartless world that she knew she could trust, it was Lisa. “They want to understand what happened,” Lisa added. How did these people know about what had happened? Well, Sally could explain it to them, if she had a translator and art supplies for a new comic.
Sally had been taught to write in Spanish. Her handwriting was messy, and her spelling was very sloppy. But she could write a little bit. Inola had wanted her to learn the basics of writing. Writing was similar to playing with sand and drawing. It was taking two things and making something brand new out of the two of them. It was its own form of forming and shaping. That was why Inola had wanted her to learn it.
Had Sally’s skills been polished to perfection for no reason? Was she only meant to die? Why had Inola done all that she did? Maybe, just maybe, this would be Sally’s chance to finally get some answers. Maybe these people were her key to the truth. But could she trust them? Should she trust them? Lisa seemed to trust them. Sally would too. Maybe she was about to make a fatal mistake. But the last couple of times she had decided to take risks and trust people, things had worked out well.