Chapter Eleven:
"Her Name is Jessica"

Nathan decided to continue being a wolf for a while longer, despite the danger that previously accompanied it. Fortunately, his mind stayed normal for the rest of the time. He still had to hunt for food, but he no longer needed to have the instincts of a wolf to do so.

A week later, we decided that it was time to move on. By then, Wyte and his soldiers would probably be long gone. Of course, there was still a problem. Two of them, actually. For one, Nathan didn’t have any clothes to put on once he changed back to normal. For another, once human, Nathan would once again be a wanted man. Those wanted posters were still around. So, for the time, we decided it might be best if Nathan stayed in wolf form for a while longer, while we headed closer to the Valley of Borea.

We left the forest, avoiding the town near it, where the lost boy from before most likely was from, and crossed some fields. We soon came across a small village. A rather low-tech place considering the advancements every other place had made. Now, we would have avoided this town like the last, but at this point Nathan had grown tired of being a wolf. So I went on ahead to see if the place was safe. There wasn’t a soldier in sight. Nor were there any wanted posters. I told Nathan this.

“Even if this place hadn’t even heard of me, if I changed back to normal, somewhere along the way, I will be recognized.”

“Then why don’t you take on a different human appearance?” This got Nathan thinking. He just stood there for a minute, doing nothing. I assumed he was thinking of what his new form should look like. He then started walking around the edge of town, being careful to not get spotted. He then came across a house belonging to a middle-aged woman. She was hanging some clothes to dry. Perhaps Nathan planned to swipe some of those clothes when nobody was looking. The woman was rather friendly, greeting those who walked by. She finished with the clothes, and headed into her home. But Nathan didn’t go after the clothes.

The day went on, and Nathan continued sitting in the spot. I asked several times what he was planning, but he just replied, “Wait and see.” Eventually the woman came out, and took the clothes down. There went that possibility. Soon night came. About an hour after that, Nathan got up. “Wyte and his troops know that I have a jewel that I can use to change my form at will. But they won’t expect me to be in a form like this.” I watched with interest, as Nathan took Aura’s Jewel in his mouth, and changed his form…to that of a young woman!

He…she set the jewel down, and headed to the woman’s house. She seemed to be in pain. I looked, and saw cuts and bruises in several different places. I remember that Blaque used the jewel to heal injuries. And for some reason, Nathan used the jewel to create them. So Nathan knocked on the woman’s door, crying for help in a weakened voice. The woman opened the door, and gave a look of surprise as she looked upon a young woman, naked and injured. The woman took pity on Nathan, and brought her inside to clothe her and tend to her injuries.

Upon asked, Nathan, who was now referring herself as Jessica, explained that she was traveling along the road, when her dog stopped, and ran into the field. Jessica said she ran after the dog, only to be attacked by bandits. The bandits took her clothes and the things she was carrying, and killed her dog as well. I must admit I was surprised that Nathan was able to come up with such a great plan. Had I been one of Wyte’s soldiers, I certainly wouldn’t have suspected an injured girl to be the fugitive that I was looking for.

Jessica stayed at the woman’s house, until her injuries healed. Her personality certainly wasn’t very feminine, but then tomboys certainly weren’t a rare enough sight for anyone to become suspicious. Jessica also explained that she was going to meet some friends in the Valley of Borea, and asked where that was. The woman had heard of it, but didn’t know how far it was. After Jessica healed, the woman and some of the villagers gave her some supplies, and put her on a train due west. Jessica bid farewell to those that had cared for her.

At last, our destination was becoming within reach. We knew we had to be getting close, if a village woman had heard of the valley. And the train certainly would get us closer much faster than had we walked. But as the train started rolling off, I was struck with a terrible thought. I asked Jessica if she had remembered to get the jewel. I was relieved when Jessica gave a quick nod, and pulled the neck of her shirt a little to show a jewel tied around her neck.

“Attention please!” We looked to the end of the car and saw a soldier standing at the door. “We are looking for the man who killed King Rechin. We believe he may be on this train. He may be in disguise, but we will find him. He took a jewel from the king’s treasury. I ask that all of you put your jewelry in this bag. We will inspect them to see if any are the jewel we are looking for. Those jewelry that aren’t will be returned promptly if found to be the wrong jewel.”

He then started walking past the seats, as people with gems of all sorts placed their jewelry in the bag. But I found it a bit suspicious. I understood the purpose of this, but how they were doing it seemed odd. How would they have known which jewel belonged to whom when they were done? And didn’t they know what the jewel looked like already? He came up to Jessica, and, seeing that Jessica wasn’t carrying any jewels, started to move on. But then he saw the strap that held Aura’s Jewel to her neck, and pulled at the neck of her shirt, and grabbed the jewel from her neck. “Holding out on me, huh? Do you want me to put you in jail?”

He put the jewel in the bag, and continued down the car. But then Jessica got up, got his attention, and punched him in the face. The soldier took his gun and pointed it at her. “I guess you do want to go to jail.”

“You can’t put me in jail. You’re not a real soldier.” Jessica had seen through his ploy. The soldier would have recognized the jewel if he were what he said he was. It was the biggest jewel out of everyone’s jewelry. But I knew she was in trouble, so I quickly merged with her, and knocked the gun out of the thief’s hand. But then our minds started separating. I remember Jessica’s thoughts as we separated. She had survived as a wild animal for a week. She wanted to prove she could fare well as a regular human as well. So we separated.

“Well, aren’t we a smart and feisty one,” remarked the thief. “How did you know I was a fake?”

“I didn’t. I needed to see if you were for real. You willingly admitted you were a fake.” Clever. If only Nathan had been this clever. It seemed that he did a better job as a female than he had ever done when he was still human.

The door behind us opened, and in came another fake holding some jewelry. He saw that Jessica had confronted the first thief, and quickly realized what was going on. He took one of the people nearby, and put a gun to the hostage’s head. “I don’t think you want to cause anymore trouble.” Jessica turned around, and saw the predicament that this had turned into. The first thief then told Jessica to sit back in her seat. She did, and was thanked with a punch to the face.

The first thief then took his radio. “We’re ready.” The train then slowed to a halt. I looked outside, and a truck was pulled up by the engine. Another fake soldier got out of the engine, and leapt into the truck. The truck then pulled next to the car that we were in. The first thief got into the bed of the truck. Then the second thief threw down his hostage, and quickly leapt up into the bed. The truck drove off.

I flew from the train, following the truck. The jewel was in one of those bags, and I had to keep track of where the thieves went. They soon came into a city, and stopped in a parking lot. Then three of the thieves split up and got into three separate vehicles, and drove off in separate directions. I didn’t know which bag held the jewel, so I took a guess and followed the one in the black car. The car seemed to wander aimlessly through the city. The car eventually drove into a suburban area. It was then that I heard something strange. “The car you’re following is not holding the item you are seeking. Go get your friend, and come see me. I will point you in the right direction.” I couldn’t tell whether the voice was male or female. It came to me in a loud whisper. It certainly wasn’t Aura that was speaking to me.

I flew back to where I left the train. The train had already moved on, but I was able to catch up to it. The train finally stopped in the same city that the thieves went into. As Jessica and I got off the train, I told of the strange experience that I had when chasing the black car. It happened around the suburbs, so we called a cab to take us to that area. “Somewhere in this city, there is someone, or something, that knows about our quest. That can either be a good thing or a bad thing. We may be told where the jewel is. Or we may be turned in to the authorities, and be at the mercy of the army and General Wyte. Whatever the case, I have a feeling that things won’t be very easy from here on.”

Truer words have never been spoken.