“All this time you've lived without knowing what you are, what your body needs. Stick with me and you won't ever have to take those shots or pills again.”
“You don't... you don't expect me to believe that you can-can cure me?”
Edda leant back and removed her hand. “No. But I will nonetheless. But you have to do what I say. So when I say eat, you eat. When I say do something, you do it. When I say sleep, you sleep-”
“-And when you say pee, I pee, right?” Jaz butted in sardonically.
Edda gazed at her for a moment and then laughed. Her laugh tinkled like a bell. It was the kind of laugh that made others laugh. If Jaz wasn't so wound tight, she would have laughed as well. “No, that you can do all by yourself.”
Jaz smiled.
Edda moved onto the second tomato, then the cheese, then the cold slices of uncooked meat. Jaz scrutinized it wondering where they got it from, or what it even was. She suspected -after getting a slab of fresh, bloody meat- they had animals nearby that they killed for food. She didn't ask though.
“So how do you like it?” Edda asked again.
“Brown bread. Anything else is up to you.”
Edda grinned. “Good answer.”
Jaz sat and Edda stood in the same place as they scoffed down their sandwiches. When Edda had finished hers (way before Jaz- she was a slow eater) she gazed at Jaz and said, “You look so much like your mother.”
Jaz nearly choked on the mouthful of beef, lettuce and tomato. She swallowed quickly, hurting her throat. Staring at Edda with wide eyes she whispered, “What did you say?”
“Actually, with the way you look now, I see your father in you. He has that same look when he's surprised.”
“Y-you knew them?”
Edda nodded. “Thorpe and Eliza. They were such a sweet couple. Got together young, left the community over twenty years ago; never came back. But I still hear from them from time to time. We've always been close friends, ever since we were kids.”
Jaz didn't move a muscle. She was afraid the earth would swallow her up or something horrible would happen if she so much as asked to know anything about them. What if it changed everything? Again. She was already standing on a small piece of shaky ground. She didn't know how she'd survive if the whole foundations of her life collapsed. I'd be sucked up into it, and never come back out, she thought. Her grave eyes gazed back at Edda.
Edda must have seen her fear because she stopped short. “Well, I guess that's a story for another time. But I thought you should know, that is why I was chosen.”
“Chosen?”
“To be your Carer.”
Jaz's brow furrowed. “Who chose you?”
“Well, I guess people in the council have their say but, I was specifically chosen by the Pack Leader.”
~Chapter 18 - Advise~
Saturday May 28th, 4:24 p.m.
Garik's office
“So that is the prodigal daughter? Hmm,” Garik mused.
“Yes. Are you planning on meeting her any time soon?”
Garik didn't turn. He had been watching his niece enter her cabin. She went in and Alf and Maria left. The door was now shut, but he still watched. His office window faced north, with full view of the vegetable plots, cabins, fields, and part of the lake.
“Maybe,” he grunted.
“Garik, you've barely shown your face since your return. You've told me nothing about your visit-”
“They're my family, it's my business.”
“Nevertheless, I'm your Pack Leader, and I need to know everything that's going on.”
Garik turned to face Nik. “Well, it's a shame you're not telepathic then, isn't it?”
Nik regarded him. “I hope you didn't upset them.”
Garik scoffed. Nik glared at him. Garik became serious and sighed. “I told them that we have Jaz.”
“That sounds like a ransom note.” Garik was about to protest when Nik cut in, “What else?”
“They were upset to say the least.”
“I'm sure you were very sensitive about it,” Nik said, in a way that you were never sure if he was being serious or just plain sarcastic.
Garik eyed him. “It wasn't all hugs and kisses, but I'm fine, thanks for asking,” he retorted, adding enough sarcasm for the both of them.
Nik's lips twitched up in a momentary smile that then disappeared without a trace. “I realize it must have been hard for you. And I know that's why you've been avoiding her-”
“I haven't been-”
“-but you'll have to meet her; sooner, rather than later.”
“Is that an order?” Garik questioned.
“No. More like friendly advice.” Nik turned ready to head for the door. Garik calling his name stopped him. He looked back at him, one hand resting on the door frame.
“How is she?”
Nik regarded him for a moment. “She's well, considering. But it will take time for her to process all this.”
Garik nodded. “It will get harder for her if the Change doesn't start soon.”
Nik studied him with a faint smile. “But she has people around who care about her, right?”
Garik didn't speak, he stared at him with pursed lips.
“We'll just have to wait it out till then.”
This made Garik scowl. “She's my niece, my blood. She will Change, make no mistake about that, and she'll do it in her own damn time,” he snapped.
“I don't doubt it. Believe me,” Nik replied. He then exited the office leaving Garik frowning with puzzlement.
Then Garik's face lit up with comprehension and he slapped his head for not realizing it sooner.
~Chapter 19 - Discover~
Saturday May 28th, 5:05 p.m.
Cabin No.2