Wanted: Purrfect Cat Guy

Eilan couldn"t help but look at the horse and then at Barca. Nightmare motioned with his head, moving it slightly upwards as if telling the man that they had to take care of something. Seeing the gestures, Barca straightened himself up and nodded at Nightmare, before speaking to Eilan.

"Do you remember anything else after you went to look for me?"

The young man"s gaze went up to Barca"s face. "I remember losing consciousness while trying to look for you. When I woke up, you were holding me!" he answered in a voice full of suspicion.

Barca listened thoughtfully at his answer and studied the young man who looked ragged and extremely tired.

"It may have been the heat. You"ve been taking care of horses the entire day. Take better care of yourself," Barca reminded Eilan, in his usual gentle tone.

"You may leave." Eilan blinked, surprised at the sudden change in Barca"s tone. It was only when Barca spoke again that he snapped out of his daze.

"Take Nightmare with you and give him food and water. He had a tough journey."

Eilan nodded and went ahead to bring Nightmare out of the room. Barca studied them before getting dressed.

While rushing out of the room, he stopped to stare at the looming figure heading out of the stables.

"You"re back early!" Barca called out in greeting as a looming presence walked towards him. Jadon gave him a serious look. Barca nodded in understanding before revealing that he too had something to report.

"I"m also on my way to grandpa. Something happened earlier."

***

After resting for a long time, Mina finally recovered her strength. Seeing the panels in front of her and the swirling view which looked too similar to the Milky Way, she remembered where she was. She was still inside the egg pod and there was nothing else to do inside the s.p.a.ce but to enjoy the view and maybe tinker with the panels. With everything she just went through, she was hesitant to explore the panels, who knows where she would end up in.

Mina paced around the pod thinking about what happened to her and why. Even after wearing herself out, she still couldn"t find the answer. There was no way to tell the time in the pod and she didn"t know how long she has been staring in s.p.a.ce while trying to organize her thoughts. Tired from all the thinking and pacing, Mina resumed the same position she had earlier.

Just when she was about to pull her hair out in frustration, she saw Kino who was wheeling his cleaning cart towards her.

"Finally! Someone who can provide some answers!"

Mina stood up wanting to embrace the orangutan who was pushing his cart begrudgingly.

"You"re back!" Mina called up when Kino entered the pod.

"Have you been sitting there the entire time?" Kino asked with much confusion when he saw that Mina remained in the same position as when he left.

Mina nodded without hesitation which made Kino shake his head vigorously. Wasting no time, the monkey pulled out a stick and something rectangular resembling a small sandbox from his cart. Mina couldn"t help but wonder what the monkey was up to.

Kino placed the miniature sandbox in front of Mina and crouched down across on the other side of the sandbox. Mina realized that the sandbox contained soil instead of sand. Seeing the unusual items, Mina became even more confused.

"Kino, what are all these things for?"

"I prefer ill.u.s.trating things in my natural habitat," the orangutan answered while waving the stick in the air.

Mina"s brow furrowed after hearing the monkey"s reply but she stopped asking questions and waited for Kino to start explaining things. Kino looked Mina in the eye and turned serious.

"So, state your name."

"Why?" Mina couldn"t help but feel threatened with the question, not that saying her name was all important.

"Your name, please. You need to sign a non-disclosure agreement for all the information you are about to learn," Kino explained while looking at Mina impatiently.

"What"s with the change in att.i.tude?" Mina snapped. The monkey has been friendly earlier but right now, he was acting as if she was some dirt he wanted to get rid of.

"This is the standard procedure," the monkey explained.

"Boss."

Kino glanced at Mina and shook his head.

"Try again."

Mina felt guilty when she heard Kino"s reply.

"How could the monkey know she lied?"

"We don"t have all day." Kino"s impatient voice brought Mina back to reality. She couldn"t help but feel small in front of the monkey.

"Mina"

"Sounds more like it."

Kino pulled out a tablet from the side of the sandbox which amazed Mina. After swiping through the screen a few times, Kino grabbed her hand and placed it on the device. There was a loud beep. After hearing the sound, Kino took a deep breath before glancing at Mina with a smile.

"Sorry, buddy, that was necessary."

Without explaining what the procedure was for, Kino gave Mina a toothy smile. "Now, tell me, what exactly do you remember?"