Chek 5

"But John, why would we even be able to find her?  And I still smell smoke!" Jay was kind of whiny about this mission.
 "Look Jay, we have to find her and tell her.  Otherwise, she could be in a lot of trouble."  John sounded weary now.  He didnt seem to enjoy his partners company at all.  "We should be getting close, this seems to be the kind of area she prefers to camp in.  At least, its like the ones she showed us to make camp in during class."
He did listen!  I was pretty excited about that, it meant that I wasnt  half bad at teaching.
Yeah yeah, he learned something.  Where are they?
 I dropped out of the tree and motioned to Talon.  "Hey guys, who ya lookin for?"

"Holy sweet delilahs, who is that?"  Jay was jumpy apparently, and was trying to whisper without being heard.  He failed in epic proportions.
"That would be her."  John, aka Big n Beefy, replied back. "Hey, we need to talk to you, its important.  An urgent message from the fort commander." He wasnt in sight yet, but we could hear him coming closer.  Just then a head popped up from beneath a hanging branch of a really thick tree.  It was a fuzzy red head, with a splash of freckles going across the bridge of his nose.  He had bright playful green eyes and dimples on his cheeks.
"I found them John!  They are right here. I thought you told me she would be a good hider."  He was excited and eager to please.  He was also very proud of his accomplishment.
"Jay!  Of course you found her.  She heard you yapping away for the last mile and a half.  She figured out who it was and just came out to meet us."  John was pretty irratated.  "We have been looking for you all over the place.  It is important!"
"Obviously it is important.  You wouldnt be here otherwise and we have been hearing you talk about how important it is for a long time."  Talon came up from behind John, still talking. "You have been looking for Breezy.  What do you need?"
"The commander believes your story, but he has been thrown into the holding cell.  The kid, the geeky looking one?  Whats his name again?"  Talon and I both just shrugged. "Well, he has told this huge story about how you were a Chek and that you had gone crazy.  You killed Chee and set off the smoke bomb to escape.  The authorities discounted the letter that you wrote as a farce."  John said all of this in one breath.  "And I had to bring Jay with me because there was no one else to watch him, and if I left him there, they would have taken him to the mines.  They are looking for me and the rest of our class.  They think that we aided in Chee's death.  I didnt kill no one!"
  
This is some bad news.  Why would they arrest the entire class? I slipped into thinking to Talon.  I didnt want John or Jay to realize that something was really wrong.
Why would they believe him?  I thought Chek couldnt lie?  Or did you lie about that?

Please.  He isnt full Chek.  He can lie to anyone except another Chek.  He has...regular...in him.

So does that mean you arent human?

Do you have to ask such awkward questions in the middle of a dire situation?  Can we get back to the point please?

So what do you want to do about it then?

"Um...I know you guys are thinking to eachother and all, but could you please give us something to do, or say something?"  Jay quipped in unexpectedly.
"How did you know that we were thinking to eachother?"  I walked up close and saw the distinguishing features.  "You are Chek!"

Jay became silent again, looking at John, his eyes begging for help.
"Yeah, he is Chek, what of it?" John went back to being Big n Beefy in his race to be protective.
"Nothing, but what is he doing with you?"  Talon asked the question since I was still looking at Jay, still trying to gather in the fact that this was the third Chek I have seen in such a short time.

You are Chek! How is that?  What are you doing with Big n Beefy? In my excitement, I resorted to the nicknames that I had known him by instead of his proper name.

I dont know.  We are brothers I guess.  Thats what we have always called eachother.  We share parents.  John has to watch me, I am slow.  Thats what they tell me.  I am slow and I dont get things done the way they should.  They dont like me at the colony.  I am different.  I could almost see the tears in his thoughts.  He hated being different and he hadnt learned to hide his emotions yet.  He hated being Chek because of how the others treated him for his differences.

Its alright. You and I are both different.  So is Big n Beefy or else he wouldnt have tried to protect you so much.  Talon is different as well.  You need some training though.  Others wont know you are different unless you tell them.  I could help.  I felt bad for the kid, he was thrown into a world that doesnt like people being different.  I didnt know yet if he was full Chek or not, I figured I would try that trick later.  You can still be you without being in trouble for it.  Big n Beefy didnt even know I was Chek.  

Really?  His voice sounded hopeful.
"You are Chek too?"  John was looking at me, his eyes howing the massive amount of surprise that he was feeling.