Gemini Chapter 12 & Epilogue

"Zay! No!" I screech. Zay doesn't react. What's wrong with him? "Zay!"
The man holding my stick glares at me, then slaps me. Ow! What was that for? I want to rub my cheek, where he slapped, but I can't. My hands are binded to my pole. Are they going to throw us in the fire?
A group of people gather around the bonfire. They hold hands and start chanting something really weird. This is getting freaky.
The man holding my pole and the man holding Zay's pole look at each other and nod. They advance towards the fire as the chanting grows faster and louder. I think we're some sort of sacrifice...
The man holding Zay's stick goes first. I watch in horror as the chanting stops. The hut gets deadly silent as Zay's man steps up to the fire. "Qa!" He yells, and throws Zay into the fire in one fast motion.
"NO!!" I screech, flailing about helplessly. My eyes burn with hot tears as I watch Zay's body shrivel up and burn to ashes. Why? Why us? Why do we have to be freaking twins?
The man holding my pole steps up to the fire now. Zay's body sizzles with heat. He has to be dead now. I loved him...
Be strong Gemi. You can escape. But Zay... He can't die alone. I have to be there with him.
The guy holding my stick holds me up in the air. "Qa!" He screams. This is it. My life is over. The man brings my pole back, hitting me with his long black braid, building up momentum to throw me in.
I'm flying through the air. Flying... Flying....
Flying...
Soaring...
Falling...
Dropping...
Right into someone's arms. A pair of arms are stretched over the burning fire, in just the right place to catch me. The woman who caught me grasps my pole and sprints out of the hut. Enraged voices shout from inside the hut.
"You're okay... You're okay..." The woman mutters. I can't tell if she's talking to me, or herself.
Suddently, something whizes by the woman's head. Her head snaps around, then foward again. She runs faster than I thought possible. What just flew by?
Another thing flies by. This time, I realize that it's an arrow. The creepy villagers are shooting at us!
Up ahead, I see a small glow. Not another fire! This woman couldn't have kidnapped me from the kidnappers to throw me in her fire, not the kidnapper's fire...
While I'm confusing myself with confusing thoughts, a lone battle cry rings out from behind us. It's joined with several other cries. The natives are crazy!
The light grows brighter, but the woman slows down with the weight of my pole. I wish she'd just untie me... we'd have a better chance of getting out of here alive. Zay didn't...
I gulp. Zay. Why? Why did he have to die? I should've died, not him. The thought of his body shrinking and shriviling up makes me gag. His red-hot skin... The snow white ashes popping to the roof of the hut...
I make out the light. It's a helicopter's ladder, with lights stringed onto it. The woman keeps tripping in this valley jungle, but finally we're in viewing distance from the ladder. The natives are gaining on us. Arrows keep soaring passed us, narrowly missing piercing us.
A native runs up behind us. I scream. The woman pants. The native lets out a battle cry.
The native lunges at us.
The woman flings us at the ladder.
I screech as the native grabs hold of my pole. The helicopter swirls up, so all three of us are dangling in midair now. The woman punches the native, who stabs her with an arrow.
I watch as the native falls with the blood trickling down at him. The woman, helicopter, and me fly upwards as the natives scream up at us from below. I watch them grow smaller and smaller, like ants...
I turn to the woman. She's still holding onto my pole, because I would fall without it. She's staring at the arrow in her shoulder, tears streaming out if her eyes. Steady blood pours out of it, dying her shirt deep red.
"It's okay." I comfort, even though it should be her comforting me. "Bring us up!" I yell at the helicopter above, even though they probably can't hear us from the sound of the choppers. The woman's grip on my stick is weakening, and I don't want to almost die again.
Our ladder slowly sways upwards. We finally make it to the top, and two men hoist us up into the copter.
"Thanks." I murmer, the reality of my situation finally sinking in. I just watched my possible boyfriend die. A bunch of crazed natives tried to attack us. And I was 5 seconds away from dieing- twice.
"You're Gemini, right?" A man asks as he unties me from my pole.
"Um, yeah..." I mumble as I fall free from my stick. "Uh, how did you... umm... know?"
He smirks. "You'll find out soon enough." I look around the helicopter. The woman who saved me is being brought to a white bed. Doctors swarm around her, ready to take out the arrow. There are two people sitting at the control seats, steering the helicopter. And one lady walks towards me, dressed all in white. Probably a doctor.
"Hello, Gemini. I'm Dr. Cyline. Are you feeling okay?" the doctor asks. I almost laugh at that question, but don't. I'm too shocked.
"Um... No?" I say.
Dr. Cyline smiles. "Micheal, you can leave now." The man who untied me walks over to the control seats. "Gemini, you've been through a lot. Can you tell us what happened? From the start?"
I stare at her blankly. "Uh..."
"Oh, right. You're probably still in shock. Should I explain first?" I nod dumbly. "Okay. Well, those people trying to attack you are called the Xsqecwll tribe, but most of us call them the Natives of the Valley. They have sacrifices of whoever they can find, and you and... Zay, was that his name? They took you two as sacrifices. I'm not sure where Zay is, so that probably means he didn't make it. Anyway, Sabrina over there went to save you two. She was voted to do it out of all of us. We are the Yillian Corps, YC for short. We made the Illegals... Well, legal. It was hard, but worth it. We had to protest with marches and riots and all that. it eventually worked! Your city didn't have any riots, so no one got hurt there. Anyhoo, back to Illegals becoming legal. That's why you're cell had to trek in the Wild. Don't worry, all of your mates survived. The head people wanted to keep the Illegals illegal, so they ran to the Wild to escape. We weren't able to track down all the groups, but yours, we did. Now, you get to go home! Legally!"
I stare at Dr. Cyline, soaking it all in. Charity and Ailill are safe. My home town, Kasmin, is still there, but completly different. And, I'm not an Illegal anymore! No way!
"Now, can you tell me about your adventure?" Dr. Cyline asks. I do.

-Epilogue-

I look up at my house. This is my house. I can't believe it- I've never really looked at it before, because I wasn't allowed outside. I was an Illegal. But now I'm not.
I walk up the twisting path that leads to my little house. Not even bothering to knock, I walk right in. The door squeeks behind me. I smile, remembering all the times I've heard this door squeek. Out of all those times, I've never been the one to make it squeek. Now, I can.
Silently, I click the door shut. I haven't seen these walls ever since the last Census. Ever since the Enumaters took me away. Ever since I was an Illegal.
I know these halls so well that I could navigate them if I was blind. Which I was, at one point. I hear some chatter coming from the kitchen. As quietly as I can, I tiptoe into my cream colored kitchen. My family stops dead as I walk in.
They're all there. Alana. Lilan. Mom. Dad. All staring at me.
"Gemi..." Alana whispers, then attacks me in a bear hug. The rest of them do, too.
I'm home. Finally, freely home.