Undraland
Page 32
One.
Haze, Halfy and Him
Tor’s booming voice infiltrated my delirium. “I know, but we have ta get moving. They’ll wise up and search the mountains fer us soon. How well do ya think they’ll fare then?” I could picture his red face and ratty dreadlocks as he spoke. We were on the mountain, still tucked in the cave after Jamie and I had killed a Werebear together. We were sick with some awful virus that I prayed would pass before I ralphed again. I had nothing left in my stomach, but the green around the gills feeling was still lending its oppressive vibe.
Jens argued, “But their fever’s not even broken yet! Moving them now? I don’t like it.”
“It don’t matter whatcha like. Lucy and Jamie’ll be easy targets when scavengers come fer this dead Werebear.”
Foss chimed in, “Which could be any moment, mind you. Take the prince, leave the rat. I’ll buy you a new one.”
“But what happened?” Britta demanded an answer. “She’s got a couple bruises, but that’s it.”
Charles sounded grim. His words delivered a weighty blow I was too much a foreigner to properly understand. “There’s no way she and Jamie could be exactly this sick out of nowhere at the same time.”
“If you want me to say it, I won’t. It’s impossible,” Jens ruled.
“There’s a dead Were right in front of your face, Jens.” Mace lowered his voice. “You know what this is. You just won’t admit it.”
“There’s nothing to admit! She’s a pacifist. There’s no way she could have killed that Were with Jamie. You don’t know her like I do.”
“Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think you do,” Mace countered, playing the antagonist. “It’s obvious to everyone but you that she laplanded with Jamie.”
Jens lashed out at Mace. “Hey, newbie. Why don’t you shut your trap and make yourself useful helping Britt and Alrik with the stretcher?”
I wanted to get up and join them to see what I’d missed, to tell Jens and Mace to stop fighting, but my body was uncooperative. I could crack one eye open, but that was all. The rest of me was totally useless.
I’m sure there was more talk happening, but I couldn’t understand a lick of it as my brain floated in and out of consciousness. The next thing I registered was being picked up and laid somewhere cold and sweaty and hairy - Jamie. There was a faint notion that I was somehow floating with him on a stretcher of some sort, but I was too out of my body to investigate further.
After that, I have no idea how much time passed or what happened. All I could hope was that Jens was nearby to keep my useless body from further harm.