by Andrew Beery
“Ky, does your chest hurt?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “My left side really hurts and I’m finding it painful to breathe.”
After a moment he said, “You’ve got one doozy of a bruise here. I’m going to wrap your chest. It will not be pleasant.”
The doctor wasn’t kidding. As he pulled the bandage tight around my chest, the pain caused darkness to claim me.
Pain woke me. I struggled to open my eyes. When I did, I saw booted feet alternating on a dirt trail. I felt an even swaying as each foot moved forward. Suddenly, I realized I was being carried.
“Be still, Ky,” X-tee’s voice ordered me quietly and sternly. “We have yet to reach the cliffs. Try to rest.”
I subsided, willing myself to still. It was not easy since every step X-tee took lanced pain through me. I gritted my teeth and tried to endure.
Presently, I was aware of humming, a walking melody in a nice tenor. I smiled to think of my burly guard captain humming. In spite of my pain, a giggle escaped my lips.
“What?” he asked. “Don’t you like my humming?”
“Actually, you’re pretty good,” I confessed. “I’m sorry but I never thought such a sweet sound could come from you.”
“Ahh,” he grunted. “I’m full of surprises, missy.”
“Yes, I bet you are,” I agreed.
The terrain was getting more rugged and stepper. We must be getting closer to the cliffs. X-tee stopped humming. He was having to exert himself more to keep going. I felt guilty for increasing his difficulty. Despite that, he made no move to put me down.
“Sir, I can walk,” I asserted.
“No,” he told me. “I’ve been working too hard to get you to the settlement. I will not risk you damaging yourself any further or having to go find you when you lag behind us. For the time being, you will stay right where I put you. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” I replied meekly.
After a long while, we reached the cliffs. One more leg of our journey remained. We had to go up. And right now, it looked higher than ever.
X-tee carefully laid me on one of the platforms and then assisted Dr. Locus to join me. The doctor knelt beside me.
“Up we go,” he said. “Try to lay still.”
I nodded. Smoothly the platform began its ascent. X-tee gave me a thumbs up gesture as we rose past his chest. I turned my head to look at Dr. Locus.
“So, what did I do to myself?” I asked him panting.
“I think you broke some ribs,” he answered. “Dr. Hawthorn and his team are going to meet us at the top. Then, they’ll get you fixed up good as new.”
“Oh,” I murmured quietly.
We continued our trip up to the settlement. There was no rocking or any jerking at all. We just rose up the cliff face.
Shortly, the ride came to a halt. There was a distinct shift to the right before a slight bump as the platform touched down on the balcony. The balcony was a deck we had built right outside the opening into the cavern in which we built our settlement.
As soon as we landed on the balcony, a medical team appeared. I assumed the man in the lead was Dr. Hawthorn. He and four others lifted me onto a rolling bed. Once they had me settled, we were off into the settlement.
I am uncertain what happened once we entered the medical bay. I know I was moved onto a table in a brightly lighted room. Dr. Hawthorn spoke to me – his lips moved. I didn’t quite catch what he was saying. There was something about a poke and counting. Then, everything went dark.
When I awoke, I found I was tucked neatly into a medical bed in an alcove. The room was too small to be called anything else. The lighting was dim and all was quiet. The environment was conducive to sleeping and I was finding it difficult to stay awake.
A quiet rustle caught my attention. More alert I rolled my head slowly toward the sound. I discovered I was not alone. Someone was sitting in a chair beside my bed. I couldn’t tell who my guest was because the person was silhouetted against the light.
“Ah, you are awake,” said a pleased female voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy,” I replied. “I assume I’m all fixed up now, right?”
“You will be when your body has the chance to heal,” she told me stressing the words ‘chance to heal’.
“So it’s a good thing I’m sleepy,” I responded.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “Dr. Hawthorn would like to talk to you. Excuse me while I go tell him you are awake.”
“Ok,” I said hoping I would still be awake when the doctor arrived.
I shouldn’t have been so concerned. A few minutes later, the woman returned with three other people in tow. I realized I knew all of them except the woman who had been sitting beside me. They were Dr. Hawthorn, X-tee, and the Madame Elder. Before I could wonder why the leader of our settlement was here to visit me, Dr. Hawthorn stepped over to my bed.
“I’m glad to see you awake,” he said. “How do you feel?”
“At the moment, sleepy,” I answered honestly.
“Do you feel any pain?” he inquired as he checked my pulse.
“No,” I replied.
“Good,” he said as he seated himself on the edge of my bed. He seemed expectant like he was waiting for me to ask questions. So I did, although I was worried about his answers. I hoped X-Tee would help me with what I should ask.
“What did you have to do to fix me?” I asked meekly.
“Well, those branches you fell on, broke four of your ribs,” he told me. “One of them punctured your lung. We fixed your lung and restored your ribs to their proper position. Your body has to finish healing. So,” he turned to eye X-tee and then me, “You need to rest until the ribs mend. Then, you will need to build up your strength until you regain your prior level of fitness before you return to duty.”
“That sounds like it might take a long time,” I remarked concerned.
“I estimate two or three months, at least,” he supplied. “It will take longer if you push it too quickly.”
“How long will she need to remain here in the med bay?” asked X-tee.
“She stays right where she is for two weeks,” he said. “Afterwards, she will move into a rehab apartment until her ribs are healed. Then, she will be released to her own living quarters. Of course all of this is contingent on all going as expected.”
“Is she allowed visitors?” inquired X-tee.
“Visitors that let her sleep as she needs it will be welcomed,” answered the doctor.
“What do you mean by ‘all going as expected’?” I asked.
He turned to me with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Ky, we live on an unknown world,” he said. “If something happens that upsets current operating conditions, like another emergency, we might have to make other arrangements for your recuperation.”
“Oh,” I replied. “Hopefully current operating conditions will persist.”
At my words, Dr. Hawthorn smiled. “To be honest, Ky, so do I,” he said conspiratorially.
“Ky,” called the Madame Elder as she moved around and sat in the chair beside the bed. “I hope we haven’t worn you out.”
“Not yet, Madame Elder,” I answered.
“Good,” she told me with a smile. “I want to thank you for keeping our people safe during the hunting expedition. I’m sorry it wound up costing you a long recovery.”
I nodded. “I’m glad I was able to do my job,” I murmured. “I’m just fine with a long recovery since it could have gone a whole lot worse.”
“I have talked with Dr. Locus and X-Tee concerning the invisible creature,” she said. “What can you tell me about it?”
“Well, it’s big, it moves silently, and it’s really hard to see,” I summarized.
“But you could see it?” she asked pouncing on my words.
“No, Madame Elder,” I replied. “The creature’s camouflage is extremely effective. I saw blurred edges when it moved parts of itself quickly – like when it twitched its ear
or tail. The fuzziness lasts only seconds before it sharpens back into ground or whatever it’s blending into.”
“What do you think the creature is?” she quizzed me.
“I think it’s some sort of feline”, I began.
“How big would you say it is?” asked X-tee.
“Hmm, I estimate its two meters from the shoulder to the ground and three meters from shoulder to the tip of its tail,” I replied. “I believe the distance between its ears is about one and a half meters.”
X-Tee let a low whistle escape him. “Girl, you sure nailed its size,” he blurted.
“How do you know?” I asked frowning.
“Dr. Locus and a security team went back to the creature,” he told me. “We were able to take measurements and specimens. That is after we painted it with clay water. Its camouflage was still working. Anyway, your guesses are pretty accurate. – Oh and we were able to retrieve your arrows and ring-spinners.”
I smiled my thanks. “What did I hit that caused the creature to die so quickly?” I queried.
“Dr. Locus says you punctured the heart, a lung, a kidney, and the spleen,” he reported.
“I got lucky,” I announced with a sigh.
“Yes, you did!” confirmed the Madame Elder. “When did you get hurt?”
“Right after the creature dropped,” I said. “It shook the ground so hard that I got knocked off my perch up in the tree. I hit several branches on the way down.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t crack your head open or break more bones,” Dr. Hawthorn pointed out.
“Yes, I am,” I agreed.
“I think it’s time we let Ky get some rest,” suggested Dr. Hawthorn.
With those words, the three of them told me goodnight and filed out of my alcove. I was left alone. Quickly the quiet, dim environment was back and I was feeling sleepy again. This time I couldn’t resist its embrace.
Chapter 3
My recovery was going well – but slowly. I was in the final phase of convalescing, which meant I was rebuilding my fitness level. It also meant that my ribs were whole again and I had been released to my own living quarters. So, I was fending for myself again. I enjoy my independence – but it was nice to be pampered when you weren’t feeling well.
My living quarters within the settlement was a tremendous step down from the rehab apartment. There, I had enjoyed a bedroom, a kitchen, a common room, and my own washroom. Here I had a single, small room to call my own. The other necessary facilities, the washroom and kitchen, I shared with twenty other people.
I have to admit they are a good bunch. We all got along pretty well. Everyone pitched in to keep the common area neat. The process worked best when we divided ourselves into committees of three or four and took turns cooking, cleaning, and suppling the place. The cooperation died, of course, when it came to our individual rooms. Each of us bore the responsibility for keeping those in order.
I stood in the doorway of my room and looked in. Everything was just as I had left it when I departed on the hunting expedition. My bed was made with the pillow end against the wall furthest from the door. The foot of my bed was just to the right of the portal. My clothes hung from an array of pegs protruding from the wall opposite my bed.
As I entered the room, I hung my quiver of arrows from its peg to the left next to the door. The shelf below and beyond the quiver peg was empty. The bow I kept there had been destroyed. I trailed my left hand finger tips along the shelf knowing that I would replace it as soon as possible.
Approaching footsteps in the hall turned me back toward the door. The smiling face of Derrick Poplar greeted me.
“Hey Ky, you’re back!” he called as he stood in the doorway of my room. “It’s good to see you.”
“Thanks,” I told him. “It’s good to be seen.”
“You’re quite the hero around here,” he confided to me.
“Me?” I asked. “For doing my job?” I was surprised. I knew anyone in my place would have done the same exact thing.
“Yes, for taking down that invisible feline!” he confirmed.
“I got very lucky,” I said.
“Maybe, but you still dropped it,” he reasoned. “Why don’t you let me serve you something in the commons and you can tell us all how you brought the beast down?”
“OK,” I replied. Hopefully, telling my other dorm mates now would quash this hero business.
I accompanied Derrick into the common area. My steps came to an abrupt halt as I saw all the people packed into the room. Not only were my fellow dormitory mates there but, also, many others. If I had to guess there were well over a hundred people present. And they were all cheering.
“Ky is home!” they called. “It’s Ky! She’s back! Welcome home!”
I was touched by their welcome. I smiled and waved back at them in response. As Derrick and I walked further into the room, the crowed parted to allow us access to the serving counter. On it were trays of finger sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and a big cake.
The cake captured my gaze. It was a large sheet cake decorated with a picture of me holding my bow with the arrow pulled to anchor worked in icing. It was a three quarter profile which showed my shoulder-blade length ebony hair pulled back in a ponytail. My form dressed in forest camouflaged tank top and shorts. My exposed skin, and there seemed to be a lot it, was painted a light brown. But the focus of the image was the tip of the arrow head and my golden brown right eye.
“Wow!” I exclaimed looking at all the food. “This is amazing. Thank you so much.” I shifted my regard back to the cake. “Who did this wonderful work of art? Will someone take an image of it? I want a copy of it please.”
“No problem,” chorused a number of voices.
“Good, I want them all,” I assured them. “Really, who did this?” I asked pointing to the cake.
“It was a team effort,” replied Derrick who was now leaning on the counter on the other side of the cake.
“And they are?” I prompted.
“You’ll find out after you get something to eat,” he said with a mischievous grin. “The plates are on the far side of the sandwiches. You are first.” As I continued to stare at him, he continued, “Get moving Ky. We’re all waiting for you to take first dibs so the rest of us can get something to eat.”
“I see,” I murmured knowing I wasn’t going to get any answers until I complied. So I selected three of the sandwiches, a piece of fruit, and a couple of the cookies. Back at the cake, I found it was already cut. Derrick served me a corner piece heavy with icing – but none of the image. I smiled happily. The cake was chocolate. My favorite kind!
I walked away from the counter easily balancing my plates. The crowd gave way to reveal a path to a table. I obediently proceeded to my destination and choose the seat looking back the way I had come. I settled into the place and began to nibble at my food.
As people walked past me, they patted my shoulder and murmured their thanks. I realized that most of them had comprised the groups that had processed the herbivores. I returned their gratitude with smiles and nods.
Shortly, my table began to fill up with dorm mates and fellow guards. I knew them all and we all got along well with each other. On the right four seats of my table sat Marta Sequoia, Ross Beech, Carl Filbert and Kristine Tanoak. Across from them were Jerad Pine, Marc Shadbush, Emilie Gum, and Pascale Willow. Taking the seat facing me, I was mildly surprised to see X-tee. He grinned as he began to dig into the loaded plate before him.
Presently, another of my dormitory mates arrived at my table. He was bearing a tray of cups filled with a hot beverage that we called drahl. It was made from the ground roasted bean of a tree we had discovered in the jungle. It had been thoroughly studied and deemed safe for human consumption. I am told it is reminiscent of a brew called coffee.
“Care for a cup?” asked Lloyd.
“Sure,” I told him smiling. I liked the rich aroma of the stuff. Its strong slightly bitter taste served to jolt me into wakefulne
ss in the mornings. With sweetening, it was a pleasant drink with treats – and there were treats.
He placed a cup on the table before me. He circled the table passing out cups to those who wanted it. When he got to my other side, he looked at my plate.
“Can I get you something more to eat?” he inquired.
“That would be nice,” I told him. “I’d like three more sandwiches and a few more cookies.”
“Any particular types?” he asked.
“No, surprise me,” I said cheerfully.
He grinned and headed back to the serving counter. It wasn’t long before he was at my elbow again. He set a loaded plate with six or seven of the sandwiches and five cookies. I stared at my plate my surprise evident on my face. He shrugged.
“I couldn’t decide what to get you so I increased the number,” he confessed.
“Ah,” I murmured. “I see I will have to be specific next time.”
“That would help,” he agreed cheerfully.
I shared the bounty with my table mates. The food tasted better than I remembered. I found myself listening to my fellows banter while I savored a cookie and sipped my drahl.
Abruptly, X-tee rose from his seat. He clapped his huge hands together and silence reigned in the commons.
“My fellow residents, today is about gratitude,” he called in his booming voice. “Let the creators of our feast rise.” All my dorm mates got to their feet. “Let’s thank them with a round of applause.” The room erupted in thunderous clapping. I did my best to let them hear my pleased support.
After X-Tee gestured for quiet he continued, “Today, Ky has returned home. Hopefully in the very near future she’ll be returning to duty. In any case, many of us in this room owe her a life debt.” He paused as he held my eyes with his. “If she had not done her duty, many of us on that hunting expedition would have lost our lives. As it was, she dropped the predator and got hurt in the process. Ky, thank you for your protection.”
The crowd cheered loudly. I pushed myself to my feet. As I did I kept my gaze locked on X-tee’s face.
