Decision Made

 

Sisseku let out high shrill call as they approached the village and several shadowy figures emerged from the huts. “Injured. We need help!” she called and jumped off the pallet. As the group drew closer to the village, they could see several figures rushing to them. Alpen instinctively adopted a defensive posture, but Sisseku shushed him. The villagers carried a stretcher and seemed comfortable around the elephants. One stepped past Bebe and stroked the trunk of one elephant, who curled its trunk upwards as the villager spoke to it then pressed forward.

Recognizing one of the villagers, Fallon hailed him, then said spoke a few sentences and pointed to Mellen on the travois behind the elephant. “Alpen, back away, so they can take him to the village.” Alpen hesitated and looked at Fallon. “They have medicines. I told him Mellen was a miner. They’ll know how to help him. They make up the food that the miners eat.”

“You trust them?” Alpen growled as he stood his ground close to Mellen. “They make this poison and you trust them?”

“They don’t know. They’ve been told that its energy for the miners to help them work hard,” Fallon said. He walked forward to Alpen and placed a hand on his arm. “Come on, back away. Alithea’s skills and these villagers - their knowledge - it’s the best for Mellen. It’s getting cool. Mellen needs to stay warm. Please.”

Alpen’s arm muscle relaxed and he let himself be led back by Fallon. Alithea stepped forward and asked, “Tell these villagers not to carry him horizontal. His head needs to be tilted up as it is now. He’s got congestion.”

Fallon spoke to one of the villagers, looking at Sisseku as he did so. He did not want to alarm her with the congestion part, so he said only that it was important for Mellen’s comfort that he have his head tilted up. After they got Mellen on the stretcher, the four villagers quickened their pace, keeping the motion to a minimum as they moved forward in the dim light.

“Glad to be rid of this baby,” Drindl said as he slumped forward and let the calf carcass slide over his shoulder and onto the travois.

Alpen came forward. “I’m sorry, Drindl. You’ve carried this load the whole time. Fallon or I - why didn’t you say something?”

Drindl touched his mentor’s arm. “Your brother. You had enough to worry about. I wanted to do my part.”

When they arrived at the village, Sisseku pointed them to the long hut. “You can stay in there for the night. I will stay with Mellen.”

Alithea handed a sleeping Erthen to Fallon. “Don’t wait up for me. I may stay the night with Mellen as well.” She looked at Sisseku. “She can’t understand what I say, can she?” Fallon shook his head slightly. “I’m worried about his congestion,” Alithea continued.

It was just before sunrise when Alithea slid below the covers with Fallon and Erthen. Bebe had woken up but lay her head back down as Alithea signaled a quiet hello before lying down. “I think he’ll be OK,” she said and fell asleep instantly.

When she awoke, it was mid-morning and the temperature inside the hut was quite warm. Alithea lay her head down for a moment, then wondered where the others were. She needed to check on Mellen. She shrugged off the warm doziness she felt and threw off the covers. “Fallon?” No answer. She got up and walked outside, pausing in the shadows of the hut to let her eyes adjust before walking out into the full sunlight.

“Alithea!” It was the voice of Sisseku, who stressed the “thee” in Alithea’s name each time she said it. Alithea looked to the voice in the bright sunlight and saw Sisseku motion to her. Alithea glanced around for the sight of Fallon.

As she neared Sisseku, she motioned to her ears then her tongue and said, “I don’t understand your language.”

Sisseku pointed inside the hut. “Fallon.”

Alithea paused inside the opening, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light inside the hut. Fallon sat on the ground next to Mellen. As Alithea approached the cot where Mellen lay she saw Alpen on the other side of the cot. “Where’s Erthen?”

“Drindl took him to the forest to find wolfbear tracks.” Fallon looked up at Alithea.

“The ground is too hard – ,” Alithea paused and smiled. “Drindl is very clever.” Fallon scooted back away from the cot and made room for Alithea who laid an ear against Mellen’s chest. She nodded, then reached up to feel his forehead as he slept. The fever had broken but the fur felt damp.

“They gave him a little bit of the same food they give the miners. Mileku  - he’s like in charge here – he said Mellen has to be weaned off the miner’s food.” When Alithea looked doubtful, Fallon said, “They’ve done this before. If he is not weaned off the miner’s food, he gets chills and gets agitated and can’t sleep.”

Alithea turned back to Mellen and felt his pulse, which felt steady. “How long to wean him off the miners’ food? Did he say?”

“A few days,” Fallon said and motioned to Mellen. “He’s been sleeping.”

Alithea looked to Alpen, then back to Fallon. “His breathing sounds better and his pulse is steady. I just don’t know what that miner food does to them. What is your instinct?”

Fallon looked past Alithea to Sisseku waiting in the opening to the hut. “She seems relieved since he has been sleeping. She trusts Mileku and she has been through this process with other miners.” He leaned forward to Alithea and lowered the volume of his voice. “I think most of them die in the mine, but the few who don’t come here to recover after an injury.” Fallon leaned back.

Alithea sighed. “It’s outside my experience. As long as they keep his upper torso elevated.”

Fallon nodded. “They understand.”

“This congestion will take more than a few days to clear up.”

Fallon looked past Alithea and spoke to Sisseku. After a short exchange, Fallon asked Alithea, “She wonders if he can be in one of the oven huts for a short time to help dry out his congestion.”

Alithea paused before answering. “The dryness would do him good, but the fumes – even in a well-ventilated hut – no, I wouldn’t advise that. The sun. A short time in the sun would do him good. Water. Tell her that water is important.”

When Fallon relayed the message, Sisseku responded with a question. “She is concerned that the water will make the congestion worse.”

Alithea smiled. “It doesn’t work like that. He needs water to help his body heal. Tell Sisseku the water will help dry out his chest. I can check on him later today so she doesn’t have to worry.”

“I think we’re leaving,” Alpen interrupted as he laid his hand along Mellen’s leg.

“Mellen’s too sick to travel,” Alithea said.

Fallon looked to Alpen as he said, “Mellen and Sisseku are staying here. Sisseku wants to rejoin her people. Some of them are in the prisoner camp.”

Alithea turned to Alpen. “Don’t you and Bebe want to stay with them? You would have family.”

Fallon spoke, touching Alithea’s arm. “We might go back north.”

“We can’t go north. Bebe said the valley has been cut off to the Ibik herds. There will be no food to carry us through the winter.” She looked to Alpen for his opinion.

“Maybe I overreacted,” Alpen said in a hesitant voice. “We miss home. There are more of these others – these creatures with no fur. They have more animals, from what we understand. There will be another queen or a king.” Alpen looked to Sisseku. “She wants to stay south because her people are here. I want to be as far from these hairless beings as I can get. They are sick.” He tapped his head.

Alithea laughed. “They are mean. I didn’t know there were so many of them.”

“They come from far to the south. They travel far, riding on the water along the coast,” Alpen said.

Alithea turned to Fallon. “You’re OK with this?”

Fallon nodded. “I didn’t know until talking to Alpen and Drindl that there were more of them.”

“They’ll just come north,” Alithea said. “We can’t get away from them.”

“We think the cold will be too much for them,” Fallon said. “They have skins and cloth but that won’t be enough to keep them warm.”

“How will we survive without the herd migration?” Alithea asked.

“We’ll find a way. It’s better than an endless war with these creatures,” Fallon said.

“An endless war? You are warriors. What kind of talk is this?” Alithea looked to Alpen, the older warrior. “You saw all these hairless creatures?”

“We saw enough to know there are many more,” Alpen said. “Ask Bebe. She can explain it better than I can.”

“Bebe?” Alithea asked, then turned to the door. “Where is Bebe? Is she with Drindl and Erthen?”

“No, she went back to the palace,” Alpen said.

Alithea was shocked. “What!”

“She said she had to get something from there. She said when you saw it, you would understand that we can’t stay here,” Alpen said.

Alithea pointed to herself. “Me? When I saw what? Alpen, this makes no sense. What is so important - ,” she broke off in mid-sentence, aware that Sisseku was listening. Even if she didn’t understand what Alithea was saying, she would understand that they were arguing. She turned back to Mellen, then spoke in a soft voice. “When is Bebe coming back?”

“This afternoon, she said,” Alpen replied. “We’re leaving as soon as she gets back.”

Alithea looked to Fallon, her eyes smoldering, then looked down to the ground as she spoke. “You all decided this while I was sleeping?”

Fallon reached out a hand, but she pulled away. “Yes, we thought you would want to be rid of these people as well. It was you who,” Fallon shrugged, not needing to finish the sentence.

Alithea looked at him. “Do the others know?” she asked quietly.

Fallon shook his head.

“Everyone? Drindl? Bebe?” Alithea asked.

“Everyone,” Fallon said with a finality in his voice.

“Have you told Sisseku?”

“Not yet,” Fallon said as he looked at Alpen. “We were waiting to talk to you.”

Exasperated, Alithea motioned to Sisseku. “You might as well tell her.” She stood up. “I need some air. I must have overslept or something.” Her tone of voice left no doubt that she was angry.