Aegis Rising (12 page)

Tegan laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, but I never paid attention to those things. Okay. Let’s say they located the plane we were in. Kody’s dad could have been found”—Kody perked up—“but then they don’t find us. They would have started searching the area around the crash site. They may have also checked the towns nearby.”

Mariah lifted her head off of Tegan’s shoulder. “So if my guess is right, based on the discussion so far . . . the rescue teams have no clue where we are.” She added with an attempt at dry humor, “And we’re possibly on the news, with headlines screaming things like ‘TEENAGERS MISSING FROM CRASH SCENE’, ‘DAY WHATEVER OF MISSING KIDS’. Or quite possibly, ‘TEENAGERS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!’”

Aari squinted at her. “You have the strangest mind.”

“Who, me? Nah, you’re looking at Exhibit F of weirdness. You want Exhibit A? Just turn your head and look at Kody.”

The five had to laugh. Laughing was always a thing with them, but given the situation they were in, the levity had a therapeutic effect.

“Well, I still want out,” Kody said, rubbing an eye.

Aari lay back on the grass with his hands laced behind his head and stared up at the clouds. “But heaven knows how we’ll even escape this place. We don’t have a map. Even if we did, we don’t have a compass to tell us which direction we’re heading. Also, we’ve got to get past this wilderness first before reaching any village, town, or city.” His analytical side had taken over. “Who knows what’s out there? And you’ve got to take into account weather, food, water, emergency supplies, and shelter. And good clothing for this kind of environment, even though it’s summertime.”

“That’s detailed.”

“That’s the truth, and it’s no joke.”

“I
know
it’s no joke. And I’m not saying it’s going to be a cakewalk, but I have a life and at the moment, it’s not in my hands. I want it back in my hands. Who’s with me?”

His friends kept silent and looked away, not meeting his gaze. Only Jag caught Kody’s eye and gave him a quick, firm nod.

Content that he was not alone, Kody picked at a blade of grass. After a moment, he flicked it away and leaned back against the
neyra
. “It’s not even nighttime and I’m feeling kind of drowsy.”

“The meal was a little heavy,” Tegan pointed out, eager to be on a different subject.

The five talked quietly about other things for a while before some of them slowly started to doze off until only Tegan and Jag remained awake. They gazed out at the river, both lost in their own thoughts and concerns.

Tegan shifted a little and stretched out her legs. “Jag?”

“Hm?”

“With all that we’re going through right now . . . I want us to band together and not get pulled in different directions.”

“We’ve always held together. What are you worried about?”

“We’ve held together through different situations before, sure. But this is
different
, Jag.”

He turned and studied her closely, wondering where she was going with the conversation. She continued. “We just survived a plane crash. Kody has no clue where his dad is or what’s happened to him, and we have no idea where we are. All these uncertainties . . .” She rubbed her forehead. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think there is a need here for us to stick together more than we’ve ever done before.”

Jag’s eyes narrowed as he began to read into her intention. “Go on,” he said cautiously.

She turned now to look at him. “I think it’s time that one of us steps up to lead the group.”

Jag slowly crossed his arms. “We’ve never needed a leader, Tegan. We’ve been able to speak for ourselves and hold out on our own well enough.”

Tegan noted his defensive posture and altered her tone. “Yeah, we can all speak for ourselves, but now it’s time for us to speak in one voice. We need someone to keep this group together. I know we’ve never had someone formally leading us before, but you can’t deny that we’ve looked towards you at times when direction was needed.”

He held up a hand to stop her. “No. Don’t even go there. I’m not cut out for this. Besides, we’re friends. We’re equals.”

“Now don’t you give
me
that. Sounds to me like an excuse for not stepping up to the plate.” That earned her a sharp glare, but she pressed on. “We need you to take charge.”

Jag looked away as a lump grew in his throat. The last time he’d taken responsibility for a group was nearly a year ago when he convinced a few friends to go rock climbing. His friends were new to the activity and he’d promised that he would take care of them. He could still clearly recall what had happened and flinched inwardly. The images were vivid, and as much as he tried to erase them, they stubbornly remained. Remembering the event was a gut-wrenching guilt trip.

Tegan gently nudged him and he looked back at her. She wore a concerned expression and, realizing what he had been thinking about, softened. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for what happened to Roderick. It was an accident.”

“An accident because
I
made a mistake up on the mountain—a mistake that paralyzed him from the waist down. Cade almost decked out, too. If it hadn’t been for his safety harness . . . Roddy’s wheelchair-bound because of me, Teegs. His life hasn’t been the same since, and it never will be. And I’m responsible for that. I don’t think I want to be accountable for anything else.” His voice cracked, and he clamped his mouth shut.

She slid her arms around one of his. “You can’t keep blaming yourself for this. It was an
accident
. No one could have known that cam was defective.”

Jag shook his head, lowering his gaze. “I can’t take the responsibility of heading our group.” He ran his hands through his hair, digging his finger into the back of his head. “You guys are my second family. I don’t trust myself to lead you. Why do you trust me?”

Letting out a sigh, Tegan rested her head on his shoulder. “Whether you realize it or not, you’ve been the one leading us throughout the years we’ve been together. It’s only natural for you to take this up.”

He didn’t reply but rested his head against hers. The two leaned back, returning to their own thoughts. Tegan looked over at the other three as they slept and cracked a small smile. The group rarely ever napped; they didn’t like wasting their day sleeping when there was the nighttime for that. Unbeknownst to them, the nights that were to follow would deprive them of more than a little sleep.

13

A
knock sounded at the door.

Nageau rose to his feet from where he was sitting on a divan in the living quarter of his
neyra
. He opened the door and was astonished to find an elderly woman rapping at it with her knuckles. The lady paused with her fist halfway to the door when Nageau opened it.

“Mitska?” the Elder said worriedly. “What is the matter?”

Mitska had trouble speaking. Tikina appeared beside Nageau and gently ushered the older woman inside as her mate shut the door. Nageau got a cup of water and walked to the sofa where Tikina had settled their visitor. He passed Mitska the drink and let her catch her breath before asking, “Is something wrong?”

The elderly woman leaned against Tikina for support. “My mate has become ill. Normally the herbs I use work well, but this time, nothing is doing him good.”

Tikina shot Nageau a wary look. “What are his symptoms?” she asked.

Mitska ventured to tell what had befallen her mate, describing some of the symptoms and his present condition. “Please, would you see to him?”

“Yes, of course.”

Tikina got up and, leading the older woman outside by the hand, turned to Nageau, who had followed them. “Please warn the others, and then come. You know where the shelter is.”

Nageau nodded and smiled reassuringly at Mitska, and the two Elders parted.

Tikina accompanied Mitska as they crossed the bridge to the north side of the village and entered a
neyra
nestled cozily among tall fir trees. The older woman opened the door and led Tikina to her bedroom. An old man lay on the bed, appearing deathly pale. He was conscious and, when he spotted the Elder, tried to sit up. Tikina gently stopped him from wasting precious energy and sat by his side, stroking his head. The man coughed and wheezed.

Without looking up, Tikina asked Mitska, “How long has he been like this?”

Mitska sighed. “He only became this ill last night, but it all began four or five days ago.”

“And you are certain that you have tried all the herbs that are at our disposal?”

“Yes—and nothing seems to be helping. I considered calling Huyani to check on him, but I thought perhaps he may need the assistance of the Elders instead.”

“That was a good choice.” There was a rapping at the door and Tikina looked up. “That must be the others right now.”

“I will let them in.” The elderly woman bustled toward the door of her shelter and soon returned with the rest of the Elders.

Saiyu quickly walked over to Tikina. The two talked in hushed voices, then nodded at each other. Saiyu turned to the other Elders. “We should move him out.”

The men understood and agreed.

“Did he have any contact with Fiotez?” Tikina asked Mitska, who shook her head.

“They rarely ever see each other, Elder Tikina. After all, Fiotez lives on the other side of the river. The only occasions when we meet would be during our community gatherings, and we have not had one for a while now.”

“Then I do not think he contracted this sickness directly from Fiotez, though the symptoms appear to be similar . . . But we will not be able to tell for sure until we study further.”

*  *  *

The Elders and Mitska gently brought Mitska’s mate across the river to the convalescence shelter, careful to not attract too much attention. Huyani, who had been tending to Fiotez, was now checking on the old man. The Elders and Mitska walked out of the shelter, quietly closing the door behind them.

“What exactly has your mate been doing the past few days, Mitska?” Saiyu asked as they strode to the riverside. “We would like to know, to see if there is a link between what came over both Fiotez and him.”

The old woman closed her eyes briefly and spoke. “A few days ago, before he became sick, he took our grandson on a trip to one of the lakes outside the valley. They both recounted that they had fun on this outing. However, during their return, my grandson told me that my mate was moving quite slowly as they drew closer to the village. Even though he is approaching seventy summers, he normally has much energy to spare.”

Nageau frowned. “So something obviously happened during that time that caused your mate to fall ill. How is your grandson faring, Mitska?”

“From what I know, he is fine. Perhaps you would like to speak with him?”

The Elders glanced at one another and Nageau nodded.

“Come then.” Setting off at a surprisingly brisk pace, Mitska grabbed the folds of her long skirt and headed back to the north side of the river with the Elders in tow. When the elderly woman halted in front of a particularly large
neyra
, she knocked on the door. A young man opened it and when he saw Mitska, broke into a smile and gave her a warm hug. Mitska quickly told her son about his father’s condition and the smile on his lips vanished. He looked past her to the Elders, nodded, and called for his son.

A bubbly young boy pranced to the door, munching on a fistful of roasted sweet potato. He had a cute smile plastered on his face that showed a gaping hole where he had lost a baby tooth. He gave his grandmother a tight hug and bowed at the Elders as his father invited them in.

As they settled down in the living room, Tikina asked the six-year-old to recount what had happened during his trip.

“Grandpa and I went hunting near that shallow lake outside the valley. We have been there a few times before.” He stopped to munch on his potato.

“And what happened while you were there?” Nageau prompted.

“Grandpa showed me how to set a snare and we waited and waited but we did not catch anything so we went further into the forest. Grandpa made me my own bow and taught me how to shoot arrows—I nearly shot a squirrel out of a tree!” Clearly pleased with himself, the boy stopped talking and smiled.

“What else did you do out there?” Saiyu asked.

“I collected lots of berries, and Grandpa showed me what berries are good to eat and which ones were bad. He threw away a bunch of bright red ones that I had found and told me that they were poisonous. Then he showed me how to put up a tent.” He paused thoughtfully. “Grandpa snored a lot at night. I heard something outside during the night but I think it heard Grandpa’s snores and ran away.” He had an innocent, sweet expression, but there was a cheeky glint in his eyes. The Elders had to try hard to not laugh.

“Tell us more,” Tayoka prodded. “Did you do anything different from the last time you were there with your grandfather?”

The boy shook his head. “Nothing, really. It was a little hotter by the lake this time than the last trip and Grandpa ran out of water a couple of times. I was not as thirsty as he was,” he said with a smile, “so I did not have to refill my water pelt, unlike Grandpa.” He pouted then. “But Mama was not happy when she found out I did not drink much. She said that I should always drink enough water.”

“And right she is,” Saiyu said, smiling a little. “Continue.”

The little boy tilted his head sideways, seeming to have not heard the prodding. “How is Grandpa? Father says he is ill. Why?”

“That is what we are trying to figure out. But do not worry,” Nageau said kindly. “We will do our best to make him well again.”

“Is there anything else that you can recall?” Tikina asked. “Perhaps when he showed signs of not being that well?”

The boy was silent for a while and then said, “We went for only two days . . . and on the second day—on our way back—he looked like he was having a little trouble walking. And his breathing was very noisy. He kept coughing, too. We stopped many times to rest when coming back home.”

Tayoka was looking out a window, his mind appearing to be elsewhere. His gray eyes had an absent look to them. Then he stiffened. Quickly regaining his composure, he smiled at the little boy and jovially ruffled his hair. “Well, thank you,” he said, a little too cheerily, and the other Elders caught it. “I think we have enough information for now. Keep praying for your grandfather and Fiotez.”