The Visitor (15 page)

She felt therefore capable of anything to free him. Shaking, trying to move apart or biting the standing branches was of no use. She was about to mount on top of the thing that enclosed him when Etos awoke completely and held his arms out to her.

They hugged through the upright branches while exchanging words of love, crying with joy and caressing with tenderness, swept into intoxicating happiness. The analgesic Ikkillu had injected Etos with, at Akkaliza’s request, was thankfully still working.

“
What has Etos on the arm, the leg and the shoulder?” inquired Mahisa.
 

Lacking air from both kissing and their chests being compressed by their heart’s exaltation, they were barely able to speak. Their bliss stifled them.

“
Etos doesn’t know.”
 

“
Did the lightning-slayers made that to Etos?”
 

“
For sure, yes. Etos woke up with these things. Etos knows nothing else.”
 

“
I'll free Etos. Etos will tell me later.”
 

“
How did you find Etos?”
 

“
Love has guided Mahisa and gave her the strength to walk.
 

Etos began to cry with heavy teared tenderness. They hugged again as hard as they could.

“
Mahisa met a stranger, prisoner like Etos, behind unbreakable upright branches,” she said. “The poor guy didn’t know how to speak... Strange, no?”
 

“
Everything is strange in the world of lightning-slayers,” he said sniffing and wiping his tears of tenderness. “But Etos is almost happy to know that Etos isn’t the only one to suffer this.”
 

“
When Etos is out of there, Mahisa will make you touch my womb,” she whispered into his ear. “There's a small someone inside.”
 

 
At these words, Etos who had barely calmed down began to weep heavily again. His face quivered with emotion. And he was making a series of squeaks that would have passed as complaints if we didn’t know that they were due to so much happiness.
 

That was when two whistles were heard. Etos instantly recognized one of them. It was Gentle Lightning.

“
Quickly, run away, dearest!” he said.
 

“
Lightning-slayers! I won’t abandon you. I want to fight them off.”
 

 “
Go! Please. They won't kill me. But you?”
 

She was hard to convince.

“
You’ve got to trust me. Go hide and with caution, come back later.”
 

Reluctantly, she left, but she didn’t go too far away, seeking to see and hear what would happen to him.

*

“
It won’t be long before he’ll wake up,” Akkaliza told her aunt. “What happened to him was horrible. I was thinking of releasing him in a day or two, but he couldn’t know.”
 

“
Well, no... Anyway, continue to film him. It’s quite informative. You know, I’m more and more convinced that the tiny deformations of the edge of the mouth and the folding of the skin around the eyes have important significance in their communications... in addition to sounds, of course.”
 

“
Yes, I’m now filming continuously. I hope that he hasn’t been traumatized by what he saw in the dairy building.”
 

“
Certainly he must’ve had quite a shock! They are his congeners. We were shocked too, both of us when seeing them. And they aren’t even our congeners.”
 

“
By the way, it’s really fun to see each other a little more at home. It’s partly thanks to Akkalo.”
 

“
Yes indeed, your brother had a lot to do with it. I know that you suffered for what was happening between your father and I. The situation wasn’t fun for anyone. But, you know, this disagreement with my brother is only ideological. Actually, I feel very sorry for him, and never would I wish him wrong.”
 

“
I know...”
 

Passing by the last bush, they came to the front of Sneaky’s cage. Akkaliza noticed immediately that he wasn’t in his usual state.

“
Something’s wrong,” she said. “He’s extremely nervous. It looks like he’s scared.”
 

“
Of me, no doubt, because he doesn’t know me. I back away so that he won’t be scared. It might even be better if I leave you alone with him.”
 

“
Yes, he might be afraid of you, but I feel that there’s something else. See how his eyes are wet. No, don’t go. I would like him to get used to you. But stand back a little. A little behind and to the side, not behind me so that he can see that you don’t have weapon. I’m sure that he recognizes a rifle.”
 

“
Surely! He must have seen your father aiming it at him.”
 

Okkala stood three meters behind her niece and a little to her right. Two hands in her trouser pockets and the other two arms folded across her chest, she waited without moving.

*

Security service agents Kklapos and Ikklussu’s mission was to kill the wild female that was seen in the vicinity. They walked quickly behind the hunting hinec that Kklapos held on a leash. It was clearly visible that the animal was on a scent.

“
A little game will do no harm,” said Ikklussu. “I hope that nobody’ll claim the meat from us.”
 

“
Well yes! We must bring it back to the vets...”
 

“
Is that so! You didn't tell me that.”
 

“
You hadn’t asked,” said Kklapos.
 

“
What’ll they do with it?”
 

“
It seems that they will be checking to see if there’s a disease that could contaminate all Nature Foods bovs.”
 

“
Ha ha!” cried Ikklussu. “Let me laugh! The bastards! For sure, they will share meat between themselves!”
 

“
I believe you're right! I hope we get this over with quickly, because I wanted to finish early this evening. I have to take my thac to the vet.”
 

“
What's wrong?”
 

“
Earache. Damn... I really could have done without that, vets aren’t cheap!”
 

“
Nature Food vets don’t...
 

“
I don't want to ask,” said Kklapos. “To not be liable. I'd rather pay. What can I say, if you love animals, you don’t look at the expense, eh!”
 

“
Right!”
 

“
And to think that there are some who abandon them once they’re sick...”
 

“
Yeah! Or, just when they are tired of taking care of them...”
 

“
Me, I’d throw them in prison, quick and easy!”
 

“
Hush! It must be close by, see how the hinec’s getting excited.”
 

*

Ykkypol was watching the news on his desktop computer when Akkal rushed in.

“
So, what did our head veterinarian want?” he asked closing the door.
 

Ykkypol lowered the volume to respond:

“
Oh! small vet problems...”
 

“
Such as?”
 

“
Toro had sore eyes. She suspects he was infected by a wild bov.”
 

“
If that’s all it is...”
 

“
...”
 

“
What were you watching?”
 

“
The news,” said Ykkypol.
 

“
Ah!...”
 

“
...”
 

“
So?” insisted Akkal.
 

“
They were talking about that thing that came from who knows where in space. They’ll try to capture it as it passes by.”
 

“
Ah yes... I've heard it too. Strange! Don’t you say? It's funny to find that we’re not alone in the universe. It's crazy!”
 

“
Yes, indeed!”
 

“
How are they going to capture it?”
 

“
What do I know?” wondered Ykkypol while checking his beak’s polish in the reflection offered to him by a wall mirror.
 

“
I thought that maybe you knew...”
 

“Hum... and what if you told me what you really want to talk about since you entered in my office! Instead of wasting time.”

Akkal scratched the scales on his forehead.

“
You're right,” he recognized. “I'm wondering though... how to say...”
 

Ykkypol held his chin with one hand, patted his beak with another and crossed and uncrossed the fingers of the two others, demeanor by which he showed that he was waiting patiently. Akkal felt compelled to continue:

“
I’m wondering if... if you would like to buy back my shares.”
 

Ykkypol opened wide his eyes dilated by stupor:

“
What’s the matter?” he stammered.
 

“
...”
 

“
Listen!” said Ykkypol putting his four hands flat on the desk, “you’re having a bad time, but things will get better. We’ll go back to being profitable. I know. Modified milk bovs will soon be in production and we’ll crush Ralchadomac, that's for sure! You're not going to let us down now! Both of us, we’ve seen worse!”
 

“…
I don't know what to say. Perhaps I'll sell. It’s not certain, but maybe... But if I sell, I would prefer that it was to you. Or that, at least, if you cannot or don't want to buy me out, you buy from me what you lack to hold a majority.”
 

“
But... what’s?”
 

“
Another thing: finally, it might be me who’ll debate against my sister on TV.”
 

“
What! But, I don’t find you very motivated to defend our business!”
 

“
That's true, you're right,” recognized Akkal his crest suddenly so soft that one would have thought it was sinking into his head. “I don't know where I stand. I really don't know where I stand...”
 

*

Etos was sitting, chin resting on the bent knee of his good leg. He watched the last of the foliage closing behind the two lightning-slayers. Listening carefully to make sure that they continued to move away, he waited until they were as far as possible. He had to fight against himself to maintain a constrained patience. The lightning-slayer  accompanying Gentle Lightning didn’t have the thing that bangs and kills in its hands, but... better to be too careful than not enough. Just as he was turning around by pivoting on his rear end to call Mahisa, the sound of the thing that bangs and kills made him wince.

“
Mahisa!” he yelled his heart racing painfully. He felt anguish crushing his chest. His crazed eyes searched the gaps in the bushes.
 

With the noise of disturbed foliage, Mahisa emerged from the forest. She wrapped her fingers around the standing branches of his prison, and smiled at him.

“
My love!” she said.
 

His relief made him go instantly from horrible terror to insane joy. The shock of this transition was so violent that, without even realizing it, he had managed to get up on his one good leg.

“
My love!” he replied, threading her fingers through his own.
 

But suddenly, Mahisa moaned and collapsed. Etos then discovered the huge hole dripping with blood under her neck. He threw himself to the floor of his cage screaming and passed his arm out to touch, to pull her towards him, to try to help her. Only two of his fingers could reach her shoulder. He felt her skin. Continuously shouting Mahisa, he wriggled about straining to further advance his arm. The vision of the horrible wound revealing the inside of his love’s flesh to his bulging eyes tore screams of despair from him. He didn’t notice the animal that had just arrived. No more that he saw the two lightning-slayers, that held the latter by the neck at the end of a long thing.

At this moment, for him, the world dwindled to Mahisa and his
despondency
. Nothing more could reach his conscience. Arm outstretched towards the one he loved, he kept calling her. It was the only thing he could do to try to curb the unbearable course of events.
 

Ikklussu stooped down to calm Yepp. Wailing with excitement, lifting leaves with its truffle the hunting hinec pulled with all its strength against the leash.

“
Buckshot, the only way!” exclaimed Kklapos. “You saw the hole I made in it! I’ve really blasted that critter!”
 

“
Sure! But that the fuck is that other beast doing there, lying in this cage?”
 

“
Don't know! It isn’t far from the boss’ home, here. He must be making experiments. With all that stuff he has on him...”
 

“
Looks rather like splints to repair fractures? No?”
 

“
Maybe. In any case, it isn't looking well, howling like that. We’d be better to go away. If it dies, we even risk that they put the blame on us.”
 

“
You're right!” he approved. “You'll see it'll be our fault! Especially since I remind you that we were asked to eliminate this beast because it may be contagious for the bovs. Something affecting their eyes, it seems.”
 

 “
No, but... It couldn’t contaminate it so quickly.”
 

“
How do you know that it’s the first time that it came near? Looks like it actually has a problem with its eyes.”
 

“
True. It hasn’t stopped trying to touch it.”
 

“
Don’t touch, shit!” said an angered Kklapos kicking the outstretched arm of caged the bov. “It’s going to catch the virus, this asshole of a beast, and it’s going to be our fault! It’s better that we leave and say that it was killed elsewhere, further away. Yepp! that's enough! Calm, calm, Yepp!”