Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 3) (10 page)

            “Just do it.”

            She closed her eyes. She felt him lift her chin, tilting her head back slightly. There was a pause. She heard a rustle of movement.

“Can you feel that?”

            “Feel what? The crick that’s growing in the back of my neck?”

            The man gave a loud sigh. She opened her eyes to look at him, and saw identical expressions on his and Jules’ faces. It wasn’t pleasant.

            “Good grief, now what?”

            Sandow held up his knife. Something dangled from the point. Something black and blunt.

            A barbed pincer.

            Wide-eyed, Kelen stared at her leg. Tojun was pressing a bit of cloth to the area where the doctor had removed the object.

            “I didn’t feel that. Why didn’t I feel that?”

            Instead of answering her, Sandow bent over her leg again and began prying a second barb from her flesh. Then a third. Each time, he had to cut into her flesh before removing the pincer with its backward-curved tip. At no time did she feel anything.

            “Close your eyes,” the man tersely ordered as Tojun hurried to re-sterilize the knife again.

            She did.

            “Tell me what you feel.”

            “Nothing.” Her eyes flew open and she locked onto him. “What did you do?”

            Sandow pointed to the upper thigh of the affected leg. A bright spot of blood showed where he’d punctured the skin a hand’s breadth above her knee. Without explaining, he bent back over her calf to remove the rest of the barbs as Kelen watched in cold horror.

            “Doc, I’m losing feeling in that leg.”

            “Whatever venom was in those things’ bite is affecting you.”

            She watched as he picked at the pincers with the knife. During the procedure, Tojun kept a steady pressure on her wounds to help staunch the flow of blood.

            “If I wasn’t seeing you do that, I’d never know you were working on my leg.”

            “How do you feel? Tell me what you’re feeling.”

            “I feel fine. Honestly. I just can’t feel my leg.”

            With a sigh, he dropped another pincer on the small pile beside him and sighed. “That’s the last one.” He frowned at her. “Try to move your leg.”

            She tried.

            Nothing.

            “Doc?” Panic filled her.

            Sandow immediately placed a hand on her shoulder. “Shhh. Take deep breaths and let them out slowly. Calm yourself, Kelen. Stay calm.”

            “But I can’t—”

            “Kelen.” The doctor faced her squarely. He gave her his most serious look, which increased her trepidation. “Stay calm. Take slow, deep breaths. If you get excited, your heart rate will increase, and the venom or whatever is causing your paralysis will spread more quickly.” He spoke soothingly, his hand lightly stroking her arm. “I have nothing to give you to counteract the venom. Even if I did, I couldn’t guarantee it would work. All we can do is keep you still and quiet, and hope your body manages to dissipate this poison before it does any major damage.”

            “What kind of major damage?”

            “It could be anything. It could paralyze your nerves to the point where your heart stops, or it could affect your breathing. Shut down your lungs. We’ll have to wait and see.”

            “How long?” she whispered.

            “How long before we know if you’ll live?” He shrugged.

            Kelen leaned back against the boulder. She glanced down at Kyber lying beside her and saw he was asleep.

            “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Fullgrath asked.

            “No. His fever broke while we were waiting. He told me the monsters got him and tied him up, but they later released him in that tunnel.”

            “Part of the delirium,” Fullgrath muttered.

            “I think not.” Gaveer pointed to Kyber’s arms. “Look at his wrists. He has lost patches of fur.”

            Sandow moved over to check Kyber’s wrists, after which he examined the Seneecian’s feet and ankles. “There are tufts missing on his lower legs, too. I believe him.”

            Gaveer crouched down. “The D’har?” He raised the question as he glanced over at the others.

            “If he and Dayall and Isup are working together, and they’re the ones who captured Kyber, why did they release him?” Jules added. “Why didn’t they kill him? He’s too weak to fight them.”

            “Who knows what they were thinking,” Kelen remarked bitterly. “Maybe they were hoping he’d attack us and we would kill him to protect ourselves.” She shot Fullgrath a scathing look. The man dropped his eyes but didn’t respond. She turned her attention to the doctor. “He’ll be okay, won’t he?”

            Sandow scratched the back of his head. “He’s sleeping, and that’s the best medicine for him right now.” He returned to her. “My primary concern is you, Kel. How do you feel?”

            She shook her head. “No different. Still tired. I’d like to sleep.”

            “Let me know if you start having any difficulty breathing, or if you notice anything unusual.”

            “I will.” She reached for the water bag the physician had used to wash the blood off her leg. She wrapped her fingers around the neck…or tried to. Her hand remained half-open, her fingers partially curved. Kelen stared in shock. “Doc?” Tears burned in her eyes. “Doc, I can’t get my hand to obey me.”

            Grabbing her hand, Sandow pressed his thumbnail into her palm. It should have hurt. Kelen shook her head.

            “I…can’t…”

            Unable to stop herself, she started to cry.

Chapter 15

Awake

            Kyber awoke to find himself inside the apartment he shared with Kelen, but the woman was absent. Sitting on the edge of the floor, above the bed, were two pouches. He grabbed the water bag first and drained almost half of it. The second bag held an assortment of food directly from the garden. He withdrew a handful and munched on it. With the raging thirst momentarily quenched, it was replaced by gut-tightening hunger.

            He slowly lifted himself into a sitting position. Bits and pieces of the past few hours, or at least the hours when he’d been conscious, came floating back to him. He glanced over at the three lighted glyphs that represented the food and water dispensers.

           
“Sandow told us not to eat any food that’s been in the containers, or from the apartments. It’s gone bad. It has elements in it that could affect us.”

            That explained why she’d left him fresh food and water by the bed. She knew he’d reach for it first, and hopefully would remember her warning before he went to the stores.

            He was weak and lucid, and he could handle both. His hip itched and he absent-mindedly scratched it. His fingers encountered the bandage, a fresher bandage. A piece of one of the Terran’s uniform. Still, he felt filthy. His fur was grimy, matted in oily clumps, and covered in dirt and dried blood.

            He climbed out of the bed and up onto the floor where he noticed his uniform lying between him and the tub. Dropping the small scrotum cup that protected his genitals, he crawled across the short space to where the underground bath was located. Pressing the glyph, he unwound the bandage as he watched the floor slide away to reveal the depression that filled with warm water.

            He allowed himself the luxury of soaking in the tub. The warm water helped to ease the soreness. Taking his time, he combed out most of the debris from his fur, watching as the muddied waters swirled around his raised knees until it was swept away to who-knew-where. When he was done, he lowered himself into the depths until he was almost fully immersed and closed his eyes, listening to the soothing sound as the water rushed over him. After a while, he finally crawled out and wrung himself damp dry, squeezing out the last of the moisture between his hands. Another long swallow of water from the pouch, he stuck a blue thumb in his mouth and munched on it as he dunked his uniform into the bath and tried to scrub it clean, or at least remove most of the dried blood and mud. Laying it on the floor to dry, he slipped the cup back on and turn to exit the apartment.

            He nearly collided head-on with Tojun, who was standing outside the door, hand raised to pound on the portal.

            “Kyber! It is good to see you on your feet!” The Seneecian smiled. “I was coming to check on you.”

            “I am feeling much better. Tell me what I have missed.” Before the man could reply, he added, “Is Kelen out on duty?”

            Tojun’s expression told him the answer would not be pleasant.

            He took a menacing step toward the ex-crew member. “Tell me what you know,” he darkly ordered.

            “She is in Sandow’s apartment.” The man tried to say more, but Kyber was already limping toward the physician’s apartment. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Massapa standing guard. The Seneecians each held up a hand as a sign of welcome.

            The door dropped into the ground when he pressed the open glyph on the panel. He stepped inside, quickly scanning the room. Sandow sat on one side of the room, a tablet in his hands and a collection of objects on the floor in front of him. In the center of the room, lying in the bed depression, was Kelen. He started toward her when the physician halted him with two words.

            “She’s dying.”

            Fury filled him with a suddenness that surprised him. Whirling around, he snarled, baring his teeth.

            “Tell me how!”

            Sandow appeared unruffled by his show of anger. It was as if the man knew Kyber’s wrath wasn’t directed at him, but at the cause for Kelen’s illness.

            “She was attacked by clickers. When we brought you both back here from that tunnel, we discovered she’d been bitten. I managed to dig several pincers from her leg, but by that time whatever venom those creatures injected into her was beginning to affect her. It numbed her legs, then her hands and arms. It spread into her face and back, and now it’s taking over her central nervous system.”

            Kyber saw intense sadness cover Sandow’s face. He knew what the man was going to say, and turned away to prevent the Terran from seeing his own grief.

            “Her breathing’s become labored, but it’s her heart I’m worried about the most. It’s a tossup at this point which of her organs will shut down first.”

            “Why did you not come get me so I could be with her?” Kyber turned back to the man and gave a cursory glance over the materials in front of him.

            “I did. Several times,” Sandow admitted. “You did not respond. Tojun has been going over at regular intervals to check on you and let you know as soon as you awoke.”

            Kyber peered over his shoulder to see the Seneecian standing in the doorway. Looking back at the still figure in the bed, he went over and crawled into the bed. He pulled her into his lap and let her head rest against his chest. She appeared lifeless, her body unnaturally limp. She didn’t react like she normally would whenever he held her, and that realization pierced his soul.

            “What are you doing for her?”

            The doctor gave a heavy sigh. “I’ve been trying to map out the venom’s chemical makeup, hoping I can concoct some sort of anti-venom from it, but I haven’t been able to. This scanner isn’t calibrated to do that, and Dox isn’t here to readjust the settings. I’m…flying blind here.” The man’s voice broke.

            “Where is Dox?”

            “He left with Kleesod and Mellori to return to the
Manta.
They’re going to cannibalize more of the ship. I gave Dox a list of items, mostly medicants I left on board. If they…” The man’s voice trailed off. Kyber picked up his train of thought.

            “Is there something on your ship that will help Kelen?”

            Sandow slowly nodded. “The bigger question is, will they get back here with it, and in time?”

            Kyber checked her legs, lifting the bloody wrapping to peer underneath. “What are these pustules?”

            “Those formed after I took out the stingers.”

            Kyber studied them closer. “They appear to have fluid in them.”

            “I’m aware of that.”

            “Have you attempted to leech them?”

            Sandow gave him a confused look. Kyber pressed the issue. “You have said we cannot assume the laws of nature from our own worlds apply here. What if that liquid is venomous?”

            “Dear God, it’s worth a try. At this point, I’m willing to try anything if there’s a chance it could help.”

            While the physician sterilized his knife over the small fire near the eating area, Kyber managed to drag Kelen over to the bath. Holding her leg over the water, he undid the bandaging and watched as the doctor punctured each pebble-sized bubble, running the blade over the flames after each pass.

            “Here.” Sandow thrust a water pouch at Kyber. “Wash the wounds with this, not with the water in the bath.”

            Kyber did as he was told, noticing that the doctor had saved a sample of the fluid for examination. Once each wound was cleansed, Sandow rewrapped the legs.

            “Let’s hope that has some effect. You can put her back in the bed now. While we’re at it, I need a blood sample from you.”

            “What about Kelen?”

            “I already have enough samples from her.”

            Kyber held out an arm. Sandow pierced the tip of a finger and collected a few drops in an empty bowl. They were interrupted when Tojun reappeared in the doorway.

            “They are back.”

            “Have them come here,” Sandow instructed. The Seneecian bobbed his head and left.

            Kyber felt a spark of hope. “They are returned from the ship?”

            “No. It’s not Dox,” the physician informed him. “It’s too soon. He’s talking about Jules and the others.”