“I will,” I told him, my nose twitching in disgust at the pure reek of him as I took off my coat and bundled him into it. I would be cold, but I could bear the discomfort long enough to reach home.
“Yahno ah stnk naht liek thay prvied dss shwrz urenithhngh,” he thanked me apologetically. He winced as I stuffed one of his arms inside the sleeve, and I made a mental note to have our healer check out both his leg and arm as soon as we got back to the clan. “Tnks beeg guh hie buht wohnt oo kohd?”
“It’s not far,” I reassured him, knowing he was anxious as he had no idea where our hidden clan stronghold was. I hefted him over my shoulder and began loping as fast as I could back home.
“Wahyt! Muh friend err bak thrr!”
He wriggled, complaining of the undignified position, which was too bad. It was the easiest way to carry him with his definitely injured arm and leg, as he wouldn’t be able to hold on. I slapped his ass and he gave a loud yelp, but stopped complaining. I felt him shiver once more, his teeth lightly chattering, though he wasn’t shuddering as much as he had been before. Still, I hurried my stride, running as quickly as I could without winding myself. He needed a healer, and to get warm, as his Star People had no fur, as well as a really good bath. The clan also needed to learn of the dead metal grak upon the tundra. We would need to send a scouting party to check to make sure no demons lingered around its carcass.
6
ROBBIE
He ran, one arm holding me from thigh to lower back, keeping my injured leg from bouncing too much. I was grateful for that as both it and my wrist were throbbing. That was nothing compared to my skull, though. The glare of the sun on the white snow was agonizing, and every step he took made my brain increase the tempo of the drums that were doing one helluva solo inside my skull. I convulsively swallowed, not wanting to barf up whatever was left of the water and cube from my last meal. That would be pretty disgusting, and I didn’t want to risk this big guy dropping me and leaving me as a lost cause because he got grossed out. Hell, he might even think I had some disease and would bring sickness to his household or tribe or whatever.
I closed my eyes, cutting the glare immensely. I concentrated on breathing through my nose, keeping my mouth clamped shut. The steady rhythm of his gait became a background sensation, and I was caught completely unaware when the light I could still see through my closed lids suddenly vanished.
I opened them, blinking against the sudden change.
Everything was slightly out of focus, giving credence to the existence of a concussion. I squinted. We appeared to be in some sort of tunnel, one with…smooth walls? What the hell? Then we passed a carved figure of one of this dude’s species, clad in some sort of pants, shirt, and boots which looked positively medieval. Sputtering torches hung in brackets, one on either side, and a turn of my head showed me that on the opposite wall was a female figure. From this point onward, torches appeared every so often at regular intervals. Murals decorated the walls, but my head and eyes hurt too much to try to get a good look at them. That, and he was still booking it like there was no tomorrow. He took a left, and the smell of sulphur tickled my sense of smell. I wrinkled my nose, just as I lost the battle with my rebellious stomach. The rotten egg smell was one too many things to endure.
He came to a quick stop, setting me down. He looked at me with narrowed eyes.
“I’m sorry. I hit my head and think I have a concussion. I didn’t mean to yak down your back.” I leaned forward then, moving onto all fours as another spasm hit. There was nothing but slime with a few curds of goodness knows what from the cubes left in my stomach, so he at least only got a bit of yuck on him. I kept retching, though, and now yellow came up. Great, bile. Ewwww.
He muttered something under his breath, looking off in the direction we’d been headed.
“Rrrha shaa!” he bellowed suddenly, startling me so much I actually stopped heaving.
“Rrrha shaa!” An answering shout sounded, and I heard the patter of rushing feet just before another cat guy showed up. This guy pointed at me. “Hrshkkk gurth mrwpph?”
“Grak no hrhgmr ra shrhagaw,” my guy replied, miming something falling from the sky. Ah. So he’d actually seen the crash. That was good, right? Since he’d found me not far from the ship, he had to know that there was probably more than one of us in it. “Hra nah wrii hargrrr.”
“Grak nah shrwr?”
My guy shrugged, and the second cat warrior looking dude glanced at me. “Krsh. Prargh wrrrr shppphh.” He took off back the way he came.
My guy knelt down in front of me, careful to avoid the slimy puddle of sick in front of me. He reached under my arms and gently picked me up, moving me away from it. I yelped inadvertently as it jostled my already screaming leg, which now felt swollen and tight.
A look of sorrow crossed his face, and he changed his grip so he could pick me up, as if carrying a bride or a baby or something. This startled me, but I really wanted their help, and it was rather nice and warm wherever here was, even if it smelled like rotten eggs a little bit. There was no way I was going to offend anyone here if I could help it, and get kicked out into certain death. He took a few steps to the side, then settled down on the ground cross legged, holding me on his lap. He removed my hood and began to pet my hair, making soft chuffs and trills. Um, was he trying to comfort me? This did seem to be the case, and it felt kind of nice, so I closed my eyes as his fingers began gently digging into my scalp as he stroked through my disheveled hair.
Unfortunately, as good as it felt, it didn’t last long, as Warrior Cat Dude Two returned with five more. Three of them wore cloaks made from the same fur as the coat my guy had put on me. What was different was what they held in their hands. What the actual fuck? Were those guns? They looked like some high tech weaponry for sure, sleek but deadly metal guns of some sort. Had I encountered the last remnants of a fallen advanced civilization?
“Rraaa whuff!” one of the guys holding a gun said, leading the other two down the corridor.
That left just Dude Two and two others. One looked older, with a grizzled look to the soft fur around his mouth and nose, small wrinkles evident next to his eyes. This one, who I decided to call Old Dude One in case there were more his age I’d yet to meet, knelt down and peered into my eyes. He batted away my guy’s hand from where he was still rubbing my head. Old Dude One carefully probed my skull, and I winced as fresh, stabbing pain lit me up.
“Rrhshh hraa,” he murmured, sounding apologetic as he removed his hand. He then pointed down the hallway in the direction they’d come, saying. “Hrahw grfffnoo wrahgh shhhft.”
My guy rose gracefully, and began carrying me as he followed them in the direction Old Dude One had pointed, this time at a far more sedate pace. I felt relieved. If they were going to kill me, surely they’d have done it by now. And they’d all been nothing but gentle, so they were sure to be good people. Right?
7
GRIGHRI
Hroarsh answered my greeting call and thankfully ran to inform Chief Grishk, who sent for a healer and more warriors to go check out the downed grak and kill any evil demons they might find, as well as look for any more stolen kits. Though I was now rather unsure if this one was truly a youth on the cusp of manhood.
“Place him here,” Healer Grokah ordered, pointing to a bed as we entered the infirmary. I did so, and when his assistant, Hrtah, stepped forward to begin stripping him off, I growled, not liking the idea of anyone else touching him.
