I stare at the open wound running across the back of his shoulder and halfway down the back of his arm. “The cut damaged your markings. Does that matter?”
He shakes his head. “The charge comes from my kam.” He touches one of the bony crests that peek through his hair. “The markings tell my story, and help direct the charge, but are not needed.”
I put on one glove and pluck bits of rock out of the wound. “This should be washed.”
“I’m not sure I can muster enough piss to pour over it.”
“Is that something you do?”
“In this situation, yes. I don’t have anything to put it in either.”
I hold out the other glove. “This.”
He takes my glove covered hand and rubs the glove as if trying to work out what it’s made of. “Waterproof, like animal skin, but not?”
I don’t even know where to start. “It came from Earth; we can’t make anymore.”
“But it holds water?”
“Not much. You’re welcome to piss in it.”
“How deep and dirty is the wound?”
“If I were a…healer, I would put stitches in it.” I have no idea if his people sew up wounds.
“So it will get infected and need treatment?”
“How do you normally treat these kinds of things?”
“Wash it with water boiled with tori leaves. Then it would be either sewn or seared.”
“Seared?”
“With a charge, depending on how much blood is flowing.”
The wound is bleeding, leaving dark streaks on his rock dust covered back.
He takes the glove from my hand. “I will try, and you will try, and maybe I will be lucky and there will be no infection.”
10
ALDIT
My shoulder has stopped burning. Now it is a dull throb. I am aware of the wound sealer in me and on me, and I don’t like it. If one of my brothers were here…it wouldn't matter as they’d refuse to sear it because it wasn’t clean.
Water is still a problem.
The screamers below are still a problem.
We need off this ledge because come morning it will be in the sun, and we will have gone another night without water. And my shoulder will not get better with time. Ruby rests with her back to the rock wall. Her eyes are closed, but I don’t know how deeply she is asleep.
My stomach is a knot, and my throat is dry. Waiting is not doing us any kindness. I stand, which makes the screamers take notice and one of them yells.
For a vicious predator, they aren’t that smart. “If you hadn’t attacked us…”
We’d have kept following the stream around the mountain. I hope the other screamers haven’t run around to meet us at the top.
Ruby opens her eyes. “Are we moving already?”
