Empire's Legacy

Chapter 34: A Death in the Family

"Where do you suppose Ellen's holed up?" Grey asked, switching back to internal comms as they left the cave.

"She'll have wanted to minimize the possibility of infecting Molly through the groundwater, somewhere far enough that Molly wouldn't accidentally stumble upon her while foraging for food. I doubt she would have left the cliffs, since if she turned out not to be infected I imagine she wouldn't have wanted to leave Molly alone."

Grey surveyed the area with a frown. "Maybe down towards the southern basin?" He sighed. "There are a hell of a lot of caves in this region. She could be anywhere."

"I suppose we could do worse than a cave-by-cave search," Ramina replied, and smiled slightly. "We have done worse in our time."

"Don't remind me," Grey said, and trudged off towards the first cave.

Some time later, he was growing worried. They were getting further from Molly's cave than he'd have thought Ellen would want to travel, but they had yet to see any signs of habitation. And they hadn't stumbled across any bodies.

"You don't suppose she realized she was definitely sick and set about putting as much distance between herself and Molly as she possibly could, do you?"

"It's possible, Ramina said. "If she did, how far she might have got would have depended entirely on the state she was in when she started traveling—and the direction she was moving in when she began."

"At least we know she wasn't headed towards Reva," Grey muttered, ducking inside another cave and sweeping his shiner across the rocks. "We would have spotted a body on our way here."

"There." Ramina's finger flashed out at a tiny movement towards the back of the cave.

Ellen Davis was propped against a smooth rock deep in the cave, the blood trickling from her nose and caked at the corner of her mouth stating clearly that she was in the last stages of Warnao fever. With her eyes closed, she didn't see them come in, nor did she appear to hear them. Grey picked his way towards her and laid a hand on her arm; her whole body seized as a pained noise ripped from her throat.

"Don't," Ramina said. "Any touch will be excruciating by now."

Grey activated the external comm. "Ellen?"

Her eyelashes fluttered, and through what appeared to be a painful sheer force of will, she opened her crusted eyes and directed a bleary gaze at them. "Morgan," she croaked. "You came."

"I'm here," he said, crouching beside her.

"Molly."

"She's safe. She's okay."

"I was...careless," Ellen said. "I didn't realize... I thought everyone..." She stopped to cough, dark flecks of blood spotting her lips. "Thought they was already dead."

"Molly told us," Grey said. "She said someone grabbed you."

"Coughed on me," she whispered. "Didn't know what else to do. Hoped you'd show up."

Grey lowered himself to sit on the dirt beside her and leaned back against her rock. "I won't leave you," he said quietly. His throat worked. "I can never thank you enough for taking care of Molly for me."

Something that might have been a laugh crackled from Ellen's throat. "You're a fine liar," she managed. "You damn well hated me. Sophia sent Molly—" She stopped to breathe, wheezing, and then continued, "—away with me. And I weren't about to give her back."

"But you kept her safe," Grey said. "And I couldn't have kept Molly with me on the Sophia."

"Where you bound for?"