Conniveo

Chapter XXVI: Incalescence

I felt the sensation of heat on my back and instinctively wiggled away from it. The mattress I lay on was beyond uncomfortable: coarse, gritty and-

I opened my eyes as soon as I remembered. I was lying on my side, in the midst of dull green stalks reaching above my eye level and towards the sky. I looked up. The sky was a warm peach hue and black shadows of flying birds darted across. The air was earthy and carried a scent I was unfamiliar with. It was neither pleasant nor entirely repugnant. I sat up and looked around me. Though I already knew what I expected to see, the sight was still breathtaking. We were encompassed by the slender plants, which extended up to a limit before me. They swayed uniformly in the morning breeze, creating waves amongst themselves that indicated the flow of the current. It was hypnotic, but the truly incredible view was of the horizon. I had never seen it, because almost all the cities I had been in were filled with buildings and barriers and innumerable infrastructure that occluded such a view. Furthermore, about half of Ixor continued underground. But this...all of it was just the surface. Untainted, uninhabited, serene. I felt naked, being in such an open environment, and I recognized an inner anxiety about the safety of being in such an exposed area. But this did not stop me from marveling. I looked down after my moment of admiration. Arye was asleep, as was Eugene. Greg was not present.

While resisting the urge to panic, I stood up and looked around. I spotted him a few meters behind me, looking at Koli's navigation device. He was touching the screen cautiously, and I could tell from his level of concentration that whatever he was doing was important. I walked towards him and he looked up at me. His face formed a slow smile.

"I can see I'm not the only early riser," he said, as the smile became more prominent.

"The floor was uncomfortable,"

"Still, you look well rested."

"I was exhausted from last night's activities," I replied, and then I felt an urge to look away. I felt at fault, to some degree, for the events that had occurred and the brutality he suffered at the hands of my brother. He was truly an honorable man to offer his help even after such unwelcome treatment. I wished to apologize on account of Arye's behavior, but I was unsure if it was my place to do so. Arye was an adult, responsible for his own actions. He was to be the one to apologize, not me. Still...

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. I'm fine. Bruised and in some degree of pain, but fine."

I looked back at his face and saw that he was still smiling. I tried to mirror the expression, but guilt prevented me from doing so effectively.

"Arye was misguided," I attempted to explain. "Our network reports and broadcasts depicted you in such a negative light that his reaction was...rational. And I believe he is also gravely saddened by our mother's health status. He was angry, and unfortunately decided to vent his frustrations on you."

Greg laughed. I looked at him with a puzzled expression. I was not aware of anything amusing that I might have said. He saw my confusion and tried to stop himself.

"I'm sorry. It's just that...he said you were the one who was misguided. It's just ironic."

"Oh," I managed to reply. I could see his amusement there, but my mind was still on the thoughts of my mother. An intracranial haemorrhage was a very ominous injury to sustain. I could only hope that she would recover without any loss of cerebral function. Greg smiled at me and looked down at the device again. He seemed pleased about something. I walked closer to see what he was doing.

"I have recalibrated all the coordinates saved on this device to be in line with our own geographical system. However, it is not connected to any of our geo-positioning satellites, so I have to get another device that is."