Between The Crystals

Ch 26 Returning to Ground Zero

Callie danced a little jig beside her mother as she waited for Grant to start assigning people.

"You looked excited," I commented.

"I get to run around! And eat as many plants as I can find!" Her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

Merryl's eyes met mine, revealing the sadness she was hiding from her daughter. Porters hadn't gotten breakfast today. Everyone had eaten decently last night, but there wasn't enough left for everyone to have some this morning. The porters, hunters, and gatherers had opted to wait until we went out and could pick our own greens. The child didn't realize the troubling reasons behind the delayed, all-you-could-pick breakfast.

Andre waved to catch my attention, and I slipped through the crowd to give his group a lift. I ported them out and swiftly returned, nearly bumping into two other groups who were leaving. Liam gave me a nod from where he stood by Ariel, having been assigned to her group today.

"Natalie," Grant called out. "You have two groups again, but they'll go to the same place. It'll make it easier to keep an eye on them, and I won't get as much flak from the Oasis about taking up two spots with one porter."

I nodded. He'd told us about that last night. Word of me taking two groups out, and then both of them needing rescue, had led to over twenty villages making a rule about porters having to stay with their groups and only occupying one crystal.

There was no limit on how many people went with the porter. They probably didn't realize there was a porter around who could handle a group of sixteen without undue strain. It would take me two trips, but I could do it.

I blinked and did a quick headcount. Despite the danger they had faced yesterday, my group had grown to nineteen.

Scratching my head, I said, "Well, this is going to be interesting. Where am I going?"

"Try Fern Hills," Grant suggested. "There isn't much in the way of wildlife, but there's a variety of greens if people are willing to wander away from the crystal."

"Uh, Fern Hills in the aspen forest?" I asked, hoping I was wrong. That was the same place the Saursune had caught my ankle—possibly the same event responsible for the shift from a regular cull to the current stalk-the-porters endeavor.

"If it's raining, come back. Otherwise, give it a try." Grant made a face. "The Saursunes are showing up pretty much everywhere, and we've picked the safe spots clean. No one has reported seeing one there since you did."

I had more than a few reservations, but that spot had gone months without a sighting if we ignored one particular event.

"It'll take me two trips." Turning to the expanded group, I asked, "Who feels brave and wants to go first today?"

They exchanged dubious looks. A woman shook her head and came over. "I'm not feeling brave, but I'm hungry, and that's good enough motivation for me."

Others came forward, and once I had ten, I ported them to the aspen forest. The porting strain I should have felt was absent. Just the smallest twinge of discomfort. The last time I'd ported ten, I had needed a solid fifteen-minute break.

I lingered for a few minutes, just to make sure it was safe, before returning to the village. Grant was preoccupied with another porter, trying to help her remember a certain location. I gave a quick nod to the last nine, and they arranged themselves around me.

"Fern Hills," I murmured, wondering if Grant would mention my lack of a break between bounces.

The world disappeared around us as we appeared in the aspen forest. I made a face as the porting strain rushed in and radiated through my chest, arms, and legs. It was roughly equivalent, perhaps a tad bit worse, than what I would have felt from porting ten in the past. Apparently my abilities hadn't strengthened that much, at least with back-to-back heavier loads.