Between The Crystals

Ch 53 Loaded Bounce

The morning passed slowly in the village. After porting so much, I figured it was safe for me to take a short nap, which turned out to be a mistake, since the first hints of restlessness crept in around mid-afternoon.

I wandered over to the crystal to check on my group for the third time, although it wasn't really necessary with Merryl watching them. Grant glanced at me but didn't comment.

"Cedar Meadow."

The air hazed around me, then cleared. Merryl was about ten paces away, the farthest I'd seen her from the crystal so far. She sat on the grass as she helped Callie dig up a dandelion root.

Half of her group were within sight, as were eight from my group, all of whom were keeping an eye on the porter and watching for danger. I sat down in the grass by the duo.

"How many dandelions did you collect?" I asked Callie.

She grinned at me. "Twelve! But we can only take one out of eight, otherwise more might not grow."

I nodded. "Wise plan. Always leave some for others and for the future, especially when digging up the roots." Dandelions might spread like lightning, but other plants didn't, and that theory was what we were trying to teach. Exceptions would come much later.

The cool grass was a welcome change from the fur-covered packed dirt back home, so I hung around and helped Callie collect dandelion roots.

"Saursune by the field!" a hunter exclaimed, already running to try and put himself between the alien and us.

Scrambling to my feet, I spun around to see a green Saursune watching from between two trees. It was only thirty paces away, with the crystal between us. I was pretty sure a Saursune couldn't drain more than one porter at once.

"Get to the crystal!" I hissed to Merryl, keeping between her and the Saursune as I practically dragged her to the bluish-green spires. She resisted momentarily, then realized it was her only escape. With a firm hold on Callie's hand, she ran behind me.

The others had been foraging in the other direction to avoid the field. They weren't going to catch up in time. Releasing Merryl's hand to grab onto a spire, I spun around the crystal to put myself between it and the Saursune. I didn't really care if it drained my energy, but I didn't want it to catch my sister or Callie.

Merryl grabbed onto a spire and hesitated, glancing back at her group, reluctant to leave them. Two of the younger hunters slid to a stop in front of me in an attempt to block the Saursune, who hadn't taken a single step even though it could have beat us to the crystal if it had tried. With a slow blink, it lifted a hand and gently tossed a dead rabbit between us. Then it turned and ambled away, following the edge of the field.

My hand and Merryl's remained on the crystal as we stared at the Saursune and rabbit as more of our groups gathered around us. Soon, the Saursune was out of sight. I exhaled heavily, although still confused by how easily it had left. And why had it brought the rabbit?

A gatherer peered at the rabbit from where she stood. "Is this a thank-you for not touching the field or a warning of what happens if we do? I thought they only brought stuff if they caught the porter and stole their energy?"

One of Merryl's hunters gingerly picked up the rabbit, half of his attention on the forest in case the Saursune returned. "It's not even stiff yet, and we didn't hear its death cry, so I doubt the lizard caught it and just happened to find us shortly after."

I scratched my head. "I'm not sure what you're suggesting. We have over twenty people wandering around the forest. They'd know a porter would be nearby or returning soon."