Star Dust

Chapter 16 ~ Katie

 The village lights are getting dimmer as I walk farther into the dense forest and embrace the cool night air. Poisonous glow bugs float everywhere and more cling to the trees. Only few of them are edible.

 The forest is dry and roots from the huge trees snake in and out of the ground making travel hard but I don't stop running. My pack bumps noiselessly against my back as I run away from the villages demands halted only by their need to sleep. 

 I used to be a renown medic, it was rumored that my touch could cure the impossibly ill but skepticism only brought more people to our village demanding to see me heal. A family of nine had come a long way almost half way across the planet to heal their young son who had gone down with the Rectip disease months ago, and by the time he made it to me it was to late. 

 The boy died mid-treatment and the family finally told me the details of how long it took them noticed that he had had the flesh consuming disease added to they're travel time. It was too much. His death had 'disgraced me and my family' the village had said.

 " but everyone dies, and he had the virus for too long, he was very lucky even to last the journey!"

 I growl at our village leader who responds "this death has disgraced us either way, you must work harder to heal so we may hide the fatality from records and maintain our good status." 

 Storming out of that building I had packed my things and waited for night fall, then fled into the forest of glowing toxic bugs and hostile creatures. Running and not stopping and I swore I will not look back, but then a noise distracts me from my thoughts, a low masculine voice shouts out "Ow take it easy or I'll pluck you" then he shouts out again "ouch". 

 Another male adds his voice to the firsts "quit it you two, we're close" he sounds tired and weighed down but his voice rings strong, commanding, and it holds a hint of recent sympathy. They continue to approach in my direction so I climb the nearest tree carefully avoiding the glowing bugs slowly crawling on the trees hard outer layer glowing threateningly bright. Avoiding the danger I scale higher and higher the lowest limb is three stories from the gnarled undergrowth below. 

 They come in to view and I can finally make out details, a tall skinny figure emerges from the dense bush a fedora adorns his blonde crown, he wears a pair of long shorts of a pale brown colour and a deep forest green t-shirt with black and white accents. He carries nothing but a flashlight and a strange watch which takes up his entire forearm. Then the next three people walk through the bush, well two.

 Two guys were half carrying a girl with dark amber hair and torn close fitting black clothing that is limp and stretch where cuts have been made in the fabric and maybe her flesh. The boy on her right is tall with dirty blonde hair and similar clothing except no one in the group wears the same tattered and torn clothing. He wears black shorts with many pockets and a shirt of white that shows he is sweating and tired from the strain of supporting more weight than his own.

 The guy to the girls left is faring far differently. He wears army green shorts and a light grey shirt with a v neck. He supports her awkwardly but is not as troubled by the extra weight, as if he only recently decided to bare the weight. Following behind them is another girl with chocolate brown hair and predatory eyes full of concern, likely for her friend, she wears short jean shorts and a maroon tank-top with slits cut into the back between her shoulder blades. Out of the two slits comes a pair of feathered wings, the brown layered with white in a continuous pattern showing no end to her beauty. For that I instantly hate her and that pretty face.

 They stop below my tree and rest the girl by the trunk. The boy in the grey stays with her while the other sits not far from her and asks some questions.

 "Who are we looking for now Mystery?"

 Birdy answers instead "she said we were looking for a teenage doctor". 

 Grey laughs "yeah, we're looking for a doctor ... do you not remember she almost killed me the last time I brought that up" everyone in the group bursts out in laughter at the memory of this but the girl named Mystery just groans. 

 "Hey Andrew would you check her again" the boy with the watch comes forward to shine the flashlight in her eyes and checks her breathing by placing two fingers on her neck then doing the same to her wrist. The other three stare curiously as he works, "same as before" he sighs and turns to Sweaty.

 "Dylan did she say where to find the kid" he asks questioningly "no she never does, all she ever did was give us a location." Tired, grey yawns then says "hey Griffin you hungry" she nods "well you want to go hunting?" She smile then starts to clean her claws as she flashes them in plain view. 

 The two set of in the direction they came, Dylan turned his back and went to the edge of the small clearing to gather tinder for a fire and Andrew went to help him. With their friend unprotected I drop from the tree producing my hunting knife from its protective casing, being very careful when I land and roll that I don't cut myself.

 Now on the ground and in view, I grab my target and hold the point of my knife to her throat, both boys have finally identified the threat and assessed the problem enough to not come any closer but sweaty Dylan makes a move any way. Digging the blade a little further as a warning, he stops and looks at me as if he could burn me from the inside out just with a look, a small trickle of blood slides down her neck. 

 She is not as unconscious as I had thought and she raises her hands to ward off her friends. They stop trying to advance, and Mystery whispers "water elemental" slightly confused I let the knife come away from her neck but only a little, but the distance grows when she starts a coughing fit. The healer inside of me takes over. Laying her down I shout "If you do not cooperate you will die" the boys stay put but not knowing that it is the girl before me that is being spoken too "no medicine" she whines, pushing my hands away. 

 Her friends rush forward catching me off guard saying "What are you doing she needs proper help!"

 The  raises her hand and he grabs it giving it a slight squeeze. Opening her mouth air passes her lips so she begins again "I'm all right everything is almost done," 

 He snaps "no it isn't from what you let me know nothing is going to go right" this makes her wince.

 Arm Watch tries to ease the tension "maybe we should explain the situation to Miss..." gesturing to me I say my official title "Katie Rowen, doctor of village Tangur" as soon as the last word leaves my lips, I immediately wish that I hadn't. 

 The boys look at each other, clearly very happy, they then look expectantly to the girl in need of medical attention, and she nods "whoa what's all this about" I wave my hands uselessly with my hands. 

 Just then the hunters come back with little in their hands besides an armful of glowing bugs "put those down" I screech, starling them into dropping their bugs, in the next moment bird girls claws extend and grey jumps behind her.

 Everyone looks at me accusingly so I answer truthfully "poisonous" grey peeps out from behind Birdy and yells "who are you and what are you doing here?" I look down at my patient instead and find she's gone to sleep. 

 Arm Watch answers for me "meet Katie THE official teenage doctor and the last elemental, water" everyone stares at me dumbfounded and I stare back even more confused than before.

 I can't stand the tension, not in this beautifully dangerous forest packed with too many people, so I scammble to find something, anything to say "I need to find a certain herb, start a fire" and with that I disappear into the safety of the most dangerous forest in all the galaxy.