Trial 017 - 2019 Wattys Sci-Fi Winner

Chapter 13 - Bekah

16.01.2723

The sun had barely peeked out above the horizon when Bekah awoke, the leaves glistening with morning dew. She smiled at the sight: that something so often seen at home could still happen even here, on this alien planet. It was oddly reassuring, but after five minutes or so, she sat up, telling herself to stop smiling at condensation.

The boy, Calvin, lay sleeping on the ground. She and Charlie had taken turns keeping the kid entertained yesterday, swapping out duties like watching over Tanvir, working on Charlie's traps, and collecting water to drink. Someone had to keep a constant eye on Tanvir as he rested, and it was up to her to keep everyone busy for the time being, even the kid. She pressed a hand to Tanvir's forehead, feeling it. She'd done that all day yesterday, checking to see if he had a fever, but this time she was sure she wasn't imagining it. He was heating up.

Bekah eyed their supplies, wishing they had a blanket of sorts to cover him with. They didn't, so she dug through their medical supplies. Unfortunately, she didn't read Krakoshan, so she could only guess what most of them were. Maybe Charlie would know something. She glanced at where he lay in the clearing, slumped against a tree on the far side. He was supposed to have had the last watch, but it seemed as if he had fallen asleep. She didn't blame him, considering how tired he must have been from yesterday.

She straightened, stretching to work out the kinks and aches in her muscles. Her hair had originally been tied in a tail, but she'd lost her band after the crash, leaving her hair in a tangled mess. Raking fingers through it hadn't helped either. Holding her hair out, Bekah decided to try a different method, forming a comb of air between her fingers. Sweeping through her hair carefully, she took extra care not to pull too hard on her tangled hair as she straightened it back out.

Then, she focused on her clothes, running a pad of air inside and out to knock the dust away. The loose clothing was an aerokinetic's tunic, with the Dirga Academy's logo on the belt that cinched her waist. Designed specifically to avoid interfering with her movements, an aerokinetic's tunic was made of the lightest materials, as well as linings to cushion the user's joints. It was the last thing she had been wearing since her capture, and because it had no pockets, she could only wish she'd picked something more practical to wear. Not as if she'd had much of a choice.

Feeling a little better at having done something useful, she went over to wake Charlie up. The sky was just starting to lighten up now, so the earliest hours of morning were quickly fading away. She knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder and lightly shaking him. He stirred almost immediately, squinting at her while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his hand.

"Hey," she said. "I need your help."

"Hm?" he said.

"I need your help," she repeated firmly.

"Sorry for falling asleep," Charlie replied, as if he hadn't heard her at all. His voice conveyed the exhaustion she felt, but she didn't give in. "I just..."

His head flopped back down.

"Hey," she said again, shaking harder.

Charlie sighed, sitting up. "Okay."

She led him toward their spread of supplies, then knelt beside Tanvir. Resting a hand on his forehead again, she glanced back at Charlie. He knelt with her, feeling his forehead. As soon as he touched it, he pulled his hand away, muttering a curse.

"Fever," he said. "Okay."

They bent over the medical supplies, squinting at the labels. After a while, it became clear that Charlie had no clue which was the fever medicine. Bekah held up a tablet, squinting at it in the sunlight.