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Chapter Eighteen
Eris
I heard there was someone new in camp. As I passed by, two women were gossiping about the stranger who had crossed onto our lands. “He could be handsome if he wasn’t so sick,” muttered Angela. “And gods know we could use some new men around here.”
“But the elders say he’s not going to live, so don’t get your hopes up.” That from Debi who was known for approaching any of the visitors who came from our neighbors, much to the dismay of her arranged mate. She was shameful in her betrayal of the mating process. I’d always thought her mating particularly cruel, since the elders had matched her with a male not only more than twice her age but also impotent.
And yet they had two children…
I slowed my steps to try to get more information about the visitor, but they noticed me and shut up. Something that had been happening every time I came near anyone lately. Did they all really believe that Zeke was the one for me, or that we didn’t deserve to find our fated mate? No, neither of those things. They’d bought into the lack of belief in the Prophesy and saw no fated in their future. I could accept that not everyone had a fated mate, but what I couldn’t accept was the way pairings were being arranged at the whim of the elders to suit their purposes. And, of course, that people weren’t even willing to try to find their fated.
Somehow, to me, the Prophesy was more than just the possibility of finding my ideal mate. That was important, of course, and something I wished for with all my heart. According to the legends, that person was the other half of my soul and much more than a bedmate. But the Prophesy to me was a promise of something. That the gods or goddesses or whatever deities were out there cared enough to make a promise. Maybe the future could be brighter. Maybe we had the right to hold hope for more. For better. For happiness?
Without that, what did we have to live for?
Muddling around through our world the way it was could best be described as sad and at worst complete misery. The climate was trying to kill us and only got worse each year. Scorching during the day, freezing at night, and if there was any precipitation of any kind, the desiccated earth couldn’t absorb it, so in most cases, it resulted in flash floods that washed away anything in their path.
Food was limited, as was drinkable water, and if nothing changed, soon we’d be washed away as well. Without the hope I gained from believing in the Prophesy, believing that we still had a chance to survive, and maybe even thrive, would I be able to go on?
I knew my thinking was circuitous, bringing me around and around and back to the same thing, but what else did I or any of us have to grasp onto?
“Well someone is going to have to take care of that guy until he dies Debi.” They were talking again, probably having forgotten I was there. “And it won’t be me.”
“No.” Debi gave a delicate yet somehow also slutty shudder. “Not me, either. Maybe they can find someone who doesn’t mind cleaning up gross messes…”
And then they both glanced at me before breaking into giggles. Grown women. Mated. Mothers—in Debi’s case—of children with questionable lineage through no fault of their own. And yet, these two had never outgrown being the mean girls who tripped me and made fun of my skinny limbs when we were much younger.
“If you two are talking about me”—I spat, forgetting that replying to them had ended badly in the past—“you’re right. I’m not above helping someone in trouble, even if it does involve messes. But your reluctance does explain why your kids are such messes. Poor things. They deserve better.”
Before they could do more than splutter in shock—I hadn’t responded to their meanness in years—I was stomping away to find out who and where the poor soul was who needed someone to help them through their final hours.
Stranger or not, they deserved kindness. Maybe especially a stranger, since nobody around here had done anything nice for anyone in a while. I wasn’t the only one who was hungry and thirsty, but it didn’t mean we had to treat one another badly. We were all in this together. Live or die.
Unsure how to go about this, I was afraid to just track down the stranger and help him without permission. I would need to use some of the pack’s limited resources for his comfort, so I steeled my resolve and marched off to face the elders once again. I’d seen more of them lately than in my entire life, and I couldn’t call it a pleasant experience.
After asking entrance to their gathering place, I ducked under the low lintel to enter and moved to stand in front of their table where they were all seated and eating…something none of the rest of us had. A stew that had some sort of meat in it. But I wasn’t here to judge them or fall face-first into the steaming pot of food that could sustain twice as many people as those who were enjoying it.
“Yes?” the eldest asked. “Can it wait? We’re eating.”
I could see that but didn’t think saying that was a good idea. Also, pointing out that sure, I could wait until they finished stuffing themselves, but maybe the guy I wanted to help couldn’t. So I told them why I was there, and that I understood they needed a volunteer for a dirty job. My tactic worked, and they not only let me do it but told me I had to do it or I would be punished.
“We told him he had to leave by dawn,” the same elder said. “But if he needs another hour or two to die, let him have it. We can be kind to strangers.”
Their laughter chilled me and made me hot with anger at the same time.
How I kept from throwing that pot of stew in their ugly unkind faces, I’ll never know. But I got what I wanted, and off I went to find the stranger and help him.
Whoever he was.
At least the shelter they’d given him was better than mine because mine wouldn’t have left room for a sick person and their caregiver. And my healing training prior to being relegated to slop bucket duty gave me some knowledge of what to do for a sick person.
To my utter shock, he was the guy from my dream but even sicker, and I wasn’t sure my skills were up to the challenge.
But looking at him lying there, unconscious, burning up with fever, I swore I’d do everything I could, including giving him all of my provisions if necessary.
