“I weel, um.” she walked her fingers, “go look? Sometimes when hee…” she waved her hands in the air pantomiming the Reverend preaching, “I see wee ones.” She pinched her fingers into a small space, “May-be in ‘zat place,” she gestured in the direction of the forest, “beeg ones.”
“I will ask my husband if we can go,” she smiled. “But we will need guards against the savages, and someone to carry you if you tire.”
“I weel… sit? And be car-fool.” Sesha made her eyes big and teary again as she looked at the sick Anna.
“Stay here with Anna. I’ll have Pauline bring you a plate of food. You eat as much as you can while I go talk to Peter.” The woman planted a gentle kiss on Sesha’s head then rose and left. It took the alien woman an act of supreme will power to not leap up and snatch Beulah to her breast and return the kiss with passion. As the woman left, Sesha watched her go and contemplated briefly on how if even the only person she saved was this one woman, it would be worth it all to her.
Sesha used the time to check her Wrist-Gem computer pad again. To her delight it was as if nothing was wrong with her personal unit. She tried the link to the Shuttle, and from there to the Outer Six BrainPan, but that was very tenuous so she knew it wouldn’t be long before her comp would lose that connection. Maybe if she could get some seawater into the shuttle’s mini-brain then her link would last a little longer. But how to do it?
Allow computer and me, dear… what do you think of this? and Sesha knew it was possible.
She heard steps approach so she shut down the computer, resuming the look of her bracelet and was crooning to Anna and stroking her hair when another woman came in.
“God’s blessing, Miss Sesha, ‘tis I, Pauline, bringing thy food,”
“Ooh?” she asked, wrinkling her brow. “Odds less-ing?” she acted confused.
“Hello, then. Here’s your breakfast.” Pauline sat beside Sesha and spoke slowly as if to an incompetent. “Do you need help to eat it?” she asked.
Piqued, Sesha snapped “I no babee… I no talk same oo, oo no talk same me! You zay ahsoferah? Oo know wha’ I say?”
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry dear. That was sinful for me to say.” She put a penitent look on her face and Sesha knew she really was, but she had to force this issue now.
“Wha’ theese seen-fool?” She turned and sat cross-legged, settling the plate in the folds of her nightgown skirt.
“It means wrong, something done against God’s laws.”
“You speak me, not odd.” She took a dainty bite of the cooked root on her plate. It was orange in color and slender, and Sesha really liked the taste of it. She always wanted more but couldn’t appear to have a healthy appetite yet, and was always sorry when she had to throw up any of the food, especially this one. This morning there was a bit of the granular sweetener on it.
“Guh – guh-od.” The woman enunciated clearly. “God. He is the One we worship.”
“Where?” Sesha acted confused.
“What?”
“Where theese… guh-od pee-ples?” She looked around as if trying to see him, even bending to look under the beds.
“The Word of God says He’s everywhere, He sees all of us, He hears everything we say and He knows what we are thinking.”
Sesha let herself look around wildly now, clutching her nightdress closer to herself, almost dumping her plate. “He zee me when I… yahol? No…” she plucked at her clothes by her groin, then grabbed the plate again as it canted over.
“He sees everything all the time.” Pauline repeated carefully.
Sesha heard footsteps coming, more than one set and some were heavy, so she assumed a horrified expression and screamed. The plate went flipping out of her lap as she pulled her clothes around her and was huddling, curled up as small as she could when the door burst open and the Reverend, his wife and two Monitors rushed in.
“In the Name of Sweet Jehovah, what?” roared the preacher.
“She were asking about God,” Pauline stammered, terribly frightened. “The lass asked where He was so I told her everywhere. She asked if he saw her even when… naked, I think, and when I said He sees everything all the time, she began acting thusly.”
“You only spoke the truth,” soothed Beulah, before her husband could find fault with the woman. “It is that she does not understand our beliefs.” The Preacher’s wife went over, wrapped her arms around Sesha and made shh-ing noises that soon calmed the woman, but she continued to clutch at her clothes and stare around the room so they took her out to talk in a more open place. Pauline stayed behind to clean up the mess of her spilled meal and tend to Anna. The woman was quaking at the near miss of severe punishment; she was sure if it had been just the Most Holy Lord Reverend or the Monitors, she’d be in line for a beating, even though that form was punishment was supposed to be suspended for Miss Sesha’s sake.
Outside, they sat and Sesha was laid on a quilt under a huge tree and there was talk more on God.
“Thees… guh-odd seems very… laz’at… uh, “ she whirled a finger near her ear, “w’ong? To me somehows. ee must be veree…” she whipped her fingers around in different directions rapidly, “you knows? Be look at all pee-ples alla time? Why’s I no no see heem?” Sesha shivered again and kept looking around.
“We’ll… answer that later,” the Most Holy Lord Reverend hemmed. “My dear wife tells me you think you can help our dear Sister Anna.” He changed the subject as Sesha was still trembling.
She nodded and began to calm as she sat up with help, then leaned against Beulah. The woman automatically slipped an arm around the young woman and smiled down at her.
“Can you tell us how?”
Looking back at the preacher, she nodded again.
“Sweet Sesha,” he thrummed again, a little firmer, “you must say how. So we can do it.”
“No,” she shook her head. “I luh-ook zee wha’ me need. Bring bact an’” she made grinding motions.
“You know how to make it too? Well, I must have a group go with you for your safety.” He beamed at the young woman. Oh, sitting this close to her was stimulating, and how much he wished he were her husband already! Even to be the one she would lean against would be Heaven!
“Foh… save… tee? Wha’ is?” Her brows crinkled as she asked.
“To not let anymore bad people hurt you,” he tried to explain as he would to a child. This was getting tiring, but every week she seemed to gain a little more understanding, so he kept hoping…
“But, dey dere,” she pointed. “T’row the… um” She acted as if she were flicking reins on a horse, “off near, um,” Sesha patted the ground. “Af’er day, day, day dey…” she pointed to her groin area “an’ beat, put,” she touched her face, “in wa’er – much,” she acted as if struggling to rise up and breathe. “Pee-pulls shh, ho’se dump, pee-pulls, me, stuff. Booms, booms. Tum here. Dey not.”
“The foul brigands!” the insane man breathed indignation. “To so foully rape and abuse a lovely woman! Is a miracle you escaped.”
“Isn’t that what foul men do?” Beulah wasn’t looking at her husband, and Sesha noticed he wouldn’t look at his wife either. “Well you’re right, dear. Those bad people are not here. But there are savages who live in these woods who might harm you.”
“Like guh-odd? Ever, ever, ever hee-yer?” she looked around, frantic again.
“No, no. They aren’t around now. We haven’t seen them in quite a long time.” The Reverend fell right into her trap.
“D’en I go? Will be wuh-est muchly.” She seemed eager. “Need,” she lifted both arms, hands clasped around imaginary handles.
“Baskets?” Beulah asked.
“Fo’ wet.” She pointed to the ocean.
“Oh, buckets for water. Sea water? Probably fresh water,” one of the Monitors, Seth, standing to the side listening guessed.
“Nee’ one, two. In it.” Ticking off the numbers on her fingers, Sesha then acted as if lifting both arms carrying h
eavy weights.
“Why two full of water?” Beulah asked. “Are you going to water something?”
She giggled and shook her head. Making digging motions and put the imagined plant in the bucket helped them understand. “Mat’e hot, weady put on…” Sesha made grinding motions again, and she also walked her fingers and made a motion as if tripping and made a swoosh sound.
“In case one spills!” Monitor Isaac nodded. “Well, we’ll be careful.”
“T’an no know,” she smiled. “Wet dere.” She pointed to the ocean. “One, two. An’ shawp to cut, dig.”
“Have one of the men give her a good knife.” The Most Holy Lord was beaming as this was the best conversation with the sweet young woman yet. “Take the small buggy for Sesha’s convenience. And get the two buckets of seawater. The sooner she finds the remedy and fixes it, the sooner our Sister Anna gets well.” The expression on his face was one of Holy hopefulness, which both women knew was entirely phony.
The Monitors hurried to their tasks, Reverend Allway prayed briefly over Sesha then left as well and Beulah sat with the object of her husband’s desire and helped feed her from a fresh plate fetched just for her. The young woman still struggled with their crude utensils and she sometimes wound up using her fingers and blushing as she did so. Beulah smiled in understanding and helped her curl her fingers correctly. By the time she was done eating, the Monitors were ready to go, even dressed in ordinary clothes.
“Oo?” she asked when they came near, as if not recognizing them.
“Be Monitors Seth and Isaac, in ordinary clothes,” Beulah put a bonnet on Sesha and a shawl for her shoulders despite the heat of the day and changed her slippers for boots. They weren’t pretty but they were sturdy. The Reverend personally – straining, with much huffing – lifted the young woman into the back of the small carriage and they were off. Just before exiting the camp the bonnet flew out and Beulah sighed, and smiled. “Sesha shall not e’er wear a bonnet, I fear,”
“She be a stranger to our ways, wife. Fret not… in time she shall follow in our Righteous steps.”
Ten minutes into the forest and Sesha’s Wrist-Gem vibrated her. We’re near the suit and flash tube already, sweetheart. Of course they were traveling much faster this time, she knew. She’d get those on the way back. As they drew near the shuttle she turned around carefully and grasped the shirt back of Monitor Seth, who was driving. She pointed, so they stopped and got out, lifting her down.
“Dere,” she pointed to a bush several feet into the woods and went tramping – carefully – for the plants, the men on her heels. As she walked she showed them what to get with many of ‘her’ words,pointing and tantrums when they didn’t understand quickly enough. She also let them carry her gently over rough terrain when she ‘couldn’t’ maneuver, due to her back injuries. And it really did still hurt, curse this god here!
Luckily Sesha was able to lose the Monitors easily. She set one to digging up several different plants and putting them, dirt and all, in the buggy, and the other to climbing some trees after things that grew up high in the branches.
“I go find chela” she informed the one climbing, and before he could protest, she picked up her skirts and moved off. Once out of sight she grabbed the other pail, wincing as it pulled hard at her back. She would be paying for this later, as her Grandmother on Nestram used to say; Undo a Tarrtadas plant too soon from the stake and it will age bent over. Ah, well… if her body twisted on her later for trying to save her crew, then so be it! This had to be done. From this point she was only a hundred Alliance feet from her shuttle, but between thick vegetation, the pieces she had laid on it and a low-power camouflage program, they’d never see it.
Arriving at the disguised ship, Sesha shut down the force field by touching three spots simultaneously, with both hands and her head, and worming through the branches, hurried into the interior of the shuttle. It was the work of a few moments to empty the stale fluid from her small BrainPan link in the shuttle and pour the seawater in. Sesha also raided the medical kit, grabbing the antibiotics, a hypo and scanner, which she hid in the many pockets sewn into her layers of skirts. She transferred the stale fluid from the overflow bin into the bucket and hurried it back to a spot further in and away from her ship, where the men finally found her sitting pulling the leaves off a large plant she’d found.
“Um,” she pointed to another plant that needed dug up, “it… in,” she pointed to the bucket. “No!” she snapped when the Monitor dug it out and picked it up to just dump in. “Me’set,” she made cutting gestures, so the man squatted and held the knife blade just above the dirt ball and was rewarded by a bright smile and nod. He cut it off and looked at her again. She dropped the leaf she was shredding and showed him to cut off the leaves and peel the thin trunk. Shrugging, the man set to.
Then the tree-climbing Monitor arrived with his load, and she smiled and pointed, so he dropped the plants in the bucket of, he didn’t know, stale fluid. He then accepted the trimmed pieces from his peer and put them in too.
And sure enough, that bucket got dumped when the Monitor tripped over the pile of leaves and stumbled into it. That sent Sesha into gales of laughter despite the pain in her back. Knowing what she had told them before they left, the men had no choice but to laugh too. They put most of the plants into the other bucket and then it was time to go back. They had enough plants that Sesha could make her ‘medicine’ and she was exhausted, and in more pain after the laughing bout. But it was what her character would do in a situation like this.
The Monitor lifted Sesha into the back of the cart, placing the one bucket with its plants beside her, the empty bucket tossed to the side. The other man got in the driver’s seat and her helper sat in front of her so he could watch the forest behind them for any dangers.
Which meant Sesha had a bit of privacy, actually, so as they headed back to The New City, Sesha peeled the roots of the plant she’d found and injected it with some of the antibiotic. This way the medicine would be able to soak in through her skin, right at the source of the infection. She then set to cutting it into pieces using her skirt as a catchall.
When her Wrist Gem vibrated her again, Sesha called out “ehk, ehk!” and unsure, the driver halted the horse. Holding out her arms, she made them lift her down and they watched, standing ‘guard’ as she walked back down the side of the road a few feet and collected several more plants there, putting them in her skirt as well. Shni had the computer program the suit and flash tube to look like plants and a thick root, and the equipment rode back with her. Hopefully the winch could be retrieved before Sesha left here; if this worked, she must not leave any trace of advanced technology anywhere!
By making noises of pain when the buggy went too fast, the men drove slower for her comfort. Thus by the time they reached the city, she had everything ready to turn into a poultice for Anna and had the suit and other equipment hidden in her first petticoat’s deep pockets. Secreting them away would take a bit of luck, but Sesha was a naturally sneaky person and would find a way.
“Oh, what a load,” Beulah smiled with relief, more to see Sesha looking almost as good as when she left, so neither of the men had tried anything… “come sweetheart – Monitor Ezra, woulds’t thou be so kind as to carry Sesha to her bed? She be pale and trembles some,” which Sesha had started before getting back. In the bustle of taking the plants, settling Sesha temporarily as she gave out instructions for the preparation of the remedy for Anna, the alien woman really had worn herself out and was in pain. But it gave her the chance to squirrel away the alien implements while she was briefly alone.
Soon the plants were stewing, Sesha was settled to rest and it was easy to do so. Things were starting to move along now. With the extra power of a good systemic antibiotic, the woman Anna would be on her feet in a short time and Sesha would work faster to get to her ends – getting the seawater back to the ship to save her crew. And she figured the Most Holy Lord Reverend would step up the pace on her too, to c
onvert her so he could accomplish his ends.
After four hours of sleep and more to eat, Sesha had enough energy to ‘make’ the poultice, and then was so ‘exhausted’ from her work that the women put her to bed where she had napped there in the Infirmary’s main room for the night. Beulah and two other women put the poultice on Anna, more a smearing of the goop all over her genitalia and did not re-bandage her, according to Sesha’s instructions. The Infirmary had become very busy with a child with an unrelenting cough and a pregnant teen. The baby was turned wrong and birth would be difficult, if not impossible. Thankfully her labor had stopped just before Sesha came in, so after working on Anna, the women settled themselves for the night, all three missing the prayer meeting to stay nearby and assist Florence if needed.
No-one saw Sesha slip a hand between the pads that made up the mattress for the bed and come out with something so different to this world that it was frightening, and a few coughs from the child covered the hissing noise it made when Sesha first pressed the end of it to her arm, twisted it in a particular pattern, then pressed the button again while aiming it over the sleepers. Then the room settled into a quiet heretofore unknown.
While the women and patients slept heavily thanks to a mist of sleep-inducing agent from her medical injector, the other-worldly woman crept to Anna and by the light of her wonderfully working Wrist-Gem, injected her with a large dose of the antibiotic, then with a pain reliever and sleep agent, all delivered by twisting the injector in different patterns.
The Med program says she’ll sleep for two whole days without waking. You know that’ll worry them…
I’ll just tell them that they have to wait and see if the medicine works, that it might be too late already.
Just have them pour warm sea water on the poultice to refresh the pack. Med says the antibiotic will soak in directly too, already is. When Anna wakes she’ll be much better, but not fully healed.
Good. Expect the Reverend to come in for a lot of praying over the patients,
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