Plague of Mybyncia (25 page)

“All done,” Reid sighs.

“And?” Clarence probes. “How is it?
Quiet?”

He nods, hooking his hands on his hips.
“Better than earlier.”

“They’re tired, I think,” Tucker adds.

“Good,” Clarence nods, clearing his throat.
“Everyone is settling in for the night. Since there are extenuating
circumstances—and half the city is out there mingled together—we’re
forgoing the separate sleeping quarters. Until order is resumed,”
he adds.

“Of course,” Reid nods with an inconspicuous
glance to me.

“So we’ll all be bundled up together.”

“Well, not
all
,” Qippert says, “the
queen, Chancellor Keller and I will be sharing Princess Varille’s
quarters. Fychu,” he turns to him, “the offer still stands.”

“And I think I will have to decline.”

“Go on,” Clarence nods. “I can take care of
things here. Besides, it’s too crowded as it is.”

Sampson looks from Clarence to Qippert to the
chancellor and finally to the rest of us. With a deep sigh, he
nods. “Very well. Everyone get a good night’s rest—today was long
and strenuous. I have no doubt tomorrow will bring the same
exhaustion. Chancellor?” he turns, helping drape his arm around his
shoulder.

Qippert rushes to the other side, helping
hoist up the chancellor as the trio leaves the room, Queen Ravan on
their tail. Once they’ve left, Clarence turns to us. “Alright, you
heard the Fychu—lights out.”

Pratt yawns as Mae heads for one of the coral
beds near the princesses. There are only two structures left so
after Mae climbs in one, Pratt jumps in right behind her, already
snuggling. Mae pulls the blanket over them and I stand staring at
the last available bed.

“Fallon,” Jace sighs, “you know it’s yours.
Take it before I do.”

“You sure you guys don’t mind?” I bite my
lip, glancing between the Rogues. My body aches from everything
today as well as all the action from yesterday, but it’s not fair
to claim the bed just because I’m a girl. The guys must be just as
tired—if more so—than me, so why should I get it?

“Even if we did,” Werzo says, “there’s no way
Boss would let us take it. Seriously, get in before
I
do.”

I look at Reid and he’s nodding.

It feels wrong, but somehow, my feet are
walking their way over. “Okay…” I climb into the deep pink linen.
“Thanks.”

“I’ll crash on the floor,” Clarence mumbles,
slumping to the ground as he leans against the wall. “If you want
to share the bed, it’s yours,” he says to the Rogues.

Tucker, Jace, Werzo and Booker look at one
another, all slow to nod as they make their way over. Reid stares
at the enormous central bed that’s quickly filling with Rogues
before glancing at me. Finally, he slides to the ground at the head
of my coral structure. Leaning against the wall, he crosses his
arms over his chest and closes his eyes.

“You all did good today,” Clarence yawns.
“Real good…”

***

“
Helen, please. It has not been easy
keeping this from you.”

“
Then why did you?” The woman in the red
bandanna inhales on her cigarette, the orange tip lighting up. “You
know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

“
It was to keep you safe,” Granny Ruth
says. “You don’t know the beginning of the danger…”

“
The less you knew, the better,” the man
reaches for Helen’s hand, squeezing it in both of his. “It was
protection. It was the only thing I could do for you. And will
continue to do for your children…”

They fade and in their place, she emerges
once more—the white-haired woman. She stares at me with wide,
silver eyes, reading mine.

“
You must awake now, Fallon.”

Her mouth never moves, but she continues to
pierce me with a magnetic gaze.

“
Awake... you must awake.”

Her silver eyes blaze.

“
AWAKE FALLON!”

“Alright kids,” Clarence’s voice rings
overhead. “Everyone up. Another big day.”

I blink a few times and it takes me a minute
to remember where I am. I know we’re in Mybyncia, in the FH, but
I’m not in the bed from last night. And Pratt and Mae aren’t beside
me. I’m in a smaller, tighter structure with soft, padded walls
surrounding me. Trying to remember how I got here, the events from
yesterday flood back—all the dead Mybyncians, the entire FH filled
with sickly miyons and mayans, and Perio’s piercing eyes at the
chancellor’s nearly fatal rescue.

The plague!

I sit up, panicked with fear at the grisly
images of the gray, sunken bodies… until I find Reid sitting
against the wall, deeply asleep. He’s next to my bed, arms still
folded with his head slumped onto one shoulder, facing me. My chest
swells at the sight of his serene face and I hate to disturb
it.

“Hey…” I whisper, and he stirs. “Reid… hey,
wake up.”

“Come on, kids.” Clarence calls, walking
around the room, shaking the Rogues awake. “Time to get up.”

Reid’s eyes flicker open, finding mine
first.

“Hi.”

A sleepy smile crawls across his face.
“Hey.”

“Are we distributing Dilly again?” Mae yawns,
sitting up and stretching both arms overhead.

Pratt follows, rubbing her eye. “What time is
it?”

“Early. And yes, they need help passing out
food and Dilly.”

“Well I’m hungry,” Werzo’s stomach emits a
loud growl. “When do
we
get to eat?”

“Right now,” Clarence tosses out packets of
Vair, the Rogues each catching one. Pratt and Mae fumble, grabbing
theirs from the ground where they landed. Clarence sends two flying
our way and Reid catches them both, handing one to me first.

“Chocolate?” Werzo whines.

“Yes!” Pratt exclaims, digging into hers with
eager fingers.

“This is just to get you started. We’ll have
some Jiji in a little bit,” he stands with a long exhale. “Sampson
and I are heading out. Seeing what we can do to clear out the city.
You guys will need to stay here and help administer the Dilly.”

“Is there a plan to get the anecdote?” I
ask.

“Yeah, still working on that,” Clarence
scratches his head. “Right now we can only deal with what we have.
Alright,” he’s heading for the door, “eat your Vair and then meet
Qippert in the Great Hall. He’ll have the food ready to pass out.
Let’s get everyone fed by mid-morning or so and we can start
distributing the Dilly.”

“We handing out Jiji?” Reid asks.

“And Wormin. Jiji and Wormin.”

“Yum,” Jace mutters.

“I’ll see you soon,” Clarence leaves, the
door closing behind him.

Mae tears into her Vair packet as the boys
begrudgingly open theirs. It’s too early for something so sweet,
but if it’s the only sustenance available, I guess it’s better than
nothing. I peel back the top layer and start eating, Reid doing the
same. We eat our chocolate breakfast in silence and after finishing
our packets, we move to the Great Hall as requested, finding
Qippert in the back.

He’s gathered with Chancellor Keller,
Princess Varille and a fleet of attendants. Mallup is among them,
standing close to Qippert and smiling as we approach. Qippert and
the chancellor shuffle between the two groups as Princess Varille
hands out bags.

“In each you will find bowls and a large sack
of Jiji and Wormin. Please distribute sparingly as we want to feed
everyone
. The FH is not equipped to supplement a
crisis.”

“Is there a crisis going on?” Jace offers a
sarcastic frown.

Varille ignores him. “It would do well to
have this gone by mid-morning at which point the Dilly will be
administered.”

“Question,” Werzo raises his hand, speaking
before anyone really gives him leave to. “Since
we
are
guests, when do
we
get to relax? We were going all day
yesterday…”

“Didn’t you sit out on retrieving the
chancellor?” I ask.

“That was to help administer the Dilly!”

“Exhaustion must be killing you.”

“Everyone,” Qippert raises his hands,
grabbing for attention. “Please… the bags? We have a horde of
hungry, ailing Mybyncians. Please assist us in keeping them fed. I
know I speak for the chancellor when I say we all greatly
appreciate your efforts.”

“It is probably best to work in pairs,”
Varille motions to the bags. “One to pass out the bowls, the other
to fill them with Jiji and Wormin.”

Pratt immediately flies to my side, grasping
my hand in hers. “Partners!”

Reid looks momentarily dismayed until Tucker
roams over with a slight shrug. “How about it, Boss?”

Just as Reid nods in agreement, Werzo claims
Booker, who seems less than thrilled at the joining. Mae stand off
to the side, pulling her fingers as Jace saunters over, offering up
that charming smile.

“Want to partner up?” he asks with a playful
wink.

“S-Sure…” she manages a nod, blushing
profusely as she pulls at her fingers.

“Ready, Fallon?” Pratt asks. “Qippert said we
should go this way,” she indicates the left side of the hall, “and
cover all over there. Come on.”

“Right behind you,” I follow. Offering Reid
one last glance, I make my way with Pratt to our designated area
and start the process. Pratt retrieves the bowls, handing them out
while I move behind her, filling them with the Jiji and Wormin.

We work for a few hours, break for our own
portions of Jiji, and continue on again into the second half of the
day. When we’re not distributing food, it’s bags of Dilly, which
are rapidly disappearing.

At some point in the afternoon, Sampson and
Clarence appear, moving through the Great Hall and toward
Chancellor Keller, Qippert and the queen. As Sampson speaks with
the chancellor, Clarence glances around, spotting our team broken
into pairs. He waves us toward the tunnel and to our quarters from
last night.

“What do you think it’s about?” Pratt asks,
retrieving a bowl from a couple on the ground. “Maybe they found
more Dilly?” she’s hopeful.

“Maybe…”

I watch Sampson shaking his head, his
shoulders slumping in a defeated shrug as the queen and chancellor
accept the news. Qippert’s eyes are on the ground, nodding next to
them while Clarence signals the others around the room.

Coming from all different locations in the
Great Hall, we head for the tunnel that leads to the attendants’
quarters and when Pratt and I arrive, we find Werzo, Booker, Jace
and Mae already there. Ariana’s sitting up along with Sansa, the
two in strained conversation.

“How many bags you go through?” I ask the
others.

“Almost a full bag of Dilly,” Jace crosses
his arms, proud.

I turn to Booker and Werzo. “And you
guys?”

“I don’t know…” Werzo shrugs, “… how many did
you go through?”

“Bag and a half.”

Booker nods. “About the same.”

Clarence, Sampson and Qippert arrive through
the solid coral door, immediately followed by Queen Ravan,
Chancellor Keller, Reid and Tucker. Once they’re all inside, Tucker
closes the door behind them as Sampson takes the center of the
group.

“Okay,” he claps his hands, “how’d we do
today?”

“Think it was a pretty good day,” Jace grins,
folding his arms behind his head as he leans back against the wall.
“I enjoyed myself.”

“Glad to hear it,” Clarence rolls his eyes.
“But how about in terms of the food and Dilly. Any problems? Did we
run low?”

“On which?” Tucker asks.

“Either,” Sampson turns to him. “How are we
doing on our resources?”

“Pratt and I used up our entire supply of
Jiji and Wormin. It also looks like everyone went through about a
bag and a half of Dilly.”

“Okay…” Sampson nods, “that’s not bad.”

“But we’ll be running out quick,” Reid
crosses his arm. “There a plan to get more?”

Sampson, Clarence, Qippert and the chancellor
exchange looks. They’ve discussed it, but haven’t come to a
conclusion yet.

“Well…” Sampson starts with a large exhale,
“what we’re passing out is diluted. It’s helping, but it’s not
straight
from the source. After a while… it won’t do
much.”

“So ‘straight’ Dilly will do the trick?”
Werzo asks.

“Until we get the antidote.”

“Which is where?” Reid narrows his eyes.

Sampson, Clarence and Qippert exchange
glances again, their troubled expression returning. “Still working
on it,” Clarence clears his throat. “Look, we’re going to try for
pure Dilly, see how that’ll work. If not… we have a few ideas.”

“And what about the water?” I ask. “Is there
any way to clean it?”

“It’s a temporary toxin… should take about
five to seven days to clear it out.”

“A week.”

“A week,” Clarence nods. “But… the pure Dilly
might not be strong enough to help those infected survive that
long.”

“Well,” Qippert interrupts, “let us not
ignore it completely. It might end up being the only chance we
have.”

“Well how do we get it?” Reid asks.

Clarence and Qippert both look to Sampson to
address this one. Even the chancellor turns to the Fychu, waiting
for his response. But instead of an explanation, he takes a breath
and turns to the queen, pleading.

“Your Majesty…” Sampson begins.

“No.
Absolutely
not,” Queen Ravan
shakes her head. “I will not let you risk yourselves like that.
There is a fair chance…” she stops and after a second she starts
again, her face an impassive mask as always. “There is a chance you
will not come back.”

“We must try.”

“Try what?” I ask.

Chancellor Keller clears his throat. “To face
the Gorgen.”

“The…
what
?” Werzo asks.

“I said no,” Queen Ravan bristles. “So it
does not matter.”