Seems like the saying "When it rains, it pours" is always true, unfortunately. Lion-o had come down with a nasty cold, and so was "confined" to bed by Snarf. Almost as we walked in the door, the Lair alarm sounded. As we got to the control room, everything was chaos. The Lair felt like it was being shaken apart, and systems were damaged. I looked up at the screen, but there was no sign of the Mutants. I looked at Panthro in puzzlement. "Earthquake. It should pass," he said by way of explanation.
The Lair shook again. then we heard something akin to an explosion. Cheetara ran out the door toward the Great Hall; I went with her, quiver and bow still strapped to my back. "Great jaga!" I heard her exclaim. Then I saw what she saw; The Great Hall had collapsed so that there was a distinct separation, rubble everywhere, like a giant hole.
"The Lair must have been built on an earthquake fault. Look how everything seems to be shifted. I've only seen this once before, Cheetara, in pictures of the San Andreas fault in California." I looked again at the damage. "Those were only pictures, but this...this is too frighteningly real!"
"The fault wasnt there when we built the Lair here. We inspected the terrain very closely," replied Cheetara.
"Maybe so, Cheetara. It could have just been formed, or the fault could have been dormant for millions of years, so that you couldn't see it. But if that's true, what set it off today?" I wondered.
"Tygra, no!" cried Cheetara suddenly. "Brittany, help me, quickly! We have to get him out," she said, then quickly began jumping over the rubble.
I looked to where she was going, and I saw Tygra amongst some rubble. His leg seemed to be pinned beneath a pillar; his head was bleeding. I took off my quiver and bow and went after her.
When I finally reached them, Panthro was starting out after us. "Be careful, Brittany. I think his leg is broken," Cheetara told me.
"How bad is his head?" I asked.
"Not as bad as I had feared, but not good, either. We'll have to wait until Panthro gets here. Neither of us can lift that pillar."
I knelt beside Tygra. He was out cold. I looked up at Cheetara. "Just as well. He would have been in extreme pain, to put it mildly, Cheetara."
Panthro arrived and grabbed the pillar. He threw it to one side, then turned to the leg. "It's broken, all right," he confirmed grimly. He picked Tygra up, then began threading his way back through the rubble; Cheetara and I followed.
When we finally got back to stable ground, he laid Tygra down gently. "Pumyra's at the Tower of Omens. She wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow to tend to Lion-o. Cheetara, would you go and check on him, see if he's all right? Brittany, you'll have to take Pumyra's role for now. Help Tygra."
I knelt beside Tygra to see what I could do. "Panthro, please go get me some water, have towels, and bandages, and something for a splint."
"Will do," and he was gone.
I cradled Tygra's head, trying to hold it gently. There was so much blood. I realized with a head wound like tis, he could be in a coma, one he might never come out of. Even if he did, there could be brain damage. I shivered at the thought.
Wilykit and Snarf came down the hall with the water, hand towels, and bandages. "Where's Panthro?" I asked them.
"He's getting the materials for the splint," Wilykit replied. She looked at Tygra's leg. "Ouch. I'm glad he's out. That has got to hurt!"
"No kidding, but the fact that he is out is what's worrying me. I hope we don't lose him." I frowned. I propped up his head with a rolled-up hand towel, then set about cleaning his head. When I had it bandaged, I went to his leg. "He's lucky. The head wound is only superficial, but he banged it pretty hard." I scowled at the leg. "I can't do anything much with the leg until Panthro gets here, except clean it. I want him to help me hold the leg straight until I have the splint tied on."
By the time I had stripped off the pants leg and cleaned it, Panthro was back. I told him what I wanted him to do. "I'm grateful now that he is out; otherwise we'd probably have to drug him to numb the pain. At least it's a clean break. In a person who is wide awake, the setting of the le would be even more painful than the breaking, especially in a break worse than this."
"You learned all this from Pumyra?" Panthro inquired.
I smiled as I looked up. "Yeah." I turned back to the leg, and gently pulled it straight. I exhaled in relief, realizing I had been holding my breath. Well, I had never done this on my own before. "O.K., hold that in that position while I tape on the splint." The splint was exactly the correct size, and the tape was heavy-duty. It served well. I had to work fast and bind the tape tightly; otherwise the splint would not work, and the bone would break again. But, as I had told Panthro, this was a clean break. Givern time, and proper setting, the leg would heal of its own accord, but whether he would ever regain the full use of his leg, I could not say; that was what I was also worried about. If he ever came to.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was finished wrapping the splint with tape, I wrapped the leg in bandages. "This is going to have to be cleaned every day, unless I can get it in a cast. Would you have any material for something like that, and then something to cut it off?"
"What kind of material would you need?" Panthro asked.
I thought back to my days on First Earth. I had seen casts before, there were something like plaster. I said as much, and asked him if he had anything like that .
"I think I do. First, let's get him to bed, then I'll show you what I do have."
We tried to be gentle, but when a person is in pain, you can't be gentle enough. Tygra's breathing was painful just to hear. He released a groan when we lowered him to the bed. It made me smile, just to hear him make any kind of sound at all. He'd been far too quiet for my preferences. Wilykit and Snarf had gone to clean up the mess I had made. i turned to Panthro after making Tygra as comfortableas I could. "I don't like leaving him alone."
ReplyDelete"I'll stay with him." Lion-o was standing in the doorway.
"I was told you were confined to bed by Snarf," I chided him.
"Yeah, well, an earthquake voided the order. i can stay here." He settled himself into a chair.
"Well, let's go." Panthro and i left. But my worrying didn't leave me. with Tygra and Lion-o both down, we weren't in good shape should the Mutants attack. Then again, neither was the Cat's Lair itself.
We had to go through the Great Hall to get through to the mechanics workshop. As we entered, i squinted at the unaccustomed sunlight pouring through the now-ceilingless Great Hall. "Thank God we live in a semi-tropical zone."
"Why?" Panthro inquired curiously.
"If we lived in an arctic or temperate zone, we'd be frozen out of our home, especially if it were winter."
"You have a point," he agreed.
As we made our way through the rubble, I thought about what my life would be like if I had never come to Third Earth. Probably boring. By now, I'd be getting ready for college, provided I had the money for it. And I certainly would never have learned all of the things I have learned. Then I thought of my quiver and bow. I had left them back where I had tended Tygra. They'll be all right, I told myself as we arrived at the workshop. "It's going to take a lot of hard work and time to repair the Lair," said Panthro, breaking into my reverie. "And we'll need everyone for it."
"yes." Then he turned to one particular storage cabinet. "Here, is this what you need?"
I inspected it carefully, it was powdery, off-white. I went over to the sink and wet it; it bonded well. "Good. This is good. Now, I need a container to hold it in and mix it with water."
We made all the necessary preparations and carried the things I needed upstairs. Tygra was resting quietly, thank God. i smiled at Panthro. Lion-o, too, was out, and snoring. "Let him rest. He needs it, too."
It took us an hour to prepare the mix and the leg, and even longer for the cast to set. After we had done all this, I felt extremely tired. "Brittany, do you want to take a nap?" He had seen my fatigue.
"Is it that obvious?" I asked him.
"It is." But not from him. We turned. Pumyra was standing in the doorway. She walked over to Tygra's bed and inspected his leg. "This is good. Very well done, Brittany. Congratulations."
"Thanks." I wiped my hand across my brow.
"We came as soon as we heard. Lynx-o stayed behind at the Tower of Omens. Bengali and Snarfer are downstairs, helping to clean up. What a mess!"
ReplyDelete"Yeah, well, not our fault. Mother Nature does what she please," I smiled faintly. "We ought to go downstairs and help out. But I hate leaving these two alone; Lion-o sick and Tygra injured."
"They'll be fine, Brittany. Why don't you go lie down for a while?" suggested Panthro.
"Nah, I'll be all right. Let's go help." Indeed, I did want to lie down, but I was needed. i had learned early in my life on Third Earth to call up adrenaline when I needed it, and I could keep going for a long time. i called upon that adrenaline store now.
We worked the rest of the day and into the night moving rubble out of the Lair. When we finally stopped, I looked at the pile, then at Panthro. "What next?"
"We'll melt this pile down, and reuse it to repair the Lair. But until we get supports beams in place, I'd feel uneasy about anyone going into the Lair head. If that thing falls, not only will we have more wrk to do, but someone else could be seriously injured,l and we need everyone we can get. For now, let's all of us get some rest. We need it."
I glanced around, then nodded my agreement. Most of us looked ready to collapse. All of us turned and went inside. But as i went down the hall to my room, I paused beside Tygra's door, then went inside to check on him and Lion-o. I put a blanket on Lion-o, then went to Tygra. Lines of pain were still etched on his face, but his breathing seemed easier as he slept. i sighed. "Tygra please don't leave us," I whispered, still concerned. "We still need you." But I knew it was for my own benefit, not Tygra's. I brushed hair away from his face, then sat in the other chair in the room. then I drifted into dreams.
An arrow was loosed. The deer fell. there were two women in the clearing, talking.
The smell of freshly cooked meat. noises of celebration.
The roar of the Thundertank. The Lair alarm. Shaking! An earthquake.
A bolt from a skycutter. Mutants attacking a badly damaged Cat's Lair. What is left of the Lair collapses.
I jerked awake. Just a dream. I went to the window and looked out, trying to make sense of the dream. Just then, the lair alarm sounded. Or what was left of it: the earthquake had apparently damaged it, too. It was nothing more than a series of sick-sounding beeps. Across the room, Lion-o woke, startled out of a deep sleep, then headed for the door. "Stay here with Tygra!" he told m, and was gone.
I turned to the window and saw a skycutter fly past. "Mutants! Damn!" I swore, knowing now what I had dreamnthad been a warning. I've had such dreams before; they had always frightened me. Whenever I had one of these dreams, it always means something bad i going to happen.
ReplyDeleteThere was movement in the bed beside me. "The Lair..." It ws Tygra. I went to him.
"Tygra, don't. You've been injured badly. The others will take care of the Mutants."
"How was I injured? And what is this on my leg?" He reached down to touch it, then grimaced and slumped back onto his pillow.
"Just lay still. Do you recall the earthquake?" He nodded. Good. If he didn't have amnesia, chances were better that he didn't have any brain damage.But that owuld have to wait. "You have a broken leg. You fell when the Great Hall collapsed."
Recollection flitted across his face. he groaned. "Oh, yes, now I remember everything. i was on the second lever, going to the control room. the next thing I remember was landing on my leg before blacking out." He a hand to his head. "But I don't remember hitting my head."
Another jolt sent my mind racing. How did my dream end? The Lair! "Tygra, I've got to use your communicator. I've got to warn the others of something!"
"Yes, of course. But..."
I interrupted him as I grabbed his whip. Panthro had installed a communicator in each of the Thundercats' weapons shortly after the Lair was built, and i tok advantage of it now. "Panthro, come in!"
"Brittany! What's wrong?"
"The Lair! It's going to collapse!"
"Collapse? How do you..."
"Don't ask! Just get everyone out! Tygra, come on, I'll help you." I grabbed him under an arm and supported most of his weight. Despite his leg, we were still able to move quickly.
Once we were outside, I saw the 'Tank was already out. On our way out, I had grabbed my quiver and bow. I made use of them now to protect Tygra and myself. Slithe was in the nosediver, coming toward us. I shot an arrow, missed. Tygra took out his bolo whip and knocked Slithe from the nosediver, even on the ground as he was. I shot another arrow at the nosediver itself so Slithe couldn't use it against us again, at least not in this battle. He might repair it yet. This time, the arrow found its mark. i loaded another arrow and aimed at Slithe.
"Get out of here, reptilian, before I let go of this bowstring." I was angry, angrier than i had evr been in my life. I knew it was rage, and I knew I had to control it, lest it consume me. That was why I had warned him.
Slithe ran into the jungle just as another skycutter flew past us, as in my dreams. I loosed the arrow at it instead. Still, it missed. I knew what was going on, and I knew what was going to happen. I knelt beside Tygra as the bolt was released. The bolt found its mark at the heart of what was left of the Lair, and, with a might explosion, the once proud and honorable Cat's Lair gave up its life and crumbled. I bowed my head in acknowledgement and defeat. "I hope everyone got out," I said to Tygra, my voice full of woe. "I'm sorry the best I could do was five the warning. I wish I could have done more."
ReplyDeleteThe Thundercats stopped beside us. Panthro jumped out. "Brittany, how did you know what was going to happen?" he asked.
"A warning dream, last night. I haven't had them since i left First Earth. They used to be only of storms. The earthquake must've touched them off again. I dreamnt of a Mutant attack and the collapse of the Lair. I guess we'll have that extra work after all."
Cheetara came up beside us. "But it's not that we're homeless. There is the Tower of Omens and the Car's Lair on new ThunDera."
"This is a strategic location to keep an eye on the Mutants, so we will still rebuild this Cat's Lair," said Panthro.
"It would be wise, however, to rebuild it in a slightly different location. this one was sitting on an earthquake fault long dormant," I said.
Pumyra called from the Thundertank. "I need to get Lion-o to the Tower of Omens, now! He has a violent chill!"
"Oh, dame!" I swore, then helped Tygra up. If we lost Lion-o there was no telling what would happen.
The 'Tank got us to the Tower in a matter of hours, but Lion-o had developed a fever, one that threatened to consume him. "Pumyra, it's getting worse," I said, my tone full of worry.
"Let's get him and Tygra to the infirmary, quickly," she said moving immediately to help Lion-o while I helped Tygra.
Once we got them to the infirmary we made them as confortable as we could. i noticed the others standing in the background. We had been moving too quickly to give the any thought, but now, i noticed that they were worried, as well. what can you do to alleviate the concern of such a close-knit group as this one, especially when you've become one of them? i didn't know, but at the moment I wished I did. All that was on my mind was making Tygra comfortable and helping Pumyra stabilize Lion-o. We had moved out too quickly, and i was concerned that Lion-o might not survive the transition.
An hour later, Lion-o was stabilized, and resting peacefully. Panthro was talking with Tygra, who was much better, which in turn, made me feel much better. Pumyra, too; I could see the lines of tension around her face ease. But I was exhausted again. I sat down in a chair near the entrance of the infirmary and promptly fell asleep.
ReplyDelete"Brittany?" It ws Lion-o. I came to, and discovered I had been placed in a bed next to Lion-o's. "Were you injured, too?"
I knew what he was thinking: We didn't need anyone else down. "No, I'm just tired. I'll be fine. You rest and regain your strength; we've all been worried about you." I got up and retrieved a thermometer from the cabinet. "Here," I placed it in his hand. he knew how to use it; I would save him the indignity.
"The Little Nurse, eh Brittany?" commented Tygra.
I smiled at him. "You hush. Someone's got to look after you two." I patted his bed, then asked them, "You guys want something to eat? I'm going down to the kitchen."
"Sure," replied Tygra, but Lion-o shook his head. "I don't think I could keep anything down," he said by way of explanation.
"Well, see about a small bowl of soup, all right?"
"O.K.," he mumbled.
I checked his thermometer. The fever was down, thank God, but not gone completely. I sighed, raising my brows in relief. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
As I walked down the corridor to the kitchen, I met Pumya. "You're up finally? You dropped off so quickly, I just put you to bed." She looked at my hair. "Your haird is so wild in the mornings," she said, fingering a lock.
"Tell me about it. It always takes a few minutes to even get it too look halfway decent. So, I slept all day and night. I must have been tired."
"Cheetara told me you slept so fitfully the other night, I'm not surprised. perhaps you didn't get a full night's rest, and just made it up last night."
"I had a warning dream; they tend to take quite a lot out of me. But it was the only way we could have been warned about the Mutants' attack in advance," I smiled, then. "I'm going to get get some soup for Tygra, Lion-o, and myself. lion-o said he didn't want anything, but he does need something."
"Wise decision. But don't force the issue. i've got something I need to get done. I'll see you later; hold the fort!" She started back down the hall, then called back. "Oh, and the others have already left to see what they can do with the Cat's Lair."
"O.K., thanks!" I called back, then headed into the kitchen. I found that Snarfer took after his uncle; Always had food ready to cook. I took some dred rumps meat that had been hunted the summer before, and put it in a pot filled with water. While I was waiting for the meat to boil, I considered the stove. Much like my parents' stove, it could burn considerably hotter. Food could be cooked fast; in this case, the meat was done in a matter of minutes instead of hours. The of pyrite, i.e. thundrillium, as a fuel made this possible. I suppose the equivalent of this would be called a microwave. I took the meat out of the water with a pair of tongs and set about cutting it up. I then put it back in the water, which had cooled by now. I reheated it, then put in into three bowls, and went back to the infirmary.
ReplyDeleteI gave each of them the first two bowls, then took the third for myself. Rumps soup is much like chicken soup; it's warm and delicious, not to mention "good for you," as my grandmother would have said. iIsmiled as I thought of her in reminiscence.
After about ten minutes, Lion-o looked at me. "Brittany, I apologize. This is delicious, but I can't eat anymore." he had eaten only one-fourth of the bowl.
"I know you're ill. that accounts for you loos of appetite. Don't apologize." i smiled. "I'll just take it back."
He handed his bowl to me. "Thank you," and he went back to sleep.
Good idea, I thought, and I slept, too.
Daylight woke me. I looked up out of my covers, squinting against the bright light. it ws nearly noontime. Panthro came in, stretching. "Hi. We quit early to get some lunch. the Berbils have offered to help rebuild the lair, but there's still so much to be done. We found a new site for the lair, not far from the original site. it's gonna take some getting used to , though."
I yawned. "Well, that's good news; Lord knows we could use some. I'm sorry i couldn't help ou."
"From what I've heard, you have. 'The Little Nurse', I believe Tygra dubbed you; taking care of those two can't be easy." he smiled. I wasn't surprised he so easily dismissed the fact that I had used the term 'Lord'. I used it so often, they were used to it. no problem.
I smiled back sleepily. "Thanks. No, it isn't easy, for either 'team': the one here, and the one at the worksite. Any more trouble with the Mutants?"
"No, they're pretty quiet today. Well, I've got to get down to the control toom." He left, and I was alone with the 'patients' again. No problem, again. I set about getting the place back into shape; Pumyra and I had made a mess of everything yesterday. Once that was done, i checked on Lion-o and Tygra, then went downstairs to join the others: I was tired of being alone, and these two were asleep.
As I walked into the control room, I glanced around. Everyone seemed exhausted. "Well, let's hope we're not called to action," I said with a smile, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. It worked. These people are not hard to work with, once you know them.
Cheetara had been leaning against a wall, her arms crossed and her head bowed. She looked up with a smile. "True. I don't think we could stand it."
"How about just taking it easy for the rest of the day?" suggested Lyxn-o.
ReplyDelete"Sounds like a winner," returned a weary Panthro, "but we have to finish up what we have started to clean up. I've set up the equipment to melt what is left of the material down, but we will need more material; some of the original material was damaged beyond repair, I'm afraid. I've also managed to salvage some of our equipment."
"All of that in one day? I'm impressed," I told him by way of compliment. "You also know if you don't slow down, you're going to wind up as exhausted as I was. Then we won't be able to get anything done."
"A couple more hours, that's all we need for this day," he said.
"Uh huh, I've heard that one before. what do you say., Pumyra?"
"We are responsible for their welfare; perhaps we should restrict them; it would serve them right," she replied.
"I promise, just two more hours," Panthro protested immediately.
"We do need to get that work done. He won't be alone, I assure you," Cheetara joined in.
I looked at Pumyra, then relented. "All right, just two more hours, no more, no less. You understand?"
"Yes, all right," said Panthro.
Snarfer came in. "I've got dinner ready. Anyone care to eat?"
There was a sudden rampage for the door. i had to jump aside, or risk being run under, which nearly happened. I glared at Snarfer. "Sorry," he said, then followed them.
Snarf came to stand besdie me. "Are they always this come meal time?" I asked him.
"Almost never. But we did work hard today. Come on, I'm starving too," he replied, then followed his nephew and the others. i shook my head, then followed suite.
After dinner, everyone took off, revitalized. I shook my head in amazement, wondering how they could do that. I said as much to Snarfer as we were cleaning up.
"Yep, that's the Thundercats for ya," he said. "You get used to it, yep, you sure do," he replied in that precarious manner I knew drove his uncle crazy.
I laughed. Life here was certainly never dull.