Chapter 5

ALIE

Pain. All-consuming pain. That was all Alie could feel as she opened her eyes. Her whole body hurt and she was so overcome by it that she couldn't even make more noise than a whimper. She then began coughing violently as she realized there was a heaviness in her chest.

It took several minutes before she collected herself and realized her surroundings were unfamiliar. Then she felt something ... NO ... someONE pressing up against her back, including an insistent poking at her behind. She couldn't remember anything after leaving her camp to go hunting and she was suddenly terrified.

'Oh no ... Jake kidnapped me. He hurt me! No ... no!' Alie quickly entered a state of total panic as she realized her situation. Ignoring the IV hooked up to her arm, adrenaline rushed through her body and she jumped up and off the bed, tearing the IV out.

Alie's escape attempt did not get far. She tried to take a step on her left leg and excruciating pain wracked her body as she collapsed to the floor of Jake's tent. As she lay on the floor another wave of uncontrollable coughing shook her and she was left breathless, whimpering once more.

Jake, now awake from her attempted escape, got up and walked quickly around to the end of the bed. He knelt down beside her with a sad smile on his face and asked, "Are you okay Alie?"

"No," She began shouting in anger, "You kidnapped me! You hurt me somehow ... just like I knew you would! Let me go!"

Alie could see that each of her accusations seemed to strike him just as if she had slapped him across the face. Her mind was too occupied with intense pain to understand the meaning of this, however.

Jake recoiled from her slightly and replied, "No Alie. I would never do that! Now, I am willing to tell you what I know about what happened but you have to promise me you will not try to leave the tent. Not right now, you are too badly hurt."

Alie reluctantly nodded and he easily lifted her into his arms before placing her back on the bed, wrapping her up in the blankets once more and, for the moment, leaving the IV disconnected.

Alie didn't know what to think. She was in such pain and she felt confused. After a few moments contemplation she decided that, for the moment, she would have to go along. More coughing spasms rocked her small body and she resigned herself to being stuck here with him for a time, even though she still believed he had been the one to cause these awful injuries.

Alie's silence prompted Jake to continue, "I found you on the shore of the pool with the waterfall and brought you back to my camp because I have medical supplies here. I am sorry you don't seem to remember what happened but I am only trying to help you. I couldn't leave you to die."

Jake's tone was a strange combination of hope that she would believe him and stern finality. Alie lowered her head and whispered haltingly, "I am not sure I can believe you but ... but it is obvious to me that I can't deal with this on my own. I ... I need ... your help. So if you are as well-intentioned as you claim I will judge on your actions, Jake."

Alie began to feel uncomfortable and she rolled her eyes a bit at the inconvenience. She needed to relieve herself and knew she couldn't even come close to doing it on her own. Alie looked at him and said quietly, "Uh ... I guess you can start now. I need help up so I can ... go pee." She remembered the phrase she used years ago when talking to her mother.

Jake seemed to ponder the problem momentarily. He then produced a few white squares from the storage area and lifted her into his arms. It was painful but he was gentle. He walked them outside and then set her down carefully so she was sitting on the large log beside the fire pit. He helped her so she was sitting just on the edge and hovered nearby protectively as she emptied her bladder onto the sandy beach. When she was done he handed her the flimsy white squares and she quickly guessed their use and once she was finished with them she tossed them into the fire pit.

Jake then lifted her back into his arms, again with utmost care, and returned her to the bed in the tent, safe under a pile of blankets.

Alie had watched Jake very closely the whole time, she couldn't explain what she was looking for but she was intensely curious about the man even though that was tainted by her fear and mistrust of him. She also managed to note some of what she assumed were features of men. Between his legs was an organ she certainly did not possess or recognize but gazing at it gave her the faintest of twinges deep inside, even despite her poor condition. She also noted he was much hairier than her. His face, arms, legs, and chest all seemed to have much more hair.

Unfortunately even her curiosity couldn't keep her focus on him for long once she lay back in the tent. The pain she was feeling caused her eyes to flutter closed just as she broke down into another coughing fit. When it passed she gave another soft whimper and relaxed, exhausted.

She was very thankful when Jake gave her something to relieve her pain and let her rest.

JAKE

I was worried. The MSM told me Alie was now running a high fever. Her escape attempt had been almost 12 hours ago and she had not been coherent long enough for another conversation. She was conscious fairly regularly but feverish and very weak.

I had suspected the problem and did a thorough scan of her lungs using the MSM. It reported that she was developing pneumonia even despite the antibiotics I had given her.

I began giving her a high dose of antibiotics through a new IV line I had set up. I hoped it would be enough as her breathing which had been getting better, was now beginning to degrade again.

Between coughing fits I could hear her occasionally wheeze or gasp for breath and as the day wore on my concern grew deeper.

At times I felt a hint of desperation set in, coloured with a touch of helplessness. I knew a good amount about basic medical care but if Alie needed an advanced procedure I was unsure of whether I could perform it.

While she was drifting in and out for hours I gently but thoroughly cleaned the cuts on her left thigh with antiseptic again. I then numbed the area with local anesthetic and slowly, painstakingly, stitched the long cuts closed so they could heal. I was not practiced at doing stitches but I found that I was quite good by the time I had finished. I was satisfied with my handiwork but deeply unhappy that I had had cause to learn the skill. Throughout the task I spoke quietly with her, explaining what I was doing, although I was unsure how much of my explanation registered with her.

If we had been at a colony or on Earth a hospital could have used a tissue regenerator to heal the gashes without stitching and she would be without scars. Unfortunately that kind of equipment simply wasn't available to me. When designing a survival kit apparently they decided to go with the basics only.

After I finished with the stitches on her leg I examined the wound on Alie's forehead near her hairline. As I suspected, it required stitches as well. I cleaned, numbed, and stitched that wound as well. I knew she would bear scars from the cuts on both her leg and forehead but the stitches would help heal the wounds and minimize the scarring.

I sat back and watched the young woman for a few minutes, feeling a deep determination to see her through this. I glanced at the monitors and her condition was unchanged.

I rose from the bed and gathered a small bowl of cold bottled water and a soft cloth and began slowly washing the fever-induced sweat from her body. She woke fully a few times, looked directly in my eyes with an unreadable expression before waves of coughing would wrack her body and result in her drifting off again. I took the utmost care in washing her, being very gentle as I could now see bruises blooming over many parts of her body to join the lacerations.

When I finished I gave her a dose of pain medication and then woke her gently. Her eyes snapped open but I could see, with an unexpected jolt of sadness, that she was very much in pain even with the painkillers and she looked utterly exhausted. I sat her up slowly and carefully and fed her half of one of my survival rations and insisted she drink as much water as she could handle. I laid her back down and tucked the blankets in all around her as another wave of coughing overtook her body.

It was getting late and once again I was exhausted. I began preparing a makeshift bed for myself on the floor of the tent when Alie spoke up for the first time since the morning.

"No. Jake. Come here."

Just those few words seemed to cost her significant effort and her voice was merely a whisper but she pushed aside the blankets slightly trying to make room for me to join her in the bed.