Kneeling above her head, I gently massage several handfuls of sap on the back of her neck. Using my fingers, I again try to align any inconsistencies in the vertebrae of her upper spine. Any time she flinches or cries out, I stop for a few seconds to let her recover. I then carefully extend her neck in a round of traction while she talks me through the amount of tension that doesn’t cause her too much pain.
Once I finish with her neck, I scoot to the side of her body. I pour the last of the canister on my palm and slip my hand under her shirt. As I gently rub it over her broken ribs, Tela lets out a soft groan.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask.
“My ribs hurt,” she answers quietly, “but it’s helping.”
I slide my hand out from under her shirt. “We should set your shoulder before any more time passes. Do you feel up to it?”
“I think so,” she tells me. “I need more sap first.”
I open one of the flasks and help her drink about half of what’s inside. After spreading the rest over her bruised shoulder, I use both hands to force the joint into place. She hoarsely wails and her body stiffens.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “It had to be done.”
“I know,” she replies, choking back tears.
“I think that’s all we should do for now.”
“I need to sleep,” she whimpers.
“Not yet,” I reply. “I don’t want to make a decision without talking to you about it first. Do you want me to go to the Delta and bring back help?”
After staring at the cavern ceiling for a few seconds, she moves her eyes to me. “I don’t want to be alone. If the Murkovin find me, they’ll kill me.”
“I worry about that, too,” I say. “I’d carry you back, but I don’t think you’re stable enough. It might do permanent damage.”
“I shouldn’t be moved,” she confirms. “Are they looking for us?”
I nod my head. “I think so, especially after I stole their transport.”
“They might gather others and block our route to the Delta.”
I turn my face towards the puddle of water while evaluating our situation. I’m sure Tela’s mind is foggy, but everything she says makes sense. I agree that she shouldn’t be moved yet, and it had already occurred to me that the Murkovin could try to set a trap. More than anything else, I don’t want to leave Tela alone. I would never forgive myself if I went to the Delta and came back to find her dead. Accepting that we’re stuck here for a little while, I look at Tela again. She’s struggling to keep her eyes open, but I need answers to a few more questions before she sleeps.
“I haven’t had any wild sap yet,” I say, “but I doubt I have enough energy left to blend my light. How long will it take for it to affect us?”
“You’ll feel it right away,” she answers.
“Feel what?”
“Extreme emotions. Anger almost to the point of rage, a sense of power, and some other things I don’t understand.”
“Those things are all common in my world,” I say. “I should be able to control them.”
She clenches her jaw. “It’s hard. It twists your thoughts in a strange way. I’m already fighting it.”
“How long until it turns us into Murkovin?” I ask.
“We’ll be fine for several morrows. It takes eight or nine to completely change someone if all they have is wild sap.”
“That should give us plenty of time.” I want my next words to instill as much confidence in Tela as they can, so I pause for a few seconds to choose them carefully. “This cavern is well hidden and we have more than enough sap. We’ll stay here until you’re ready to be moved. If the Murkovin show up near here, I’ll lure them away and come back to get you.”
“That’s a good plan,” she says.
“I need to go out and get more sap. It shouldn’t take long. I hid the transport a few hundred miles from here.”
“Why so far?” she asks.
“So if the Murkovin find it, they’ll search for us there and not here.”
Her eyelids sag. “You really are clever.”
“I have my moments,” I say. “I just want to do everything I can to help you.”
“Please don’t be gone long.”
“I won’t,” I reply.
“Will you wait until I’m asleep?” she asks.
“Of course.”
After her eyes close again, I hold her hand in mine. I know it doesn’t have much meaning to the people of Krymzyn, but I guess the need to show compassion the way we do on Earth will always be with me. Seeming to appreciate the gesture, she softly squeezes my hand.
Just a few seconds later, she’s fast asleep. I lay her hand on the ground, check to make sure that her head is in a comfortable position, and then sit down by the tunnel entrance. I feel a little better about Tela’s injuries since the wild sap seems to have the same healing power as the sap of the Delta. Tela once told me that it took two morrows to heal her broken legs when she was younger. I hope that the wild sap can do the same.
With no other choice, I unscrew the top from a full flask. The sap from the Delta energizes me instantly while also having a calming, almost euphoric effect. When I take one large sip of the wild sap, a flamethrower ignites inside me. Without making a conscious decision to do, I drain the rest of what’s inside.
As a wave of rabid power flows through my limbs, the muscles in my body involuntarily flex. Trying to relax, I close my eyes. Every part of my being yearns for more sap.
I open my eyes and stare at the steel containers while a battle rages inside my mind. Should I give in and drink more? Or should I try to get some level of control over it now? Several times, I reach for
