The Courier’s Collection

Chapter 24

24

The warm fire couldn’t compare with the warmth Lu felt inside. Chiza talked less and less of her preparation as one of the chosen and more and more of her own dreams and wishes. Lu didn’t know what it would mean for him, but he braced himself to do something he’d never considered before.

He’d found a small white flower and tucked it away. Now he pulled it out of his pouch. Temi growled at him and shook his head around, pawing at the ground.

“Go on, there’s no reason to be jealous, my friend, this is for the lady.” He held the flower between his finger and thumb and tucked it behind Chiza’s right ear. The contrast between the flower and her ebony skin and black hair was stunning. He started to tell her so, but his hand itched.

“Oh no, what’s the matter with your hand?” Chiza asked. She grabbed it and looked it over.

“I don’t know.” Lu stood up, out of instinct wanting to run from his limp and useless hand. It had doubled in size and he couldn’t move his fingers.

“What in the yahtz?” Rasha asked as she saw Lu stumble backwards.

Jak came running. “What happened? What did you touch?”

“Nothing, I picked a flower earlier and when I pulled it out just now my hand itched and now I don’t feel anything. The numbness is traveling up my arm,” Lu said as his arm went limp. "I can’t lift it." He felt his wide eyes get wider.

“When you picked it earlier, were you wearing gloves?”

“Yes, I was.”

“That explains why you didn’t experience any effects until now. What did you do with the flower?”

“I gave it to Chiza.” As one they all turned toward where Chiza was sitting and saw her lying by the fire. Jak dashed around the fire and over to her. He snatched the flower off of her ear and threw it into the fire with one gloved hand.

“Rasha, I need you to come here and hold the princess up like this, keep your gloves on.”

Rasha did as asked and though she looked uncomfortable, she squatted down and lifted Chiza’s head and shoulders onto her lap.

“Her breathing is shallow,” Rasha said.

Lu felt his insides drop. Then his leg weakened under him and he fell to his knees. What had he done? This was all his fault.

“I need to hurry or we’ll lose them both,” Jak said as he turned away.

“Where are you going?” Rasha asked her voice shrill. That meant she was more scared than angry. Lu had only heard it once before.

“I’ll have to get the antidote. The plant is one I’ve seen before but in the dark it’ll be harder to find. I need to hurry. Lu, prop yourself up against Rasha, she won’t be able to lift you and soon you won’t be able to crawl,” Jak said as he turned back and half dragged Lu to Rasha’s side. “I’ll be back as soon as I find it.”

“There’s a light, in my pack. Take it.” Lu’s body was slowly numbing. He couldn’t feel his legs at all.

“I’m sorry Chiza, darling, you don’t deserve this. I already miss what we could have been.”

“Shut up, you’re not going anywhere, so stop saying goodbye,” Rasha snapped.

Lu heard the fear and anger in her voice, shrill again. It was strange what you could hear when your body was so quiet. The numbness was reaching up to his waist. His stomach and chest would be next.

“Rash, I think I was in love with her,” Lu confessed. Saying the words felt good, like he’d relieved something pressing on his chest. Another pressure replaced it but this one he couldn’t lift. Temi had moved in and rested his head on him. He whined. Had the little beast tried to warn him about the flower? He wanted to put his hand out and reassure Temi, but the other hand was numb now too. Temi had been loyal and helpful. If only he’d been paying attention.

“Of course you are, you pumseed.” Rasha’s reached out, and he didn’t feel her fingers, but saw them as they dug into his numbing chest. His breathing was ragged now. He didn’t know if he could stay conscious.

Something wet fell on his face. It was raining. Fitting. A quiet rain for the overwhelming sadness he felt. He’d killed himself and Chiza with a pretty flower. When the black came, he welcomed it.

“Where the yahtz have you been?” Rasha screeched when Jak returned.

“Finding it took me more time than I’d hoped. I’m sorry.” He had a hand full of green leaf clusters.

“What do I do?” Rasha asked, feeling helpless with the weight of her friends resting on her legs.

“Nothing, these are poisonous to anyone who isn’t affected by the white flower. He pulled off several leaves and put them inside of Chiza’s cheek and did the same with Lu on Rasha’s other side.

“How long does it take for it to work?”

Chiza coughed on the leaves. She gasped and then chewed on the leaves in her mouth.

“Good, that’s good, chew them up until they’re pulp, but don’t swallow.

Beside her Lu let out a similar gasp, and then he chewed the leaves. Jak threw the rest of the leaves in the fire. They crackled before they went up in smoke.

Lu and Chiza each sat up and eased away from her, testing their limbs and smiling around the green in their mouths.

“You should both be fine now. Spit out the pulp and rinse out your mouths with water.”

“How did you know what to do?” Lu asked.

“This is the Wilds, I grew up here. There are many natural dangers here. Most people only think of the lawless, but they don’t think about the untamed nature that surrounds them. Jak raised his hands palms up and spread them, encompassing everything outside of their fire.

Lu turned to Chiza after they’d both spit out the remaining leaves and spoke in a voice Rasha had never heard Lu use before.

His voice husky and deep, he said, “I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I only wanted to make you smile.”

“You made me smile and I don’t blame you. How could you know they were poisonous?” Chiza smiled to prove it. “Next time don’t kill me.” That made them all laugh. Distracted most of the evening, Rasha had time to think now that morning was just a few short hours away. They’d have a long day tomorrow. She needed to sleep.

Jak was the first to lie down, exhausted from searching the woods. Temi hadn’t left Lu’s side, and neither had Chiza. Lu was taking the first watch, but it was like the three stayed up watching each other, afraid to close their eyes. Rasha watched them huddled together for a moment. Focused on each other, they’d never notice when she placed the listening device on Jak. She wanted to trust him. After what he did for them that night she almost did. Rasha moved closer to Jak. She kneeled close to him and when she was a breath away, she reached out to place the tracker on the collar of his cloak. Jak’s eyes flew open and his hand snaked out and caught her arm.