The Scourge

Cresh wiped my sweat-drenched hair from my face, and his tone turned kinder. "I have medicine, Ani. It can't cure the disease--nothing can do that--but it can dull the pain. Do you want some?"

I nodded, though my vision was blurring and I couldn't really see him. Maybe when my tears dried, the focus would return. Maybe this was the start of blindness. I didn't know. Or maybe--I stopped there. Unable to complete any rational thought, I clutched at my side again. Either I had become possessed by a monster determined to burst out from my skin. Or else I had the Scourge.

I had the Scourge. Moreover, I knew where I had gotten it, and how, and why, and it was entirely my fault.

I had the Scourge.

My life, in effect, had just ended.

The medicine from the physician helped a lot. While it didn't take the pain away completely, it calmed it enough that I could breathe evenly and pull my thoughts together.

I started with the most important thought--the fact that this really was for the best. The last thing I wanted was to have any responsibility for my family becoming sick, or Weevil, or any of the River People. Or anyone, anywhere, for that matter. I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on my enemies. Well, not most of them.

Second came the rush of questions about what would happen to me now. Was the Colony the way the governor had described it, a place of peace and rest? Or the way Della seemed to think of it? Would I be cared for, looked after in my final hours? Would the final few weeks of my life be pleasant?

Doctor Cresh had me laid out on his table now, not to examine me, but to let me rest. I felt like sleeping and my eyes were closed, but my mind was still fully involved in my surroundings.

The doctor and Governor Felling were discussing me in the corner. They must've thought I was asleep or they'd never have talked so openly. Maybe Brogg was with them, or maybe he wasn't even in the room anymore--I didn't know. My eyes were too heavy to check.

"Who else might she have exposed?" Cresh was asking.

"Her family, obviously," the governor said. "I'm told that her father is a strong man, well respected amongst the grubs. There will be a fight if we try to take him for testing."

Yes, there would. My father had once fought a whole pack of wild dogs that had gotten too close to our home. In the end, they'd called it even, though if the dogs had not run off, I had no doubt my father would've eventually won.

"All the River People will fight if we start taking them," Brogg said. So he was still in the room. "It was no small thing to get this girl and her friend, and they were caught off guard."

"It was too hard for you and Warden Gossel, obviously," the governor said. "Perhaps I should have sent you to work in the Colony too."

Brogg's mouth snapped shut--I actually heard that, which made me want to smile. He was afraid of the governor.

"The girl is sick, so she's no threat," Doctor Cresh said.

The governor added, "River People are strong. If she gets better, then we'll see what she can do."

My ears perked up. Get better? There was a chance to recover from this disease?

"But you lost the boy," the physician said. "Won't he try to return to his people?"

"If he does, it'll mean trouble," the governor said. "I can't deal with the Scourge and face an uprising from the River People at the same time!"

Brogg said, "Governor, if that boy gets back to his people and explains what's happened, an uprising is certain. With two of their children gone missing, they will be prepared for us when we return for more grubs, if they aren't on their way here already."

"Then find him," the governor said. "Search for him everywhere, but especially on the trails leading back to his home. Don't worry about bringing him in for testing. Just kill him and be finished with that."

I drew in a sharp gasp, which Brogg must've heard because his footsteps came over to me. I felt his hot breath near my face as he got close enough to check on whether I was indeed asleep. I tried to stay calm, to keep my breathing low and even, but after hearing that, how could I?

Weevil was fast. He might've made it home already. But there was also a chance he'd lingered in the area, hoping I'd find a way to escape a second time. Of course that's what he'd do--he'd never leave me behind. Which meant he might have sealed his own fate.

A tear had formed in my eye, but I couldn't let it fall. Brogg would see; he would know that I had overheard everything. He put a hand over the rag binding the cut on my arm. It was dry now, probably the only reason he dared touch it. Then he squeezed on the wound.

I gasped with the pain of it, and my eyes flew open. I sat up on the table, instantly dizzy, but I pulled my arm away and kicked at his legs.

"I knew she was awake," he said.

"I am now, thanks to you," I said, trying to cover for all I'd overheard. My vision was still blurry, though not quite as bad as before. Maybe I wouldn't go blind after all. "How long was I out?"

Before anyone could answer, a voice called from outside the examination room, "Governor Felling! I demand to see you!" That was Della's father.