It was mid-morning and Thia was yet to show up at the Gate. Kim, who had arrived over three hours ago stood at the door of the HV, irritated. Five more minutes, Kim thought annoyingly, if he doesn't show up I'll be ... The sound of footsteps pounding the concrete corridor towards him stopped his thoughts. Thia came up to him, panting. " I thought you had already left," Thia said heaving. To which Kim replied by jumping in the HV and starting the engine. Thia scrambled in as the HV sped out of the Gate.
Once they were far off the Gate, Kim asked," Did you oversleep or what,"? Thia who was drinking some tea, seemed to weigh his options but replied quietly, "Yeah something like that". A lie. Kim didn't care, he never pried. " Do you think we'll be able to meet the quota"? Thia asked, changing the subject. Kim looked ahead," Probably if we don't waste time and eat while hunting we should be able to," he replied. They both went quiet and continued on.
Thia suddenly remembered, the priest! He looked at Kim and almost shouted," We forgot the priest guy"! Kim slammed on the brakes. They had passed, by a long shot, where they had left the priest. Muttering silently, he reversed and slowly headed toward the priest. This was a setback. Unwanted? They weren't too sure.
The damaged Baobab tree came into view as they arrived at the scene. The HV came to a halt right next to the tree. They jumped out and went closer toward the tree. Both were worried. What had happened? Where was the priest? Kim found Thia's knife as well as the, or rather, what was left of the water flask. It had been severely damaged by something. Something big. " KIM OVER HERE"! Thia shouted from a distance , breaking his concentration. Thia had found the priest.
Kim sprinted towards Thia. Sure enough, there was the priest, unconscious. This was becoming a habit, Kim thought, meeting him like this. Thia looked puzzled, why was the priest in a praying position? In unison, both headed to lift him up but had to stop themselves halfway, their faces scrunched up in disgust. A pungent smell had prickled their noses. They straightened up and looked at each other. They burst out in laughter. The tension that they had between them since they left the Gate disappeared. They were back to being themselves again.
Still, they wondered simultaneously, what would make a grown man wet himself unconscious? Kim looked at the praying man, he was about to say something but Thia spoke first. " I carried the full med-kit today do you think it will be good enough now"? Thia asked. Kim nodded and Thia ran off toward the HV to get it. Kim again looked at the man, intently. He saw the slight lower of the chest. A sign that he was breathing. That's good, he thought, he's still alive. Holding the man's head, he slowly laid him down on the ground, unclasped the cold hand and let them fall to the sides. He checked the bandaged wounds. They had come undone and some were festering badly. That needed to be treated, fast.
Thia brought the med-kit and also stared at the wounds. He let out a low whistle which prompted Kim to look up at him," Those will give him something worse than death," he said still looking at the wounds. Kim nodded in agreement. Thia opened the med-kit fully and carefully placed it alongside Kim. He was always amazed by Kim's medical knowledge which was a rarity in the world of warriors. Silently he watched Kim work, keeping watch around them as well. Looking at the extremely festered wound near the priest's hip, Kim wondered what would be the best option. Then, he grabbed a synthetic anaesthetic, ten times more powerful than normal, which was also combined with pure highly concentrated alcohol, he poured it on the wound. It let out a sizzling sound. "Aaaaarrgghhh"! the priest shouted. The boys froze.
Alvin was awake!