Page 62 of Planet Zero
One by one, mothers had to adjust their loads and pick up the exhausted and wailing little ones, strapping them to their chests. It slowed them down considerably.
Others were getting tired too, mostly older women like Chele. Chemmusaayl - whaddayaknow - required special consideration, and two strapping warriors throttled their pace down, keeping his company in the middle of the line that by now stretched for half a mile.
The leading men disappeared from view, pushing ahead at a breakneck pace like tightly wound up toys on steroids.
Chele took Addie’s spear and went ahead with Melmie and Illied, leaving Oh’na with the struggling Addie. Little by little, they fell to the very end of the line.
Utterly exhausted, Addie kept walking, holding unenthusiastic Oh’na by the hand. By now all she wanted to do was to flop onherback like a baby and scream. The straps of her sack were cutting into her shoulders and the bindings could no longer create an illusion of supporting her chest.
“Are we there yet, Addie?”
I wish.“No. Look at the mountain tops. Do you see them? Up ahead.”
Despite frequent whining, Oh’na had deeper energy reserves than Addie and was more bored than tired. “Yes, I see them. Far away,” she said with a sigh.
Addie had estimated the distance to be one hundred miles, give or take. At the speed with which they were walking, they must be covering about thirty miles per day, so that would make three full days of this arduous pack test marching to reach the base. And then, the ascent.
She didn’t know if she could do it. Even the previous two years of strenuous physical activity hadn’t prepared Addie for the endurance this blitzkrieg required. And what was the rush, anyway? The mountains were not going anywhere.
Grumbling under her breath, she pushed forward, realizing that even the two caboose warriors had passed her.
When Addie and Oh’na, at last, caught up with the rest of the tribe, people were on the ground sleeping.Sleeping. As in, dinner was eaten, pallets unrolled, snoring peacefully under the cover of furs to protect them from Hicars.
“Okay, Oh’na. We need to do better tomorrow. I hate missing out on sleep.” Addie was dead sure tomorrow would be an early start. Lack of sleep hardly improved anybody’s performance.
“Youneed to do better tomorrow, Addie,” Oh’na corrected her with the frank directness only a child could get away with. “I was waiting for you the entire way.” Snatching a piece of Addie’s jerky out of her bag, Oh’na hopped over the covered-up sleeping bodies and went in search of Chele.
Addie unrolled her pallet and sat down slowly. A mere thought of getting to her feet again filled her with dread. She rubbed her temples, fighting the extreme fatigue that tugged at her.
A shadow fell over her. Her heart tripped in fright. She twisted sharply to see and groaned from the twitch of pain in her chest.
“Why do you always creep up on people? And at this hour?” she snapped when she saw who it was. Of course, it had to be him, with his annoying habit of moving like a silent crippled shadow.
“I am scouting tonight,” he replied calmly.
“Are you serious? You shouldn't.”
“Why is that?” A subtle challenge rang in his low voice.
“Your injuries, Zoark! If you ask me, you shouldn't be walking, much less marching with a full load of gear. Certainly not staying up all night on your feet after that!”
“No one asked you what I should do, strange woman.”
“Ah, so I am the strange woman now.”
“You always have been.”
“Did you call Samantha a strange woman?”
He barely flinched, but she saw it. Her words affected him.
“I’m sorry, it isn’t any of my business. I’m just… tired.”
“You’re tired because you’re physically weak, like Samantha.” Oh, he was hot now. “You don’t understand what it’s like to be strong - you have no idea. I do. Don’t bring me to your level, Addie-the-strange-woman. Even at my weakest, I trump you. You will never make it in our land.”
Tears of resentment sprang to Addie’s eyes, and they burned. “I am trying, you bastard.”
“You will fail.”
