forestall him, but he quietly insisted until Beverly felt she had no option but to drink. He then bade her to lie down and he stayed with her until she drifted off to sleep.
It was s shaft of sunlight that eventually broke through the haze of her drugged rest. She had no idea how much time had passed. She knew two things. She must examine Jean-Luc and she was hungry. Her hunger caught her by surprise. She wasn’t just hungry she was ravenous. As she slowly sat up, her elbow bumped a platter set beside her on a small stool. On it was what she guessed were a selection of fruits and what appeared to be a cup of water. Slowly at first she tasted the fruit and, finding it palatable, quickly downed all she could find, finishing it all off with the water. Although slightly brackish, it quenched her thirst and she smacked her lips when she finished. Now to Jean-Luc. He was still unconscious, still face down, his head turned towards her. She pulled the blanket back to find the burns of his back and legs swathed in a sticky brown goo that smelled slightly of vanilla. His arm and leg had been splinted. Looking closely at his wound across his lower back, she found it had been closed with the heads of an insect with large nippers. They had been encouraged to bite the wound and, once the mandibles were closed, the body was removed. All his lacerations on his back, face and leg had been similarly treated and Beverly smiled at their ingenuity. She wasn’t so pleased when she saw the reddened area around his leg wound. Infection was a danger she knew dogged them and with that in mind, she uncovered the wound in her leg to find it too was showing the first signs of putrification. The metal shard was still there but, oddly, she felt no pain. In fact, she felt no pain from any of her injuries. She was pondering this when the healer entered the hut. He bowed his head slightly and moved to Jean-Luc, placing his hand on Jean-Luc’s forehead. Frowning and shaking his head he sighed and looked up at Beverly, speaking in a soft voice. “I don’t understand. Are you telling me something about Jean-Luc?” At the sound of her voice, the healer frowned again and shook his head. Undaunted, Beverly was determined to communicate. Tapping her chest, she said in a firm voice, “My name is Beverly. Beverly.” She pointed at the healer. “You? What is your name?” He though for a moment then uttered softly, “Issar.” Beverly pointed at him and said, “Issar.” Then pointed to herself and said, “Beverly.” Smiling, the healer pointed to her and slurred, “Beverly.” She grinned broadly and pointed to the Captain. “He’s Jean-Luc… Jean-Luc.” Again he said, with a slight slur, “Jean-Luc.” Using her hands to gesture, Beverly asked, “How long have I been asleep?” He seemed to know instinctively what she asked and made an arc with his fist twice. “Two days? Can he mean two days? That means Jean-Luc’s head injuries are worse than I thought!” To Issar she said, “Has he woken up?” She pantomimed waking and he shook his head. She was about to ask more questions when he left her and went to the entrance to gently call out. Within moments, two women entered and moved to Jean-Luc. Gently raising his hips, they withdrew a soiled fleece pelt. After cleaning him, they replaced it
8