"Are we going to die?"

[A Davis 0]

“Are we going to die?”

A Joint Log by Kat and Amanda

 

Kat had a low in the incoming injuries and had gotten word that some of the children may need attention. She had an old walking stick in her quarters and, knowing what she had done to her knee, knew she was going to need it. She grabbed the hypos and gave her knee another dose of cortisone and another round of painkillers. She would have to deal with it sometime, but right now the children would come first. She bent her knee a few times to work the medication around in it then grabbed a fresh med kit and headed off for her quarters to get her walking stick then to the Children's ward.

 

Kat entered the Children's safe zone and saw the children huddled in the middle of the floor. She also saw Dr. Amanda on the opposite side speaking with a young Rihan boy. She walked over towards them as they talked but did not interfere as she listened closely to what was being said.

 

“Are we going to die?”

 

Amanda started, then took a deep breath. The young Rihan boy knelt on the floor, hands folded listlessly in his lap. His deep brown eyes held total resignation as they stared beyond the shelter’s walls into dark memories.

 

For the last 24 hours there had been a lull of just over 30 minutes between the attacks. Because it was predictable it should have been a comfort, but for some reason he treated it like the calm before the storm, the universe taunting him with peace before snatching him from existence during this raid, or the next, or the next....

 

To any other child, Amanda would have said, “Of course not,” but knowing Ejiul, the comment would have been trite, or even cruel. He seemed to understand beyond his years the threat they faced. Whatever had given him that insight must have been painful beyond words, but at this point its origin didn’t matter.

 

“I don’t know,” Amanda whispered as she knelt down beside him. “But I do know that we are well defended, and that those who defend us are strong warriors. We have many friends and allies to help us, and they should come very soon.” Here she paused to gauge his reaction, but he continued to sit and stare blankly at the floor, the wall, and whatever dark scene his mind conjured.

 

She adopted a more serious tone. “I also know something else, and it’s something very important.”

 

The boy’s gaze shifted as he turned to face her, his expression demanding more.

 

“I know that it doesn’t do any good to sit... and wait... and do nothing.” Her tone was firm, meant to provoke him away from whatever nightmare he was reliving.

 

His face flushed and his jaw clenched, fists balled and ready to strike. Amanda braced herself.

 

“I’m just a boy of ten summers,” he spat, gesturing... “imprisoned here with these… children. What am I supposed to do, take up arms I don't have? Command an imaginary ship and join the fight? Summon an army and….”

 

His rant continued for some time before he settled down, and only then did Amanda address him quietly, yet sternly, meeting his eyes straight on, as a Rihan mother would.

 

“Firstly, Ejiul, you are not a prisoner here, you are here at the order of your family,” she countered, ignoring the looks some of the children were giving him. “They put you here for a reason, and you know why. You are not just a boy. You are Rihan, and you are a warrior of the House of Keirianh. You are noble, Ejiul, and you are a leader. You have passed through the Great Fire and you are strong. You will do what you can, whether ten or ten thousand summers, and you will do it well.”

 

With sudden maturity, his face grew livid and he contained his anger with the piercing glare Amanda had seen all too often from the Chief Engineer. In a matter of seconds he had turned away and was marching toward the others. Amanda followed.

 

“What must I do,” he growled.

 

“Whatever we can, Ejiul. Let’s go find out.”

 

Listening to the conversation, Kat’s stomach turned hearing the fear but yet determination that the boy had. She was glad that Amanda was the one to speak to him. She wasn’t sure she could have handled that as well as she did. Kat watched as Amanda moved on with the youngster but stayed behind not to be in the way. She just looked over the huddle in the middle to see if she could spot anyone hurt.