The Edge

Tola: Part Eight

Tola woke up to the sound of screaming.

She shot upright on the couch, immediately looking for Gideon. He was standing at the window, trying to peer out into the neighborhood. It was still dark out, so she wasn't sure if he'd be able to see anything. "What's going on?" Tola whispered, half-hiding herself under the blankets as if they could protect her.

"Don't know. It's coming from far off, but..." Gideon's voice had gone flat and blank. That worried her almost as much as the screaming. "Wait here. Don't move."

Tola did as she was told. She could hear Gideon moving around the house, but it seemed neither his movements nor the screaming had roused anyone else. Were they still asleep, or just hiding? She thought about checking, but Gideon had told her to stay put, so she stayed put. She wasn't sure she could get her legs to work, anyway. Something about the situation made her feel like waking up from a nightmare, frozen in place, wanting to scream for help but being too afraid to do so.

It was a relief when Gideon came back. "House is secure," he said, his voice a little less blank now. He sat down next to Tola and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Best thing we can do is stay here. Are you okay?"

"I don't..."

Another faint scream cut her off. Tola moved to curl up against Gideon. "...I don't know," she whispered. "I don't like this place."

"It's okay. I'm right here." He carefully wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his voice gentle and reassuring. "Nothing's going to hurt you."

She was starting to believe that now.

The screaming stopped, eventually, allowing Tola to fall back asleep. When she woke up, Gideon was still on the couch. His eyes were closed, but it was possible he was sleeping without really sleeping. He was good at that, almost like a cat. She made sure to put herself out of arm's reach before gently nudging him with her foot. "Gideon?"

His eyes opened slowly. "You okay?" he asked calmly.

"Better now that it's morning. What do you think that was?"

"No idea. It could just be a wild animal, but I have a feeling we're not going to get a straight answer out of anyone if we ask." Gideon stood carefully. He didn't wince, but she could only imagine how his knees and back must have been feeling. "This place isn't too big on answers."

He didn't seem to be wrong, as anxious as the thought made her. "Is anyone else awake?"

"Edward left about an hour ago. Don't know where he thinks he's going, but I think everyone else is still asleep. I'm going to get changed."

"Okay."

Tola stayed on the couch and tried to think of the best treatment options for Roland. They should probably start by making sure his fever had gone down...keep applying the substance to the injury...see if any progress had been made. Whenever she'd treated a serious injury or illness, it was two treatments a day, but someone else was usually dictating the methods. Left to her own devices, she wasn't completely sure what to do.

How many days do I have? What can I do to get the most treatments in before I have to leave?

She tried not to think about that too much. It would just make her worry, and that was the last thing she needed. Stay positive. Do what you can. Don't think about whether or not it will be enough.

She might as well have told herself to stop thinking about purple giraffes. Now it was all she could think about.

Tola had enough time to get changed and freshen up for the day before everyone else woke up. Roland was somewhat alert that morning, though he was still running a fever. "Be honest with me," he said hoarsely as Tola examined the injury, "how bad does it look?"