The Imagination Machine

Chapter 10

The first thing Courtney noticed when she woke up was that she was lying on something soft, rather than the scratchy leaves she had been used to for so long.

Courtney struggled to sit up and found that her head felt like somebody was pounding it with the world's largest hammer. Groaning, she lay back down in the bed, taking in her surroundings.

The room was small, bare, and round, with walls and a ceiling made out of tree branches. She realized that they were in one of the huts she'd seen earlier.

A few feet away from her, a small form was lying on a cot. Courtney realized with a jolt that it was her brother. Rudy jerked back and forth, muttering to himself and shaking violently. Courtney willed her muscles to move so that she could stand to help him, but it was about as useful as trying to lift a mountain.

She had to turn her head when she heard footsteps, and saw Lucretia walk into the room, carrying a wooden mug.

"Oh, you're awake," he said as he glanced at Courtney. "How is your head?"

"H-horrible. What happened?"

But Lucretia was shaking his head and walking over to Rudy's cot. "Your little brother's already showing signs of the death bug illness. He has to take the medicine right away." Lucretia said calmly, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Rudy?" .

"Wha-?" Rudy muttered. Even from her vantage point, Courtney could see that his muscles were tense and his forehead glinted with sweat.

Lucretia made Rudy sit up, although it was evident from his grimace that it was painful for the boy. "Drink," he said firmly, holding the mug to Rudy's lips. Rudy sipped a little of the medicine, which was brown and frothy, before spitting it out onto the cot.

Lucretia held it to Rudy's mouth again. "Rudy, I know it doesn't taste good but you have to drink it."

Rudy made a face, but sipped away at the medicine without protest, gulping the mug until it was empty, wiping his lips, and then putting his hands to his mouth, as if afraid it would all come back up again. "Are you okay?" asked Lucretia, putting the mug back on the dirt floor. Rudy nodded and sank back into the cot. His cheeks had already grown rosy instead of pale and his eyes were clear.

"My stomach stopped hurting," he said. Lucretia nodded and smiled.

"You might feel weak for a few days, but that is just a sign that the medicine is working," Lucretia told him.

Then he began to pace the room. "We have a problem. According to Urowin and Uwane, both of you were around the bush when you leaped out at them. You tried to attack them and Urowin hit you on the head with the Halbrig."

Courtney shook her head, although the mere effort of moving it was rather painful. She hadn't understood half the words Lucretia had said, but the accusation made her furious. "No way. After Rudy passed out, I heard rustling in the woods. One of the little guys found us in the bushes and I stood up, trying to explain what I was doing there. Then the kid hit me over the head with that wooden thing."

"The Halbrig? We use them to capture animals. You're lucky it didn't do much more damage."

Courtney raised an eyebrow. "I heard the kids talking and saying they're not supposed to be in the woods in the first place, Lucretia."

Lucretia shrugged. "I'm not even sure how they got the Halbrig." For a moment, his face darkened. "I hope you don't think too badly of us already. Young children are normally not allowed to use weapons in this village. And Uwane admitted they'd gone in there earlier today."

"Why weren't they allowed to go in the woods?" Rudy wanted to know.

"It's dangerous," Lucretia said. "Only those who've lived many sun cycles and are able to prove themselves can be hunters."

Sun cycles. That must have been what a year was. "How many sun cycles have you lived?" Courtney asked.

"Sixteen." He glanced at her, beaming, seeming to be lost in his own reveries. "I have been a great hunter. Able to provide for the village for many moons."

"Who cares? Yeah, real macho," Rudy grumbled under his breath, so only Courtney could hear. Courtney tried to tell herself that Rudy's snide comments were just caused by his illness.

"Rudy, stop," she whispered.

"Okay, listen." Lucretia's tone was serious now. "You are actually not supposed to be here. There is a law in this village against outsiders. The queen will want to see you."

"So?" Courtney asked. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Whenever you are ready, clean yourself off. I've left a bucket in the corner." With that, Lucretia turned and headed for the hut opening. Courtney summoned all her strength and stood, stumbling on compacted dirt, head pounding. After a minute, it had dulled down to a manageable pain and she made her way over to the corner. She did indeed see a wooden bucket set against the wall, as well as what appeared to be a white robe.

She teetered on one foot for a minute, unsure. There were no nozzles, no sinks, not even a washcloth. Upon closer inspection, Courtney found a comb lying near that bucket, but that was it. The bucket appeared to be staring at her, almost as if it were taunting her.

Courtney contemplated not using the water for a minute but dismissed the thought right away as she took herself in. Her shorts were covered in dirt and so were her hands. She pulled a red curl down in front of her eyes. Her hair was tangled and frizzy, and she had several cuts on her arms and legs.

She noticed, with some confusion, that she and Rudy had somehow lost their shoes. She wondered, for a fleeting moment, where the water in the bucket had come from. Groaning inwardly, she grabbed the bucket with both hands and was about to empty it over herself when she realized that her Rudy's head was turned her way. His eyes reflected his exhaustion but his expression betrayed a little amusement.

"What the heck are you doing?" he said weakly.

"Oh. Right," Courtney muttered as she realized she hadn't taken her clothes off yet. She reached to unbutton her shirt when she noticed her brother was still staring at her.

"Do you mind?" she snarled.

Rudy rolled her eyes and turned his head the other way. Courtney quickly took off her clothes and her bracelet and drenched herself, observing that the water collected in a little stream that ran towards a hole in the dirt floor of the hut.

Although still damp when she was finished, Courtney put on the garment Lucretia had laid out for her, which turned out to be loose-fitting and looked almost like a nightgown. She picked up the comb and ran it through her curls. There were no mirrors, so Courtney decided she looked as presentable as could be when the tangles were out of her hair.

She also put her bracelet back on, under the sleeves of the loose-fitting robe.

Laying the comb down, she looked at Rudy. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to stay with you for a while?"

"I'm not dying, Courtney. It's okay."

Courtney winced. "Please don't say that. You were dying."

Rudy inhaled sharply.

"You sure you're okay" Courtney asked.

"I miss mom. I want to go home," said Rudy, tears forming in his eyes.

Courtney frowned. "I'm sorry." She walked over to him and clutched his hand, kneeling by his cot. "I promise that we're going to get out of here, okay?"

He nodded.

Courtney took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to be outside, alright? I want to see what we've gotten ourselves into."

Another nod. Courtney stood and made her way out of the hut.