Thomas startled, nearly jumping as Indral shouted his name. “Jeeze, you just scared the hell out of me Indral” he said as he tried to slow his racing heart.
“Apologies, Human Thomas. I have been trying to get your attention for a bit and you weren’t responding. You have also been walking this one circle of hallways while staring at that paper,” Indral stated, “I assumed it was something important, but I also have something important to discuss with you.”
Thomas shook his head and took a couple deep breaths, “Sorry man.” he apologized, “um.. Lets go to my office and we can talk”
Indral nodded and padded after Thomas as he started walking back the way he had been going. As the two walked in silence, the hum more machinery could be heard adding a low, deep hum in the background. “I have also been meaning to ask,” Indral said, breaking the silence as they walked, “It has been getting noisier in here over the last couple weeks, can you say why?”
“Oh, yeah,” Thomas said while scratching the back of his head, “um, so it turned out that the lower sub levels had flooded. We’ve been running off the emergency reactor since I turned everything on and it's starting to show the strain of overuse, so I tasked a bunch of the bots I built to go down and fix everything.” he continued, gesturing wildly. “They go the water drained and have been repairing and bringing online the machinery down there, that's what the extra noise is”
Indral nodded his head, making noises of agreement at what he felt were appropriate times, and understanding less and less as the Human began unleashing a flood of technobabble while growing more animated. In all his seasons of watching Humans, he felt he would be prepared to interact with them, Indral thought, but the more he spoke with Thomas, the less he felt he knew. Humans, and this one in particular, were complex creatures, he had learned. He had seen Thomas display a wide spectrum of emotions and actions, had seen him acting nervous and cautious when interacting with others, to being extremely competitive and aggressive, especially in these “video games” Thomas had shown them.
Regardless of all that though, Indral was most impressed by the Humans' interactions with Delvik, himself and the others. Thomas may have been wary when they first arrived, although perhaps not wary enough in Indrals opinion, but he had quickly moved past that and treated them not as inferior or superior, but as equals. He felt that Thomas spoke with him and the others as he would if he were speaking with another Human. Indral knew that if the situation were reversed, if Thomas had been brought to the tribe, he would have been treated as an inferior being at best, and a dangerous beast at worst.
He shook his head to clear the darkening thoughts from his mind and looked at the extremely animated Human, and immediately had the thought that Thomas looked like a youth that had just returned from their first journey to the surface and was excitedly describing everything.
Indral was slightly startled as Thoms brought his hands together in a loud clap, “And once they finish, we should see definite improvements to water and air quality, plus we will be able to shunt extra power to the bar upstairs, so Ill want to have a sit down with you guys tonight to discuss plans” Thoms said excitedly, and turned to look at Indral.
“Um, sounds good,” was Indra’s reply.
“I did it again” Thomas said guiltily, and Indral simply replied, “Yes.”
Thomas slumped his shoulders, in seemingly exaggerated defeat, “dude, you gotta tell me when i'm running off the rails like that,”
Indral just patted the Human on the leg as he stopped next to Thomas, “It is ok, you seemed very excited and happy, so I did not wish to stop you. Besides, we have arrived.”
With a loud sigh, Thomas fished out his key card and swiped it through the reader and pulled open the door, allowing the two to enter the control center.
The sight of this room, filled with flashing lights and many screens, still amazed Indral. From here he could see the screens showing the views from all the cameras showing the outside. He could see Dulc at the bar with a large book open and experimenting with various mixtures of liquid. On another screen he watched as Delvik was showing off his armored suit to Sev and Gerv, and wondered how long it would be before the two of them approached Thomas to make them similar suits. Talli was off observing the burrow to keep an eye on it today, and M’ria would fight anyone who tried to drag her away from her precious medbay.
Thomas sat in the huge, very ornate seat and spun around to face Indral, before reaching under the large U shaped desk to roll out a small stool and pushed it towards Indral.
“So, what did you want to talk with me about?” Thomas asked.
Indra paused for a moment to consider how to phrase his question. He was unsure of how the Human would react, and a nugget of fear existed at what the answer would be.
With a deep breath, Indral asked “Our tribe, our people have treated Delvik horribly due to his connection to you. While it may have been a smaller group within the tribe that was directly responsible, the majority still fear and hate Humans,” and he paused to look Thomas directly in the eyes, “What are your intentions towards the tribe? Do you intend to take vengeance against the tribe?”.
Thomas sat back stunned at the question, it was not what he had been expecting. Thomas thought about his reply as he watched the old Rakus, who looked tense with nerves.
Thomas answered slowly, carefully choosing his words, “What those people, the watchers?”Indral nodded his head, confirming he got the name right, “What the Watchers did to Delvik is wrong on so many levels. It was torture, plain and simple. Without the Medbay he would have died, and without the medical nanites, Delvik would have been crippled for life.” he said, sadness and anger in his voice.
“But,” he said with a sigh, “I don't plan to Nuke your people, Indral, or unleash a swarm of killer robots or a world ending plague.”
Thomas looked around and gestured to the cameras showing the outside ruins, “That's already been done.” he said with a sad laugh. “Besides, I don't hold the actions of a few against an entire people. Oh I would love to see them punished for what they did, don't get me wrong, but to answer your question, No. I do not have, and am not currently planning to attack your people.”
Indral visibly deflated as the tension drained out of him.
“You are far too kind, Thomas. The watchers, and many of my people would not be so forgiving.” Indral said.
Thomas smiled sadly, “I understand that, trust me. In my time, before all this.” he gestured again to the monitors, “that was largely the way of the world. A person or a group hurts someone from another group and quickly everyone was up in arms, and fighting, and the only result was everyone getting hurt.”
Thomas reached over and opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of brown liquid and two glasses. He quickly filled each cup about a quarter of the way and put the bottle back before handing a cup to Indral.
“At some point, someone has to try to break that cycle. There were a couple of sayings, ancient quotes that got tossed around alot but nobody really paid attention to them.” Thomas said before taking a sip. “The first was, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”, and we can see where that got everyone just by going outside.”
Thomas took another sip, “the other is, “the best revenge is to live well”, and that's personally my favorite quote. So no, I am not going to go off and seek physical revenge for Delvik, and I'll try to talk him out of doing so as well. Instead, I plan to live the best life I can, to take this ruined place and turn it into something that I can be proud of, that can maybe help others and, I dunno, bring some measure of peace and stability.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Indral sat still with shock, holding the glass with both hands as he listened to Thomas. The kernel of fear in his heart had vanished, while he had not expected Thomas to be the bloodthirsty monster most would assume a Human would be, but he had expected the Human to desire some level of revenge. He had not expected this response though, so he considered Thomas’s words, “to live well being the best revenge”. Such a simple concept, but one that had never crossed his mind before.
“I will have to think about this, your answer raises new questions in my mind. Especially this idea of living well being a form of revenge. Yes, it requires some time to think about it, but I find it intriguing.” Indral finally said, “I do have one more question though”
As Indral opened his mouth to speak, one of the monitors to the outside began flashing and a red square outlined the screen as a harsh buzzing noise sounded. Two heads turned and saw a female Rakus sprinting towards the entrance of the bar.
Thomas looked confused, but Indral recognised Talli in her full hunter's gear.
‘That's Talli,” Indral said after noticing Thomas’s confusion. “She must have seen something important, she was observing the burrow.”
Thomas stood and finished his drink, Indral did the same and handed him the glass, and then both quickly departed the control center and made their way to the surface.
As the two entered the bar from the now hidden bunker entrance, they found Talli standing at one of the tables, breathing hard and trying to catch her breath.
“Indral… Human Thomas.” she wheezed out, “Burrow…… Trouble at Burrow…..”
“Talli, sit and catch your breath, then tell us what you found” Indral said as the other Rakus, except M’ria came over to see what was going on.
Talli took several deep breaths, exhaling slowly and then chugged an entire large glass of water that Dulc handed her.
With a final deep breath, she began to tell them what she had seen. “It was strange, there were no sentries, no watchers. Nobody was outside, so I slowly approached and slipped inside. Still, I saw no one.” she paused, and everyone saw her begin to shake slightly, “I kept pushing in, at the drop, the ropes had been cut and oil poured down the sides.”
A small sob escaped her, “Sickness has taken the burrow. I knew as soon as I pried open the hatch, that sickly sweet scent came flooding out. They must have evacuated and left the sick, I could hear their cries when I opened the hatch.”
Indral felt tears begin to run down his face. To seal a burrow like that, to prevent escape, could only mean one thing. That the sickness was too great, and the only option was to flee and seek shelter elsewhere. To doom those who were sick to a slow, wasting death, with no hope of help. He has seen it once before when he was young, another Burrow had fallen to sickness and he had been sent to help evacuate the healthy and seal it so none could escape.
A keening sound echoed out from the ruined messhall turned bar. A sound of sadness and grief and raw hopelessness.
A loud and sudden crack interrupted the sound of mourning, and six heads turned to its source. Thomas was waving his hand from the stinging pain of slapping the wooden table, but he looked at them, saw their sadness and grief, and reminded them that they were not alone.
“Guys, it's not over. We haven't even tried helping yet.” he said, and turned to Delvik, “Your suits mask has air filtering, you will be safe from whatever sickness if its airborne, I mean in the air. Go and start helping them as best you can. Bring big jugs of clean water, and we will be there soon.” He turned to the others and continued, “If we can get samples of the sickness, we might be able to make a medicine to help cure it.”
The tone and fire in Thomas’s eyes, as much as the words, snapped the Rakus out of their grief.
“Human Thomas, you are right. It is not like before, where leaving the sick to die was the only option. We now have you and your magical home. Perhaps we can save them, but we must go now.” Indral stated firmly as he wiped the tears away.
“Sev and Talli, go get M’ria and help her get everything she needs.” he said before turning to another, “Gerv, go with Delvik but do not enter the burrow until we arrive. Make sure the entrance is secure and no creatures are sniffing around.”
The four nodded and ran off to their assigned tasks, two disappearing into the shelter and two heading over to the bar to start filling containers with water.
Thomas pointed to Dulc and Indral, “while they do that, you two can help me in the lab. I think we can fab up some masks to let more enter the burrow safely and get them to the others.”
The two remaining Rakus nodded and followed the Human down into the shelter, passing M’ria and her helpers, all carrying bags loaded with medical supplies as they headed for the surface.
***************************************************
Twin beams of light passed over the rows of sick, moaning Rakus that had been laid out in the largest chamber. Delvik had used the extra strength the suit gave him to quickly clear a large space, and he was once again thankful for the suit that Thomas had built for him.
Inside the suit, he was hot and his fur matted down with sweat, but he continued to work tirelessly. He had swept through the burrow after he had arrived, literally smashing through the secure hatch and ripping it from its hinges. Once inside he had gone through the whole burrow, and had had to smash down two more sets of barriers that had been erected to keep the sick and dying trapped deep within. He had found some with wounds from fighting, they had likely tried to flee when the healthy ones had been evacuating.
Already he had a hallway in the back filled with those they were too late to save. I broke his heart all over again, but he kept working, fighting to try and save as many as he could. Thankfully, it had only been about an hour before Indral had arrived with simple masks that would filter the air and fit over their muzzles, and allow the others to descend into the Burrow to help.
A clanking sound heralded the arrival of a group of robots that Thomas had quickly repurposed to help. He watched as M’ria quickly directed them to where she needed them to stand so the stretchers could be attached, and the patients could be carried out. Almost half the tribe had been sealed down here, mostly regular citizens, but there were a mix of hunters, warriors, scouts, and even a few watchers. He had argued with himself greatly when he found the first sick watcher, lying in a pile of her own filth and moaning pitifully, he had considered leaving her to her fate or even finishing her off himself, but his compassion won out over his anger.
It was the longest and quickest period of time he had ever experienced, Delvik thought as he did a final pass through the Burrow. He paused at the Matriarchs chamber, belongings lay strewn about and abandoned. He shook his head as regrets flooded it, if only he had been more convincing, or tried a different path, this could have been avoided. If only they could have seen what he had seen. With a sigh, he continued his final pass, leaving only ghosts in this new tomb.
***************************************************
Matron Litra floated in her mind. Was she finally dead? The pain has subsided, she could recall vague, fuzzy glimpses of shadowy figures as she lay dying of the sickness.
Slowly, she felt her mind begin to settle. The sensation of weightlessness subsided, and was replaced with a heavy pressure and warmth. Slowly more feelings began returning, she felt weak, hungry and thirsty.
She tried to speak, but it only came out as a soft moan.
She tried to open her eyes and found that some kind of cloth was covering them.
She heard movement and felt a paw touch hers, and she gripped it weakly.
“Now, close your eyes and I will remove the cloth over them, then you may open them slowly or else you'll just be blinded by the light” the voice of a kindly elderly female said, and she did as instructed.
Litra felt the cloth removed and slowly cracked her eyes, it was so blindingly bright she thought. The brightness hurt, but slowly she adjusted and felt her heart suddenly go into overdrive. She wasn’t in the Burrow. This room was alien to her, the bright lights overhead and white walls. It looked similar to some of the areas of the Burrow, perhaps what they may have looked like before they fell to ruin. Her fuzzy mind was trying to process this when an elderly female's face appeared over her.
“Drink child” the elderly female said sternly, as she held out a cup with a strange object sticking out. “Use the straw so you dont spill it all over yourself”
She complied, and after a few tries figured it out. The refreshing liquid flowed into her mouth, faintly meaty and salty in taste. After a couple powerful sips, it was pulled away from her, and as she started to protest, a finger swatted her on the nose.
“No complaints, I don't want you to overdo it and throw it back up.” The elder female said, “Your body is weak from the sickness, but you are safe and will recover.”
Litra felt like she could cry from relief. She looked at the older female and managed to croak out a question, “did….others….make…it?”
The elder female nodded, “yes, many others survived and are here as well.”
Litra wanted to ask more questions, but exhaustion was pulling strongly and she felt her consciousness slipping away. She lost the struggle, and fell asleep once again, but with a faint smile on her face.
***************************************************
In the lab, Delvik and Thomas stood by the MRD going through a list of foods that it could create. For every item that appeared on the screen, they would debate and either add it to a list or discard it.
“What about this one,” Delvik said, pointing to a new entry on the screen.
Thomas visibly shuddered, “No, just no. Literally anything but that one,” he said.
Delvik looked from the list to Thomas in confusion, “But this name sounds fun, does it not?”
Thomas just shook his head, “trust me on this one buddy, it's a hard pass. I don't even think the giant bugs would eat it. Alex must have put it in as a joke.”
Delvik shrugged, “While I am curious, I will defer to your experience. We shall skip the Turkey Surprise.”