33 BULLETS

Three more days, and I was still alive.

Barely.

Though I was stuck in bed and my fever was getting unbearable.

I'd been developing a fever and every day it was getting worse.

I stared at my mud encrusted leg, sitting up in the wolf bed, and tossed the wet washcloth at my forehead to the side.

I'd never felt closer to dying.

My body was giving cold sweats, but I was burning up. My vision was spotting and breathing getting harder.

Thann reapplied the paste every day, and each day the pain from the movement would thrust me into unbearable sharp jabs of agony. I'd scream bloody murder until I passed out.

That tells you how bad it was. If Thann would still work the medicine in when it hurt me that bad, I knew this wound was so much worse than my shoulder ever was.

At least I could move when I needed to, like a change of scenery or the bathroom, but I had to let Thann carry me, or I'd have to keep my leg insanely still. While out and balancing once, I made makeshift branch crunches, and kept them by my bedside, though Thann still hadn't let me use them.

With how much worse it was, I'd dare say that my wound was infected.

And growing.

The poison was eating away to my knee now.

I finally voiced a concern that had been gnawing at me for two days. "Thann?"

He moved from guarding the front of the cave and came and kneeled beside me, hands to my belly.

I swallowed, trying to gather my courage. "You know how you wanted to amputate my arm? Should we amputate my leg? Right now we can cut just below my knee. If the venom eats anymore, I won't be able to keep it."

Thann rubbed down my arms and took my hand in his. "El safe. Baby safe."

I looked away. I knew he wouldn't understand, but I had to speak it. "No. I'm not safe. The baby is not safe." I showed the line at my knee. "Kill. Kill Sukumah hurt." I mimed him holding a dagger and crashing it down against my leg.

He stood up in a blurred movement. "No!" His holler rumbled through the cave. "El medicine. Good."

I gave a sad nod and mumbled. "I sure hope your medicine is good. On Earth you don't just let something burn your whole leg off and not do anything about it."

Before I could say anything else, he turned and strode out of the cave.

"Thann?" I asked the emptiness. I started reaching for the crutches thinking I really offended him, but he appeared a moment later with an armful of orange leaves.

I sat up against the edge of the bed and zinged when I moved my leg to the floor. "What do you have?" I asked through clenched teeth.

He placed the bundle in my lap.

"Leaves? Uh, thanks. Pretty." I smiled up at him, though it was mostly fake.

He gave his own fake smile and sat next to me, moving the top leaves from the pile, until a corner of soft goldenrod leather was peeking out.

"Oh, is this wrapping paper?" I finally giggled. I'd given him a gift in those wide leaves before, maybe he copied it from me.

I picked the leaves off until I held up the leather and it was a pair of pants, no, shorts. Made wide and with a stretchy waistband. Perfect maternity wear as well as easy to get up over my leg without much movement.

I turned to Thann a real smile across my face. "You made me more clothes? Thank you. These are perfect. Help?"

He took the shorts and held them open wide over my legs and made sure not to touch my burn. Then helped me to a one footed stand and I pulled them up over my belly.

It was nice not just being in undies anymore. My jeans had gone to heaven with the skunk spray along with my boots, and my second pair of pants would be too small now, plus having anything over my wound was just not doable.

I leaned over and tried to grab my crutches again, but Thann grabbed me into his arms instead.

I kissed his cheek. "Thank you. You always think of everything. I'm probably not very easy to take care of being so accident prone."

Even my shoulder still sucked, but it was just like an annoying fly now. Nothing compared to my leg.

He smirked and walked me out to near the firepit. There wasn't a fire going, but out in the fresh air was where I needed to be.

I swept in a deep breath of all the herbs that surrounded the cave, and Thann wandered off to a fruit tree to bring me what I called a papaya. Orange pear shaped fruit with dozens of black sunflower seeds inside. I'd never tried papaya at home, so I didn't know what to compare it taste like. But this papaya was stringy with a sweet squashy type flavor.

"Oh!"

I jumped with the surprising movement coming from my belly.

Thann was kneeling in front of me in seconds, ready to take my pains away.

"I think," I started, and then placed a hand on my stomach. "I think she moved."

Was that a kick?

Was it indigestion? Had I had raw meat lately? No. I was trying to be really good and only eat Thann's heavily charred food.

She bounced again.

"Oh! It was!"

Thann's concerned voice bore over me. "Hurt? Help."

I smiled encouragingly. "No hurt. Baby."

I pulled the waistband of the shorts down and exposed my bump. I didn't even have to reach for his hand, it was already placed delicately over. He grinned watching the area, his smile for the baby never showing any of the nerves that he showed over me.

Kick.

"There!" I hollered and Thann's hands flew off, now finally concerned.

"Kwenzenjani?" He squinted over my stomach.

Smirking, I grabbed his hands and put them back. "Baby. Baby uh, walk."

"Baby?" He questioned, face turning back to a grin. He laid down so his ear was against me too. "Baby."

I started combing my fingers through his hair and just let him be. "Yep. Your baby."

But I started counting the days.

Wait.

This really was wrong.

I shouldn't feel the baby yet. It's been what, just over two weeks since Thann and I first did the deed?

I thought I was just getting fat from no twenty mile hikes every day, but if I can feel kicks then this baby is way bigger than it's supposed to be.

How long do alien babies gestate for?

If I was already feeling flutters, there was no way this baby was lasting nine months.

Then how long?

I was definitely showing now. Anyone on the street would say 'when's the baby due fatty?' And I'd be all like, 'uh, nine more months?'

Crap.

I really needed to get to Molly.

I looked down to my leg. That is if I didn't need to amputate.

Could I have a baby and then be whisked away back to Earth where they worked their magic?

Could I hold out that long?

Earth magic probably would be to just amputate.

But a sound interrupted my dark thoughts.

A low toned note called from across the mountain.

A howl.

I jumped in a startle and had to gnash my teeth from the fresh strain on my leg.

Before I could ask about hiding, Thann stood and gave his two-note exclamation into the air.

"Thann!" I cried in shock. "Werewolves!" They'll eat me!

He chuckled. "Cane."

I turned to where he was studying. "It's Cane?"

In another minute a man strode from between the trees and grinned wide when he saw us. "Thann!"

"Cane!" He called back.

Cane turned to me. "El! Hello!" the beam across his face falling to doom when his eyes hit my mud-covered leg. "El?" He panicked to Thann. "Kwenzekeni emlenzeni wakhe?"

"Ubuthi bukaSukumah."

"Sukumah!" He cried out and ran to me, watching over the wound and pulled out my leg.

I froze in pain, face contorting in hurt, but never let my voice fly.

Thann yelled, "Cha! Uzwa ubuhlungu. Thinta uthambile."

Cane's eyes widened and he gently placed my foot down, and then noticing my bump, he backed up completely. His words were low and apprehensive. "Mfowethu. Wenzeni?"

"Baby," Thann nodded Cane's way.

"Cha! Uyahlanya? Ungowenkosi Maza!"

They're talking about the stupid Maza again?

"Boys?"

Cane growled out. "Uzobulawa uma uMaza ethola."

Thann spoke glancing back to me, serious and dejected, a hand rubbing over his forehead. "Ngiyazi."

Thann looked away from us, ashamed and hunched.

"Sizoyithola. Kepha sidinga ukumyisa eMaza manje. UMaza uthumbe uMolly," Cane spoke gravely.

Thann turned back to Cane, eyes anxious. "Linda. Kwenzenjani?"

Cane exhaled. "Ngilethe indandatho kaMataoka, ukuze aqonde. U-El kumele eze enkosini uMaza."

Cane then turned to me and held something out in his hand.

"What's this?" I said, going to pick it up. But once I realized what it was adrenaline crashed through me in a fit of anger.

It was a golden banded ring, inset with an aquamarine stone.

Aquamarine.

Jia's ring.

The ring I placed on her grave.

Rage burst through me and I stood, barely even cringing away the pain in my leg. "You stole Jia's ring? You A-Hole!" I swung at him, punching his chest with everything I had, my knuckles cracking under his heavy frame. "How dare you! You grave robber!" I hit him with my other fist, he barely flinched.

Thann quickly lifted me away, holding me tight against him. Cane looked shocked, ring still outstretched.

"Mbeke kuye." Thann hollered while I struggled in his grasp.

My arms and legs flailed about as I shouted obscenities at Thann's brother. "I can't believe I liked you! You thief! You grave robber! You're lower than low!"

I didn't know if it was pregnancy hormones but I was livid.

Cane stepped forward cautiously and caught my hand, stilling it.

I tried to yank it back, but his hold was solid. "Let go of me you, you stupid jerk! You cow licker! Go put it back right now!"

He put the ring on my finger and stepped back.

I pushed and punched against Thann's arms. "Let me go! I'm going to kill him!"

"El, calm down," Thann spoke tightening his grip.

"Calm down? Calm down! What the frick do you mean calm down? He's a grave robber! He's a thief!"

Cane's brows lowered in confusion.

"He's not a grave robber, El," Thann spoke to my frantic ear.

"Yes he is! Let me go!" I kicked out, zinging down my own leg and cried out in pain, but I would not be stopped. "That was Jia's ring! He stole from Jia's grave! She's dead you piece of beetle dung and you stole from her! You desecrated her grave! I'll feed you to those stupid yellow tarantulas, A-Hole!"

Thann chuckled. "Is that what you say when you have your tantrums?"

"Tantrums? Who asked you! Let me go!"

"El, El. Eleanor. Calm down. You can understand me, right?"

I stiffened in his arms, fever going cool.

What?

I.... I could.

"That's right. Okay, so listen to me. That's not Jia's ring. It's Mataoka's. Molly has one, Lissette has one. They're translators. That's why I've been so adamant on finding you rings. I wanted to find your translator. Do you have one?"

I couldn't speak. I just looked down to my hand, gazing at the aquamarine stone next to the pink ring Thann had given me.

My breathing became erratic, the only noise filling the campsite.

"El?" Thann asked.

"Uh, uh. Huh?" I stammered.

He sat me back down on the log and kneeled beside me grinning.

I was still too in shock to do anything.

"Think El. Where is your ring?"

I swallowed hard, trying to understand the world. A translator? I could understand Thann's words? It felt like a whole new planet. A whole new Thann. Thann couldn't speak English. Who was this person talking to me?

Was he a different person now that I could understand him?

No. That was nonsense.

"Um. No. I never had one. Only Jia did."

Thann took my hand. "Are you okay?"

I stared at his fingers like I'd never felt someone touch me before.

I shook my head, no.

He chuckled and kissed my hand. Tingles sped down my spine. "Yes, you are. My brave woman."

Only my eyes lifted to him, my face still the picture perfect of anxiety. "Don't say that."

"Say what? That you are mine?" He sighed. "I know. I apologize."

"That I'm brave."

"But you are."

I looked over the ring in concern, still feeling the world crushing in. "This is a translator?"

"Yes. All the women have come here with one."

"How did I come here?"

He was quiet a moment and shrugged. "No one knows. We suspect Moon Goddess."

"Moon Goddess?"

That sounded as fairytale as a werewolf.

"She's our deity."

I deadpanned a glare at him. "I know what a Goddess is." I glanced back down to the ring. "Jia said I was speaking Korean. We thought it was a universal language."

He rubbed peacefully down my arm. "No universal language. Just she must have been wearing the translator."

I sighed. "Yeah. She always wore it. Never took it off." A thought lit. "Wait. I found her ring on my truck's floor after she passed. I thought it was weird she took it off, maybe..." I trailed off.

Cane spoke for me. "Maybe that one was yours. What did you do with it?"

I looked up to him and then around the campsite. "I... I put it on her grave. As a headstone. I thought it was hers."

Thann and Cane shared a look.

Thann spoke to him gravely. "That's clear back at Kawu Lake."

Cane exhaled and glanced to me. "You can use Mataoka's for now. We don't have time to go get yours. We have a problem and we need your help. Alpha King Maza has kidnapped Molly. He thinks she's you."