Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 55

   Once they were reasonably settled into their new home beneath the mountain, Jakam had chosen Kelbar, Meelah, and an elite few to venture in search of the humans. He had left a group of trusted elders in charge.

    They'd been journeying tirelessly for many days without a hint human existence. Only Kelbar vaguely knew which direction to go. And finally, they stumbled upon Aaron.

   Kelbar had met several of the humans, they all seemed relatively kind, but this one seemed especially disgruntled.  With a sigh of leniency, He lifted Aaron's weak, senseless body from the ground. With steady arms, he carried the human back to camp. The others followed.

   Upon entering the camp, all eyes were on them, and the unfamiliar form they were carrying.

   Jakam stilled their curiosity. "We found this human on the shore of the lake. I'm confident that we have succeeded in our journey to find the human village. Their settlement must be very close."

    Some whooped in triumph at the news. A couple of them had seriously doubted Kelbar's directional skills and looked at the ground shamefacedly.

    Kelbar brought Aaron over to a tent-like shelter and carefully laid him down inside. Meelah was soon at the human's side, like a protective mother hen rushing to her chicks. Anyone or anything injured, ill, or weak, she immediately felt responsible for. 

   Aaron drifted through a limbo of semiconsciousness. He felt like a child with a fever, and once or twice he could have sworn he heard his mother's voice soothing the pain in his head. But it was only Meelah, speaking words of comfort he couldn't understand. She had a small basin of cool water, gently dabbing his forehead with wetted moss. When he awoke, she would try feeding him. Despite their differences in species, she could tell he was severely malnourished.

   "How is he?" Kelbar asked, peeking into the tent.

   Meelah turned, "I think he'll live. I hope to get some food in him though."

   "Thank you for taking care of him," Kelbar said.

   "It's my pleasure." Meelah smiled.

   "I'm glad you agreed to come along with us. Your skills are much appreciated." He added.

   She smiled again and turned back to dabbing Aaron's forehead. "I'm glad I came along too. It's simply fascinating to see the topside and all the different plants and creatures. So full of life. This is a very different place from our old home in the caves."

   "You don't miss them at all?" Kelbar asked.

   "Miss what?" She turned to Kelbar with a puzzled look.

   "The caves." He replied.

   "Oh, not at all." She said, then continued. "Well...maybe a little, those caves and tunnels were my home, but the more I'm up here the more the caves feel like they were a prison. We were forced to live there, after all."

   "It truly was a miracle that I found you. I don't know what I would have done..."

   "Kelbar, I don't know what force led you to us, but I believe that you saved our species from complete genocide. We would have lived out our lives in fear until those caves became our tombs. We prosper because you didn't give up. Your unwavering faith that we were out there, somewhere, is what has kept our race from extinction."

   There were no words he could say. A simple "You're welcome", wasn't enough. So, with his voice full of emotion, he said, "I'm just glad you were alive when I found you." His voice broke and he cried into Meelah's arms. He couldn't even fathom the heartbreak he would have felt if he had discovered them all dead.

   Meelah, being the strong mother-hearted person that she was, only let a few silent tears slip down her cheeks as she held Kelbar's shuddering body. She could only imagine the years of pain he'd endured, living alone, not knowing if he was the last of his kind.

   The moment didn't last long and when Kelbar quieted he straightened and asked. "Would you like me to prepare some food for Aaron, for if he wakes up?"

   "Yes, if you don't mind. That would be very helpful." Meelah replied.

   He got up to leave and nodded a farewell as he exited the tent. As he kindled a fire, he thought over his conversation with Meelah. He was surprised to find he didn't feel a tad of embarrassment at all. She had become almost like a sister to him. She also felt like a mother sometimes too, but that was just the way she was. A lot of the villagers called her Mother Meelah, or just 'Mother' instead of 'Meelah', although she didn't have any children.

   Kelbar made a broth-like soup with many different roots and plants. He knew, from years of experience which were best for regaining strength in times of illness.

   He carried the soup to the tent when it was finished. When he entered he found that Aaron had awoken and was sipping water from a cup Meelah held to his lips.

   Aaron still felt very weak but was doing a lot better. All the water he'd previously drank from the lake was now fueling his system. He was living on fumes though and needed food.

   If he was fully well and in his right mind, Aaron wouldn't trust these aliens at all, but in his current state of feverish delirium, he did. Meelah brought the bowl of food to his mouth and he greedily slurped it down.

   "I'm so glad he's eating," Meelah commented.

   "I'll get him some more." Kelbar offered.

   "Thanks, but just one more bowl. I don't want to overfeed him."

   Kelbar retrieved a second bowl of soup in which Aaron also scarfed down.

   "More." He managed to say, looking at Kelbar.

   "Not...too much," Kelbar told him.

   Aaron understood. Contented and very well taken care of, he soon drifted off into a peacefully dreamless sleep.

   It was too late to look anymore for the human village. The night was quickly falling. They would camp again for the night and continue their search in the morning.

   Kelbar couldn't sleep. His kind could go many days without sleep, plus his thoughts were also racing. He wondered why one lone human was so far away from the others. Was he an outcast? He did seem a bit hostile. Maybe he was simply lost and afraid?

   Whatever he was, they would bring him home.