Lia's files 2_Heading down south by Kathrin Kilambya

Author:Kathrin Kilambya [Kilambya, Kathrin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-12-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5 – a gift of a kind

22nd May 2072

It must have been then that sleep got me.

For, the next thing I knew was a commotion by the entrance to the cave that woke me up.

It was still dark and I couldn’t at first make out what was happening or even where I was. Torches were wielded and I heard angry voices. Then I could clearly discern the voices of Josh and Idris; Paul’s, too. The others had also woken up by now and we all quickly got up and made for the central fireplace, where everyone else had assembled. Josh and Paul had sat down, but when he saw me, Josh tried to get up. He looked shaken and even in the light of the torch I could see that he was bleeding from a wound on his temple. I rushed over to him and knelt down. “What happened? Josh! Are you okay? Why are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing, Lia. Don’t make a fuss.” Josh clearly didn’t like my concern, or the attention he got because of it. He embraced me quickly, but seemed distracted.

It took me a moment to realize that both he and Paul looked embarrassed, just as did Goytom and Mekonnen who had followed them. Idris was talking in an angry voice to his two men and they looked decidedly uneasy; only Mekonnen eventually talked back to Idris.

“And just what happened to you?” Rob demanded to know. “It’s two o’clock at night and we are all anxious to hear what this is all about? Nemesis? Or what?”

“Nothing of the sort.” Josh answered with a sheepish smile. “It’s just plain embarrassing what happened. That’s what. We were out-manoeuvred like nothing, and then, to complete the humiliation, hit on our heads and left unconscious while Abdella and Serag made away with the car and the Pathogen.”

“What!” I exclaimed incredulously. “Were you hurt badly? Do you need a bandage or something? Have you disinfected the wound?”

I stepped back to examine his face and head, but he merely laughed and said. “Nothing to worry. Really, Lia. We will have a bit of a sore head for a while, but there was no real harm done. Our pride was hurt far more than our head. Really! Stop fussing!”

I looked at him sternly and he smiled at me in return. He seemed okay and I refrained from further commenting; I felt a bit hurt, but I also knew how it would annoy me to be fussed over. So, after one last look at his head, I relented and smiled knowingly, briefly touching his cheek. He caught my hand and pressed a kiss onto my palm, whispering ‘thank you’.

As if!

Paul looked even more out of sorts than Josh. In fact, he was fuming. It was almost funny. All around us, everyone had gathered. Mahlet hovered as close to Paul as she dared. He certainly noticed it and it was cute to see that he liked it, despite feeling embarrassed at what had happened.

Mahlet’s sister Ifrah, however, looked very distressed, tears streaming down her face.

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