The Wild Ba’Neesh Chapter Forty-Nine ©2019 Fay Thompson All Rights Reserved

Freya was able to get still unconscious Steffi to swallow with Karl holding Steffi up at an angle with one Ba’Neesh drinking from one bottle while Freya trickled water into Steffi’s open mouth. They got enough in her for the two Ba’Neesh to nod to each other with satisfaction. Mick, watching, wondered at how the ‘sharing’ truly went. He kept learning things that pushed at his thinking. Karl kept his own mouth shut while wondering much the same thing. He had ample emergency training, an area he particularly enjoyed. What he was seeing simply didn’t apply – to humans.

Noises in the woods from across the stream brought the uneasy cluster of Soek to their feet with two or three stunners in hand. Ba’Neesh appeared, only these were much larger and distinctly elder Ba’Neesh with fully grown twisting horns, a head ruff and heavier fur. They were carrying strings of dead animals. They plopped them down and all but one of the five turned and much more quietly vanished into the woods’ shadows.

The lone remaining Akaitapi glared at the prickly Soek group. “Stupid Soek.” She announced derisively and then snorted, shaking her mane. “Shoot and die or stuff those distance weapons in your pants.” It was provocative. One of the Soek made to lift his weapon. Two of his nearby mates placed a hand on his arm. “Nein.” They said.

“You!” The Akaitapi pointed at one of the Soek. “Here.” She pointed at the pile of dead animals. He exited what now felt like the safety of the group to cross the small stream and approach her directly.

“I am Onnopa’tsis Sipi. Night Huntress. You speak English?” She said.

“A little.” The Soek answered, trying desperately to squeeze her hard name into his mind. “I’m Falk. Means falcon. I hunt cross-bow.” He said, pleased with piecing together a full sentence.

“Soek clean the kill. We cook and eat.” She pointed at the pile. “Knife is a barely acceptable weapon to hunt, bow a coward’s weapon, does not give prey a chance.”

Falk picked his way through her words, her horrible accent and then frowned. “I am not a coward.” He said, pointing at the pile. “No knife to dress.”

Onnopa’tsis Sipi honked over at the woods and one of the smaller, to Falk’s eyes, more normal Ba’Neesh trotted out and tossed a knife at him. He dodged, cursing. The normal Ba’Neesh was gone by the time he retrieved the knife to the echo of her laughter.

All of the Soek were watching except for Elias, who slept through it.

Neither Mick nor Karl heard any Vrill on the Akaitapi’s words. No compulsion.

“Who is she?” Karl asked.

“An Akaitapi.” Mick said, frowning slightly. How long had the elder Ba’Neesh been nearby? He hadn’t been told. Still, they came bearing meat. He was already drooling. “Ba’Neesh from far away came to help our Ba’Neesh.” He made the distinction.

“Freya?” Mick turned to speak directly to her, “How long have the Akaitapi been back?” He asked.

“Found us near the second cave.” She answered. “Stayed at distance, told us you needed to run. We let you run.”

Mick groaned and replied, “I need to know my resources. We could have eaten earlier instead of everyone starving now.”

“They not here to feed you, fuck Mick.” Freya said, with a bit of sarcasm. “Or us. How we learn without do? Elders not teach incompetence.”

Karl was half sharing both perspectives. Clearly these Akaitapi were seasoned. He watched the one supervising Falk with how to gut. Oddly, the two of them seemed to have crossed that fearful hump that was close contact with a Ba’Neesh. He considered his own feelings, he didn’t want to be far from Freya. It was almost obsessive, the feeling. He checked himself. What was wrong with him?

“They like throwing shit balls at robot bugs, laugh hard.” She continued.

“Spit balls.” He corrected, automatically.

She snorted. “Like shit name better.”

Clearly her session with Helewidis had made her feel better. Mick knew more than to argue over a shit name. He sighed. “Need to know everyone’s skills, traits, abilities to position best in fights.” He said aloud.

Karl nodded. He looked over at the Soek group and then he called out in German, asking each for their stats, gifts, hobbies, bad traits, the works.

Mick listened, picking up one word in ten. Aenor had trotted off long since and he didn’t want to get into it with Freya, it was too much effort. He could guess Karl was fulfilling his not exactly requested order. What was his relationship with Karl now? Weirdly, the closer the Soek got with Freya, the safer he became in Mick’s mind. Invested. He’d seen the possessive look in Karl’s face. He really wanted to talk to Elias about it but Elias desperately needed the rest. He pushed himself up to go to Elias and move his friend to a better flat position on the ground. Elias muttered but didn’t waken fully.

The Soek group, answered Karl. At first with obvious reluctance, then with a sort of relaxing comprehension. They were moving beyond expendables into more valued status. Each of them felt the shift and by the end they were bragging on each other and telling tales. Karl was listening, strongly aware of the glowing rocks the Akaitapi had made into a circle and the cooking meat. The odor was invading his brain and clearly the brains of the former Soek mules, loosening their tongues.

Mick shrugged out of the pack and left it leaning against Elias, who muttered in his sleep again, this time saying the name Edda.

Mick stretched, his body felt off, wrong, changed. He avoided thinking about it. He wanted food. Ba’Neesh first. He knew that rule well enough. He walked across the stream utterly unaware of the hard focus of the nearby Soek, watching his every move. They watched him reach down to pick up two flat rocks and carry them toward the circle of glowing stones.

“Evening.” He said to the Akaitapi. “I am here to serve the Ba’Neesh.” He offered up the two stones.

Onnopa’tsis Sipi sniffed and stomped a bit. “Those cooked well enough.” She pointed at two pieces. Mick noted meat and vegetables. He could have kissed her but thought she might kill him for that. He managed a nod. Falk poked the various bits and placed them on the rock plates. He was so hungry he could spit, but he could guess this kid was equally hungry and not acting on it. He watched Mick walk toward the woods. It was dark enough he could barely see the kid but he noticed that Mick seemed sure of his direction. He vanished and then moments later returned empty handed to fetch two more stones.

Mick looked over at the Soek mules. “First we feed the Ba’Neesh. Then we eat. Then they kill your molcoms and you hate on me for the header that causes. Enjoy your food first.” He turned to Karl who had showed up wanting to feed Freya himself. “Ah, Karl, Steffi likely won’t eat but Freya will and a lot, twice a rock plates worth. Okay? Oh, have her ask for the analgesic, not sure what we have left. Those six will need it.”

Karl nodded, he remembered his own header, before the Vrill and battle cured him. Was it only this morning? He was struggling to account for how the day felt like a week, how he was utterly altered. He crossed the stream and found two rocks. A slow trail of Soek followed him. Falk loaded his two rocks and Karl worried he would succumb to his lust for the meat. He grunted aloud to the following Soek in German. “Feed Ba’Neesh first or they kill you out of hand.” He didn’t know if it were true, but, it felt true. He headed back over to serve Freya who gave him a sharp look and accepted both rocks for herself. He watched her eat aggressively, her fangs put to good use. It made him want fangs. He turned away and headed back to join the uncertain Soek. Two more rock platters. He then faced the woods and paused. It was a nudge, maybe something visual, maybe a sound. He couldn’t say. He just knew and walked forward to be met by a team who took his rocks and snorted.

He was followed by Soek mules. He found he needed to lead them to the next set of Ba’Neesh. Why could he sense them and the mules could not? Was it all molcom inhibitors or something more?

They fed the Ba’Neesh and found there was plenty more for them. When the meat finally reached Karl’s mouth he felt an ecstasy, a food bliss. He couldn’t believe how good fresh meat tasted. He sat next to Freya and wolfed it down. She gestured at her two empty stones. A clear visual request for more food.

He and the Soek continued feeding the Ba’Neesh and themselves until everyone was sated. Mick helped feed Elias and let the second and third helpings be handled by the mules.

When the meal was finally done. Mick forced himself to get back up. He walked over to Karl who also stood. Karl had six analgesic packs in his hand, given to him during the second and third helpings to the Ba’Neesh in the woods after Freya honked at them. Mick and Karl nodded at each other and together they walked over to where the Soek were waiting, most with nervous expressions. Hans and Otto simply sat there, nodding full understanding of what was to come.

“The Ba’Neesh are going to use Vrill embedded speech on you to compel you to obey.” Mick said, “They will show you where your molcom is inside your brain and show you how to encapsulate it so that Tule Soc cannot brain wipe you from a distance. I would have done this immediately, but I was busy, fighting and running. You will have a massive header, take the analgesic and then sleep. We will likely leave in a hurry, stay dressed.”

Karl repeated Mick’s words in German, being explicit. He could see the fear in the Soek’s eyes. “I did it this morning, as did Otto and Hans.” He said, “You do it now.”

The Ba’Neesh voice came out of the woods, unattached to any form, just words spiraling through the air with compelling power. Karl noted he didn’t receive the order. He would have thought it was a blanket order. It was the first time he realized that the Ba’Neesh could select for voice compulsion. A skill. He was collecting their abilities. Tactical, his mind said pragmatically. These were, as that person Neo had said, Mick’s assets, part of the Battle Group.

In some odd way Karl realized it was now his Battle Group. These beings had fought along side of him and helped keep him alive. His Battle Group. He liked that. He liked that Mick had brought him over to supervise the pain of the molcom encapsulation. It went better than his had. He wondered if the slight prep of fighting with the Ba’Neesh and running Vrill had helped. He put that aside to think about later too. He ordered the Soek to sleep after each was dosed up. Mick had already turned away, leaving Karl with the Soek. In charge.

Mick curled up next to Elias. The Soek formed a stiff line that altered as they quickly fell asleep and turned to cuddle each other. Freya was down cuddling Steffi. Karl first sat and watched all of them, noting Mick was relaxed but his eyes stayed open. He thought about setting a watch and then understood the Ba’Neesh were out there, all around them. It was about as safe as it could be in the circumstances. He lay down wondering if Freya would let him be close. Then he was asleep, not noticing her telling Steffi that the big Soek was warming her back. It was spoken in Neesh anyway, so he wouldn’t have understood. But, she didn’t make a move to push him away.

Mick knew his body was asleep. It was in that noodle state of utter muscular softness. But, he remained aware. He wasn’t in the woods exactly so he couldn’t say he was fully awake, but he was aware of the woods and the Soek and Ba’Neesh all around him. He felt his body deep breathing, the slight snoring sounds coming out of his open mouth. Still, he knew he was in a new kind of sleep.

There were voices, conversations. He drifted towards them with a feeling that he knew the people talking. Females. He thought one was Edda. He missed Edda. The voices became more distinct. He called out, “Edda?”

He knew he was laying in the woods, next to Elias and between them were Edda’s bones. He knew that, but still, Edda was in this other place too.

“You shouldn’t be in here, Mick.” Aenor’s voice said with her no-nonsense tone of dismissal.

“Where?” Mick asked, confused. He was inside his own head inside his own body inside the woods laying next to Elias. He was sleeping, or mostly.

“Here.” Aenor replied.

He didn’t answer right away and he could hear grumbling and cross discussions. He knew he didn’t know these Ba’Neesh as well. He was doing better. He knew most of their names now. But, they were usually not near him. It was hard to gain that personal sense from a distance. He regretted that.

“Oh, do stop nattering on.” Aenor said again. “Drivel. What are you doing here, Mick?”

“I’m sleeping in the woods.” He said, a bit defensively.

“Really?” Aenor became more distinct, like she was sneaking up on him. He didn’t like that analogy. Maybe she was just getting louder.

“Clearly you are a dream.” He said and then plaintively cried out, “Edda?”

“He thinks this is a dream.” A voice with that distinct foreign accent interrupted. An Akaitapi? He wondered which one. He didn’t know but two of their names and he’d forgotten the first one. It was long.

The same voice snorted. “That’s rude. Not remembering my name. I remember your name fucking Mick Huxley.” She said.

He thought about the dream rules. He really didn’t want to piss off a Ba’Neesh, dream or not. “I apologize, it’s not an easy name for me. I’m a stupid Soek.”

“Pandering now, Mick?” She snorted again.

“Well, which is better. Should I not apologize and simply be rude?” He answered.

“I want to know why he is in here.” Aenor said again.

“Me too.” Another Ba’Neesh he wasn’t able to easily identify spoke up, clearly miffed.

“I opened the door.” Edda said.

“Edda?” Mick tried to get closer to her voice although he had no idea how such things worked in here.

“Why would you do something stupid like that?” Aenor argued.

“I have been hearing things through his spine.” Edda said. “I wanted to listen deeper and here is quieter and deeper. I keep hearing a name, Mikha’el. I am trying to remember.”

“A memory?”

Mick felt as if the lot of them were swimming toward him. It was scary. “Hey wait.” He yelled out, trying to retreat but he didn’t seem to have any limbs. It annoyed him that once again he was somewhere where he didn’t know the rules and others did. It wasn’t fair.

“Give us the memory?” The voices, many, loud, demanding, ordered.

(Such fun. Writing is hard and fun at exactly the same time. For me, my characters are all standing behind me offering their opinions and advice and often mucking up my plans. I love them. More tomorrow! Enjoy!)