Timothy was back on one of the Warrior's back as they made their way to David's Hive. The aliens, once again, seemed to know the way to the Hive so Timothy placed his head down on the Warrior's back and drifted off into sleep again.
When Timothy woke, the aliens were still running, but they had left the mountains and were running on smooth ground. They ran from shadow to shadow and Timothy soon figured out why; they were running along the outskirts of a small city.
"Is this where David is?" Timothy asked the Warrior he was riding. The Warrior shook its head and hissed. Timothy sighed; he didn't have the talent of his mother to be able to understand the hissing of the aliens. So he gazed around to get a good view of the scenery around him.
They weren't in the city so the view wasn't that impressive. But Timothy got a good view on the rural part of the city. Whole families were living at the edges of the sewers and they were all dressed in rags. But, suddenly, the world vanished. Timothy looked around and saw that the Warriors had run into a sewer. They weaved their way through the waste, not coming across a single human. Finally, the Warriors slowed as they approached a large cavern; the walls coated in black resin.
Timothy stepped off of the Warrior and walked into the clearing, the others following behind. The Lesser Queen turned her head eagerly as Timothy walked in, I am so glad that you could come, she said.
"Where's David?" Timothy immediately asked.
The Queen turned her head to look in a corner in the room. Timothy turned and walked over to it. His brother was lying down, his eyes closed. He wore a dirty blue shirt that had a large hole in it. His white pants had become a faded brown and one pant leg had been torn at the knee. He wore no shoes, like his siblings, and his feet were grimy with sewer mud.
"David?" Timothy called out. His brother's eyes didn't open. Timothy noticed instantly that his brother's breathing was labored and he wheezed with every breath.
He started breathing like that about a few days ago. But he has not been well for a year, The Queen said.
"What do you mean?" Timothy said, gazing up at the Queen.
About a year ago, he came down with a fever. I thought that it was nothing to worry about. But as time passed he grew worse and worse. I think that may be why he cannot hear me anymore; he is dying.
Timothy felt his blood run cold when the Queen told him the news of his brother. He had never gotten sick before in his life and neither had his sister. He was about to ask the Queen how this was possible when the answer suddenly came to him; David didn't have an alien immune system.
Timothy turned back slowly to his brother and crouched down on his knees next to him. He raised a hand and placed it on his brother's brow. Immediately, Timothy pulled his hand back; his brother's forehead was burning hot. At that moment, David slowly opened his eyes. His pale blue eyes were dull and lacked the spark of life. But a flicker of that life sparked as David's eyes focused on his brother. He pulled his cracked lips back into a smile and whispered, "Timothy."
"Hey little brother," Timothy said and grinned. David started coughing and slowly pulled himself into a sitting position.
"Do you want a drink of water?" Timothy asked, concerned for his brother's coughing.
David shook his head and said, "The water isn't that clean down here." His voice was scratchy, as though the inside of his throat was coated in thick sandpaper.
"But—"
"Don't worry; the worst has past for now, just like it always does."
"You really can't hear the Queen, can you?" Timothy asked.
David looked at his brother and shook his head, "At first I just thought she never wanted to talk to me. But then I figured that she had been silent for a long time. I asked her if something was wrong and she didn't say anything. She started hissing in a panic and I guessed that she was trying to talk to me but couldn't."
It is true, The Queen put in, In fact, I thought it was because I had done wrong and that was my punishment. So I would ask often if he was alright and he would never answer. When he asked me that one day if something was wrong I figured out he could not hear me. The only way I could pass the message along to him was by panicking and I guess he got the message.
"Now, I figured out how to understand their hissing," David continued as though the Queen had never said anything.
"Like Mom," Timothy asked. David nodded and Timothy grinned, "At least you inherited something from her."
"Shut up!" David said with a grin on his face. He had long since gotten used to his siblings making fun of him being "normal". It had hurt at first, but he was used to it now.
"You should get a doctor," Timothy said after a minute of silence.
David gave his brother a strange look, "What kind of doctor would come down here and see what's wrong with me?"
Timothy grinned and said, "Who said he had to come willingly?" He turned to his three Warriors and said, "One stay here; the other two, go out and find me a doctor. The best one you can find."
"How are they going to know what a good doctor is?" David asked, clutching his chest.
"My Warriors are tough; they'll figure it out."