Chapter 9
An Oddworld Illness:
The native Mudokons around the village were hard at work, cleaning up the mess left over from the battle that ended a few hours ago. Abe's followers even lent a hand in picking up the destroyed blimp debris and dead Sligs. Alf and Abe were lucky; they had to take Munch back to the ocean to locate the gabbiwogs he hid for safety. I, myself, was happily picking up shrapnel and pulling away dead Sligs and their pants in a pit the Mudokons dugout in a field far enough away from the town. The Mudokon's dug two pits, one for the carcasses and another for the trash. I wasn't enthusiastic about dragging dead bodies into a pit for the Mudokons to set ablaze later in the night. I hope the smell wouldn't become too foul for my nose to bear. Maybe I would be back home before that happened. My body began to sweat as I wipe it away from my forehead. I lean over the pit seeing the last of the junk fall within one of the holes.
"Finally, we're done for the evening." Someone spoke out behind me as I glanced over my shoulder. It was Toby.
I stand up all the way and turn to face Abe's friend, "Yeah, that was hard work, but I'm glad I helped out in the end."
"The shamans told me to tell you to rest up until Abe, Alf, and Munch come back. They figured you'd like to see them before ya leave?"
"Yeah," I rub my head, expelling out a short snicker. "I guess the hut that I was in before, eh?"
"Yeah," Toby pointed behind him, "I gave ya fresh food and water in there as well."
"Thanks, Toby." I smile sweetly up at him. "Though I think….right now, I just want to relax outside. To see the view from outside of town."
"All right. Just don't go too far out."
"I won't." I explain, "Just going out near the fields where the meeps graze." As we both go our separate ways, I decided to make a pit stop at the hut to set down my bag to lighten the load. On the way there, my mind soon wanders. "I wonder what time it is back home? Maybe the same time of day?" I ponder more, "Now that I think of it, it was the afternoon back at home before I fell into the portal. And then, when I fled the lab, it was in the dead of night. Not only that, back home, it's fall. But here on Oddworld, it feels like the middle of summer!" I shook my head at a frantic rate. I had hoped that time stood still back at home, or else my family may be out looking for me.
Meanwhile, Abe and Munch stood at the very spot where they met me wounded under the tree. They had a bucket filled with ocean water to relocate the baby gabbits back to the village for the time being. While Munch jumped into the water to locate the underwater cavern he left the gabbiwogs in; Abe scanned around the tree. He stumbled across the hoodie I had around my waist with the left sleeve ripped due to me using it for a bandage. Abe picked it up to take it with, making sure nothing from my world was in his. Alf was back at the blimp that he landed closer to the forest, waiting for them to return quickly. It was a quiet fifteen minutes until splashing accrued in the water—Munch and the small gabbits in a line, ready to make their adventure on the blimp. One by one, the gabbiwogs swam into the bucket that Abe placed on the shore. Both Abe and Munch gave one another a thumbs-up, successfully retrieving the gabbits, making their way back to the blimp.
Back at the village, I make it to a clearing seeing the landscape in the distance. My eyes scan the perimeter, spotting a lovely tree to lay down under so I could take it all in before I leave this place for good. Once plopping down on the soft tall grass under the shaded tree, I bent my knees to wrap my arms around and rest my chin on as I daydreamed. It was a good ten minutes until I suddenly twitched my leg from a strange soft feeling rubbing up against it. It was a fuzzle smiling up at me. I was hesitant even to pet the fuzzle as it showed off its sharp white fangs. But, I knew the fuzzles could understand Munch, and the Mudokons, so I gave it a go.
"You're not gonna bite me, are ya?" I cleared my throat soon after. The fuzzle shook its head, having the long fuzzy hair flow back and forth with the movement. Then, the fuzzle jumped closer towards me, ordering me to pet it as I lower my hand down next to it. I must have given off signals that I enjoy the company of animals as more started to pop their bodies out of the bushes near the tree.
Great, I was a classic Disney princess with these fuzzles coming over to greet me. The first fuzzle pressed up against my hand as I softly stroked the top of its head, and strangely, it felt like a wire coat. That or it was just so dirty from being in the wild. I start to sink deeper into my thoughts, remembering Stranger, the Steef that used these critters for ammo with his crossbow. I wondered if he was somewhere on this planet and if he and Abe would ever cross paths.
The sudden thought vanished as my body started to fight me. My body became exhausted, and I felt lightheaded. My muscles twitch from the pain I was in as stress from this adventure finally caught up with me. From the time I escaped the lab to lying here right now, I haven't rested completely or had eaten. Only water sat in my stomach as it made grumbling sounds, warning me I needed to eat. I stopped petting the fuzzle and placed my arms around my knees again, hiding my face soon after. I felt weak. It felt like I was coming down with something. Was it a type of flu?!
An hour passes, and Abe made it back to the village in record time. Munch and Alf bring the gabbiwogs to the small lake, where I cleaned off the blood from my hair. It seemed that gabbits could swim in fresh or brackish waters, but only in a short amount of time, but saltwater was their true home.
With my one sleeve black hoodie around his shoulder, Abe found Toby pacing back and forth where the hut I was supposed to rest in, only to find out that I never made it back. "What's wrong, Toby?"
"It's Tree; she hasn't arrived back from her stroll an hour ago. I thought she had come back, seeing her bag here." Toby frantically cried out, grabbing hold of Abe's shoulders.
"Calm down. Where was she last seen?!" Abe tries to settle Toby down, grabbing hold of his hands, making Toby release his grasp from his shoulders.
"We were talkin' ta one another back where we made the pits. Tree mentioned she was going to relax a bit outside of town; then we parted ways."
"Okay, stay here if she returns. I'll go and find her. If Alf and Munch come back from the lake, let 'em know of the situation." Abe gave the hoodie to Toby, not making another sound as Abe trots away on the lookout for my whereabouts.
Abe asks around town, wondering if anyone had seen me, but all he got was a shrug and a "No" for a response. Over fifteen minutes of searching, Abe was at a loss as to where I was. It was getting too dark, to where he could hardly see what was in front of him. That was until his amulet started to illuminate the way. The female bug tapped on the glass, trying to get Abe's attention. He rose her up close to his face only to cast his eyes on a beam of light that she shot out, creating a type of compass for him to follow. Slowly following where the thin laser light led, he came upon a clearing. Her compass started to dim, meaning they were close to the target. Abe looked to his left and right, trying to adjust his eyes after his guide's light had faded. Once his pupils dilated to see in the dark, he spotted me with fuzzles all around. My posture was still the same, with my face still pressed between my knees, bending like a shrimp. My body was on fire, scorching hot from the fever I was starting to develop.
Abe rushes to me as the fuzzles scatter back in the bushes. He softly presses on my back to make sure I was okay, feeling my body warm to the touch. "Tree?"
I look up slowly at the Mudokon, hearing his voice all muffled. "I don't feel so good…."
"Did you eat or drink while I was gone?" I smack my head back onto my knees, shaking my head slowly. I was waiting for his lecture soon to come. "Ya need to eat, Tree. You're starving your body of the nutrients it needs to give ya energy." He kneels beside me for a moment and explains before he forces me to get up. "The Glukkons would starve the followers and me back when we were slaves back at RuptureFarms, so I know the feelin' all too well. They even forced us to drink their nasty brew to keep us goin', having that be the only sustenance we had to keep our energy up. But once I freed everyone from slavery and healed 'em all, the native Mudokons took us in with open arms. So I have the energy now to keep moving along to help my people."
All I heard were muffles from his voice next to my ear, though I pretty much understood his long lecture. But I just look at him and ask. "How do you do it. Abe?" He looked at me with a slight tilt of his head. "How do you keep going? Living in your broken world, with your enemies always hunting you down? How do you keep sane with everyone relying on you?" I question, trying to ignore my body temperature rising every time I spoke.
Abe thinks about my questions for a moment before responding. "Ta be honest, I was scared at first. I thought, why me?" He sighs and looks down at the grass. "But my fate was set, and I was given this task to save my people from goin' extinct. It's the will ta live that keeps me goin', that and my friends."
I needed to hear these words from Abe. Back at home, I felt like depression was taking over. My world was crumbling all around me. I just wanted to lay down and die from being overworked and not having enough money to support my family. The thought of working until the day I die started to sink in, and I'll never be able to live my life to the fullest. But hearing Abe speak out truthfully made me feel a bit more confident in myself. If he could keep going, so could I. There was no need to vent to Abe about my issues back at home. Anyway, It could have been the fever talking, making me think this way.
All I did was glimpse over at him, forming a soft smile of acceptance. Once Abe saw that I was satisfied with his answers, he stood up and demanded, "Come on, let's get ya back to the village. You're going to need to rest until mornin' to feel better before heading back to your world." Abe rose me up off the ground and escorted me back to the village. He wanted to ask me a few questions of his own but decided to wait until morning when I felt like myself again.
I blame my fever for me not recalling how Abe managed to get me to the hut. I must have lost consciousness a few times after Abe picked me up off the ground. With my body sunken into the soft bed, I was still slightly warm to the touch as the Shaman Healer was before me, pressing his paw on my forehead. "I cannot use my shamanic healing on her this time. I'll leave the supplies to make the antidote to mix in a drink for her when she wakes up in hopes of getting her back in good health by the morning. In the meantime, stay with her to prevent her from doing anything rash." He spoke out to Abe and Toby by my side.
"Shaman, what's really goin' on here?" Abe demanded to know before the Healer could leave the hut. "Tree's been ignorin' my questions as to why she's been so chill. Never questioned about our world or the creatures that inhabit it. It feels as if she has been livin' on Oddworld her whole life, but we all know she stumbled into our world thanks to the portal!"
The shaman looks back at Abe, not giving a pause, not thinking twice, "Don't go too deep into the fuzzle hole Abe, you won't like what you hear once inside."
Abe gave the shaman a very outlandish look after that quick response. The shaman said nothing more about the topic, walking out of the silent room. Toby looked over to Abe, that was speechless. "What does he mean by that, Abe?" Toby broke the silence in the room.
Abe didn't make eye contact with Toby, only at me on the bed as I slept. "I don't know. But I'll find out one way or another." He finally casts his eyes at his friend, "Toby, Why don't ya head back to your hut. I'll stay here and wait 'til she comes too."
"All right, Abe. Try to get a good night's rest."
"You too, Toby." He smiles at his friend before Toby left the hut. He sat down on the floor, cross-legged in deep thought as he watched me on the bed. It was a bit creepy, now that I think about it.
Toby stepped out of the hut, and in front of him were Alf and Munch waiting for answers. Alf was the first to question while his tone of voice was troubled. "Will she be okay, Toby?!"
"She'll be fine." He sugar-coated his words, knowing the shaman was not very specific on the matter. "The shaman said she is fighting off some type of sickness and should get better by morning."
Munch let out a great sigh, thanking the Odds I was okay. "That's good news! I was worried after ya told us that Abe went out lookin' for her. I want to show her the gabbiwogs before she leaves."
"I'm sure she'll be happy ta see 'em, Munch. I heard around the village that she's great with the critters. But she needs her rest, and so do we. Once mornin' comes, we can check on her progress." Toby moves the two along to go to sleep.
Alf went into his hut for the night; as for Munch, he hopped back into the lake to rest his warry head. The town went into a slumber, waiting for daylight to arrive, except for two Mudokons, Big Face and the Healer, hidden in the temple, having a deep conversation. They grew concerned if the antidote would work on an outsider such as myself.
In the middle of the room, surrounded by the Mudokons statues, the shamans formed a circle where they placed a few objects inside, like colorful rocks, feathers, fine white sand, and the sleeve from my ripped hoodie he had kept. They tried to decipher the future. The Healer dusted the fabric with the white sand as it swirled out of his palm, creating a spiral pattern around the material. Next came the different colored-sized rocks, dropping them randomly as they settled in their rightful places. Last came the feathers floating out of his palms and landed around the sleeve within the glowing blue circle. The fabric suddenly burst into flames once the last feather fell. Unfortunately, his reading failed to give a straight answer, making him a bit uneasy as he looked through the fire for any subtle hints.
Big Face looked down upon the reading and shook his head in disbelief. Even the future was struggling to know the outcome if Abe's antidote would heal a stranger such as myself. His voice was slightly upset as he asks, "What do you make of this? Do you think she'll pull through?"
The Healer hesitates for a moment before answering his shaman brother's question, "I don't honestly know. The future is unclear. Who knows how her body will react to the antidote of Abe's. We may have to keep her here longer in hopes her body will fight off this Oddworld illness. For now, all we can do is wait and see once Abe gives her the antidote once she awakens."
