Chapter Seven: Desperate Measures
Grubbi lifted the cub's
shirt over his head and handed it to Ursa. The two stripped Buddi down to his
bare skin and placed him on a bed in sickbay. Ursa handed Grubbi his tools as
he bade her to. The two Barbics needed to be certain of the condition of the
cub before they could do anything to help.
Grubbi laid his head against the
child's chest. It was easiest for him to hear an abnormal heartbeat that way.
But the child's heart was steady and normal, just heavy. The first of the signs
of a Breach of Life. He nodded at Ursa who handed him a small flashlight and a
flat stick.
The medic pulled Buddi's body up so
that it loomed over his elbow. Ursa grasped Buddi's cheeks and pried his mouth
open. The medic took a gaze down his throat and watched to see if his throat
was still revealing proper breathing. It was. But that was the final sign. He
nodded to Ursa who closed her child's mouth.
Grubbi sighed deeply and put a hand
on Ursa's shoulder.
"I'm sorry Ursa but Buddi did it.
He's locked his spirit away."
The woman swallowed hard, nodded and
then rose, walking outside even as the threatening clouds began to pour down
rain.
* * *
"Ursa!"
Gritty finally stopped by the door
outside. He'd just heard about Buddi. What could have hurt the cub enough that
he'd drawn inside himself? If he knew Ursa, she was blaming herself. He just
needed to find her. He finally did when he opened the door outside and peering
through the blinding rain, found Ursa, alone.
She was sitting on the fountain, in
the courtyard, her head down. Gritty looked at her form with sympathy. Her
clothing was drenched, her head low. Her bright hair looked ragged and wet. She
had her arms wrapped around her shins. Gritty had never seen someone look so
young and scared, yet so old and worn at once. He walked out into the rain and
held his cloak out over her head.
Ursa looked up as the rain stopped
pelting her head and hair. Gritty looked down at her. She sighed and turned her
face away from him. Gritty sighed himself and looked down at his 'little
sister.'
He'd grown up with her. She'd been
his first friend and then as he got friendly with others, their relationship
grew until they became like brother and sister. She would go to him for help
and him to her. Even now, he went to her, as he knew she was distraught, even
if she refused to admit it. He sat down by her.
"Ursa…don't blame yourself. It
wasn't your fault."
"Yes! By Gum, it was Gritty. I was
too hard on him and now, he locked himself away!"
Gritty put his hand on her shoulder.
She didn't push it off but did move away a bit.
"Ursa, come in. You're drenched."
She shrugged. Gritty drew her to him
although she resisted.
"By Gum, Ursa stop it! It wasn't
your fault! It wasn't!"
Ursa stared at him. He'd never
raised his voice to her. They argued but had never really yelled at each other.
When Ursa said nothing, he grabbed
her shoulders and shook her hard. "Do you hear me? It wasn't! Say it! Say it
Ursa!"
Ursa said nothing. But she looked at
her best friend. To gritty, her eyes looked scared, lost, and guilt drowned.
She only said two words,
"Oh, Gritty."
Then, she flung her arms around his
neck and buried her face into his chest. She didn't cry but she was trembling.
Gritty held her, as an older brother would. Even when they were cubs, Ursa only
revealed weakness to him, when they were alone. She refused to reveal it in
front of the others.
But Gritty knew when she held it in.
"Oh, gritty," she said as she leaned
against him, "What am I gonna do? If Buddi doesn't wake up, he'll…my baby…"
"Don't think that way, Ursa." He
squeezed her a tad. He pulled her up and they started to walk in. "It'll be
alright. I don't know how but it will."
Ursa nodded and regained her
composure. "Thanks Gritty." He nodded as he saw her tough exterior go back up.
He followed her as she walked up into sickbay. They opened the door. Grubbi
gestured them in and when he moved out of their sight, they could see Buddi.
The cub was lying still, unmoving. His
face, normally with a slight blush of life had gone deathly pale. Ursa walked
over and sat by his side. She took one of his limp hands in hers and patted it,
gently saying,
"Come back, Buddi. Come on, baby.
Don't leave me. Please come back."
Buddi remained passive.
Grubbi tapped Ursa's shoulder and
she moved. Grubbi took the cub's left arm and wrapped a rope tightly around the
upper section. Ursa watched as her baby's veins stood out and Grubbi drew some
blood from one and then injected a nutritional shot into another. For the first
time, Ursa wished to hear,
"Ow, that hurts!" or "Stop it!"
But Buddi, the one Barbic that
feared needles, did not even flinch. Ursa dropped her head.
Then, as Grubbi took the rope off
and left, Ursa sat down by Buddi, clutched his hand and whispered,
"Please, please baby. Come back to
me."
* * *
Celina nodded to Igthorn. Let the
fool have his fun.
"Attack!"
The band overwhelmed Ursalia's gates
and poured into the city.
* * *
"Ursa!"
The Barbic leader turned as the door
sprung open.
"We're under attack!"
Ursa leapt up and immediately said,
"Try and hold them off, Ryo. I'm coming."
The Barbic nodded and ran out. Ursa
turned to Buddi.
"I won't let them hurt you, baby."
That said, she ran her hand over her
child's eyes, feeling his youth on her hands. Then, she gently kissed his
forehead and ran out the door, baring it, hard, before rushing out to see the
battle's status.
Her heart sank.
Several of the Barbics were captured
already, leaving them outnumbered. She was not normally one to panic but she
knew that they could not beat this enemy alone. But, she hated to call the
glens into this.
Another group of Barbics fell to her
enemy. She growled and cursed under her breath.
But she ran towards the Gummi Scope.
As she ran, she heard that human's
voice,
"Get the leader!"
Ursa growled as she saw the troops
chasing after her. She swung up onto the roof and jumped to the platform.
Aiming it quickly, she tapped out her message,
'Glens, Ursalia, this is Ursa.
Help."
But then, the troops overwhelmed
her. She swung out with her sword, injuring one ogre. He stumbled. Ursa ran,
delivered a swift kick and off he fell to the ground. She ducked another but
the third grabbed her, and squeezed.
Ursa started to have trouble breathing.
He was crushing the air from her lungs. She dropped her sword and started to
gasp for air. She strained her strength and tried to burst his grip but his
strength was greater than hers. She felt her vision start to swirl as her lungs
strained and burned for air.
She fell limp, unconscious.
Her child slept on.