Brutaka's Game Chapter 9

Gali moaned and stirred around. She opened her eyes and found herself in her bed. When she tried to sit up, she hissed and placed a hand on her side. She then felt a stinging pain in her chest and back shoulder.
Tahu rushed in and stopped. He had a look of relief on his face. "Sister, are you well?"
"Sort of. What happened? I remember hearing thunder. I think I felt it too. Then, nothing." She looked back down at her wounds.
"A Human stabbed and shot you Gali. We almost lost you."
Her eyes opened wide.
"I- I can't believe it," she slowly sat herself up and hung her legs over the bed. "What about our brothers? Are they alright?"
"They're fine sister."
Gali noticed something off with his tone. "Tahu, what is it?"
Tahu was hesitant. "We- well, Lewa, came up with a plan."
"And what would that be?"
"He's disguised as a Human and should be walking amongst them as we speak."
Gali nearly shot herself up. "What in Mata Nui's name were you thinking, letting him go through with this?!"
"Don't worry, everyone is taking turns watching over him from a distance."
Gali wasn't impressed. "You better hope he gets out of this alive."

"Heads up!" shouted Mackenzie.
The soccer ball went flying through the air. Lewa jumped up and caught it.
"Zach, you're not supposed to use your hands, only the goalie can," said Ashley.
"Sorry." replied Lewa. He threw the ball back to Mackenzie.
"You don't play soccer much, do you?" asked Mackenzie.
"Of course not, he's Canadian. They only thing they care about is ice hockey," snapped Janet. She then looked at Zach. "You should teach us sometime."
"Uh, yeah, sure." Lewa tensed up, hoping they wouldn't really hold him to it. "So uh, tell me about Sarah."
"Why would you want to know about her?" sneered Janet.
"Ignore her." said Mackenzie. "Janet and Sarah have been at each other for a long time."
"Really? Over what?" he asked.
Mackenzie shrugged. "No one really remembers."
"Well, whatever happened, she sure seems grumpy about it," said Lewa.
Mackenzie stopped and looked at the medical tent. "I don't think its Janet. She's probably in a lot of pain right now."
"I'd probably be in pain too if I tried to fight off a few Toa." replied Lewa. "Speaking of which, what are we going to do about them?"
Mackenzie kicked the ball to Caitlin. "Don't know. B.J. is in charge, so it's up to him."
"Oh." Lewa almost sounded disappointed.
"But one thing is for sure," said Mackenzie, "Everyone here has to do chores."

Lewa leaned back against a log and rested after a long hour of gathering firewood. Janet approached him with something in her hand.
"Here,"
Lewa took it and examined it.
"It's a sandwich." she joked.
Lewa still wasn't sure what to do with it, until he saw the others eating theirs. He figured it wouldn't hurt to try it, but he noticed everyone chewed his or her food. There really wasn't anyway to hide his ability to absorb it, so he took a deep breath and took a bite. Slowly he chewed, feeling a little disturbed at the texture of peanut butter and jelly. The flavor however, was worth it. He then tried swallowing. The food vaporized as it went down his throat. It was a relief, but he realized he would have to repeat the experience again and again.
B.J., and Mr. Petrik sat on the opposite side of the fire, eating. Lewa saw it as the perfect opportunity to find what he wanted to know.
"So," Lewa said casually, "You guys are in charge huh?"
Mr. Petrik pointed over to B.J. "He is. I'm just a teacher."
Lewa tilted his head to the side. "Okay. Do we have any upcoming plans?"
Right away B.J. gave him an odd look. "Well, Mark and I are going out to gather resources tomorrow. You want to come?"
Lewa shrugged. "Sure. What are we looking for?"
"Anything we can use." B.J. took a drink from his canteen.
Lewa grasped that he wasn't going to get anything out of them just by asking, and kept quiet.
He looked over to his tent and saw Sarah though the door. She was still on her stomach. Her arms hugged the pillow her head rested on, as she stared into space. Her expression was that of pain and discomfort. His staring was cut off when Eric came out of the same tent. An idea came to him and he stood up and left.
"Where are you going?" asked Mr. Petrik.
Lewa froze and looked over this shoulder. "I'm just going to take a walk."
"Alright, but don't stray too far."
Lewa nodded and ventured away from the camp. During his walk he looked around for plants; grabbing a handful of a fern-like plant, some orange flowers, and three leaves that were similar to oak leaves.
"What are you doing?"
Lewa jumped and spun around to see Onua, leaned up against a tree with arms crossed. He held up the plants. "Working on a little recipe Turaga-elder taught me."
"Why?"
Lewa wasn't sure how to explain it all. "Well, it's for one of the Humans."
Onua raised a brow. "But do you know what they're planning?"
"Not quite. They'll be search-finding for something tomorrow, but I don't know what it is or what it's for."
Onua pondered over it.
"Brother,"
The Toa of earth broke his concentration.
"This might take longer than I thought."
"How long?" asked Onua.
"A few days."
Onua wasn't pleased. "That's pushing it."
"I know, but I'm afraid I have to gain their trust to learn anything."
Mr. Petrik could be heard in the distance. "Zach?"
Lewa flinched. "I have to go now."
Onua watched him run through the vegetation. "Be careful."

Eric walked into the medical tent and found Zach, sitting in his bed and grinding several plants in a bowl.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Making something for her burns." Lewa replied.
"Zach, mixing random plants together doesn't constitute medicine."
Lewa looked up. "These aren't random plants. It's an old recipe I learned from a tur- uh, elder. And it works."
Eric gave a disapproving smile. "I doubt it."
Sarah opened her eyes, but kept her gaze at the tent fabric in front of her. "Let him do it."
Eric gazed down on her, a little surprised. "I advise against it. Home remedies aren't the most reliable."
"Then lets put it to the test." replied Sarah. "Put it on my shoulder and we'll see how things turn out."
"No. As the medic I will not let you experiment on yourself in this condition." Eric turned towards Lewa. "Understand?"
Lewa quickly nodded. When Eric left Sarah let out a huff of frustration.
"Don't worry," whispered Lewa. "Tonight I'll put some on for you."
Sarah turned to look at him and quietly spoke. "Thanks."

Even with the quiet and soothing sounds of the night Lewa could not fall asleep. He tossed and turned in his sleeping bag, but his clamoring thoughts kept him up. He then heard something and froze.
After a few seconds he heard it again and looked over to his side. Sarah lay, quietly moaning. She stirred around in her bed, only to moan some more and return to her original position. Soon the moaning became sobbing. Sarah buried her head into the pillow and wept.
Lewa kept still, making sure she didn't know he was watching. Guilt swept over him and he felt he had to do something for her pain. For several minutes he sat in wait until she cried herself back to sleep.
He quietly got out of his sleeping bag and looked at Mark. He was sound asleep. Lewa then closed the tent door and deactivated the Kanohi Mahiki. He shifted back into his Toa form and placed the palms of his hands close to each other. A soft green energy began to form between them and grew. He used only a small part of his energy, as he would be too tired in the morning to do anything using all of his healing powers.
With so little power to use, he focused it onto the shoulder that he had placed the ointment on earlier that night. When finished he reactivated the Kanohi and went back to bed. He didn't notice Mark staring at him with a cross look.

" Brothers, where are you?" asked Gali. She walked up river to the place where she was attacked. The forest was unusually quiet. Right as she was about to call out a gain, several large bangs filled the air. Birds squawked and flew out of the trees.
Gali recognized the sound and ran. When she reached the waterfall she stopped and gasped.
All six of her brothers lay dead on the ground. Each one had a hole in their chest armor, with blood oozing out. She stood still, in shock. Her legs wobbled as she grasped it all. Suddenly there was another bang. She felt something punch through her chest and she stumbled backwards before falling onto her back. She gasped and placed a hand on her wound.
A Human walked up to her, one that she didn't recognize. He had dark, black hair, with sickly green eyes. In his hands was a riffle.
"Makuta," she gasped angrily.
"Hello Gali," He pointed the riffle to her head. "And goodbye."
Gali nearly screamed as she jolted out of bed. The Toa of water took a moment to calm down and looked around. "It was just a dream." she reassured herself. She then stared out the window.
The thought of everyone being killed off was horrifying, but the question remained: Was it a vision, or her imagination?

Lewa shuffled in his sleeping bag, trying to get a few extra minutes of sleep, while he heard B.J., Eric and Mr. Petrik conversing around the campfire. Half asleep, his mind focused in and out of the conversation. He finally opened his eyes and saw Sarah sound asleep.
Lewa smiled softly before looking at his hands. His eyes went wide. By falling asleep, the mask power shut itself off and he was a Toa again.
He heard someone coming and he pulled the sleeping bag over him. The stranger entered the tent. Lewa hurried to get the Kanohi Mahiki working. When he changed back to his Human self he took off the cover and saw that the stranger was Eric.
The medic had woken Sarah up and examined her shoulder. "Wow, you're recovering pretty quickly."
Sarah was surprised. "Really? I guess Zach's remedy worked."
Eric had a blank stare before turning around to look at Lewa. The false Human smiled awkwardly.
"Is that so?" Eric remarked sarcastically. "I guess we'll be using your family 'recipe' then."
When he walked out Lewa scooted up to Sarah. "How are you feeling?"
"My shoulder feels better, but that's it. "
"Good to know its working." smiled Lewa. "Unfortunately I don't have anymore. I'll have to go out and seek-find some more."
Sarah tilted her head in a curious manner. "Alright, but please hurry on it."
"Zach." called out B.J.
Lewa stared at the tent door, and then nervously back at Sarah. "Be right back." He walked out and found B.J. and Eric on the other side of camp, wearing backpacks half empty, a canteen or two hung off each one.
B.J. held a riffle in one hand and an empty backpack in the other and handed the pack to Lewa. "You were going to help us gather resources remember?"
Lewa almost cringed. "Oh, that. Well I-"
"Zach," B.J. sounded disappointed. "We really need everyone to pitch in."
Lewa held his head low and took the backpack. As he finished getting ready, Mark came out of his tent and strapped his backpack on.
"All right, so we're going to scout east for most of the day and hope to be back here by sunset," said B.J.
As the group left the campsite, Lewa looked back at Sarah's tent with a bothered look over his face. But as they walked, he noticed that they passed some of the plants he needed. So he slipped his way to the back of the line and gathered the plants along his way. Within an hour his pack was half full with medicinal plants.
A few hours later the group found another stash of crates. Lewa stood several feet away, observing them as they opened up the containers and pulled out the contents. Many of the objects were foreign to him.
"So what now?" asked Lewa.
B.J. looked at him and held up his backpack. "We load up."
Lewa noticed that they were picky on what they packed. He wasn't quite sure what to get.
Mr. Petrik was the first to finish packing. "Zach, hand me yours."
Lewa did so and took a step back.
Mr. Petrik opened it up and stared inside. "What is this?"
"It's medicine… for Sarah." Lewa replied stiffly.
"I appreciate what you're doing," said B.J. "but right now this is our priority."
Mr. Petrik emptied the pack and began to pack ammunition. Lewa searched around the crates, feeling disappointed. He found boxes that he recognized to be food and handed them to Mark.
"Hey, look what I found." smiled Mr. Petrik as he held up a camera. "There are quite a few batteries here too. Maybe we can make a video blog."
B.J. cocked a brow. "Why?"
The teacher shrugged. "When we get out of here we can show the world, or look back on it or something."
Mark tilted his head with intrigue. "Teach me how to use that and I'll take care of the chronicling."
Mr. Petrik smiled and handed the camera over to Mark.
Lewa became a little uneasy at this. "What deed are they going to commit that they are so eager to record in their history?" A soft rustle caught his attention.
Lewa looked to his side and could barely make out Kopaka in the distance. The noise caught B.J.'s attention as well.
The pilot's eyes shot wide open. "Get down!"
Lewa ducked down and covered his head while B.J. aimed the gun and opened fire. The Toa of ice immediately scrambled away in the thick underbrush. B.J. kept firing short burst of rounds until he heard a loud yelp. Lewa cringed his teeth, knowing that Kopaka was hurt, or worse. When the firing stopped, Lewa slowly turned around to look at B.J. Both, the pilot and teacher were a little shaken.
"Everyone head back to camp." ordered B.J. "I'll finish this."
Lewa jumped to his feet in panic. "W-Wait!" He stopped himself for a moment and tried to figure out what to say next. "I-I'll do it."
B.J. ran past him. "That's not up for debate."
As B.J. disappeared into the vegetation, Lewa took in a deep breath and ran after him.
"Zach, come back here!" yelled Mr. Petrik.
Lewa ignored him and kept running. Instead of catching up to B.J., he shifted back to his Toa form and snuck into the canopy. From his vantage point he found Onua helping Kopaka get back on his feet. It was a relief to know his brother was still alive, but he saw B.J. closing in on them.
Lewa activated the mask again and created an illusion. When B.J. pushed through a large fern he nearly jumped back from seeing the Toa of ice appearing dead on the ground. He crept up to the body and took a good look at it. It wasn't breathing, but he wasn't going to take the chance. He pointed the gun at his head and fired.
Lewa jumped as the shot rang out, while the real Kopaka and Onua froze. Appearing satisfied, B.J. walked away from the body. Lewa sighed in relief and flew back to the ground. He then changed back into Zach and made his way back to the group. When reaching them, he was met with a scowling look from all three adults.
"What were you thinking?" asked B.J.
Lewa acted as if he was guilty. "Sorry. I just wanted to help."
The pilot sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "Just don't do that again, okay?"
Lewa nodded.
"Eh, B.J.," said Mark. "If I can have a word with you. In private."
While Mark pulled him aside, Lewa sat down on a crate, shaking over the fate of his brother.
"You see what just happened here?" whispered Mark. "A Toa found us again. It's only a matter of time before they find our camp and once they do, they just have to wait for us to leave everyone defenseless to attack."
A strong sense of fear swept over B.J. as he pondered over it. "Alright, we'll teach them, but we do it my way."

"It hurts okay?" groaned Kopaka. "Get it out. Now."
"I'm trying, but you won't hold still," snapped Gali. "Brothers hold him down please."
Pohatu and Onua each leaned their weight on Kopaka's back.
"Just hurry before he shows up."
"Before who shows up?" Tahu said as he walked in. He stopped and was puzzled to find Kopaka bent over, lying stomach down on a table with his brothers holding him on one end and Gali operating on the other. A quirky smile grew on his face.
"What happened here?"
"You don't need to know." Kopaka's voice almost cracked.
"C'mon, you can tell me."
Kopaka quietly mumbled something.
Tahu mockingly leaned closer. "What? I couldn't catch that."
"Something bit me from behind."
Everyone in the hut snickered. Gali was the only one trying to hide her laughter, but failed miserably.
"This isn't funny!"
"True, 'butt' it isn't something that happens everyday," smiled Pohatu. "I'm sure we will put this memory 'behind' us."
Kopaka clutched is fist. "If you all so much as peep one word aboOWWW!"
"Got it!" said Gail, holding the bullet between her fingertips.
Kopaka groaned, while Tahu enjoyed the scene with a wide smile. It wasn't until he noticed Gail staring coldly at him that it disappeared.
"So," said the Toa of fire. "How did this happen?"
"One of the Human's spotted him." replied Onua. "Lewa was with them."
"Is he alright?" asked Gali.
"As far as we can tell they haven't found out about him."
"Well that's a relief," replied Takanuva.
"Yeah, but we still need to keep an eye out for him," said Pohatu. "I'll go take the next shift if you want."
"That would be appreciated," said Tahu. "As for you,"
Kopaka looked up and stared coldly at him.
"I wouldn't sit for a while if I were you," the Toa of fire smiled before walking out.
Kopaka quietly grumbled something in response. He stood up and walked around.
"How does it feel?" Inquired Gali.
"Better." But Kopaka still hobbled a bit in his strides.
Takanuva sat down and placed his hands behind his head as he leaned back. "I'm surprised they didn't try to finish you off."
"Oh they did 'finish me off'." murmured Kopaka. "I saw Lewa use the Kanohi Mahiki on them." He paused. "It would be best to not let the Humans see a dead Toa walking."
Takanuva tilted his head. "Come to think of it, has anyone noticed that I'm the only one the Human's have actively hunted?"
Gali looked at him with surprise. "When did this happen?"
"On my way to Ko-koro. Kopaka said a Human stalked me all the way there. The odd thing is that they only tried to kill you and the others when they spotted you. But no Human was gone to any of the villages looking for you."
Kopaka froze stiff. "He- he has a point. It would make sense to try to kill you first, as you are Makuta's greatest fear."
Onua spoke up. "There's one problem with your theory: Why aren't they all actively hunting you now?"
Takanuva shrugged. "Maybe they don't know where I am."
"They would still try to look for you," said Gali. "Right now only Lewa can find out what's going on."
"Speaking of Lewa." said Kopaka. "Not one word about this to him, understand? Not. A. Word!"

When Lewa arrived to the campsite he rushed over to his tent. On the door was a paper sign with writing on it. He had no idea what it read and barged right in. Inside, Sarah and Eric looked up at him with surprise.
Eric then looked crossed. "The sign says stay out."
One quick glance at Sarah revealed why. She had all of her bandages removed, exposing her back. It was a disgusting mess of red skin and white blisters, some of which have already burst.
"Oh, I'm really sorry." Lewa replied with shock. "I just figured I could give her some more ointment."
"Maybe when she's actually in better shape," snapped Eric.
"O-of course." Lewa quickly rushed out the tent. He wasn't sure if he should scream or throw up. Part of him was okay with doing both.
"You okay Zach?" asked Mackenzie.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to go rest myself somewhere else."