The Antelope's Journey

25. Vicious curses of nature

The little shark could almost get a perfect bite of Kali’s nose but with a quick reflex, he swiped his elbow across his face. A tight bite onto his arm resulted. His standing was slippery and the added weight of the baby sharp finally tossed him off. He submerged into the dangerous water.

Francina heard the loud splash. When she had turned in response, she had seen the quick shadow of Kali dispense into the scary water. Her heart sunk for that moment. She had plans for that kid, and now it seemed that her plans may had been shaken. Could she dare let that happen?

No. Kali had to be the one to finish the game. It was the only way for her, as per her decision. She had vowed not to leave this place without her mother or her father. It was said in her dream to not leave without her mother. For a long time, she never understood what any of her dreams meant but she could easily piece it all together now.

Without hesitation, she jumped into the water. It was frightful thinking about what the sharks may do to her, but her best choice was to shut her mind off of such thoughts. She scanned the area, and there, she saw a large group of those water monsters clamped up into one. That may had been Kali they were surrounding. No hesitation, she swam over. She had to keep waving the sharks that tailed after her body. By now she already had a few incisors and deep cuts from their bites. The water washing her up must have made the stinging sensation of the pain worse.

She had been peeling them apart, digging through to reach Kali. She managed to pull him by the rod. In the end the rod had separated from his abdomen. Even though the boy had passed out, Francina would not give up on him. She held him close to herself and continued pushing through to the bottom of the water. It was shocking to Francina by now that the water had not chocked them to death already. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the gills on Kali’s neck. Shocked she reached for her neck as well. Her hand caressed and felt her own gills as well. No wonder.

Right at the bottom of the water, was a toilet-cubicle sized container. A door was attached to it. She wondered why it was there and what was in there. At the same time, she knew that she wanted to get in there. Only Kali couldn’t get in, he had to finish to the game. Kali was still unconscious. Looking back, the baby sharks where still gunning for them. Francina quickly tried the door. At some point, she had to release Kali from her grip and she could get a proper hold of the door and pull it open. The door swung open.

The water should have flung it but it only paused by the door. Inside seemed like a palace corridor. The design was grand. Without wasting any time, she pulled kali in and shut the door. They were safe now. Kali on the floor was starting to completely faze out. His breathing was getting extremely weak. Francina now took out her healing portion. She had stored it the entire trip, now she was sure that she had to use it.

She sat herself down and elevated Kali’s head onto her knees. This way it would be easier to feed him the portion—

“Well, hello, intruders,” came a voice of a woman. It sounded very familiar. Francina turned to look farther through the passage. She saw a woman approaching. Her dress flattered effortlessly. It was the woman from the pictures.

“Finally, you have made it,” she said with a proud smirk on her face. “Come, let’s get your friend warm and treated.” Francina was still so flustered, she only did what the woman asked. Kali needed the medication urgently.

They had to first take out the giant rod. Francina had been slicing one end of the rod with a saw, while the woman sat by her desk to crash and mix some herbs for the boy. Francina was starting feel faint.

“Ow, dear!” The woman saw her dozing off, “I think you should lay down. We’ll take a look at the bleeding on your thigh soon.” She took the saw, “I’ll finish up on this.” The woman did not take much time, she had cut the rod made of wood. She turned the boy’s body around to get set on pulling the it out. “Good thing, he is unconscious. Or this would’ve hurt like crazy.”

When she was done, she laid Kali on the big chamber, and covered in warm blanket. She then brought her herbs to start applying on Kali, “I am not sure if this will help him. He’s gravely injured. If he does survive, it’s gonna take months for him to fully recover—”

“Ow, I… Actually, I have this,” Francina showed the woman her healing portion. The woman immediately cheered with such enthusiasm. “My, my. You did good, dear child! Francina, this is great!”

She received the portion. She went closer to Kali. His breathing had already weakened by now. The breathing was there, but not as energised as a healthy person. The woman started parting the boy’s lips and poured in the portion. “There. He should instantly recover now.”

Francina was expectant and curious about how the portion worked. She never had it before. She thought she was saving it for severer injuries. She never expected that she’d been storing it for Kali’s use. She had monkey on her thigh. She managed to pump the water of Monkey's lungs. Monkey could breath. Francina was keeping her warm in a dry balnket. Francina and Monkey had their eyes pocked out for Kali to wake up again. They looked on. Francina was siting on the sofa which was placed next to the bed where laid Kali. She made sure to sit up so that she van watch the potion do it's magic. Even monkey was astonished at what she saw. They were watching Kali's wounds.

It was an amazing phenomenon to see. The internal organs stretched to re-join and ultimately, his skin as well patched up fine.

COUGH, COUGH!

Kali coughed gently and puffed for air back into his lungs. He then sat himself up. He started grabbing himself to see if he was alive and real. Looking around, he saw a palace-like bedroom and above all he saw Francina. That immediately calmed him down.

“Hi there, young man. Looks like you’re alive.”

How is this possible? How am I alive? I fell in and… The rod…

He looked and saw the rod down on the ground in a pool of his red fluid. It had been successfully pulled out.

Ow, they helped me. Francina actually gave me her healing portion. Maybe, she’s not so selfish after all.

“You were badly hurt. I don’t know how you stayed alive that long. Anyway, I’m Francina’s mom.” She had reached out her hand for a handshake.