Mira's Hope Read Free Page A

and returned to her. He tilted her head up and
little bit by little bit, poured water in her mouth. It seemed as
if he would finally succeed in getting the liquid into her when she
began convulsing more violently than he’d seen her do so far.
Cradling her head so she wouldn’t beat herself to death on the
stone, he watched helplessly as she continued. Her screams
returned, although they sounded raspy and painful. He sobbed aloud,
the tears flowing freely down his face and onto her head as he
continued to hold her. She was trying to free her arms, clawing at
the blankets surrounding her. Elenio could hear her as she
struggled and was grateful when Tark came to hold her hands still.
He saw that he too was crying. They continued to watch and listen
to her living through this torture even as they tried to hold her
still.
    Her screams reached a new height and she
arched her back in response to the agony wracking her body. Elenio
didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t help her, but he couldn’t
just sit back and watch her battle. Her scream was cut short when
she clamped her mouth shut with a resolute snap. Elenio watched her
jaws bulge from the pressure they eluded. He was sure at that
moment; she could have bitten through a large stick with the amount
of pressure she was using.
    Before her jaws relaxed, blood began
streaming from her mouth, causing her to choke as it filled her
mouth. Sitting her up and pushing on her jaws at the hinges so they
would relax, he was able to open her mouth slightly so the blood
would run out versus going back into her lungs. With this
accomplished, Elenio continued to hold her shoulders and Tark her
hands to prevent her from any further damage. Her head jerked this
way and that, reminding Elenio of a grotesque doll being shaken
violently.
    Finally, she stilled, jerking at smaller
intervals, but the worst had past it seemed. Elenio tilted her back
slightly, holding her head in the crook of one arm as he opened her
mouth to investigate where the blood came from. He turned his head
quickly and retched. Tark grabbed Galena from Elenio, laying her
back as Elenio wiped the sick from his face. Luckily, there was
nothing but water left in his stomach.
    “Roll her on her side,” he said with a raspy
voice of his own. “She bit her tongue nearing in half. There’s not
much keeping it together and it’s still bleeding. It’s not gushing
anymore, but it’s enough to suffocate her if we leave her on her
back.”
    Tark looked somewhat disgusted as well as
shocked, but he did what Elenio told him to do. He propped her up
so that she was lying on her side with her legs bent in front to
keep her from toppling over onto her face.
    “Let’s eat the bite size pieces and then be
on our way again.” Tark began to fish through the packs, finding
every trace of the food, pushing Twoit aside in one of the packs as
he did so. Twoit allowed him to do this and merely re-adjusted her
head. Taking advantage of the free moment, Elenio lifted the small
creature up and opening her mouth slightly, like he had with
Galena, poured water into her tiny maw, but with much more success.
He watched as the tiny ferret gulped the water down, but made no
effort other than that to help herself. Satisfied she was
thoroughly watered; he returned the furry creature to Galena’s pack
and took the food Tark was offering him. He was able to hold the
meager amount in his cupped hands. He looked bleakly at Tark, who
continued to look at his own food.
    “Have you seen anything edible along the
way?” Elenio asked quietly, dreading the answer he knew was
coming.
    “I’ve seen berries, but I’m fairly sure
they’re poisonous. Other than that, a lot of grass, and I imagine
under the rocks we would find a variety of grubs and bugs of sorts.
If it comes to it, we can eat those.”
    Elenio nodded, glad there would be something
available to keep them going, but disliking the thought of having
to eat insects of any sort. Elenio took