Chapter 205: The Aftermath.
As the chaos settled down on the base, the residents started coming out of their houses and hiding places. Many had not witnessed the fight, but they heard the sounds of clashing.
They did not stay idle, many went around, finding out ways in which they could be of help. They ferried weapons to the collection center for tallying and fixing.
They checked on the young, old and sickly residents that were prone to falling ill as a result of fear. They brought water and simple fruit for the soldiers, injured and hungry.
Medics bolted to the huddled survivors, their hands quick at treating their injuries. As they attended to the gravely ill.
Even children were helping out, like Earl who was leading a group of teenagers to bind cuts, press gauze against the wounds, clean cuts with saline water and dress injuries.
The survivors from the town hall were too stunned to even ask why children were running around like trained medics in a war zone. They even had triage tags which they were tying to the arms of the survivors, differentiating the urgent cases from those with simple injuries.
Ariel was working with workers from the information center to take down the information of the new arrivals. He was the first to notice that there was a man who seemed strange. His clothes lacked the dust and rips of the other survivors.
His eyes lacked real pain, unlike the other survivors. He was also more composed, not shivering like the others. He made a note to talk to his parents about the man and moved on to others.
Along the way, he found Major Elio and whispered to him that he should keep an eye on the man named Augustus Bellam.
Meanwhile, the survivors that seemed traumatized were left in the care of Dr. Crawford, the base psychologist and his team. They would be held in the hospital for a while.
Even the villagers were going around, offering help to the injured. They were providing warm furs because they had noticed the survivors had been affected by the cold.
As they worked, Nala sung a song of victory and loss. Occasionally, other women joined her. Some of them even cried, still feeling the loss of their people that had died at Damien Quinn’s hands. Others cried because they thought of their people that had remained in the old village.
Were they still alive?
Nala had a soulful voice that stirred the emotions of everyone that listened to her sing. The other residents swayed from side to side, some were overwhelmed, and they clapped while others joined the singing even though they sang the wrong lyrics, the mistrust that once lingered in their eyes had vanished and it was replaced by respect.
Many now saw the value of the villagers, they were courageous fighters who were willing to defend the base. But there were still residents that harbored ill feelings towards them. They thought the villagers were doing too much or showing off.
They were certain that with all the superior weapons the base had, the villager’s efforts were not necessary. The battle would have been won even if they didn’t shoot their bows and arrows at the eagles.
Of course, they didn’t dare to voice these opinions, and they could only keep them to themselves. But later, in the dark and through whispers, they would share these opinions with others who were like minded or their close family that would not share with the outside world what they had said.
Day gave way for the night, the sky outside grew darker, shadows slipping across the snow. The watchers continued to keep an eye on the base, even more interested in it now.
Major Elio realized that the number of watchers had increased. There were twelve birds now. Two of the original ones had left and they had been replaced by new ones. One of them had a pink stripe on its head, and it seemed to be respected more than the others.
Elio wrote down the characteristics and identified it as a higher-level watcher. It had probably been called in after one of them died because of the dragonoids.
Sunshine and Hades meanwhile had a meeting on the new arrivals and decided that the survivors could spend the night. Tomorrow, they would see what to do with them.
As they were leaving the information center, Mayor Townsend sought Hades out, shouting his name as he strove for recognition.
"Hades!" He waved his hand eagerly, "You cannot imagine how happy I am to see you. Those buses you donated out of the goodness of your heart saved all these people’s lives." He pulled the fur coat closer to his body, taking in all its warmth. "It is too bad that not everyone made it. I tried my best to protect them you know."
"Donated?" Hades smirked. "You mean the ones you cajoled me into giving you just so that I could build this fortress which is keeping you safe right now?"
The mayor shifted uncomfortably, especially because people nearby gave him judgmental stares. "Oh, come on, that is all in the past my friend. You need money to build a town, and the buses were meant for the people of my town. Anyway, we get to start afresh here."
"I am busy Townsend; I have no time for chitchat." Hades gave the man one brief nod of his head and walked away with his wife.
Mayor Townsend was not too pleased with the way their interaction went. He swallowed his anger and sat down. Of what use was it to act out before finding out if he was staying permanently or not. Other things would be settled after.
The thought of returning to the outside world to face monsters and frightening weather made him shiver.
Sunshine had the kitchen prepare soft foods for the injured and weak who were all gathered in a temporary large stone house which served as a shelter. Bottled drinks were passed around, water extracted from the blue veiled orchids Sunshine had brought back with her during her first visit to Veldek. The medics urged the survivors to drink because it restored hydration faster than anything they had.
Coconut beans were passed from hand to hand. The people hesitated to eat it as the fruit was strange, but it had an enticing smell. One hungry man placed it in his mouth, his face twisted to show surprise.
"Delicious!" he shouted.
Laughter broke out, awkward but real. Soon all beans were gone, chewed between tired jaws. Energy began to return to their bodies, then they had their first meal which was rice porridge.
"I will be on patrol for the night," Hades told Sunshine. "Just to make sure that everything is under control." He squeezed his wife’s shoulders.
Sunshine nodded, her shoulders sagged as she left the stone house. Exhaustion tagged to her bones but there was no time for rest. She drove to the first wall straight to the medic bay.
There, she found Nimo sitting on a bench, her fingers wringing the edges of her jacket, almost tearing into it.
She had tears run down her eyes and blood on her clothes. There was a cut on her cheek and burn mark on her hand. All untreated.