Apocalyptic Pirates 6, page 14
Dia translated.
A ripple of chatter went through the crowd, and I worried we were about to have another shouting match break out. But then they settled down again, and Dia pointed to the next person in the first row who had their hand up.
“Did we use dragon blood to heal Marisol from her sickness?” Dia relayed.
“Yes,” I replied. “We gave Marisol dragon blood to drink, and it healed her.”
“Is this magic or science?” was the next question.
“Oof.” Letty shook her head. “That’s the big one.”
“It’s science,” Shannon asserted. “Right? Obviously. They’re aliens. Extraterrestrials. They’re not magic.”
“I don’t know,” Ally said. “They could be magic.”
“Excuse me?” Shannon swung her head around to look at her in utter disbelief.
“I’m just saying,” Ally said defensively. “We don’t know what they are. I mean, would it really be that weird if they turned out to be magical?”
“Yes,” Shannon said in a very firm voice. “Yes, it really would.”
“Aliens and magic are kind of the same thing,” Dia said with a shrug. “What if magic is just alien powers?”
“I cannot believe I’m hearing this,” Shannon sighed. “It’s science. It is not magic.”
“Que?” the questioner demanded.
“We don’t know,” I said in reply. “Probably science.”
“Probably?” Shannon said with a snort.
“Hey, I’m just trying to cover all the bases,” I said with a grin. “It’s good to keep an open mind.”
Shannon rolled her eyes.
“Does it work on everything?” was the next question. “Are there things that the dragon blood can’t heal?”
“We don’t know yet,” I replied. “There is a lot of discussion and experimentation that’s happening right now, but it’s just being done by individuals and not on a large or regulated scale. So far, we know that the blood can heal wounds, cuts, and injuries like that, and I’ve seen people saying that it’s helped heal their cancer. And of course it healed Marisol’s malaria and anemia. But right now, we’re still figuring out the limits of what the dragon blood can and can’t do.”
The next person in line had their hand up, but they hesitated when Dia pointed to them. They looked around at the rest of the people around them, and they said something in a questioning tone that made everyone around them start nodding their heads in agreement.
Then the person started speaking.
Dia’s eyebrows drew together in a frown as she listened intently.
“Dia?” I pressed.
“The United States Coast Guard came through here a little over a week ago,” Dia said. “The people thought it was to help them. To help kill the dragons, bring them medical assistance, do things like get treatments for the people who need them and who have been cut off from their normal resources. But they didn’t help them at all. They just came through here and started trapping dragons.”
A white-hot fury stabbed through me.
“Those fuckers,” I gritted out. “They didn’t care about these people at all.”
“Nope.” Dia’s mouth contorted as though she had a bad taste on her tongue. “The Coast Guard asked the villagers for food. And of course they helped them out, they foraged for them, and they fished for them, and they did all they could to help them. And then the Coast Guard set up their camp to catch dragons, and fucked off after a few days.”
“They didn’t do anything at all to help these people?” Ally looked appalled. “I knew they were crooked these days, but I didn’t think they were that bad.”
One of the other villagers chimed in.
“They actually asked the Coast Guard specifically if they could help take some of the sick here to a hospital.” Dia’s dark eyebrows were knitted together in a disgusted frown. “And they said they would, as soon as they’d finished their mission.”
“No,” Letty whispered in horror.
“Yep.” Dia bit out the word. “But of course they didn’t. They fucking promised, and then they fucking left as soon as they got what they came for.”
“Motherfuckers,” I growled. “That is disgusting.”
“I don’t want to believe it.” Shannon was shaking her head. “But it’s the same pattern of behavior we saw in Panama. The Coast Guard moves in, takes what they want, and then leaves without caring at all how their actions are going to affect the local people who have to live with the consequences.”
“They didn’t understand why the Coast Guard would be capturing dragons and not killing them,” Dia said. “But now that they know about the medicine and the dragons’ healing properties, it all makes sense to them.”
“Tell them we’re sorry they had to go through that,” Ally said. “Tell them they’re not alone, and the Coast Guard has done this to other places as well.”
Dia relayed this, and there was a flurry of low conversation among the villagers.
Once I’d processed my fury at the Coast Guard’s utter lack of empathy for the people here, my mind started putting the pieces together, and I realized something else.
“Now that the Coast Guard has left here, there are probably going to be more and more dragons in this area,” I said. “We’ve already seen that they’re getting crowded out of their normal habitats. They’re running away from the areas that still have a heavy Coast Guard presence, so there might be a second wave of dragon activity that you’re going to have to deal with. You need to make sure that this village is fortified. Build ditches, a wall if you can, set a watch, make sure that you can defend yourselves.”
As Dia translated this, there was a lot of nodding in agreement from the villagers, and the leader, Rosa, stood up and started speaking.
“She says they’ve already been making plans to make the village more secure,” Dia said. “She says they have an advantage because the village is so small, but they’ve been gathering materials to build a fence, and they’re going to be starting work on it in the next few days.”
“They’re going to need to work fast,” Shannon said. “Remember that fucking giant we saw in the forest in Panama? They don’t want to be facing one of those fuckers.”
“She says they’re going to work as fast as they can, but it’s going to be hard when many of the villagers are old or sick.” Dia raised her eyebrows as many of the people in the crowd started to shuffle in their seats and whisper to each other. “I think we’re getting somewhere here.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Before Dia could reply, someone in the back row of the crowd got to their feet, put up their hand, and shouted something.
“They want to know if we’ve got any dragon blood left,” Dia said. “And if we do, can they use it?”
“Tell them yes and yes,” Shannon said.
“Are we sure that’s the best idea?” Ally said in cautious tones. “I mean, we’re still not one hundred percent sure what the risks and long-term effects of using the blood are…”
“Come on, Ally,” Shannon urged. “You’ve seen Dia’s arm, you’ve seen Marisol cured, what more proof do you need that this is a good thing?”
“It’s not that simple.” Ally drew her light auburn eyebrows together in a stubborn gesture. “Dia was an accident, and Marisol was an extreme case. But if it’s not necessary to save lives, then we need to be careful about handing out this stuff without even stopping to think about the consequences.”
“But, hon, this might be necessary to save their lives,” Letty said in a gentle tone. “If they’re not well and able-bodied, then they’re not going to be able to defend themselves or help to fortify the village. What then?”
Ally looked down at the ground.
“I’m not saying no,” she mumbled. “I’m just saying that we need to think about this.”
“Ally does have a good point,” I said. “We need to make sure that everyone who wants to try the dragon cure knows that there aren’t any guarantees and that we can’t promise it’s a cure that will last or one that will come without any side effects.”
Dia nodded. She turned to the crowd and explained all of this to them. There was a serious earnestness to her words that seemed to impress them deeply, and there was a long pause after she finished speaking.
Then a woman raised her hand.
It was Eva.
“Quiero intentarlo,” she said.
“She wants to try it,” Dia translated.
“Well, if there’s anyone who’s seen the positive results, it’s her,” Shannon said.
“Are we all on board with this?” I looked around at the women. “I know that ultimately it’s not our decision about whether these people take the dragon cure or not, but it is our decision about whether or not we supply it to them. And we have to make that choice democratically.”
“Yes,” Dia said instantly. “I’m in.”
“Me, too,” Letty said.
“So long as they know there could be unknown risks and are prepared to take them, then I’m in, too,” Ally said with a nod of her head.
“That makes all of us, then,” Shannon said.
“Alright.” I looked around at the crowd in front of us. “Dia, can you tell everyone to line up, and we can work on dividing out the dragon blood between those people who want to try it.”
Dia translated, and while we unpacked the rucksack with the water bottles and Tupperware, I kept an eye on the crowd to see how the news was being received. Although I’d been pleasantly surprised by how well the village had taken the discovery of the dragons’ healing powers, it was still very clear that not everybody was on board with actually taking the dragon cure.
There was a couple in the front row who were hotly arguing with each other. The woman threw up her hands in exasperation over something, but the man was shaking his head firmly. The woman looked as though she wanted to throttle him, but ended up just turning away with her arms folded.
There were more people who were sitting in their chairs and shaking their heads. One old man called out to his friend who was hobbling to get in line, and it didn’t seem to be anything encouraging because the friend made a rude gesture and turned his back without saying anything.
By the end of it, there were six people who wanted to try the cure.
We had four bottles of blood left, along with the heart and liver. I wasn’t sure how we could evenly divide up a raw heart among everyone, but Letty suggested that we leave the organs with the villagers to cook up among themselves. That way, if anyone changed their mind about it, they would have a chance to try the cure for themselves in a few days.
That was a good idea, particularly as it avoided my having to make a decision on the whole “raw or cooked” dilemma that the forums were so divided on.
Someone brought out six chipped coffee mugs, and we carefully divided up the remaining blood evenly between them.
“I hope this is enough,” Shannon said as she eyeballed the levels of blood in each mug. “We’ve got no idea of the dosage needed.”
“We’re flying blind all around here,” Letty pointed out. “We don’t know the exact details of these people’s diseases and problems, so even if we did have an idea about doses, it wouldn’t be much good to us.”
“You’re right,” Shannon said with a sigh. “I guess we’re just going to have to hope that all of this works.”
“It will work,” Dia said with a confident nod. “We’ve seen the blood cure all sorts of things. It’ll work.”
“I hope so,” I said.
Eva was the first in line to take the cure. I handed her the first mug with a smile that I hoped was encouraging.
“Cheers,” I told her.
“Salud,” she responded in a nervous but determined tone before she went back to her seat with her mug.
There were two more elderly women who lined up to try the blood. Then a younger man with his arm in a makeshift sling, and a pale, middle-aged man who didn’t appear to have anything wrong with him at first glance, but who started coughing as soon as we handed him the mug.
The last person to line up was a young woman. As I gave her the last mug, I glanced down and realized that she only had one hand. Her left arm ended just below her elbow, and it was wrapped up in rags. From the staining on the rudimentary bandage, I guessed that this was a new injury.
Without thinking, I checked my hand as I passed her the mug, and the young woman looked up quickly. She had huge hazel eyes with deep shadows underneath them, and the bones of her face stood out sharply. She was beautiful, but it was clear that her injury had pushed her to the end of her endurance, and my heart sank as I saw the fierce look in her eyes.
“Dia,” I said. “Can you tell her that she could probably apply the blood directly onto the injury, like you did with the cut on your arm?”
Dia translated.
The young woman lifted her chin and stared at her defiantly.
“Quiero mi mano de vuelta,” she said.
“Uh…” Dia flashed me a quick glance. “She says she wants the hand back.”
“What, to grow it back?” Ally exclaimed.
“Yeah.” Dia chewed on her lower lip. “I mean… Can it do that? Can the blood regenerate limbs?”
“Ummm… maybe?” I looked around at the others. “But we don’t know for sure.”
“There’s no harm in her trying,” Shannon pointed out.
“Yeah, but what if she drinks the blood and it doesn’t do anything?” Letty said. “Then she’ll have wasted her shot at actually healing her injury. We don’t have enough blood with us for her to try again and apply it to the wound.”
“Qué estás diciendo?” the young woman demanded.
Dia rapidly translated everything that we’d just said.
The young woman lifted her chin and pulled the mug free from my hand. Her eyes pinned me to the spot, and she didn’t look away from me as she raised the mug to her lips. She drank deeply, swallowed, and lowered the mug from her mouth. Her lips were stained a dark red, and when she licked them with a grimace, I saw the blood lining her gums.
I waited with a breathless feeling in my stomach.
The young woman stared at me with her chest rising and falling in quick, shallow breaths. Her face was pale, and her nostrils flared.
Behind her, I could see the others who had taken the cure. The young man was pulling his arm out of the sling and moving it about with wonderment written all over his face. The pale man was grinning with color flooding back into his cheeks. Eva and the other old women were holding up their hands in amazement as the swelling in their arthritic joints went down.
But the young woman remained motionless, and her arm stayed the same.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out.
The woman raised the mug to her lips and drained the last few drops.
“De nada,” she said in a low voice and dropped the mug into the dust by my feet.
Then she turned and walked away.
“Fuck.” I dragged my hand through my hair in frustration.
“You can’t blame yourself, Drew,” Ally said.
“Yeah, we’re still learning about all of this,” Letty chimed in. “We’re still figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It’s trial and error at this stage.”
“Yeah, but think of how awful it is for her,” I said bitterly. “Everyone around her is healed, and she’s not affected.”
“Maybe some people are immune to it,” Ally suggested. “We haven’t considered that possibility.”
“And maybe some things are too much for the blood to heal just by itself,” Dia added. “Maybe in a hospital environment it would be different.”
“Or there’s a timeframe that we don’t yet know about,” Shannon said. “It could be that for limb regeneration, the blood has to be taken or applied within a few hours of the initial injury occurring.”
I knew that they were trying to make me feel better, and I didn’t want to discount their efforts. This was still a triumphant moment, and I remembered to smile and nod enthusiastically as Eva and the others all crowded around and showed off their newly healed hands and knees.
Despite my disappointment, it was still very heartwarming to see the difference in Eva. Her posture was straighter, her movements were stronger, and I thought even her face looked younger than before. Her eyes were brighter, and for the first time I heard her laugh peal out, and it sounded like the laugh of a much younger woman.
This was a success. A mixed one, perhaps, but still a success.
The villagers were delighted with the results of the experiment, and even the naysayers were getting caught up in the celebratory atmosphere. Someone brought out a bottle of something alcoholic, someone else produced a platter of tortillas and goat’s cheese, and the mood turned into something of a party.
“What is this?” Ally took a sip from the glass she’d been given. “Is this milk?”
“It’s palm wine,” I said. “I’ve actually had this once before on a tasting retreat.”
“Wow.” Dia grinned. “I’m surprised they’d have something like this at a fancy retreat.”
“Well, it was an alcohol tasting retreat,” I said with a chuckle. “The point was to sample all different kinds of alcohol.”
“I like it,” Letty declared. “It’s got such a sweet taste.”
“I think it’s more like an acquired taste,” Ally said as she took another dubious sip.
I smiled and held the liquor in my mouth so I could savor the flavor of it. The taste took me back to that day on the retreat when my priorities were just my job, my daughter, and whether I should make the switch from rice to quinoa because my mom had recently sent me an article on the best grains to feed to kids.
It had all been so simple back then.
It hadn’t felt simple, though, and I was sure that if I could go back in time and speak to my past self on that retreat, he would definitely insist that his life was complex.
I guessed it was true when people said that you never appreciate what you have until you’ve lost it.
“Don’t ruminate on it,” Shannon said to me in a low voice.
“Ruminate?” I queried with a smile.
