Ella’s POV
“Show us your wrists.” I said to them when they didn’t talk and I was afraid everywhere was going to be a bloodbath soon.
They complied and everyone gasped as they saw the marks on their wrists.
“You should have said something.” Avila said beside me, scolding them. “Or show us your wrists if you didn’t want to say that you were slaves.”
“We didn’t know who you were and were afraid you might send us back to town if you knew that we were runaway slaves.” Someone finally said among them.
“If you knew that, why did you come here?”
“We were tired and hungry and couldn’t resist coming over here when we heard voices coming from here.”
I sighed. I didn’t know that we were that loud for our voices to echo over the mountains but I guessed it would with the way everyone was talking and bidding one another goodbye then.
It was pure luck that the slaves escaped and were walking through the mountains on the day we were leaving or they wouldn’t have heard noises coming from here. They would have eventually died of hunger and fatigue in the mountains with no one knowing of their death. I didn’t want to think too much of what could have happened to them.
I sighed, wishing there was a way to put a stop to the trade of people as slaves in the utopia town. My heart filled with sadness as I realized that these were another set of people who would have to endure nightmares for a year as a consequence of their rebellion and price for their freedom.
I looked at the group of men, women and kids and my heart broke. I didn’t think I could stop the trade of slaves in the utopia town but I wanted to find a way get rid of the mark without having to go through the dangers of the Guchemba jungle.
I didn’t want these kids to deal with the nightmares that would soon come and they were too young to go to the jungle to erase the mark off. They wouldn’t last a day in there.
I had only had the nightmares for a couple of days and I knew it wasn’t what I wanted the kids to experience. There were more women in this group though and I wondered why it was so.
I gasped as I felt a pinch on my wrist. I turned to Avila as she was the closest suspect. “Did you pinch me?”
Her slow smile was the response I needed. “Are you still here with me? I had been trying to get your attention for some minutes now but you didn’t hear me. What were you busy thinking of?”
I didn’t think I wanted to share with her what I was thinking of until I was sure of my thoughts. “Why were you calling me?”
“I was asking how you knew that they were runaway slaves like we were instead of the town spies and told them to show their wrists. Did you just assume that they were because you were?”
“No,” I shook my head. “I saw that young boy in red scratching his hand and I saw the mark on his wrist. I assumed that they all had the same mark on their wrists.”
I frowned as I looked at the boy I had pointed at. He was still scratching his hand and as I looked around, I saw some of the adults doing the same as the kid, scratching their bodies at different parts.
I glanced at Avila to check if she noticed what I saw. Her eyes were wide and she frowned as her eyes passed over the newcomers. “It seems like they are sick.”
“I think so.” I said, agreeing with her.
“Oh,” she groaned. “I’m about to get busier.”
Actually, we were about to get busy. I wasn’t going to leave her alone to treat all these people and go home. I had never turned my back on someone who needed my help and I wasn’t about to start now, not especially when these kids needed my help and I knew how I could help them.
Helping people had brought me into this mess that I was but that wouldn’t make me stop. If I could have helped the villain who sold me off to slavery instead of showing his gratitude, I should help these people who didn’t have anyone else to care about them. I didn’t have to make innocent people suffer for the crime that someone else had committed.
“I will help you.”
Avila gasped, turning to me in surprise. “You will? I thought you were going home today.”
“Home can wait. I will after helping these people.” I said.
She smiled at me. “Thank you.” She breathed.
My heart sank low as I glanced at Kevin. I hadn’t told him plans had changed before making plans with Avila. I hoped he wouldn’t be mad and feel like I was taking his understanding and love for granted. I knew how much he wanted to go home with the other men and prayed that they had enough patience to wait for some more days before we set on our ways.
“Do you have an idea of what is wrong with them?” Avila said, breaking into my thoughts.
I blinked and turned to her. “I have an idea of what it is and I think I have the herbs for it in my bag.”
“You are an angel, Ella.” She beamed at me.
I forced a smile on my lips in response to hers and hoped that the other werewolves think that of me when they hear that they wouldn’t be going home today because the Luna couldn’t resist being a physician.