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“Wait! What disease did I catch?” I rushed out.
“Rabies.”
The world went black.
? ? ?
“Cedi! Oh my God!”
Like before, the world shook, but my body seemed steadier. People were calling my name. I could feel the field grass beneath my legs. I was being pulled up.
“Acedia!”
I opened my eyes to see the guys kneeling around me. The high sun in the sky haloed light around the men like the angels I knew them to be.
“You came,” I whispered.
“Of course we did,” Bo said. “What happened?”
“The android distracted you and your animals with high frequency sounds to kidnap me, but the aliens didn’t want me anymore. I’m dying.”
“What?” the brothers exclaimed simultaneously.
“They say I’m contaminated with a deadly virus called rabies.
“From the bat,” Garrett offered.
“They say I will die a horrible death very soon.”
“Only if you don’t get treatment,” Bo explained. “We were taking you to the village today to get you inoculated – all of us inoculated – because of you encountering a bat. We weren’t sure, but we didn’t want to take the chance.”
“I don’t understand,” I murmured as they lifted me to my feet. I was still so weak. “You didn’t encounter the bat.”
“No, but the virus is transferable through saliva and secretions from intercourse.”
I gasped. “Like, you caught it from having sex with me?” I started to freak out. “Are you all are going to die too?”
“You are not going to die,” Huck assured. “There is treatment for rabies for those who catch it in time. We were already inoculated. Most in the village are. But when exposed, it’s good to get a booster.”
Garrett shrugged. “Maybe the aliens feel that certain viruses or sicknesses lower meat quality.”
“Maybe,” Bo agreed. “Or maybe these viruses are dangerous to the extraterrestrials. We should spread the word when we get to the village. Maybe we can use this knowledge and find a way to save more Sloths.”
Epilogue
I slipped into the food cellar and went toward the liquor shelf. I knew I was being a bad girl, but I couldn’t help it. Ever since my husbands let me have a tiny glass of schnapps a couple nights ago, I had been craving it all week. Apparently there were different kinds—and the one I’d been sampling was more of a fruit brandy. I had never tasted anything like it, and I didn’t understand why I couldn’t have more when I was allowed to have anything else I wanted in the cellar if it was safe and/or ready to ingest.
This fell into that category.
The men had explained the fermenting process made the liquid an alcohol, which they went on to say was not safe to drink in large quantities, so I needed to stay away from it. But what was a sip or two? That was a small quantity, not a large one.
I took two generous swigs from the opened bottle. It burned a little as it went down my throat, but the taste was fantastic.
“Cedi? You ready? The chickens are hungry.”
“Yes, Huck,” I called out. “One moment. Just grabbing a snack from downstairs.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll be waiting outside. No need for a sweater. It’s warm out today.”
