Part 26: Memory of Ratika: The Rescue

The Rescue

Out of breath, Ratika finally reaches Yarbog's Temple, just in time to witness the death of the last remaining Temple-guards. From the roof of the Temple, they scream as they attempt to dodge the supernatural storm that has been ravaging the heavens. But the lightning is too vast, and with a grotesque contortion, they fall to their deaths. Earthquakes tear roots from trees and cut chasms through the earth, one crevice extending so far that its fissure stops just short of Ratika.

Ratika lunges into action. There has to be a survivor, she thinks. Fear drums into her mind as she follows the chasm, her direction driving her closer to the eye of the storm! Something catches her eye. Is that...a body?

Ratika pauses, a dozen variables flipping through her mind. She notices a way down, a somewhat safe way to reach the victim, but how long before the next tremor collapses the fissure on her? Ratika takes a chance, descending the steep slope at a run. As she drops beside the body, she notices a familiarity in that unconscious face. It's Vera! Injured or worse?

Moving on impulse, Ratika checks her vitals. She's unconscious but alive. In an eye blink Ratika evacuates, scaling up the incline, Vera in tow. When she reaches her family, another aftershock violently shakes the ground.

"Ratika!" her father shouts. "Are you crazy, going into that storm?"

"We've got to help her!" Ratika declares, Vera still in her arms. "She's the only one left alive!"

"Damn it, daughter!" Her father examines the unconscious owl. "Look at this one... Pygarian. What am I to do with her? She doesn't belong in a Rodentian family."

"I know that, dad!"

Her father crosses his arms. "Well, I'm not taking her to Pygaria!"

Wryly, Ratika adds, "I know that too, dad."