welcome,” he told her softly, a soft smile on his face.
Once the capsule had been filled completely, the four set about trying to move it to the burial site. It was only a short distance, but the weight of their load made it seem far longer. Halfway along Matakh hissed softly in pain, and when Meea looked over she could see a thin trail of crimson leaking from beneath his hand. She realized that the cut on his palm had opened up again. “You okay over there, bro?”
“Just fine,” he replied, his voice strained from the weight they were carrying. Seeing the concern in her eyes, he smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Mee. Once we’re finished you can bandage it up if you want. Just focus on the work for now.”
Meea nodded, strengthening her grip on the capsule as they redoubled their efforts. But even so, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing now and then at her brother’s hand. The sight of his blood running down the polished metal surface made her stomach churn. She wasn’t normally squeamish, but seeing her brother hurting upset her greatly.
When they reached the site, the capsule was gently lowered to the ground before the four cats reached for their shovels and began to dig. Working together, it only took a few minutes to make a hole deep enough for the capsule to rest in safely. Still, all the effort of the day was beginning to take its toll, and all four of them were sweating and panting by the time they had finished. Matakh’s hand was throbbing dully, though the bleeding had stopped, and Shartha was struggling to ignore the pain in his arm.
“Okay,” Matakh told the others as they moved around the capsule. “On the count of three, we’ll lift this up and set it in the hole. Everyone, get a good grip. Meea and I will get the back, while Shartha and Timirza take the front.” He waited until everyone was in position before nodding. “Okay. One… two… three!”
The four cats tensed their legs and lifted together, slowly and arduously hefting the capsule up off the ground. Shartha hissed as he felt the pain in his arm flare up, but he managed to maintain his grip, claws somehow managing to find purchase.
“Everyone… alright?” Matakh forced out, straining at the heavy load.
“Yeah,” Timirza gasped. “Now, let’s get this baby into that pit.”
They maneuvered the capsule over the hole, and began lowering it down slowly. But it was at that point that Shartha finally reached his limit. Without warning, the dull ache in his bicep became a blinding agony, a cry of pain tearing from his lips. His entire arm erupted into spasms, and his grip on the smooth metal surface failed. Before the others could correct themselves the capsule had tumbled from their arms and fallen directly into the pit. It fit perfectly, but they were too focused on Shartha to notice.
“Shartha!” Timirza exclaimed, taking her brother’s good hand. “Are you alright?”
“I’m… just fine,” Shartha said, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. He tried to move his throbbing arm, but a shock of tearing pain forced another yelp from him, his other hand moving to clutch at the throbbing muscle. “I just need a moment.”
“Where does it hurt?” Meea asked, stepping over to him.
“My right arm,” he replied through clenched teeth. “The upper area. I think it’s my bicep.”
Meea nodded before gingerly starting to run her fingers over the area. As she passed over the spot he had indicated, her face darkened. “This might hurt,” she warned, pressing lightly. The effect was immediate; Shartha yowled in pain and jumped away, his eyes watering.
“What was that for?!” he practically howled at her as soon as he was able.
“I just needed to be sure,” she told him. “And I think you’ll need more than a minute. I’m pretty sure you tore a muscle.”
“Great,” Shartha muttered. “Are you sure it’s not just pulled?”
“Pretty sure,” Meea replied. “I’m no doctor, but I was top of my class in anatomy and physiology. Something doesn’t feel right in your arm. And the way you reacted when I pressed down was a bit much for a strain.”
“Just what I need,” the cheetah grumbled. “How long will it take before the pain goes away?”
Meea looked at the cheetah gravely. “Well, that muscle probably won’t heal fully for a few days, longer if you keep trying to use it. But if you just keep your arm still, the pain should dull in about thirty minutes.”
Shartha groaned. “Perfect. Just perfect! Now I’m no use to anybody.”
“Hey, relax,” Matakh assured his friend. “You’ve done a lot of hard work. You just need to take a little break, that’s all. There’s no shame in that. And there’s definitely no point in trying to fight your body.”
“What I want to know,” Meea asked worriedly, “is why you didn’t say anything earlier. I thought something was bothering you before, but you just kept quiet.”
“I’m sorry,” Shartha said meekly. “I probably should have spoken up. But I just didn’t want to be a bother to anybody. I mean, I already held us up when I fell, and you had to search the basement and get cut up on your own. I didn’t want to seem like a wuss.”
Matakh sighed and hugged his friend, being careful not to aggravate the cheetah’s arm. “Shar, you’re not a wuss, and you’re not a superhero. There’s no shame in asking for help or admitting when you’ve been hurt. If you’d said something earlier, we would have been happy to help you, and we could have kept you from hurting yourself like this.”
“At least the capsule fell into the hole,” Meea quipped, finally noticing the end result of the mishap. “The hard part’s over now.”
Shartha finally cracked a smile. “Yeah. And no-one got any digits crushed, either, so that’s another thing to be thankful for.”
“That’s the spirit!” Matakh assured his friend, clapping the cheetah on his good shoulder. “The girls and I will bury the capsule, and then we’ll get going. Do you need us to give you guys a ride?”
“Nah,” Timirza said. “Shartha and I came over on our Razor-Blades. We can just ride those back, since they don’t require hands to use.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Meea said.
Burying the capsule went even faster than digging the hole, even with Shartha unable to help. Once the capsule was completely covered, stones were layered for extra protection, before the rest of the dirt was mounded overtop. Shartha tried his best to help, but he quickly realized that using a shovel with just one hand was next to impossible, though he did manage to carry a few stones over.
“Well,” Matakh said breathlessly as he deposited one last shovelful of dirt, “I think that should do it.”
“I agree,” Meea replied. “Nothing’s going to be digging that up anytime soon.” She smiled at her brother. “You made a good call in suggesting we use the capsule. I just wish we didn’t have to use it at all.”
“I know, Mee,” Matakh said sadly. “But at least this way we can save those things most important to us.”
“Well,” Timirza broke in, “we shouldn’t stay around for much longer. Shartha and I need to get back to the shelter. You two are coming with us, right?”
“We are,” Meea agreed. “Give us a second to get our bikes out and powered up, we’ll meet you out front.”
The two lion siblings ran to the garage, which was still relatively intact, skirting their parents’ cars as they headed for the rear. To their relief, their hover-bikes were still nestled securely in their power sockets, and when activated slid free without any trouble. The engines hummed softly to life, suspending the bikes several inches above the ground. A quick diagnostic showed all systems green, and the two lions strapped on their helmets and quickly climbed aboard. The thrumming of the repulsors intensified with their weight,