Ten people gathered around me, mostly relatives or close friends of Janette who were as impatient to return as I was.

"Home."

The air hazed around us, and I ignored the faint ache in my chest as our view cleared to reveal Vermilion Village. Those waiting to carry things away had puffy red eyes. Dread settled in my stomach.

"How is she?" a hunter asked, not having to specify who "she" was.

One of the women wiped her eyes. "Not good. I advise you to go say your goodbyes. She almost bled out. D-don't expect much. Sh-she's too far gone to talk." With a sob, the woman turned away, and two behind her pulled her into a hug as she wept.

We jogged toward the doctor's cave, although dozens of people stood outside the entrance.

Merryl intercepted us and pulled me into a hug. Her shaking voice was muffled against my shoulder. "She's not going to make it. Those dogs mangled her arms and legs. It took most of the doctor's bandages to stop the bleeding. Even if he used all of his herbs for poultices, he wouldn't have nearly enough for all of her wounds."

I hugged her tighter, having no words to express the pain in my heart. "I can try taking a group out to look for herbs for poultices or something. Surely some of the forests near the farms haven't been—"

"This isn't something poultices can fix," she mumbled. "Or I would have already taken a group out."

A nearby villager quietly said, "Her intestines were damaged when a dog bit her side. The contents will already be poisoning her insides. Herbs won't stop that kind of infection."

"She probably won't survive the night after losing that much blood," someone else said with a sniffle. "At least she won't suffer for months like Henley did."

My chest constricted, and I held Merryl closer. This was not what I wanted to come back to. An hour ago, I'd expected a scathing lecture about porting into a potential Saursune ambush in order to save twenty-three people, and now, a porter was dying from an animal attack.

Deeper in the crowd, someone began lamenting over the old-world medicines and hospitals which had been capable of reattaching limbs and fixing organs.

Something in my mind clicked. The Saursunes had such technology, and they seemed to have a vested interest in porters lately. Would they help her? Was it even possible, as different as they were from us? I was grasping at straws, but I'd even take a short straw if it meant not burying a friend.

My grip on my sister loosened as I asked her, "Where's Grant?"

She pulled her head back just enough to look at me, alerted by the shift in my tone. "Somewhere around here. Why?"

"I've got a stupid idea."

"Nat—"

I called out, "Grant, where are you?"

"Over here," he replied.

I pushed my way through the crowd with Merryl and my group hot on my heels.

He took one look at my face and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Running a dumb idea past you. Hear me out. The Saursunes must have good medical technology—you never see one limping, and they never seem to stay injured. Since they want our energy so badly, they might save her. Look at how they bring us food all the time. The next time Janette wakes up, is this something we could mention to her?"

Grant exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his hair, trying to think his way through the proposal and its consequences. The villagers who had been close enough to hear my quiet voice began shifting and muttering.

One said, "They're killers. Let her spend her final hours surrounded by family."

Murmurs of agreement came from other villagers. The hunters following me shifted to form a subtle wall of bodies between us and the crowd. Others questioned the odds of the alien lizards actually saving a porter, the faintest traces of hope in their voices.

The voices grew louder, drawing more attention as the crowd split into two sides. Those who were convinced the Saursunes would kill her after so many centuries of trying to wipe us out; a small percentage didn't want to see their friend die and focused on the changes we'd seen over the last few weeks.

I stared at the crowd, stunned by the division that had appeared out of nowhere. People weren't just debating and discussing what was best for the village or person in question—some were actually arguing!

An older male voice called out, "What is all this commotion?"

Several hunters frowned at Barrett's untimely appearance. Apparently I wasn't the only one who disliked that particular patriarch. A dozen villagers tried answering at the same time.

"They want to let the lizards kill Janette!"

"The Saursunes might heal her since she's a porter."

"They have the technology—"

"What if they follow her back here?"

"Even she said it was a dumb idea—"

"She'll die otherwise."

Barrett furrowed his eyebrows as many tried to make him see the situation from their perspective.

"Where did all this come from?" he asked, cutting quite a few off in a fashion I disliked.

I hid a wince as several pointed to me.

"Natalie suggested it."

"Natalie said they might help her—"

Barrett cut them off again, asking me, "Taking her to the aliens? What prompted such a daft suggestion?"

The hunters around me stiffened, and even I stared for a moment, taken aback by his tone and words. Unfortunately for him, threats and condescending remarks to make me "behave" were exactly the wrong buttons to push. Instead of firing back a retort, which rarely worked out well, I resorted to using reasoning, a trick I'd learned from Grant.

Standing straighter, I kept my voice level. "Because it sounds like it's the only option that might save my friend. Just look at the last two weeks—a Saursune saved a hunter from a tiger, and another herded back two who had gotten lost."

Barrett snorted. "You are forgetting how many thousands—millions!—they've killed since they came here. Centuries of deaths against two fluke situations. A quarter of the losses in this village have been at their claws."

"Are all humans the same?" I countered. "If I had to guess, it looks like the Saursunes just realized that. They haven't been harming people unless they were raiding the fields. What if all Saursunes aren't the—"

"Poppycock!" he shouted, earning a few startled looks from the villagers. "Look at the history! Are you trying to get her killed?"

Before I could reply, a hunter beside me called out, "Are you implying that you can save her? That she isn't going to die within days? That some of the patriarchs haven't been taking most of the medicinal leaves meant for the doctor and adding them to the soup pots?"

My jaw dropped even as the patriarch blanched at the last sentence. His reaction and the words had more murmurs floating through the crowd.

"I—that's not—" Barrett stuttered in surprise before collecting himself. "People were starving. We needed the food more!"

"But what if someone got hurt?" someone called out.

"Are we close to starvation rations?"

Other voices joined the clamor, with questions ranging from the medical plants to sudden worries that our food security was not as stable as they had believed.

"Silence!" a voice boomed from beside me, making me jump.

Sheesh. You would have thought Grant had fine-tuned his you-better-listen-up voice on me or something.

"Alright," he said loudly, looking around. "There appears to be a disagreement. There are two options. One, we keep Janette here and support her as best we can with our love until she draws her last breath. Two, we take her to the Saursunes and see if their sudden interest in porters extends to healing them. They might kill her. They might save her. We have no way of knowing."

"Indeed!" Barrett said loudly. "Let's have a vote."

Grant raised an eyebrow. "I would like to point out that unless Janette wakes up long enough to tell us what she wants, her husband's decision stands. Can someone please call him out for a minute?"

The flash of anger across Barrett's face at being corrected so publicly made me do a double-take, but by then, it was gone.

Several villagers disappeared inside the doctor's office, emerging shortly with Reynold. His cheeks had white trails of dried tears, and it looked like he was barely holding himself together.

Remaining where he was, Grant explained both options. "—if Janette doesn't wake up long enough to tell us, which choice would you pick?"

Reynold wiped more tears away with a kerchief. His hoarse voice was thick, and it was hard to make out his words from thirty paces away. "The odds of her waking up are slim to none. My mind isn't functioning properly right now. I don't want to lose my final hours with her, but is there really a chance when she only has hours left? I don't know. Perhaps the combined wisdom of the village will pick the best route."

"I agree," Barrett said. "I can organize a vote."

Reynold sent him a frown and disappeared back inside the cave.

Grant raised his voice yet again. "Please take a break and think about this. Unless Janette wakes up long enough to tell us what she wants, we'll make a vote in two hours since time is running out. Most groups should be back by then. Any questions?"

The few murmurings were too quiet to make out. Some still sounded a bit heated, although I wasn't sure which side they were on or if it was about the patriarchs.

"How are we going to find a Saursune?" someone called out.

When Grant glanced at me, I replied, "There's a crystal near one of their towns. If I port her there, I can wait by the crystal until they show up and make sure no wild animals harm her. Then I can bounce back." After a short pause, I admitted, "It's a risk. I don't know how those particular Saursunes will react or if they'll be willing to heal her. All I know is that they seem to value porters lately, even going so far as ensuring we don't go hungry."

I did not mention that I planned to use my energy-sharing trick to bribe them into helping Janette. More murmurs arose, remembering all the baskets of food and dead rabbits the Saursunes had been leaving for us. The deer in particular had been a blessing.

Grant tapped my elbow and nodded at the crystal, away from the crowd. I decided it was a good enough time to make myself scarce. Besides, it was time for me to bring another group back.

It felt almost surreal when I returned to the Guard Station and almost nothing had changed. I sat on a hide with a heavy sigh. Most from my village gathered around me. I gave them a summarized update on Janette's condition and the vote that would be held in two hours, without indicating it had been my suggestion or mentioning that the patriarchs had been taking supplies meant for the doctor.

"Why even vote on it?" Nolani demanded. "Look how many villages they've wiped out in the last month! How many they've killed!"

I shrugged, not meeting her burning gaze. "Because some think the Saursunes might heal a porter."

"Those lizards? Bah. You can't befriend an enemy. Look at how many deaths they're responsible for. They'd kill Janette just like they killed her mother, my cousin, and dozens of others in this village." Too agitated to sit, she got up and stormed away.

I forcefully reminded myself that some arguments weren't worth the effort. She wouldn't change her mind or her vote.

With a sigh—why did life always have so much drama?—I asked the others, "Since you know almost everything I do, who wants to go back first?"

My mind drifted back to Janette as those around me discussed who would go next.