Free The Regenerates by Maansi Pandya Page B

pointed to Ven up in the tree.
    “What are you idiots doing here in the middle of the night?”
    A tall, muscular man holding a lamp looked at them. He wore clothes of fur and wool and had short, pale hair.
    “This hideous pig-like creature stole all of my food,” Ven said after a moment. “So I went into the woods looking for something to eat. That’s when that animal appeared and began to chase us.”
    He could feel Kayn giving him the death stare. Kayn readjusted the scarf on his head so it covered him properly. Ven beamed triumphantly, though he knew no one would notice in the dark.
    Through the dim light from the lamp, he could make out a look of amusement on the man’s face.
    “Someone get him down from there and bandage his leg.”
    Ven felt the pain return. He had been enjoying his petty moment of vengeance so much he had almost forgotten about it. Two men helped carry Ven down from the tree. Another man bandaged his leg and lent him his shoulder for support. Together with Kayn and the others, they left the beast’s corpse behind and headed deeper into the woods.
    “So.” The man slung his javelin over his shoulder. “Should I ask you a bunch of questions or will you just humor me as to what you were doing?”
    “We were trying to get home and we…got a little lost.” Ven felt it best to see how trustworthy this person was before being honest. “Thanks for your help back there.”
    “It’s lucky we usually hunt around this time. Not the smartest idea, picking this forest to camp in. You’ll stay the night in our town so my wife can take a look at that injury.” The man turned back to look at Ven. “That reminds me, there was an ugly-looking transport pod back there with its engines gutted. Is it yours?”
    “Yeah.” Ven winced as he limped along. “Is there any way to repair it? We’re going to need it later.”
    “I hate to say it, but it’s as good as gone. Our town doesn’t have the skills or supplies to repair a pod that’s that broken. Even if we did manage to salvage some of it, it would run pretty slow. Where did you folks even get that piece of junk? It’s definitely from another century. I’ve never seen something so archaic.”
    Ven didn’t know why he felt a bit insulted. He personally thought Cor produced some of the best transport pods in the world. What did this guy know about transport vehicles, anyway? He used javelins to hunt game. Nothing could be more archaic than that. Ven glanced at Kayn. Through his scarf, Ven could see a frown form.
    They walked for about half an hour more, until they reached the end of the woods. A vast, dark field lay ahead of them. Ven could see a glitter of lights a short distance away and breathed a sigh of relief. When they had reached the settlement, a group of people greeted them at the gate. A thin, pretty woman ran to the man who had asked them their names.
    “What’s this?” she asked, looking at Ven and Kayn. Her eyes lingered on Ven’s leg and she gasped. “Albar, how many times have I told you to watch where you and your friends aim your javelins? Now you’ve gone and injured a child!” Before Albar could defend himself, the woman took Ven from the man supporting him, then turned to Kayn. “You, too, son, you look terrible. Let’s get you both something to eat.”
    Kayn hesitated, but followed. The woman led them in between rows of neat stone huts and perplexed townspeople. They stopped at a large cottage. The woman, still steadying Ven, knocked on the front door. Moments later, a small girl answered. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Kayn and Ven.
    “Mom, not again,” she groaned.
    “Quiet. Can’t you see he’s hurt, Eve?”
    Eve rolled her eyes and opened the door.
    The inside of the cottage was warm and cozy. Hundreds of strange tapestries covered the walls and the floor was made of light-colored wood. The woman led them to the living room, where she sat them on a large couch.
    “Just give me five minutes,” she