One of the women took hold of his bed and pushed it down a long passage; the other flat-face walked beside her. They talked to each other, their voices quick and light. Unable to follow what they said, Ujurak stared around as he was wheeled along. Through open doors he spotted other flat-faces lying in beds, covered with white blankets.

It’s peaceful here, he thought, trying to push down the last traces of his fear. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

Near the end of the passage the flat-face pushing his bed wheeled it into a tiny room with metal walls; the door slid shut behind them, leaving him trapped there with the two females. His feelings of peace faded abruptly; his heart began to race with alarm and he tried to sit up.

Are they keeping me a prisoner here?

‘Take it easy, Ujurak,’ one of the females said. ‘It’s only the elevator.’

She touched something on one of the walls, and Ujurak thought he could sense movement, though he couldn’t see anything. Then the door slid open again and the female pushed him out into the passage again – but it was a different passage! Ujurak’s eyes stretched wide in wonder. These flat-faces are amazing!

Further down this new passage the female pushed him into a much smaller room, with a bed and a window hung with more of the brightly coloured pelts. ‘There,’ she said. ‘Now we can have a good look at you.’

Gently the two flat-faces took off the pelts Ujurak had taken from the village, and dressed him in a different set, made of a fine, soft fabric, pale green like young leaves. Then they helped him into the bed and covered him with white blankets.

Once he was settled, one of the women left. ‘I’ll see you later, Ujurak,’ she promised with a wave of her hand.

The other woman bent over him and took his wrist; she held it for a few moments while she stared at some flat-face thing pinned to her pelt. ‘Hmm . . .’ she murmured as she released him.

Ujurak watched curiously as she picked up a long black thing like a flat snake and wrapped it around his arm. He knew about healing as a bear, and he had learned a bit about flat-face healing from the healer in the village, but he had never come across anything like this. How is this snake-thing going to help me?

The female was doing something that made the snake tighten around his arm. Ujurak’s heart began to pound with alarm. Is it going to crush me?

‘It’s OK,’ the female said soothingly. ‘It only takes a minute.’

As she finished speaking there was a long sighing sound from the snake and the pressure on Ujurak’s arm relaxed. He blinked in confusion as the female put the snake away again.

What was that all about?