Page 141 of Darling Wildfire
The sun was well on its morning ascent and we needed a break.
North waved his hand at a small rock outcropping nearby and continued on through the trees. Nyx and I exchanged a look before sitting down on the rocks. I sighed in relief.
“He’s going to drive himself into the ground,” Nyx muttered.
A low, quick whistle sounded through the trees nearby. We were on our feet and moving towards where North had disappeared. We came upon him crouched on the edge of a clearing. There was a small cabin—well, more of a shack—sitting in obvious neglect in the center. The door was hanging off its hinges and the forest was slowly encroaching on the structure. But what was most notable was the fresh tire tracks of a motorbike in the underbrush near the front door.
I looked around behind us and through the trees as far as I could but there wasn’t any indication someone was still in the area.
“How long ago?” I muttered.
“Last night? This morning?” North grumbled.
“Hard to say,” Nyx murmured.
“Stay here,” North whispered and before we could object, he was moving off to flank the shack. Nyx and I kept watch at the surrounding woods. The only access for a motorbike was down a small dirt trail leading off to the east.
We saw North edge his way up to the side of the building under the window and peek inside. Obviously seeing nothing dangerous, he signaled the all clear and we joined him at the front door.
The inside was small and decaying but clean. Fresh firewood was stacked against one wall and the smell of woodsmoke hung in the air. Nyx went over to the fire and stuck his hands near the coals.
“Not warm,” he said. “Yesterday then. Or the day before.”
I walked over to a shelf and grabbed at one of the canned goods sitting in the dust. I tossed one to Nyx. North was prowling around the other wall where a small cot sat. If you could call it that. The material was frayed and looked close to disintegrating at the slightest touch. The one blanket was moth eaten and raggedy. Under the cot were a few old but clean shirts.
I grabbed a hunting knife from the small assortment of kitchen tools. The blade was slightly rusted but it was still sharp. I sat down in the one wood chair and started sawing open a can of food.
“No fire,” North grunted.
He had pulled the shirts from under the bed and was busy ripping them into strips. Nyx grabbed the tea kettle and headed for the door presumably to grab water from the nearby stream we’d passed.
North and I worked in silence until Nyx returned. I opened three cans and handed one to him and one to North before digging in with my fingers. It was beans, probably expired, but I didn’t care.
“What’s the plan?’ I asked, looking over at North.
“We head down the mountain. Try and find a town or something.”
North saw Nyx was done eating and took his bandaged hand into his lap, unraveling the crude dressing. Nyx tried to pull his hand away but North gripped his wrist firmly.
“Don’t be stupid,” he growled. “If it gets infected, you’re fucked.”
Nyx scowled at his hand but stopped struggling. When North peeled away the final piece of bloody fabric, Nyx looked away in obvious distress. My eyes landed on the bloody stump where his pinky finger had been. It was still slowly bleeding.
Anger flooded me and I looked up to see Nyx watching me. I knew betterthan to say anything but I held his gaze while North cleaned the wound and wrapped it in a clean bandage. When he was done, Nyx muttered a thank you. North stood up and approached me next, jerking his finger to get me to turn around. I hesitated too but I knew that look on North’s face and knew arguing was useless.
North cleaned my back and handed me one of the shirts he hadn’t shredded.
“I wouldn’t put that on yet—might be best to let those air out. Some of them look like they need stitches but we don’t have anything for that. Just make sure they stay clean.”
“Yes, sir,” I muttered.
North cleaned a few of his cuts and sank down onto the cot again. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
“I’ll take first watch,” I said.
I grabbed the knife and pulled the chair closer to the door so I had a good view out the front then settled in. I didn’t know if Vetticus would be hot on our heels or what kind of resources he would deploy to track us. Would he send some of his drones out? Were these tire marks part of that search party?
I didn’t know. All I did know was that we weren’t going back.
