The Human Hunter

Chapter 9

Emma awoke sometime later feeling overheated with a headache pulsing behind her eyes. She could barely keep them open halfway as she tried to remember where she was.

I was with Widow climbing down the large rock wall after we had run from that strange kin, but I don't remember anything after that.

Before she could process what was going on, a warm hand settled against her forehead. Blinking the blurriness back, she watched as Widow's face came into focus. He was leaning over her, his mouth turned downward into a frown.

"You overdid it," he said quietly as he removed his hand and replaced it with a damp cloth.

Closing her heavy eyelids, she exhaled as the cloth cooled her fevered skin. A shiver ran up her spine as a light draft brushed her bare shoulders, making her grab the thin blanket Widow must have put over her and pull it up higher.

Wait a second.

Moving her hand to her chest, Emma felt her face grow even hotter. I'm naked. She forced her eyes to open again and did her best to glare at him, but he just raised an eyebrow in question.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked before coughing painfully.

The bed dipped from his weight as he helped her sit up, the blanket nearly slipping with the movement before she could grab it.

"They were filthy so I sent them to get washed with my things," he said before turning and kneeling beside the nightstand by his bed.

Ah, makes sense. That's why you're not wearing what you were before and have no shirt on. She had no doubt that she'd dirtied his spares by borrowing them, too.

She'd expected him to make fun of her or say something about her being naked in his bed, but instead, he just tugged out a thicker blanket from within the nightstand and stood up, draping it over her until she was completely tucked it. He even added an extra pillow that she hadn't noticed before so that she could have her head and shoulders a little elevated.

"Thank you," she said honestly, her voice hoarse as her eyes closed again and she drifted back off to sleep.

The next time she awoke it was to the smell of some kind of cooked meat. Looking around the cave, Emma realized that Widow wasn't there, but he had left a bowl of something on the nightstand that had her slowly pushing herself up. She nudged the pillows behind her to lean against and made sure that the blankets were covering her well before reaching out to take the warm bowl.

"Oh, hello there, Fuzz," she said as she noticed the little spider sitting on a nicely spun web across the top of the bowl. "Were you keeping flies out of my food, sweetheart?" she asked as she pressed a finger against his web and waited until he had climbed on before moving him to her shoulder.

"I appreciate it," she said before clearing away the little web and lifting the bowl to her lips, since there was no spoon in sight. It was some sort of broth with chicken and what looked to be diced carrots and greens.

This tastes like heaven.

It was clearly not seasoned, but just the taste of the cooked food together was delicious after having simple whole carrots and kale. She downed the food in minutes and was licking the small bowl clean when she heard footsteps outside the cave. Without really thinking about it, she set the empty bowl on the nightstand and relaxed back against the pillows, shutting her eyes right as the footsteps entered the room. They were heavier than Widow's, and a lot less quiet.