Into the Pages

Chapter 5

After coughing up blood and being barely able to hold their own weight, the alpha barked at his fellow pack mates to retreat. They followed him out of the crater, their tails between their legs. She turned back to see the hunter with his hand at the base of his throat. She ran to him immediately and started with the pulse points on his right wrist.

His deep pulse was knotted, taut, rapid. Promptly, she pressed the fingers of one hand against the meridian points below the collarbone and her thumb against the base of his own thumb. As she rubbed and massaged the areas, his breathing was already becoming easier. His gaze was locked on her eyes. A bright shade of golden brown he has never seen before. She took his free hand and placed his fingers in replacement of her own.

"Hold your fingers here," She pulled out her metal thermos filled with water and a plastic case with separate sections for fifty different crushed medicinal herbs. In the cap, she half-filled it with water before mixing four herbs in.

"What are you doing?" He asked in his own language.

"Adding ginger, yarrow, ginkgo nuts, and goldthread root to water and letting it seep. Give that a minute, and it will be ready,"

"Are you a doctor?"

"I am. A traveling one," she confessed without raising her gaze. "And based on your pulse, you could use one of my prescriptions,"

He swallowed the lump in his throat before rolling his eyes. "Let me guess: 'this will only slow down the disease progression and give me an extra one to three years,'" His jaw clenched at the numbers.

"More like four to eight years with my treatments based on your pulse. But it might as well be none due to your own stupidity," the doctor insulted.

His eyes darted toward her with annoyance. "What?"

"Who in their right mind would go out hunting alone? Especially in winter, where resources are slim to the point of survival of the fittest?" she questioned as she grabbed a notebook from her bag.

As she feverishly wrote down instructions for treatment, remedies, and helpful tips, he started to insult her. "Impetuous bitch! How hypocritical of you! You're out here alone! Where is—'' About to rant at her; he suddenly processed what she previously said. "Did you just say your treatments can extend my life by four to eight years?"

She turned back to give her own glare. "What the hell is the matter with you? You go from scolding me to questioning my medical knowledge? Are you always this rude?" She scolded him. "Yes. Four to eight years. And I'm not alone. My family happens to be missing. Thank you so much for your concern," She chuckled at the end with a bit of a bite. She then handed him the cup of water and herbs. "Drink this. Slowly."

He snatched the cup from her grasp and took a slow chug so she could continue her treatment plan. "You did save my life from those carnivorous monsters. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't be here," He begrudgingly confessed. "I suppose I should reward you. What do you wish for?"

"I don't want anything," Her words shocked him as she continued to write. "Take one of these remedies twice a day, no exception. If you have a sudden attack, the points I used are the best," she announced as she handed him a sheet of paper. He looked fascinated by the type of parchment and silently wondered how the ink dried so quickly. As he read the ingredients and instructions, she re-packed her messenger bag to prepare for her long journey.

"How could you not want a reward?" He questioned as she wrapped the bag over her shoulders. "I have to give you something; I don't like to have debt with people. I can get you anything you want,"

"I'm a traveling doctor; I do it for fun. I pick my own herbs and sell them, keeping enough to treat people for my travels. I don't need material goods," She announced as she wiped the snow off her backside.