Haven

5. Help

What on earth was Rylan doing naked in the middle of the forest?

Norah touched his arm, surprised at how warm he still was. “Rylan, can you hear me? My name is Norah, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you, okay?”

He moaned and she took that as consent to help him. She had to get him to a hospital, in the dark she couldn’t determine the full extent of his injuries but she knew it was bad. She didn’t have a phone to call for help and he obviously didn’t have one either. Her next plan would have to be carrying him back to her car but that was still going to be a problem. “All right, Rylan, I’m going to help you, but you need to help me as well.”

She pulled him up to a sitting position and frowned. The guy was heavy. “Okay buddy, I need you to stand up. Come on,” she groaned as she tried to pull him to his feet.

He hissed, struggling to stand as he tried to help her and she winced, knowing she must have been hurting him. But she couldn’t leave him in the forest while she went to get help. What if the wolf came back? She shifted, trying to put most of his weight on her back as he finally got to his feet and her own legs threatened to buckle. His head and arms hung over her shoulders but his feet were still dragging on the ground. The metallic scent of blood, combined with dirt filled her senses and she breathed through her mouth.

“Okay,” she gritted her teeth. “You better stay awake or we’re both screwed.”

She walked slowly through the forest, her torch tucked tightly under one arm. With each step, her legs wanted to collapse but she kept a steady pace, knowing if she stopped she wouldn’t be able to start again. Rylan’s laboured breathing sounded in her ears and her back started to feel damp from the blood coming from his chest. It took her nearly ten minutes to find the path again and with each step, his weight grew heavier.

“Come on, Rylan, help me even a little bit here.”

“Sorry,” he murmured lightly and she felt a stab of guilt.

“Just focus on staying awake, please.” It felt like forever before she saw the outline of her car. Relief swept through her and she struggled over to the passenger door. She cursed as the torch dropped and she fumbled with the key in the dark before finding the keyhole. In an awkward manoeuvre, she somehow managed to get him sitting in the passenger seat, shoving her notebook onto the floor in the process.

Picking up the torch, she rushed around the other side and froze, turning to look at his bike. A small pile of clothes were on the ground, on the other side, his keys and wallet buried in them. She hadn’t looked on the other side of the bike earlier so she hadn’t seen them. She picked up the small bundle and put them in the backseat of her car before climbing in. Quickly starting the car, she turned to look at him in the dark, secretly glad so she couldn’t focus on the fact that he was very naked. “Where is the hospital around here?”

“No hospital,” he breathed, eyes closed.

“You need a hospital,” she demanded, “and I don’t know where it is –“

She jumped as his hand grabbed her arm and his eyes flew open, staring at her in pain. “No hospitals, please, Norah.”

His eyes closed again and she wanted to ask why, but the need to attend to his wounds took priority.

“Stubborn man,” she cursed, banging the steering wheel as she shifted into reverse. Spinning around, she headed back for home. She didn’t know where Olivia lived and had never bothered to ask for her phone number. She thought of checking the address on his license, but she still wasn’t familiar with the streets here and he needed attention now.