The Walled Cities

Chapter 17

The sharp tone that I had used reflected in Kaelyn's voice as she carefully replied, "Ezekiel was ambushed just like us when he arrived here. Caught unprepared he and the others fought back and with help from the guards drove off their attackers. During the fighting your brother blocked a blow directed at his face with his left hand. His pinky and ring finger were crushed by the blow. They were amputated later at his request as they were beyond repair. The scar on his face he got during the fight when a bullet hit him there."

Knowing I had gone to far with my tone, I choose my words carefully before in a calm voice asked, "Why has he not tried to escape before now?"

Noting the change in my tone Kaelyn returned to her normal voice as she answered, "It took him at least a week to recover from the amputation. Losing a pair of fingers is extremely painful and your brother has months of recovery ahead of him. Getting back to the point, once he was able to withstand the pain without drugs, your brother spent the next two weeks helping the others sell the goods they had brought and make extra money helping build defenses and catch what fish he could in the harbor. Had he been able to he would have left, but this morning was the first chance he had."

Leaning my head against the wall behind me I thought about this and how we were going to get out. With all but the Sunset Huckleberry leaves already sold, there was no reason to stay in this city as Kaelyn had already suggested. Her knife would have to wait for a different time as we could not afford to spend any more time than necessary in this place. For now I needed to apologize for my tone and see if she was willing to find some food.

"I regret using the tone I did. Ezekiel is my only living family and Cassiel needs him to help with the farm and the children. Unfortunately I know that I will be snappy and rude while I am healing. It is not directed at you intentionally and I am apologizing in advance for the fact you will have to deal with it," I apologized in the most sincere tone I could muster. Snapping and yelling at Kaelyn was wrong of me and I knew it. My injuries had and would continue to sap at my energy, making me aggravated at my lack of motion.

Understanding and nodding her head Kaelyn kindly replied, "You are not the first person I have dealt with who was in pain. My voice may change to mirror yours but I will try and refrain from shouting at you... Now since you are in no condition to get up, I am going to go look for some food. Don't you dare get out of bed. I know you are going to want  to check your wounds, so the medical supplies the doctors gave me are next to you on the table."

Swirling across the room in a flurry of skirt, Kaelyn opened the door before going out, closing the door behind her. Alone now, I did exactly as Kaelyn had predicted.

Starting with my side, I gently felt the bandages wrapped around my body to keep the absorbent pads in place over the wound. Finding the end of the long bandage I began to carefully unwrap it. Moving in a circular motion I unwrapped the majority of the long bandage, stopping only when I could feel the pads under the thin layers of bandage. Keeping my hand at the ready to grab the pads if the fell, I unwrapped the remaining bandage.

Tilting my head so I could see the wound, I groaned at the sight. The pads keeping the wound closed had become stuck to the wound by a layer of dark brown dried blood. Taking off the pads would open up the wound and I would have to work quickly to inspect it and place new pads on. Doing this would required water which was going to make this process tricky. Still it needed to be done as I could not afford to have an infected wound.

Grabbing the bowl of water off the table, I braced myself for the coming pain. Pouring the water quickly and steadily, I emptied the bowl and returned it to the table. Grabbing the first pad, I tugged it off, tossing it to the floor. Repeating the process with the second one, I examined the extent of my injury. Pain from the removal of the pads hurried me as I judging the wound to be clean, placed two new pads over it. Blood welled up around the pads as I began to secure them, but that was ok. Using the same bandage as before I wrapped it around my body.

Finished with my side, my leg was next. For this I did not need to take off my pants and see the wound. My main concern was whether I could stand or not. Having walked most of my life, and having built a life around walking  my legs everything to me. Losing them even temporarily would delay our exit, something we could not afford. Buying a horse or mule or even a bike as a mode of transportation was out of the question. Having roughly four hundred and sixty dollars was not near enough to buy even a old mule or horse.

Returning to my leg, I lightly touched the spot where I had been shot. Gritting my teeth at a slight pain, I pressed harder until I was confident I understood the extent of the damage. Walking was still in my range of motion, but nothing close to ideal. Somehow I would have to find an alternate way to get out of this city, before it became our tomb.