We were getting close. I could feel it. We'd been walking for a couple days, I think, but I'd lost track. I considered asking the others, but if they were like me, it was taking everything they had just to keep putting one foot in from of the other without tripping. We'd found enough fresh water to keep us hydrated, but we hadn't found much to eat since finishing the last of the boar, and it was taking its toll.
Time didn't really have any meaning beyond light and dark, and even that didn't seem to matter much. We drifted closer to the logging trail the longer we walked, simply because I didn't have the concentration to keep us at the right distance anymore. Still, I tried to keep us as close to out of sight as possible. I was determined that no one else was going to die. And it was only that single thought that continued to drive me, keeping me just a bit more aware than the others.
Les was suffering the worst of it. He was being carried all the time now. We took turns switching him back and forth between the four of us. Kieran carried him the most, since we only had one weapon and I was carrying that. But Lilly was carrying him when it happened.
It was mid-morning on our third day—maybe the fourth, I wasn't sure—and we were still plodding along. When we stopped for a break, I tried bolstering everyone's spirits by telling them how close I thought we were, but the attempt had fallen flat. Probably because I'd told them the same thing the day before. Anyway, we were about to move out when I heard a faint twanging sound, a thud, and then a yelp of pain. I spun around just in time to see Kieran stumble forward, an arrow in his calf. My mom screamed.
Another twang, and a second arrow skewered Kieran in the side. At that point, I knew he was done for. We might've been able to save him with just an injured leg, but the second wound would require immediate medical attention or else he would bleed out quickly.
Kieran looked at my mom, and said, "I love you, Susanna." Then his eyes shifted to the crimson stain growing on his shirt, then he looked me dead in the eye and said, "Run!"
The word had barely left his mouth before a third arrow went through his neck. I wished I could've spared my mother the sight of blood spewing from Kieran's mouth. It had all happened in a matter of seconds, yet it seemed much longer. Then my mother screamed again and broke my paralysis. I spun her around, and shoved her in the direction Lilly was going, but she started to turn back immediately.
"Run!" I shouted.
My wife must've started running as soon as the second arrow had hit Kieran, because she'd gotten a good head start on Mom and me. But with Les, she needed it.
I grabbed my mother's arm and pulled her with me, knowing that if I let go, she'd run back to Kieran. She knew it was hopeless, but she'd try to help him anyway. I knew that's what she'd do, because that's what I'd do if it was Lilly or her on the ground back there. And if I wasn't trying to save my family, I would've done the same for Kieran. He wasn't my father, but he'd been a good man. If I'd been younger when Mom and he had met, he would've made a great stepdad. He'd certainly taken good care of my mother, and for that I was grateful. Now, I felt guilty dragging her away, leaving the man she loved to die alone. But he was already dead. The only thing we could do now, to make his death not be in vain, was save ourselves.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to explain all of that to my mom, so I just ran and pulled her with me. My feet tangled and I stumbled, but I somehow stayed upright and forced myself to keep going. Lilly was ahead of me, her own stride looking awkward from the infection and the extra weight she carried. Mom struggled to break free, to turn back. Her cries broke my heart, but I didn't falter. I would protect her, not just because I loved her, but also because a man I had respected and called a friend had loved her too. And his dying wish was for me to do exactly what I was doing—trying to save her.
