The Walled Cities

Chapter 24

Sniff

Crunch!!

Sniff

Woken up by the sudden noise of a branch breaking, I grabbed for my gun. It was still dark but I always kept a gun within reaching distance when I slept.

Fingers curling around the cold metal of the grip, I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the lack of light.

Whoff

Crunch!

Confident that the noise was coming from just outside to door, I made my way over to the door. Ready for whatever was outside, I stuck my head outside.

A mound of black stood a few feet away, sniffing the air. Bear!

Snapping into a firing position, my hands worked independently of my thoughts.

Bam bam bam bam

Four shots flew from the pistol and burrowed themselves into the bear's head. One paw lifted itself like it was going to move, but it never did. Instead the bear slumped to the ground, tongue sticking out loosely. It did not make a sound, though I could barely hear anything as my ears were ringing.

Without any sign of movement from the bear, I slowly eased out of the structure. Keeping my eyes on it in case something changed, I made my way over to the bear.

Close enough to see the bear clearly even in the poor light of the dawn, I took in the teeth that stuck out from behind its lips. They were not the only danger, as I spotted one of its claws poking out from its paw. Between the teeth, claws, and a small mountain of muscle it was a force to be reckoned with.

Finished with my examination and confident that the beast was indeed dead, I looked around in an attempt to figure out what it had been doing. Seeing paw prints in the poor light was hard but the bear had done a good job of leaving a trail. It was not difficult even in the light to follow it through the woods. I did not follow it long, as I had killed the bear and from it's size the bear was not a cub or mother. Besides Kaelyn was all alone.

Kaelyn!

Reminded that I had left her, I rushed back through the woods. My pain was a small price to pay as I hobbled back to the structure and stared at Kaelyn. Brown eyes stared back at me with a worried look. Those eyes had me holding my breath as we made eye contact. But just like that they closed without a sound from her lips. Immediately her expression softened into one of sleep.

Relieved that she was okay I reminded myself to check on her injuries later when there was more light to see with. Skinning the bear was another task that I needed to do, but the sun had barely risen. Right now it was time to make a fire and think about breakfast. I was also going to make something for Kaelyn as she had gone long enough without food. A tonic to fight off infection and increase strength would help with her recovery. Marsh Violet and Violet Lupine would take care of fighting any infection and possible fever. Burdock or Lily of the Valley would be best for strength. All would be easy to find here, as they along with many plants grew throughout the region as long as the conditions were good enough for them.

Sunlight shined through the trees in yellow streams as I started on breakfast. Steamed Beaver was on the menu, along with Cattail tubers which I was baking. They would take about a half hour to cook which gave me time to find the plants I wanted for the herbal teas. Finding the plants would be easy and I grabbed my pack so that I could stuff the plants in it as I found them.

Ready to go on my foraging trip, I gently placed my hand on Kaelyn's forehead. Heat greeted my hand, much more than what was normal for someone sleeping. Worried that her wounds may have developed an infection, I peeled back the blanket and then her dress. Inspecting them one after the other, I searched for any sign of infection. Infection was fairly easy to spot and the lack of inflamed veins, black veins, bad odor, or discharge confirmed that the wounds were not infected. The fever was new though, as I had checked these wounds every day since I had first stitched them.