Draging Bodies, Leaving Burdens

Dragging Bodies, Leaving Burdens

Not a creature. My head snapped up and my gaze scanned the forest around me. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes locked with another pair of eyes looking directly into mine. Before me stood a small woman, perhaps two or three years younger than myself. Her pant legs were caked in mud and the hem of her shirt appeared to have been torn by brambles. Her light brown hair was pulled back, but a few strands had escaped and stuck themselves to the sweat on her face and neck. She struggled to keep hold of a shovel while dragging a tarped bundle much like mine, but with several large tears where it had caught.

I stood frozen. She stood frozen. Technically we were both caught, though the nature of our own business ensured neither of us would be reporting the other. I knew that others used the badland forest for disposal, had seen evidence of their presence on occasion, but had never before run into them.

Finally, her gaze left mine as she studied the scene around me; the folding shovel and large hole, the tarped bundle waiting to be deposited into it, and the pile of earth ready to be filled back over the top. Recognition lit her eyes; we were here for the same reasons. Yet she didn't seem to know if she should be relieved or frightened.

She was tense and getting into a shovel fight with a cute girl in the badlands was not my idea of a good time. I slowly set down my shovel, then spoke in a gentle tone, "Evening miss, it's a beautiful night to hide a body."

"Who said anything about hiding a body?" she asked defensively.

I gestured calmly at the tarp she had been dragging. "It seems pretty obvious. Plus I think you lost a few bits back there."

She looked and saw the small flesh chunk stuck to a bush behind her. The tear I'd heard hadn't been the first one.

She glared at me defiantly, and I have to admit my heart quickened its rhythm at the sight. "As though you're any better," she accused.

I couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "Oh, I'm no better morally. Maybe just better skilled at body disposal."

Her brows furrowed in anger at first, she opened her mouth to retaliate but lost a hold of her shovel. It tumbled from her grip, the head landing on the body with a loud thump. She fumbled to catch it, getting hit on the shin by the handle instead.

She yelped and hopped back in pain. I used the moment to haul myself out of the hole. She caught the movement and started away. Walking with her eyes still locked on me, she tripped over the shovel and began to fall backward. I lunged forward, just managing to catch her arm and pull. She was light, and my firm tug stopped her fall. Instead of tripping back my intervention caused her to launch forward and crash into me instead.

I hadn't been expecting that. The loose earth under me feet gave way and I tumbled backward, right into the hole I had just been digging. Her momentum carried her forward, and she fell in after me. I hit the ground with a thump, and not a second later she landed on me, knocking the air from my lungs.

I lay there unmoving, trying to regain my breath and waiting for the pain of injury to hit. It hurt all right, but nothing felt broken. The ground here was soft and I had landed flat, saving my head and neck.

I opened my eyes and my newly regained breath was stolen again. She lay on my chest, startled eyes staring into mine. Neither of us seemed to know what to do, what to say. We lay in the hole intended for a corpse, both speechless.

I don't know how long we lay there. Likely it was only moments but it seemed longer as I gazed at her, felt her weight atop me. I reached up and pulled a leaf from her hair, tossing it aside into the hole.

"Umm, thank you." Her voice was softer now and I could feel her breath tickle the skin of my neck. It sent a shiver through me and woke a feeling I hadn't felt in some time.

"You're welcome," I replied, just as softly. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't know," her brows creased, "I can't feel my left foot."

At that I shifted, pulling her weight to the side so that I could sit up, with her seated in my lap. It was her left foot that had caught on the shovel, and sure enough, it was already beginning to swell.

She looked down at it and winced, knowing the pain couldn't be far off.

I delicately placed my hands on her cheeks, turning her face to mine. "Don't look, just breathe and take it easy."

Her eyes began to shine with welling tears, the pain had set in. "Take it easy? I'm at the bottom of a hole in the badlands with a bum ankle. And even if I had a way out, I still have to deal with..." She didn't finish the sentence but we both knew she meant the body.

I looked into her eyes and spoke in my most comforting tone, "I'm not going to abandon you in the badlands. I'll climb out, pull you out, roll both of them in and cover them. Then we can leave together. You can use me and the shovel for support."

Confusion went through her eyes again. "Why would you help me? You know what I was doing."

I smiled. "And you know what I was doing. I'd say that makes us even, maybe even coconspirators. Besides, any girl who would brave the badlands can't be all bad."

She snorted a laugh at my logic, then nodded. "Ok, I' trust you."

Warmth went through my chest at her words. Trust. She trusted me.

I did as I had told her, climbing out of the hole and carefully leaning down to pull her out. She was light and I managed easily. I helped her to sit on a rock nearby while I dealt with our tarp wrapped burdens. I made sure to go back with the shovel and collect any larger missing bits from hers. Once satisfied I filled in the hole as I had planned.

My body was aching fiercely now, from the dragging, digging, and falling, but I was determined not to let her see it. I finished as quickly as I could while still being thorough. As always, I pulled out a packet of wildflower seeds, local to the area, and sprinkled them over the freshly upturned earth.

"What are you doing?" she asked from her nearby seat.

"Replanting the wildlife. Dead bodies tend to damage the plant life, plus the digging upturns it. With any luck, this will help return the ground to normal and provide food for local pollinators."

Her brows rose in surprise. "You do this a lot?"

I nodded solemnly. "It's my job, what they trained me for. But there is no reason I can't give it a personal touch." Finished, I put the seed packet away. "I'm guessing this was your first time."

She gave a pained laugh, "That obvious, huh?"

I shrugged, "Actually you did well for your first time, especially without training. What you lacked in skill you made up for in forethought." I retrieved both our shovels and began folding mine when realization hit. I looked back at her, seriously this time. "It was personal, wasn't it?"

She didn't reply, just nodded solemnly, the glint of returning to her eyes. I had a new respect for her, and her strength. I may not know what had happened but I didn't need to. I could see the pain in her eyes, and not just from her ankle.

I slung my shovel over my shoulder, the reached out, offering her my hand. Our eyes met again. "Come on. Time to leave this behind." She took my hand and I helped her to her feet. Together we made our way from the forest, away from the burdens we had dragged in, supporting each other every step out.