The Persecuted

Chapter 9

Adan settled down and took count of his injuries. There were new scrapes from running in the darkness, but those were minor compared to his fingers and other bruises. He needed water to clean the wounds and himself. Hiding amongst the potato sacks had not been the best for his injuries. There were a few plants he knew that would help stave off any possible infections. Setting the broken fingers would have to be done as well.

With a deep breath he set out to see to everything he needed.

The herbs were easily found and along the way he found some berries to kill the worst of his hunger. He collected promising looking pieces of wood that would allow him to splint his fingers and hopefully make them heal properly so they'd be of use again.

Finding water was a more tricky proposition. He spent a good portion of the day wandering around. In the end he found a small creek. The rock filled bottom ensured the water was clear and after tasting it, Adan deemed it suitable for cleaning his wounds. With a grimaces and gasps of pain he removed all his clothes and cleaned himself the best he could. Having done that he pounded the herbs into a paste and lathered it over his wounds before ripping strips from his shirt and bandaging the herb covered wounds.

Then came the broken fingers and splinting them. They had not had time to set themselves that much so even though it hurt, Adan managed to put them all in their place the best he could. He hoped it would be enough. Maybe they would look like they'd been broken previously, but hopefully he'd have full use of them.

With his tattered clothes, the bandaged fingers and wounds, he looked like someone who had climbed out of their grave. The dirt was missing, but everything else was there.

Adan sighed as he sat down and leaned against a tree right by the creek. He felt better. He felt tired.

What do I do now? I can't stay this close to the city. The search parties will eventually get here. With the bishop there they won't give up the search. He'll push everyone to remember me.

While the urge to continue on was strong, there was no denying he needed rest. His body had been subjected to things it had never experienced before and he hadn't had much to eat in the past days. Good sleep had been missing from his days.

Of one thing he was certain. Never trust anyone. It was a lesson that had been expensive to take. He would treasure it, no matter how painful it had been.

I can't stay here for too long. I need to get further away. I need better clothes and supplies.

The same thoughts kept swirling around in his head. Before realizing it he had dozed off and when he woke up the sun had moved across the sky and was starting to set. Adan cursed and tried to stand up, but his muscles had truly given up. So he remained in place. It wasn't a bad spot. Not too much in the open, the tree offered its protection. So he stayed there for the night.

In the morning he scrounged up some more berries and looked for a stone he could use to make a knife of some sort. He needed something with which to kill. There was bound to be some of that in his future. Having secured a crude weapon he started walking deeper into the forest.

He wandered for days. Looking for signs of chase kept his nerves on edge and the constant need to hunt for food and looking after his wounds made for slow progress. He got lucky with his snares and caught some hares along the way. Skinning them was something he didn't have much experience with so he ended up with a lot of wasted meat and some annoying hairs in the bits he managed to salvage. But he was too hungry to care.

It was five days since he'd started walking that he ran into a road that looked well travelled. It cut through the forest like a white snake.

Stay away from it.