I winced when I woke up. I had forgotten about getting shot when I had a great dream where I was enveloped in warm and soft fur. Wendy gave a soft whine and I scratched her head and body, assuring her I was okay by giving her her favourite shivers. I guess she was responsible for my comfortable dream.
'Good morning.' Tashee said as I sat up.
Right, there was also the deadly mother-daughter duo. 'Morning..' I said before yawning.
She came unto me with a leaf bowl and water. 'Let me wash your wound and change bandage. Then we can eat.'
I smelled the leftover rodents starting to roast and figured being nursed wasn't too bad sometimes. She pulled off the old bandage carefully and made the last bit wet to peel it off with less pain. She folded it to have a clean part to wash around my wound. After inspecting there was no weird colouring she bandaged me again.
'Thanks.' I said, feeling better from a little care.
'It is my duty now.'
'No, it's not.' I said. 'Forget about what happened.'
She looked down at the bowl and dirty bandage in her hands. 'My honour won't let me.'
'Screw honour. A little is fine, but too much has cost too many innocent lives.' I said and put one hand on hers. 'I don't want you owing me anything. Apart from a few meals and bandage changes. I can live with that. Okay?'
She smiled softly as she looked up at me. I liked that look. 'Okay.' she said softly.
'Good.' I said, feeling a little relieved. 'Now I need to attend to another woman's attention.'
Her eyes went wide. 'There's another one of you?'
'No, mother nature is calling me.' I grinned.
I saw her ears turn every way. 'I didn't hear her.' she said, feeling confused.
I laughed. 'No, it's an expression. I just need to, alone..?' I said and gestured at the bushes.
I saw her getting the idea and nod quickly, looking away. 'I understand.'
My thoughts went back to the roar we heard last night. I doubted we should go our separate ways before we knew what was going on here. I told the women about my concerns regarding being safe while some monster walked around at night. Tashee agreed to stay together, after which Naylee reluctantly agreed. She still hadn't said a word to me and I suspected there was more to it than me being the enemy.
I had told them about the discovery I had made and how I wanted to check this hilltop for more signs of who'd been here. Since we were nearby and they were curious too we agreed to check it out, then leave for the coast if there's nothing interesting and see if we could build a reinforced shelter. Exploring the island became a different challenge now.
***
When we reached the top we were greeted by a series of steps leading to a stone hallway covered by vegetation. Inside the hallway was a steel door. I looked back at Tashee and Naylee who shrugged. Wendy sniffed at the door and growled low. I tried the handle and the door came open with less force than I expected. It was well build. We pulled out our knives and sneaked inside, Wendy and I taking point despite Tashee's protests. I knew Wendy's reactions and could act faster on them. We came upon a junction and let our eyes adjust to the lack of light here. It seemed there were rooms left and right judging from the little light coming through doors and slits in the ceiling.
I pointed right because it made little difference. The women nodded and we followed the hallway peeking inside rooms with partially open doors. There wasn't much of anything in them apart from stray clumps of dark vegetation. More light came down around a corner and we found a large room with wide, low windows.
'Bunker.' I said.
'Bunker?' Tashee asked.
I nodded. 'This reminds me of bunkers. Hidden in the landscape, low windows but wide for maximum visibility.' I said and looked out over a wide stretch of the island and out to the sea. 'This is a perfect spot.' I looked around the room and pointed at the ceiling where there were remains of duct work. 'This has been used and cleaned up one time.'
'Look.' said Naylee.
She was looking at Wendy who stood rigid at the door on the other side and growled.
'What is it, girl?' I asked softly, moving to her.
She looked back at me and gave me a short whine. I opened the door slowly and a waft of sickening air rolled out from behind it.
The women and Wendy scrunched their noses. Poor Wendy couldn't block hers with a hand. I needed to know what was there and pinched my nose, breathing through my mouth with clenched teeth as I could still taste the rotten smell.
Moving slowly through the dimly lit hallway I saw one open room filled with dried leaves like it was a nest. Wendy growled at it and I noticed she refused to go near it. I passed the room and went to the next open door. The source of the smell had been found. Wall to wall the floor was covered with mostly eaten carcasses.
'Ugh!' said Tashee, holding her nose tight. 'Filthy.'
'That's an understatement.' I said, swatting at insects flying around.
Some larger insects scurried around, and I think I saw a very small mammal disappear between a stack of bones.
'What lives here?' Naylee asked.
'My guess is that thing from last night.' I said, pointing at the carcass of a deer close to the door. 'That kill looks fresh.'
'Then we better get out of here.' Tashee said.
'I agree.' hating to find whatever took those big bites while I nor Naylee were unable to put up much of a fight.
Wendy started to growl and I saw her staring at the other side of the hallway. She trembled and I knew there was danger coming. 'Hurry. Wendy says there's something dangerous coming.' I said, feeling nervous.
We hurried back to the big room and heard footsteps down the hallway just before we closed the door. We moved silently to the other door and were startled by a loud roar. It was definitely the same thing we heard last night. A loud bang on the other side of the closed door told us it had sensed us and wanted to get at us. We hurried down the hallway, hearing more roars and banging on the door. I hoped that my estimate of the engineering was right and that door would hold. We turned into the hallway leading outside and stopped short of the entrance, making sure there was nothing lurking for us as we came out.
Wendy gave her okay and we went out after I closed the door, just in case. We hurried through the jungle and I saw Naylee clench her jaw in pain from her broken ribs. My shoulder wasn't helping me either. Luckily we came across a stream running downhill and I suggested wading through it at walking pace. The wind came from behind us so there would hopefully be no scent for the thing to follow.
***
Ignoring hunger and pain, we reached the beach and sank on our knees from exhaustion. I looked up at the sky and estimated it was halfway afternoon. We had to find a safe place to spend the night. I didn't want to risk it finding us now that it knew we were here.
I propped up on one elbow. 'We need to look for a place to sleep.'
Tashee nodded and pointed at a rocky outcrop a little further away. 'If we make defence there, we can be safe I think.'
I nodded my approval. 'Let's have a look.' I said and looked at Naylee who had trouble breathing. 'You'd better stay here.'
'I come.' she said sharply.
'No. You need to rest after that walk.'
'I come!'
'Dammit!' I glared at her. 'You're in too much pain and it won't do us any good if your injury gets worse! Just sit tight until we come back!'
She glared back at me and wanted to say something back.
'Naylee!' said her mother. 'He's right. Rest for now.'
She glanced once at me, then nodded and laid down on her back. Her mother gave her another painkiller before we set out to the rocks.
There was enough reasonably flat surface to walk to the wider part and there we found a platform of sand in between the rocks.
'This would do.' I said.
'Water is deep and rock is high enough to not climb up easily.' Tashee said, sitting down on a rock at the end. 'We make quick defence at front and we stay tonight.'
Wendy gave a bark in agreement and I grinned. 'Well, since Wendy agrees, let's start while I can get myself to move.'
Tashee and I cut down a species of thin tree, which she and Naylee used to start building a spiked frame halfway up the rocks to the platform. I continued cutting trees and could see the glares from Naylee, who wasn't allowed to do any strenuous work. I chuckled at the image of a pouting cat in my mind. It so fitted her now.
It would soon be dark when the frame was finished with a removable part to get through. It would be secured with a row of poles and would take a lot of force to be breached. Tashee did the hunting while I kept an eye out and collected the kills while gathering roots and fruits. Back at the platform I set up a fire while Tashee prepared the food.
Naylee sulked at having to stay put. 'I could have set fire.' she said, clawing through the sand beside her.
'I'd rather you do nothing and get better soon. Otherwise it'll take too long for you to heal.' I said.
'What you care!?' she snapped. 'You're male!'
'It's exactly because I'm male!' I snapped back. 'We protect our females!'
She looked at me with open mouth. 'We're no human females!'
'I don't care! You're still female and it's in my genes that I protect any female when I can! It doesn't matter if you're human or Silth! I would even protect Wendy with my life if I'd have to!' I said and Wendy moved up to me, covering my face in loving little licks. She made me chuckle and I wondered just how much she understood me. 'Why are you giving me such a hard time?' I asked Naylee while I cuddled Wendy.
She looked away and I looked at Tashee who gave me a gentle smile. 'We've had some bad experiences with males before. And in our culture we're not so lucky it seems.'
'Sorry.' I said softly. 'I didn't mean to drag up bad memories.'
Tashee came closer and handed me a leaf bowl with fruit. 'You couldn't know. But I was a little surprised when you said "our females".'
I gave her a half smile. 'I didn't mean like you were mine or anything. Just that I consider you friends now and part of my little weird world here.'
'Thank you.'
She moved back to hand a bowl to Naylee and I thought I saw a smile when she glanced back at me.