Day 16

Jessica Wildness slowly woke up. Everything was a pale light pink. Then normal color returned. She started to hear sound, and someone was speaking near her. She moved her head to look. The cat woman was sitting next to her saying something to her.

Slowly the past events, came back to her, finally with the image of her bloody stumps that once were her legs. The gore and blood and her lack of legs.

She sat up and looked at her legs. They were there. They were attached. Green leaves were stuck to her legs.

Jessica relaxed.

‘Wait, am I dead? I remember animals fighting.’

Jessica looked at the dressed cat woman. She was fetching Jessica water.

Then Jessica remembered it was still dark when this happened. How was in now so bright?

The cat woman brought her water. Jessica drank. Then she was given some half-cooked fish and berries to eat.

Then she realized she can’t feel her legs. Like they were numb. Jessica moved the leaf off. The cat woman tried to stop her.

But she moved it before she could stop her.

Jessica saw the holes in her legs. Massive bite marks, deep, ugly, and should be painful. The skins around it looked strange.

The cat woman put the leaf back over it.

Autumn had followed Jessica’s scent from the cave and her heat signature. It led her to the bear’s cave.

Autumn did not go into the hill. She didn’t need to. Her abilities were growing, and she could track more effectively. She didn’t need to follow in their footsteps anymore.

When she found Jessica in the bears cave, she fought the bear for Jessica and won, killing the bear. But she felt bad for her cubs. So, she spared them. Feeding them fish. They now slept soundly in the back of the cave.

Autumn had to stop the bleeding from the bites and clean up the wounds. She found a worm that numbed the skin and mashed them. Placing the gooey creamed worms on and in the wounds. Then she put the leaves of the Pasalem on her legs to help heal them.

She was now convinced that Jessica found trouble and leaving her alone was a bad idea.

But she had been paid to keep Jessica away from the castle for a week. She decided it was a bad investment on the Dragon Rider’s part. She couldn’t babysit for a week. She was taking the red-haired trouble back to the castle.

The thought did cross her mind that her prone to trouble is why the prince and princess paid her to keep her away. But she suspected there were deeper reasons. Like her red hair, and Drake’s clear interest.

Jessica’s thoughts of her legs and her numbness were interrupted by the grunting of a baby bear.

Jessica strained her eyes to see into the darkness. A cub walked towards her.

“Cat girl!” Jessica called

“Cat Woman!” she called again.

The cub got closer.

“Cat thing!” Jessica yelled getting frantic.

The cub got a fright. It backed away into the darkness.

Autumn appeared ready to fight…nothing…

There was nothing but a hysterical Jessica.

“Over there.” Jessica pointed to where the cubs were.

Autumn went and picked up the cub.

“Did the bad lady scare you? Yes, she did.” Autumn said in a voice used for talking to babies.

Autumn brought the cub over.

She held it out to Jessica.

Jessica objected. She did not want the flesh eater. The crazy cat lady could keep it!

Realizing that the cubs, the bear was trying to feed her to, were still alive after tasting her, put her mind on edge. She normally wasn’t the ‘kill the bears type’. But she felt eating her made them the exception.

As she moaned to herself about everything that had happened. The spider with its spikes the slow little glow people and their dumping her outside to roll down the hill and the bear finding her, and taking her head through the rinse cycle, over the rocks in the stream. She was grateful the crazy naked cat woman had found her and saved her from being eaten.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

She really was beginning to hate the new world she found herself on. It played by rules she didn’t know, and she disliked feeling vulnerable.

Autumn didn’t know what to do with the red-haired trouble finder. She knew that she wasn’t looking for it. But somehow it found her. She really wanted the responsibility of caring for her off her back.

Jessica was not strong enough to walk and she had lost too much blood to even try. Autumn didn’t want to leave Jessica alone again, but she needed horses. She was too heavy to carry back to the castle and now she felt responsible for the cubs. Which she also needed to take back with her.

Autumn had an idea.

She fished and caught twelve. She cooked some for Jessica and gave to the cubs. She put the cubs at the back of the cave with six fish that were left over. She collected firewood and made a fire in the mouth of the cave. This would keep any animals away from the smell of blood. It would also keep Jessica warm and ensure the cubs stayed at the back of the cave. She brought water into the cave for Jessica and the cubs. The bark she found only held a little, so she needs a lot. It was a lot of sorting out.

But once she was done, she felt she could run for horses. So, she did.

Autumn changed into a dark blue panther and sprinted to the castle. It was dark by the time she got there. She didn’t go inside but went to the stable. There she got two horses. Autumn, rode that night back to Jessica. She didn’t want anything else to happen to Jessica. She liked her new status. A free woman that was allowed to approach the queen. It was nice to feel like the queen needed her and knowing that Tẽra was not Tiffany made a big difference.

However, her lack of etiquette was not about to change.

After the cat woman left Jessica tried to stand. She was weak and tired. Her body felt like it had no strength. She knew something was wrong. She was not alright. She wobbled to the other side where she sat down. She made herself somewhat comfortable and fell asleep.

Jessica woke up. The fire was dying she put some more wood on it. Then she saw something move outside. Jessica picked up a stick. She gripped it with both hands. The cat woman appeared. She picked Jessica up.

“Hey. I can walk!” Jessica objected.

She was helped onto a horse. Then Autumn fetched the cubs and mounted her own horse. She let the horses finish drinking and then led Jessica’s horse behind her. They were going to walk the rest of the night if need be.

At first the horse was nice. But after a while the motion made Jessica fell ill. She became lightheaded.

“I have to stop.” She told Autumn who didn’t understand her.

But they kept going.

The world moved. Jessica felt nauseous she held her head.

“I need to stop.” She said weakly.

Autumn looked back to see what Jessica was going on about.

Jessica fainted and fell from her horse.

Autumn stopped the horses and rushed over to Jessica. The unconscious woman lay on the ground in an uncomfortable position.

Autumn moved her and lay her on her side. The cubs sniffed her.

“I need help.” She said to the wind

“I need help.”

Autumn became aware of something out there. Then the horses became aware of it and finally, the cubs. A pack of wolves approached. They were large with black fur, and claws like an eagle. She looked at the pack as they approached. Their eyes glowed yellow and their teeth were like snow. Autumn changed into a dark blue panther. She growled.

“Leave us. If you leave, I will let you be. But take me on and I will hunt you all down.” Autumn said to them.

They were unfazed by her. Cycling around them, closing in on them.

A loud raw come from her. She called for her tribe. She hoped she would be heard. More and more beasts cycled.

They attacked.

One went for Jessica, others for a horse and another for the cubs.

Autumn attacked the one that went for Jessica. She ripped its ear and dug her claws deep into the beast. It cried out.

She defended Jessica. Her anger blazed inside her. She remembered how she slaved in the mine, how the guards used the dead for fuel to keep warm. She went for the kill. She knew there were too many but if she was going to die, she was going to take as many of them with her to the grave as she could.

Autumn’s raw pieced the night. She turned and scratched out the one’s eyes and ripped at another’s throat. She scratched and ripped as many as she could reach. One bit deep into her leg.

Autumn turned and tore its head off. She changed into a half woman, grabbing the body of the dead and spinning around with it. Hitting all that were near her. The blood sprayed all over as she spun.

All this had happened over Jessica’s body as Autumn defended her. Jessica was covered in blood, Autumn’s and the wolves.

Jessica began to wake.

Autumn kept fighting. She grabbed, clawed, scratched and bit. She was determined to kill as many as she could.

“Grrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” cut through the night.

Jessica wiped her face. As she became aware of her surrounding, she screamed.

Her ear aching scream stretched across the night. To all that heard it the high-pitched screech caused pain to their ears. A sharp pain that ran from the ear into the head.

A wolf grabbed Autumn’s already sore leg and as she turned to kill it another grabbed her front paw. She changed it into a hand and grabbed its tongue pulling it out of the beast. She clawed the others throat and freed herself from it.

Jessica screamed again.

Autumn was growing weak and there was no sign that the attack would end. But Jessica’s scream made one flinch. Autumn pounced.

She grabbed its neck and ripped.

*These wolves were not normal earth wolves. They were the size of a pony. Giant black creatures that hunt in packs.

Chase arrived. He joined the fight. Adding the edge, the battle needed.

He killed and sliced open their bellies as he went. He was coming from behind, so they had not seen him coming.

The beasts finally pulled back running away.

Autumn looked at Chase relieved. She hugged him.

Jessica was laying in the fetal position. Hugging her knees.

“I came looking for you to tell you what is happening in your absence. But I see you had bigger problems.” Chase said.

Autumn looked at the horses that were in pieces and the cubs that were shredded.

“Thank you for coming.” Autumn said.

“I heard a blood shivering scream. I ran when I heard it. I am glad I got here in time.” Chase said.

“I wish it was in time for all of us.” Autumn said.

“Who is that?” Chase asked.

“I think her name is Jessica. I am finding her for the queen. But she is weak. She lost a lot of blood. I cannot carry her back.” Autumn sat down.

“Why didn’t you ask me to come with you?” Chase asked.

“The last time you handled things in a way I didn’t like, and you couldn’t see it as wrong. So, I decided it was better for me to go alone.”

“You mean that man? If it upset, you so much why not say so?” Chase said.

“I did. But you wouldn’t listen.” Autumn looked up at him “I don’t want to fight. I want to go …” her voice faded.

She wanted to go home. But she didn’t have a home. She had no house, nor cave, nor hole in the ground that was hers. The castle was the closest thing she had. But it wasn’t hers nor did she want it to be.

Chase sat in the blood next to Autumn. He wiped some of the blood from her face.

“I was trying to be strong to impress you.” He said.

“Mercy is strength.” Autumn replied.

“Let me take you back.” Chase said.

“She is too weak to walk.” Autumn replied.

Jessica was sitting up. She looked at them. She was covered in blood and the smell made her puke.

“Do you have water?” Chase asked.

“No. We have nothing.”

“I have water and food. I left it when I ran. But it is not too far. We shall go there and then find somewhere to rest till light.” Chase suggested.

The strange cat man picked Jessica up. He was strong and was gentler than Autumn had been. Jessica’s whole body hurt. She saw the bits of the horses and the cubs that the cat woman had insisted on helping. Jessica knew that Autumn had suffered to help her.

Autumn limped along as Chase carried Jessica.

They walked in silence until they came to a bag with skins of water and bread.

Jessica was given water and bread.

Autumn also ate and drank.

They rested there. Autumn slept and Chase kept watch. They camped there where the bag was in the field.

As first light slowly moved across the land everything it touched froze. The light was the catalyst that allowed the cold to fulfill its intentions.

As the light touched the ground around them the frost formed. Autumn woke up because of how cold she was