Mud squelched beneath my feet as I trudged through the thickly wooded area I’d been calling home this week.
I set out a little while back on a scavenge of Knotting Hill and have been scouting the area for the last few days to ensure nobody had set up camp.
By word of passing traders and travelers, I’ve gathered that Knotting Hill has a clinic that, at one point, was full of medical supplies. It has been so long; most things probably have been taken, but from the writings of my mentor, Geneva, most Old World clinics and hospitals had a basement where supplies were kept locked up and likely have not been raided, so I am willing to try my luck.
With my tattered homemade bag hanging over my arm, I tossed in my belongings and slung it over my shoulder. My steps were quiet and concise as I made my way to the center of the village, where I instantly noticed the clinic was not in the state I had left it in.
Instead of going in, I decided to canvass the area again. Whoever came between yesterday afternoon and this morning is likely nearby.
There weren’t many places to search as most buildings were devastated, so I started with the closest standing house. The door opened with a squeak, and I readied my knife, unsure who or what I could run into. My search was swift, but I found nothing within the home, so I moved on to the next.
Coming upon the fifth house on the next street, there were obvious signs of people having been through recently.
As I slowly approached, I noticed fresh impressions on the muddied grass leading to the back. As I followed them, I could hear faint voices coming from inside.
“We need to...he’s sick...if we...gonna end up dead.”
A window into the kitchen gave me a view inside the house, where two people were arguing back and forth.
“The clinic was our last chance, Levi. We have no other options. Whatever Bear caught, he could give it to us, and I’m not risking all of us dying because of this stupid mission. We can head back with Bear and tell them we’re unprepared to be out here!”
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The guy, whom I assume is Levi, scoffed, “Right, tell Bear to hop up, and let’s get going. The kid could barely stand last night, and you expect him to walk almost two hundred miles back to New Haven? I thought you were the best in the Eaton district. Where’s the intelligence now?”
New Haven... I believe I read about this place in Geneva’s journal. It is a city like Old World times, a real one with power, working computers, grocery stores, movie theaters, and restaurants. It is something out of a dream, but this doesn’t seem right. She said they never opened their doors. Why are they out here?
“So I am supposed to make a solution out of thin air? He’s sick and not getting any better. The medicine we brought with us isn’t working, and I don’t know how else to help him; we’re fucked! God dammit!” The girl repeatedly slammed her boot into the stove until her head suddenly snapped, “Fine. You stay here with Bear, and I’ll head back to the city, tell them what’s going on, and see if they can help. I’m smaller and faster; I can make it there in five days if I keep up a good pace.”
Their friend’s sickness piqued my curiosity; even the medicine they were carrying interested me. What could they have inside their city walls that would suffice for all the diseases and illnesses created by the Swallowing and war thereafter?
I’d rather wait for the jumpy girl to be gone before I make any decisions about these people.
I could move quietly enough to sneak in while they were sleeping and check out what they’ve got going on. If I got caught, Levi seemed to be level-headed and reasonable, and Bear, well, he likely wouldn’t be able to fight me off even if he tried since he could hardly stand.
“I’m going to leave tonight,” the girl said. “Moving at night has worked best for us to avoid others, so I’m going to keep doing that and radio every day I set up camp.”
Levi wasn’t protesting; I assume he wasn’t because they had no other options. Leaving the two of them behind to get help is more efficient than bringing the sick person along and quadrupling the time it would take to get back, and it would risk the sick person getting worse much faster.
“Just make sure you let Shiloh know I’m watching over him. I don’t want anyone to think we abandoned Bear on the outside.”
She snorts in response and crosses her arms, her voice lowering in a flirtatious tone, “You’re lucky you’re too hot to kill.”
My jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the sudden change in subject, but before I got caught in seeing something I didn’t want to, I quit my eavesdropping and retreated to my camp to wait for night to come.