The morning after the Wild One attack, Tabs had awoken in pain; as she moved, her muscles screamed at her; the aftereffects of the Wild One hit, and the Last Stand skill still took their toll on her; she felt groggy and struggled to focus. She gingerly put her hand on her abdomen where pain flared, and it felt tender to her touch where the tail had struck her so hard. She lifted her top and looked at the violent red welt running the width of her stomach. Her head throbbed, and there was a lump on the back of her head where it had cracked into the wall. What hair she had was matted, and she brushed her fingers through it. Then, she saw that her hands were covered in red flecks. Her head must have been bleeding, she thought, but had not realised last night.
She checked her display, seeing the dark yellow outline and the red hue across her abdomen and ankle. She forced herself to sit upright, groaning at the strain, and looked at Kyto. Kyto’s body was still. She could see beads of perspiration on his forehead and reached to touch him. He was cold and clammy, and the blanket that had covered him was drenched in sweat. His breathing came in shallow and rasping breaths. Although Tab's mother had been a medic, she had not learned the skill.
Crystal had always been the one who had listened to their mother’s teaching over creating salves and ointments. She had always focussed on foraging and preparation, knowing what could be eaten rather than the medicinal use of the plants, herbs, and flowers they foraged. She wished now that she had listened more to her mother’s words. She knew Kyto had a fever and that she had to cool him down. She forced herself to stand, groaning at her aching muscles, and went to the bucket she had used last night. The water was tepid and stained with red from the blood of Kyto’s wound. Picking the bucket up, she struggled across the room and went downstairs, grunting under the exertion. The river at the bottom of the clearing had never felt so far away.
She noticed the broken glass in the rear door where the Wild One had entered for the first time and knew she would have to sort it. She unlatched the door and pushed it open, the usual sound of the hinges and door squeaking in its frame seeming much louder than normal. The sound startled some Wild Ones, and she saw three large-looking Wild Ones take off from the carcass of the Gatorthon. They each had two heads, and they sent a shudder down her spine. She knew she would have to deal with the remains of the Wild One when she could.
Hobbling down the clearing, she made it to the river and stooped, filling the bucket. The water was cool on her hand, and she scooped a handful, throwing it over her face. It felt refreshing, so she walked into the river and allowed herself to lie down, submerging her aching body. The river was not fast-flowing but enough to caress her as she lay back. The cold started to numb some of her pain, and she gently rubbed where she felt her matted hair. Pink trails of diluted blood tainted the crystal-clear river from the cut on her head. After a couple of minutes, she stood up again, shivering but feeling more alert. She picked the bucket up and made her way back to the house. The flying Wild Ones had returned to the carcass again, and they again took off as she approached.
Entering back into the house, she went upstairs to the bedroom. Placing the bucket by the side of the bed, she picked up a cloth and, after soaking it in the bucket, put it onto Kyto’s forehead. He made an audible groan as the cloth touched him, but his body still did not move. The paralysis effect from the venom was still active. She looked at him with concern and hoped he could fight whatever had taken over his body. She did not know if the paralysis would be permanent or if it might wear off. She knew so little about the Wild Ones and their capabilities.
After soaking herself in the river, she realised how cold she was, so she changed, dried herself off, and pulled on some new clothes. She draped the removed clothes over the balcony railing to dry in the morning sun. She paused on the balcony, looking out into the clearing. The Wild Ones had returned and were pecking and tearing at the remains of their attacker. She thought she might not even have to get rid of the body at the rate they consumed it.
She walked back inside again, sitting next to Kyto, and removed and rewetted the cloth on his forehead. She then pulled the damp blanket from him and replaced it with a dry one. She stayed next to him for most of the day, only leaving his side to go to the toilet or refresh the water from the river. The sun had eventually started to dip in the sky, and she had not eaten. She did not feel hungry but knew that she must. She forced herself to go downstairs again and lazily picked at some of the plants and ate them raw rather than cooking them. It was still food, just not the usual spicy food that Kyto cooked so well. She then ensured the rear door was secure and dragged a table over to the broken glass pane, tipping it over and covering the hole. It was the best she could do for now; she was sore herself and felt drained. Her head had stopped banging, but her abdomen throbbed with every movement she had made throughout the day. She made her way back upstairs and again dampened the cloth, gently wiped Kyto’s face, and then checked the wounds on his leg; they were scabbed over but still had small black rings around the puncture wounds. She then slowly lay beside him, pulling the blanket over them both. She reached out to him and took his hand, holding it gently as she rested her head against the pillow. She soon fell asleep.
∆∆∆
The fever eventually broke on the second day, and Kyto’s temperature had eventually come down. His skin was still pasty white, but at least he was no longer sweating. He still had not moved, though, and Tabs was getting worried that the paralysis may be permanent. This had sent her emotions wild, and she had become tearful at the thought of him never moving again. She sat holding his hand, talking to him, reassuring him, and wishing he would speak and get better. She was fearful and did not want to lose him and end up alone.
She remained by his side for most of the day, only leaving to eat and go to the toilet. Her body was slowly recovering, her ankle and abdomen pain was easing, and she had been applying the last of the salve. She knew she would need several days to recover fully, but there did not appear to be anything that was not healing, thankfully. Kyto’s breathing had begun to relax and was no longer coming in the same shallow, rasping breaths, and she hoped that this was a good sign. Eventually, she curled beside him again, falling asleep and stroking his hair.
Kyto opened his eyes; his mouth felt parched, and his body heavy. He tried to move, but his limbs would not respond. It was dark, and he could only see the shadows on the ceiling from a hooded light on the bedside table. He tried to turn his head and could sense a body beside him. Although he felt a hand holding his own, he could not squeeze it. He could do nothing; a sense of sheer terror flooded his body, and he screamed, but only a low groan left his mouth. He was awake, but his body felt dead. He stared at the ceiling. Only his eyelids and eyeballs could move in their sockets. He tried to look around the room but could not see anything in the darkness and the angle at which he lay. He could not see Tabs either but knew she was there. He could feel her hand holding his.
He had woken up the previous night and found her holding his hand. He recognised the feel of her skin and the scar she had on her palm where her skin was raised. He had still never asked her how she got the scar and had never mentioned her holding his hand, as he thought she might do it in her sleep. Her hand was comforting, and although the fear of being paralysed was intense, it relayed to him a slight sense of calm. This woman whom he had helped escape the tortures of her life and had survived hell and back by all accounts, had stayed by his side. He was flooded with emotions and feelings of desperation at his current plight and just wanted to reach out to her and hug her as he used to with his Nanna when he was scared as a young boy.
He could feel sensations of his body on the bed, the breeze from the slightly open window, the touch of Tab's hand, his tears rolling down the sides of his face as he cried, but he could not move. It was strange, unnerving, and terrifying. He blinked, trying to clear the mist from his tears, ‘my eyes and eyelids move,’ he suddenly thought. ‘If they move, maybe I will recover.’ This realisation gave him hope and made him cry more. He closed his eyes and, through tortured thoughts, managed to fall asleep.
Tabs awoke to roll onto her side, and looking at Kyto, she immediately noticed the fresh tear tracks on the side of his cheek. She sat upright and looked down on him. His eyes were closed, but he had been crying. She grabbed at his shoulders and shook him. “Kyto, Kyto can you hear me.” She yelled.
Kyto’s eyes fluttered open at the rough shaking and slowly focussed on Tab's face. She was smiling and looked beautiful; tears ran down her cheeks as she leaned forward and hugged him. He could feel her body against his but could not return the affection. He had not seen her show affection before like this.
Tabs cried, flinging herself onto him, grabbing him, and hugging him tight. “You are awake,” she sobbed into his ear, elation filling her body. After a minute, she sat back up again. “I have been so worried. I thought you would never awake.”
“How do you feel?” She asked.
Kyto tried to speak, but his mouth did not move; his tongue felt heavy, and he realised now why he had not been able to scream. He blinked his eyes at her, trying to communicate.
“Do you understand me?” she said, panic returning.
Kyto blinked once.
Tabs saw him blink and understood.
“How do you feel?” she asked before realising what a stupid question it was, “Sorry, I mean, can you feel anything?”
Kyto blinked again once.
“If you can feel it, hopefully, you will get movement back.”
Kyto blinked again, swallowing and coughing. It was strange coughing but not being able to move, and he could feel the struggle his body was having with whatever had taken him. Tabs grabbed him and dragged him to a sitting position, leaning him forward. He was like a rag doll. His body was loose, and there was no resistance to her actions when she moved him, just a dead weight. She gently patted him on his back until the coughing fit passed.
Tabs then grabbed the pillows and stacked them behind his back before moving him further up the bed so that he sat upright and stayed there when she released her grip on him.
Tabs grabbed her water canteen from the side of the bed and slowly tipped some water into Kyto’s mouth. Kyto could not close his mouth, so the water started to dribble down his chin; he did feel it reach his throat, and he swallowed greedily. The water felt cool in his throat, and the parched sensation he had been feeling eased slightly. Tabs slowly tipped more water in, and he swallowed as he could. His tongue felt a little lighter and not much of a dead weight.
“Are you hungry?”
Kyto blinked.
“OK, I will go and get some food.”
She jumped off the bed and hobbled over to the door. Kyto watched her limping again and wondered what had happened to her. The last memory he had had before losing consciousness was the tongue that had been wrapped around his leg and the pain from the barbs. A blanket covered his leg so he could not see the wound, but he could feel the throb and itching from the healing process of the skin on his ankle. ‘That has to be a good sign’, he thought. His tongue felt numb, but he willed it to move the slightest of movements.
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Tabs grabbed some of the dried forage and brought it back upstairs. She walked back over to the bed and sat next to Kyto again. His mouth hung open, but he could not chew the food. “Shit, you cannot chew.” She exclaimed to him.
Kyto blinked in what she assumed was agreement.
She placed one of the leaves in her mouth and began chewing it. She then grabbed her canteen and spat the chewed leaf into the canteen. She proceeded to do this with several others before she screwed the lid back on and shook the canteen vigorously. She then slowly tipped Kyto’s head back and carefully tipped the mixture into his mouth. Kyto swallowed as the thickened liquid reached his throat and then coughed again. Tabs continued the same process for several minutes until the canteen was empty.
“Sorry for chewing them. I will prepare some properly next time.”
Kyto just looked at her. He wished he could tell her how he felt seeing and feeling her and knowing she was trying to help him, but there were no words. Only groans or moans seemed to form if he tried to speak.
“I will go and sort some more out and refill the water buckets. Don’t go anywhere.” She said with a mischievous smile on her face.
Kyto rolled his eyes at her joke. It was the first time he had witnessed her have a sense of humour. He sat there, willing to move into his body; he could feel the mixture of the plants and water in his stomach, and the gnawing pain there started to subside. Tabs was gone for a short while.
“More food, and this time, I did not chew it all for you; I mixed it at the river.”
She again tilted his head back and fed him more of the sludgy leaf and water mixture.
∆∆∆
Several days passed with Tabs feeding and looking after Kyto. On day four, after awakening, he could move his mouth again and speak for the first time. Forming words took a lot of work, and most were unintelligible. He had felt his muscles twitch and spasm on a couple of occasions, and Tabs had been moving his limbs for him daily to prevent them from locking up. He had been eating food once his mouth could move and was able to chew his food. The worst experience was when his bowels had opened without any control, and Tabs had just cleaned him up. She had not shown any signs of revulsion and even got rid of the soiled mattress and replaced it with one of the others. Day five saw him able to move his fingers on his left hand, which had brought tears to both their eyes and by day eight, he had started to get general movement back in all his limbs. Thankfully, there were no further accidents to deal with during this time as his body had begun to let him know what was happening to it so he could warn Tabs.
“I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me over the past few days. I would not have survived without your help.” Kyto said, sitting up on the side of the bed.
“It was no more than you did for me, saving me from my hellish life.” Tabs replied.
His body was weak, and even over a short time, he knew his muscle mass had dropped significantly. He felt heavy when he moved compared to his usual athletic self, but now that he was on the road to recovery, he did not think it would take him long to return to his old self. Tabs had spent all her available time with him, apart from when she had to go foraging for more supplies. She had been mothering him so much, doing everything at his beck and call.
“I want to get up today and go outside,” Kyto stated.
“Are you sure you feel well enough?” Tabs asked.
“Definitely.” He replied.
Kyto stood up and immediately felt lightheaded. The room started to spin, and he had to sit back down again quickly. “That was not a good start.” He said.
Tabs looked at him worriedly. “I think today we just go on the balcony. If you are feeling better tomorrow, we can try and go downstairs.” She said.
“Sounds fair.” He replied.
Tabs moved to his side and placed her arm around his waist, supporting him as he stood again. It reminded Tabs of the day she escaped from the factory and the role reversal, with Kyto helping her walk.
Kyto stood again, and the room spun but not as badly, and after a few moments, he managed to gain a sense of balance. They slowly moved around to the balcony area and went outside. The sun was blazing down, and the heat of its rays felt amazing on Kyto’s skin. He only wore a pair of bottoms and nothing else, and Tabs helped him to one of the veranda chairs, which he collapsed into.
“This feels amazing. I cannot remember the last time I had been inside that long before.” He said, taking in deep breaths of the rich oxygenated air. Although the room was aired and the windows open, there was nothing quite like being outside. He never enjoyed being cooped up, and virtually every day of his life, he had spent most of his time in the open air.
Tabs sat in a chair opposite him, smiling. “Well, hopefully, you will be able to get back to normal now.”
“Yeah, I wonder if my snares ever caught anything.” He stated.
“I did check some but was not sure how to reset them, and the ones that I did check, I found nothing there.”
“How is your ankle now?” Kyto asked. Tabs had explained to him what had happened, and although she had used up the last of the salve on her wounds, she had continued to heal well. Her abdomen was now just bruised and ached if she did too much, but nothing like the pain she had felt, and her ankle was back to a yellow hue on her display.
Tab's eyes refocused from her display, “Everything is looking better. My ankle is back to how it was before the visit of the Gatorthon.”
Kyto had questioned why Tabs had called the Wild One a Gatorthon, and she had explained that the damage she had caused had informed her of the species' name.
“That’s good. Mine is slowly getting there. Still showing yellow, though, and my ankle slightly worse.” Although healing, his ankle was taking longer than he had expected. The wounds had stopped bleeding and scabbed almost immediately, but the small black rings where the venom had been injected appeared to take much longer to fade, and the skin around them still felt numb to touch. “That venom was potent. Where is the body again?” he asked.
Tabs pointed over slightly behind where Kyto sat. Kyto turned and looked; the carcass, or what remained of it, shone in the morning light. The carrion Wild Ones had gone to town on most of it, stripping it of its flesh and organs, and the whites of its bones shone. The only area they had not touched was its head.
“I know you said it was large, but I never thought it was that large. It must be nearly twenty feet long.” He said.
He stared at the remains and was astonished at how Tabs had defeated it. He knew she was strong and a fighter, but that was one serious Wild One to go up against and survive. He was not sure he would have had anywhere near the strength to deal with it. Tabs had told Kyto about the hidden skill she had triggered, and he had never heard of hidden skills before. Finding this out sent him into overdrive again, thinking about many possibilities for skills or specialisations that may be capable under the right circumstances.
As the afternoon sun faded, Tabs went downstairs and cooked some food. She was less proficient than Kyto at cooking but had learned much from him and made a decent spicy stew concoction with some of the foraging. She thought it tasted pretty good, and Kyto had thankfully agreed.
They had spent most of the day on the balcony until Kyto struggled to keep his eyes open, and Tabs insisted that he go back to bed and lie down again. He had tried to refuse, wanting to sleep under the stars, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle arguing with Tabs. Once he was settled back in bed, Tabs joined him, leaning into him, and they fell asleep with Tabs resting her head on his shoulder.
The following day, they both woke up early.
“I do feel better.” He said to Tabs.
“Good, so today you are chopping firewood?” Tabs asked him.
He blanched at the request, “I am still delicate.” He said in response.
Tabs laughed at him. “Ok, maybe I will let you off until tomorrow.” She said, grinning.
Kyto loved that Tabs now had a sense of humour; from the woman he had first met to the beautiful young woman she was now, there was no comparison. His heart fluttered when he looked at her, and he did not understand the sensation, having never experienced it before. It was as though he had suddenly become nervous, and his palms felt clammy. ‘What is up with me?’ he thought.
That afternoon, they went out to the field to check the remains of the Gatorthon. The sheer size of it when up close was astounding. “I wonder why they left the head,” Kyto said.
“Have you seen the teeth in its mouth? I am not surprised they did.” Tabs replied. She brought the iron bar with her and poked it between its jaws, lifting the upper jaw.
Kyto gawped at the teeth in its mouth. They were about seven centimetres long and saw-shaped with serrated edges, and if they had got hold of him, he shuddered at the thought; he doubted he would have survived. Kyto bent down to examine them closer and the black swollen tongue that remained in its mouth. The stench this close to its mouth was horrendous, and Kyto was just about to get up and move away when he noticed a black pearly gland at the back of its jaw.
“I think I know why they left its head alone,” Kyto said. “That looks like its venom gland.”
“That would make sense.” Tabs replied.
“I have an idea. You know those glass jars we found in the outbuilding.” He asked.
“Yeah, why?” Tabs asked.
“Could you grab me one of them? I want to see if we can keep any venom left, " he said.
“You sure it is safe even to try and collect the venom?” Tabs asked.
“Well, it cannot exactly attack us now.” He smiled.
Tabs rolled her eyes at him and went over to the outbuilding. A few minutes later, she walked back with a glass jar. Kyto was busy inspecting the skeletal remains left by the carrion Wild Ones. The bones appeared hollow, and when he removed one of what he thought must be its rib cage, there were still small chunks of flesh. He carefully scraped them off with his knife. He was surprised to discover that the bone was flexible and lightweight.
Congratulations, you have completed zoology level 2. Your study of the remains of the Gatorthon has increased your understanding of the anatomy of Wild Ones.
Tabs pried the jaws open, forcing the bar so that they remained open. Kyto took out his multitool and carefully placed the jar under the gland he cut into it. It was thick and hard to penetrate, but eventually, his knife went through. The black venom started to ooze out of the gland and collect in the bottom of the jar; it was quite gelatinous in its appearance, which Kyto thought may explain why it took so long to clear from his wounds. It took several minutes and some vigorous prodding with his knife, but eventually, the jar was virtually half full of the black liquid. It had a musty smell, which reminded him of damp clothes.
Kyto was fascinated by the tongue and pulled it from the remains of the jaw to look at the needle-shaped tiny barbs that had stuck into his leg. At least a hundred of them were spaced out evenly, all with a black tint. When he squeezed the tongue, venom oozed out of the barbs. The remainder of the corpse was either consumed by the scavengers or rotting flesh. The stench was foul this close to it. “Shall we get rid of the rest of the corpse?” Tabs asked once Kyto had finished prodding and poking at it.
“Good idea. Where should we move it?” Kyto said.
“We could get rid of it down at the river. I know it isn’t very fast-flowing, but it will be away from the house at least.” Tabs said.
“I will go and grab a drape from the house. It will be easier to move it.” Kyto said.
He slowly made his way back to the house. He felt weak already after doing the little that he had this morning. Once in the house, he went into one of the unused rooms, pulled the remains of a drape down from one of the windows, and carried it back outside. They carefully picked up the remains of the corpse, making sure that they did not touch the blackened areas of its head with bare skin, and placed them onto the drape. Tabs went to move the tail, and as she did, a cloud of flies erupted from underneath, and hundreds of maggots writhed on the ground.
“Urgh, they are revolting.” Tabs said.
Kyto looked at what she had reacted to before helping lift the remaining carcass onto the drape. Between them, they dragged it down to the river’s edge. They ensured they were downstream from the house they tipped the remains in. The skeletal parts floated on the surface, and any loose bones started to be carried downstream by the current, confirming Kyto’s assumption that they were hollow. The parts of the carcass with remaining flesh slowly sunk in the river. They returned to the house, and Kyto had to rest again, sitting on the veranda basking in the sun.
The next few days passed by quietly. Kyto’s strength was returning, and he had started exercising to rebuild it. He was no longer feeling as tired, and his stamina was returning. They ensured the doors were all secured at night, placed some boards over the broken window, and, generally, continued to make the place their own. Tabs was also nearly back to full health, her ankle gradually regaining its green hue. Kyto had been going out twice daily to check the snares; no Earloppers or other Wild Ones were caught in them. ‘Maybe they aren’t around this area’, he thought. Tabs had mentioned that there were several well-trodden trails inside the woods when she had been out foraging, and they had a herd of Wild Ones that regularly visited to graze in the front clearing around the base of the giant tree. One of the Wild One species looked like a variant of what Kyto knew was a deer from reading some of the books he had discovered. They had used up all their meat supplies days ago and survived purely on foraging. The foraged plants, herbs, and berries gave them the needed nutrients, but having some meat would help.
“Should we try to capture one of the Wild Ones that graze in the clearing?” Tabs asked Kyto one afternoon as he observed them from the top balcony.
“We could try, but we're unsure how to trap one easily. We only have the knives from the house as weapons, but maybe we can fashion something to use.”