Devil To PayPart 10Viggo remarked, trenchantly, as the dawn rose up in the hills, that it was a fucking good thing he had a t-shirt as well as a long sleeved shirt on, because most of his sleeved shirt was being used as bandages. There were three to cover the wounds Billy, Viggo and Orli had gained in the cause of our escape, one on Orli's arm he injured last night, and one along with bits of towel being used on me. When we woke in the morning, and I stood up to go outside for a slash, I came over all giddy, and Lighe was only just in time to stop me falling over. Fuck it, I felt hot - and weak. Lighe, in spite of my protests, surveyed the damage, and reported less blood, but more pus. I did not like the sound of that. Neither did Viggo, who pursed his lips and went out with Orli. The killer bees had moved on to a new hive. In their place was a bastard with a knife. Every now and then he'd stick it up there, just to remind me of his presence. I received a beautiful morning kiss from my man. "How're you feeling, dude?", he asked, cocking his head on one side like an animated sparrow. " Fucking awful, mate. I could kill for a decent cuppa." I moaned, moving towards the door, like Orli's Legolas after eight hours on a horse... "...And me for a clove, man. Wanna do more than pee?", the concerned one asked, interrupting my thoughts once more. "Fuck, I hope not, Lighe. I'm not kidding - I think I'd pass out!" He guided me outside, to a nearby tree. Men are funny buggers - we do like to pee up against something...in this case, the tree. Lighe joined me, and we crossed streams just like the Ghostbusters, giggling like schoolboys. "Where've those two gone?" Bill enquired as we went back inside. We shook our heads. There was no sign of them outside. I winked at Billy. Perhaps they'd gone off to find a little privacy. Who knows? Billy'd cleaned out another pot, and had brought me some water over. I drank it, greedily. Fuck it, how could we move on if we didn't have water? We didn't have a clue where we were, where we were heading, if we'd find civilization - or, what passed for civilization out here - what we could eat... I was worried sick. Lighe went out to see if he could find any mushrooms or berries. Poor guy couldn't have found a tree in the bloody wood, never mind recognise edible fungi. He came back empty handed, which was a relief. God knows what poisonous stuff he'd have expected me to eat. "You didn't eat any berries did you?", I asked, terrified. He looked at me with a sorrowful face. "Couldn't find anything, Sblom. Oh, I'm fucking useless. I never did that Eagle Scout thing." I was just informing him of the multitude of interesting things I would find him useful for when I was better, when Viggo and Orli came back with their arms full of fucking trees. Billy laughed. "What the hell is this?", he asked, taking a bundle off Orli, and stacking it in the corner. Viggo sat on the edge of the bed, and felt my forehead. "Um, breakfast, and a few other things", he murmured, obviously thinking. "Look, we have to get out of these woods, and find somewhere we can light a fire. We need hot food, and hot water to wash these wounds. We'll eat these stalks, and move up the stream, and see where it leads us. We're still too near them for comfort". Lighe eyed the trees suspiciously. "What is it?", he asked, dubious. Viggo got a few branches - some of them must've been six or seven feet long, and stripped the stalks off, handing us one each. "Angelica - Holy Herb. Eat it...it's very tasty", he said, munching on a bit with relish. Lighe wasn't keen to try it, but I was famished. It was really delicious. I looked at Viggo in amazement. "Nice", I mumbled, between mouthfuls. He nodded, busy eating. "Very useful plant, this. Plenty about, too. Makes good tea, and we can use it for our wounds, as well - it's very soothing. Found some wild thyme, and some tender young fern tops, too, so we'll be all right, as long as we can find somewhere...safer". Orli had washed the mushrooms he'd gathered under Viggo's instructions, and was busy sharing them out. Billy brought some fresh water, and we all felt a bit better after our meal. "Thank God we had him with us", Lighe remarked, fervently, as Viggo busied himself around the hut, searching for fuck knows what. "We'd have starved to fucking death!" "Or poisoned ourselves", Orli grinned. "I'm off for a reconnoitre", Viggo announced, coming back with a few small rocks, which he handed to Lighe. "Mind these carefully, Lij", he said. "We might not find any if we move from the stream... flints" he said to my enquiring eyebrow. "Keep your ears open. It's daylight, now. They might be nearer than you think. Try to keep quiet." Shit, we needed no encouragement, after that. I felt sick, so I drifted off for a bit, while Billy, Orli and Lighe washed the rest of the angelica trees, and stacked them up, tidily. A couple of hours later, a flushed Viggo returned, with a grin spread all over his gob. "Found a fucking cave, my friends Not too far. Fire! Soup! Heat!" We all made approving sounds. Great! "Will you be able to manage, Sblomie?", he asked me quietly. "We'll stay another night, if you think you can't manage yet. It's quite a climb." "Na - s'ok ", I said - thick bastard as I am. "I'll manage. We must get out. We need somewhere that has a view of any ...strangers. Has it a view, Viggo?" "Fucking great view! Can see half the valley. C'mon, then." We strapped the stalks to our backs with vines from the trees, tied some pots on with them, too. Viggo and Billy took the guns. Having seen Billy's way with a rope, I was sure a gun wouldn't prove beyond his capabilities. I felt like shit - but we had to leave. Shouldering our burdens, we set off into the midday sun. |