Devil to PayPart 12Viggo tore a strip off me for not putting the cloth I took from Sblom straight into cold water, to get the stains out. Fuck, what did I know about blood stains? And the rest. Sheesh! I left all that stuff to my Mom. Went down with a little container to wash the stuff in. Fuck, the water was cold. But the cloths came clean, and I took them back up the hill, proudly. I found a nice flower on the way up. I picked it for my Sblom. Okay, so he couldn't see it right now - but the thought was there.. Put the cloths to soak in the warm liquid, and gave Viggo the fresh herbs I'd picked on the way up. Thyme, mint and stuff. He was looking at Orli's arm in some concern. I'm not surprised. It looked red and swoolen - no, that's not right - swollen. "I'll have to let the pus out", he told Orli. Orli was not fucking pleased, as you might imagine. I went over and stayed with Sblom while he did this. When did I get so... discreet? When Sblom got hurt, that's when. Put the flower next to his head as he lay there. If he woke, he'd see it. Slept for a bit. I was tired. Being a nurse is tiring. I never appreciated what my Mom went through when I was sick. I do, now.. I slept for hours. It was daylight when I woke, busting for a pee. I dashed outside and watered the countryside. I was dying for a clove, a coke, a bath, a kiss, a shag...no, I wasn't...I'm a liar. I wanted Sblom to get better, that's all. Fuck sex! Virginity is fucking overrated, it's true, but I just wasn't thinking of ending it right now.. A cuddle was available, anyway. But it was not to be. Orli and I had to peel the angelica, while Viggo and Billy went for rabbits. And I had to see to Sblom and the... wound. Oh, god! I'd finished all this before the triumphant pair came back with four rabbits. Four! Viggo and Billy set to. If I never have to witness the disemboweling of animals ever again, it will be too fucking soon. How gross was that? . But by the time they were roasting over a neat little fire, I'd forgotten about that in my desire to get my teeth into some meat. Poor Orli looked on, while we ate. Viggo tried to persuade him, but he was adamant. No meat. We gave him extra berries and mushrooms, angelica and some cabbage soup. He seemed happy. But we were all losing weight. Some of us quicker than others. Orli for one. And Sblom. I tried to get some cabbage soup down him. The thyme would help heal from the inside, Viggo thought. It was no good. He wouldn't take it. Viggo, on watch, suddenly said "Shut up!", in an urgent voice. He could hear something. Somebody was struggling up the hill. He grabbed a gun, and peered out of the cave entrance. "Hallo!" a voice echoed up the hillside. "Tino and Andrea! We come in peace!" That made me giggle - stress does make you act stupid. It made them sound like fucking Martians landing on planet Earth for the first time. Billy gestured them in with the other gun, he was taking no chances. The two boys seemed heavily loaded. What the fuck was going on?. Tino smiled at me, then his eyes fastened on Dom. "Is he sick?" he asked me, the smile vanishing quickly. I nodded. "Basil?" he asked, again. Basil? Who the fuck...? "The smiling one is called Basil, after the saint", Tino said, struggling to get the loaded pack off his back. Then he helped the younger man - boy, really - off with his. "You left in a hurry", Tino said, busy unpacking. "I - we have brought some provisions". Two loaves of bread - huge fucking things - appeared out of the bag. Cheese, apples, smoked bacon. A feast! And a couple of blankets - one for Dom. I grabbed it quickly, and put it gently over him. I kissed him as I did it. I didn't care. Tino knew. But the boy...? "Who is this?", Billy asked, ruffling the youngster's blond hair. The boy shrank away from his hand. "He is my brother. Do not be afraid of them, Andrea. They are not like Him. They will not hurt you". As we all sat down to a second breakfast of bread and toasted cheese and an apple, Tino told us why he had come. He sent Andrea - whom we immediately christened "Andy"- out for some water, and while he was gone, he filled us in. Basil - Smiley - had decided, in the absence of me or Dom, or Orli, he would take Andy instead. Tino would not have it. "We stole away in the night, with this food and other things. We knew where you'd be. They know where you are - make no mistake about it. They are waiting for reinforcements from Trabyn... It will be about four or five days before they come for you. We have to go soon. I know a safer place than this...somewhere they don't know. Andrea and I played there as children, long ago". Orli asked them how old they were. Tino was sixteen, Andy was fourteen. And they had been children "long ago". Fuck war! Fuck bastards like Smiley! Fuck poverty! Fuck everything! Tino told us of the furor that blew up when we escaped. "The Patron was very angry with us - with Basil. He struck him with his gun butt. Knocked him unconscious!" "Best thing that's happened all fucking week!", a faint voice croaked from under the blanket. "Can I smell roasted cheese, or am I going fucking mad?" "Sblom!", I cried, and rushed over to kiss him..... I'll finish, here, and let him tell it like it was... |