Devil To PayPart 19I ran. I reached him. I touched him. He was warm. Thank God! I sat under the tree and held him in my arms. I opened his mouth and, taking a mouthful, dribbled water from mine in through his lips. He coughed, and swallowed. And swallowed again. Then he opened his eyes. "I knew you'd find me!", he said. An echo from the past brushed over my soul. "I saw you, in my dream, love. I saw you!" He closed his eyes. Andy was weeping, silently. "I'll go back and get the others. I'll make the birdsong whistles as we arranged. We won't be long" He took off his jacket, and gave it to me to put around Sblom. I put mine around him, too. I tried to judge what time it was. I was fucking hopeless at things like that - besides, I couldn't see the sun. I thought it was about one or two. None of us had a watch, but time didn't matter right now. I was with my Sblom, and he was going to die. I felt it - I knew it. If we couldn't get help, he would die. How cruel was that, when we'd only just found each other? I kissed him, and whispered my love to him, and held him close, until they came. *** Dom Fuck, it tasted like shit, whatever it was. Liquid shit! Thick and bitter. I wanted to spit it out. "Come on, man, it's doing you good!" Orli's voice. Orli who wanted me dead. I opened my eyes. He was looking into mine, with love. I decided the other Orli had been a figment of my fevered brain, and swallowed. "What is this shit?" I croaked. "Fucked if I know. The label is in Serbo-Croat, or Latvian, or some such language - even the boys don't understand it very well", Orli replied. "One more spoonful, then we're done." I swallowed, manfully. Fuck, it was vile! "Where's Lighe?" I asked. Natural question. Orli took my hand and put it on a warm head. Oh, that was all right then. "Sleeping?" Orli nodded. "He was very tired, yesterday, and the day before, and the day - but he couldn't...wouldn't sleep until he knew..." No, he wouldn't. Come to think of it, I couldn't have, either, if it had been him. "I'm sorry, Orlando. I was a prick. It was the fever...I wouldn't have done it in my right mind." Orli bent and kissed me. "Neither would I", he answered cryptically. I saw he had a nasty bruise on the side of his face. I wondered where he got it. Something hovered on the fringes of my consciousness, then flew away. I reached out for Lighe's hand, and fell asleep again. Of course, I remembered, later - but I never held it against him. Poor bugger was sick, and off his head, like me. When I woke up, again, it was to blue eyes staring at me from a distance of about three inches. I jumped. Fuck, they were a powerful weapon! "God, Lighe - you scared the shit out of me!" He kissed me, softly. "Could say the same about you, bozo!" was his loving reply. Then he kissed me, again. My mouth was dry, and bitter with the taste of that bloody stuff Orli had given me. Lighe gave me some water, which I drank, gratefully. Then a nice cuppa - "as a reward", he said, handing me the mug. "Reward for what?" I sipped the hot brew and it tasted bloody wonderful. "Nothing - just being here", he said, his mouth trembling. I knew what he meant. To change the subject, I asked about the stuff Orli tried to poison me with earlier. "Fuck, that was lucky!", he sat down beside me, grinning. "Tino took some rabbits and stuff over to the farmhouse, and the old lady was having a clear out. She was throwing out this medicine that she used to keep for her son, who had a bad chest. He died, and she never got round to getting rid of it. Tino recognised it - it was penicillin! Four fucking bottles of the stuff! And some pills, too - and painkillers! She gave them to him...glad to get rid of them, she said. There was two months left on the "use by" date, so we knew it was okay. We thought we'd try it, anyway. We asked you if you could take penicillin, and you said "yes", and dude, it worked." He smiled at me like one of the cherubim. Penicillin! I did feel better. Weak, but better. God, miracles do happen, sometimes...even to me. "What?", I snarked, later that day. Everybody was grinning at me. Every time someone passed my little corner, I got an eyeful of fucking teeth! "Shaddup!" Viggo said, kneeling at my side. "Shaddup and rest". He put his hand on my brow, and looked satisfied. "Much better", he said, and went out into the greenery. Bills brought me a fresh cuppa, and Orli fetched a mug of soup with bread cut up in it. "Eat it!", he commanded, with a smile. Fuck, they were going to wear out their face muscles at this rate. Andy came to sit with me while the others were gainfully employed. Lighe had gone to find ducks, or grebes or whatever the fuck was stupid enough to fly into the area today. The others were foraging. Andy sat down at my feet with a tentative smile. He was a nice kid...if a bit shy. I soon got him talking, though. His English was very good. I told him so. "My...our mother spoke it very well, I think. She had been to England as a girl. She worked there as a nurse for children...at home, you know, looking after them while the mother worked". "A nanny", I said. He nodded. "I miss her still", he whispered, not looking at me. Fuck, he was fourteen! I thought of my own mum.. Poor little bastard! To cheer him up I started talking about football. His face broke into a smile. Football he knew. He sat there, smiling like an animated pixie, while we discussed the off-side rule, and transfer fees, and Manchester United and some team that he supported. It had an unpronounceable name that sounded like a disease. His face came alive when he was talking about something that interested him. I watched him, wondering if he would ever get a chance in life...if he would be swallowed up by the poverty and politics that surrounded him. Tino came back with the bread and milk from the farmhouse. Andy's smile dimmed as he realised our little talk was over. Tino came over to us. "Work to do, Andrea. You help Viggo with the rabbits. There are things to do." Tino smiled at me. "I'll sit with Dom for a while. You go, now". Andy got up, and walked quietly away. "He dreams too much", Tino said, looking at his brother's retreating form. "There is nothing here for us, but the life we have. He always wants more. There is no more for the likes of us." He sighed. "He's only a boy, Tino. Let him dream for a bit." I was talking to Tino as if he was an old man. He was seventeen. God, what a way to live! My Lighe came back with his bag stuffed with birds, and a smile, which was just for me. He handed the bag to Andy, who had finished doing stuff (unmentionable) to rabbits. He took two out for the old people at the farmhouse, and started on the feathers of the others. Lighe sat and helped him for a bit, and then he came back to me for a kiss. I sneezed. "Fuck, Lighe! Those bloody feathers!" I protested. "C'mon, Sblom. I'll shower, and you can rub me dry. Wanna help? Wanna shower, too? D'you feel well enough?" Did I feel well enough for freezing cold water? Well, I did smell a bit, I was sure of that. I'd been sweating like a pig for days. "As long as the shock doesn't kill me off - I'm up for it!" I laughed. Lighe pulled me to my wobbly feet, and put his arm around me to guide my steps. At least it wasn't far. The water cascaded out of the rock face in an arc, and the pressure of the water on the rock floor, over thousands - maybe fucking millions - of years had made an indentation like a shower tray. It was beautiful. Lighe undressed me - my hands were still a bit shaky, and helped me use the hole, which was less painful than I'd feared. It was cold back here, and I was shivering before the water hit me...but, fuck in a bucket...it was freezing! He lathered me down with some yellow soap the old woman had spared us, a quick dip under the water again, and out. I stood there gripping the tiny, threadbare towel, while he washed, swiftly. I forgot about the cold - well, nearly - just looking at him, naked. He was fucking stunning... awesome. Soon, I was rubbed down hard, and lay, naked, teeth chattering, under our blankets. He washed my clothes, and spread them on a bush outside to dry. His own were there, too. "Lighe!", I protested. "You can't go out there in the nude, man...you'll catch your death!" He laughed. "Won't be a minute, love", he smiled. Tino, coming in from the wooded area just outside the cave, with some firewood, stared at him in frank admiration. Lighe didn't notice, but I did. His eyes were like fucking organ stops. He put the wood down, and disappeared into the back area. Thank God for that. Didn't need that complication, thank you very much. Lighe joined me, shivering and laughing, under the blankets. "Fuck, you're freezing!" I said, winding my arms around him, and drawing him in. Billy and Orli were preparing dinner. As Lighe had captured the said dinner, they graciously allowed us a post-shower snooze, which we took in each other�s arms, until the food was ready. Duck, roast potatoes and cabbage. With windfall apples for dessert. Fucking fantastic. We ate ours in bed, Viggo having remarked that it would put him off his food having to stare at our naked butts through dinner. We settled down for the night a little later. No point in wasting our couple of precious candles, we went to sleep with the dark, and rose at dawn. At least, the others rose. I still wobbled too much to do anything, yet. What a liability I was! Still, wrapped in his arms, sleeping and dozing alternately, I felt happy. I was with him. Come Hell or high water, I was with him. He moved in my grasp, but it was to snuggle in closer. Our skin, warm and clean, pressed against each other. I heard Viggo and Billy murmuring over the other side of the cave. I didn't know what they were saying, but I heard Orli joining in, softly. I would have called to them if Lighe hadn't been fast asleep, he'd worked hard that day. I let him sleep. All I heard from the conversation were seven words that struck fear into my soul. Billy. More serious than I'd ever heard him. "In the morning, we must all talk". My god! What? What the fuck did that mean? |