21.

With her heart pounding, Elise shuffled her way between the cars, tripping over the occasional piece of debris on the ground. Her face was wet with tears and she could vaguely feel the snot slipping past her lips, but she didn’t care. Getting out of here alive was all she cared about right now.

The bear’s roar and Nox’s screams had stopped for a moment and she felt her stomach sink at the thought of the bear feasting on the big man’s body.

Nox may have been a grumpy bastard, as Steve had called him, but no one deserved to be shredded by a bear and the tears of fear and despair began to flow again.

Ears pricked for any sound, she stumbled on.

Then suddenly she saw a small bright dot in the distance and as fast as she could, stumbling over all sorts of rubbish, she made it to the exit.

“Well, well, look who decided to come back! You’re finally here! And…? Did you…” But the words caught in Viggo’s throat at the sight of his stepsister’s pale, tear-stained face.

With her hands on her knees, Elise tried to catch her breath.

“Elise…” Viggo’s voice trembled with fear. “Where is Nox…?”

The little girl looked at him with wide, desperate eyes. “…Bear… There was a bear! And Nox…” She cried and leapt at Viggo, who was frozen in place.

The boy did not know what to do and stood staring at the entrance for minutes with a trembling and crying Elise in his arms. What was he supposed to do? Should he go back and help Nox? But what could he do against a bear… Was Nox even alive?

The barking of one of the dogs brought him back to his senses.

“Elise! Listen…” But the girl continued to sob hysterically.

Roughly, Viggo grabbed the girl by the shoulders and pushed her away hard. “Listen!!!”

Elise looked at her stepbrother with wide, frightened eyes.

“We have to harness the dogs to the sledge and get help as soon as possible! Come on! You get the dogs and I’ll harness them!”

As quickly as the two children could, they harnessed the dogs to the sledge and, with the two suitcases full of treasures completely forgotten, made their way to the factory that had become their home for the past few days.

A soft murmur woke Nox and he tried to open his eyes.

“Stay down dude, that fucking bitch got you pretty good. You’re lucky to be alive.”

The female voice sounded harsh. Not unfriendly, but measured, and despite his head throbbing with pain, his curiosity had been piqued.

Cautiously, Nox opened his eyes, only to close them again as a sinking feeling washed over him.

A small, cool hand was placed on his forehead and he tried again to open his eyes.

Because the woman was sitting with her back to the light source, Nox could not see the face hanging above him clearly at first. It was only when the woman leaned back slightly that her features became clearer.

Brown eyes in a soft, heart-shaped face looked at him inquiringly.

“What were you looking for down here…?” She scanned his face suspiciously.

Before Nox could answer, another wave of nausea swept over him, but this time he couldn’t hold it in. Desperately, he tried to turn his body and head to the side. But a searing pain shot through his entire body, and despite the rising contents of his stomach, Nox felt himself slip back into the darkness.

Cursing softly, Amber watched as the badly injured man lost consciousness again as he vomited. As quickly as she could, and with all the strength she possessed, she pushed the large, heavy body onto its side to prevent the man from choking on his own vomit.

Shaking her head, she grabbed an old cloth and wiped away the remains of his sour-smelling meal.

It had been foolish of her to ask him questions, Amber muttered to herself. The man had lost so much blood from his massive injuries and had also suffered an incredibly severe concussion. It was a miracle he had woken up at all, and so quickly!

A soft gurgle drew her attention. Smiling, Amber rose to her feet and walked over to the small, homemade cradle where her two-month-old grandson was looking up at her with a toothless grin.

“Hello, little man. I see you woke up too!” Routinely, she picked up the tiny, wriggling body and laid it against her chest. With her nose buried in its short, black downy hair, she stood there for a few minutes, enjoying the baby’s closeness. How nice babies smell, Amber thought. A pang of sadness slipped through her heart. How she would have loved for her daughter to enjoy this little miracle, but the internal bleeding during Duncan’s birth had cost her, her life. Ellie had not even had a chance to tell her what she had thought of as a name for the little one, she had wanted to keep it a surprise.

When Ellie had been a little girl, Amber had once told her that if her daughter had been a son, she would have been called Duncan. Amber hoped that if her daughter saw her now, she would have agreed to that name.

She turned briefly to the man, but he still seemed unconscious. Amber shrugged slightly. Well, that gave her some time to change and feed the little one.

After giving Duncan the bottle, Amber had rocked him to sleep and then put him back in his cot. She had picked up her gun to take another look and see if she could find the girl she had heard screaming but never seen, after checking the man’s vitals and reassuring herself that everything was fine.

22.

After her conversation with Steve, Morgan had gone upstairs to the living quarters to re-bandage Mads’ injuries.

As she did so, she felt the eyes of Reah and Shane piercing into her back, but the conversation with Nox and Steve had left her emotionally drained and she couldn’t bear to have to explain again.So she ignored the interrogating looks as best she could. After she had finished with the injuries, she had taken the old woman downstairs with Reah’s help. They had wrapped the frail body in thick blankets so that the woman could enjoy the snow and sun from her sheltered spot.

“So, milady, are you comfortable?” Shane had followed the three women a few moments later with Mads’ treasure bag to discuss with the old woman how they could start the must garden together with the seeds Mads had managed to smuggle out.

Mads gave the white-haired man a broad smile, one she knew he couldn’t see but believed he could feel, and patted the spot next to him on the bench.

“Will you come and sit beside me, handsome? Then we can get started… Did you bring your things to write down what seeds are where?”

Shane patted a second leather bag he had brought from upstairs, which contained a portable Braille machine with scraps of paper. “Absolutely beautiful!” And carefully slid next to the older woman.

Suddenly, Ace stood up and began to bark at the top of his lungs. Startled, the small group looked in the direction the big dog was staring and to their horror saw Nox’s sled coming towards them at high speed.

Morgan’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of the two children, but when she looked closer there was no sign of Nox and she knew instinctively that something was wrong.

Snow flew up as the dogs, panting from the effort, stopped in front of the small group of humans.

“What’s going on? Where’s Nox?” Morgan’s eyes slid from Viggo to Elise, lingering on the girl’s pale face as an icy hand gripped her heart.

“WE HAVE TO GO BACK! WE HAVE TO GO BACK MUM!!!” Viggo began to stammer violently with emotion.

“A BEER! NOX WAS ATTACKED BY A BEAR!!! I DON’T KNOW IF HE’S STILL ALIVE!!!” Elise shouted hysterically through Viggo’s words.

With eyes as big as saucers, Morgan turned with a jerk to Shane, who’d already jumped to his feet.

“A bear…?!”

Elise’s words had sent a cold shiver down Shane’s spine. Indeed, Nox had told him a few weeks ago that he suspected there was a large predator in the area, and his brother had searched for it, but had been unable to find it.

“Where did you come across the animal?”

Meanwhile, Steve had also heard the noise outside and, startled, he looked from one child to the other. Nox was an idiot, but he wouldn’t have left the kids alone, let alone sent them out on the sled alone, unless something was seriously wrong.

“What is it…” But Mads immediately gagged him.

“Shut up, Steve!”

Elise was still crying hysterically and everyone was looking to Viggo for answers.

Shaking violently with adrenaline and fear, the boy’s eyes swept over the group until they rested on his mother.

“We found some locked suitcases and Nox sent me back to the dogs to put the suitcases on the sled. He wanted to walk a bit further with Elise and see if they could find some more stuff… and suddenly… I heard screams at the entrance and Elise came crawling out crying hysterically… screaming about a bear! And this bear had grabbed Nox and… and… I don’t know what else. I wanted to go back inside, I really did! But I can’t fight a bear! And… and… I just thought we should go and get help! Did I do the right thing?” Viggo tried to be strong all the way home, trying not to think about Nox too much, but now that everyone’s attention was on him, tears began to flow, and the guilt that had started earlier, when they had driven away from the garage, took over.

Stumbling, Morgan ploughed through the snow as fast as she could to get to her son. She wrapped her arms around the boy and rocked him gently. “You did good!” she soothed his sobbing and looked over at Elise.

“You both did well.”

Then her eyes found Steve’s and she looked at the old man with a desperate expression.

“Shane!” Determined, Steve turned to the blind, white-haired man.

“Do you think these dogs can make the drive again?”

The tall blind man nodded. “Yes, I don’t think they’ll have much trouble. But I don’t have a gun to give you…”

Steve began to smirk. “Don’t worry about that! Kid…” the old man turned to Viggo.

“…I know you’re scared, but I need your help! Do you think you can find your way back?”

Morgan opened her mouth to object, but was abruptly interrupted by the old man. “Morgan! Do you want your frog to come back or not? If you do, I’ll need your son’s help!”

Carefully, Viggo pushed his mother away from him. “I can manage, Mum! And I’d like to go back to help Nox, and together with Steve at least I have a chance!”

The young woman nodded and straightened her shoulders. “You’re right! Elise… You stay here with Shane, Mads and Reah, then we’ll go…”

“Oh no Morgan!” Steve interrupted her immediately. “You’re not going anywhere. If something happens to us, the four of you have to be rescued, and since Shane is blind as a bat… No offence Shane…”

A small grin appeared on the tall man’s face. “No problem…”

“You’re the one who has to guard the fort while we’re gone.” Steve said. He looked at her sharply. “I trust you to keep my Maddie safe, Morgan…”

Morgan swallowed. As much as she would have liked to go with him, Steve was right, someone had to stay here to protect the rest.

After Morgan and Reah had given Viggo and the dogs something to eat and drink, Steve had put on his thermal clothes and given Mads a big kiss, it was finally time for the two men to leave.

To the surprise of everyone, Steve suddenly pulled out two handguns that he’d been hiding under his mattress.

One he handed to a stunned Morgan, the other he tucked behind a leather belt he had slung across his chest after making sure the room was full and the safety catch was on. Seven more bullets he slipped into his breast pocket, on which he held the still half-full box in front of Morgan.

“Here! Put the box under your mattress, make sure the room is full, and put a few more in your pocket. If anything unexpected happens, you’ll always have something to protect you!”

Without waiting, he planted a kiss on her forehead and walked to the sled where Viggo was waiting for him.

23.

This time, the journey to the garage was many times faster than that morning and before he knew it, Viggo saw the snowy rooftops of the former city looming before him.

“There!” He pointed in the direction of a large hump where a thick stick had been put down to which a small red piece of cloth was attached, flapping gently in the chilly breeze.

Quickly, Steve corrected the dogs.

Once they arrived at the entrance, which fortunately had remained neatly open due to the wooden studs Nox had placed, the two men stretched the dogs out. One by one, with Steve leading the way, the two carefully crept inside, the light of the torches shining in front of them.

“How on earth did that frog find this? It’s not like there’s a ‘park here’ sign!” Steve was startled by the reverberation his voice triggered in the pitch-dark garage and slammed his hand in front of his mouth, startled.

“…fuck…” he grumbled softly and turned partly to Viggo. “…sorry I had forgotten how terribly garages could reverberate when it was dead quiet…”

Viggo gave him a small benevolent smile and quickly let the light of his torch slide as far as it could through the space in front of them.

Just like the first time, the two walked cautiously further into the garage, but now Viggo was leading the way, behind him Steve walking with the gun at the ready.

Further and further they shuffled on until they reached the spot where they had found the suitcases. They looked around nervously but there was nothing special to be seen, but just as they were about to walk on, an almost inaudible noise was heard.

All of Steve’s hairs immediately stood on end and, with his pistol at the ready and the torch of his torch next to it, he continued walking in the direction Nox and Elise had taken earlier that day, this time leading the way.

The soft mutterings had not escaped Amber’s notice and when she had detected the faint flashes of light in the distance, she hid behind a parked van, her shotgun at the ready.

With ears cocked and gun ready, the two carefully crept on until they suddenly spotted a strange object diagonally behind a light-coloured, parked car.

Immediately Steve signalled Viggo to stop and had the lad take shelter behind one of the thick concrete pillars from which the paint was already peeling off.

Foot by foot, the old man stepped closer to the strange object and, once the glare hit it properly, saw that it was the body of a dead bear. A chilly hand gripped his heart as he let his gleam wander over the concrete and saw large bloody drag marks on the ground.

Click!

The loud metallic sound of a gun being cocked made his blood run cold.

“No shenanigans friend! Put your gun on the ground and place your hands on your head…. And you lad, come out slowly and don’t make any unexpected move otherwise your friend will have an extra air hole…”

Surprised at hearing the female voice, Steve did as asked.

Once he turned around, he saw the woman with the gun at the ready, coming his way.

“Listen!” He began, but was immediately gagged by the woman.

“No, you listen. I ask and you answer!” Her voice was soft but clear and fearless and Steve’s thick bushy eyebrows flew up.

“Why are you here?” Although Amber suspected the two were searching for their heavy-footed friend, she knew from experience that she shouldn’t assume the most obvious answer right away. Sometimes things could also be coincidences.

“We are looking for a friend of ours…” Like the woman, Steve kept his tone soft, he had no desire to also be surprised by some beast just like the frog.

“We’re looking for a friend of ours…” Like the woman, Steve kept his tone down, not wanting to be surprised by a beast like the frog had.

“He and the boy I’m with now, Viggo, were hunting with a girl for all sorts of things we can use at home.” He sighed. “When the kids got home they were completely devastated and told us that Nox had been gored by a bear, which is why we’re here now…”

“How many of you came?” The nervous tremor in her voice didn’t escape Steve, and he carefully lowered his hand, palms facing her in a reassuring gesture, and took a small step forward.

“It’s just the two of us here… Look, I understand you don’t trust us, but at least tell me if our friend is still alive… please… there’s someone at home waiting for him… at least I suspect so…”

This seemed to take the woman by surprise for a moment, as he saw her light, probably a torch she had attached to her rifle, drop slightly for a moment.

Amber frowned at the last remark. How could he suspect that someone was waiting for the man at home? Surely he had to know that someone was…? What kind of idiotic comment was that? “What the fuck…? What the hell are you talking about? You do have some idea if there’s someone at home for him, don’t you?”

Steve gave her an apologetic grin. “Yeah… well, let’s just say that what those two have going on is pretty… new… for lack of a better word. But please…” The old man’s grin faded and he became serious again. “…tell me… Is he still alive?”

A spark of hope flashed through him, for the woman still hadn’t told them that Nox was dead. He knew he would have done so if he wanted the uninvited guest to leave as soon as possible…

The woman remained silent for a few seconds, then lowered her weapon. “Yes, your big boy’s still alive, although the bear got him pretty badly. Follow me…”

After walking a few metres, the two men saw a soft glow coming from under a cloth.

Amber grabbed the heavy black fabric with one hand, but before she could push it aside, she turned to her companions. “Be quiet, I don’t want you to make any noise!”

Surprised, Viggo and Steve looked at the woman, whose face they still couldn’t really see, but nodded in agreement.

Cautiously, they followed the woman into the lit room and were pleasantly surprised by the small but cosy room. Their gaze was immediately drawn to the large body lying just to the left of the entrance. Nox…

Although the woman had done her best to bandage his wounds, the two could clearly see how badly the surly man was injured. The bandages wrapped around his arms, torso and legs were obviously already saturated with blood again. Only the bandage over his face was still reasonably clean. Steve swallowed a lump at the sight of Nox’s lower leg and shook his head gently, probably beyond saving from what he could see from this distance, he thought to himself.

Slowly he approached the man, his surprise growing as he saw the severity of the man’s battered body.

All of a sudden, the man’s eyes began to roll and blink, and Steve watched as Nox slowly opened them.

“So, Frog… Didn’t they want you up there yet?” he asked, watching as Nox’s eyes slowly focused on him.

A grin appeared around his mouth when he heard the familiar voice. “What were you thinking, old man? I have to make sure that jackass is dead? You’re out of luck, old man, even a bear couldn’t do that… But where is Elise? And Viggo? Are the children safe?” Nox began to cough, turning white with pain. His head began to spin again, and he could feel himself slipping away once more, something that he wanted to avoid at all costs. He had to know how the two children were…

A warm hand on his shoulder caught his attention and, careful not to lose consciousness again, he opened his eyes.

“Elise is safe, Nox. We went to the factory as soon as we could and got help.” Relief slipped through Nox at the sight of Viggo’s pale but relieved face.

“What did you think? I’d just take the old nag with me?” He smiled again at Steve’s quiet grumble.

“Sorry Steve… I’m glad you’re here,” Nox said apologising.

The old man moved next to Viggo and also placed his hand on the badly injured man’s shoulder. “I know, Frog… I know…

24.

Although the sun had set a few hours ago, there was still no sign of Steve and Viggo, and Morgan grew increasingly worried. What if the two men, like Nox, had been taken by the bear? The nausea returned.

A large, warm hand gripped her shoulder and she turned her head towards the tall, white-haired man.

“Just because they’re not here yet doesn’t mean anything serious has happened to them, Morgan. Maybe they found Nox and it wasn’t safe to travel in the dark anymore…”

Morgan looked out the dirty window into the factory hall again. “But what if something has happened Shane, what then? We can’t go anywhere! Steve and Viggo have taken the sled with all the dogs, how are we ever going to find them? And Nox… You heard what Elise said! The bear grabbed him the moment she ran away! What if he’s… he’s…”

Carefully, Shane turned her over and wrapped his arms around her. He knew from the trembling of her shoulders that she was crying, and in a comforting gesture, he put his hand on her head and stroked her hair. “I have to say, you two make an odd couple. The day you arrived my brother wanted to throw you out just as much and only because of the deal he made with you, you were allowed to stay and now…” Shane shook his head.

“So… uhhmm, what is it between you two? Did I vaguely catch something you guys have met before?”

Even tough Shane was concerned about his brothers’ welfare, something told him, call it a gut feeling, that Nox was still alive.

Morgan lifted her tear-stained face and looked at the blind man, dumbfounded. “You want to know where Nox and I met before? Now?”

Shane shrugged. “Why not, now is as good a time as any…”

Even though it felt strange to be talking to Shane about his brother, Morgan also felt the need to avoid thinking about various doomsday scenarios for a while, which she knew would pop up tonight eventually.

“That’s true… but do you mind if we stay like this for a while? I just need someone to hold me for a while…”

The tall man pulled Morgan close to him again. “You’re not the only one, Morgan… It’s been a long time since I could just hold someone for a while without any ulterior motives. You’re not the only one who needs a little support right now. I worry about those three too, believe me… if I were able to see, I would have been on my way hours ago”.

This time it was Morgan who pulled Shane close to him and she lay her head against his chest.

For minutes they just stood there, not talking, just bathing in the support they found in each other.

“Shane…?”

“Hmmm…” The white-haired man hummed in response.

“Has there ever been anyone in your life who… who never quite left your mind?” Morgan lifted her head from his chest to look at him and saw a smile appear around his mouth.

His pale blue blind eyes looked over her head into the distance.

“’Yeah, there was… Her name was Jenaifa, she was my fiancée before the world turned to ice…”

~~~~

Several miles away, Steve turned to the strange woman who had taken care of Nox.

“So, perhaps it would be useful if we had a quick round of introductions… “And he gave the woman who had watched the scene from a distance a broad smile that was not immediately returned.

“My name is Steve and this young man next to me… “And he pointed with his thumb at the boy standing next to him. “…is Viggo and our ray of sunshine in bed is Nox…”

There was a moment of silence and Steve expected the woman to introduce herself, but to his surprise she remained silent and looked at him with suspicious eyes.

When she finally began to speak, her voice, though whispering, was as sharp as a razor. This lady was clearly not so easy to appease, Steve thought to himself.

“Very nice introduction, but like I said… what I’m curious about is how your friend over there found the garage in the first place? The whole town is under a thick layer of snow… and if he had come through my entrance, I would have known… So… tell me I’m waiting!”

The sudden babbling of a baby startled them and all three men tried to see where the sound was coming from.

Before Steve could ask, the woman had raised her gun to them, the barrel pointed at Viggo’s head. “No funny business! I have no problem pulling the trigger, so don’t get any ideas!” Her voice was firm and the look in her eyes made it clear that the woman would not hesitate to use the gun.

“Wow, wow, wow!” Steve quickly stood in front of Viggo and raised his hands, palms facing forward. “Listen lady! We’re just here to pick up our friend… …. I understand you don’t trust us, I wouldn’t either, but we mean you absolutely no harm!”

In front of him, diagonally next to the woman, in a small wooden box, something began to move. Then a deafening wail filled the small room.

Steve watched as the woman hesitated, but the baby’s cry broke the stalemate and she lowered the gun. The tension eased from Steve’s shoulders and he turned back to Viggo and Nox.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the woman pick up the baby and hold it protectively against her, her arms covering the tiny body.

Although the pain was almost unbearable and sweat ran down his body, Nox tried to stay as still as possible while Shane examined his lower leg and arm.

Sighing, the old man stood up and Nox opened his eyes to look at him.

The look in Steve’s eyes did not bode well and Nox prepared for the worst.

“Sorry pal, but there’s no way I can spare that leg of yours, it’ll have to come off just below the knee… If we don’t, you’re guaranteed to get blood poisoning and since I can’t get antibiotics…” Steve ran a hand through his thinning white hair.

“But even if I could get antibiotics, this leg is too badly damaged to be saved. Your arm, on the other hand, is broken, but as long as there is no infection, I can save that one…. But the leg has to come off, and as soon as possible”.

After a brief nod from Nox, Steve turned to Viggo, who was still standing beside him. “I’m going to need your help, boy, if I’m going to cut his leg off, you’re going to have to keep his leg as still as possible.”

The old man turned to the woman. “Do you have a saw, large flat scissors or at least something flat of steel that I can put in the fire to cauterise the stump later?And, uhm… a tub with warm water, alcohol and rags of clean cloth to use as bandages? Oh yes, and a piece of wood or something to put between his teeth?”

Amber tilted her head and looked from the old man to the boy’s face, which was getting whiter and whiter. “And you think this kid can help you?” She said with a nod in Viggo’s direction.

“He’ll go down as soon as you put the saw to his leg…”

Steve’s eyes shot from the woman to Viggo and to his horror he saw that the boy had turned deathly pale and was staggering on his legs. Shit! What do we do now?

“I’ll help… You take those dogs you were talking about to a shelter. The woman said to Viggo, before she walked over to the cot with the baby.

“First I’ll change the baby and give him a bottle, then I’ll prepare a remedy that will make both the baby and your friend fall asleep…”

“Hey, where are you going?” She asked, seeing Viggo walking towards the heavy cloth hanging in front of the hole.

Surprised, the boy turned around. “I was supposed to take the dogs to a safe place, wasn’t I?” His eyes searched for Steve’s.

“Yes, but not through the garage, kid… Follow me.”

To the surprise of both Viggo and Steve, there seemed to be a door diagonally behind Nox’s bed, hidden behind a brightly coloured cloth. “If you follow the stairs up, you will come to a hidden entrance. Make sure you keep the entrance covered at all times, understood?”

Quickly, Viggo nodded at the woman’s stern look.

After Viggo had left, Amber started to prepare the sleeping medicine for the baby and Nox. She had shown Steve where to look for the things he thought he would need.

25.

Hey guys.

This will be the last chapter of Book one, I hope you’re going to enjoy it.

The next two weeks or so I’m going to focus on finishing Breaking rules, once I’m done with that I’m going to start with Frostbite & bruises book 2.

Love, Wendy

♥♥♥

Although the stuff Amber had given him had made him very sleepy, it hadn’t been enough to knock him out completely.

Amber and Steve had first applied a tourniquet to his lower leg and then placed it in an ice bath before starting the amputation.

Looking for the supplies he needed for the amputation, he had happily come across a bottle of rose oil, and the oil combined with alcohol or turpentine was a great way to clean and care for the stump later, much better even than the cauterisation he had originally planned. The only thing missing were eggs, Amber had no chickens, but the woman was no slouch and had looked for a substitute in a small thumbed-over book. And miraculously, she had conjured up an unopened bag of linseed. Together, the woman and Steve had divided up the work and when Viggo had finally returned, they were about to begin the operation.

Amber had taken the baby out of his cot to change and feed him, adding some of the sedative to his milk. She knew the big man was going to scream no matter what and she didn’t need a screaming baby, it was going to be a hell of a job to contain the man without her mother’s heart, well in this case grandmother’s heart, wanting to run straight to the little one to comfort him. Amber had also placed a knitted cap on the little man, with some extra fabric to muffle the sounds, just in case.

For Viggo, she had stuffed an old pair of headphones with some cloth so that the noise would be muffled for him as well. She had seen from the boy’s face how much he was looking forward to helping with the operation.

With the baby and the boy taken care of, it was time to get to work on the badly injured man.

Using a mixture of boiled water and alcohol, she had cleaned Nox’s leg and marked where he would have to start cutting. If the stump was to heal properly, he needed to save a flap of skin to fold over the wound to close it, but that was easier said than done as the bear had chewed off half of the lower leg. In the end, Steve managed to get three flaps of skin to close the wound. It would not be a pretty scar, but at least the flaps would close the wound. Functionality over beauty and he was almost certain that Morgan would have no problem with that as long as he kept the frog alive for her.

Sweat ran down the faces of Steve and Amber as they finally removed the last strip of bandages after two hours.

Despite being strapped to the metal bed, the big man had lasted a long time. Despite several screams of pain, he had kept his body and legs as still as possible. Finally, after half an hour of extreme pain, Nox’s light had gone out and he had only just regained consciousness.

Steve and Amber had both been checking his vital signs regularly, and although Nox’s heart rate was sky-high, it was nothing unexpected.

After freshening up and putting on a clean shirt, Amber boiled some water on the small fire to wipe the unconscious man’s sweaty body as best she could.

Behind her, she heard a low, soft creak and turned her head slightly to look at Steve. The old man was a tough guy, Amber could not deny that, and she had a feeling he could be trusted. To her great surprise, their cooperation had been perfect, not only because they both wanted to help the badly injured man, but somehow they had just sensed each other well. They had needed very few words to know what the other wanted or what needed to be done.

“Are you OK?” Amber had stood up and looked at the tired Steve with a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, thanks for your help, girl. I wouldn’t have done it without you and Nox probably wouldn’t have survived…”

With a painfully stiff back, the woman walked over to a cupboard containing a few glasses, plates and tins of food. Carefully, she pushed a few glasses aside, conjured up a bottle and turned back to Steve with a wry grin. “I think we’re both ready for this, don’t you?”

A broad grin appeared around the old man’s mouth. “I’m not going to turn down a glass of whisky, that’s like swearing in church!” he chuckled softly at his own joke.

“But all joking aside, why are you sitting here all alone, Amber, with only the baby for company?”

Silently, Amber looked at the golden yellow goodness in her glass. She doubted if she wanted to and could confide in Steve, but the loneliness hit her so hard sometimes….

She sighed deeply. “Until a year ago, my daughter and I lived in a small community and had it good, but… “Amber swallowed. The memories still hurt her, both mentally and physically. “We were attacked and our group was taken over by a group of assholes who had no respect for us. Men and women were separated and the women and girls were divided among themselves. The little children and men… The children and men were used as slaves and if they didn’t do what was expected of them they were shot without mercy…“.

Steve saw the woman’s eyes become moist, but he remained silent and let her speak.

“My daughter was singled out by an asshole of a man who abused and raped her almost every day. I myself was one of the old wives, as those bastards called us, and we had to provide food and were used as whores whenever the gentlemen felt like it, just to keep us under their thumb. ….

One day Ellie, my daughter, found out she was pregnant and I knew that if we didn’t escape now, we would never be able to. You know it’s hard enough for an adult to survive outside…. a baby would never survive with just the two of us. So one evening, when I saw the chance… without telling Ellie, I had gathered all the things we would need on our flight days in advance and stored them in a secret hiding place….. Silently, I made my way towards my daughter’s departure and her asshole of a boyfriend. Luckily he was so terribly drunk that he didn’t notice me and before he could scream I had slit his throat…“.

Although tears were now streaming down her cheeks, she looked at Steve defiantly, but he just nodded politely.

“Getting away without anyone noticing was harder, but I had placed candles in various places with some gunpowder….and kerosene soaked cloths, and luckily my plan worked and we were able to escape as all the guards ran in the direction of the fires, leaving the exits unmanned. I know we weren’t the only ones trying to escape, but as far as I know nobody else had anything ready except me.

I know they chased us for a while, but eventually we managed to lose them and ended up here by accident…”

Steve shook his head and looked at her. “Girl, how hard you had it…” His voice was soft.

“I understand that you didn’t trust us, but why did you decide to help Nox anyway?”

Amber shrugged. “I heard him yelling at a girl to get out of here if she saw the chance, and the simple fact that he was willing to give his own life and not sacrifice her to save his own skin was reason enough for me. That you were looking for him, like you said, didn’t mean much to me…. I have heard enough lies this past year…”

A soft gurgling from the baby made them look up and they saw Viggo standing with the baby.

After they had closed Nox’s wound, Amber had taken a quick look to see how the boy and the baby had fared, but to her relief they had both fallen asleep, although there were clear traces of tears on the boy’s face.

Amber took the baby from an apparently still sleeping Viggo and offered the boy her chair. She enjoyed stretching her legs and rocking the baby. Although the boy was still very young, Amber estimated him to be around fourteen, fifteen, Steve poured him a small glass of whisky.

“Here boy, take a sip, it’ll calm down your nerves a bit.” Before turning his attention back to Amber.

“Listen girl, why don’t you come with us? I know you don’t trust us, but alone is alone and we’re outnumbered!” The old man looked at her sheepishly. “My wife, once she has healed from her injuries, will be wearing the trousers again, and with the children, of which there are two girls and a boy, Mama Morgan is the boss… “He winked at a sleepy Viggo, who responded with a silly grin.

“So there are five women and four men in our little group.”

To his shock, he saw Amber’s eyes instantly widen when she heard there was a fourth man. “Yes… there’s one man left with the women… and that’s Shane, Nox’s brother.”

Amber narrowed her eyes to slits. “Why didn’t he go looking for his own brother?”

This time it was Viggo who answered with a double tongue. “Because Shane is blind.” With a triumphant look he raised an uncoordinated waving finger.

Amber’s eyes slid to the glass in his hand and she was surprised to see that the boy had already finished the whisky. No wonder he looked so groggy…

“You won’t have to worry about the baby not making it if something happens to you… And you won’t be alone anymore, Amber…”

Amber turned to the baby’s cot. Steve had hit the nail on the head with his comment. She was indeed constantly afraid that if something happened to her, the baby would perish… ….

After tucking the baby in comfortably, she walked over to the wall where the barometer hung and, after a few moments, turned back to Steve. “I was planning on leaving soon anyway.” Seeing Steve’s questioning look, she pointed with her thumb towards the sliding door where the thick black film hung.

“The bear that grazed your friend was not the only one… In the last few weeks, there has been an increase in the number of animals around here, including predators…. I have seen paw prints from bears, but also from wolves.”

When the man looked at her in surprise, she began to chuckle softly. “You don’t think that Mother Nature would let the animals that have always treated her with respect become extinct and let us humans, who have driven the world to damnation, live? You didn’t believe that, did you?”

Steve scratched behind his ear in surprise. Well, he hadn’t really thought about it, but what the woman said could be true, he had suspected for a while himself, even in their old commune, that there seemed to be more animals.

“But if we want to leave, we have to leave tomorrow morning at the latest.” She pointed backwards at the barometer with her thumb.

“There’s a storm coming…”

After they had slept for a few hours and Amber had fed and changed the baby. The three of them lifted a leaden Nox outside. This time they went through the garage, because there was more room to manoeuvre a cobbled together stretcher.

Although Nox was in pain, he resisted, and once they had him on the sled, he turned to Amber. “Maybe it would be handy if I kept the little one with me? My body will keep him warm and you will have your hands free to hold the rifle if we run into any trouble.”

Amber nodded. Although she was reluctant to hand over little Duncan, the big man was right and she carefully placed the sleeping bundle in his arms.

With Steve handling the sled dogs and Viggo and Amber walking beside the sled as she did, the foursome made their way to the factory where the others were waiting for them.

The End…