Chapter 21 - EVO

Chapter 21 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***

***Astra***

I had removed the arrows and hanged another body above Thalia, right next to the Thich leader. They were upside down, and I had cut the arteries lengthwise so that they would bleed out all over my friend. It was gruesome, but I told myself that they no longer needed their blood. Thalia lay in a shallow ditch that was originally intended to catch the waste of dressing unprocessed raw meat for the group.

It felt like I had been at this task for hours, but I couldn't rest. Every minute counted when it came to this.

Fox stumbled back into the cave and slid down against a wall. He actually looked a little green beneath the thin fur that covered his entire body. I can't watch it anymore.Follow current novels on novelb((in).(com)

Watch what? I asked.

Your mate... He shuddered. Forgive me to say this, but that guy is a psycho. He collected the Thich survivors and is interrogating them.

I couldn't care less about what Magnus did to those bastards.

Is someone watching out? I asked, unsure whether Magnus was aware of the issue that so many dead bodies might attract dangerous carrion eaters.

Fox waved it off with his remaining arm. Hailey and Charite are outside. One is on watch while the other is searching for Ryan and Nina. We haven't confirmed whether they are dead. Though, I don't believe that the Thich left them alive.

He looked at the macabre display that I had created in the hope of saving my friend. Do you have to bleed them in here?

I can't do it outside. I rebutted him. You know how long it might take Thalia to revive. If she doesn't wake up by nightfall, the night predators might get to her.

He chuckled. Nice to be like a plant. Just sprinkle some fertilizer on top and everything is fine. I would have taken the bloodvine mutation if I could.

Provided that someone can sprinkle some fertilizer on top, I pointed out.

My attention was drawn by Aylin, who barfed up into a stone-hewn bucket that was more like a large bowl. It was intended for when someone absolutely had to follow nature's call while the shelter was closed. It would be a pain if someone else needed it tonight, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

I would wait and see whether Aylin recovered enough to no longer need the bucket.

In any case, the shelter wouldn't be a pleasant smelling place for the next few days.

Instead of basking in her misery, Aylin uncorked her water skin and drank. It was her body's way of dealing with the poison. She leaned over and shook Luciana by the shoulder, then drank some more.

What about the poisoned? I asked.

Aylin shook her head. Micha and Luci have no poison resistance. They are goners. Sanders might make it. At least his heart is still beating.

I closed my eyes.

My heart ached at the thought. That makes six, maybe seven dead?

We had some medical supplies, but the Thich used processed wyrmroot, a potent poison that had only one known antidote freshly plucked wyrmroot. The plant was a powerful antidote against any poison but quickly turned venomous as it dried. Once the dried wyrmroot was roasted, it could be ground to powder and mixed with water to create a poisonous paste that was easy to apply to any weapon.

And wyrmroot was only found in the swamp region to the Old Camp's east. Another possibility I knew of were the Aerie plantations. Neither place was within reach. Anyone who was poisoned out here was as good as dead unless their body had a natural resistance.

During the clan wars, it was the poison of choice because it killed anyone who wasn't within reach of a major settlement or a swamp.

Nowadays, every civilised poison user chose the firebush because the antidote could be easily stored and applied if one was fast enough.

Oh, that's no good. Fox slumped. We have only two remaining warrior types, even if you two are strong. The others are all either sensors or supporters. How are we going to make the trip? The first big predator we come across will eat us for breakfast.

It could be worse, I tried to cheer him up. We could all be dead.

We could try to get back to the Old Camp, he suggested. Sit out the winter and try again next year. The clan will mount an expedition to find out why nobody returned.

We should first see how the situation looks tomorrow, I said. At the moment, there is no point in making plans beyond that. We can't make it to another shelter today, so we have to sit out the night and see what we have to work with come morning.

I didn't mention that we also lost most of the people who could fly. There would be no easy gliding across descending mountain ridges anymore. If Thalia revived, then she and Aylin might be able to do it.

My filaments suffered a lot when the Thich dropped down on me. I was no longer sure that I could create enough surface area to glide.

That's when Charite entered the shelter, transporting a body in a fireman's carry. She glowered at the mess that I had made. You and Tulkas are two of a kind.

Who? I asked, indicating the body on her shoulders.

Nina. They knocked her out, but I found a pulse. Possible that they intended to have some fun with her once they were done with us. Charite carried the unconscious woman to her sleeping bag and laid her down. I also found Ryan on his post, but he was already cold. Caught an arrow directly through the eye.

I closed my eyes and sighed. We were down to eight people, maybe nine if Sanders survived. Fox was a cripple for the foreseeable future. Even with a starfish mutation, limbs didn't regrow on the fly.

And then there were the kids. Carrying them would require two people. Carrying the additional supplies required two people. That left only four or five of us for proper scouting duties. We could have three scouts and two rear-guards, but then there would be nobody with the supply carriers.

Fox was right with his concerns. The travel group wasn't maintainable like this.

We would have to make do with a much slower pace or take some risks with smaller scouting parties. Maybe just one scout and rear-guard each? We would lose people for certain that way. None of us had enough sensor abilities to cover for every angle of attack.

I stood up and walked over to where Michaela and Luciana lay. Just to be sure, I checked the pulse on both of them. Then I retrieved their clan amulets and handed them to Aylin.

Six people. That was the body count so far, and we had been lucky despite that.

Then it's a deal! I looked at Magnus. We are going to stay here for two or three days to recover and move out as soon as we can. We will try for the next shelter, see how that goes. We are a week away from the Old Camp. If it doesn't work out, we can still turn around. If our pace is satisfactory, we continue.

Shouldn't we be worried about the Thich sending out another group? Magnus asked. There are still some of them at the Old Camp. They could recruit more exiles, even if most of them were trash mobs.

Trash mobs? I frowned, then raised a finger to stop him. No! I actually remember that one. It comes from computer games, right?

He sighed. This world needs computers and movies. What do children get taught in clan Aerie?

How to fight and how to survive, I answered and returned to the original question. And no, I don't believe that we have more to fear from that direction. Their group must have included all the clanners that left the Old Camp to set up this ambush, adding all the reasonably strong exiles they managed to recruit. They won't expect them back for another week. Even if they immediately send out a hired search party once their people don't show up, it will take them another week to get here.

I contemplated it further. By the time they get back to the Old Camp, they will be stuck there. There will be no chance to reach Thich clan grounds before winter comes.

Jan was already cutting it close with this stupid ambush, the injured woman mumbled. I actually expected us to be caught at the Old Camp. We would have had to fabricate some story for our return and sneak the kids into the bunker...

Magnus frowned as he contemplated the travel restrictions of this world. In other words, you are frightened enough of your clan to risk being caught in snow and ice, including two abducted kids, at nothing more than their behest?

The blinded man shrugged. They have executed soldiers for less.

How many people does your clan have? Magnus asked.

The woman considered that. I don't know. The fortress city might hold anything from ten to twenty-thousand people.

My partner looked towards me.

I shrugged. It's a normal size for the large clans. Aerie has fifteen stratas and each holds a thousand to two thousand people. I am not aware of our exact numbers either.

It's no secret? he asked.

I laughed. Please, didn't I tell you about the Caravaners? They travel all the clans. I would be deeply surprised if information about each clan's rough size and political make-up hadn't gotten out.

Then I suddenly remembered something and addressed the prisoners, Speaking of violet-skinned evolutions... I thought that I saw Ivonne among you when you attacked. Where is her body? We might learn something from it. I threw a stone at her and hopefully got her good.

I found no violet skinned one, Magnus clarified.

Ivonne was gone after you flashed us with the light, the injured woman replied.

I looked down the stream. Maybe the water carried her off? She was in the deep part.

Magnus sighed and looked towards the sky, then went and pulled his spetum out of Roderick's corpse. I will check further down the stream. Do you think she survived?

I shrugged. She is a tough bitch.

***Tirnanog, Northern Mountain Range***

***Ivonne***

I woke and coughed out blood, then slowly touched my aching face. It wasn't one of those normal aches, but a pulsating pain that rose and ebbed even if I held still.

Coughing again, I spit out what looked like the entire front row of my teeth.

Mh, killh hat hitch... I mewled and looked around, finding myself at the riverside in a shallow part of the mountain stream. Nothing looked familiar, so I crawled out of the water and laid on my side while I tried to get my act together.

The last thing I remembered was the bitch screaming, and then she exploded like a tiny sun. Hopefully, she was dead.

I covered my eyes and tried to keep up with the others and then the lights went out.

Hitch... I continued to curse, even if my swollen lips were unable to form the necessary 'b'.

Things had taken a turn for the worse during the last month.

My initiation was supposed to be easy. Everyone said so.

I finally finished all the training courses and joined the recruitment team to prove my loyalty to the clan. Just one small task and Jan would have taken me through the initiation ritual to make me a full member.

Lead the negotiations and get the kids, he said while he had his fun back at the bunker.

It should have been no problem! The other clans were practically throwing all the good ones at me until that bitch showed up and messed with the negotiations. Only the Hochberg were a little bitchy, but a bribe would have solved the issue easily enough. Jan had been clear about what resources we had to spare.

But the bitch out-bid me on everything! How was I supposed to know that I should promise whatever was necessary to get the kids? Jan had given me a frame to work with. So I stayed within his limits!

If anyone should pay for my failure, then he should at least share half the blame!

And when Jan instructed me to kill the bitch, I didn't manage that either. She, threw me across the whole town, making a spectacle out of it!

And then I messed up with Gurney! Jan could have told me that the fucking dating manager was partnered!

The whole month, nothing but one mess-up after the other and it was all the fucking bitch's fault!

I stumbled to my feet and looked around, not knowing which way to go. Jan and the others had been in charge of the direction.

The sun was already close to disappearing. I had to get back to Jan and my people, find shelter.