It wasn’t until we were certain there were no mercenaries waiting for us that we split up. Alex wasn’t certain it was a good idea, but Mare and Jake insisted they do their share, so they each picked a direction to go in. Mare went north, Jake went east, and Alex went south, so I was left with the west. None of us had any idea where anything was going to be. Finding the caches did often just mean digging in the dust and ash close to one of the buildings until you found something, while attempting to ignore all of the dead bodies that were surrounding you. Normally the majority of the bodies would be male, as the mercenaries didn’t believe in wasting good women, but this time the majority of the dead were women. Seeing them made me wish I knew why. Maybe they were the ones who were fighting.
The first two buildings I tried must have been homes. There were no caches at all around them, so I just got dusty, but on the third one I was lucky enough to hit what must have been the weapons shop. It appeared whoever had owned it was lucky enough to have a basement and they used it. Finding it was a relief, especially when I found a number of bows, ranging from long bows to crossbows, with a range of arrows and bolts. We would each need to pick our own, but I could choose first, as I was the one who’d found it. After checking through the selection I heard noises from outside that I really didn’t like, which meant I had to make a choice based on whether I wanted to survive or not. Hoping that I would be able to open it again I pulled the hatch shut and hid myself in the darkest corner I could find.
Mercenaries didn’t often return to a place after they’d hit it once. That didn’t mean another group wouldn’t come to see what they could find. Breathing as quietly as I could, I waited out the noises, doing my best not to cry, praying to a God that I had never believed in we’d all be safe. I doubted it, though.
Finally it seemed as though silence had fallen, but I stayed where I was anyway. Staying there alone was the hardest thing I’d ever done, even though I knew it was the best choice I could make, and kept counting. When I lost count I went back to the beginning.
I deemed it was safe, mostly because of my bladder complaining at me. As the hatch opened I couldn’t stop myself breathing a sigh of relief. I was fortunate that there was still daylight.
“Kat…” Jake’s voice from behind me was both absolutely terrifying and a relief at the same time. As I turned to look at him our eyes met before he collapsed into my arms. “It was horrible.”
“I know you’re not going to want to do this, but you need to tell me what happened.”
“No, I need to take you to Mare and Alex.” I don’t know how, but he managed to stand upright again. “They’re both alive and they need your help.”
“Okay.” From somewhere I managed to summon a reassuring smile for him. “Tell me what’s wrong with them.”
“Mare’s been shot, once in the leg and once in the arm.”
“Shot? It was mercenaries, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “Yes. They had bows and arrows, not guns. She still has the arrows in her, because she said it was best not to remove them until you got there, even though I really wanted to help.”
“Jake, you have helped. How long has it been?”
“Alex said you’d be out once you believed it was safe and he made me count to seven hundred before I was allowed to come looking for you. I hadn’t been hunting for long when I found you.”
“What happened to Alex?”
“Three sword wounds, two arm and one leg.”
“Both of them are going to be fine.” I took hold of his hand and squeezed it. “Did anybody find a chemist or apothecary or anything like that at all?”
“Just before they attacked I had. I should have run, but I stopped to grab everything I could while listening to Mare scream in pain. Alex must have gone straight to her.”
“You did more than me.”
“Don’t feel guilty. You’re the one who can help them, so hiding yourself was the best thing that you could do. If we’d lost you, Kat, it would have been a nightmare.” He smiled. “Alex told me to say that to you. He knows you.”
“I know he does.” I found myself smiling back. “When we get to wherever they are I’m going to need to see everything that you have and then I’m going to need your help getting the arrows out of Mare.”
Even though he looked like he might be sick he nodded. “I can do that.”
“Good. This might well be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do. Although we’re going to be traveling together for a while I need to teach both of you how to do this. You first, because Mare is in no state to be learning anything.”
Honestly, I have no idea how I didn’t panic. Sword wounds I could deal with. Alex was always getting them, but arrows… that was different. I only had a few experiences with arrow wounds.