Frostbite & bruises
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 replace the girl she had heard screaming but never seen, after checking the man’s vitals and reassuring herself that everything was fine.