Frostbite & bruises
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 replace 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...”