Winter's Fury - Volume Two of The Saga of the Twelves

by Richard M. Heredia

  Hyun nodded.

  Elena could see her brother do a slow three-count for Hyun’s benefit. Then, with a tender touch, he put one of the q-tips into the topmost puncture wound. He rubbed it, tentative, along the torn edge of the girl’s flesh in a circular motion. He twisted the q-tip between two fingers, so there was a continuous “fresh” edge glided along the inside of the wound as it went.

  Hyun started to scream, but clamped her hands over her mouth. Tears streamed from her eyes, falling to the ground, melting the snow below her.

  All their companions turned to look. But most of them turned away with only a cursory glance, giving them a degree of privacy.

  Only Garfield and Derek went on watching. The cat appeared angry. Derek’s face filled with almost as much pain as Hyun’s.

  Elena looked over at Mikalah, who stood behind Sophie with tears in her own eyes. She looked sick to her stomach, but for some reason she did not glance away.

  Anthony wiped at the now clean hole in the girls’ back with another cotton ball. Then he dabbed at it with another. This one soaked in the iodine tincture. He moved fast, covering the wound with one of the over-sized, square Band-Aids. He leaned forward once more and whispered into Hyun’s ear, so low this time Elena could not hear.

  Hyun nodded again still weeping with the pain.

  Against his will, Anthony repeated the entire process with the second, and later, the third puncture.

  In both instances, Hyun’s screamed, but into her hands, stifling most of the sound. She could not keep herself from crying. By the time Anthony had the third one cleaned and covered, she was sobbing without a care against her knees. She would not look up. She would not let any of them see the full extent of what she was feeling. She accepted no comfort or succor. Rather, it was a stoic weeping, a delving into personal solitude. With determined promptness, she mustered her will and forgot about them and the angry forest that dominated the landscape.

  Anthony glanced at Sophie. Elena heard him say, “Ok, since the wounds are not spread far apart, I think the one Ace bandage will be enough to bind all three of them. Maybe we can stop the bleeding altogether.” Then to Hyun: “We’re going to need for you to sit up straighter now, Hyun, so we can wind the bandage around the middle section of your body.”

  She cried for a second or two longer, and then through a pair of great inhalations, said, “Can it wait for a minute?”

  Elena shared a quick look with her brother before his gaze shifted to Sophie.

  He finally just shrugged his shoulders. “Yea, I think that’ll be alright, but it’ll have to be an actual minute, because I don’t want those Band-Aids to soak through.”

  “Ok.”

  Anthony began to repack the first aid kit, fastidious as he went, while Sophie prepared the Ace bandage in silence. She unpacked it and unwound a three-foot section of it. This way they could move with nimble competence when Hyun was ready for them.

  “I hate this,” said Mikalah out of nowhere and to no one in particular, a mix of anger and sadness in her voice.

  “We all hate this, Miki,” was Anthony’s solemn reply.

  It surprised Elena he would use Mikalah’s nickname from when she was a baby. He scarcely called her that anymore. Maybe it was the severity of the moment or the need to feel secure, mulled Elena. Sometimes the past was the best place to dwell in times of need. It makes us remember who we are and where we came from.

  “But why do people have to get hurt? Why is everything so mean and cruel? I just hate it, because it doesn’t make any sense at all,” continued Mikalah. She crossed her small arms about her chest, staring down at Hyun as the other tried to calm herself down.

  The pain was beginning to subside.

  “You’re right, Miki, it doesn’t,” reasoned Anthony. “It doesn’t, because the thing behind all this has made it so. How can you begin to understand what motivates a creature so bent on power? How could you, a sweet little girl like yourself, who would never hurt a fly or an ant? How could you understand a motive like that? You couldn’t and you never will be able to. It’s hard for me to comprehend what would drive the insanity that is the Lord of the Storm. That’s why you’re confused, why you’re so angry. To a sensible, kind person like you, it just doesn’t make sense.”

  Mikalah just frowned back her brother, his explanation good enough for now, but did not make her feel any better inside.

  Elena could sense the tendrils of revenge from her sister’s body language alone.

  “Well, whatever this is, whatever has done this, I don’t care about the reason behind it or the motivating factor or even why. I agree with you Anthony. I’m ready to trust without question, execute without delay and get results without a single death. I will stand by you and fight!” She said it so quiet and without a single flutter in her voice, for a second, Elena had no idea who was speaking. She looked down and saw Hyun looking at them.

  She had wiped the tears from her cheeks and cleaned the rest of her face. The only sign her tears had even been was her bright red nose, puffy and irritated from her weeping. She extended hand toward her brother, who grabbed it in his firm grip and helped her to her feet.

  “I’m ready now,” she muttered.

  Elena saw Anthony motion for Sophie to stand in front of Hyun, uncertain why he had positioned himself in that fashion. But she knew why the moment the Asian girl picked up every layer of clothing she wore above her waist. She hiked it up and over her breasts, exposing her bra. Then she understood - her brother was being a gentleman.

  Sophie stood right in front of Hyun, blocking most of the view.

  To Elena’s satisfaction, she saw all the other males in their group look away on purpose. Their gazes stuck to the forest or the sky or the ground, anywhere, but where Anthony worked on Hyun.

  Her brother asked for the still rolled section of the Ace bandage.

  Sophie handed to him as she held the leading end against one of Hyun’s sides.

  Anthony wrapped the entire length of the bandage four times around Hyun’s chest and mid-section. He covered each of the three wounds on her back as he did so, applying, she hoped, enough pressure to stop them from bleeding.

  He stepped back.

  Sophie said in a soft voice when they had finished. “How does that feel?” wondered the cheerleader.

  The other teenage girl adjusted her various garments so they felt comfortable, and were not twisted or bunched.

  “It feels a little tight, but other than that, it doesn’t feel all that bad. I will just have to be careful not to move too sudden or anything like that,” answered Hyun.

  Then she did just that and turned before any of them could react. She gave Anthony as fierce a hug as she could manage.

  “Thank you, Anthony. Now I know why Sophie would want you for her boyfriend. You’re a special guy. Thank you.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and held onto him for a bit longer.

  Elena glanced at Mikalah. Both sisters smiled through tears. Then stifled giggles at the astonishment plastered across their brother’s face. The eventual spread of crimson throughout his cheeks was hilarious.

  Sophie just smiled and stood back, watching.

  “Uh, umm… you’re welcome,” Anthony stammered.

  Elena noticed the rest of their companions had gathered nearer now that Hyun was all fixed up.

  Derek being the closest, he went right up to Hyun and asked her if she was “ok’.

  She grinned and nodded, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving it a small squeeze in gratitude.

  A few of the others approached her as well and gave her various words of encouragement.

  She accepted them with varying degrees of nods and smiles.

  The old Andrew showed up immediately thereafter. “So, now what do we do?”

  “I think we should make for the mall,” was Joaquin’s quick response, “especially with so much of the day left. We have plenty of time before night falls. And, if weather turns severe and the storm catc
hes us while we are still there, I think we could hold out at Target until it passes. I mean, there still a lot of food and junk at Target, right?” He was looking at Hyun as he finished.

  “Yeah, there’s a ton of stuff we could use if we needed to. We could stay there for quite some time, if we absolutely had to… you know, if the weather turned that bad,” she confirmed. She was stretching this way and that, trying to get used to her bindings, her movements experimental.

  “I agree,” began Jason, “it’s like a few hours before lunch. We could definitely make it there before then in these good conditions. If bad weather should hit by then, we’ll be safe at the mall. On top of that, just about everything we need would be there. I mean everything! So, it’s worth it to go for the mall now, especially since our first idea went to the shits.”

  Anthony glanced around, his eyes settling on Kodiak, who was still guarding the parameter with the rest of the Fist. “Hey Kodie, you think we should press on or head back?”

  Kodiak swung her massive head in her brother’s direction.

  Elena turned to see what the bear-dog was going to say. She saw the three newcomers cringe at the impressive sight she made.

  “We should press on, m’Lord Kring-Hël. Those supplies are critical to the success of our quest. The recovery of the Legacy of Truth has to be our highest priority and we cannot do that without the proper gear. Like the Lord Blitz indicated we have most of day before us, regardless of inclement weather. Now is the perfect time.”

  Anthony nodded after Kodiak’s retort. “Well that settles it then; let’s get our butts to the mall.”

  “My daughter and I will retrieve the supply carts and will return shortly. Patas, Mugzy we require your assistance.”

  With that the allotted members of the Fist bounded into the trees and vanished from sight.

  ~~~~~~~<<< ᴥ >>>~~~~~~~

  ~ 16 ~

  The Dregs of the Past

  Day Four, Sunday, 9:41 am…

  Within five minutes of the bear-dogs’ departure for the shopping carts, they resumed their trek. Walking in almost the same formation they had when they left the cave. They trudged down a narrow dirt road that had once been the four-lanes of Colorado Boulevard.

  They had inserted Kimberly, Derek and Hyun just behind Anthony, his sisters and Sophie. Kodiak, Kenai and Louis followed behind them. The more imposing members of their group still formed a protective shield around the weaker ones.

  Garfield ranged ahead as usual.

  Mr. Patas bounded forward as well, listening to the surrounding landscape for anything out of the ordinary.

  Mugzy trailed the two of them, protecting the Guardians from the front.

  Andrew, Joaquin and Jason, as before, in the triangular formation, brought up the rear. Now though, they were much more vigilant than they had been before. Each of them peered about, jittery, minds just shy of panicked at what might be lurking in the forest growing to either side of them. The slightest sound would make them all wheel around to investigate.

  Anthony expected this. They were all more than a bit jumpy, their nerves frayed, made raw by too much intensity over a short period of time. The Melded World was proving far more hostile than any of them could have imagined.

  Anthony prayed they would make it to the mall without any further incident, and unscathed. They could ill-afford for another of their group to get injured. Anything serious and they would be in deep trouble.

  The way sloped downward, though not steep. As Colorado did back in the World of Man, it was a gradual decline, over a long course that stretched out before them. The trail would not turn again until they reached what should be the intersection with Eagle Rock Boulevard. That was still about a mile ahead. Above them, the clouds covered all the sky, except a small sliver far off to the east. Thus, the once soothing light of the sun disappeared. In its absence came a grayish luminance that diminished all color. Everywhere, everything was drab and washed-out. It was a sad comparison to those first, vibrant rays that had greeted them once they knew Sophie was no longer in danger.

  Anthony turned to look over his right shoulder at Hyun as they walked down the pathway. “How’s everything? You still feeling any pain or discomfort?”

  “No, Dr. Herrera, it seems you have done a masterful job at patching me up,” came the girl’s feigned stab at sarcasm. She had been smiling the entire time.

  Anthony knew she was messing around.

  Sophie cast her gaze at Hyun as well, a matching, sardonic smirk plastered across her lips. “He’s such a worrier, huh?”

  “Tell me about it, almost as bad as my dad,” said Hyun as if Anthony was not there and she was speaking to Sophie alone. Her tone remained playful and taunting at the same time.

  Anthony looked from one girl to the other with a quizzical look upon his face. What the hell? I’m just trying to make sure the girl was ok, he thought to himself. Outward, he just shrugged and continued to walk down the small road in silence. Girls, you can’t even try to figure them out… I was just trying to be nice for heaven’s sake!

  His sister Elena peered over her shoulder to look at Derek. There was stark inquisition blanketing her face.

  “Hey Derek, so tell us how you know Kimberly. You guys said you bump into each other from time to time. I was just wondering what that meant,” asked the little girl.

  Anthony knew immediately she had popped a delicate bubble.

  Derek could do no more than look at the ground.

  Anthony knew that type of reaction, but his gaze did not shift to Kimberly or anyone else for that matter. His eyes stayed fixed upon his sister. He knew, even though she was young, she had uncanny intuition. This instinct allowed her to see things about people at the same level as individuals three to four times her age.

  Her eyes widened when the silence lengthened, then settled upon Kimberly. Elena’s brow furled and her nose wrinkled as if she had just smelled something rotten or decayed.

  Anthony knew she had uncovered something that would have otherwise remained hidden to the rest of them. He let his eyes move to Kimberly at last, unable to stop their movement.

  She was walking behind him, her face concealed by her straight, jet-black hair. She too was staring at the ground, a deliberate concealment.

  Ah shit, do I really want to know what’s going on with this crazy chick? he asked himself, already dreading the truth.

  The silence stretched to the point of awkwardness. And then, after a full minute, it became disconcerting, almost unbearable.

  “Oh, dang it! Grow up and explain. How hard is that? Do you guys honestly think we can afford any secrets right now?” demanded Mikalah so loud and bullish it made everyone within earshot jump in surprise.

  Anthony could tell she was still angry over Hyun getting hurt in such a savage manner, and without provocation. He knew this, despite the fact he had tried to calm her down earlier. His explanation had not been enough to quell the fire that still burned inside of her. Mikalah could be hot-headed at times.

  Although, the more he thought about it, even within the discomfiture of the moment, he was glad she had no time for bullshit. He was glad she could see they were far past that place where teenage anxiety and fear of ridicule was the norm. With those simple words, his baby sister had shown them all they did not have time to act like children. Regardless of their ages, their current reality made the fact irrelevant. Anthony could have kissed her for that!

  Kimberly peered through her bangs at Anthony’s youngest sister. Her eyes hooded and were not particularly friendly.

  He immediately took exception to her reaction and was about to say something when Hyun spoke.

  “It’s Kimberly’s boyfriend who is the root cause of all the problems that exist between us. It has nothing to do with Kim herself. She’s a real good person inside once you get her away from him,” she stated. But she earned a scathing glare from the other teenager.

  Yet, Kim stayed quiet.

  “Yeah, I guess you can say th
at’s the real problem, because I truly like Kim. It’s just her boyfriend has always been so jealous when it comes to other guys even talking to her.” Words busted out from Derek like a failed dam, immovable in one instant, spewing the next.

  “You guys think I didn’t know Sonny was an asshole to just about everyone, including me?” asserted Kimberly, tossing her head and clearing her hair from her face.

  To Anthony, it sounded more like a plea.

  “Besides, Derek, most boyfriends I know wouldn’t like another dudes hitting on their girls. Regardless, if they knew she had one or not. He’s just marking his territory. Ok…? But hey, all that is in the past and doesn’t really matter, right? I broke up with him, so all this crap, as far as I’m concerned, is water under the bridge. And even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter worth a shit. I’d still be stuck out here with you guys, a zillion miles away from that fucking jerk. So just get over yourselves and give me a break.”

  “I never hit on you, Kimberly. What the hell are you talking about?” wondered an incredulous Derek.

  “Oh really?” It was not a question. It was an accusation.

  “Um, yeah, really,” clarified Derek, his face exaggerated with outrage.

  “Whatever, dude.”

  “His territory?” uttered Sophie as if the words had just sunk in. “Were you seriously letting some guy lay some type of ridiculous claim on you, like you’re his property or something?

  Kimberly just blew air out of her mouth in exasperation, ignoring Sophie.

  “You need to work on your self-esteem,” added Anthony’s girlfriend under her breath. Her words were still loud enough to carry on the ever-growing wind.

  Oh shit! thought Anthony, unsure of where this was going.

  “I wasn’t hitting on you, Kim. I just wanted to talk to you. I was new at the school and I had no friends. I thought you would be straight up - a real girl, or at least I had hoped,” explained Derek.