Volume 8 Chapter 295
The biggest problem with Ed’s injuries weren’t the wounds themselves, but the bleeding caused by them. And because an arrow also struck his leg, he was losing blood rapidly. After ripping up her clothes and roughly stopping the bleeding, Lil supported his icy frame. Fortunately, Ed remembered the location of a nearby cabin, but they had to reach it as quickly as possible because they had no idea when he would lose consciousness again.
They carefully moved along the path that someone had secretly paved through the bushes. When Lil looked at this place from the sea a few weeks ago, she remembered man-made lights flickering, making it plausible that there were remnants, smugglers or other intruders lurking around.
Lil was keeping a close watch on these potential opponents when she stopped as her steps with Ed staggered.
“Are you okay?”
Ed nodded as he leaned against her. He tried not to show it, but his skin was still extremely pale, and his steps were getting slower and slower. Lil did her very best to warm his body, but that was near impossible until they found the cabin. They couldn’t take the risk of taking off his wet clothes and staying in one place in the forest without knowing who was out there.
Lil asked nervously.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“…”
Ed had no response at first, so Lil pressed him a little more.
“It would be helpful if you answer quickly.”
“…Because I lost a lot of blood, I need to raise my body temperature.”
Lil lifted his slipping arm and wrapped it firmly around her neck. She then held Ed’s waist tightly, despite having exhausted her stamina when dragging him to land.
The cold forest beneath the cliff cried eerie, it was like it warned them that they weren’t welcome here.
At some point, Lil found it difficult to hide her increasingly heavier breathing. But she had to, because the tighter her breathing became, the less Ed tried to lean on her. Until,
“I can walk alone.”
“Save the nonsense.”
‘What kind of absurd bluffing is this from someone who had his limbs pierced and lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss?’
Lil swallowed her frustration and rustled up a pile of leaves.
Approaching Ed’s imminent collapse, they finally found the log cabin through a thicket of trees. The cabin was situated in a relatively sunny location, so its surroundings were bright. The late morning was coming to the forest and birds could be seen chirping and moving between the trees.
Lil and Ed lowered their position and hid behind a bush. Ed then grabbed her shoulder and whispered.
“…Someone could be in there…”
“I know.”
Lil pulled Ed’s arm from around her shoulder.
His lips quivered, probably due to the cold. That alone was a dangerous enough symptom. Out of impatience, Lil decided to inspect the cabin first, but Ed caught her by her coat.
“Me too…”
Lil turned around and glared at him.
‘What can he do if he can’t even control his body on his own? Who knows what kind of danger is out there?’
“Don’t be a bother.”
Ed muttered, letting go of the fabric he was holding.
“…You’re angry…”
“…”
Lil stood up without responding and took out her wet, useless gun just for show. Fortunately, the closer she got to the cabin, the more confident she became that no traces of people remained. However, based on the firewood lying around the house and the freshly cut grass in front of the door, it appeared that the inhabitants had been in and out recently.
‘It’s definitely a place where people stay…’
But despite knowing that the cabin wasn’t a suitable place for them to hide, there was nothing else they could do.
‘Ed’s temperature needs to be raised as quickly as possible.’
Sensing no movement inside, Lil made a bold choice.
‘Whoever resides here seems to have gone somewhere early in the morning, so we can use the time to at least dry our clothes and raise Ed’s body temperature before they come back.’
While thinking so, she was about to get Ed, when a figure stuck close behind her. His voice made a shiver go down her back…
“…There’s no one nearby.”
“…”
Lil looked up, unable to believe the sight of him standing on his own two feet as if he suddenly wasn’t knocking on death’s door anymore. Lil made a funny face with her mouth wide open.
“It’s okay. Stop worrying.”
“What crazy…”
“I’ve been through worse than this.”
Ed’s carefree attitude even went as far as brushing Lil’s wet hair away from her eyes.
He then pulled out the flimsy hook and opened the door. Lil absentmindedly followed him in. The small living room space felt cramped and because the house was made of logs, it was draughty and didn’t feel easy to heat.
After looking around, Lil came to her senses. She put Ed in front of the fireplace and lit a fire.
‘Funny how it’s suddenly fortunate that someone occupied the cabin. If it were an empty one, it would’ve taken some time for me to get the firewood.’
Lil looked back at Ed while working on the bellows.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Even though the fire was now burning quite a bit now, Ed seemed to have no intention of coming near the fireplace. Instead, he walked around the living room with a very distinct limp and even stamped his foot a few times.
Dumbfounded, Lil grabbed his arm.
“How can you… why, can’t you feel pain? What are you doing?”
“The floorboard here is ripped.”
“What’s up with this all of a sudden? …No, let me do it.”
When Lil tore up the floorboard Ed pointed to, it revealed white objects piled up in the hidden space. Reaching for them with her hand and pulling them out, a rolled-up piece of cloth fell down.
“A blanket? Why is this there?”
“It’s common behaviour among smugglers to hide cloth or blankets as they like to conceal their whereabouts.”
Ed took a clean cloth from Lil.
Meanwhile, she started undoing his buttons as he stood. The soaked shirt slid over his skin as if it were being peeled off.
Ed, who was staring at Lil, spoke up.
“Did we fall off the cliff together?”
“…”
When she didn’t answer, his pale hand lifted her shirt.
“You don’t seem to be hurt.”
“…”
Instead of responding, Lil simply shook off of his hand.
“Thank god.”
“What’s to be relieved about in this shitty situation?”
Ed lowered his upper body to look at Lil’s lowered head and muttered as she turned her head away to avoid his gaze.
“…Just as I thought, you’re angry…”
Ed wrapped Lil in an embrace. But as Lil hadn’t wiped her own body yet, Ed’s body, which was barely dried off, became damp again.
“What are you doing!”
Despite Lil struggling, Ed didn’t move an inch. This made her wonder where a dying person like him could get such strength from. Ed held onto Lil as if he was picking her up and Lil had to lift her heels.
He then whispered, rubbing his forehead against the crook of her neck.
“…I’m just happy to see you again, so why are you so angry?..”
“…I’m not mad at you.”
Before she knew it, his lips moved up her neck and left small kisses. When Ed tried to hold back Lil’s struggles, she noticed the smell of blood coming from the wounds that hadn’t yet stopped bleeding. In the end, Lil had no choice but to give in.
“Please don’t get angry. I was wrong.”
After a lengthy sigh, Lil responded by shaking her head.
“That’s not it.”
***
Another small stroke of luck hit them when it started raining not long after they arrived at the cabin. As a result, they were able to wash their bodies without having to find a spring. The downside, however, was that they wouldn’t notice unfamiliar footsteps or any signs of imminent presence.
Lil consciously perked up her ears. The rain was gradually easing, yet there were still no suspicious movements.
As the firewood burned, it gave off a warm smell that harmonised with the sound of rain. Lil listened to the drops, feeling like her head was being washed clean.
She looked at Ed, who was sleeping in front of the fireplace. More specifically, she closely watched his rising and falling chest. The outline of his reddish body was illuminated by light. She wanted to confirm at every single moment that his breathing hadn’t stopped.
Stinging tears formed in her tired eyes, which Lil pressed with some force. Her body desperately wanted to sleep, but she couldn’t afford to in their current situation. She couldn’t afford to gamble on a death that might come the moment she fell into a deep sleep.
‘I keep having this ominous feeling… Everything that happened until yesterday suddenly seems like an illusion; our incredibly peaceful daily life. This boring journey. The sunlight that shone through long, thin leaves as if passing through nets. The shiny mane of my horse or the man who sat on his saddle while looking at me…’
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