Seeking Salvation

New Arrival

The nights on the Game Preserve wore short-lived, but Slash and his youngling clans brothers still waited until the sun rose to its fullest the next day to go and free the creature from the net trap they had set up to catch the White Woman.

But when they arrived, they found only a few bones left and a giant puddle of blood underneath the hanging netting where it had been the night before. Whatever had infected it had completely eroded the being into what they looked at now.

Chalking it up as something from one of the planet's plants indigenous to the area, the youngbloods set off to regroup with the other team of young-bloods, who awaited them by their side of the river. When they did, Slash and Dagger and their clan-brother Talon, retold the events of the day before which led to the White Woman's injury.

"She found a river ghost?" One of the other youngbloods questioned, "And what happened to it?"

"Well, we went to free it this morning but it was gone. Just a lot of blood and a couple of bones left." Dagger explained before adding, "Which is odd because it was fine yesterday, if not for whatever was eating away at its flesh."

"Over here, I found the trail." One of the other youngbloods called and they all regrouped once more after splitting up, which consisted of partial footprints; pad, mostly, all right foot. "Seems familiar?"

"Yeah, it was her right leg that got injured," Slash spoke up, and they all started to follow it, being led directly to the abandoned ship that was recounted in the stories and sightings of the White Woman. It led them to the dead-end but veered to the left towards the heavy door which was against the wall still.

The blood pooled slightly next to the heavy door, just a little behind it, and completely vanished. "It ends here but this door is blocking the other set behind it."

"Maybe they slide open? With enough force, we can open it manually since there's no power here anymore." Dagger spoke up and touched the door, "If there's something in there, then we'll have to move this other door."

They unanimously agreed and pushed Slash forward- the runt of the bunch- to try to open the door. Who begrudgingly knelt and was careful not to touch the pool of blood. He caught the seam between the doors and pulled with a grunt as the others watched. The doors opened a bit reluctantly but smoothly, and Slash pulled them fully open and crouched down to look inside. "What's in there, Slash?" Dagger asked, and the other predator looked back at them,

"The White Woman." He said simply, and moved aside, pulling a rag from the tracking of the door which had been the problem in its opening and used it to wipe up the blood. They pushed him aside and all peeked in.

And the White Woman meekly looked back at them. Sitting up in a crude makeshift bed of blankets and thin pillows, her back against the wall behind her for support. A blanket pulled up to her lap as she sat there, the room illuminated; by a single lantern in the corner to her right-hand side. The blanket over her injured leg was bloody, but she tilted her head to the side curiously, perhaps wondering why they were there, though she didn't move much aside from turning her head straight again. "How did she get in there?" "Who cares? She's real!" "How did she even open the doors?" The White Woman continued to watch them, lifting a large chunk of meat to her chin and bit into it, turning her attention away from them to continue eating. It had been one of the foods left for her in the little house. At least they knew she was eating, and a show of appetite was a positive sign.

They withdrew from watching her and circled up, "We should start with the door itself." Dagger offered but Talon countered, "What a stupid idea. Start with the rubble than the door."

Every so often as they argued, one of them would peek in on the White Woman, who sat in her little bed. The extent of her injury was unknown, but she had bled so she was injured. But she didn't leave her spot. The smell of the meats and sweets they had left her to lure her out, slowly wafted out to them as they argued before finally concluding half of them would work on the rubble and the other half would work on moving the door out of the way.