Outlander Reversed

One

May, 2014

        Catalooche, Haywood County, North Carolina

Jamie’d no notion of how much Time’d passed since he’d faded from consciousness–it coulda been mere minutes, or it coulda been Days–but one thing became abundantly clear as Awareness started to filter back in. Rather than laying on the hard, unyielding ground as he had when he’d first passed out, he now lay on something soft enough to make the word bed come to his mind.

        Cracking open his eyes, he let the Light of what he thought was a Candle filter in a bit before daring to open them completely. When he did, he wasn’t disappointed to realize that he was, in fact laying in a bed–although, whose was a Mystery. But that was when the alarm started to kick in, the questions started to pour through his brain in a flood.

        If he’d lost consciousness somewhere in the Woods, who’d found the ginger man and dragged him to where he now lay? Did that person mean him further harm, or were they someone he could at least half-heartedly call a friend? More importantly than either of those things, where was he now, since he was obviously in some sorta shelter? Hopefully, the answer to that last question was somewhere far away from Fort William and its rather sadistic commanding officer, one Captain Randall. The Thought of falling right back into his clutches made him shiver violently, and not ’cuz he was even the slightest bit cold.

        That made Jamie realize that–even if he was in the presence of a friendly stranger–whoever’d found him was obviously as distrusting as he. His shiver’d rattled a chain relatively close by, and glancing up over his head made him realize his good arm’d been shackled to the bed he lay in. Course, this shackle was like no other manacle he’d ever seen before–and he’d seen quite a bit of that horrific Iron during his imprisonment at Fort William. It was fairly thin and appeared to be made of Silver, but every bit as sturdy when he gave it an experimental yank.

        Glancing down over himself with a resigned sigh as he realized he wasn’t freeing himself, he was a bit surprised. Not only’d he been stripped of kilt, tartan, stockings, boots, and linen shirt, but he’d been bathed by whoever’d found him. His flesh was no longer caked and smeared with Dirt and dry mud, and his hair also no longer felt plastered to his head. Maybe it wasn’t clean enough to be considered silky-smooth–he couldn’t tell since he couldn’t really lift his head enough to shake out the coppery strands. But what told him that it likely was that clean for the first Time in quite a while was the fact that his scalp no longer itched like it was infested with lice or fleas. That was something he’d have to thank his savior for, if and when they finally deigned to show their faceta him.

        But the next most important thing the ginger man realized was the current state of his left–Dominant–arm. It still ached quite a bit, as did the corresponding shoulder, but it wasn’t shrieking with agony like it’d been earlier. Equally important was that it’d been strapped to him so that it was crossed over his bare chest, his hand resting on the opposite side of his abdomen.

        Hearing a soft noise on the other side of the door from the room he was in, Jamie fervently Wished he could reach the dirk that’d been on his belt when he’d passed out. Even if it made his injured shoulder momentarily scream again, at least being able to wield it’d offer him some protection, if whatever’d made the Sound meant him harm. For that matter, being able to wield it right-handed woulda been better than his current state–he was Naturally left-handed, but he’d been forced to learn how to do a great many things with his right hand as a wean.

        Staring at that door with wide, Sky-blue eyes that’d temporarily Darkened to match the Sea, he Willed his breathing into a steady rhythm. Those eyes watched as the handle finally turned slowly, and he couldn’t help the tension that’d hardened his body as it finally swung open. But he damn sure wasn’t expecting the sight that greeted him once it was open, which made him cross his legs since there weren’t any other options for hiding his nudity.