I'll Be Back

Kill Or Be Killed

Lisa's not sure how long they've been traveling. She feels her body getting sicker and sicker with the infection from her stab wounds. Everything seems to be passing by in a blur as she sits atop the horse. Her and the older Reaper don't talk at all really. They just move in silence, opposite sides of the same war just trying to get home. She's watched the scenery change as they continue to move. They are now traveling through a snowy area, the snow thick and cold, the wind blistering. Lisa keeps her head down as she grips the saddle. She tries to go through her head to figure out how long they've been traveling. She guesses possibly a couple weeks. They are moving slowly, but effectively. It's definitely a lot better than if she had been on her own limping her way to home base. As they continue through the snow, Lisa begins to feel light headed. The sickness eating away at her and exhaustion from traveling catching up to her. Her head starts to lull as she feels herself getting hot. She then starts seeing flashes of white and her vision blurs. She feels herself lose her grip and starts sliding off the side of the horse, but she's too weak to hold on and she hits the snow with a thump. The Reaper is by her side in seconds, checking her over and putting his hand to her forehead.

"Yu bitam haken. Gaf in reshwe." (You are very sick. We need rest.) He tells her in his thick accent. He surprises her by hoisting her up and over his shoulders. He grabs the reins once more and begins moving them into a cluster of thin trees. He ties the horse up at one of the trees and takes off its saddle. He then grabs his bear fur blanket and lays it on the ground before laying Lisa on it. He takes a hatchet and starts cutting limbs down. Lisa goes in and out of sleep as he continues to cut limbs. Before she knows it, a small hut made for one is standing. He grabs Lisa and lays her inside on her stomach. Lisa falls back asleep once more as he starts building a fire just outside the entrance of the door. She wakes once more as he's heating rocks and then placing them in the snow to generate steam into the hut. He then climbs into the hut and hesitantly removes Lisa's shirt so he can look at her back. Once he removes it, he studies her back. She feels his fingertips grazing over some of the wounds and then feels a cold sensation run down the sides. She peeks and sees it's not blood running out of one of the wounds, it's pus. Lisa groans and lays her head back down.

"Ai souda kot op haken." (I must cut out the infection) he murmurs. Lisa squeezes her eyes shut for a moment then reopens. She then sees him move out of the hut. She frowns, confused on why he's leaving but doesn't have the energy to speak up. She drifts off to sleep once more and then awakens to the Reaper being back. He's mixing something in a metal, what looks like military issued, cup. He looks up and meets Lisa's eyes, smiling. He then moves over to turn Lisa onto her side, he brings the cup to her lips and she starts drinking the strange concoction. She chokes on it at first, sputtering and coughing, until it starts to flow down smoothly. She feels light and airy after it enters her system. She looks at the Reaper with questioning eyes. "O sis au ai kot op." (Will help for when I cut) Lisa nods. He waits a few moments for Lisa to get settled once more on her stomach. Lisa feels almost like she has a drunken buzz. For all she knows that's exactly what she has. She then feels the point of the knife poking her skin. She tenses a little as she waits for him to start carving out her skin. She feels it sink in a couple inches and she groans, having a slight flashback to when the Reaper had been driving the knife towards her heart. He then starts to drag it and Lisa yells out in agony. She can feel it cutting her skin and can feel the pus and blood pouring out of her. He stops for a moment as Lisa bitterly laughs as her eyes begin to water, she's panting trying to get her breathing under control. After a few moments he starts once more and Lisa yells out again, feeling that burning sensation as he continuously drags the knife to cut out the infected areas of skin.

It continues like that for awhile. Crying out, stopping for a moment, resuming, crying out, repeat. Finally she feels him shift to put the knife down. He grabs some sort of leaves she's never seen before and he wets them. He places them on her back and presses them on the now healthy flesh. He moves back out of the hut to the fire and starts mixing another concoction into the metal cup. He re-enters and lifts Lisa's chin to have her take sips of the same concoction he had given her earlier. Soon it's empty and sleep begins to pull her away.