Blood in the Dirt

Chapter 27

Night fell, and Helstan and Emmett drew tired. Helstan simply put his head back and slept in his chair, but Emmett found them too uncomfortable. After snooping around the room, he found an extra set of bedding, and laid it out on the floor. He took off his boots and crawled underneath the blankets.

"You realize if a nurse sees you sleeping there you'll get us both kicked out?" Helstan grumbled.

"Don't you worry, none of them will see me." Helstan rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. He was exhausted, and didn't have enough energy to give the kid a piece of his mind.

They both fell into a sound sleep, and the sun rose before they were ready for it.

Helstan covered his eyes to protect them from the streaks of lighting shining through the windows. They burned as his irises became accustomed to the brightness. He rose from his chair and began stretching. The chair had done wonders to his back.

He heard Emmett groan from behind him. "Close the blinds would ya?"

"Get up. We have things to do." The room filled with the boy's moans of protest, but Helstan ignored him. It took several minutes, but Emmett finally gave up and rolled out of bed.

He began folding the bedding, and as he was putting it away Helstan gasped. "What is it?" Emmett asked. He forced the blankets into the small cupboard and walked over to the man. They both stared out the window, and Emmett laid eyes on what had surprised Helstan.

Emmett's stomach churned.

The sight was horrific. In front of them hung a woman, not one that either of them recognized, but a woman all the same.

"We had better move her. In case Andrea wakes up."

The two ran to the outside of the building, and found it hard to move within a meters distance of her. The stench was putrid, and it took every will in their bodies not to throw up. They cut the woman down, and proceeded to move her to the burial grounds.

Emmett emitted sounds of disgust. "Would you shut up?" Helstan barked. "Your whimpering isn't helping."

Emmett tried to be silent, but he couldn't get over the fact that the woman was sticky. "It's the blood." Helstan had explained, but that didn't help.

After the trek to the grounds, a pair of men took the body off of their hands, and brought her to a grave.

Emmett's spine shivered, and he frantically tried to wipe his hands off on the grass. "Would you stop that?" Emmett stared up at Helstan and rose back to his feet.

"It's disgusting!"

"Then go and wash up properly. You look like a fool."

After he was a few scrubs away from washing away a layer of his skin, Emmett pulled his hands out of the water and began drying them on a nearby towel. He tried to forget the event, but the taste of bile was still prominent in his mouth.

"Do I need to find a doctor for you too? Or are you going to grow up?" Helstan scowled at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad its over."

They walked back to Andrea's room, but the curtains were shut, and the door was locked. "Hey! Let us in!" Emmett began pounding on the door, and then on the windows.

He stopped and waited for a couple of minutes, but when no one opened the door, he started up again. After several minutes, the door opened, and Andrea stood there. "Oh for the love of Pete! Would you stop that abrasive pounding?"

Emmett stopped immediately, and his face lit up. His heart began racing with excitement, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and was almost hopping with joy. "You're okay! You're awake!"