The Creature and the Maiden chapter 10.
The goat drew back, allowing Laura to step forward hesitantly, unsure what to do.
"Um…hello?"
There was no response. She circled around the man until she was standing in front of him, peering down into his face. As she knelt closer to him, her eyes widened in horror as she saw the dried blood on his head. Laura could only stare, frozen with shock.
It was a man, indeed, his face and body was half down, covered by the snow. The same man she had met in the cave. The light of the snow gave her a better view of his appearance. Just like she remembered: his skin being slightly grey and covered in small scars, one large on his forehead. The skin around his eyes was dark and made his eyes look like two hollow spots. He had very high cheekbones and dark black hair, reaching down to his shoulders. His whole body were covered what it looked like to be old clothes and furs, but now with the mess of dried blood and dirt.
Laura delicately turned his body over and was stunned by what she saw. First she thought the wound on his forehead was the only one, but then she saw a deep wound on his shoulder and one on his right leg. They looked deep and the cloth around the wounds was covered in dried blood.
She wasn't as frightened as she thought she would be. But she should fear for her life. She should run and try to get away from him while he wasn't attacking her. She should get help or alert the village. She should be terrified.
But, she wasn't.
"What suffering he must have endured! What torture he must have been through?!" She went down and placed his head into her lap. Gentle caress his cheek with her fingers, touching his wound on his forehead.
The wound she gave him.
He was so cold. In her confusion at its appearance she struggled to come up with a reasonable explanation. He was surely been born like that, maybe he had a bad skin disease, unable to cure and probably been cast out of society. Maybe he was working at some circus and lost his troop during the storm? She remembers a circus she has seen few years ago and the special freak-section, humans showing in front of a laughing or horrified public with their odd and terribly disease and mutations. She didn't like it at all. How they treated them, locking them into a cage and treating them like animals. It made her sick.
Perhaps his was a victim of a bad surgeon. It wasn't unusual for unlicensed doctors to experiment on their own on desperate, poor patients and fail! It seemed the most likely explanation in light of it…his appearance.
Laura has ever felt so much ashamed in her whole life. Thinking back on the small baskets on her doorstep, the buckets of milk, his attempt to explain that he didn't mean any harm, or how she had thrown a rock at him. It was understandable why she panicked but she shouldn't have hit him or screamed at him like that. She was afraid then, and she still was, but together now with emotions of pity, compassion and sadness.
"I'm so sorry" she whispered. But it was too late; he was already dead, either from the cold or the blood loss. She needed to contact Ester and Toby and beg them to carry his body to the graveyard, to give him a proper funeral. They may get some trouble with the priest, she had no idea who he was, his religion or his name but it was the least she could do for him. After all he had done and what she could have done.
The creature felt a hand on his face, his vision black until he opened his eyes. His vision was blurred as he looked to see red hair and a face. It was beautiful as it began to clear. With a shawl around her head and red lock trailing down to her shoulders, eyes closed and tears coming down from her cheeks, she looked like one of the statutes of Mother Mary.
"Moth-"he started before breaking in a violent fit of coughing.
Laura's heart almost stopped and she jumped at the sound of him coughing. She looked, down towards his head which still lay in her lap. Her breaths were shaking as she looked into the deep blue eyes which only half opened seconds before closing again.
She grabbed his wrist to check the strength of his pulse; it was there but very faint. He was alive; only unconscious! Immediately she reached out and checked out his arms, legs and rib cages, making sure there were nothing broken.
No broken bones, only the wounds. But he was cold and suddenly he started to shake like crazy.
Laura tried to shake him awake
" Please, Wake up please… WAKE UP!"
His body was ice cold and it was critical. She needed to get them into a shelter fast and get him warm before it was too late. Inching closer, Laura swallowed and slid one of her arms around his shoulders, her other hand grabbing his arm and then tried to lift him up. But his weight was too heavy and she had to drop him down to the cold snow.
What should she do? There was no time to run and seek help, he would be eaten by wolfs or freeze to death before she could reach the Bovary's cottage.
Lucinda bleated and nudged the creatures´ body gently. Laura saw the long loose rope hanging around her neck and came up with an idea.
Taking the edge of the rope, she circled it around mans chest, under his arms and tied it. She pulled off her shawl and tied it together with the rope, making it two edges. It was going to be hard but she had no choice.
"Alright Lucinda, you found him and now you must help him, pull as much as you can." She said and started to drag Creature. With a bleat Lucinda understood and started to move. He was very heavy but they managed to move him bit by bit. Handling his body that way was a bit harsh but she had no choice, luckily he would remain unconscious until they reached the cottage.
A fierce wind was blowing through the air, and the temperature continued to drop, already set at twenty degrees. This, however, did not stop Laura from dragging her heavy burden to safety. The snow was coming down pretty hard as she struggled. Her hands were slowly getting numb, snowflakes landing on her hair and shoulders and without her shawl she began to shiver.
It didn't take a long time before they reached her cottage. But the wind had started to blow harder snow whirling around them. Laura started shivering uncontrollably as she slowly made her way into the cottage, just as the storm hit them with a full force making the windows vibrate with the force of it. She moved the rope off from Lucinda and with the last of her strength she pulled the stranger up into her bed. Lucinda, happy to be free from the heavy burden, shook off the snow and then laid down comfortably under the table.
Wet and cold, shaking like a leaf and barely able feel her toes; Laura rushed to the cabin to light up a fire. She was almost unable use the sticks. Her hands were shaking so bad and she couldn't tell if it was from being cold or the nerve-racking situation. It was awkward, she was totally alone with a stranger and a goat in a cottage in a middle of a storm, no one could reach her now and there was no possibility to reach Ester and Toby. She managed to light up the fire and place a small cauldron with snow over the fire to get some hot water.
"I'll try to get something for the wounds and something to warm you up." Laura said, trying to get some control and courage, even he didn't hear her. She rushed the chest beside the bed and opened it.
"Damn!
The only things left were an old blanket and a small pillow, she had taken all her clothes and things to the Bovary's house, the blanket was one of the few things she left behind. It`s was very worn-out but it was better than nothing. She glanced up to the shelves. They were almost empty, only few jars were left and she sighed gratefully when she saw the jar she needed the most. She grabbed blanket and the jar and ran back to the bed, there was no time to waste. Making sure he was still alive, she went down and placed her head on his chest, his heart beat just slightly but he was alive and breathing.
"We have to get you out of these wet clothes." She murmured and lifted him off the bed and pulled his cloak and his shirts over his head. He whore many shirts and she let the last and dry shirt remain on his body. Laura winced at the sight of his scars.
One scar trailed around his throat and went all down to his belly. Scars covered both his arms and the skin looked like it had been ripped off in pieces and stitched back again. It looked quite horrid! But at least It didn't look infected or injured. The cause of pain and blood lost were the wounds on his arm, leg and the forehead where she had hit him. She didn't dare to remove his pants but she ripped off the fabric from his right leg. In a meager attempt to stop the bleeding, Laura could see that he had bound his leg with pieces of thin cloth, probably from his cloak. The wound were raw and starting to bleed again. Laura finished removing his wet clothes as fast as she could.
Except the wound of his head, she didn't know where he got his other injuries but she had her suspicions.
"I need to warm him up quickly before he freezes to death, but first the wounds". Laura remembered how her grandmother taught her and she know exactly what to do. He seemed to have lost a fair amount of blood. She treated his leg as best as she could. She whispered to him that he would be alright and trying to stay calm and her mind clear. She used hot water to clean the wounds from dirt, placing healing salve over it and used her shawl to bandage it.
When she was finished she placed the blanket over him, tucking it in along the contours of his body to capture heat. Then she removed her wet dress and hanged over the fire together with the strangers. Then went down and milked Lucinda and placed the cauldron again over the fire to warm it up. She stretched her body out and proceeded to warm herself in front of the fire a moment. Outside, the wind howled and the snow continued to fall thickly. The fire has warmed up the room a little but she was still shivering in her damp undergarments. She wasn't cold as him but she felt that if she didn`t get herself dried and warm, she would catch a cold and end up like him.
While looking into the fire, Laura's eyes felt unbearably heavy, and no matter what she did and she caught her head falling forward several times. When the milk was enough warm, she poured it into a cup and went back to the bed and sat next beside him. She saw that his breath was heavy and his eyes under his eyelids were moving. Tilting his head up with her arm, she placed the cup to his lips she pour the milk into his mouth. He coughed and the milk drizzled down his chin. She wiped it away. Patting his back softy like a child Laura tried again. This time he responded.
"That's it. A little more," Laura encouraged, tipping the cup and allowing him another sip.
Lying between sleep and wakefulness, he could hear things but his eyes were still closed and his mind felt blurred. There was a fire burning next to him, and he could fell its warmth. He couldn't tell exactly what was going on. Maybe he was dead and had come to blissful heaven; didn't he just see Mother Mary just a few seconds ago?
No, it can't be?! He was created by human hands, not by God. Someone like him would never be allowed to walk through the gates of heaven, only through the pits of Hell. Yes, he must be in Hell!
But something warm was brought to his mouth. He tried to take it in, but his body wouldn't cooperate. A small arm came around his back and lifted him up a little. He muffled a cry as he felt the pain of his wounds. Smooth fingers brushed at his cheeks. His eyelids fluttered, he tried to open his eyes, but he didn't even have the energy to do that. Once again, the warm liquid was brought up to his lips, his mouth opened just a little and the warm fluid entered her mouth.
It tasted delicious. It felt amazing going down his dry and cold throat. It was really good and he drank eagerly. But he found himself a little too eager and started choking a bit. The same hand on his back patted it softly until he stopped. He didn't know who was helping him; but whoever it was, they was very gentle. He had never felt like this before. His body was still cold, he couldn't feel his legs and arms and suddenly. He started to shake, teeth's chattering as he drifted back into darkness. Far, far, away he heard a voice calling.
Laura was glad that the poor stranger was still alive. He was able to drink some of the warm milk, but once again he went back into unconscious, shaking like a leaf.
"No, stay awake! You need to stay awake!"
She grabbed his shoulders and started to shake him, slap his face and rub his body, tugging the blanket tighter around him. He stopped shaking but still in deep sleep. She sat beside him, forcing herself to stop chattering her teeth and her body to relax to keep from shivering. She had his damp cape wrapped over her body, but it didn't feel terribly effective in keeping her warm. It wasn't bad, but it was easy to tell it was going to get worse. The wood for the fire was limited and it was getting colder and colder. It was impossible to go outside with the storm howling around the cottage. The night has fallen over them and going outside would be suicide!
She checked out his body temperature again. The blanket hadn't given him as much warmth as she thought it would and his face looked paler than ever. Not to mention his lips were turning blue. That was no good! Her grandmother had explained to her and she was certain she had recognized the symptoms; "Cold body temperature, slow movements, blue skin and lips (well he was pale before), shivering stopped, no response"
And herself; Irritability, fatigue, headache, hard shivering. To make sure, she tried to touch her thumb with her little finger, but could barely do it.
"I`m going in the second stage of deep cold and he is maybe in the third, there is no more wood and it`s getting even colder!" The air has started to get colder and she could see her own breath coming out from her mouth.
"How the hell do you cure deep cold? She thought desperately, thinking back what her grandmother told her.
Four years ago, Laura had fallen through the ice when she was walking over the frozen river. The ice-cold water had hit her like thousands nails. They were too far from the cottage and grandmother had lit up a fire, took of Laura's wet clothes and used her own body temperature to warm her up. To calm the little girl, Isabelle softly rubbed her cold body and brushed her wet hair with her shawl saying;
"Remember Laura, when a person has been exposed to the cold for a long time and they have stopped shaking, you need to warm them up slowly. Exposing them to hot temperature can give the opposite effect. You're shaking because it`s the way for your body to gain warmth, it`s good but only temporary. If the person doesn't get warm and dry in time, his body will stop shaking, get stiff and eventually go into a coma. But even they look dead and the body is very cold, there is still chance to save them. It depends if the inner organs are still warm. All you need to do is warm them up slowly. But if the cold have reached the heart, there is nothing you can do." "Has the cold reached my heart", the girl whimpered. "No", Isabelle smiled and kissed Laura's forehead and hold her closer in her arms. "You are far from danger and I can feel your body is getting warmer; just remember what I said. The best way to cure deep cold is to use you own body temperature to warm the person up, like I do to you.
"Your own BODY!" she exclaimed, blushing when she realized that she needed to do.
"I can't do it", she said looking down at the strangers body. Taking care of his wounds, cleaning him up and touching his body with her hands was one thing. Stripping herself and him down and wrapping them into a blanket and use body heat to warm them was definitely another. She didn't even know him! Of course he wouldn't do her any harm while he`s sleeping. But what would happen when he woke up; what might he do to her then? That made her nervous; she didn't trust him completely but she didn't distrust him either.
Laura continued to sit on the chair and remained there for several minutes. The temperature had dropped again and the longer she sat there, the more the warmth of the only blanket seemed appealing.
If they didn't get warm now, they'd never get warm. The stranger's condition was worsening, and she couldn't sit here and watch.
She had no choice. But first in last attempt to keep the fire alive, she took one of the wooden chairs, clumsily broke it into pieces and threw it into the glowing embers. Walking back she started to take off the rest of his chemise, Her hands were shaking so bad that she didn't know if it was from being cold or the nervousness of the situation.
Taking a deep breath, like she was going under water, she slowly crawled up to the bed, placing the blanket over them. As soon as she felt his bare skin up against hers a shiver went down her spine. She remained still for a moment, then she wrapped her arms around him and started rub his body with hers trying to ignore what it might look like in another perspective. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her face and the heat of his skin. She looked away awkward laughing.
"And I promised granny not lay in bed with a man before my wedding night."
She called out Lucinda and the goat who jumped happily into the bed laying beside them, giving her fur to warm them up.
"For this time only! I refuse to make it a habit"
Within moments, the trio lay curled up together, warm and safe, protected from the powerful storm outside.