The Inspector's eyes conveyed something that MoominMama couldn't quite comprehend. The man was a very intelligent gentleman, despite some blind assumptions in the past. So to see the thoughts racing through his mind as he examined Snufkin's injured, vulnerable body, was more than just a little frightening for Mama.

"Yes, I see." He mumbled quietly. Mama leaned closer, hoping to get a translation of the unspoken words on the detective's face, "What is it?" The Inspector shook his head sadly, "Snufkin is lucky to be alive. Or rather, he is lucky that your son found him when he did. I've never seen anything this horrible. In fact, I don't believe our station is equipped to deal with this sort of crime." Mama gasped and covered her mouth, "Oh, dear! Well, there is something you can do, right Inspector?"

"Hmmm..." He thought, eyes wandering over the vagabond's injuries again. "I will need to call the Chief Constable and inform him that we will be needing backup." He slowly stood up from his spot beside the mumrik. "And I will also send for a doctor from the neighboring city. It may take a few days for them to arrive, but I could ask for medical advice in the meantime." Mama nodded gratefully. "Oh, thank you, Inspector!"


Several hours later, MoominPapa and his group of young investigators approached the house.

Mama had since redressed all of Snufkin's wounds with clean bandages and placed the blankets back over his shivering frame. Now she sat on the sofa, sewing a simple nightgown for the boy. This wasn't the first time she had replaced one of his garments before, and it seemed the young man never grew, be it upward or outward, so she had very little need to remeasure him for these pajamas. Which was good because she really didn't wish to disturb him any more than he already has been. With wounds like those, it's best not to move the patient as much as can be avoided until they're more stable.

When Papa opened the door, and the cold winter's air wafted into the house, Mama shivered slightly and looked up to greet her son and husband. You could imagine her shock as Papa and Moomin were followed by Little My, Sniff, and SnorkMaiden.

"Goodness me. What on earth on you three doing here?" Her eyes moved to Papa, and then to Snufkin. Papa sighed one of those, "I'll explain later" sighs.

Moomin wasted no time in trotting over to retake his place next to his best friend. His three friends followed him just as eagerly, saying things like, "Oh, Snufkin!" "There he is!" and "He looks better than I thought he would." The last one was Little My, and to that, Moomin, Mama, and Papa winced. The majority of the vagabond's ailments were hidden beneath the thick quilts that covered his body. And so, looking at him from this perspective it would certainly appear that he looked much better than the campsite would have suggested.

But the Moomins knew better.

Mama placed her needle and thread in her lap and called to the children, "Would anyone like some tea?"


Everyone sat in the living room, mostly around the tea table as Mama and Papa had stated that they shouldn't surround Snufkin so he could have space to breathe. The children sipped on their tea and chatted away, seemingly in an attempt to make themselves feel less upset about their journey to the campsite. But it didn't work very well, as they kept glancing over to Snufkin whenever he started gasping for air.

Moomin was the only one who had been permitted to sit next to the traveler, and no one complained that he was. He didn't drink any tea, and he didn't engage in the discussions of the other children. His eyes never left Snufkin.

Little My folded her arms and huffed, deciding this was enough. "I say we have a stakeout tonight and find the guy responsible for this!" Moomin finally looked up at his group of friends, "A stake-out?" Little My nodded, "Yeah! At the campsite! Criminals always go back to the scene of the crime! I read that in a mystery novel once, and they caught the culprit!"

SnorkMaiden shivered at the thought, "But that was a book, and you can't believe everything you read in stories! Besides, why would you ever want to go back to that horrible place?" Her eyes watered at the memory of it. Moomin frowned greatly, regretting not fighting harder to make sure his friends didn't come with him and Papa.

Little My rolled her eyes as if SnorkMaiden's argument was invalid, "To catch the criminal, of course! Weren't you listening?" Sniff fiddled with his tail, "B-b-b-but! We can't go back there! What if the killer comes back?" "That's the idea, Sniff!" Little My tapped her foot in annoyance at her friends.

It was then that Papa walked into the room, "Absolutely not! You will all be staying away from that place, and you will not go after this criminal. It's too dangerous!" Little My clenched her fists, "But Papa-" "No but's! You heard me!"

Papa watched the children as they shifted uncomfortably under his orders. He frowned, then spoke in a much softer voice, "Listen. I know this is hard for everyone. Snufkin is a dear friend to us all, and if anyone understands the desire to catch this criminal, I do. But this is just too dangerous for children. Going to the campsite in the day, with a grown-up no less, was difficult enough. I couldn't imagine you four able to stomach it at night. And that's not even mentioning how badly you could get hurt on just the hike up there and back. The forest is very unsafe at night, even without a criminal on the loose."

Moomin's eyes drifted back to Snufkin. He knew Snufkin was a strong person, physically and mentally. But now all Moomin could think was about Snufkin being in the woods at night, running for his life, trying to escape a horrible person who wanted to hurt him. Moomin's fists shook in his lap.


The children had all decided they were going to have a sleepover. It started when the sun had begun to set, and Moomin had refused to leave Snufkin's side to go to bed. Mama had figured that it would be alright if Moomin slept downstairs on the sofa and kept an eye on the vagabond throughout the night, and that allowance had become an invitation for the other three friends to do the same.

Of course, MoominPapa had offered to go inform Snork and Mymble that their little ones would be with the Moomins. This wouldn't typically be needed, but since there was unrest among the community Mama and Papa thought it would be best.

Mama helped the children place their blankets and pillows across the living room. Each of them had requested to be somewhere that they could see Snufkin if they woke up in the middle of the night.

It was now dark, and everyone rested quietly in the house. But it soon became apparent that sleeping next to Snufkin would be more challenging than they had anticipated. The mumrik's breathing was very unsettling, especially in the dark. When one wasn't worrying that he would stop breathing, the sound of his rasping gasps and wheezing inhales laid an aura of fear around the group.

Fear for different reasons depending on the child. Sniff and SnorkMaiden jumped each time Snufkin made an unnatural noise, nearly convinced they were about to be ambushed by the killer. Little My would doze off and then wake up suddenly when Snufkin starting gasping for air. And Moomin... Being in this silence, laying next to his friend who's head was turned away from him, was enough to amplify Moomin's terror that Snufkin would stop breathing. And though it pained him greatly to hear Snufkin struggling so much to breathe, it reassured him that Snufkin was still breathing at all.

They tried their hardest to fall asleep, knowing that Snufkin couldn't cease his noises. Somehow they managed to drift into an unpleasant slumber. Moomin was the last to fall asleep, and it didn't come without a fight.


Moomin stood in the forest, looking over the campsite. It was just as terrible as it was the last time he saw it. Moomin thought he was going to throw up again, but before he could he was stopped by the sound of someone screaming. His ears perked up.

Snufkin! That was Snufkin's voice!

Moomin's feet were moving before he could even register that they were, but no matter fast he ran he wasn't going anywhere. The campsite surrounded him. Snufkin screamed again, "Moomin! Help me!" Moomin tried to force his feet to move faster. "I'm coming, Snufkin!"

"Moomin, please! He's hurting me!"

Snufkin screamed a horrible, blood-curdling scream.

"SNUFKIN!" Moomin shouted. His legs threatened to stop moving. They were so tired, but he couldn't stop. He had to save Snufkin!

"Snufkin! Hold on! I'm coming!"

There was no reply.

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

The sound of Moomins rapid heartbeat filled the forest, echoing off the bloody trees. There were no other sounds.

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

Snufkin stepped out of the darkness. His body was broken and torn. Bleeding and mangled.

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

Moomin threw his hands out to reach for him, but he was too far away. "Snufkin!"

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

Snufkin reached his arm out to Moomin in return. But they were too far apart. "Moomin..." His soft voice threatened death, and just as silently as he approached, his body fell to the ground.

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

Snufkin's harmonica fell from his hand and slid to Moomin's feet which had since stopped obeying Moomin at all and were stood perfectly still on the blood-soaked ground.

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

"Snufkin! No! Get back up! Please, Snufkin!"

Bah-boom.

Bah-boom.

But the boy didn't move.

Bah-bo-...

The sound of Moomin's heartbeat stopped.

There was silence.

...

It was then that he realized he wasn't hearing his own heartbeat.

...

It was Snufkin's.


"Snufkin...! Snufkin...!" Moomin mumbled in his sleep rather loudly, Little My thought. She hated being a light sleeper, but sometimes she was grateful for it. Like now. She sat up and crawled over to Moomin. He didn't need to suffer a nightmare in his sleep. Not when being awake in MoominValley this winter was already a nightmare.

"Moomin. Hey, Moomin! Wake up!" She shook his shoulders with both her hands. "Snufkin, please..." He cried softly into his pillow. Little My huffed and shook harder, "Moomin! Wake up! You're keeping me awake with all your mumbling!"

Moomin's eyes snapped open. He looked at Little My, eyes wide and full of tears. If Little My could see herself, she'd surely have hated the look of concern that she let wash over her face at the sight of Moomin's tears. But that sympathy didn't stay at the surface for long, because suddenly Moomin pushed her off him and scrambled away.

"Hey!" Little My shouted, falling on her rump. "That was rude!" She declared to no one in particular, and to be honest she didn't care if she got an apology. She just watched as Moomin clambered over to Snufkin and gently took his arm into his paws.

Little My tilted her head in curiosity as she realized that Moomin was checking Snufkin's pulse. She didn't notice she was holding her breath until Moomin let out a sigh of relief. She had to actively try to make an annoyed look when she spoke, "You know you can still hear him breathing, right?"

It was true. The sounds of Snufkin's aching lungs, and most certainly cracked and dried throat working together to keep their friend alive, still filled the room with an eerie ambiance.

Moomin slowly shook his head, "I-I know, Little My. B-but..." He trailed off, finding it too difficult to talk through his panicked stuttering. Little My frowned, thankful that it was too dark for Moomin to really see her face all that well. "Moomin, Snufkin is fine. You saved him, didn't you? And Mama patched him right up. I bet you in a few days he'll be up and walking around." She tilted her head back to show her confidence.

And she truly believed it. Mumriks were resilient, especially Snufkin. There's no way this would keep him down. He didn't even look that bad.

The image of the campsite flashed in her mind, and her mouth tightened into a deep frown. Snufkin had to be way more injured under those blankets than he looked. Otherwise, there couldn't be an explanation for all that blood at the campsite, or even leading up to it. She really hoped that a lot of that blood was Snufkin's attacker, and not Snufkin's.

Shaking her head slightly to remove the thoughts from her mind, she turned to look at Moomin hoping he didn't catch her momentary lapse in attention. But Moomin didn't seem to care at all what Little My was doing. His eyes were fixed on Snufkin, looking sad and more worried than Little My thought Moomin should ever have to convey.

She crossed her arms and huffed, "Didn't you hear me? He'll be better in no time! You'll see!" Moomin was still holding Snufkin's hand in his own fluffy paw. "I sure hope so." That was all he said before the two silently laid down and drifted back to sleep.

Moomin didn't let go of Snufkin's hand all night.


When the sun began to shine through the window panes, the snores of the Moomin house residents filled the morning, accompanying the noises of nature that greeted the daylight.

Moomin didn't have another nightmare that night. In fact, he had dreamt of having coffee on the veranda with Snufkin during a warm summer day. Snufkin's face was bright and calm, no sign of any pain. They had spoken about what they were going to do that day. Maybe go fishing by the lake, or look for worms in the mud. Moomin remembered having made Snufkin laugh a couple of times. It was a beautiful sound that carried in the summer breeze, putting Moomin's mind at ease.

It was a much better sound than the one he awoke to. A gurgling, crackling wheeze that cut off halfway through just to be replaced by a desperate, panicked gasp and several sharp inhales. This was the sound Moomin recognized as Snufkin. No laughter, no playful comments where Snufkin's voice changed an octave higher or lower than where it started, and no lovely music that Moomin could listen to all day.

Moomin hadn't opened his eyes yet. He listened to the horrible breathing, trying to feel grateful that it there. Not because he wanted it, but because it meant Snufkin had made it through another night. That in itself was something to celebrate. Snufkin's life was too beautiful to suffocate.

Moomin slowly opened his eyes, prepared enough to not panic when he would see his best friend's face. He was ready to see a dull, pale, broken and seemingly lifeless Snufkin, laying on the floor under various quilts.

Brown. A deep, dark brown.

What?

Moomin blinked tiredly, trying to figure out what he was staring at. The dark brown slowly blinked back.

Moomin's eyes widened, and he quickly sat up. Snufkin's dark brown eyes followed him.

Awake! Snufkin was awake! Moomin smiled an enormous smile and leaned closer to Snufkin. "Snufkin?" The vagabond weakly smiled back, eyes nearly shutting as he did. Snufkin's hand twitched in Moomin's paw. Moomin looked down at it, startled. He had completely forgotten he was still holding it. Maybe that's why he had such a good dream.

Moomin reluctantly let go of his friend's hand, "Hang on, Snufkin. Let me get you something to drink!" Moomin was up and in the kitchen in seconds, fetching a cup to fill with water. He listened to Snufkin's wheezing as he poured the water from the pitcher and made his way back into the living room.

Snufkin hadn't moved, but his eyes were still slitted open. He didn't appear focused on anything and Moomin wondered if he knew where he was. Kneeling down, Moomin placed the water on the floor. Maybe he should get a straw for the mumrik, that way he wouldn't need to sit up as much to swallow the drink.

"Snufkin. How are you feeling?" Moomin spoke gently and softly. He didn't want to hurt Snufkin in case he had a headache. Moomin imagined that losing so much blood would give anyone a headache for several weeks. He was glad he thought of this too because even his soft-spoken words seemed to cause Snufkin pain.

Snufkin furrowed his brow and grit his teeth as Moomin spoke. Moomin waited, watching the vagabond reopen his eyes and try to smile at Moomin again. The smile was so unfitting on his face that Moomin almost wished that Snufkin wouldn't do it. Not just anyone could have identified how fake that smile was, but Moomin wasn't just anyone. He was Snufkin's best friend, and as such, he knew that Snufkin was only smiling to make Moomin feel better and not that Snufkin actually felt anything less than horrid.

But despite Moomin's disapproval of the use of Snufkin's smile, he did feel better to see one- even a fake one- grace this terrible winter. It almost made the stitches and bandages look a little less appalling on that face that should never be so hurt. So Moomin smiled back, as sweetly, and as genuinely as he could. Snufkin seemed to appreciate that as a look of contentment established itself over him and he reclosed his eyes.

Moomin waited for them to reopen. And he waited some more. But they didn't open again, and Moomin began to wonder if Snufkin went back to sleep. He didn't mind if he did, but he would have liked to stay up with his friend for a bit longer, even if they didn't say anything and simply smiled at each other. That would have put Moomin's mind at ease, but he supposed he could make do with the brief moment they had. He was already feeling better.

Though, he was still somewhat nervous. The nightmare he had before Little My woke him up was awful. And even though Moomin knew it wasn't real, and that Snufkin was safe and sound right in front of him... It plagued him. Because his dream wasn't that far from reality.

"Moomin, help me."

That feeling of powerlessness, as Snufkin screamed. Powerless as he listened to the sounds of agony as Snufkin's body was cut with knives and thrown down hills. Powerless as Snufkin called out to him for help, and Moomin couldn't even keep him from hitting the ground. Moomin shuttered to think what would have happened to Snufkin had Moomin not woken up when his dear friend was blowing whatever energy he had left into his harmonica- because Moomin imagined Snufkin's throat was probably too pained from screaming to yell for help.

Moomin reached for Snufkin's hand again and held it firmly. Moomin thought that Snufkin shouldn't worry now, though. Because MoominValley was going to protect Snufkin. Moomin was going to protect Snufkin. Moomin wasn't going to let anyone hurt his friend again. Snufkin didn't deserve the pain he was in.


Once everyone was awake- excluding Snufkin- Moomin told them all about his short interaction with the mumrik this morning. Everyone was pleased that he had woken up, and Mama even said that must mean he was healing quickly. She prepared a large breakfast that morning, and this time everyone had an appetite.

Later in the day, Mama was called out to the station to speak with the Inspector. He had a doctor on the station's landline and wished for Mama to discuss Snufkin's condition with her. Papa had decided to come along so he could talk with the Inspector about the investigation.

Meanwhile, Moomin and the others stayed at the house. Sniff, Little My, and SnorkMadien wandered in and out of the house, playing for short periods of time before coming back inside to check on Moomin who was sitting beside Snufkin. He was waiting for Snufkin to wake up again, and refused to leave his side no matter how long it took, and no matter how fun the games he was presented with.

Eventually, the other three decided to play inside so that Moomin could sit next to Snufkin and be a part of their activities. It's not that Sniff, Little My, or SnorkMaiden weren't worried about Snufkin too. But they were also concerned that letting Moomin worry for too long was going to make him sick. Moomin had a bad habit of getting physically ill when he was emotionally distressed for too long.

So the friends all worked together to pull Moomins mind away from the worry even if only for brief moments. They didn't need two incapacitated friends.

When Mama and Papa arrived home, Mama informed them that they would be moving Snufkin upstairs to the guest room. She had gotten expert advice from a very intelligent doctor, who had said her colleague was already on her way to MoominValley.

Mama had even asked about the strange wound above Snufkin's heart. Without examining it, the doctor had no certainty of what it could have been. But fortunately, from Mama's description of it, the doctor thought maybe it had just been a mark of impalement from an unusually circular rock or branch. So there was no need to worry if it didn't go deep enough to harm the muscles underneath Snufkin's dermis layer of skin.


Snufkin hadn't woken up when he was moved, which concerned everyone. Particularly Moomin. It wasn't a secret that Snufkin was a very light sleeper, even more so than Little My, so his deep slumber as he was carried by MoominPapa was unnerving, though somewhat expected.

The Moomins had wished everyone goodnight and sent them home before the sun fell below the horizon. Mama and Papa wanted them all to get inside before it got dark, so now it was just the Moomins and Snufkin once again.

Moomin had pulled up a chair next to Snufkin's bed and was resting his arms on the mattress next to his friend's shoulder. Snufkin's breathing was still just as painful to listen to as before, but having an actual bed under him seemed to ease the difficulties a little bit. Moomin was thankful for this.

He couldn't wait for the doctor to get to MoominValley so Snufkin could be properly treated. He remembered Mama saying that the doctor over the telephone had thought perhaps Snufkin's rib cage was broken and it was crushing one of his lungs, and maybe that was why his breathing was so problematic. If the doctor could fix Snufkin's breathing, Moomin was certain his friend would heal so much faster.

Cough.

Cough.

Moomin hadn't realized he had been dozing off until he heard Snufkin coughing. His eyes opened quickly and he turned to see Snufkin, coughing rather harshly, and blinking rapidly in between the coughs.

Standing up, he placed a gentle hand on Snufkin's shoulder, "Hang on, Snufkin! Let me get you some water! Don't fall back to sleep this time!" He watched Snufkin nod before he started coughing again, and Moomin rushed from the room.

He didn't even see the shadowed face peering into the guest room window. Nor the yellow stained eyes, narrowing, and focusing on Snufkin who was now alone and defenseless.

...

It grinned...