Chapter 11: New
After the attempts of returning back up to the tower building and back to resting, Gwenn who was still in bad condition. Kayla only lumbered down and almost fell due to the decayment of the floor boarding over the 11 years that have passed had only made her think otherwise of meeting a severe end.
As she hung there with the support of a familiar grasp that had yet rescued her once more, Kayla had glanced down, realizing how truly far down the room to the ground was, which was occasionally very far down and would leave severe broken bones from the fall, or worse. She returned her look up with a soft smile of seeing the familiar face of Gwenn himself.
"I swear...what the hell am I gonna do with you…" Gwenn growled weakly, struggling to even hold Kayla due to his weak condition. Kayla noticed he was using one arm, whilst using the rest of his body as support to prevent them both from tumbling down due to his current condition that she clearly noticed very well still, and in fact he was using his still partially injured arm, well shoulder from the previous gunshot a few days back.
He was having a difficult time even raising her up, though he managed as she also made it easier for him, grabbing onto the ledge with her other hand and lifting herself up with his help. Soon as she was on the graceful safety of the ground, she immediately embraced Gwenn, wrapping her arms around him and this of course surprised him slightly as usual, as well as confused him though.
"Get home you idiot…" Kayla began, "I'm so glad you're ok." She added, letting go of him before coming to realization. "Wait… how did you even find me?" She questioned him, curious on how he did, she was well aware of his scent but she was sure even that weakened from his condition, not only that but all the smells of the zoms and creatures in the area and the snow storm.
Of course Gwenn didn't say a word, other than look at her un-amusingly and subtly angry, she knew full well he was upset and mad at her once more for wandering off on her own, but her question was quickly answered when she both heard and saw Skippy fly up from behind him, perching right into her hair and getting cozy instantly.
Kayla only glanced at Gwenn in the eyes, clearly seeing the anger in them directed at her, she honestly did feel like a little kid at this point, specially one in huge trouble and the sheer fact he knew far more than her once more when it came to surviving and wandering places up on the surface to the point she was just asking and searching to be killed at this point.
She lowered her head shamefully, giving the sad response of regret that he clearly recognized immediately. This caused him to only release a small sigh, he was not even going to put up an argument with her at this moment due to how silent he was, this honestly sort of scared her in a way, "Let's just head back… and no wandering off this time…" Gwenn stated weakly, also trying not to sound angry.
Kayla stood up, enduring the pain of her injured knee and clearly hiding it the best she could from him as she tried to look all brave. She only felt a small tug on the end of her shirt as this caused her to look down, realizing it was Gwenn immediately, "You're… gonna have to help me up…" He sobbed lightly, knowing he felt somewhat embarrassed having to ask for the help. Kayla realized this quickly due to how slumped over on his knees and weak he still was currently, and now that she thought about it and leaned down to help him, he was still pretty cold to the touch, though some of his warmth was slowly returning which was good and relieved her a bit that he wasn't going to get worse with the hypothermia, but that could always return if he didn't stay warm, and right now, he practically had hardly anything on.
He still also looked very exhausted and drowsy, forcing himself to stay awake at this moment, this obviously worried her more slightly as she noticed him also slowly starting to breathe rapidly, like out of breath, which she figured was him probably rushing down to aid her once more after realizing she had disappeared once more, or it could've been something else, hoping it wasn't another fever.
"Seems we both are in some down ditch…" She said softly with a subtle sigh, "Like your knee…?" Gwenn stated, immediately glancing down at her injured knee, raising a brow in question as she helped him up, this caused her to slightly jump and fluster embarrassingly somewhat as she clearly couldn't hide it all from him, just as he found out immediately, then again what could she hide from him as he seemed to find out eventually.
Kayla noticed him gripping his chest with a hand, clearly telling her it probably hurt to breathe due to how cold it was, that, or his wings were hurting him, or both. She was careful with how she handled and helped him due to his injured wings and freezing temperatures both with him physically and the outside storm that had resumed once more, she began to wonder if these storms ever ended in this area with how often they seemed to happen in the short time they arrived.
The whole way back was just silence between the two, Gwenn was just obviously exhausted and most likely didn't feel like talking at the moment and Kayla still hid the fact of her hurt knee as they both supported each other the entire way while Skippy only rested away in her hair, surprisingly enough, the whole way back was peaceful and nothing around wanted to kill them, yet.
Despite Gwenn's condition he still proceeded to be active a bit, which was in fact him helping Kayla with her knee as she was having a difficult time doing it herself. She had to admit it, but she wasn't fond of the silent treatment he continued to give her, it honestly scared her a bit in a way and made her wonder how exactly mad he was with her wandering off again, and of course, saving her once more.
She really owed it to him, to be exact, her life as he risked his own more than enough for hers despite still hardly knowing her or her him, she was still learning more about him each passing day and the hardships of this top world, the more she only thought about and tried to remember things past 11 years ago, only made her head hurt worse and worse.
"At least take a weapon with you if you're gonna keep wandering off." Gwenn stated, leaning back a bit weakly after finishing up with her knee that was now wrapped. Kayla wrapped her hands around her leg as she looked away shamefully, forgetting about that and was honestly rushing things. She kept her knee close to her chest as Gwenn weakly moved over to the other side of the ongoing fire that continued to burn and provide warmth in the storage room for them.
It was hard to tell whether or not it was morning or night outside due to the storm, last she remembered it was becoming day when she awoke and then decided to venture out of the room for an attempt at more supplies, but time could've flown by as another storm had arose once more, both her and Gwenn hearing the wind from outside.
But based on a hunch, it was getting dark or already was due to how tired she was beginning to feel. She's never worked hard like that in her life, physically, as she could already begin to feel her muscles and whole body ache.
"Thank you, Gwenn." Kayla said, not looking at him still despite the help he continuously gives. He said nothing, only reached for one of the blankets and wrapped himself with it, keeping it close to himself to stay warm as he also sat close to the fire, eyes closed but in an attempt to try and not fall asleep once more.
Kayla, who waddled her way to Gwenn, gently touched him on the hand, this continued sudden and unknowingly touching seemed to always spook him as he to no extent jumped frighteningly slightly to her touch. She had to admit that she kept forgetting he still has always been alone his entire life and never been around anyone for long periods of time such as this sudden change and agreement in helping her get home despite the risks, so in a way they were stuck together.
His hand was warm despite knowing full well he was still freezing and cold as she could subtly notice and feel him still shiver, but despite that, he also looked ill once more like before and just wanting to sleep it off most likely as she can already make that out with how much he sleeps and how deeply.
"You… get ill from severe injuries, don't you?" Kayla questioned as she lowered herself onto her knees and looked at him worriedly, putting the pieces together, though she wondered why he didn't get ill from the wulg bite with how deep that was. Then again, he seemed to heal pretty quickly with his injuries as is and she didn't know why, all the mutants she knew and treated took time to heal, even with illnesses, just as quick as any human could.
Gwenn only relaxed, releasing a small breath of calming down immediately and reclosing his eyes, clearly showing and giving her agreement that her question was a correct one that was already answered by his reaction of showing her.
"It's… been an issue for as long as I can remember…." He began, "Same with the constant deep sleeping… I haven't had the chance to sleep well in several years until now." He added. "Including the recent injuries, I avoided those until recently on top of it. I saw it on your face, knowing full well it's been awhile since I got hurt, which is true…" He stated, finally looking up at her with his tired eyes.
Kayla widened her eyes somewhat, and seemed she really couldn't hide anything at all from him even expression wise. He's continuously gotten injured for her sake mainly and not himself, this clearly told her he really was committed to that promise on getting her home, but why exactly he was, she was unsure still, even though he's probably already showed or told her to begin with and she just hasn't realized it.
All Kayla could contemplate was an performed action, immediately jumping and hugging Gwenn which again to no extent, surprised him. "Thank you…" Kayla said, refusing to let him go as she was also attempting to help keep him warm, Gwenn quickly realized this and only decided to relax on her shoulder as she refused to let go of him once more, he continued to say nothing more after the several thanks which eventually resulted quickly into the two of them falling asleep throughout the majority of the rest of the night.
Time had flown by rather quickly and unluckily, Kayla was woken up by the sudden consistent voice of Gwenn calling her and actively shaking her a bit in order to wake her. "Kayla, come on… We need to move, I'm the one that sleeps in, not you, now get up." He growled a bit loudly purposely.
Kayla let out an annoyed growl as she peered over her shoulder very tiredly, realizing the blanket Gwenn used was now over herself so she would stay warm herself over the night mostly, this also told her he must've been awake for sometime and let her sleep a bit. Kayla only flopped back down with an annoyed small moan, pulling the blanket closer to her and choosing to ignore him, showing not to rush her when it was clear to her the storage room they were in seemed pretty safe as is and saw no point in the rush.
Gwenn was fixing around and cleaning up the area, putting out the rest of the little fire that still burned and shoving some blankets that were left on ground into the bag. He peered over his own shoulder as he glanced at her, only to give a small annoyed growl, "Kayla, seriously, come on!" He growled, walking over near her and tossing down the heavy bag with a small loud thud.
Skippy was flying around the room with small loud chirps, almost like panicking. Kayla continued to only ignore the two, but what shot her up and awake was not either of them other than the loud bang sound they all heard outside the storage room door that was still blocked, this bang was followed by several footsteps along with some that were seemingly large.
Gwenn wasn't going to push her and continue giving her an attitude, so, he crouched down to face her as she turned to face him also. "We have to move, otherwise I would also be sleeping in still and you know this already…" He began, "They're…?" She was beginning to question and attempt to add on to what he was getting at.
"The zoms and everything else you saw and encountered here are more intelligent in cities, cities are a cluster home for all creatures big and small, ya name it. It's a death zone and we honestly should've just gone around, but we need supplies, and I know that's what you were after while I was out." Gwenn said as he formed a subtle side smile to reassure her he wasn't mad with her anymore, he was honestly actually in fact proud of her.
If Kayla was in fact just some average innocent girl, she would be dead by now even with his help and protection, but with the time spent with her and her him, she has wandered off on her own once more and came out of it alive in the end due to her actually fighting back and not cowering like a lost little girl, and Gwenn knew this.
Kayla was speechless, and she had to admit, she was dead tired for some unknown reason, she just wanted to go back to sleep, and she wasn't feeling very well. Skippy flew around once more, finally eventually landing and resting into Kayla's hair for warmth and safety, Kayla had also noticed that Gwenn removed some of the bandages on his wings despite how badly torn they were from the wires, though some were still leftover and on as she saw those previously seen deep and severe cuts were now almost closed and healed, leaving her somewhat confused and shocked "Hey… come on, ok." Gwenn stated, placing a hand on her shoulder to grasp her attention. Gwenn helped her up as he decided to go ahead and carry the bag, clearly also telling her he was feeling better and awake. Kayla proceeded to keep the blanket wrapped around her and close for warmth, even just a little as it was freezing cold even on the inside of the storage room and building.
Gwenn checked periodically to make sure Kayla was close by, having to come to a halt a few times for her to catch up as she seemed slower for once, this was partially beginning to worry Gwenn though only to end up putting it off several times as they found a new way out of the storage room and another way down the building.
All these zoms and other creatures Gwenn mentioned definitely seemed more intelligent, they were all over the place inside the building now all of a sudden, as if they all knew that she and Gwenn were within the building. Gwenn searched a few open cabinets and seemingly closet like doors with each room they passed by in an attempt for any type of supplies as they were running low, no different from what Kayla attempted for beforehand, it seemed everywhere was picked clean for supplies for some strange reason despite cities being a hotspot and a deadzone with zoms and other dangerous creatures, you would think otherwise.
Gwenn let out a small growl of annoyance, he hated having to do things the hard and risky way for supplies, though he rarely had too over the years when he hanged in the one desert area. Taking a step back from an empty cabinet he checked, he glanced around noticing Kayla had disappeared again, only to relax quickly afterward noticing her foot sticking out slightly from around a corner, which was sideways as if she was laying on the ground.
And as he predicted, peering around the corner was Kayla curled up in a ball on the ground with the blanket she kept wrapped up around her due to how cold it was. He made his way beside her and crouched down, clearly something was wrong and she was showing it since they left the room, and only now he was taking precaution.
Kayla was normally an active girl, always wanting to explore as he knew this by how much she tended to wander off but it was also random as she also tended to result in being glued to Gwenn as he continued to wake up from his sleep with her right next to him recently whether it was for his warmth, comfort or not.
He placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to wake her as she clearly seemed to be trying to sleep, this was beginning to worry him as he knew something was wrong based on how she was acting and that this was something new. He could feel her shivering from the cold and notice the small heavy breathing, this clearly answered his questions of what was wrong with her as he also moved and placed a hand over her forehead which was partially burning up, she had a small fever.
This most likely explained that strange can of food he remembered seeing behind the bag and put it off, clearly taking a few bites of an 11 year old canned food that's very much expired which made her sick and now she just wants to sleep it off which would honestly be best since it was something he always resulted to.
Gwenn only placed two fingers over his eyes with a small annoyed sigh as their current situation wasn't a good one, considering they were still stuck in the same building that was stockpiling with zoms and creatures. Gwenn knew his wings were still healing and out of commission for flying despite the storm quickly bypassing a few minutes ago and now there was daylight outside, which was also helpful as they can now see and move around better in the city hopefully.
He leaned down more, grabbing Kayla and lifting her up into his arms as he decided to just carry her. It would be easier if she was her normal self and would just follow along. Kayla partially woke up and wrapped her arms around him quickly before tucking herself into his shoulder. He knew she was doing this due to the warmth he always had so she could stay more comfortable.
Glancing around, Gwenn came to the conclusion that the barbarians most likely found their way into this city for the supplies and picked it clean, which meant that probably the main cultist leaders who had those demon horses were the lead gatherers into the city in order to get all the supplies.
Gwenn carefully made his way through and down the building, he wanted to get Kayla out of here and to safety so she could rest, get a fire going to keep her warm and some actual proper food. It was clear he wasn't going to easily just fly them out of the city, so he was obviously restricted, to the point he had to find a different safe spot in a different building that was becoming clustered with a hundred dozen creatures wanting to kill you.
Surprisingly this new route they discovered was pretty clear and clean, for now, and it led directly down to the bottom and to an destroyed exit that was surprisingly also clear, though this made Gwenn suspicious on why it was this easy getting out compared to in.
Perhaps all the zoms and creatures weren't gathering and forming a whole surround of the building for them, but for something else or someone else. Right now, Gwenn didn't care, he quickly made his way to the next building which was also seemingly picked clean, including no zoms or creatures, it was definitely like they were all gathering at the one building for something or someone.
Gwenn let out a final sigh of relief, finally finding a safe place to allow Kayla to rest. They were about two stories up in the second building across from the previous one they originally stayed at, and it was a small room but it would make do for now.
Once more, Kayla refused to let go of Gwenn as she let out an annoyed growl of being moved around as she was also continuously letting out a lot of nuh uhs. "Kayla… come on, you need to let go so I can get a fire going..." Gwenn began, trying to remove her one hand that was gripped tight to his shirt.
It was clear to him she just wanted to be still and cuddle up with something or someone currently, her stomach was probably in a lot of pain including a migraine at the very least due to the bad food that was clearly now kicking in and taking effect. Gwenn was forced to just relax and sit down with Kayla clinging to him, refusing to let go, he knew she was sticking to him due to his warmth which must've been enough for her instead of getting a fire going and thanks to her persistence, it made it clear.
Letting out a subtle sigh of defeat, Gwenn only wrapped a wing around and over Kayla for the extra warmth and shielding as she clearly seemed to not want to leave or be placed on the cold and solid ground. He didn't blame her, it's been nothing but sleeping on the solid ground since she arrived here, she was not used to it nor was she seemingly comfortable and fine with it due to commonly waking up with her using him as a pillow, that or for warmth as he knew she was far more used to laying in a comfortable bed, something Gwenn has never entirely had.
Gwenn himself decided to lay down and rest, considering they were in an ok and safe area for now. He continued to keep Kayla warm as the weather outside began to drop in temperature slowly once more, along with keeping himself awake and not falling asleep to keep watch.
After what felt like hours, Gwenn perked his head up and peered over his shoulder, becoming spooked as he heard the loud sounds of all the zoms and many other creatures finally taking their leave from the previous building they ended up stuck in. Only to end up shooting another look at a new sound, much closer and only several feet away from him and Kayla that had seemed to be a small mistaken hit inside a closet.
Gently, Silently and slowly, Gwenn removed himself from the ground and in an attempt to not wake Kayla, allowing and to be fair, wanting her to rest decently for once. He knew it couldn't have been something such as an item within the closet that could've fallen on it's own, especially after all this time and during their current situation.
And not only that, but the closet was the perfect size to hide in for any human sized being or trapped creature. Gwenn lifted himself upward and onto his feet, giving Kayla one last glance over his shoulder to make sure he didn't wake her which thankfully he did not as she curled up into the blanket more now that her extra warmth was gone.
Gwenn made his way silently towards the closet and the doors, and cautiously in case there really was a Zom or some kind of damn creature trapped inside as it was starting to sound like someone or something was crying and trying to hold it back. Gwenn approached and placed his hands on the closet door knobs gently, keeping his distance a bit just in case and both in protection of Kayla as he took a step back, forcefully opening the doors as he pulled out and held a knife in front of him.
To his surprise, two people, actual humans both frightened out of their minds and one seemingly a mother grasping a young child close to her in protection that seemed and looked to be no older than maybe 8 or 9 years old. Gwenn was speechless and he didn't know what to do or how to react, just standing there with his blade slowly lowering down realizing these two seemed to mean no harm and were just in hiding with how frightened they seemed to be, giving a scared look at him made it clear.