To you I will always return Chapter 8, a tribe fanfic

CHAPTER EIGHT

It was a longer walk to the house than Lex had thought the night before and he was forced in his weakened condition to use Trudy as a crutch. If she found his weight overbearing, she didn't utter a word as she silently assisted him to her home. Trudy's only concern at the moment was getting Lex inside and getting him warm. Despite the fact that he'd survived the night, he was far from danger. Even the bright morning sun had failed to warm his icy skin.

They passed a delapitated barn and a pen of farm animals including a goat, a mule and a few chickens. A large wired cage housed several spotted jack rabbits. The house itself was a classic cape that looked like it might have been built in the early thirties. It also appeared as though it hadn't been updated since. Still, despite a few boarded windows and splintered siding, it was sound and Lex was grateful for it. Once inside Trudy didn't give him a moment to look around as she directed him up a flight of narrow stairs. Lex was barely able to glimpse Brady watching them with curiosity where she stood by the wood stove. Though he would recognize those bright eyes of hers anywhere, Lex was hard pressed to believe that the little girl he remembered had grown up.

Trudy brought him into a small dormer bedroom. It's slanted roof caused them both to duck as she deposited him on the rot iron bed. By now Lex was beginning to drift off again and hardly noticed as Trudy hastily removed his shredded t-shirt. She couldn't imagine what sort of trouble he'd gotten himself into and was surprised by the numerous cuts to his back. She was already estimating how many of Lex's wounds would need to be stitched in order to heal properly.

When Trudy noticed that Lex was fading out she started talking to him, encouraging him to stay awake. None of it made any sense to Lex and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep. He was no longer wondering why Trudy was here, or thinking about the journey that led him to this place. He simply wanted sleep. He even began to mumble this request to which Trudy responded by shaking her head.

"No Lex, you can't sleep. You gotta stay awake. Gotta get you warm." She was rubbing his arms now trying to bring a little heat to his skin.

Lex wasn't sure how long this odd conversation lasted but suddenly Brady was in the doorway with a cast iron pot of steaming water. In seconds Lex found himself being helped into a large basin tub which he hadn't noticed was in the room. He was so tired that even the cold unfriendly metal felt good on his back. The room had gone silent and the light was hazy. Lex was no longer sure if he were even still awake. That is until he felt the hot water being poured directly onto him. He gasped at the rude awakening and he could now hear Trudy talking again.

"That's good Lex. Wake up. Stay with me."

The hot water made Lex aware now of how cold he was to his very core. Shivers rain through him like icicles trying to escape the rush of heat. Trudy gently washed the water up over his shoulders and smiled when she saw he was beginning to shiver again. Just as Lex was getting used to the water Brady returned with yet another pot and his senses were again wakened. The heat was making him itch and a painful throb could be felt through his limbs.

"It hurts," He muttered in an annoyed tone.

"Thawing out always does." Trudy replied and continued to rinse him down. She was trying to clean his wounds as gently as she could without furthering Lex's discomfort. He had many and she didn't want a small infection to turn into blood poisoning.

Lex's pain worsened and he was dismayed to see Brady enter with a third pot of hot water. By now his skin itched so bad he wanted to scratch it off. His leg ached with such intensity that if he'd had the energy Lex might have leaped out of the tub. He now noticed the gash in his calf was bleeding again. Not profusely, but just enough to stain the water a slight shade of pink. The steam rising made him even more inclined to sleep and he finally succumbed to the discomfort and lay his head back. This time Trudy didn't stop him from dozing as she continually swathed him with hot water. He was regaining his color, a flush of red now covered his skin. It felt like an eternity before the water cooled and Lex was aware that Trudy was helping him out of the tub and drying him down. She then allowed him to lay on the bed and Lex was out before she even covered him with the blankets.

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"Who is he?"

Trudy didn't look up from the medical book she was pouring over but she could feel her daughter's intense gaze.

"An old friend." She explained simply.

"From the city?"

Nodding Trudy turned a page. "That's where I last saw him."

Brady studied her mother's expression carefully. "Was he a Mallrat?"

"Yes," Trudy answered quietly for the subject often saddened her. "He was a Mallrat."

"Really?" Brady's eyes lit up. "Did he know uncle Bray?"

Trudy nodded again and having found what she was looking for got up from the table. She began rummaging through a shelf filled with small glass jars, their contents unrecognizable.

"What do you think he's doing here?"

"I don't know." Trudy opened a jar and sniffed with a frown.

Brady narrowed her eyes. She wondered why her mother wasn't more excited to have a visitor. Especially an old friend from the tribe that Brady had been so curious about. The tribe where her life started. As it was they rarely ever saw anyone. Their home was far from any main roads and travelers hardly ventured in their direction.

"Is he gonna be alright?"

Trudy turned to her daughter and shrugged. "I'm not sure. He's hurt bad but I'm going to do my best to make him better." Glancing down into a box of bandages she decided it was best to end this line of questioning. "Could you run downstairs and bring me some gossamer weed?"

Nodding Brady started toward the cellar pausing a moment to stare at her mother's bent head. There was more the little girl wanted to ask. But she was sure her questions would be avoided. That's the way it always was when Brady broached the subject of her father. It was a topic Trudy spoke little of and Brady was always left grasping for straws. Knowing it was pointless to ask again, she went downstairs.

When Lex awoke, he was at first confused as to where he was. Slowly his memory, along with the pain of his injuries, came back to him. The room was bright with sunlight flooding through the single window. It bathed him in a ray of warmth and Lex silently relished the sensation before turning over. The empty tub sat off to the side of the bed and on both night tables sat candle sconces. The candles themselves looked as though they had melted down and been reformed numerous times and were each a medley of color. The house was quiet but he thought he heard cheerful conversation from outside. Feeling oddly comfortable and having no desire to get up, Lex closed his eyes and slipped away again.

When he next opened his eyes, the light in the room had shifted. He could hear someone coming up the stairs but that wasn't what woke him up. His pain had intensified greatly and Lex found it difficult even to lie still. His leg, now wrapped, ached immensely and as he turned over a sharp pain shot through his back. Lex now wondered what the heck Trudy had done to him. On cue his old friend entered the room with a tray in hand.

"You're awake." She gave him a small smile.

Lex replied with a painful moan as he focused on her slim shape.

"And the gossamer weed is wearing off I see." She stepped toward the bed and set the tray on the night table. "I hope your stitches aren't pulling too much."

"Stitches?"

Trudy nodded. "I had to stitch you up in a few places. You were already passed out which is the best anesthetic I can think of. I did use some crushed gossamer to numb your wounds but it's only a temporary fix. I'm afraid yours is going to be a painful recovery."

Lex moaned again and started to pull himself up. For a moment Trudy thought to offer her help as he struggled but thought it best to leave him his dignity. As she recalled, Lex didn't like having his manhood questioned. Even when ill as a teenager, he had an heir of unmatched masculinity. She instead turned her attention to the tray she'd brought.

"Are you hungry?" She asked gently setting in on his lap. "I've made soup."

"Thanks." Lex nodded and eagerly took a few spoonfuls before glancing back up. "It's good."

Trudy smiled. "It's nothing special. Just something soothing for your stomach." She stood and peered out the window. "I wasn't sure when you'd last eaten. Now that you're up I'm curious..." She gave her friend a look. "How long were you out there?"

Lex frowned as he swallowed. "About... well a little more than a day I guess. What day is it anyway?"

"Thursday."
"Thursday!" Lex stared back in surprise. "How long was I out?"

"About thirty-two hours."

Her precise answer surprised him even more as he sat back in thought. He'd gone over the wall early Tuesday morning. It didn't seem like two and a half days had passed.

"You're lucky to be alive. Temperature's dropped early this year. I lost a whole crop of cabbages due to early frost." Trudy frowned and looked back out the window seemingly lost in her own thoughts. "It gets colder every year. I bet we get our first snow in a couple weeks."

Lex nodded in agreement though she wasn't looking at him as he continued to eat. They sat in silence until the bowl was empty and Lex found himself wishing there was more. For a simple soup it was delicious. His full stomach distracted him from his pain now so that Lex was again wondering why Trudy and Brady were here. He gave her another look before clearing his throat. But Trudy beat him to the punch as she turned from the window.

"So what are you doing out here anyway Lex?" She eyed him carefully. "What happened to you?"

Her question made him uncomfortable for it forced Lex to remember the awful event which led him to this place. As it was he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that someone tried to kill him. The same people who had killed Jay, left Amber injured and kidnapped her son. And possibly the same people who had murdered May as well. Who were they and what did they want? Lex looked into Trudy's questioning eyes and thought it best not to startle her with the whole truth. She might think she and Brady were in some sort of danger if she knew everything.

"I got into a fight... outside the city border." Lex looked away. He wasn't ready to think about the specifics. Not yet.

Trudy caught the hint and quietly took the tray from his lap, setting it on her own as she sat on the bed. "Hate to see what the other guy looks like."

Lex smirked at her playful sarcasm as she smiled back. Trudy hadn't changed much physically. Same pretty, deep eyes and pouty lips set in a soft velvet face. As always there was a mixture of kindness and melancholy in her expression. Her hair draped down her back and no longer bore any trace of it's signature violet. The trademark slant of her bangs had grown out and now her hair parted at the middle as it fell past her shoulders. Lex also noticed that there was a sense of maturity which resonated from Trudy's presence. A centered calm that came from years of hardship. He knew right away that this was not the frightened girl who'd left the city five years before. Her clothes were simpler; a dark fitted sweater and trousers with a slight boot cut. What surprised him was the Mallrat pentagram painted on her hand, as though no time at all had passed. Just the sight of it's familiar shape made him feel warm inside.

"So what about you?" He finally queried. "We all thought you were taking Brady to live with the Gaians. How did you end up here?"

Trudy sighed. "Well that's what I was trying to do. Get to the Eco tribe. I thought we'd both be safer there. But they'd moved to their winter camp and I got lost. Then Brady got sick and I had no idea what to do. We spent a night in the woods and she got worse. Then Kye found us."

"Kye?"

She nodded. "This was his house. His grandmother's actually. He found us not too far from where I found you. Up past the ridge. He brought us here and helped nurse Brady back to health. She had the croup."

Lex frowned. "I've never heard of that."

"Neither had I." Trudy gave a small shrug. "It's an awful sickness that small children used to get all the time... before immunizations. But Brady's never been pricked so it's no wonder she finally came down with something like that. Kye looked up her symptoms and luckily had what she needed. Thank goodness for his grandmother's medical books. Anyway, we stayed with him while she recovered and it turned out he knew the Gaians. Their winter camp is about two hours West from here. He traded with them sometimes. The plan was for him to bring us there but by the time Brady was well, we were really comfortable here and Kye invited us to stay so..."

Lex nodded as Trudy wrapped up the story. Though she looked at him her eyes were lost in the memory. Kye's story was one of loss and Trudy and Brady's presence was a welcoming ray of light in his lonely life. Before the virus he and his older sister Laura spent countless summers at the farm with their grandmother. Their parents were preoccupied and spent as much time away from the children as possible. During the Chosen occupation, the siblings made the decision to leave the city with Laura's boyfriend and move to the farm. Unfortunately, Laura's boyfriend, and father of her unborn child, died during a Chosen skirmish. Afterward Kye convinced his sister to come to the farm to have the baby. The last few months of her pregnancy were marred with illness and Laura's daughter Kaylen died only hours after being born. From there Laura's health spiraled downward. Kye watched helplessly knowing she was dying for she no longer had any will to live. Her last words were, "remember to smile." before she closed her eyes and stepped willingly into the darkness which claimed her. There was no fear and no regret. When the last breath left her body there was the faintest of smiles on Laura's lips. And Kye was comforted by the fact that his sister was now with the boy she loved and the baby they'd lost. He contemplated going back to the city but chose to stay on the farm and spent the next year in solitude before finding Trudy and Brady.

"So what happened to Kye?" Lex finally interupted Trudy's thoughts after several minutes of silence.

"Oh," She looked down sadly. "Um... about a year and a half after we decided to stay, Kye took his horse and rode out to a farm in the South to trade. He never came home. The next day a few of the Gaians came this way with him draped over his horse. They'd seen the horse grazing and recognized it so they went looking for him. Looked like he'd been thrown by mistake and broke his neck." Trudy closed her eyes, the image still clear in her mind. "They guessed the horse was startled by a snake or something. Hawk of course persisted we go stay with them but I decided we would keep up the farm."

"Oh." The room fell silent again and Lex watched the painful memory pass over Trudy's face. "I'm sorry."

She smiled slightly. "Who knew that I'd end up repaying the favor to you."

Lex met her smile with his own. "Yeah. I owe you one."