Chapter 9

Rain pounded on my face, soaking through the gauze and drenching my bones. Addie was restless from the pain. She was delirious from the blood loss.

"Addie, stay with me." I said loudly over my shoulder.

"Take me home..." she groaned.

"I will after we deal with the White Legs."

Rushing through the valleys and canyons lulled me into a trance. I had to get her to help, but the closest one was about a mile away. It was in the heart of White Leg Territory, might I add. Addie's legs tightened around me and a renewed warmth soaked my legs. Me jostling her on my back had reopened what little the wound had healed and she was bleeding again.

Addie bit my shoulder with a scream in an attempt to be a little quieter. Her teeth ground into my bullet vest. I held onto her thighs and made the trek up the side of the cliff. Small pathways made it barely accessible, but good enough.

Rocks slipped under my feet and rolled off the path, down to the ground. The drop was already about forty feet and the paths were muddy and littered with loose stones. I ignored the nagging voice in my head that screamed to get down before it was too late. I placed my hand on the wall of the cliff and took slow, careful steps towards the top.

A sudden pain shot up my leg and I dropped onto my knees in the mud. A spear protruded from my thigh and a White Leg was running up the paths recklessly. I wrapped my fingers around the spear and yanked it out with a growl. Blood spewed from my thigh in a painful arc. The White Leg was almost upon us and I grabbed the spear with both hands. They were almost to us by the time I could manage to stand up on both legs.

I raised the spear over my head and caught a glint of metal. Half of the White Leg's forehead exploded in blood and brain matter. My hearing was replaced with high pitched ringing. I looked for the source of the killer and felt something hit my chest as it fell. A small pistol landed by my feet. Addie's arm was limp over my shoulder. She had killed him.

"Addie, I didn't need your help."

"Just move."

I dropped the spear and limped up the short last bit of the cliff. The tent was in a camp about twenty yards away. I kept low and by the trees to avoid any more enemies. Addie's long, wet hair clung to my shoulders and snugged on branches as we made our way to the tent. She whimpered as the twigs pulled strands of hair out. By the time we got to the tent, she was cold, pale, and her once straight hair was knotted and full of twigs and leaves.

I rested her down on the table gently. I dug through the boxes and crates, finding a small blanket and one medical kit. I wrapped her snug in the blanket and opened the kit. Rubbing alcohol and stimpaks were all I needed. I found several stimpaks and med-x in the kit and I rifled through the small fridge

Vodka was close enough. I pulled it out and set it on the table near Addie. I turned her over onto her stomach with little protests and lifted her shirt.

I winced at the sight of her injuries. Two deep, red gashes ran down the length of her back. I twisted the cap off of the vodka and dumped it generously over her back. She hissed in pain as the vodka mixed with the blood, streaming in pink lines down the sides of her stomach. I plunged the med-x into her lower back and immediately followed it with two stimpaks near the gashes. She whined as the stimpaks knit the new skin together with the undamaged skin. The new skin was much lighter ans softer.

Once the stimpaks wore off, she rolled back over onto her back and sat up. I held onto her thigh and leaned my forehead against her chest. She wrapped her arms around me and I took in her scent. She still had that woman smell, even through the grime and mud.

"Your turn." She whispered.

She poured the remainder of the vodka on my leg and injected the last stimpak. It stung and it felt like my leg was numb where the skin was growing back. She unwrapped the blanket partly and pulled me into it, wrapping around us. I never knew such warmth after the cold rain. It was almost like we weren't in enemy territory. I wanted desperately to stay here for the rest of the day, but we needed to get out of here fast. We were an easy target.

"Addie, we need to hurry. We shouldn't be here." I muttered into her neck.

"I know, but it's really cold and you're really warm."

"We are near a White Leg camp." I said in a hushed voice.

Addie groaned in annoyance and unwrapped the blanket. He cold was almost like a slap to the face.

"We can stay somewhere warm after we deal with them." I helped her up off the table and she grabbed for her hunting rifle.

We exited the tent quietly and kept to the shrubs. I looked over the edge of the cliff and saw multiple scouting teams of Sorrows and Dead Horses. There were no White Legs in sight. We rushed back down the trails towards another abandoned camp. It seemed as no one was around right now.

We swam across the cold water of the river and onto the banks of the Three Marys. Lightening flashed across the sky and Addie jumped. The thunder caught up and seemed to shake the canyons. Addie gasped and flung onto me.

I signaled her to stay and hide. She sat on the ground under a bush behind a tree. Once I was certain she wouldn't be seen, I grabbed my pistol and trudged up the path to the encampment. Burnt torches littered the path and broken totem poles sat in piles, half burnt. Trash crunched under my feet. These people were absolutely disgusting.

It appeared a group of Dead Horses had already gone through. Fallen brothers and sisters lay at the corner of the path. There were very few so the others must be somewhere ahead. I hurried along the path with my gun at the ready.

Gun shots and battle cries sounded in the distance as I got nearer and nearer to the other group. White Legs appeared far off and I aimed, firing at them. They were too busy fighting the others to pay attention. I had marked off a few of the White Legs before I reached the Dead Horses.

Spears were sticking out of the ground and Dead Horses were firing at them, greatly outnumbered. I took pot shots at the tribals on the ledges sniping at them. Salt-Upon-Wounds stood at the top of the cliff. Bodies hit the ground loudly from both groups. I sneaked past the others unnoticed and up a path to the cliff. Rain and thunder covered my steps as I covered ground.

Once I reached the top, there were much fewer White Legs and more Dead Horses. Another group must have joined up with them during the time it took to climb up the path. Salt-Upon-Wounds had his back towards me. An easier target than expected. I pulled the trigger and the last tribal beside him went down. He turned and held his fists up. I shot him in the leg and he stumbled. I cocked the gun and fired again into his arm.

I slammed the butt of the pistol on his forehead, dropping him to the ground. He said something in his filthy language, but it fell on deaf ears.

He was at my mercy.