The Walled Cities

Chapter 8

Never live in fear, my parents last words to me. Whatever this thing was, I was not about to let it threaten me or Kaelyn. Out here in the wilds, there were no laws as to who could shoot a gun or what the penalties were for doing such. I knew that I would only have one chance to stop the figure if it was indeed hostile.

With a bullet chambered and twenty nine more in the magazine, I took aim at the approaching figure. My finger curled around the thin curved trigger as I prepared to fire. One shot to the chest would be enough to drop the figure, then a second to the heart if needed. Kaelyn would no doubt disapprove greatly but it was better than being dead or worse ourselves. Besides I would only shoot if it was clear that the thing was a threat to either of us.

"Your not really going to shoot are you?" Kaelyn cautiously asked.

Keeping my eyes on the approaching figure I replied determinedly, "That depends on how they act towards us. I will shoot only if they are a threat that I feel is to dangerous to simply knock unconscious."

Today was not the day for a fight as the figure collapsed just as I recognized him. Forgetting that Kaelyn was next to me, I ran down the muddy track to where the newcomer lay. Benji, as it was indeed him, had a bandage wrapped around his head, and from the dark stain on his abdomen, had been shot or stabbed recently. Quickly scanning the area for other dangers, my hands set to work digging around in my bag for my first aid supplies.

Shortly after I got them out Kaelyn arrived and whatever she might have said to me changed as a gasp of shock escaped her. Ignoring it as now was not the time to be squeamish, I began unbuttoning his jacket as quickly as possible.  Soft but slightly trembling hands stopped me as Kaelyn murmured, "Let me. I can't patch him up, but I can help in other ways. Just tell me what to do." All the while she talked, her hands moved with a coordination and precision that surprised me.

Right as I got out my bandages and some poultices, Kaelyn's rhythmic breathing which had started as she had focused on her task, stopped abruptly. Furrowing my brow at the sudden change, I glanced over to see what was the problem. It was immediately obvious as her blue eyes were riveted to both the pistol sticking out from his pants, and the clearly infected wound. Her actions did not surprise me, as she had barely been out here for maybe fifteen hours. Getting used to most everyone carrying some type of gun and or an assortment of knives and other blades would take time. Learning how to deal with wounds would be one of the first skills that I taught her as soon as we had the time. Getting hurt was an almost near guarantee out here, knowing how to tend to a variety of wounds was the best way to guarantee you living long enough to reach a real doctor, and was also a way to make a small living if you were good enough.

For now Kaelyn needed reassurance that Benji would be alright, even though I did not know if it was true. His wound was inflamed and the beginnings of black tracks signaling blood poisoning marked a series of rays spreading from the wound. There was luckily no smell of rot, but white green liquid seeping from the wound showed how bad the infection was. No two wounds were identical in the Outlands, but anyone could tell that this was a bad one. I would do all I could, but Benji would still need to see doctor and quickly.

Breathing deeply to calm myself as I had begun to become anxious with my examination, I firmly directed, "Can you hold him down. He probably won't move around but if I have to dig out a bullet, he will be in pain. We can't afford to have him thrashing around if there is something I need to dig out."

Nodding her head, Kaelyn positioned herself over top of Benji. I was surprised when she observing Benji was stronger than her, placed both her hands firmly on his shoulders along with leaning over him.

Seeing her do this had me wondering if she had done it before, and had me agreeing to learn all she knew after Benji was taken care of. Perhaps her education was more useful than I believed.