“What happened?” Henry asks, still crying.
“It's okay, we are safe. You're okay.” I don't know if I'm saying this to him or to myself. Either way, it makes him stop crying and it makes me stop shivering.
“Is the monster gone?” Henry asks.
I brush his hair away from his face and look deeply into his warm brown eyes. “Yes, baby, the monster is gone. Everything is going to be okay. Are you okay? Were you hurt?” I run my hands and gaze over his body, looking for injuries, but find none.
“No, Mama. I'm not hurt.”
There's a groan from the main room in the bunker. Our heads turn to it in unison.
“What’s that?” Henry asks.
I push him behind me and take a steadying breath. “That's the... man who rescued us. He's hurt really bad. I'm going to try to help him and I need you to stay in here. Do you understand?”
“Is he a bad man?”
I pause before answering truthfully, “I don't know, but I’m going to find out.” I leave with one last reiteration that he should stay in the bedroom. I shut the door behind me and face Galen, who looks moments away from death.
I don't know if I should be relieved or dismayed.
What I do know is I'm not as afraid of him as I thought I would be.
4
GALEN
A fresh wave of pain has me groaning. I’m disoriented and confused, overwhelmed by the fiery burns on my chest and arm. When I hear a whimper, I focus on the sound and desperately try to block out the maddening pain.
“Why is he bleeding, Mama?”
His voice is so small sounding. It reminds me of Hadrian when he was little.
“The scary beast bit him,” Stella answers in a soft tone I haven’t heard from her yet.
I crack my eyes open, searching for them. Looking and listening for them is better than the alterative: focusing on the pain. I’d seen a glimpse of her a couple of times, but never this close. Nearby, Stella sits on her knees on the floor while the mortling clings to her, his cheeks red and streaked with tears.
“Are…” I wince when another crash of pain hits me, forcing my eyes closed. “Are we secure?”
“Yes.” Stella pauses. “I’m not a doctor. I don’t know that I can help you.”
“You already did.” I try to lift my nog to look at my chest, but it’s too difficult. Instead, I turn my nog to inspect the damage to my arm. Rekk. It looks bad and is bleeding profusely. “We need to staunch the bleeding.”
My vision blurs and everything turns black.
I rouse to someone putting water to my lips. I’m too weak to open my eyes, so I accept the water as I try to assess my injuries. There’s pressure on my arm now, which gives me relief.
“I wasn’t sure if you could swallow a pill, but I crushed some pain relievers in your water. Drink all of it.”
I manage to gulp it down before exhaustion drags me down into its abyss once more.
“Bite us?”
I blink away the darkness and lock eyes on Henry’s brown eyes. “Hmm?”
“Shawp teeth.” He points at my mouth. “You a monster too?”
“No,” I rasp out. “I’m just a mort. Not much different than you. Where’s your mother?”
“She went night night.”
I glance past him to find her propped against the wall, her nog still turned in my direction as though she were watching me, but her mouth is parted and her eyes are closed.
“You’re Henry, right?”
His nog nods in an overexaggerated way.
“I’m Galen.” I smile at him but then grimace in pain.
“Gawen.”
I tear my stare from him to notice the bandage on my arm. It’s been crudely wrapped and blood seeps through. While I’m thankful she stopped the bleeding, I will need to clean it and heal it. Thank rekk I thought to bring my pack, though I don’t know where it is at the moment.
“Do you help your mother a lot?” I ask, wincing as I attempt to sit up.
“I too little.”
He’s a tiny version of his mother—same sun-yellow hair, fair skin, and pouty lips—but he has brown eyes instead of blue.
“Even little ones can help out.” I sweep my gaze over the space, looking for my pack. “Are you good at finding things?”
He smiles at me, excitement flickering in his gaze. “I always find Mama when we play.”
“Sounds like you are good at finding things then. Do you think you can help me find something?”
“Yes!” He bounces to his feet, eager to assist.
“When I came here, before the sabrevipes tried to eat me, I had a pack with me. If you can find it, I have a treat for you.”
“A tweat?”
“Absolutely. Don’t go out that door, though. If you look out and see it, I’ll need to get it myself.”
I close my eyes as he starts rummaging through the small room in cabinets. Eventually, I hear him grunting, so I take a peek.