May Dawney - Survival Instincts

Dani groaned. Her shivering was getting worse.

Lynn didn’t have time to sit here and think. “I’m going to find somewhere to sleep. Skeever is going to stay with you, and I’ll be back before you know it. Do you remember what your job is?”

“S-Stay… a… a-awake.”

“Damn right.” Lynn got up, but dizziness overtook her instantly, and she had to lean forward and rest her head against the truck’s hood before she could straighten fully.

Skeever tried to get to his feet.

Lynn held up her hand. “No, Skeever. No. Stay. Y-You stay with Dani. Do you understand me? Stay with Dani.” She took a few steps backward.

Skeever whined and limped to Dani’s feet but stopped there. He watched her intently.

“Stay.” Lynn turned and walked off, willing herself not to look back.

Lynn didn’t believe in a higher power. Some people still worshipped gods—either through the remnants of Old-World religions or by way of newly discovered pantheons and messiahs—but Lynn was sure life just happened the way it happened without outside influence. Even with that extreme certainty, she felt a flicker of doubt as she walked into the first building that emerged from the darkness and found it not only empty but easily defendable. It even had a separate room she could stash Richard’s body in.

The building was an old bakery. Its display window was almost too dirty to see through but was intact; the door closed and locked with a deadbolt, and the kitchen had a large back exit and double doors she could shut behind the cart to keep the smell down. It was perfect, but she didn’t know where she was going to find the energy to get everyone there.

Lynn knew she was on the verge of physical collapse. She was holding off a complete breakdown on willpower alone, but that wasn’t going to sustain her much longer.

When Lynn returned, Skeever lifted his head. He’d pressed up against Dani’s side, hopefully keeping her warm.

Lynn smiled at him and dropped down by Dani’s side. She gently laid her hand on her chest. “Hey, you. Did you do your job?”

Dani’s eyelids fluttered. She licked her dry lips. “Y-Yes.” Her voice had lost even more strength. The wind tore the word to shreds long before it reached Lynn’s ears, forcing her to lip-read.

“That’s good. Very good. I’m going to be making some noise, but Skeever’s here, and you’ll be safe.” She stroked Skeever’s head before she undid the bindings that held a blanket to Dani’s pack and spread it out over her and Skeever. “If you just do your job and stay awake until I come back, I’m going to get you somewhere safe and near a fire. How does that sound? Good?”

Dani nodded slowly. Her eyelids drooped, but she stubbornly refused to let them close entirely.

Lynn stroked her hair. “Proud of you.” She leaned down, ignoring the pain in her protesting back and chest, and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be quick.”

Dani sighed and seemed to tilt her head toward her a little.

After a moment of hesitation, Lynn kissed her lips as well.

Dani hummed, and a tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Lynn kissed her again. “I’ll be quick,” she repeated. She held her hand up in front of Skeever. “Stay with Dani.”

He laid his head down on the pavement and sighed.

Picking up their heavy packs and hauling them to the cart was painful already, but pulling the cart to the back of the bakery was agony on her battered body. Any pressure on the chewed-on muscles in her shoulder caused white spots to dance in front of her eyes, but if she instead used her other arm, her forearm flashed in pain. By the time she closed the outer doors of the bakery’s kitchen behind the cart, her vision had deteriorated to a fuzzy blur with white edges.

She didn’t give herself time for the fog to clear. Instead, she made her way through the bakery—and walked squarely into the doorpost; she was that dizzy. If she was going to collapse, it would be by Dani’s side.

All the car husks, lamp posts, and tree trunks she had viewed as obstacles all day now became her biggest allies because they held her up as she scooted along them toward her destination. She stopped to catch her breath and wipe her forehead but found it dry. That was probably not good since she was working hard enough to build up a sweat. It was another problem she ignored because there was nothing she could do about it right now.

Neither Dani nor Skeever had moved, so she could find them again with nothing but pale moonlight. While Skeever raised his head upon her arrival, Dani didn’t react.

“Hey, Dani.” She stroked her cheek. “Did you do your job?”

Dani didn’t respond. Her eyes were closed.

“Dani?” Lynn’s heart beat faster, which worsened the throbbing in her shoulder and forearm to the point of distraction. She checked Dani’s pulse with shaking fingers. It was slow, but it was there. The rush of relief made her light-headed.

Skeever licked Dani’s cheek.

She worked her hands under Dani’s shoulders, then wrapped her undamaged forearm under her breasts, gripped her own wrist, and squatted behind Dani. When her vision stopped swimming, she pushed up and dragged Dani along the ground.

The second Lynn put them into motion, Dani started to scream and resist.

Lynn groaned and sagged to the ground, keeping Dani against her body. “Q-Quiet!” She rasped the word against Dani’s ear. “I’m sorry it hurts, but you can’t stay out here.”

Dani continued to squirm and make small noises of pain and panic.

Holding on to her hurt, but Lynn wasn’t going to let go. “D-Do you trust me, Dani? Do you trust me? Then stop struggling and let me get you to safety.”

After a few more moments of whimpers and jerks, Dani went limp. Her head fell forward. Either she’d passed out again, or she trusted Lynn enough to drag her.

Lynn didn’t have time to wonder which it was. Every second she expended energy on something not absolutely vital, she was damaging their odds of getting through the night alive. She pushed up again. It hurt enough for spots of light to dance in front of her eyes. In fact, her entire vision went hazy, but she was rapidly getting used to that.

Skeever followed her to the bakery, but he avoided putting weight on his leg. He entered ahead of Lynn, found a corner, and curled up. Lynn sank to the floor by one of the small tables that had once seated the people who had eaten the bread and cake depicted on the wall above the counter. Lyn didn’t care about the Old-World people, but the tables and chairs were made of wood and could serve as fuel for the fire she was about to make.

When Lynn put her down, Dani whimpered.

“Damn, I forgot your blanket.” It would have to wait until she got a fire going. Lynn got up, found her balance, and waddled over to the door to put the deadbolt on. Just that simple act filled her with relief: no matter what else happened, they were safe from further harm. She rested her forehead against the cool glass of the door and inhaled deeply. “Get it done.” Tears welled up as the enormity of all the tasks ahead of her settled on her aching shoulders. She sniffed. “Just turn around, find a way to get a fire going, and get it done.”

Every whack with her tomahawk caused light-headedness. Every time she bent forward to pick up another chair to put it on a table, her vision swam. She shook her hands to get the tremble out of them before she searched through Dani’s pack for anything to start a fire with. It took precious seconds for the bundle of gathered dried leaves to catch flame.

Finally! Lynn was painfully aware of every second that ticked away. Dani moaned every once in a while, so she was still alive, but that was all Lynn knew for sure about her condition, and while she was busy fire building, she couldn’t step away to find out more.