Chapter 216
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
He gave a subtle glance toward the bag Killian was carrying, as if he had been waiting for him to ask.
“Food. And medicine.”
“We don’t have much either.”
In truth, we had enough food to last about six days if rationed carefully. Crossing the mountain would take at most two days, and since the land below wasn’t wilderness, finding food on the way home wouldn’t be impossible.
“A little will do.”
So if we could get a place to rest for one night for a bit of food and some morphine, it wouldn’t be a bad trade—but Killian seemed hesitant.
‘Is he worried they might recognize us?’
Like the monks did.
But those men had been prisoners in Falklands camps and were now crossing the front line, so they probably hadn’t seen the wanted posters yet. Even if they did later realize it was us, by then we’d already be in our homeland. No need to worry.
“How many of you are there?”
Killian had other concerns.
“Two.”
“Put down that rifle, step back, turn around, and raise your hands. Lead the way. If we see you’re telling the truth, we’ll share our food.”
“Well, you wouldn’t be able to shoot even if you tried.”
The man smirked, gesturing toward the ridge where the outpost was, brushing off Killian’s order.
“You think I’m going to lead you to a bandit’s den to rob you?”
Ah, Killian was worried the man’s group might be larger and that we’d be in trouble.
“If that were true, they’d have come swarming long ago.”
I looked around fearfully, but thankfully, no one else was nearby.
“We just need food and medicine to get through tonight. You need a place to stay. No need for fighting—let’s make a fair deal.”
“Called us to trade, then pulled guns on us?”
“You are suspicious. Only desperate people like us risk their lives coming into these dangerous mountains.”
“We’re just risking our lives to go home.”
“I get it, but bringing such a fragile wife here is reckless. There are packs of wild dogs around.”
Wild dogs? The same dogs we saw earlier on the path?
“At night, they hunt. Man-eating wild dogs that have tasted human flesh.”
It was the same dogs I’d seen.
“You don’t want to camp in these mountains full of wild dogs looking for human meat, only to give your wife to them for dinner.”
Killian finally agreed to trade. Following the man a short distance, we came upon a small cabin, its boards rotten and riddled with holes, looking like it would collapse in a gust of wind.
“Come in, come in.”
The man opened the door and beckoned, but Killian didn’t enter immediately. He looked around first.
“You said it was just the two of you? I keep getting fooled.”
Convinced the outside was safe, Killian left me outside and went in with the man.
“Ugh…”
He grimaced and covered his nose and mouth with his hand—there was a foul smell. Even where I stood, the stench was faintly noticeable.
‘What is that smell?’
Though my mind tried to forget, my nose remembered—it was a familiar odor. I wondered if Killian had noticed it too.
“This smell…”
“Bad because we can’t wash? Actually, this guy’s always been a bit smelly, haha. We should open a window.”
The man opened a wooden window inside the cabin. Light filtered into the once pitch-dark room, revealing vague shapes.
‘What’s that…?’
In the middle of the cabin lay a large, long object. It was only when the man shouted that I realized it was a person lying there.
“Joseph, get up. I brought someone to help. Food and medicine too.”
The man lying covered in a filthy blanket showed no response or movement.
“He must be in a deep sleep.”
Even deeply asleep, no one would fail to hear and wake up from that.
I crept closer behind Killian, who was standing at the doorway, peering inside and asked,
“Is he sick?”
“He got bitten on the ankle by wild dogs. Damn devil dogs…”
Now I understood why the man was alone outside and why he asked for medicine.
‘His group must be injured and unable to move.’
I felt both pity and relief.
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