Forgotten

They entered through the doorway, leaving the sour smell of the air, for the musty odor of decay and dust. Rhena coughed as dust careened through her nose, itching her throat. Isla slid from Rhena’s arm, dropping to the ground, unable to stay balanced with Rhena’s violent cough.

“Isla,” she coughed, “We’ve got to get your leg wrapped!”

Isla groaned in pain as Rhena folded Isla’s injured leg over her good one. Isla was barely keeping consciousness. She wrapped her arms under Isla’s armpits and dragged her across the floor, leaving a path of Isla’s form through the dust covered floor. When she was far enough in, Rhena shut the door and pushed a nearby table to the door, tilted it to its’ side and wedged it between the doorknob and door. The creatures outside could push a door down, but wedging it shut could potentially save them. The windows were already boarded. Someone had used this house since the Cloud, meaning it was probably rummaged through.

“Damnit!” she thought. There may not be any aid for Isla. She knew this was their only hope though - if they had any left. The creature outside had bit a chunk of Isla’s calf, and it would be waking up soon. Rhena knew she had only knocked it out, and soon… it would follow the scent of blood it had gotten a mere taste of.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit” she spat until the breath left her lungs. She looked to Isla again. She needed a solution fast. She scanned the room. Nothing. She ran to the back of the hut. The door to the left had a bedroom laid in disarray. On the right was a small toilet with a sink and mirror. The mirror jutted from the wall; it was a cabinet. She swung it open, seeing only a small bristled plastic stick and some small handled, wooden brush. “Fuck!” she yelled.

She ran into the bedroom, looking for anything to dress the wound. The closet stood to her left. She found an old floral dress hanging in the closet by one shoulder. She needed to cauterize the wound. She looked around for anything to heat. It was so desolate.

“THE MATTRESS!!”

She grabbed her knife from her waistband, dropped her knees on the mattress and slashed it open. She heaved apart the material, hearing the seam rip apart down between her legs. She pushed the stuffing material aside and grabbed for a metal spring. Grabbing it at a connecting edge, she began bending it back and forth to loosen it from its weld. With one side free, she did it again at the next edge. With the spring free, she tore a piece of the dress into a long strip, then another. She took a strip and strung it through the spring, pushed it down taught and tied the strip. She grabbed the other strip and tied it around the opposite side of the spring. Then, when they were tight, she wrapped them around over and over until the spring was secured shut. She ran out of the bedroom and rushed to Isla. She grabbed her fire starter from her belt loop: Scouts never left without one. She pulled a leg jutting from the top of the table and yanked it off, wrapping it with another shred of the dress. She struck her fire starter. Nothing. Then again. She was too anxious. She took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders. She struck again and it sparked, quickly catching the cloth. It was burning through too quickly though. She looked for anything else flammable, some chairs, cabinets, but found nothing quick. She set down the flame and ran to grab more clothing from the bedroom. She needed the flame to last long enough to catch the wood. She ran back, flame almost dead, and held more fabric to the flame, praying it would catch. When it did, she grabbed the chairs. She would need to keep this fire for more than just one table leg’s burn time. She began breaking apart the chair into smaller pieces, eyeing the flame. She saw the table leg sputter. It finally caught. She could make this work. She ran to the toilet, disconnected the hose and banded at the rusted bolts holding the tank on. Thankfully the rust was bad enough a chair leg did the trick. She removed the lid and lifted the tank off its housing. She ran it to the front room and began packing it with chair pieces and some cloth. As she held the flame over some cloth in the tank, she looked back at Isla. Her lips were fading to blue, but she saw a faint raise in her chest.

Once the fire was steady, she grabbed the mattress spring. She wrapped her right hand and placed the spring on the corner of the tank. Once it began turning orange, she grabbed it with her clothed hand and turned to Isla. There was always the danger of shock killing her, but at this rate, she would die without it. She turned Isla upside down. The blood was soaking her leg up her thighs.

“This is going to hurt.”

She cut the pant leg above the bite. Isla moaned unconsciously. Rhena winced and put the metal to Isla’s bite. Isla shot into motion and screamed loud enough that the forest outside echoed her pain. Birds cried out as they fled the pained noise. Isla panted as she came to consciousness, barely aware.

“I’m not done” Rhena breathed. She walked back to the fire in the tank and set the spring on the edge again. Once it was orange again she returned to Isla, staring out blankly. “Once more and we’re done”

Rhena laid her side over Isla’s thighs, bracing on her arm. She felt Isla’s heartbeat through every vein in her body. Bracing herself she drew the hot spring back down on the other half of the bite. The thrashing and scream quickly died down with a heavy thud. Isla had again gone unconscious.

That night there was thudding and clawing at the door as the beast tried to reach its prey. The whole night Rhena covered Isla as if the beast trying to enter would break through any second.

As dawn began to rise, the beast stopped prowling the hut, going off to find more accessible prey. Another few hours later, Rhena finally allowed sleep to possess her.

She arose near dusk, realizing she had fallen prey to sleep. She turned to Isla, whose breathing was steady, but still unconscious. At least her lips regained color.

Four days into their scouting trip,the hunger began to set in. Isla had been in and out for the past two days.

“We need to get back to the city. We’ll starve if we stay out here, or become prey.”

“I can barely walk. Go back and bring back a larger scout group.”

“We’re 5 hours from the city! By the time I got there, it would be dark! They won’t leave until morning!! You would be alone for two days!!”

“I can’t make it, the beast is still nearby, you know it is. You need to go!”

“How am I supposed to leave you? You’re prey sitting here.”

“It’s the only chance we have!” Isla spat, “Go! Before the day gets late.”

Rhena thought, a scowl across her face. “Fine, but you have to stand up and reinforce the door.”

Isla lifted herself, grabbing the wall for support. Rhena moved the table enough for her to squeeze through the door.

“Keep your knife close,” Rhena said as she slid through the cracked door. Isla nodded in confirmation as the door shut. Isla braced against the table and wedged it back in place. She slid her back down against the bottom of the tabletop.

Isla sat for hours, praying Rhena made it back to the city. Finally, hunger tore through her. She needed a distraction. She hobbled to the bathroom, rummaging through the open mirror cabinet. She grabbed the bristled stick, ran her finger over the bristles and set it back down. Then turned to the bedroom. Clothes traced along the floor from the closet. She went towards the closet. She peered in and saw a small chain in the corner. It had an object strung on it. She lifted it, wiped the dust from it. It was shiny. She turned it over in her fingers. She pocketed it. She would ask Lola about it when she returned - if she returned.

That night she was in and out of sleep, pain and hunger woke her. Her leg was itchy and sensitive to any movement. How would she make it back, even with another scouting troop?

That afternoon she heard voices.

“This is the hut! She’s in there!” Isla bound upward, then was quickly brought down by the seize of pain. She hunched her way to the table as Rhena pounded the door. “Isla!” Rhena reached for her, hugging her and bracing her up. “I brought Jamal and Sention. We brought a small cart. It’ll be bumpy, but it’ll get you home. Here, have a bar.” She pushed a bar made of fibers harvested at the city greenhouse. “Thanks” Isla reached as her stomach groaned.

The ride back took 8 hours. Thankfully, the dark descended as they were near city limits. They had passed growls, but none neared their group as they trenched through the forest. Once in the city limits, Isla went to the healer, passing through the luscious greenhouse to get to the office at the opposite enclosed end.

The healer kept her for 3 additional days to make sure the bite didn’t become infected. Rhena had been trained well enough to cauterize the wound, and somehow bacteria hadn’t seeped into Isla’s blood.

Once she was released, Rhena was waiting at the doorway, ready to help.

“Lola wants a debriefing,” Rhena explained as she grabbed Isla’s arm around her neck.

“I have something to ask her about anyway.” Isla grabbed the chain out of her pocket.

“What is it?” Rhena asked

“That’s what I was going to ask Lola.”

Lola began to weep as she reached for the locket.

“We’ve lost so much of what we were, and what life could give us.”

“What is it?”

Lola chuckled through her tears. “It’s a heart. It is a symbol of love.”

Rhena looked at Lola; puzzled. “I’ve seen hearts. That’s not a heart.”

“Draw me a heart,” She told Rhena.

Rhena walked to the right of where Lola sat and grabbed some paper from the planning table. She dipped her finger in the pile of ash in the bucket atop the table. She drew an oval that tapered smaller at the bottom.

“Now another.” Rhena heard from her left. She drew another heart.

“Now give them here, Rhena”

She did as asked.

Lola took the two pieces, held one up to the window and motioned Rhena and Isla behind her chair. As Rhena stood, letting Isla brace her arm on her, Lola took the second piece of paper, faced it toward the other and lined them up. Lola grasped the bottom two pages in her left hand and lifted the chain up in her right. The light filtered through the pages - The two hearts lined up perfectly to show an image, resembling the shape that hung on the small chain.

“Your heart feels love when you are with those most important to you and when you hold them close to you - your hearts align.”

“So this symbol is for when you find your other heart?” Isla asked

Lola’s smile grew wide and sincere. “Yes, my dears, your other heart is out there, and I think it’s time our society began rebuilding, so we may regain some of what we’ve lost.”