The Three (20 page)

“Wow,” Anna murmured.

“Yeah, fantastic. Didn’t make my life any better.”

Elin grabbed Kael’s hand. A moment later, she found Anna’s slightly curled fingers and entangled them with her own. “It’s not the important stuff in life, I’ll admit, but it can give you a lot of pleasure.” Elin glanced over to Kael. “In otherwise pleasurable circumstances.”

Anna gave Elin’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Uncle Roberto used to tell me that technology never did anybody any good. That it was all that technology that led to the wars and the sickness. The people in my tribe believed in living without all that stuff. We stuck to the forests. We learned to hunt. My uncle would always say that eventually all that stuff that was left behind will be depleted or expired or just…dead. If I depended on it now, where would I be?”

“I can respect that,” Kael said.

“It may take a while,” Elin mused, “but I don’t think those things are gone for good. Maybe it won’t happen within our lifetime, but it’s not like people won’t eventually start it all over again. Look at where you lived, Kael. When the population becomes less dispersed and people start forming communities again, all that stuff will follow.”

“We’re better off without it,” Kael said. “What good has it ever done anyone?”

“Oh, come on!” Elin cried out. “Think about what you lose by turning away from our past like that. There’s a whole world of knowledge and music and beauty out there, just waiting for us to discover it in every town we walk through.”

“I…want to explore that stuff, too,” Anna admitted. “I want to know about the things you love.”

“I’d like that,” Elin said.

Still chatting lightly, they made their way across a bare trickle of river nestled in the middle of towering trees and leafy bushes. No longer did they see the odd cabin or vehicle as they walked; all that surrounded them was falling leaves, buzzing insects, and the warm bond between them that grew stronger every day.

Suddenly, Kael stifled them with a hand held up to shoulder level. Anna stood in silence with Elin, wondering what she had seen or felt that prompted her sudden change in demeanor. Her easy gait, the relaxed smile on her face, had disappeared as familiar tension settled in.

“This way,” Kael murmured. She walked them down a grassy trail that led through a stand of maples, then they stopped cold.

The body sat slumped forward at the base of a large sycamore tree. Dried blood stained the dirt around him, and his hand lay open at his side, empty. He was wounded in the head and chest, and Anna guessed that he might have been dead for at least a week. With a quick glance at Kael, she went and knelt at the corpse’s feet.

“I don’t like this,” Kael said. “At all.”

“Neither do I.” It turned her stomach, but Anna lay her baseball bat down and slipped a hand into the front pocket of the dead man’s jeans. She came up empty, though she hadn’t been sure what she thought she might find.

“We need to keep our eyes peeled,” Kael said from behind her. “And we need to be quiet until we know that whoever killed this guy isn’t still hanging around.”

“He looks like he’s been dead for a little while.” Elin spoke in a quiet voice that hinted at her own unease. “I can’t imagine that his killer has bothered to stick around.”

“Even still, stay close.”

Anna rose to her feet with her bat clutched tight. “It looks like whoever did this picked him over pretty good.

No supplies, nothing in his pockets.”

Kael’s eyes stayed locked on the ground as she made a slow circle of the immediate area. “There was a hell of a fight. He didn’t go down easy.” She pivoted where she stood between the trunks of two tall trees.

“There was more than one of them.”

Anna caught sight of something in the bushes. When she walked over, she found a scrap of silky white fabric caught there, and she disentangled it carefully before lifting it to her nose. It held a light, almost flowery, scent. “I don’t think this is from him.”

“From a woman?” Kael sounded like a positive answer would confirm her worst fears.

“Yes, I think so,” Anna said.

Elin shuddered. “Do you think we could get going, you guys? This is really creeping me out.”

Kael stepped over and rested a hand on Elin’s shoulder. “Yeah, we’ll go, sweet girl. I want to put some distance between us and whatever happened here, for sure.”

Anna took Elin’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Why don’t you tell me more about Led Zeppelin, baby? I’m interested in what you were saying.”

She accepted a look of quiet gratitude from Kael before turning her back on the dead man. Though she would never have admitted it out loud, Anna was just as creeped out as her innocent lover and just as eager to escape from the ominous air of the stranger’s final resting place.

Behind them, Kael sighed deeply. “Let’s be extra careful today, okay, girls?”

Elin’s scream echoed throughout the forest.

“Kael! Help me! Anna, please!”

Anna scrambled to her feet, unsheathing her hunting knife, and immediately took off in a fast run.

Something is really wrong. She wondered why Elin wasn’t using the distress whistle. Where was Kael? She was out practicing with the bow and arrow, but she had to be within earshot. That was the cardinal rule when they enjoyed time alone.

Anna broke through the trees into the clearing where they’d set up camp for the night. She gasped as a large black bear lunged toward Elin, who stood in front of the fire, her hands raised in feeble supplication.

The bear grunted and swiped at her. Elin stumbled backwards over the flames where their rabbits were spitted and came down hard in the embers, one hand trying to brace her fall.

“Elin!” Anna raised her knife intending to release it in a deadly arc toward the bear, but at the last moment she froze in fear. What if I hurt her? What if I just make that thing more aggressive?

Elin scrabbled backwards out of the fire and continued crawling away on her hands and knees. The bear followed and seized her lower leg in its powerful jaw. Elin threw her head back and released a bone-chilling scream.

Without a second thought, Anna raised both hands high in the air so she’d look larger than she was and released an enraged noise as she stomped through the clearing in an attempt to intimidate the animal. “Get the fuck away from her, you piece of shit!”

The bear released Elin and backed up a few steps, growling and baring its teeth. Whimpering, Elin crawled cautiously away. Hands still held high, Anna started a slow advance toward the bear. “Get outta here!” she yelled, furious at the dark blood that stained the torn denim at Elin’s calf.

With a loud growl, the bear reared up and stood on its hind legs. Anna steeled her nerve and willed her feet to stay planted on the ground. If you run, it’s all over.

As she tried to weigh her dwindling options, a fast-moving object whistled through the air from her left. An arrow struck home deep in the center of the bear’s throat. Twisting away, it made a strange whining noise of pain and fell to the ground. Anna swiveled to see Kael among the trees at the far side of the campsite, her face pale and drawn, compound bow with a fresh arrow nocked still held in front of her body.

Anna dropped to her knees beside Elin’s prone body, gasping at the sight of Elin’s mangled leg, visible through her ripped and bloody jeans.

“Fucking piece of—” Kael stalked across the campsite toward the fallen bear. The steel of her blade hummed as she dropped the bow and pulled her sword from its sheath. She advanced on the bear and finished him off quickly and cleanly.

Anna looked into Elin’s frightened hazel eyes. “Baby, you’re going to be okay,” she said, even before she had a chance to examine the extent of the injuries. Her gaze dropped to the reddened hand that Elin clutched to her stomach. “Do you think you’re badly burned?”

Fat tears rolled down her pale face. “I really fucked up. I can’t believe he bit me!” Elin rolled onto her back, sobbing and writhing in pain.

As Anna cut away Elin’s torn jeans, Kael ran to them and dropped to her knees.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.”

At the panicked horror of Kael’s words, Elin looked up through her tears. “I’m sorry, Kael. He just came at me. I…I never—”

“It’s okay,” Anna said as calmly as she could. “It wasn’t your fault. I’ve never seen a black bear so aggressive before.” She took Elin’s ankle in gentle hands and met Kael’s eyes, willing her to re-focus.

“Kael. She’s going to be okay, but we need to stop the bleeding and make sure that nothing is broken.

Bring me some cold water. I want to rinse off my hands before I touch this bite. Get Elin’s bag, too. We need bandages and something for burns. I think she has aloe.”

They worked in silence, their breathing the only sound beyond the occasional chirp of a distant bird and the buzzing of nearby mosquitoes. Anna was so intent on stopping the flow of blood from Elin’s wounds that she barely noticed an insect landing on her ear. Elin lay deathly still on the ground, except for shallow, anxious breaths.

Anna studied her face as she kept pressure on the leg wound. Elin’s lips were bluish, and her forehead shone with sweat. “I’m afraid she’s going into shock,” she murmured to Kael.

Kael grew even paler, if possible. “What can we do about that?”

Anna chewed on her lip. Beg whoever’s listening that she’ll be okay. “We need to treat these injuries and keep her warm and comfortable. I’m not sure that there’s much more we can do out here.”

Kael gently probed at Elin’s wrist and winced when Elin cried out in pain. “Besides the burn, I think it’s sprained. It doesn’t feel broken, but if it’s hairline…”

Elin’s breathing grew more labored, and she brought her uninjured hand to her stomach. “I feel sick. I almost wish I could pass out—” Her whole body tensed as Anna began wrapping the injured leg in bandages. “Am I gonna lose it?”

Anna managed to smile even as she worried about the fogginess of Elin’s gaze. “You’re going to be fine, sweet girl. It’s going to hurt like hell for a while, I won’t lie to you, but we’re going to get you back to as good as new.”

Kael placed Elin’s gauze-wrapped hand on her stomach with care. “I want to elevate that wrist as much as possible. Let me just—” She leaned her backpack against Elin’s. When she had a suitable arrangement, she helped Elin rest her bandaged hand on top. “I’m sorry I can’t do more.”

“Elin, do you have something to help you sleep?” Anna finished bandaging Elin’s calf and pulled back, disgusted by the dried blood that stuck to her hands. “In your bag?”

Elin’s forehead crinkled in deep thought. “Um…” She blinked, looking confused. “Melatonin? I think. Green bottle.” Her words were soft, slurred. “I don’t know if I’ll need it.”

Anna took Elin’s uninjured hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Just in case you do. I don’t want to move you very much, but maybe we can get you to a sleeping bag.”

Kael pulled a green bottle from Elin’s bag and gave Anna a brief nod. “I’ll lay out her sleeping bag on the closest level spot, then help you move her over.”

“Thanks, Kael.”

Elin gazed up at Anna in distress. “I’m sorry.”

Winding silky auburn hair around her fingers, Anna murmured, “Baby, don’t be. You didn’t ask for that bear to attack you. This isn’t your fault.”

“But how am I going to travel? How are you—”

Anna leaned over and, with excruciating care, planted a loving kiss on Elin’s lips. “Hush, baby. Let me and Kael worry about that, okay? You just worry about resting and healing.”

Kael crouched beside Elin’s prone body. “You listen to her, sweet girl. Don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to take care of this, and you’re going to be just fine.”

Elin nodded. “Okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Anna and Kael replied, almost in unison.

With incredible caution they positioned themselves so they could lift Elin’s body one foot or so from the ground. They carried her to the sleeping bag Kael had laid out, settling her as gently as possible. Still, Elin groaned in pain.

“Sorry, little one,” Kael murmured.

“Elin, do we have anything for pain?” Anna asked.

Elin shook her head, and fresh tears leaked from her eyes. “Not really.”

Anna stroked Elin’s forehead tenderly. “Close your eyes, baby girl. Kael and I will take care of you. Just try to sleep now.”

Elin turned her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut. She continued to sweat, and Anna watched her chest rise and fall in rapid motion. “So much for…those rabbits,” Elin muttered.

Anna glanced over at the disturbed fire that still smoldered. The spitted rabbits were blackened, charred shapes lying in the embers. “That’s okay.” Anna stroked a cool hand over Elin’s clammy forehead. “I was getting sick of rabbit, anyway.”

Elin grinned, then sighed deeply. Then her mouth lolled open as she fell into uneasy sleep.

“I was too far away.” Kael’s voice was rough with self-loathing. “Goddamn it, I’m always going too far away.”

Anna pulled Kael into a gentle embrace and ran a soothing hand over her shaven head. “You only got back a moment after me, and at least you were able to stop it. I’m the one who watched her fall into the fire and get attacked by that thing. I couldn’t even throw my knife. I was halfway through the motion when I realized I’d only make it madder. I—”

Kael pressed her fingers to Anna’s lips, stopping her words. “You’re good at healing. Thank you for reacting like you did. I just saw that blood and—”

“I know.” Anna blinked back stinging tears and watched her pale lover toss in fitful sleep. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw that thing attacking her. It was crazy.”