35 Reunion

We got back to the cave with Estel gasping really hard. I looked from the outside and the entrance was covered in logs, sticks, and leaves to keep cold from entering. As we entered the cave with those sticks we heard a fire. Did they find more sticks? God damn it… Behind the small wall of wood, we saw both of them laying on the ground close to the fire.

"Where did you get the wood from?" I asked and saw even more wood beside them in the corner of the cave.

"We were damn lucky! Actually, I went to the left after you went where you went and saw a man with a lot of wood in his hands laying in the frozen grass. I took those and just came back here and that's why we have so much wood." Matthew said while looking at the fire. With his dwarvish beard on the ground and his eyes reflecting the light. "Why do you look like that by the way?" He added and Marcus also looked at us with a strange look.

"We were fighting a fire tiger…" Estel answered and threw the sticks on the pile of wood in the corner of the cave.

"A fire tiger? That's why your clothes are so burnt up?" The dwarf said and stood up.

"We lost a spear and this one is almost at the edge of breaking." I handed my spear to Matthew and looked at the boar in the other corner of the room. "Can we eat something? I'm starving."

"Sure." Marcus quickly stood up and with the flint knife cut a part of the animal. The ribs this time. "Can someone grab the stone there? The flat ones?" He pointed right under the entrance. Where did they find those? They look like a clear stone plate. No impurities.

"And where did you get those? They look like a work of art or something." I asked both of them with curiosity.

"Oh yeah. You were so long gone that I got a little bored so I went to the right at that time. I got to a small pond with cyan shining water. Really weird actually… There were some stones shaped like that so I took them with me." Again. What is that luck! What. I don't get it. "Really lucky again. I don't know if someone left them like that or anything… I just took it with me" If that could be somebody's else… I hope no one will come here to get those back. They look really carefully made.

"What if it belongs to someone? What if he will come here?" I'm scared. In a fight, I wouldn't be of much help.

"Then… We will either run or fight. I don't want to leave this cave actually. We already made it like this, it's hot and very nice here." Marcus joined out of nowhere. He is right, this is a really good place for survival. It's already late evening so it's colder than in the day.

"I can't run guys," Estel said and I realized that the scar on his stomach started bleeding more than usual. He sat carefully on the ground to not let the blood flow more. From that position, he laid down.

"Jesus… That tiger really got ya didn't it?" Matthew looked at the bleeding wound and the shirt that was already stained in blood.

"Can someone help me?" Estel got closer to the fire. "Can you heat that shiv in the fire?" He asked all of us. Since Marcus had the knife in his hands he did that.

"What do you want to do with that?" Marcus asked while putting the dagger into the fire.

"I have to cauterize the wound…" He started losing his breath with each next word. Still holding his wound really hard. "I'm… Losing strength in my hands. Can someone hold the wound for me?" He added and I leaned towards him. With a lot of strength, I held the wound. I felt his blood flowing on my hands...

"You will scream though… Someone will hear us. What then?" I whispered to his ear to not cause a commotion between all of us.

"I won't. I felt more pain than just a hot blade on my wound. Much worse. Probably you know what I mean by that." Why did he have to bring that up… The scars on my back started itching, my hands burnt a long time ago felt as if they were scorching once more. My stomach… Those two massacres that happened to me also came back. I looked back at the memory of the psychopath. I again didn't see him on our way here… It's so weird. "The dagger should be really hot now. Marcus, please give it to me." Then the demon took that blade in his hands almost red from the heat.

He close to us. He then carefully handed the dagger to Estel. He took a deep breath. "Put my shirt into my mouth." I then took a part of his shirt and put it between his teeth. He tightened his jaw so hard that a lot of spit sank right through it. He took another deep breath and all of us looked at the blade approaching his wound. His hand shaking. The blade got to the wound and he put it a little inside of it. I felt the pain getting into his body but he did not scream. Only hissed from the scorching pain. I saw the blood getting cauterized and the blade slowly losing its red glow.

He then took that dagger off of his wound he let the jaw loose and as it fell he was breathing very intensely.

"Can I get some water?" He asked but I didn't see any water in the cave, not even anything to hold it in. He is still breathing really intensely.

"Sure! Wait a second." Matthew said. Wait… How is he gonna get water?

"Let me do it. With your legs, it's gonna take much longer than a second." Marcus nodded and patted Matthew's shoulder. Matthew punched the wall with his hand with an expression saying 'God damn it! My genetics…" Or something like it.

"Go for it…" He gasped and sat down. How is Marcus gonna get the water here?

"Just wait for a second Estel. Don't lose consciousness." I'm really worried that we may lose him… Even if only for minutes. Still.

"I will do my best to… Be here." He lost a lot of blood. That's why he needs a lot of water now, it makes sense. After a short while of intense breathing, Marcus came back to us. He had a cone made of leaves. Big one. He handed it to Estel and in a matter of two seconds, the elf drank all of it. "Freezing cold…" He coughed and threw the leaf away. After a minute he stood up with the cauterized wound.

"Much better." He said and started looking around his arms probably searching for scratches or burns.

"Be careful though. The wound can still open." Marcus said with concern while laying on the leaves from before. Kind of a bed actually.

"How long do we need to wait for the food?" I asked since my stomach was actually growling for any amount of meat.

"In about two minutes should be good." The meat smells incredible. Maybe it's because of the typical shit we are getting every day but the smell of the meat alone is already appetizing. The sound of fire scorching in this silent evening. We are all sitting right next to each other in the surrounding heat of that cozy fire. Estel already fixed up a little. Marcus and Matthew both looking at the fire talking about some nonsense.

"Hayden stand up." Estel told me with a stick the size of a sword in his hand.

"Now? You are wounded, Estel." I can't fight a handicapped person.

"If on the field you would see a soldier that can't move or is badly wounded. Would you let him be or end his life there with fewer problems?" He stared directly into my eyes in a serious manner demanding an answer.

"I would… End him." He is right. I can't let a person who wants to kill me go. He could always try and stab my back.

"That's the spirit." He took another stick and threw it at me. "Now take a position that you think is suitable for a sword." I listened to his advice and took that crook into both of my hands. Pushed my right leg in front and left a little behind with the sword pointing down. "We will have a lot of work to do…" He said and came close to me pointing with the stick at my legs. "Put your right leg a little closer to the middle but still as if you wanted to advance. The left also in around the same position. Point your sword a little higher than just in the ground so you can take advantage of the length." He described how I should position and I listened to his advice. When he told me that's good, the position felt comfortable and I felt like the 'sword' got a little more reach than before.

"Tha…"

"No need for that now. Try to hit me." He interrupted me mid sentence. He told me to attack but he wasn't even in his fighting position...