Chapter 32: The First Strike

[Cole]
The last time something like this happened was when his parents died.

The cave had exploded and spewed flaming rocks all over the village, crushing everything that stood around it. Fire was everywhere, reducing everything meaningful to useless ashes - houses, trees and people. Those who survived death suffered harsh burns that took days to heal.

Cole’s memory of the explosion, before and after, had eroded with time until it became a blur.

Today, it was revived.

Owin was lying on his bed, twisting and grunting in excruciating pain. His entire exterior had been burned, revealing the raw, pink flesh, red veins and yellowish-white blotches underneath. There were no traces of Owin; the squirming body was completely unrecognizable.

The air was thickened with the bitter smell of his burnt limbs and deafened with the dense silence of the audience.

Cole watched silently as Aeson, the village doctor, tended swiftly to the urging wounds. He felt a squeeze in his hand, looked down and saw Dove’s pale hands in his. Her eyes were stuck on Owin and he saw fear in them. He looked down at their hands again and gently squeezed hers back.

After a silent deep inhale and exhale, he found his voice. “Updates.”

“We caught a rogue,” Jude’s mechanical voice said. “One of the cubs saw him and alerted us. Owin did the chase and caught him. Then four more appeared out of nowhere.” After a hard swallow, Jude continued, “We fought them. A few of the cubs, Owin and I. One of the rogues threw a bottle over and Owin took the hit.”

Cole glanced down at Jude’s tight fists and white knuckles and said nothing.

After another deep breath, Jude added with a strained voice, “It was a clear liquid with a poisonous smell.”

“Kerosene.” Megan turned to Cole with firmed eyes. “A highly flammable chemical.” Seeing Jude’s knitted brows, she added, “It means the smallest spark could cause a huge fire with it.”

Cole widened his gaze at Jude who didn’t look back but kept his eyes on Owin and said through his gritted teeth, “Yeah. They threw a torch at him.”

“Fuck.” Cole dropped his head and kneaded the strain between his eyes. Damn it! He cursed silently.

Without another word, Jude turned from Owin, who was now tossing about and shrieking in pain and stalked out of the room.

Cole flipped his gaze back to Megan and said, “Make sure he doesn’t overdo it.” He knew that Jude would be eager to train the young fighters even harder now so they wouldn't end up like Owin.

Megan nodded knowingly and headed for the door when she halted, turned around and said, “The bottle was aimed at Jude, Cole. One of the cubs saw it.”

Cole exhaled heavily. “Owin took it for him.”

Megan nodded and her eyes reddened. Dove went over and hugged her. After a quick exchange of comforting and encouraging words, Megan left and Dove returned to his side.

Cole looked at the bowl-haircut elder and said in a low solemn voice, “Patrick, gather the elders. We're meeting now.”

At his words, Patrick came alive and shot out of the room.

The wheels of Cole's mind churned furiously as it laid out the plans for the coming days. They would need to double the guards, widen their area of watch and set up a curfew for the women and cubs. He needed to talk to Megan again - they needed to learn more about explosive devices and dangerous chemicals.

They have to act fast before the next attack. Lots of preparations would need to be done in the shortest time possible. They couldn't afford to waste the next second.

He was about to turn and leave when Dove grabbed his arm.

Cole didn’t know what to say but he was relieved to see her even though she had been with him all the time.

“I’ll be here, Cole,” she said with a firm gaze.

He gave a gruff nod and left.


******

[Dove]
Aeson is a soft-spoken man with kind eyes behind a pair of thick glasses.

After Cole left, I watched on as his nimble fingers worked their magic on Owin. No sooner did Cole leave, Owin stopped struggling and seemed calmer. But some parts of his body were still twitching uncontrollably.

Confused, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why isn’t he healing?” I have not come across severe burns but I'm sure we will start healing as soon as the burning stops.

Dabbing Owin’s burnt toes with purple medicine, the quiet small man with a pompadour hairstyle glanced at me, pushed his specs back and squinted.

“Yes, Luna. You’re very sharp," an airy squeaky voice spoke. "He should be healing but he’s not. I suspect there’s something in that kay-ro-sin slowing it down.”

The red candle sprung in my mind and I jolted forward, my voice was eager to share. “Could it be silver, doctor?”

The doctor gave me a blank stare, then he pushed his specs back and looked away. Quietly, he returned to dabbing the blackened fingers with the same purple liquid.

Suddenly, his head shot up at me.

“You may be right, Luna.” Doctor Aeson pushed his specs back and wriggled his nose. “I thought it wasn’t possible. Silver burns and kills us instantly. We can’t survive it.” He returned to the dabbing and continued, “But with tiny amounts. It is possible.”

There was a stretch of silence as he dabbed the same liquid on the shoulders. Once he was done and satisfied with his work, he stood and came to me. “I have to do some tests to find out more. But, I’m curious, Luna - what made you think of silver?”

I tried to hide my surprise with a smile and then quickly explained that a member of my old pack had a similar encounter. “It’s just a guess,” I breathed.

The doctor nodded at the ground and thought for a while, then he asked if he could get some of the kay-ro-sin from that bottle to do some tests.

I nodded and smiled awkwardly back. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Since the bottle had smashed, I wondered what could be left to use. But, Megan might have some idea.


******


“We could bring Aeson to test the soil instead. The bottle pieces would be useless by now - any remains of the liquid would’ve dissolved into the soil,” Megan explained patiently. I nodded along.

When she finished, I thought she looked exhausted and rubbed her back gently.

“I’m alright.” She stared blankly at her food and sighed. "Jude's not eating. He's still in a daze." Abruptly, she stood, her eyes red and misty. "I gotta go to him."

I told her to bring some food over and Claire swiftly packed some of the soup for her.

It was deep in the night when the giant finally returned.

His heavy footsteps came towards my room and paused at my door for a while, and then continued down the corridor. After another moment had passed, I went over to his room.

It was dark when I entered.

Following his steady breathing, I found him seated on the floor in front of the opened window. In the faint moonlight, I could make out his silhouette - his back against the bed, an arm resting on a propped up knee, and his head was down.

Quietly, I sat with him and through the stillness and silence, staring at the black starry sky outside the window.

"Someone needs to take over for Owin until he heals," Cole finally said. There was no sadness in his voice but I could feel his pain.

I turned to him. The moonglow lit up his eyes and they looked tired. I whispered calmly, "When are you going?"

His weak smile came through to me in the darkness. "Tomorrow,” he muttered. His fingers came around my wrist and he gently pulled me to him.

I came to my knees as he rested his forehead on my shoulder, hiding his face from me. It seemed natural for my arms to go around his neck and pressed his head close for a warm hug. His arms also went around my waist and held me tightly.

I sighed and rested my cheek on the top of his head, patting his neck in a comforting way.

"You're coming with me," he said after drawing in a deep breath.

I couldn't say no.