Page 51 of Hollow Valley
After he’d consumed the herbs and used the ointments, Dougal drank water, and he laid down and took another nap in the sun.Even with a flannel shirt, a sweater, and his bedroll, he still shivered underneath, so Fergus added his own bedroll, draping it over his brother.
“We should really get moving,” Boden said as afternoon approached, and his worried gaze was to the east, back where the Revvers might still follow us.
They had definitely been hampered by the Loved Ones and the loss of Nell, but all they needed was one or two guards hellbent on revenge with a horse and a firearm.How long would it take them to find us, especially if they decided to follow the river?
“Could we give it just a small while more?”Fergus entreated.He glanced imploringly between his still sleeping brother and Boden.
“If I thought he would wake up fully rested and ready to go,
I’d give him another hour.Hell, I’d give him another five hours.But…” Boden exhaled roughly and lowered his voice, even though Dougal was snoring softly and couldn’t hear him.“I don’t think he’s going to feel better any time soon.”
“What would you have me do?”Fergus asked.“Walk away from my only brother, is that it?”
“No,” Edie said, answering definitively before Boden could.
She’d been sitting on a fallen log beside me, where both of us had been playing with Fae in between upkeep.I mended some of Fae’s clothing that was tattered, while Edie was making cordage out of cedar bark.But as the conversation between Fergus and Boden had grown more heated, Edie had set aside her things.
“We don’t have to leave Dougal behind,” she continued, getting to her feet.“But we need to move quickly.So, we have to figure out how we can bring Dougal along with us.”
“You’re thinking about a stretcher?”Boden asked, and he motioned to the rope she’d made.“Is that what the cordage is for?”
Edie nodded.“It won’t be easy through the trees and over the foothills, but it’s the only way we’re getting him out of here.”
Relief washed over Fergus’s face, and he gave himself a forehead slap.“Why didn’t that cross my mind?”
“You’ve been too busy worrying to think straight,” Edie told him with an understanding smile.“If we’ve got enough cordage, all we need is a couple sturdy saplings that we can lash together, with a tarp for the cot.”
“Come on then, no sense in standing around,” Fergus said, and his attention was already turned to scouting out the trees around us for a suitable sapling.
Everyone scrambled to get to it, with Leandro and I following the others’ instructions since we’d never made a stretcher before.Dougal slept for a while longer, but he woke up when Boden took an axe to a sapling a few meters away.
“There’s no need for all this carry-on,” Dougal said when Fergus explained the plan to him.“If I’m of no use, just leave me where I am.”
“We’re not leaving you, and that’s the end of it,” Fergus replied, undeterred.“Rest up a bit, and you’ll be on your legs soon enough.”
“There’s no reason for us to lose another person, if we can help it,” Leandro added.
Dougal continued to protest a bit more, but honestly, he sounded too weak and tired for much conviction.
Still, while the rest of us worked to assemble the makeshift stretcher, I kept an eye on Dougal.He looked pale and clammy, a sheen of sweat gathering on his brow.
Within an hour, the stretcher was complete, and sturdy enough to hold Fergus’s weight.The plan was for two of us – one at the head, the other at the foot – to carry him across the uneven terrain.We would be moving much slower that way, but it was better than not moving at all or leaving anyone behind.
“You’ve made it up grand for me,” Dougal said once he settled back into the stretcher.The base was made of a canvas tarp, and Edie had put some moss and leaves under a bed roll for added comfort.“I appreciate it all, folks, but you didn’t need to go through all that bother.I’ll be moving on my own soon enough.”
We all agreed it was no trouble, and that he would be well again soon, and then we moved on.We had far to go.
31
Stella
Ten days after Dougal had gotten in the stretcher, he still wasn’t well enough to walk long distances.In fact, he’d only gotten worse.He slept most hours of the day and night, and he still had bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, despite the fact that he hardly ate anything.
Fergus was almost always one of the two people carrying the stretcher, only stopping when Boden or Edie insisted he rest.His hands were blistered and calloused from the wooden poles, but he was undaunted.
During breaks, he practically spoon-fed Dougal broth.He wiped his brother’s forehead when it glistened with sweat, and he added another blanket when he shivered.
The days were long and hot, especially since we tried to stick to open areas when possible for easier maneuvering of Dougal.That meant avoiding the cool shade of the trees.As an added insult, even the clouds have been absent.