By Their Cold Fingers by Timothy Bryan

Author:Timothy Bryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: nonfiction
Publisher: Timothy Bryan
Published: 2022-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Morning mist drifted through the isolated meadow, obscuring the primitive view of icy mountains in the distant interior of Greenland. As clinging fog rolled across the plant-starved field, the shapes of the hunting companions were intermittently shrouded by the mist, looking as if they were ghostly images repetitively carrying out some eternal duty in the growing light of day.

Pinging from simple tools rang through the morning air as several of the party members disassembled their basic tent structures from the night’s camp, while others carried supplies to be loaded on ships for the next phase of their journey north.

Ketil and Sigmar carried an injured man between them on a makeshift stretcher toward the shoreline. Stepping gingerly next to the party’s beached boats, they carefully set the man on the ground next to another wounded companion from the night’s harrowing battle with the crazed bear. Walking away, their temperaments were sour and depressed as they paced toward the crumpled outline of the slain bear in the middle of the nearly packed-up camp.

Simple bloodied bandages covered the head and face of one man, while the other was bound tightly in skins against the cold. The second man’s face was nearly covered under the fluffy animal hair of his blankets, but what could be seen of his sallow complexion showed the worrying pallor of a man with potential internal injuries.

Galmand and Sigri attended to both men, keeping them comfortable in the freezing breeze that had picked up across the sea’s rolling waves. Neither looked happy about their survival prospects—or what saving them might mean for their mission to retrieve food for the village.

Galmand made the sign of the cross over each of the men, then stepped back with a worried frown. Behind him, Erik, Kristian, Thorstein, and Rand flashed similar concerns as they stared down at the injured.

“Will they…be alright?” asked Kristian.

Moving his gaze up to the cloud-streaked sky, Erik shook his head and breathed in the brisk air. Keeping his voice low, his tone was not optimistic. “I don’t know. The injuries are severe…I never saw a white bear attack like that. It was like it was out of its mind, even for a beast.”

Stepping closer to the other men, Galmand showed a tired smile and gestured back to the wounded men. “They may survive, God willing, but they must return to the Eastern Settlement. They are in no condition to go with us on the hunt.”

Erik walked forward and bent over one of the men, moving a blanket to make sure he was comfortable. Standing fully erect, Erik stretched his back and motioned south, toward where they had come from the day before. “I’ll take ‘em back. The rest of you need to continue up to Disko. The risks are too high to wait. You oughta be able to fit enough dead seals onto three boats to make it work.”

It was quiet for a time as everyone considered the best course for the group. Shaking his head, Rand was the first to respond.

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