The Severance : A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Morgan Carpenter

Author:Morgan Carpenter [Carpenter, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Cole pulled the warm compress away from Jenny’s wound. It had been getting redder and hotter all day, and if he got up close, was starting to smell foul. They checked the wilderness medicine book in the cabin’s library, and were worried that infection was setting in.

The book recommended several hot compresses a day, and draining the wound if necessary.

“I don’t know, JJ. I think we need to play it safe and drain it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Jenny said. “You’re not the one that’s going to get prodded.”

Cole took another look at his sister’s side. Three of the four deep gashes left when the mountain lion tackled her and ran off weren’t looking bad. One of the middle ones, though, really worried him. “I think it’s only going to be worse on you if we wait until morning. Let’s just get on top of it now, start treating it right.”

Jenny got up and walked to one of the windows, pulling the curtain to the side to look out into the darkness. It was about an hour before she and Cole were going to switch off which one of them needed to be awake, to stand watch. Considering how close the tree line came to the cabin, that meant mostly keeping their ears open for the sound of anything coming close, and especially for the clatter and rattle of the noisemaker traps they’d put up around the easier approaches through the woods.

Earlier in the day, they’d heard a diesel truck come up the road. It had slowed down near the drive, but hadn’t stopped or gone up it. On the one hand, they were relieved that there were two switchbacks on the tree-lined drive that kept the cabin hidden from the road. On the other, it kept them from seeing what kind of vehicle had gone by. After a tense hour of waiting, listening intently for any sound and watching the drive for any sign of movement, they put on camouflaged clothes, grabbed the two rifles, and made a very careful walk down the drive. The triplines across the drive hadn’t been disturbed, but in full daylight, they’d be visible to anybody that thought to look for them. A quick check of the road hadn’t given them any further information either. There were no obvious tire tracks or footprints they could see.

By the time they got back up to the cabin, Jenny was parched, and put down another pint of water in one long drink and poured herself another. She had tried to hide her discomfort from Cole, but he could see her heavily favoring her wounded side. He insisted she take her temperature, and frowned at her running a mild fever.

At dusk, they heard another diesel engine not far away. It didn’t seem to come down the road towards them, stopping a good way up from the cabin, but neither was happy that it was close enough for them to hear it.

I think we’re going to have some trouble before long.

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