Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice!

Chapter 48

"The horse! She is still running. We need to get her somewhere safe and check her wounds," Micah said as she gripped the reins so tightly that her knuckles became white.

Micah was quite upset about the pain the horse was experiencing. But she knew she had to keep pushing forward, or all of us could be just as bad off.

"We've got to get out of here quick!" Micah shouted to the horse. The villagers were moving fast and were only a few feet behind us.

Wham... Dog form Baby slammed into the crowd. 

"Quick, get out of here. We will be right behind you." 

The villagers were getting way too close because of the horse's injury, which had slowed down. 

"Quickly get up the mountain as far as we can out of sight, and we'll check on the horse's hip injury." 

You push this far at the moment, getting further and further away from the villagers until we can't hear him or see them. We came to a small Creek on the far East side of the Woods. We unloaded Josh and took off the trailer. 

"My mother was a vet for farm animals for a short amount of time when she was younger, so when we would go to my cousin's farm, I had to help her with small tasks," Micah said as she pulled some items out of her backpack, like some rubbing alcohol and a washcloth. 

"Kaysi and Becky, can you still help me hold the horse by the reins? She might buck and kick when I put this on her." 

She applied the alcohol gradually to the injury, using a towel beneath the cut to catch any alcohol that trickled down her leg. The horse is docile; it doesn't move around much. Other than discomfort or the chill from the drink, it caused her to move a bit. 

"Well, thankfully, it only looks like the arrow is at the top of the surface. I have sutures. I will sew her leg up so it heals a little faster, but we really shouldn't run her if we don't have to. To give the laceration on her leg a chance to heal before it tries to pop up again." 

"Do you think it's possible for her to carry Josh?" 

"Personally, carrying the trailer was too much and slowed her and dust down. If we put Josh on the horse so one of us can ride her, the rest of us can keep up with walking. It's save us from having to carry him." 

"That would be the best outcome. Calculating all the odds and different variables. James said quietly." 

I notice that James has been talking a lot more here lately. I see them finally starting to warm up and feel a part of this little group. Or could it be used tired of not being acknowledged? Either way, it was a nice change, I thought to myself. 

We continued to venture towards the meeting place, the tiger demon den. Even though it had caved in, we could still take shelter nearby. By the time we got settled in, the sun was slowly starting to rise. We barely had enough time to unpack and set up a couple of tents.

"I will volunteer to take the first watch. Or keep an eye out for Baby on the others. For any enemies are a danger that might come by." 

Becky interjected, "I think with everything you've been through and the injuries that you have, it's still not completely healed. Maybe I should stay up with you as well to help you stay awake. We'll watch over each other and everyone else." 

"I don't think I could argue with you there. I am slightly restless, but I am more than happy to help you guys out." 

The rest of the group thought this and headed into the tents to get much-needed rest. 

"I want to make a fire to keep us warm and release until the sun fully comes up, but I'm afraid that that would attract too much attention with the smoke." Becky sighed. 

"I brought an extra coat in case mine got wet while we were out here on the island. Here you go." I said as I pulled it out for my back and handed it to her. 

"Thanks, " she said as she grabbed the coat and wrapped it around her body. I'm sliding her arms into the holes. So, what are you going to do if Evan hurt Josh? 

"Something I get tells me he was the one that hurt him, and the question is, why?" 

"The fact that he and his brother fought before Josh's injuries cannot be ignored. I've learned more about him in recent months, but I am aware that he keeps many things hidden. Therefore, I can't claim that we are fully aware of him. Unfortunately, he continues to be unpredictable. 

"I guess you're right. There could also be other reasons, such as Josh having a violent history. You know, before my memory loss. Could he have fought his brother or something and provoked him to attack?" 

"Umm... I don't know how to answer that." 

Baby, Duke, and Calian arrived at the campsite. Regardless of our circumstances, none of them looked in the best mood. I braced myself for more bad news. 

"Wake the others up. I want to talk to all of you. And I only want to have to say this once. Baby said with a tenseness to her voice." 

Micah popped out of one of the tents. Never mind me; I hadn't gotten to sleep yet, anyway. There was way too much excitement going on. 

James popped his head out from around the corner of the tent where he stayed with Josh. He looked over at Micah. "Honestly, neither have I, " he said as he yawned. 

"We have many serious problems going on here," Duke said as he sat on a stump, but he rolled over to where we were gathered. 

"First thing on our list of priorities. Is Josh is going to need blood soon, or he's going to die? We're assuming that Evan would show the same blood type as his brother or at least know what his type is so we can estimate who is a match. Would you guys disagree with a transfusion, given his previous history?" 

Previous history? Becky dodged my question because before they got here, she knew that Josh had gotten into some trouble before. It's not the first time I've heard that he's not been on the nice list for everyone. 

"Well..." Micah spoke slowly as if she were trying to choose her words wisely. Things have happened in the past, although the damage is still done, " she said as she looked over at me. We already know that all is forgiven, and I think it's time that we should move forward. We're not going to let him die, of course, are we?" She said that she looked around at everyone. 

I believe that when she mentioned the damage done, she was attempting to give a hint. Maybe this was why Becky didn't want to answer me when he'd gotten into trouble in the past. They've been told to tiptoe around me and somewhat try to spare me when it comes to trying to trigger my memory in ways that could harm me. Of course, Josh's topic is obviously causing tension among everyone. Additionally, I've observed that they've been careful not to leave me alone with him. My recollections must have a past of some kind. To the suffering I've experienced in the past. Could that have been due to my memory loss due to brain damage?

"Kaysi...Kaysi..." Micah grabbed my shoulder. "Are you okay? It looks like you're a zoning gout a little bit back there. What's your vote when it comes to helping out Josh? How do you feel about it."

"Well, it's our job to spare human lives. That's not something that we should second-guess, and that's not something we should compromise. That's part of what keeps human existence still spinning. The doctor doesn't judge someone when he saves a life. I don't think we should either." 

"Wise words. Duke, not it his head. Then it's settled. There's only one problem we're going to have. Evan was behind in provoking another uprising in the village. We could definitely tell that he was under a demon's influence. Not to be mistaken as possession. He was by no means possessed, but he was still very much in control of his own body. But there was a demon over the top, his shoulder feet again to his fleshly nature.": 

"I want to add." Baby said, "This demon looks like a monkey. I believe it takes on the same mannerisms as the animal itself. It's mischievous and usually hangs out in small packs, being a very social animal. That said, the effects of the demon seem to act like a virus. When one person's affected and comes in contact with another person, they, too, become infected." 

"Are you saying the whole village can go down if the spreads far enough they could be at each other's throats and kill each other?" 

"As long as we're not there to stop them, yes, at the time they had come and goal when they came after us. But we saw inside the deepness of the village where the virus started." 

"Before my grandma was kidnapped, this had started." Calian interrupted. "I understand you need to save your friend because he is knocking on death's door. But my grandmother is in the same condition, if not worse. Right now, those Bandits are holding her for ransom. But there's no guarantee they're going to give her back. Aside from that, she's old, and the stress alone might cause her weak heart to give up." 

"This leads us to our second problem. Do we go for Evan? I'm trying to save the village along with our comrade Josh. Or do we go for the village chief, who is being held for ransom and may or may not be alive? Calian, if your grandmother doesn't make it, you, being the oldest and the next of Ken, will be appointed the next chief. So you decide to save your village and your friends. Or go save your grandmother." 

"That is a difficult choice. I hold many lives in my hands. On the one hand, I could kill half the village if I hesitated. Wives and husbands murdering one another. Parents and children harming one another. When everything eventually settles down, if we win, the devastation that has occurred in our village can lead to even greater upheaval. On the other hand, since I'll be the next chief. I will be judged as I abandoned my grandma in her hour of need; putting off seeing her might have the same impact of causing turmoil in the community." 

"Rather if your grandmother's dead or Alive son, is it going to change the fact before able to save her now or save her later? You said so yourself. Those Bandits might have already done away with her, or her weak heart might have ended her. But do not mind my opinion; do whatever your heart tells you." 

"I hate to say this, but I think we might have better chances of going after grandma and fighting off the bandits ourselves if we had more recruits. We need to go and try to save my village and then recover what people we can. Thankfully, my sister and the twin cousins are at a secret location where she's safe and away from everyone." 

"Everyone, I know it's been a tired, restless day." Duke stood up, dusting off his pants, "But let's go ahead and repack everything up. Now that we've had a chance to regroup and gather our minds together let's charge head-on to the belly of the Beast. If we can get a hold of that monkey demon, we might be able to stop the effects on everyone else." 

"Yes, but how are we going to safely lure him out from the middle of everyone without harming anybody else?" Calian asked.

"It's not like we can wave a banana at him to attract him over to us." Micha joked.

Duke remarked, turning to face us all before glancing down at Josh, who was lying on the ground. "Well, I am willing to wager." "That we are capable of doing something. We can use something that could attract his attention and possibly provoke him. Something or someone! That would have the most impact and cause him to react. Josh is clearly out of the question, so it can't be him."