A/n: I know, I know, I know! I'm a horrible person! Not only am I not finishing my other 3 stories, I'm starting a new one from a movie I bet no one has ever heard of! I'm sorry! I really am! I promise! But, hey, at least this one is actually done!
Dan and Scott led the group, Maurice behind them. Chuck stood in the back with Jess, Jeanette, his now wife Leah, and their surrogate daughter, Laryssa. Wild men had attacked them when they woke, none knowing where they were. 24 men attacked, 18 on horseback. Laryssa had been the first to fall; having bared the brunt of the attack holding her own, she was easily knocked to the ground by a horse. Dan, their leading medic, had dressed her wounds, as well as the others, and the group decided it would be better to nurse her to health than leaving her to die. She now shivered and twitched within the confines of Chucks arms, the bandages on her head red and brown with dried blood.
The group traveled around the country for weeks, staying away from larger cities, doing odd jobs for food and shelter in smaller villages. Then Maurice contracted the plague. They had been well away from any assistance when they found out. Dan had tried his best, but could not save his friend.
In her state of psychosis, Laryssa had scrambled about their rest area collecting mosses and fungi, combining them in their spare soup bowl, and twitchingly applied it to Maurice's torso. Within a week the plague left him.
Dan and Scott slowly walked into a small clearing, signalling the others to follow. The stream was not far and food would come. With what little daylight they had left, they hoped Laryssa would have time to make her salve for Scott and Jess, both having contracted the plague.
Chuck and Leah helped sit Laryssa down near the water as the others gathered the things that she would need. As they gathered for the evening, Laryssa twitchingly made her medicinal paste, Leah watching over her lovingly.
Scott started at the sound of a twig breaking near them. Dan lifted himself from a rock, Maurice and Chuck standing beside him, all four listening to the darkness.
"I wish Laryssa wasn't all twitchy and shit," Scott said as he strained to listen. "She could tell us what it is."
"Hey, if it's food, I'm not complaining," Maurice said. "I need more than friggin rabbit food."
Chuck scoffed at him. "It's not even that."
Dan 'sushed' them as another branch broke. Laryssa grew still as a lone man approached the eight. The man had dark hair and pale skin, his face mostly clean. His attire consisted of leather armour and a sword hung from his waist. "Me and my men search for a place of refuge . You seem to have plenty of warmth amongst you. Might we join you?"
Scott looked to Dan and shook his head warily, finally having an idea of what had happened to them all. Dan ignored him, nodding his own head. "Leave our women to their work, and you can share this space with us."
The man signalled to others behind him. As the men settled on the opposite side of the fire, Leah knelt between Scott and Jess, whispering in their ears. The three retreated to the woods as Laryssa wiped her hands on the ground. Having not noticed the newcomers, she sat stalk-still when she looked up and saw them.
Leah returned and saw her staring at the monk, Ozmund. "Laryssa, honey, are you alright?" She sat next to the still woman and put her arms around her. Chuck moved over to Laryssa's other side and waved his hand infront of her eyes. They looked to where she was and saw the monk shying away from her vacant gaze.
Scott and Jess returned and Jess handed the bowl of excess salve to Dan, who covered it with what little leather they had spared to keep it away from the elements. Scott saw Laryssa's face of recognition at the men on the other side of the fire. Gently, he lifted her from the ground and pulled her away from the fire with Leah in tow. When the three returned, the women sat next to the fire, Laryssa lying her head in Leah's lap, contentedly using a stick to draw in the dirt.
"What happened to her?" Ulrich, leader of the newcomers, spoke to Scott as he sat down.
"We were attacked one morning some weeks ago, by wild men. She held her own until one of their horses reared back and knocked her in the head. She was lucky Chuck was close by or she'd be dead. She hasn't been entirely there ever since."
"Why make her suffer? Why not put her out of her misery?"
"Try getting past Leah and Chuck, then ask that question again."
Ulrich looked across the flames at the pair as they watched over the younger woman. Their faces mirrored each other's worry and affection. It was obvious that the woman was not their blood child, but they considered her as such. Looking to the woman he noticed that she held a child like sparkle in her eyes as she drew. 'To think of this woman fighting at all is hard to imagine.'
"Would she mind if I prayed for her," Ozmund asked Leah.
"I don't think she would."
The monk stood and Laryssa stopped her drawings to watch him as he moved around the fire. As he got closer she sat up and looked worried, Leah's words of comfort having no affect on the woman. When Ozmund stood on the same side of the fire, Laryssa threw herself away from him. "NO!" Her body vaulted over Jess and Jeanette landing near Dan and Maurice.
Her head cracked against the rock they sat against, loosening the bandages over her head. Dan and Maurice pulled her away from the stone as Leah and Chuck hurried to her side. "Laryssa, sweetie, wake up for me!" Leah cradled Laryssa's head in her lap as her husband gently pressed the loose rags against the reopened wound.
Dan looked over her, his medical instincts taking over. "Pulse is rapid, breathing is weak." he pulled the last of the clean bandages from his bag and began cleaning away the fresh blood and rewrapping the wound carefully.
"What happened to her?" Wolfstan asked standing to see over the flames.
"Aparently, she didn't take well to Ozmund praying at her side," Jeanette said pulling Maurice and Scott away from Dan and his work.
"I would say we should all pray, but I'm Jewish, none of these people believe in your Christian God, and I don't think Laryssa would be to happy if we did so." Wolfstan and and the other newcomers looked to Dan shocked. "Hey, I'm telling you what I know."
"I shall pray for her regardless," Ozmund said kneeling and making the sign of the cross. That night Scott and Wolfstan, the mute amongst the newcomers, stayed on watch, keeping eachother awake until they both nodded off in the early morning.