The Sickness

Chapter One - Page Four.

The sick man had yanked handfuls of hair from his scalp and beard, leaving patches of raw, oozing flesh. His face was crusted with thick honey-coloured scabs like birch canker. Slime bubbled in his throat as he spat put the last of the hair - then sat back on his heels and began scratching a rash of blisters on his forearm.

Taka edged backwards, his hand moving to his clan-creature skin: the strip of Wolf fur sewn to his jerkin.

What was this?

Ren would know. 'Fevers,' she'd once told him. 'are most common around midsummer, because that's when the worms of sickness have longest to work: creeping out of the swamps during the white nights when the sun never sleeps.' But if this was a fever, it was unlike any Taka had ever seen.

He wondered what he could do. All he had was some coltsfoot in his medicine pouch. "Let me help you," he said shakily, "I have some... Ah, no, stop! You're hurting yourself!"

The man was still scratching, baring his teeth as people do when the itching is so unbearable that they'd rather turn it into outright pain. All at once, he dug in his fingernails and savaged the blisters, leaving a swathe of b****y flesh.

"Don't!" cried Taka.

With a snarl, the man sprang at him, pinning him down.

Taka stared up into a mess of crusted sores; into two dull eyes filled with pus.

"Don't..hurt me!" hegasped. "My name..is Taka! I'm..Wolf Clan, I-"

The man leaned closer. "It..is..coming." he hissed in a blast of putrid breath.

Taka tried to swallow. "What..is?"

The cantered face twisted in terror. "Can't you see?" he whispered, flecking Taka with yellow spit. "It is coming! It will take us all!"

The man staggered to his feet, swaying and squinting at the sun. Then he crashed through the trees as if all the demons of the Otherworld were after him.

Taka raised himself on one elbow, breathing hard.

The birds had fallen silent.

The forest looked on, appalled.

Slowly, Taka stood up. He felt the wind veering round to the east, turning chill. A shiver ran through the trees.

They began to murmur to one another. Taka wished he knew what they were saying. But he knew what they were feeling because he felt it too: something rising and blowing through the forest.

It is coming.

Sickness.

Taka ran to fetch his quiver and bow; no time to retrieve the willow bark. He had to get back to camp and warn the Ravens.

Finished on — A Saturday. 1/02/2025, at 2:16 AM.

Words — 440.

Chapter Two is coming up!!