USA. Southwest Wisconsin. Milwaukee County.
James Urban's Camp.
The next day Elisa fully came to her senses. She was lying on a bed in the corner of a small room. At first, our guest examined the room with frightened eyes, then she remembered the kind traveler. "A kind man saved me and carried me to this house," she thought. "Who is he? I could tell by his look that he knows something. He also spoke of my grandmother and many things that ordinary people should not know. If he were Torsken's mercenary, I would have been sent to Marionis already. No, he is clearly one of our people!" When she remembered the man who gave her water, she felt much better.
— Thank God, you've come to! — a woman of middle age, unknown but kind-looking, entered the room. Beside her were a child of two or three years and another, older, six or seven years old. — I thought...
— Yes, I have. And who are you? — Elisa asked, sitting up on the bed.
— My name is Miriam. I am the mistress of this house. And your name is Elisa?
— Yes, but how do you know me? — the guest was surprised.
— In your delirium, you pronounced your name.
— And what else did I say? — Elisa stood up, her eyes flashing.
— Do not be afraid of me, daughter. I know all about you, about your uncle and aunt. I know especially much about your Aunt Meredith. I am one of her cousins.
— I have known all the local residents since childhood, but I have never heard of you. Why?
— Because before this, I lived in the city with my husband. Now I moved here at your aunt's request. They say it has become dangerous to live here, so we all must be together.
— And where is my aunt's sister, Ursula?
— She lives in the house next door.
— One more question haunts me. Why have all the houses here changed their location? Or does it all seem like that to me?
— You think correctly, daughter. We moved the location of the wooden buildings with the whole village to deceive the enemies, — Aunt Miriam smiled, then added: — Daughter, enough questions for today. You must first come to your senses. Let's go eat and drink some tea.
— Good, and how long have I been lying here?
— Dex brought you yesterday. Today is already the second day.
— Dex? What, was it the hero Dex himself?
— Of course! He is often here together with his friend.
— Excellent, — Elisa thought, — now I will be safe.
— It's already half-past twelve, let's go, daughter, you must first refresh yourself, — Miriam led her into the dining room. — Soon James will come here with his squad, and you will be in complete safety.
Aunt Miriam's house was quite cozy. Everywhere stood antique things, old portraits and paintings hung on the walls. A typical house of Old World settlers. Outside, the voices of forest birds and domestic animals were heard. People had long ago learned to live in harmony with nature. A better place for solitude could not be found. And what clean air was here! "How did I not know about the beauty and comfort of these places before?" — our young heroine thought. "As a child, playing here, I always wanted to be with my mother. Before, I did not like nature and the land of people. I liked hikes and walking tours through the Spectral Forest with my uncle. He took me more often so that I would not be sad in my father's palace."
Elisa ate her fill and now drank sweet tea with honey prepared by Mrs. Miriam. She also treated the girl to cheese and milk. Everything was very tasty and beneficial for the body. Elisa was greatly exhausted in the last days. She had eaten nothing at all for several days.
— Aunt Miriam, thank you very much for your treat, — the guest said to the hostess. — You are a very kind woman. I will, perhaps, go now...
— No, no, you must stay here until word comes from Uncle Dex. This is not your last meal. You will stay in my house for a few more days until you fully come to your senses. Soon James should come with his squad. Dex ordered me not to let you go anywhere.
— So I am a prisoner now? — Elisa asked sadly.
— No, dear, you are not a prisoner. All this is for your own good. Please, do not think anything bad. If anything you do not like here, say so immediately.
— Good, Auntie! — the guest smiled. — Please excuse me.
— No need for any apologies, you are like family to us. We will all help you.
— Thank you!
Elisa spent this whole day excellently. After lunch, she rested again, taking a little nap. Then she lay on the bed, thinking about all the events that had happened to her. After that, she began to take a walk, not going far from the house. As we said before, the strangeness of this village was that it was inside the forest. "Did the forest swallow the village or did the village swallow this forest?" — Elisa thought. "Most likely, they merged peacefully with each other." "Also, a river should have flowed here."
Different thoughts came to our heroine's head. But when she remembered about the river, all thoughts seemed to be erased from her head. Indeed, a river used to flow here before. Elisa searched for it with her eyes, lifting her legs a little. The water in it was crystal clear. After standing for a while, the girl finally heard the murmuring voice of the stream. She smiled, remembering her childhood, her friends, and quickly raced forward. Finally, here it is! It was not a dream. "When we were children, the adults for some reason forbade us to go to the stream. Why? I don't know." Elisa carefully approached the stream, washed her hands and took a few sips of clean water. How beautiful the world of people is! She wanted to forget all the past and stay here forever. She sat by the stream for a long time and did not hear Aunt Miriam calling her. The guest from the world of dolls was enchanted by the local beauties.
On this day the weather was very clear. High in the sky clouds floated. Today they were like silver dunes. "Maybe there are deserts in the sky too?" — Elisa thought. "However, they look different every day." Her mass of hair blew in waves in the wind, the brilliance of the stream was reflected in her eyes. Never before had she felt so good.
Suddenly a sound like a howl broke her silence. Whose sound it was, she could not recognize. Getting up, she walked along the stream and saw two beings similar to humans. They had wolf heads and the body of a human. Elisa had never met such monsters in her life. Who are they? One of them was clearly wounded, the other was treating the wound. They were wearing human clothes.
— Hold on, brother, the wound is not deep, you will survive, — they talked in human fashion. — Soon we will lead you home.
Elisa stood as if rooted to the spot, looking at them. At this time, the voices of people were heard calling Elisa. Hearing the voices, the strange creatures seemed to come to their senses. They looked around and saw the girl. With the agility of animals, they jumped to the sides.
— Girl! — one of them pointed a finger, the one that was wounded.
— Yes, brother, she will be yours! — the other growled.
And Elisa stood as if rooted to the spot, understanding nothing of what was happening. At this time, guys with rifles appeared from the bushes. Waking up, Elisa quickly turned her head in their direction. This was James Urban's squad. And when she looked to where those beings stood, they were no longer there.
— James! Is it you? — she shouted, embracing him. — My parents were overthrown by Torsken, and the vile "lifeless" want to capture me. How good that you will guard me now, otherwise I thought it was all over with me.
— Elisa, it's already been two years since we saw you.
— How are your parents? I hope things at the factory are going excellently.
— Да, у нас всё отлично, но отец в последнее время не хочет работать. Вернее, не хочет работать на нас, "живых кукол". Он всё чаще набирает рабочих из местного населения. У него даже нет желания быть владельцем фабрики.
— And how then does he manage the factory?
— He hired a few people to look after everything. They, in turn, established their own orders. The once lively factory now looks like an abandoned building. Empty corridors and rusty apparatuses everywhere. As if some environmental or other disaster happened here.
— Uncle Urban always loved his work. Why did he become like this?
Elisa and the whole of James's squad headed to the lawn near the houses of Aunt Miriam and Ursula. Seeing Elisa, Miriam exclaimed excitedly:
— Elisa, daughter, where did you disappear, we were looking for you everywhere.
— She was near the stream, — one of James's friends said.
— Although this stream is close, we do not approach it. Why — I don't know, locals rarely go there. They say unclean forces live there.
— And I already managed to see two beings similar to humans there. They had wolf heads, — the guest said. — By the way, one of them was seriously wounded.
— James, those are the werewolves we saw today, — James's friends said.
— If one of them is wounded, then I definitely hit one of them, — Urban Jr.'s eyes flashed. — We must find their lair or house.
— Later, my children! — Aunt Miriam's voice was heard again. — You must refresh yourselves. Dinner is already ready.
By this time Aunt Ursula approached Elisa and embraced her. She asked her about her parents, and when she heard the unpleasant news, she was very worried. James's squad set out large chairs and a table on the lawn. The women and our guest were setting the table. This was one of James's camps. He was a good hunter and a strong guy. James Urban could fight a whole dozen enemies and at the same time emerge from the fight as a winner. The leadership of such a person greatly inspired his team. He demanded superhuman efforts in training from every warrior so that they would become strong. Therefore, they represented a formidable force for any, even numerous, enemy. The recent battle with werewolves, which caught them by surprise, could not lower their spirit. Well-prepared fighters fought the monsters with their bare hands. Having received a good lesson, the monsters cowardishly ran away, admitting their defeat. They had never seen such strong opponents before. In addition, another one of them received a bullet.
In the evening they lit a large fire and had fun until late at night. Elisa sat nearby and listened attentively to their exploits and cheerful stories. Village residents were with them. The girl noticed also several Indians. Then she asked everyone:
— Guys, where can other beings live?
— They can live in distant places: in the forest, mountains, and valleys. Only where there is no human, — one of James's friends answered.
— He is right, — James said. — Unknown beasts live only far from people. They bypass the human. They do not want to get involved with them.
— And why then do people sometimes meet them?
— Because they watch us.
Several minutes of silence followed.
— They can live nearby too, — an old half-breed Indian, who sat closer to the fire, broke the silence. He was smoking tobacco, and there was a cloud of smoke around him.
— Who are you? — Elisa asked the old man.
— I am the chief of the local Indians, — he looked somewhat slyly at James. — Rather, I was once the chief.
— And who is the chief now?
— There are no chiefs now! — James smiled. — Our respected Henry is a hereditary chief. Moreover, he is half Indian.
— Yes! — Henry confirmed his words. — He knows all the terrain and ancient secret roads and paths.
— James, and you didn't ask him where your sister Olivia could have disappeared to?
— No, because he told me that he doesn't know.
— And these half-human, half-wolves, where did they come from?
— I know all the ancient paths of the Indians and white settlers. How should I know where unclean beasts live?
— But you said that unknown beings can dwell quite nearby, — Elisa did not let up.
— Yes, Uncle Henry, — James said. — Please, think.
— Uncle Henry, you tell us the names of all the paths, and we will draw conclusions from them, — clever Elisa said.
— Paths of hares, deer, badger path... seems like that's all.
— Ugh, — Elisa stood up from her place dissatisfied. — Well, guys, good night. I'm going to sleep.
— Good night, little sister, — the guys answered.
— Good night, Elisa, — James said. — Tomorrow Dex should come with his friends. We will have great strength.
— I will also bring people, — old Henry turned to them. — I also have a squad of Indians. We will repel this arrogant Torsken. He will not bother you anymore, daughter.
— Thank you, Uncle Henry, good night to you. — Elisa went into the house.
— She is very strong and brave, despite the fragility! — Henry looked at James.
— Yes, Uncle Henry, she is very sweet! We must help her.
— You don't know, I have been helping their relatives and loved ones for a long time. This is not the first and not the last fight, my son.
— Yes, I heard, people told me.
— I raised your father from childhood like my own.
— Sorry, I didn't know about that.
— I even participated in the construction of the factory.
— You are a very ancient person, Uncle Henry, — James smiled.
— Yes, I will soon be ninety years old.
— Really, — James was surprised. — I would have given you no more than sixty.
Soon all the guys from James's camp went to sleep in tents. Only James himself and Henry remained to guard the whole camp. The night was dark. Black clouds enveloped the moon. James sat alone in the darkness, by a tree. He was very vigilant. In his hands he held two rifles, and on the ground lay a large knife, which he skillfully wielded. And Uncle Henry sat by the fire and continued to smoke his pipe. His eyes were closed. He could simultaneously sleep and be awake. Beside him lay two axes, with the help of which he had killed many enemies.
An hour passed. James wanted to take a nap for a bit, when suddenly one of the "lifeless" appeared before him. He had not yet had time to recover when the enemy's head flew off. It was a well-aimed throw of Uncle Henry's axe. While James was getting up from his place, another one appeared and hit him hard on the head with something heavy. Five of the "lifeless" dragged James to the side and began to choke him. At this time, Urban Jr. came to his senses. He hit the warrior choking him hard in the jaw and quickly began to attack them. The one who was choking lost his jaw but continued to fight. Another strong blow, and he fell dead. It also became difficult for the others to fight James. They lost limbs and jaws one after another. Urban's son was tireless. Soon the enemies began to fall one after another.
When Jay finally exterminated them, two new ones appeared. They were not like the previous ones, but very fast and dangerous. Although James held his ground against their onslaught, the forces were clearly unequal. These combat beasts began to speed up the pace minute by minute. Just at this time, militant Elisa jumped out of the darkness. One of the enemies switched from Jay to her.
— Little sister, what are you doing here? — Jay cried out piteously.
— Calmly, brother, calmly!
— Oh, Elisa, Elisa!
— Please, do not whine! — our fugitive began the attack.
Jay began to give way to the opponent, and Elisa answered blow for blow. The duel was spectacular. The moon, freed from the embrace of a gloomy cloud, brightly illuminated the glade where the fights took place. It seemed she also wanted to see them.
— Elisa, run! — Jay shouted. — They cannot be overcome, I will hold them both back, and you raise the squad.
— Elisa does not run from vile beasts! She destroys them! — the angry princess answered him.
— Do not be foolish, Elisa!
But the fugitive suddenly with a strong kick knocked out the head of the "lifeless," then quickly switched to Urban's opponent. By this time James was already lying on the ground. Elisa with the agility of a puma broke all the enemy's limbs.
— I did not expect such surprises from you! Huge thanks to you, little sister! — Jay tried to smile.
But that was not all. From the darkness another enemy warrior appeared. After standing for a bit, he growled so vilely that it became scary for all the creatures nearby.
— It's too early to thank me, brother! — Elisa answered.
Suddenly he like a bullet rushed to the girl. But the fugitive, to his surprise, reacted lightning-fast, jumping to the side and answering with a powerful blow to the side of the jaw. The enemy's jaw fell off. At this, Jay laughed loudly.
— Well, you are something, Elisa!
The beast attacked once more, and again failure. Elisa, jumping from the spot, with a kick toppled the opponent. It was an even more terrible blow that Elisa showed us. The opponent fell dead on the grass.
— Let's go, James, — Elisa gave him her hand. — For the betrayal of me, they will see even more than that.
— You don't seem so strong from the look of it, — Jay limped slightly. — What did you learn there at your place?
— Only royal children are taught these fights, — Elisa answered proudly. — And what about our Indian? He killed one with an axe, then fell silent like an old Indian mummy. Maybe he was killed?
— Let's see now what's with him.
When they approached the place where Uncle Henry sat, they were very amazed. The old Indian had not even moved from his place, and a dozen enemy warriors lay around.
— Heroes like Uncle Henry and you, I have never seen in my life, — James sat down tiredly opposite the Indian.
Elisa also sat down beside him. She, examining his wounds, said to him:
— Nothing serious for both you and me. You also fought them excellently. I will also teach you how to truly fight.
— We already train hard every day anyway. Therefore, sometimes we get very tired from it. Yesterday, before we came to the camp, we were engaged in running. I don't know how many kilometers we ran, but we were very, very tired, so I could not overcome the last one. Otherwise I am very strong!
— I have known you, brother, since childhood. If others from your squad were guarding together with you, they would have definitely been destroyed by now.
— Yes, therefore I do not sleep at nights, but sleep when it dawns. I knew that someday they would appear. You also helped us very much!
— If not for me, you would have definitely been dead today. Henceforth do not overdo it with training. Always be ready for battle! Set half of the squad to guard, and let half rest. Then you will be almost fifty percent in combat form. If two or three guards are fighting, and the rest are sleeping, you will definitely suffer a defeat.
— Good, I will accept your advice, little sister. Our squad will now become more combat-effective. This is a very clever tactic. After all, I know, you were always a clever one.
So, morning came. James's squad heard about what happened and was very surprised. They asked the commander why he did not wake them up. James answered them that he did not want to disturb. Several local residents, by James's order, collected the remains of the defeated beasts and burned them nearby. The leader himself stayed in the house and went to sleep. He slept until evening, and got up when his warriors returned.
— How did the day go? — James asked the guys.
They, in turn, were silent. They brought a lot of game with them.
— I asked, what were you doing?
— We, sir, were resting nearby, because we were very tired from your training. Also we hunted a bit so that in the evening there would be something to fry... Now we are full of strength, sir.
— Resting, you say? And who fought the enemies for you all night? — James got angry. And then stood for a while and laughed. Then his face became gloomy. — You stupid hunters! Let this not happen again, or you will become weak. Now let's proceed to the meal. Light the fire! Let's roast your game. For I am damn hungry.