Page 49 of Lucie
“Then chances are she’d gotten infected while at one of the other compounds,” Iain concluded.
“Go on,”Yulenurged the doctor. “The woman infected the compound?”
“Yes. The majority of themfell ill. More than half died. It left the compound vulnerable. A month later, they were besieged by Bloods.Durrowsays it took less than a day for the Bloods to overrun them. They ate those they killed, and imprisoned the rest. Every few days, they’d take away a couple of people, who never returned. It’s assumed those people were also eaten.”
“I think they were, too,”Attycommented.
Yulenagreed with her. “How wasDurrowable to escape?”
“He and several others took turns chewing at each other’s bindings. EventuallyDurrow’scame loose first. He told me he had hoped to escape sometime during the night, when the prisoners got wind of something going on. They had no idea what was causing the Bloods to get all worked up, but he saw it as his opportunityto make a run for it. He hoped to reach the next compound and let them know about their situation atWhiterock.”
“If all the prisoners were bound, how did they eat?”Johnaasked.
“Like animals,”Attytold her, sadness heavy in her voice. “They put the bowl or bucket on the floor, and you’re expected to bend over and eat it that way. That is, if you’re lucky enough tohave it served to you in a container. In a lot of cases, most of the time, the food is dumped onto the ground. And there’s only a small amount of it. Which means you have to fight others for whatever scraps there are.” She turned her head slightly, then added, “And don’t ask me about relieving yourself.”
Lucien felt a coldness go through him. From her tone, it was frighteningly clearthat his mother had either gone through that kind of depravity, or was intimately aware of it for some other reason. Either way, he refused to let his imagination take hold. Fortunately, his father broke the awkward silence that followed her comment.
“Then it was our showing up that provided him with a diversion that enabled him to escape. Poor bastard.”
“No tellinghow many souls are still imprisoned inside that compound,”Johnanoted.
“Don’t worry.Teetersonand his men will release them soon enough,” the battle lord promised.
For the next half hour they ate with no further conversation, other than an offhand comment about the weather or the food. When they were done,Yulengathered up the dirty dishes to hand over to a soldierfor cleaning. Lucien was snuffing out the fire when Iain approached him.
“Let me take a look at that head wound before we get back on the road. Been feeling any pain or dizziness?”
Lucien glanced over at whereJohnastood, watching them. “No. Not a thing.”
The doctor gave him a pat on the back. “It’s dry, and there doesn’t appear to be any leakage orpus. You may have lucked out on this one, Luc.”
“Boys? Are you coming or not?”Attycalled from atop her horse.
Chuckling, the threesome went to retrieve their mounts, and the army continued on its way toward Schutz Ridge.
