Thursday, August 06, 2015

Derailment: Day 4

Word Count: 24,008

Summary of Events:
Fox Paw's stepmother Bobcat Ears died of the illness and was promptly cremated. Matthew continued on driving through the prairies worrying about how white he'd become and how his sisters and childhood friends would react. Fox Paw told her mother she felt guilty for Bobcat Ears' death and wished she could've done more, but her mother told her she couldn't have done anything. Matthew had set up camp for another night and Adonikam went off, discovered a gopher, and ended up getting bitten by it.

Excerpt of the Day:
"A wolf howl sounded, long, eerie, and lonesome off in the distance. Matthew felt a twinge of concern; was the meat well-hidden enough that a wolf wouldn't smell it out? And if any wolves came near, would they spare his horses and his children?
Matthew looked skyward: God knew. Not to mention, Matthew had kept his bow, and he had it with him — although he didn't know how good of condition it was in, being as he hadn't used it in a dozen years — along with some arrows; he could hunt meat for them and show Adonikam the finer points of skinning game, along with all the useable parts.
Shifting the sausages around and checking the biscuit again with his fork, Matthew then looked around and realized that Adonikam had disappeared again; like the night he'd found the snake.
"Adonikam!" he called, quickly getting to his feet.
He couldn't see anything, no matter which way he scanned. His son was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard a bloodcurdling shriek and he leapt forward, going around the wagon to the north, he took two long strides before he found Adonikam with dirt all the way up to the shoulder of his right arm, his right forefinger coated with blood.
Matthew put one hand over Adonikam's mouth and the other around his son's entire right hand. Once Adonikam stopped screaming Matthew shifted his hold on his son to carry him back to the fireside so he could examine the wound.
Taking up the water skin he'd packed, along with one of the washcloths, Matthew poured a little water onto the cloth and opened his right hand. Carefully he wiped the mud and blood off of Adonikam's hand, revealing a small little profusely bleeding cut right at the tip of Adonikam's forefinger.
Carefully Matthew covered Adonikam's finger with the cloth and wrapped it tightly — eliciting protest from his son.
"Hold your hand like this," Matthew said. "I have to get bandages."
Matthew rinsed his own right hand with water from the skin before getting up and fetching the crate in which he'd packed a few medical supplies. He brought the crate over and opened it.
He found a topical treatment to prevent gangrene and the bandages quickly. Uncovering Adonikam's finger again, Matthew put some of the treatment on — which made Adonikam scream — and then tightly wrapped the finger with the bandage; using his teeth to tear it off once it was enough.
Matthew put everything back in the crate and then lifted Adonikam into his lap and held him close until Adonikam's crying had settled down to little hiccup-like sounds."

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