Camille
She wasn’t sure whether anyone had invented a word to describe her exhaustion. What the hell was that thing? Camille was still trying to process it when Daymond and Bernard finished changing back to their human forms and sat beside her. She wasn’t surprised to see Daymond eyeing the bloody leg.
“Okay. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I hate the woods” he declared in a chipper tone.
Bernard laughed, but no one joined him, making him quickly stop and sigh. “If it wasn’t for Longnose and his pack. I’d agree with you and refuse to come back here.”
He wrapped an arm around Camille’s shoulders and looked at her. “Are you okay?”
She shrugged and pointed at her leg. “It bit me.”
Bernard’s eyes widened as he quickly tore off some of his sweatshirt and pressed it to her wound. Fresh blood oozed up under the pressure and Camille couldn’t stop herself from falling backward onto the unforgiving ground.
“Day? Daymond, come here. I think she’s going into shock!”
Camille’s eyes refused to stay open. Why am I so tired?… She felt Daymond at her side almost instantly and smiled. Her little brother always tried to act tough when he wasn’t making jokes. And she needed to hear one now, but all he said was, “What do we do?”
“We need to carry her back to camp. Her healing ability isn’t working for some reason.”
“Because of the bite?”
“How should I know?!” Bernard snapped. Camille’s eyes opened. She wanted to calm them down, but her tongue refused to cooperate. Bernard carefully picked her up so he could keep one arm under her legs and whispered. “I’m sorry, Day.”
“It’s fine. I’ve heard worse. Now tell me what to do.”
“We need to keep pressure on her wound. The blood isn’t clotting. So we can’t leave her alone. Can you run ahead and let the others know we’re coming? Longnose is sure to know what to do.”
If Daymond said anything, Camille didn’t catch it. Her hearing was starting to fade as sleep became more and more demanding. They’re getting along so well… It made her happy.
Bernard’s voice sounded like he was talking into a fan when she opened her eyes again. And he was still holding her.
“I know you’re tired, Camille. But I need you to stay awake, okay? Daymond just ran to get help while I try to meet them halfway. Do you understand me?”
She did. She was even sure she nodded. But the darkness claimed her again a moment later.
Daymond
Please, be okay. Please, be okay. Please, be okay! Daymond tore through the woods, ignoring the stinging branches that seemed to have minds of their own as they made tiny scratches that healed almost instantly due to the adrenaline. His feet felt like they were slamming against the Earth with every step, yet he still felt so slow.
Did whatever that thing was cut me? He didn’t think so. The creature had been more interested in pounding them with his fists than anything else. But this knowledge did nothing to calm his nerves. Camille’s wound wasn’t healing. His sister, the first sibling he’d met and one of the few people Daymond trusts, might be dying.
And he couldn’t do anything except try to find help. I should have made Bernard go instead. He’s taller. He would have been able to cover more ground while I- While he held his sister and tried to get her to camp. Daymond groaned and shook his head in frustration. She’ll be fine. Bernard won’t let her die.
Daymond saw the log seconds before his foot connected, sending him flying to crash against a bush. He groaned and tried to stand, only to feel a pair of hands on his shoulders. He shouted and tried to push them away without thinking, but another pair of hands quickly grabbed his wrists.
“Easy, Daymond. It’s just us. You need to stop pushing people. It’s going to get you killed someday.”
Daymond stopped moving and stared at the two women in shock. “Luna? Crescent?”
Luna smiled softly, still gripping his shoulders as she asked. “Have you calmed down yet? That was one nasty fall you just took? What are you running away from?”
He shook his head and pleaded. “You have to come with me. Camille got bit, and she’s not healing–”
“Hey. Hey. Hey. Calm down. Take a breath. What do you mean Camille isn’t healing? Did you run into a vampire?” Crescent asked while patting his back, but Daymond refused to be comforted.
“I don’t know what it was! It looked human but had a dog’s head and was naked. It’s still out there. It did something to Camille’s leg, and Bernard said she was going into shock. We have to go now!”
The two women stared at each other, and he didn’t miss the horror on Luna’s face as she asked. “Dog’s head? With a human body?”
“A naked dude that’s easily as strong as my dad. It took me and Bernard working together to beat it.” He didn’t know if he wanted to be right or not, but he had to ask. “You… you know what it is, don’t you?”
“It sounds like a rougarou,” Luna stood and helped Daymond to his feet, keeping an arm around him so he couldn’t run off, and turned to Crescent. “We need to tell Longnose.”
“After we help Camille,” Crescent agreed. Daymond took a deep breath and relaxed as several members of Longnose’s pack began heading in the direction he came from. They had numbers on their side. But will that be enough?
“What’s a rougarou?” he asked.
“Kind of like a werewolf, except they are made with magic, usually a curse. It’s… not good that you and your siblings ran into one.”
“Why?” Daymond demanded, feeling rage take away his fatigue now that he was getting some answers. “Why did it attack Camille?”
Luna shook her head. “Later. Let’s get your sister to safety and wait for Longnose and Bruno. They went to make sure Antione is alright.”
Daymond wanted to argue, but he held back. Camille’s safety was the most important thing right now. Antione took down a goblin by himself, and with Longnose nearby, there was no way he wouldn’t be fine. Daymond was still skeptical about Bruno, though. But he’d worry about the massive werewolf later.
Bernard
He didn’t dare run. Camille wasn’t heavy, but she felt too light to him. He tried not to look at her slowly paling face and failed every few minutes. It almost made him trip, but he kept going. Camille’s life was in the balance, and Bernard refused to let his family down.
I should have stayed in my werewolf form. It would’ve made carrying her easier. But that would have meant wasting time that could have prevented them from getting help. And that was something he knew Daymond wouldn’t forgive. All four of them have grown closer since the last time they were in the swamp.
But the youngest two already knew each other when their father came into his and Antione’s lives. I wonder what he would do in this situation? Despite only knowing Robert for about a month, Bernard knew his father cared for them. He just wasn’t sure if it was in the right way. Bernad had asked his mother about Robert a few times, but she simply shrugged it off. He didn’t know if she knew the truth about Robert or himself.
He shook his head and walked faster. He didn’t have time to dwell on the past, but he couldn’t stop his thoughts from going all over the place. The fog dampened most of the sounds near him, but Bernard knew plenty of animals wouldn’t be bothered by the odd weather. It almost reminds me of the last battle against Jean-Claude. He’d concealed his pack’s presence behind some mist, but this is thicker.
The thought almost made him stop walking. He cautiously looked around, keeping one hand wrapped around Camille’s lower leg, but he could feel her blood slipping through his fingers. She mumbled something into his shoulder, making Bernard chuckle as he crept forward.
He didn’t like how the fog clung to everything and turned his surroundings into a mass of white and grey as it devoured everything. The same cover he desperately hoped to protect him could just as easily be a camouflage for something worse than the monster they fought. Bernard knew his fighting skills weren’t as sharp as the others.
But nothing short of death would make him put Camille down. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking when some twigs snapped in the distance. That’s too many to be a coincidence or the wind! He tried to back up but almost tripped over a rock as several branches above his head creaked and groaned.
Bernard risked looking up, praying he didn’t see anything… and his wish came true as nothing leered down at him. But he almost jumped as Daymond called his name a second later. “Bernard? What are you doing? Is Camille okay?!”
He slowly exhaled and nodded as his little brother and some members of Longnose’s pack surrounded him. “You just scared the crap out of me, Day.”
Daymond wrinkled his nose as if he smelled something terrible and said, “Ew.”
Bernard would have laughed, but Luna started examining Camille. “How long has she been bleeding?”
Bernard looked at Daymond, and they both shrugged. “We don’t know. We found Camille with that thing that was about to hit her. Do you know why she isn’t healing?”
“Luna says it was a rougarou,” Daymond said as the woman gently moved Bernard’s hand to inspect the wound.
She hissed and looked at Crescent. “We need a fire.”
Crescent nods and turns to the others. “Form a circle. We don’t know what might come looking once Camille starts screaming.”
Bernard held his sister tight to his chest and demanded. “What’s going on? Why is Camille going to scream?”
Luna stayed calm as she stared into his eyes. “The thing you fought is called a rougarou, among other things. Normally, getting bit by one wouldn’t be a huge problem for a werewolf. We’re immune to their curse transfer magic. But the ones who live in this area all answer to a Voodoo Queen. I don’t know if Camille was specifically chosen or the rougarou simply struck when it saw the opportunity. But this might be a warning. Camille’s wound isn’t going to heal on its own. We need to cauterize it. Do you understand?”
“C-cautaurize?!” Bernard looked from Camille’s pale face to Daymond’s confused one before pleading with Luna. “There’s really no other way to help her? We could make things worse!”
Luna lightly squeezed his shoulder and shook her head. “Trust me, Bernard. If we knew of a better way, we would. But Camille is going to bleed to death if we don’t do something.”
