Chapter 2: The Hare and The Bear

The Hare and The Bear

T

he bear wasted no time picking her up and carrying her to the third floor. He put her on the small dining table and went to his backpack. He opened a side pocket, pulled out a small tin case, took it to where she lay, and opened it to reveal three small pink glowing crystals. He carefully peeled off the bandage on her leg. There was a three-inch long, deep gash on her lower thigh. It was an angry red and swollen. When he touched it, she groaned. He picked up one of the crystals and gently drew it down one side of the wound. He then gently pinched the edges together and drew the crystal back up on the other side. Once he finished, the redness and swelling were dramatically reduced, and the wound edges were knitting together. He repeated it with the gash on her scalp, above her right eye. That wound was not as bad as the leg wound.
         "Use about half that crystal. Hopefully, that is enough," he said.
         The Hare opened her eyes and said, "Who are you? Where am I?"
         "Ah, I am Banardu Toller and you are in an apartment I broke into!"
         "Oh," She sat up and touched her head, then said, "You healed me? You are a healer?"
         "Ah, no. I just brought some healing crystals with me this trip."
         "Healing crystals? I've never heard of that."
         "Really? You must be from another world. I stole them from the North Wizard's store house. He had a bunch that he probably stole from someone else."
         "Well, thank you. I don't know how much longer I could have gone on."
         "You are welcome. I didn't look around downstairs; so if you have anything down there, you should go get it. I will see what food is available."
         "Oh ... I don't have anything. Some Trolls took my backpack just after I got here."
         "Typical Trolls," Banardu said then as he waved a hand toward the left wall, continued. "This appears to be a goblin woman's apartment. You should look through the clothes in the room behind the first door over there."
         "Also, there is a bathroom with running water behind that door," he said pointing to the bathroom door.
         "A shower? I can take a shower!"
         "Not a hot shower, unfortunately, but yes, a shower."
         "What is your name?" Banardu asked.
         "Mylla van Lutnu."
         "Well, Mylla, call me Banu."
         The Hare slipped off the table and stood gingerly on her legs. She flexed and moved around a little then said, "It feels so much better, doesn't hurt at all. Thank you so much, Banu."
         "Go ahead and look for some clothes and get yourself cleaned up," Banu said as he duck-walked past her and into the kitchen.
         "By the way, I used up all the shampoo. You should look around for some more before you get wet," he said from the kitchen.
         Mylla nodded as she walked over to the first door and passed into the room beyond.
         It was a tight squeeze for Banu in the kitchen. He could sit on the floor and open all the cupboards without rising. He looked through all the cupboards and the refrigerator. He found a couple of good boxes of pancake mix, ground coffee, eleven chicken eggs that were still good, and in the freezer he found some frozen vegetables. There were cans of vegetables and fish, too. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to suffice for a single meal for him and the Hare.
         He stopped and returned to the living room, moved some furniture around and stretched out on the floor. He was still damp from his shower, and so were his clothes. He turned up the heat and was rewarded by the heater coming on.
         "I wonder if there is a dryer in the basement?" Banu asked out loud.
         "I could go check," Mylla said as she returned to the living room carrying some clothes, then asked. "Are you all right?
         "Yeah. This ceiling is a bit low for me. My back was starting to hurt from being hunched over all the time. I pulled some things out of the cupboards, but actually making something would be really hard for me in that small kitchen."
         "That makes sense. Just relax, I will take a quick shower and make us some food."
         "Thanks, that would be great."
         Mylla stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. When she returned to the living room a half an hour later, she wore a black blouse and a dark blue pleated kilt. She had a wide leather belt around her waist. She found Banu asleep on the floor. He'd rolled on to his side and curled up. She stepped into the kitchen and surveyed it. It was small, barely 9 feet on a side. There was a refrigerator on the left, a stove on the right, and a sink with a window opposite the door. She looked out the window.
         There was a gap of about three yards between this building and the one next door. There were a few windows in that building, but none were lit.
         The kitchen window had curtains, but they were mostly see-through. She looked through the drawers and found a couple of baking sheets under the stove. She placed them in the window, so they overlapped a little and would block any light from the kitchen. She turned on the kitchen light and used up all the pancake mix, and then stir-fried the eggs with the frozen vegetables with some spices from the cupboard. She was almost done when she heard Banu moving in the living room.
         "That smells great. I am so hungry," Banu said.
         Mylla picked up a platter piled with pancakes, stepped out of the kitchen, placed it on the dining table and said, "Here have some pancakes, eat all you want."
         Banu snagged a pancake off the plate and said, before stuffing it in his mouth, "I love pancakes!"
         She then passed him a large bowl with coffee in it.
         He sipped that and said between sips, "Thank you so much. Don't forget to eat yourself."
         "I will. I think I've made plenty, but I don't know how much you eat."
         "Unfortunately, I eat a lot," Banu said with a frown.
         Mylla handed Banu a large bowl filled with the eggs and vegetable stir-fry, and a large serving spoon. While he was eating that, she brought out a platter with the rest of the pancakes and set it on the floor in front of him. She went back into the kitchen and returned with a smaller bowl of eggs and vegetables, and a plate with two pancakes on it. She set it down on the small table and started eating.
They ate in silence until the food was gone.
         "I'd love to stay here the rest of the night, but I don't think we can. The goblin's chasing me aren't particularly smart, but they do have dogs. The dogs aren't smart either, but they have really good noses. I think we should keep moving for at least another couple of hours, then we can take a break," Banu said while he squeezed his clothes, then added. "Unfortunately, these aren't completely dry yet, but it'll have to do."
         Mylla put the dishes back in the kitchen while Banu pulled on his clothes. Mylla dithered over the sink for a moment.
         "Seriously? The woman who lives here will be way more upset about the front door and her missing clothes than dirty dishes," Banu said with a grin.
         "Yeah, you are right, but it feels wrong to leave it like this," Mylla said as she joined him at the front door. He had his backpack on.          They took the stairs to the first floor and Banu shoved one of the hutches out of the doorway. He stepped out into the small front porch and sniffed the air.
         "The wind is with us, and I don't smell dogs or Goblins. Let's go," Banu said.
         They stepped out into the street and walked along the buildings to the next street and stopped.
         "We gotta find you some footwear. These streets are fully of crap that can cut your feet," Banu said as he turned and looked at Mylla.
         She nodded and pointed to a store midway down the block on the other side of the street. Most of the lettering for the name was gone, but a "DEPT" remained.
         Banu nodded and walked across the street diagonally. They approached the front and found the doors and window intact. In fact, most of the storefronts on this side were intact. Banu started to push on the door when Mylla said, "Let's not break it unless we have to; no sense alerting those following us that we are here."
         Banu nodded, and they retraced their steps to the corner and walked along a brick, windowless and doorless wall to the alleyway behind. Halfway down, they found the steel back door to the store.
         "I can probably break it, but it's going to be noisy," Banu said after he studied the door.
         "There is a window on the second floor. If you boost me up, I might be able to open it."
         Banu nodded and knelt down with his hands out. Mylla stepped into his hands and he easily lifted her up to the window. With his normal height and long arms, the window was actually at her waist. She fumbled around then slid the window up and climbed through.
         Banu waited several minutes, then the steel door opened slightly.
         "It's stuck," Mylla whispered.
         Banu grabbed it and swung it open with a loud squeal. He stepped in quickly, almost knocking Mylla over, then pulled it closed again with another squeal.
         "It's weird that the door opens out into the alleyway," Banu said as he turned away from the door.
         "Yeah. I think this used to be a loading dock, but they added some walls around it but didn't leave enough room for the door to open inwards. This way."
         The room was about twenty feet wide and ten deep. Half of that was taken up by a flat loading dock that was five feet above ground. At the back of the loading dock was a wide doorway. Mylla led him to a steel stair that led up to the deck of the loading dock.
         They passed through a mostly empty room and through another door into the back of the store. It was dark, but the store was laid out to easily navigate. Mylla went to the area where for shoes. Banu followed for a couple of aisles then sniffed and headed toward a different section.
         Banu reached a section of dried food. He pulled off his backpack and stuffed it full of the dried food. It was all fruit, nuts, and jerky.
         Mylla came up and said, "This would work but won't stay on." She held out a pair of sneakers.
         "Hmm. What if we cut the heel off?" Banu asked as he pulled a large knife out of a sheath on his belt.
         He cut off just enough of the heel to let her foot pass out the back. She tried them on and walked around, then sprinted up and down a couple of aisles. When she returned, she had a backpack and two more pairs of sneakers. Banu modified them, and she put them in her backpack. Banu waved at the dried food.
         Mylla nodded and stuffed her backpack with as much as she could fit of the fruit and nut mixes. They headed over to a display case showing weapons. There were a few revolvers, but Mylla was looking at a folding crossbow. Banu popped the lock and swung it open.          He picked out a folding knife and stuck it in a pouch on his boot.
         "Been looking for something like this."
         Mylla took down the crossbow and examined it.
         "Cheap but serviceable. Need extra string and to find some quarrels."
         "Probably behind the counter, I am going to the front to watch the street. I got a feeling that something is coming; not just more gobbies and dogs, either."
         Mylla nodded, then hopped over the counter next to the display and started looking through boxes and bins.
         "Get you one of the folding knives, too. They can be very handy to have," Banu called back to her.
         Banu stood at the front doorway and watched the street. A large flatbed truck rolled by. There were ten Trolls sitting on the flat bed, dressed in camouflage and a couple of hobgoblins sitting on the roof of the cab with rifles in their hands.
         Banu cursed, turned and headed back to Mylla.
         "We gotta go," Banu said when he reached her.
         She just nodded and pulled on her backpack. They headed back to the loading dock, down the stairs and to the door. Banu pushed it open slowly. It scraped the ground and made a squealing noise, although quieter than before. He pushed it just enough for him to squeeze through without his backpack on. He tossed that through first, then followed it. Mylla followed him. They sprinted to the corner then paused.
         Another truck passed down the front street.
         "Shouldn't we close the door?" Mylla whispered.
         "No. With any luck, if they look here, they will waste a bunch of time searching that building. Then the Goblins and Trolls will try to steal it all. That should tie them up for quite a while."
         Banu started to step out, then pushed them both back and whispered, "One more."
         This truck stopped at the entrance to the side street and shined a spotlight down the street. It paused on a couple of vehicles parked on the far side of the street, then swept up the sides of the building. It went off, the truck didn't move, then the light went on again.          Shining at a pickup truck on the other side of the street.
         A door could be heard opening and footsteps walking towards the truck.
         "Just a 'yota. No one in it. No keys, damn it," a male voice said, then the footsteps could be heard returning to the truck. A door slams, and the truck takes off.
         "Smelled like Humans. They have terrible night sight," Banu whispered, then added. "I smell at least one Goblin. Take a look."
         Mylla peeks around the corner and whispered, "There is a Goblin standing at the corner. Should I shoot him?"
         Banu shakes his head. He stood still for a few minutes, then made several gestures to her. She nods and steps away from him into the center of the alleyway, but still out of the street.
         Banu picks up a piece of masonry and steps out quietly into the street. The Goblin's back is to them. Banu throws the chunk of masonry across the street and hits a trash can on the other side. As luck would have it, an alley cat was near the can. It hissed, yowled, and ran off. The Goblin gave a whoop and ran after it.
         When he threw the masonry, Mylla ran across the street into the other alley. Banu jogged after her, keeping an eye on the Goblin.          Once in the alleyway, he said, "There are gnats with longer attention spans than gobbies." They kept jogging down the alley until they reached another cross street. Taking that to the right, they stood at the corner in a convenient shadow and studied the street. The Goblin hadn't returned yet.
         Several blocks down, the last truck could be seen turning the corner to the right. They dashed across the street as soon as the truck was out of sight.
         "If we'd taken out the Goblin, they'd have figured out where I was. Better they have to search everywhere for me," Banu told her.
         Mylla nodded.
         They walked to the corner of the next alleyway and stopped. Hunched over a trash can were two wolf-people. They stood up abruptly and stared at Banu.
         The slightly taller one recovered first and said, "We ain't going back, Warmaster."
         "I understand. I wouldn't return except for my people."
         "Yeah. That," the wolf said, paused, then continued. "I ... we ... sometime you gotta look out for yourself."
         Banu nodded. He pulled off his backpack and pulled out three bags of jerky and tossed them to the wolves one at a time. The wolves looked at the bags, then each ripped one open and stuffed several pieces of jerky in their mouths at once.
         Banu told them about the apartment building and what he'd found. They thanked him and started to walk in that direction. One of them was limping.
         "Hang on. I have a healing crystal. Let's get that knee fixed up."
         The limping wolf hobbled to Banu and noticed Mylla.
         "A Hare? Here? I thought the Khanalan had eradicated you lot?"
         Mylla looked confused. She asked, "I don't know what Khanalan. Was that here in this world?"
         "No, in the one we came from. How did you get here?" the wolf asked.
         "I was late for my class because the bus was late and as I was running this ... this hole opened up, and I ran through it. I stopped as soon as I could, turned around, but it was gone. Then these Trolls came upon me, slapped me around, and took my backpack. I pulled away from them, and ran as fast as I could. Then I ran into some Goblins."
         The wolves nodded at her story. The one that Banu applied the crystal to flexed his knee then grinned at Banu and said, "Thank you, Warmaster. You truly are the best leader we've had. Are those trucks after you?"
         "Yes. I accomplished my mission and that has stirred up the North wizard's troops. You should take care to avoid the main street back there."
         "Where did you get the jerky?"
         "There is a store across the street and about a block and a half down. You just have to avoid a Goblin; if it hasn't gotten lost. I suggest you avoid interacting with him, so the others won't be alerted. We left the back door open."
         "Give us something with your smell on it, and we'll use that to delay and distract," the healed wolf said.
         Banu pulled a hanker-chief out of a pocket, wiped his face with it, and handed it to the Wolf. The Wolf took it and the two of them headed up the alleyway towards the apartments.
         Banu pulled his backpack back on and said, "Let's go this direction for a few blocks then continue south."
         Mylla just nodded.
         They started out at a good loping pace, dodging road debris. Four blocks later, the street they were on ended in a T intersection.          Across from the street was a wide half-circle drive with a grand portico in the back center. There was a statue of a man holding a staff in the center of the half circle. On the building, it had "Grand Master Hotel" in silver letters on the marquis above the portico. There were no lights on in any of the windows on the front.
         Glancing both directions, Banu ran across the street and went to the left down a narrow walkway that ran between the hotel and the building next to it. Mylla followed.
         They slowed and stopped just before the end of the building. At the corner, still in the shadows, Banu stopped and observed a vehicle idling in the street. There was a human sitting behind the steering wheel.
         Presently, another human walked from the back of the hotel to the car and said, "Can't budge that door. I bet there is some good stuff in there. Need to find a welding torch and come back."
         "Naw, then we'd have to share. Better we find a locksmith," the human sitting in the care replied, then said. "Get in. We gotta report.          They are really pissed about that crystal being stolen. They think it might be one of the animal people. I heard the Wizard is really pissed and looking to crucify someone over it. Glad we are too far down the food chain to get sacrificed."
         The other human nodded, walked around the car, and entered the passenger side of the car. The car started up the street then turned left at the first corner.
         Once it was out of sight, Banu walked out into the street and looked at the back of the building. He could see a small loading dock off to one side and a ramp down into darkness on the other. In the center was a steel door.
         Banu sniffed the air and said, "I smell water. A lot of water."
         Mylla loped over to the ramp and pulled a flashlight out of a pocket in her kilt. Turned it on and took a few steps down the ramp.
         "Looks like about half the basement is flooded," she called back as she made her way back to Banu.
         "Well, that explains it," Banu said, then added. "Looks like a balcony up on the second floor. I might be able to toss you up there."
         "Let's give it a try. I am really tired, and I don't think I can go on without some sleep," Mylla said.
         "I hear ya."
         They climbed up on the loading dock and Banu picked her up, then heaved her up towards the top of the balcony. She got high enough to be able to grab the handrail on top of the balcony. She pulled herself up and disappeared. Banu stepped into the shadows and hunkered down, attempting to make himself as small as possible. It was almost a half hour before the back door opened.
         "It's like a maze in there. But the electricity still works," Mylla said.
         Banu gave a grunt as he stood and followed her into the building. They shut and locked the door behind them.
         The walked to the main area and noticed that everything seemed to be undamaged if dusty. Mylla said, "Wait here," then hopped off toward the front.
         Banu looked around, walked over to the registration desk and looked over the counter. There were two dead humans lying behind the desk. They looked like they'd been dead for at least a year.
         "Look here," Mylla said, as she held up a plastic card hanging from a lanyard.
         Banu just looked at her blankly.
         "It's a key to the doors. It should open any of the rooms."
         "Ah. Let's go up to the fourth floor. The fifth is probably the rich people's suites, so might have enhanced security."
         They went up the stairs to the fourth floor. At random, Mylla tried the card on a door. The door opened and revealed a room that Mylla might be comfortable it, but it would be far too small for Banu. They tried two more before they found one that had a bed large enough to accommodate Banu and another smaller bed.
         "This looks good to me," Banu said, stripping off his backpack, then sat on the edge of the bed carefully. It didn't collapse under his weight. He pulled off his boots and said, "They must have Trolls stay here to have a bed that can take my weight."
         Banu rose and ducked into the bathroom.
         Mylla went to the smaller bed, took off her backpack, then her sneakers and wiggled her toes. There was a window that looked on a brick wall. She pulled the drapes closed. Banu returned to the room.
         "I am going to crash. I will see you in the morning. Good night."
         "Good night, Banu. Thanks for everything. Sleep well, you deserve it," Mylla said before stepping to the bathroom.
         Banu quickly stripped and got under the covers. He was asleep before Mylla came out of the bathroom.
         She went to the smaller bed and pulled back the covers. She rummaged around in her backpack and pulled out a long T-shirt. She pulled off her blouse, and kilt, then pulled on the T-shirt. She hesitated only a moment before climbing under the covers. She fell asleep almost instantly.