Cold Comforts

Raven shivered as something cold brushed against his face, burrowing further into his blankets. He ached and felt slightly sick, and the insistent nudging wasn’t helping. “You want to stay here, boy?” a voice hissed in his ear. Raven blinked, his eyes flying open as the previous day came rushing back; being sold, and traveling with the two men, dinner, and then…after. He didn’t want to dwell on it, and his mind shied away from the memories.

Looking up, he stared into a pair of intense, unfamiliar eyes that gazed back at him dispassionately. Startled, he sat up and scrambled backwards, away from the gruff man who was staring at him, one eyebrow raised in vague amusement. Swallowing, Raven glanced around and saw the two men that had taken him from his parents lying in their bed rolls, still asleep. But surely with all the ruckus he had just made, they’d be awake by now, and either greeting this third man or chasing him off?

“You needn’t worry about ‘em,” the man grumbled sourly, scowling. “They’re not going anywhere, except maybe to the local wildlife.” Raven’s eyes flickered between the man standing in front of him and the two lifeless bodies still wrapped in their blankets, before coming to settle back on the man who had spoken to him. And who was quickly growing impatient. “You comin’ or not? For myself, I don’t care either way. But I don’t imagine you know your way outta these woods.”

The man spoke with a rough accent, his words clipped and to the point. Raven stared at him uncertainly for several moments, before deciding abruptly that going with this man couldn’t be any worse than being left here to starve to death, or to wander the woods until he stumbled across a bear or fell down a cliff of something. Standing, he wrapped his blanket as tightly around himself as he could with his bound hands and took two steps forward, indicating his willingness to follow the other man.

With another raised eyebrow and a shrug, the man turned and strode away, moving past the motionless bodies on the way. Raven skirted the bodies as he followed, glancing down and only now noticing the growing red stains on the mens’ shirts. It appeared that they had been stabbed through the heart, probably by the man that Raven was now following so blithely.

“My name’s Raven,” he offered as they left the clearing and slipped into the woods. The older man glanced back at him but didn’t reply, continuing to walk away, and Raven moved quickly to keep up. “Thank you for saving me, if that’s what you did,” Raven continued, aware that he was starting to babble, but unable to stop. “Those men were horrible. They bought me from my family. They were going to sell me,” he choked out, the words sounding horrible in his own ears. “What’s your name?” he asked, curious.

Silence answered him, and Raven slowed, suddenly wondering if this man was any different than the two they had just left. After all, it was probable that he had been the one who had killed them in the first place. Finally, the man sighed, “Logan. The name’s Logan.” With that, he continued walking, and Raven stared after him, startled. Somehow, being able to put a name to the other man made a world of difference. Smiling to himself, Raven hurried to catch up, letting his blanket slip from his shoulders, lying in a puddle of fabric on the leaf-strewn ground.

About half an hour later, they exited the woods, and Raven blinked into the uninterrupted sunlight, trying to get his bearings. He still wasn’t entirely certain where he was, having been blindfolded on the journey to the woods. “Welcome to the middle of nowhere,” Logan muttered, and Raven shrugged; he, too, lived in a remote area, which is why it had been so easy for his parents to sell him without the neighbors knowing. They had traveled well outside of their home for work.

“It’s nice,” he said simply. “You live around here?” Logan shook his head and gestured off to the right, where Raven saw a mud-covered jeep sitting innocently in a gravel lot just off the road. Logan headed for the jeep now, and Raven followed, climbing easily into the passenger side despite his bound hands, his body limber. Logan frowned at the ropes and then reached out a hand towards Raven.

Raven stared at the hand for a moment, before holding his own bound hands in front of him. The other man grasped his left hand, and pulled out a long dagger from somewhere. The blade was clean, but Raven couldn’t help but feel that it had been bathed in the blood of more than animals. Logan sawed briefly at the soft ties binding Raven’s hands, and it cut easily, leaving Raven’s hands free, the ties still bound around his wrists, but no longer connected.

Slender fingers undid the remaining knots, and the bindings fell uselessly to the floor of the jeep. Raven’s wrists remained unmarred, but his hands were still scratched from the previous night, and the dirt was lodged under his nails. Shuddering, Raven rubbed his hands together, then started picking at the nails. A strong hand aborted his movement, and Raven glared over at Logan, who stared back at him calmly for a moment before pulling his hand away and starting the jeep.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret later, kid,” he growled, pushing the jeep out onto the road and heading away from the woods. “Water’ll clean that up just fine. No need for you to make yourself bleed.” And that’s what he was doing, Raven realized, staring down at where he had been picking at the nail on his index finger. The tip of his finger had started to bleed sluggishly, and Raven lifted his hand to his mouth, sucking the blood off and sealing the wound.

He watched the countryside pass by as they drove, no other cars on the road at this time of morning. Looking at the sun’s position, Raven guessed that was probably late morning, almost noontime. Logan was an imposing, silent presence beside him, but Raven couldn’t feel anything malicious coming from him. Logan didn’t seem to mind him staring, so Raven took a few moments to take in the man who had saved him, intentionally or not.

Logan wasn’t much taller than Raven, but he was very broad-shouldered, his body built to be muscular and powerful. But he could obviously move both quickly and quietly, and Raven supposed that his trim waist and smaller stature gave him both speed and agility. And he was obviously familiar with the woods. Perhaps he was a hunter? That would explain his ability to keep silent when walking across in a wooded area.

His hair was short, just above the nape of his neck, and it hung in loose curls. Beyond keeping it clean, Logan didn’t seem to take any particular care with his hair as far as style went. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, almost black. His nose was about average, neither slender nor broad, and his lips were thin. A few days’ worth of stubble shadowed his cheeks and chin, but there was no sign of a mustache.

He was wearing a pair of faded, torn jeans, and heavy work boots. A white t-shirt was covered by a brown leather jacket that appeared to be in relatively good condition. All in all, while he appeared dangerous, he didn’t appear particularly threatening. And the man had seemed open to answering his questions…within reason. So perhaps he wouldn’t be offended if Raven asked a few more? It was better than not asking at all, at least.

“You killed them,” he murmured softly, turning to face the man driving. Logan grunted in reply, and Raven took it as affirmation. “For me?” he asked, uncertain, his voice young and scared. Dark eyes slanted towards him, considering him for a moment before moving back to the road.

“Naw, kid. They’ve been using that forest for slave trading for months now. I was simply taking care of them, and givin’ warnin’ to other. They’re the worst sort of scum, taking advantage of poor families to purchase children for a bare minimum, just to turn around and sell them at outrageous prices to a bunch of pedophilic assholes. Sometimes, the kids don’t even make it to the sales block before they’re dead. Or crazy.”

His brutal assessment made Raven wince, and realize just how lucky he had was that those two were dead. “What now?” he asked. When Logan just glanced at him, he explained. “I mean, with me. What are you going to do with me?” His voice was soft but no longer frightened; this man obviously intended him no immediate harm. And if he had plans for later, well, that was later. Not now. He’d deal with it then.

Logan shrugged, muscles bunching easily under his leather jacket. “Whatever ya want, kid. You can look for a way back home, or I can drop you off in the nearest town.” Raven frowned; neither idea sounded rather appealing. If he went back home, his parents would be afraid, and might try to sell him again. He couldn’t count on being rescued a second time. Once was fantastic enough. And how was he to survive in some unknown town where he didn’t know anybody? He already knew that he couldn’t hold a job where he worked with other people.

“Can’t I stay with you?” he asked hesitantly, nibbling on his lower lip. He might be sixteen already, but he had been rather isolated, and the previous night was still fresh in his mind. He didn’t know anybody here, and he didn’t know if there were more men like those two, who were more like monsters than men. Logan wasn’t particularly friendly, and his intensity rather unnerved Raven, but at least he didn’t seem to be a bad guy.

A bark of laughter was his answer. Logan’s eyes were bright when they glanced at him, but not with amusement. “Do you even realize what you’re askin’, kid? I killed those two men back there, remember? And I’ll sleep just fine tonight.”

Raven scowled at him; he was well aware of that, but that didn’t change the facts. “Yeah, but you could’ve just killed me, too. Or left me there, so that there wouldn’t be any witnesses. Instead, you woke me up and saved me. You brought me out of the woods, and even now, you’re still helping me. You’re under no obligation to do anything for me, so why did you?” he asked. He wasn’t accusing the man of anything, but he was genuinely curious. “Besides, it’s not like leaving me in a nearby town is going to solve all my problems either,” he pointed out pragmatically. “I still don’t know anybody.”

Logan just shook his head. “That’s gonna be a cold comfort to you if you stick with me, kid. I’m not exactly the nicest guy to be around, and I hang with a rather rough crowd. You’d do better to settle down in a quaint little town with a nice family and find a steady job. At least then you’ll have food in your belly and a warm place to sleep.”

Raven snorted. “If I could do that, I wouldn’t be here now,” he muttered. Logan made a hum of inquiry, but Raven stared down at his lap, trying to push back the anger and despair long enough to come up with a convincing argument. He supposed that there was nothing else for it but to be honest. If that didn’t work, he’d have to figure something else out, because he had no intention of being left behind by the older man.

“I can’t hold a steady job,” he started, figuring that he’d get the hardest part over with first. “People look at me and see a pretty face and long hair, and they assume that I’d welcome their advances.” He shivered. “I don’t understand,” he murmured, his voice plaintive. “I didn’t do anything to encourage them. I just went and tried to do my job to the best of my ability, to help out my family.” The family that had betrayed him, he thought bitterly, and then immediately scolded himself for it. Family was family; they did what they had to. And it wasn’t like they’d had a choice, was it? He wasn’t good for anything but this sort of life. He was just a burden on his family, another mouth to feed.

Thinking about it so starkly made Raven’s heart ache again, and he wondered if he’d be able to look at his family’s betrayal and be grateful for it. After all, he’d have never met Logan otherwise, or even left his home and the nearby villages. He wouldn’t have been hurt, but at the same time, he wouldn’t have been saved, either. He would have stayed miserable, a burden to his family for the rest of his life, he was sure. Now, though, he had a chance to change things, to make something of the second chance he’d been given.

“I’d still like to come with you, sir,” he asserted. “Please.” Raven stared at the man, his gaze at once pleading and determined. Logan pulled the jeep over to the side of the road, tires crunching over gravel. Once the vehicle was stopped, the man turned to stare intently at Raven. The boy swallowed, but refused to back down. He had no other options, and despite this man’s gruff demeanor and rough exterior, it was obvious even to Raven that he wasn’t cruel, and had no ill intent towards him.

Finally, Logan grunted and put the jeep in drive, pushing them back out onto the road. They still hadn’t encountered any other cars, and Raven wondered if it was normally this quiet around these areas. “All right, kid. You can come with me. But you’d better not regret it later,” he growled, not looking at him.

Raven smiled grimly; there was no room for regret. What was done was done, and there was nothing to do now but to keep moving forward. Settling back into his seat, Raven contented himself with staring out at the countryside, sharing a companionable silence with his unlikely savior. He didn’t know where they were going, but it no longer mattered. He had a second chance, and he wasn’t about to waste it.