60. The April Fools

With the palm of her hand, Kadin carefully and softly caresses Billy’s still tender back that she has just smeared with Rene’s wonder ointment. The ointment, as usual, works wonders and all the scabs are gone but his back still has several tender patches. They will have to leave the fort tomorrow and she is worried that he won’t be able to bear the uncomforting, tight fighting gear they will have to adorn. It is covered with metal scales that glide over each other. Once again little tears trickle down her lovely cheeks when his wounds remind her of the immense torture he had to endure just to save her. He could easily just have been honest and told them that she had the damn booklet but he chose their torture up to death before he would put her life in danger. And now, what irony it is, that the ten people who were tormented by the occult, willingly are hiding in the underground shelter of the occult while the plague was in progress eventually helping them to fulfill their mission as