Rubyn awoke in a cold sweat. His whole body shivered yet the blood coursing through his veins felt as hot as lava. There was a noise in his ears, like the buzzing of a bee or the high-pitched whir of a water-powered blade sharpener. He could feel his heart throbbing in his chest and as his senses kicked in he became aware of another throbbing, this one coming from his right leg. He tried to move it but when he should have felt the throbbing limb rub against his other leg, he felt nothing.

Rubyn slowly opened his eyes. His vision swam and the figures and objects around him did nothing but confuse him. The smell of alcohol was overpowering and seemed to be the origin of Rubyn's increasing headache. As his shallow breathing became more steady and the buzzing in his ears retreated slightly, Rubyn tried to gather information about where he was. But everything around moved and spun and became a blur.

Before Rubyn had time to register anything, he was leaning over, emptying his stomach of every possible content. Soon there was nothing left but a thick, yellow liquid, yet his body still dry heaved.

In a moment, a woman Rubyn couldn't distinguish was by his side. She crouched down beside him, staying clear of the puddle on the floor, and rested a hand on his shoulder. She helped him lay back down in a comfortable position and handed him a bowl of water. With her help, he was able to drink from it slowly, his lips trembling as they touched the edge of the wooden bowl. As his hands reached up to steady the bowl, he noticed how pale and shaky they were. He could only imagine what the rest of himself looked like.

"It's alright. Take it slow." The woman said, easing Rubyn's head back onto the pillow. Her voice was soft but firm, giving Rubyn the reassurance that she knew what she was doing.

His eyelids were heavy as he watched the woman stand and move out of sight. His whole body felt weighed down, like he was wearing seven layers of clothing that had been soaked in a gallon of water. Everything was so... smelly. And that buzzing in his ears only made him more nauseous. And the people... they wouldn't stop moving. He could feel his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier and Rubyn didn't fight as his body and mind drifted back into a restless sleep.

Rubyn fell in and out of consciousness over the next few hours and through the night. He awoke at times to see the same woman sitting close by him or pressing a cold cloth to his head. Occasionally, Joab would be there too, talking in a low tone with the woman or taking over her duties.

But when Rubyn came to for good, neither the woman nor Joab was beside him. He could see two figures talking quietly on the other side of the room but couldn't distinguish who they were. As Rubyn let his eyes roam over the living space he suddenly realized where he was. There in the middle of the room was the staircase leading to the top floor and to his left was the open doorway leading to the area in which the men and women had been conversing the night of his escape.

Rubyn himself lay on a cot, a thin, light blanket covering his bare chest. He could feel the sheen of sweat that covered his body as if he were hot, but he still shivered with cold. A fire crackled and burned in a hearth behind him but Rubyn could only hear it's muttering and feel it's warmth.

The only things he could see from his vantage point were the two figures talking low in the opposite corner, the window above him on the right side wall, and the square table with high-backed chairs in the room through the open doorway. He knew from the night of his failed escape that behind his head were three long benches curved around the crackling fireplace, although he was in a position where he could not see it.

The whole house, Rubyn thought, was very welcoming. The floors were worn smooth as if countless feet had trodden back and forth upon it and Rubyn could nearly feel the comfort that the walls provided. Clearly, the people who lived inside and who walked amongst him now were not out to hurt him in any way. Rubyn knew that. Yet a large part of him was deeply unsettled by his surroundings and he felt the urge to leave that instant.

Before he could muster up the strength and strategy to do so, however, one of the figures noticed him stirring and quickly rushed out the door. Moments later he returned, both Joab and the woman from before at his side. The three of them plus the other figure who had been in the room crowded around Rubyn as Joab lay a rough hand on his forehead, determining the temperature.

"How are you feeling, son?" Joab said, his heavy eyebrows furrowed and nearly shrouding his dark eyes.

"What happened?" Rubyn's voice was hoarse, barely a whisper.

"You were bitten. By a red huphis. Do you have those where you come from?"

Rubyn shook his head slightly, accepting a bowl full of water from one of the other men.

"It's a poisonous snake. And a rather deadly one at that. Thankfully, my wife, Marilla," Joab gestured to the woman beside him, "has dealt in this sort of ailment before. She was able to extract the poison out of you before it spread too far. However..." He glanced at Marilla and she met his eyes for a split second before busying herself with folding a damp cloth in her hand.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rubyn asked.

Without a word Joab pulled back the blanket covering Rubyn's body, revealing what used to be his regular, fully operational right leg. Now, however, his whole calf and the area surrounding his shin was swollen to four times it's size and had turned a repulsive blue, green, purple, and black shade.

Rubyn slowly sat up and adjusted himself so he could see it better. He stared at his leg, trying to make sense of what he saw. He tried to move it once again, urging his leg to respond in some way. But nothing moved. It was as though the swollen, discolored thing wasn't even a part of his body.

He touched it gently, his hand clammy with sweat and shaking slightly. His leg didn't respond. He tried probing it, pushing gently with three of his fingers. Still, nothing. "What happened?" He asked again, his voice hardly above a whisper.

"The venom of a red huphis," Marilla said, her dark eyes looking into Rubyn's with an abundance of pity and concern. "is so powerful, it generally kills it's victims. Luckily for you, he attacked your leg instead of something more susceptible, like anywhere on your torso. I was able to cut your leg open and drain out most of the venom before it spread too far, but obviously..." She shook her head sadly. "The good news is, you're alive. That counts for something."

"And the bad news?"

There was a pause. Not a thing in the house moved but the crackling fire in the hearth. Rubyn eyes shifted from person to person, trying to guess what they were thinking. One of the nameless men cleared his throat and stood, the other following close behind. "I'll... I'll go make some tea."

As the men walked away through the open doorway Rubyn turned his full attention back to the husband and wife still huddled around him. His heart began to pound in his chest and his whole body broke out in a cold sweat all over again

"Your leg..." Joab said at last, clearing his throat. Rubyn had to strain to hear his lowered voice. "It's not going to heal. The poison that planted itself in your veins caused them to rupture. The poison leaked out and everything in your leg was destroyed. There's still a chance that the poison could spread, however, and so your leg..."

"Oh," Rubyn said, finally understanding that the lower half of his right leg would never operate again, and would have to be removed before the poison spread too far.

A/N

Shoutout to ShannonTolhurst  who was the first to vote on the last chapter, and to TheSnowWall who was the first to comment on the last chapter! Thank you both so much :) Chapter 6 is coming this Monday!