"Careful over here, Bully, this place—"

A woman's voice cut through the haze of heat that plagued my body. 

Sunlight pressed through my eyelids, but I felt too tired to open them.

Something slick, cold, and strangely bristly pressed into my cheek before a large, hot breath blew aggressively against my ear.

I cringed at the sensation. Blinking against the piercing light of the day against my aching eyes, I startled at the sight of the long snout of a pig that was sniffing at my neck.

A loud gasp came from behind the beast, and I wearily raised my gaze, blinking at a small, stout woman with long red hair and a simple blue dress. The woman, about my age, if not a few years older, looked at me with brown eyes wide in horror.

I stared back at her, my head hazy and in pain, unable to handle the sunlight for longer. I closed my heavy eyelids, leaving my head back against the cold stone.

_____________________________________

"Thank you so much for your help, sir."

"It's no problem at all,"

Adam?

Was this another dream?

I was nestled in a man's arms, gently rocking against his body as he carried me. The movement made my headache worse, as my brain seemed to wobble around in my head. Resisting the urge to peek at the man, I clenched my eyes more shut to try to block out the pain.

"How lucky that I found you in these woods," The woman was chattering, "It's usually it's only me out here looking for truffles, the buggers are a bit hard to find out here, you see, but Bully does a great job at finding what little there are— and anyway, I would have had to run all the way home and try to find my husband, but he's out with the cattle at this time..." The woman continued rambling. "I definitely couldn't have carried her all the way home myself."

"How lucky she was to have someone like you find her." The man's voice, which sounded like Adam's, replied. "She could have died out here all on her own."

"She might still die, but I am going to try my best." The woman's voice argued. "I mean— what on earth might have happened to her? All that blood—"

"Who knows. These woods are full of beasts. I even heard there is a vampire on the loose."

"A Vampire!" the woman gasped. "Well— I mean—"

"Maybe she got hurt while trying to fend it off."

"Oh, poor girl— You know many don't believe in such things, but I have always been a bit of a believer in them, truthfully... but would that mean she—"

There was a low chuckle that I felt vibrate against my cheek.

"No. My family always said a vampire is passed on by family lineage, not by a vampire drinking your blood."

"Oh, well,  I could believe that!  And who am I to be scared of an old mythical creature anyway, when there are far worse beasts on this cursed earth? I should not be making up fairytales about an actual dying woman who has no doubt been through more than I can know—" The woman let out a tutting noise. "My, my, what a way to start my day." She huffed. 

"Which of course brings me to ask, what are you doing out here, sir? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yes, I'm a shepherd, I live up in the mountain near Einsamkeit Village—"

"Ah!" The woman laughed. "Then you would know all about Vampires, then, huh? People in town always joke that Einsamkeit village is a secluded cult descended from ancient vampires. HAH!" The woman scoffed, letting out a loud, jolly laugh.  "Many of us are too scared to see if the rumors are true, and I had a friend whose cousin went missing after visiting the cult town— still don't know if he killed them or joined them!" Her cheery tone was cut short as her voice lowered, turning sorrowful, "Well... anyway, guess we will never know for sure, huh? Sad what happened to those poor people— I can't imagine... A town decimated overnight. Well, you know, that's what happens when you are in a cult, you never know—"

"Yes. The smoke lingered over the mountains for days; the devastation was unimaginable." The man interrupted.

"Oh—of course. You were probably close enough to see it... I didn't mean to— I'm so sorry for your loss too, if you had any loved ones in that village."

"Yes, I lost my herd of sheep that night. All died except one, and she was injured and ran off into this forest. I have been trying to find her."

"Oh, I see— Well, she sure must have wandered off far to have made it all the way here... That sheep must be pretty important if you have searched this far to find her, but I guess it is your last sheep. Why wouldn't you? I sure hope the wolves haven't found her already."

"I am hoping another farmer might find her and take her in."

"Yes, well—" The woman stammered, "That could have happened too, I suppose. I will ask around about any lost sheep— Oh my! Do you think this woman is from Einsamkeit ?! That would explain—"

"I don't think so, I never saw her around. She must be a traveler who got lost in these mountains. I doubt a survivor of that tragedy would have made it this far. I heard there was only one survivor in the whole village."

"One survivor!?"

"Yes— a very short woman in her early thirties with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. Sickly thin. She disappeared into these woods, and some people are searching for her. If you see—"

"Oh, I'll be sure to spread the word. Don't you worry. The forest can be so unforgiving to poor women. My husband isn't gonna be happy about me out in these woods for a while after hearing all this..."

The pounding of my head kept distorting their voices, and I grew tired of listening, and I slowly slipped back into nothing once more.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I don't know how many days slipped by in my fevered state.

I knew I was being cared for: a cold cloth, a hot spoonful of soup. Patches with herbs that felt icy cold against my overheated wounds. A woman's mumbled worries, and a new man's uncertain grumbles, the might-be Adam's hushed pleading in the dark.

I wasn't sure if I would live or die.

And from the blurry words, these at my bedside didn't seem too sure either.

However, one day as I slipped from the darkness, my eyes focused on the room I was lying in, the low wooden beams, the red and orange quilt on my sweat-covered body, the cool air from the window, tickling my cheek. 

 The heat that had long plagued my body had finally subsided, and I finally had control of my senses once more.