After searching for Kitty for two days, Karissa had almost given up hope. The only place she had not searched for her were the tunnels beneath the town. Karissa hesitated to enter the tunnels after getting lost in them once before.
Her legs were battered and sore. Her horse had thrown her the previous day. She took a deep breath, held her lantern high, and placed her other hand on her pistol. She ventured forward carefully, trying to remember every twist and turn she took.
She thought she heard a soft moan. “Kitty?” she called. She listened carefully in the silence, and heard another moan. She turned and moved in the direction it came from. When she rounded the next turn, she saw Kitty laying on the ground.
Karissa knelt beside her and placed the lantern on the ground. “Shhhh… it’s ok. It’s Kris,” she said, trying to calm her. In a panic, Kitty weakly tried to fight back for a moment, but her strength failed her and her arms fell back.
Karissa struggled to get her to her feet. Supporting most of her weight, Karissa half carried and half dragged her out of the tunnels. She realized she would never get her all the way to the abbey, so managed to get her back to the bakery. She managed to get Kitty up the stairs to her apartment above the bakery and got her into bed. She tried to get her to drink some water, but Kitty was too weak. Karissa knew that without help, Kitty did not have much time left.
She ran down the stairs and grabbed the first person she saw, a farmer passing by on his way to the market. She explained the situation and asked him to go to the Abbey to get some help.
Karissa returned to her friend’s side, gently washing her face. The nursing sister arrived and she had brought some broth with her. Together they coaxed Kitty to sip some broth from a spoon, but she had not taken very much before she passed out again.
Karissa spoke with the nun, and confident that Kitty was in the best hands, she left to get ready for the events of the rest of the day. She hoped that this time things would be better.