Paralyzed (Tboah!AlbeCale)

22) Lol 'safe'? What's 'safe'?

A/n: Includes small mention of non-graphic gore

"Uuwahhh~"

Cale yawned for the third time since the carriage started moving. Hans was driving the horses, which meant that Cale got the inside all to himself.

If he curled his legs he could probably lay down and take a nap with no problem, or at the very least rest his eyes. He had not gotten any sleep the previous night, meaning he felt like death itself.

The steady sound of horse hooves and Hans' muffled humming was slowly drawing him into a sleepy trance. If he was not careful, he might actually drift off.

Clip clop. Clip clop. Clip clop.

It was relaxing and repetitive.

Clip clop. Clip clop.

His head felt heavy.

Clip clo— Gasp! Neigh!

"Oh my!"

Cale jolted up from a slouched position; he had almost fallen asleep, but the abrupt stop and Hans' voice startled him awake. He opened up the small window placed between the driver and the passenger areas.

"Hans, what's wrong?"

"T, there is a person on the road, young master! And a lot of blood! What should I do? There's no easy way around him, and he looks to be dead!"

Hans thought the elderly man who was laying face down on the road looked dead. His chest didn't seem to rise, and the amount of blood coating the road was enough to think someone cut off his limb.

"...Are you sure he's dead?" Cale frowned slightly.

"No, but he does not seem to be alive! I will go check on him. Young master, you do not need to move. This Hans will be back in a minute!"

Cale sighed and plopped back against the carriage wall. He was curious, but seeing a possibly dead body might haunt his sleep cycle even worse, or at least make him nauseous.

'Hans will take care of it.'

So Cale just sat there, waiting for Hans to return.

'...'

The wind seemed to be stronger than usual today, judging by the faint whistling sound.

"...It's been two minutes."

Something was strange. Why had Hans not yelled back the status of the man? Why was he taking so long to check a pulse?

All of a sudden Cale's spine started tingling, sending chills throughout his body.

He reached for the door, ready to check on Hans. If he stayed in the carriage nothing would get done anyway, even if there was a murderer standing right outside. He was trapped if he stayed inside.

Creaaak.

Cale stepped out slowly, glancing in all directions. He then stepped towards the front of the carriage, where Hans had gone. Subconsciously holding his breath, he crouched down just behind the corner of the carriage.

As Cale peeked his head around the corner while using the horses as cover... a bright orange head of hair appeared in front of the horses. On his back was the man.

"This guy is alive! Let's put him in the carriage and stop the bleeding!"

"Ah... Fine. But you're going to clean the inside after we get back to the county." Cale let out the breath of suspense he had been holding. Perhaps his lack of sleep and constant nightmares had put him on edge.