The whispering forest

Chapter 9: The Desert

It had been about a month since our daring rescue to save Old man Alfred. We have just entered the southern region we went from cold temperatures to what felt like fire on our skin we all held our cloaks close to our bodies and made sure to keep our hoods up all the time we had to take frequent breaks to stay hydrated and to make sure the horses and Ace got plenty of water too. We reserved our energy, the sun felt like fire, and it was like nothing I had ever felt before, I made sure to collect some cactus and aloe Vera plants encase it is needed. I made sure to write everything down in my journal and I drew some of the plants and animals I saw. As for our friends, the wolf, and the raven, the last time we saw them was when we had left the forest. I was currently carving into my bow it gave me something else to think about besides the heat and my growling stomach. We had run out of food a couple of days ago, the weird thing is I could have sore it kept disappearing, every day there was less and less, the odd part is I knew I had packed enough to get us through the desert. I had rationed everything correctly, well there was nothing we could do about it now, my arm was still splinted, and it would be for another few weeks at the least, the desert was unforgivable with the heat we stopped and camped at night when the air was cool I mentioned we should camp during the day and move at night but Alfred shut it down quickly saying that it as more dangerous at night because we wouldn't be able to spot predator's even though I was sure most went to find shelter at night, but since he had done this before I decided to trust him.

Charlie suddenly stopped jostling me from my thoughts, I looked at him, he turned his head to look at me I could see how tired and hot he was. I looked at the other horses they needed a break, "Let's find some shelter and give the horses a break" I called to the others they agreed we found shade in a rock structure there wasn't much but it was enough to cool the horses off for a little I offered my water to them they all drank there share. While I was offering some to Ace I felt a cold breeze on the back of my neck that sent shivers down my spine, "What is it, Ash?" James asked. "It's going to rain soon" Alfred laughed at this "Yeah right," He said in disbelief, "He has never been wrong before," James said, defending me. "Whatever, let's get a move on" I could hear the irritation that bordered on anger in the old man's tone. We saddled up and headed out not even five minutes later the sky opened up and poured on us. I was relieved and nervous rain can make riding dangerous and hard especially when you are as exhausted as we are. We take it carefully, making sure to be cautious and watch where we guide the horses. The last thing we needed was to get stuck in the mud. We continued on until we found a safe place to shelter for the night. It looked to be old buildings, mostly destroyed, but we found the one that looked the most sturdy and settled in for the night. Alfred took the first watch, I and James settled in for the night, and we woke each other up periodically, one after the other until morning time. The ground was wet and muddy but there was nothing we could do about it for now. At least the air was getting dryer, which meant that the possibility of it raining was getting slimmer. The air was crisp when we ventured out and there was a light mist over us, the glow of the sunrise was the only light we had. As we continued through the desert, I sent Ace out occasionally to hunt, most of the time he came back empty-handed, but I tried anyway In hopes that he would bring something back. "Ace Hunt" he took off, Alfred laughed and questioned why I sent him when I know very well that he will mostly come back empty handed. I told him it was because I hadn't lost hope yet. This time my hope had persevered because Ace had returned later in the evening with two desert rabbits in his mouth. It wasn't much but there was enough to keep us going. We sang songs and danced that night under the setting sun. It brought back good memories from when we were kids and it rejuvenated our souls. We needed this after such a long and exhausting trek. When we settled after a small celebration, I fell asleep with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart. I was startled awake by Ace licking my face. "What is Ace?" he ran over to James and started to paw at him. I heard James groan in his sleep. Ace continued to wine with urgency. I got up and called his name softly, but got no response. Once I had reached him, I went to touch his shoulder to wake him up. When I had touched him, I quickly pulled my hand back. He was burning up. I rolled him over and felt his head, with the back of my hand. He had a very high fever. I grabbed my medical supplies, soaked a rag in cool water, and applied it to his head. I made up some ginger water and had him drink some to help break the fever. Every few hours I changed out his rag and gave him more ginger water which also helped settle his stomach so he could eat a little bit of stew I had managed to make. If his fever gets worse, then I don't know what I will do.