Valiant(Editing)

Chapter 20; Akela

Dakota and I were both wounded badly and exhausted from the day.

I felt full of pain and weak. I'm sure that Dakota felt the same way.

I looked towards Dakota. He didn't look at me. He only looked towards where the sound of the howl was. His eyes were fighting the urge to load with tears. He looked hurt and sorrowful.

I opened my mouth to say something, something to bring a smile to his face, yet I didn't know what to say... 

I soon noticed that the wound on his ankle was bleeding terribly. Where did he get such a terrible wound like that? 

I studied his wound for a moment and it looked like it was a deep cut. It didn't look like it happened from a bite. The mark looks like It was from something sharp.

Then I realized it must've been from a sharp rock in the river. That was why he probably lost his balance in the river. I had to be sure with him.

After a few moments of silence, I spoke up with question.

"Did a rock cut you in the river?"

He took a deep breath and eventually met my eyes.

"Yeah, but it's really not a bad wound." His words came out harsh, as if in a upset manner.

I ignored his anger and refused to agree with him.

"That looks deep," I frowned with saying in a calmer voice, trying not to start an argument.

I waited a moment, expecting him to say something, yet he never did. He didn't respond. He only looked down.

After more silence, I continued by asking, "Does it hurt badly?"

"I'm fine. It's just a small cut, " he suddenly snapped at me.

I knew that he wasn't okay. He looked in pain, I could tell. Not just physically, but mentally. I knew that he wasn't upset with me, yet I could tell that something else was upsetting him.

I was about to ask about what was upsetting him, however, I never got the chance to do so.

I suddenly felt a shock of pain grab my wounded leg. I shuddered while holding in a scream. Dakota soon noticed from the corner of his eye, that I shuddered in pain.

"Looks like I'll need to get you a new bandage," he said while trying to cover up his anger.

He paused and then continued, "Let's find somewhere to rest."

I nodded and Dakota limped over towards me. He gave me a shoulder to lean on and I gave him one too. Balancing wasn't easy, yet I managed to balance against Dakota.

None of us talked along the way. He never looked at me, he only looked at the ground. We both limped along the way with grunts. I also tried to keep my pace the same with Dakota's pace, however, it wasn't easy. He would try to slow his pace down, yet he couldn't for we weren't safe out here. We had to find a safe place, a hidden place, quickly. Not immediately, but soon.

We continued to walk for awhile, until we spotted an area with many trees surrounding it. All the trees gave good shelter and shade for warmer days. It also was well hidden and gave  some protection.

Dakota helped lay me down, and I helped him. I winced a little as I slowly laid myself down. It felt good to finally be able to lay down and rest. 

I let out a sigh in relief in being able to lay down. Laying down has never felt so good until now. To be able to relax my worn-out self was pleasing.

The night was dark and the air was cold. I could feel gentle breezes fly by and see the moon shining from above. 

Dakota was laying next to me with his eyes closed. It looked like he was asleep.

I wouldn't be surprised if he was, after all, he must've been really exhausted from all the swimming he had done.

I closed my eyes. My body ached. I was more used to pain than I was before, since I've experienced a lot of pain.

Pain seems normal to me now. I've had pain constantly for awhile now, not ever stopping. Pain still doesn't feel good though.

After awhile of laying with my eyes closed, listening to the quiet breeze pass by, I drifted to sleep.

In my sleep, I dreamt of nothing.

Normally I would dream every night, the same dream over and over. Yet, this night was different. There was no dream, only pitch black and darkness.

Why didn't I dream anything? I didn't know. Was it a good thing that I dreamt nothing?

Maybe it was because the dream I dreamt every night was more like a nightmare. A repeating nightmare that would never leave.

Whether it was a nightmare or not, It probably was better that I dreamt nothing.

The rest of the cold night I stayed asleep, dreaming of nothing.