Travelers

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Merry-
  Once we were all under the shelter we took off the saddle pads and saddles of the horses and used them. We would use the saddle for a pillow, a hard one, and the saddle pad for a small blanket. We sat down. The raining had started and was now coming down in buckets. The thunder rumbled every few minutes keeping the animals on edge and us awake. Since the shelter had no walls the wind and rain were blowing in on us from very direction. By now we were soaked. Since it was wet we couldn't start a fire to help ourselves dry. I put the saddle pad around my shoulders to help block the wind. Benedict was sitting next to me. We were all sitting in silence since the rain was to loud to speak over. I don't know how long we sat there before  I started to shake. From the cold or low blood sugar I don't know. I  clenched my teeth and leaned on Benedict. He reached into his saddle bag and handed me a granola bar. I shook my head and said,"no, save it for later. I'm sure I'm just cold." He said,"I don't care. We won't eat dinner for another three hours. If your cold then your blood sugar might drop and then..." I cut him off by taking the granola bar and said,"alright, alright." Tasha asked,"wait, you have blood sugar issues?" I said,"yes, but I am usually fine unless I go without eating for a long time." She placed her hand to her mouth and gasped. She said,"and tomorrow we won't eat till we get back! Will you be alright?" Benedict said," we came prepared. We have enough snacks so she won't become ill." Tasha said,"thank goodness." Kyle said,"I'm really sorry about this." I said," oh please, don't worry about it. It's not your fault. It's not like you can control the weather."
   We ate dinner three hours later, then spent the night sitting up awake. By three in the morning we were all soaking wet, cold, and exhausted. Benedict is now laying his head on the saddle. His eyes are closed but I don't know if he is asleep. I hug my knees with the saddle pad wrapped around me. I try to remain in control. The shakes were starting to get really bad. I closed my eyes and rocked back and forth. How was I going to do this? It's just 3am and we have to 3pm. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Benedict hand me the third granola bar tonight. This was his last granola bar. He has a pack of cookies, a small peanut butter container, and I had two more granola bars. After that we wouldn't have anything left. I ate them then I felt arms pull me back gently and slowly till I was laying down wrapped in Benedict's arms.  The shaking slowly settled down to a minimal. I wispered,"Thanks."

Benedict-
I had my arms wrapped around Merry. She was starting to worry me. She didn't seem like her blood sugar was causing her to many issues as long as she ate a granola bar every once in a while, but she seemed worried. Her head was lying on my arm and her hair was draped over it.  My other arm was wrapped around her stomach. Both of her hands were holding on my hand that was wrapped around her stomach. I could feel her slightly shaking, but it was less then before. She was playing with my hand by tracing the outline of it with one hand and holding it with the other. She didn't even seem to be aware she was doing it.
  The rain slackened off around 6 so we got up and moved around. We put the saddle pad and saddles back on the horses. I saw Merry eat another granola bar. Good. Somewhere around eight we set off to ride back to the ranch. The rain was now a slight drizzle. None of us were talking though. We were all cold, wet, hungry, and just plain miserable. I rode towards the back of the group next to Merry. Every few minutes I would see her grip the saddle horn till her fingers turned white and then she would let go, stretch her fingers, and do it again. I looked at my watched to see it said 10:23 when I saw Merry eat her last granola bar. I sighed, counting how much time we have left...four and a half hours.
  By lunch time Merry had eaten all of her snacks. Hopefully she can last until three... just three more hours. But by two I was talking to Kyle when I heard a startled scream. I turned quickly to see Merry on the ground with her horse standing next to her. I turned my horse and quickly walked over to her. I dismounted and said,"Mer, are you okay?" She said,"yeah." Kyle asked,"did Captain throw you?" She said," no! Captain is amazing. I just got really dizzy and lost my balance." I helped her stand up. I held onto her arm in case she was still dizzy. I glanced over to Kyle who nodded and said,"Merry, why don't you ride with Benedict on Shield. I can tie Captain to my saddle and he'll follow." She said,"I'm fine, really." I said,"Mer..."

Merry-
  The softness of his voice surprised me. I looked up to see he looked worried. I sighed and said,"fine."  Kyle nodded, took Captain and tied him to his horse. I walked to Benedict's horse and mounted. Benedict then got on behind me. It was really awkward. I was sitting in the saddle while Benedict was sitting right behind it with one arm wrapped around my waist and the other holding the reigns.  We all started up again. Tasha said,"Merry. I'll take care of y'all horses once we get back to the ranch so you both can go ahead and leave." I said,"are you sure?" She said,"of course."
  After another half an hour riding we were almost there, but it wasn't coming soon enough. I was shaking uncontrollably and every few minutes my vision would spin. Benedict was the only thing keeping me on the horse. As my shaking got worse and worse I could feel Benedict's arm tighten around my waist more and more. It was comforting knowing that he was there. The last half hour seemed the longest. By the time we got back to the ranch I was leaning back on Benedict, feeling nauseous. Kyle came over and took Shields reigns and helped me off so Benedict could get off. When I was on the ground my knees buckled and I hit the ground hard. After a second i felt someone lift me up. I heard Benedict say,"Tasha will you grab Merr's stuff from her saddle bags?"  After a few minutes I heard a car door open and I was placed in the car. Benedict said,"Mer? Talk to me." I said,"I-I don't feel like it." Benedict said," I don't care whether you want to or not. Talk to me... I'm going to buckle you in." I felt the seat belt go around my waist. I heard Tasha say,"here's the stuff. And here is Kyle's and mine phone numbers. Text us later." Benedict said,"will do. Bye, guys. Thanks!" I heard my car door close then I hard Benedict's open and close.

Benedict-
  I kept glancing at Merry as I drove to the nearest fast food place. Her eyes were still closed. I pulled into a Chick-fil-A and got in the drive through. I order and then once we got our food I parked. I said,"Mer, eat something." She opened her eyes and took the chicken. It was really weird. Her eyes didn't seem to focus on anything. I watched her eat. I ate, but mainly waited to see if it helped. If not I was going to take her to an ER. After a few minutes she stopped shaking. I just now realized how violent the shaking had been. It wasn't like a seizure. She definitely wasn't flopping around, but she couldn't control her body from shaking. She saw I was still watching her she smiled and said,"I'm fine, Benedict. Let's go home. I'm tired." I nodded and drove us back to the hotel. When we got there I let Merry take a shower first then she went to bed. I showered and then texted Kyle. I said,"kyle, it's Benedict. Made it to the hotel safely. Thanks for taking care of the horses." I then went to bed.

Merry-
  After going to bed I didn't wake up till the next morning. While I changed I heard Benedict talking to someone. I walked out of my room  to see Benedict with Kyle and Tasha. I looked at the clock to see it was 10:30. Wow, I can't believe I slepped so late. I said,"hey!" Tasha rushed up to me and gave me a hug. She said," girl! You scared all of us yesterday." I chuckled and said,"sorry bout that." She said," no worries. We brought muffins!" I said,"yum." She gave me a chocolate muffin and I sat down next to Benedict to eat. Benedict said," they called this morning saying they wanted to check up on you. So they got here around eight. Then I went to get some more snacks for you." He said the last part about snacks to just me so I was the only one to hear. I glanced up at him and smiled. I looked back to Kyle and Tasha. I said,"how long are y'all staying in town?" Kyle said,"we were thinking about spending time with y'all and show you both the sights while y'all are here. We actually got the hotel room across from y'all." I said," that's amazing! This will be so much fun." Tasha said,"and first things first. We are going shopping!"