*Nightfall*

*Nightfall~8*

The boar was on the fire getting ready to be eaten, and I quickly grabbed Stoney and told him it was a little late, to be tracing around in the wilderness to give a wolf pup back to its family, and that they just needed to wait until morning to give it back. So Klayton handed the pup to me and said it was my responsibility until tomorrow. I rubbed on the little pup as I had a sort of bond with the little guy, and why wouldn't I, he was damned cute. Rachel and Siera divvied up the meat and some of the fruits the girls picked and we ate heartily. I pulled some of the meat off the bone and gave it to the pup, the lil guy definitely didn't object to it, he even got a little excited when I stopped handing him some and began to whimper as he sniffed my hand wanting more.

Stoney shook his head and told me that wasn't a good idea feeding him either, I looked up a little shocked at Stoney and told him that I wasn't going to let the poor little guy starve. Kc laid down beside me and snuggled up wanting to get warm. As the sun went down, and the chilly night air, came into the cave we all tried to sleep when we were all awakened by a long mournful howling that soon turned into a group of wild howling. Stoney got up and looked out at the stars, then into the darkness where he began to hear rustling in the bushes, and shadows moving around outside the cave. He lowly called out to Sully and told him to stoke the fire up nice and bright, because those wolves decided to make an early house call. 

Sully slid in beside Stoney as he asked him if it was possible just to let the little pup go out to the pack and they'd take him back home with them and leave us alone. Stoney turned to him as he chuckled and told him that they were wolves, not people, and that he was sure they wanted a little bit more than just their pup back they wanted food, and even though they never had cooked food before, the smell of all of them and the cooked pork would be enticing to any critter with a nose. The slight noises from the bush outside the cave got a little louder as they moved in closer we all began to hear their panting, and light growling amongst them as if they were arguing about whether they wanted to come into the cave or wait for us to come out. A few of the wolves approached the mouth of the cave just to test the waters, but as soon as they saw the light of the fire and its heat that emitted from the cave they all backed away instinctively and decided to leave the area for now.

After the wolves left, we all relaxed a little more as the tension eased up enough so we could finally get some sleep. Only to be rudely awakened in what seemed to be just a few hours later, by Zoey screaming bloody murder. It seemed like a certain reptile found its way under her blankets from the coldness of the cave seeking warmth, and as soon as she rolled on it slightly it struck her a few times before she could get away from it. I was the first one to her as I grabbed the snake and quickly killed it but after I got a good look at it the bites I had an internal feeling come over me and knew it wasn't good. Stoney went over to her and quickly began to treat her bites, but when he looked over at the snake's body, he knew it was no use because without medical anti-venom she was going to be dead in less than 24 hours. But he didn't let her in on it and did everything he could to make her as comfortable as possible.

After she went to sleep with the natural sedative he gave her, he sat down next to me as he told all of us that Zoey was going to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it, that the snake that bit her was extremely poisonous, and there was no antidote that he could create to replace the medical anti-venom that was direly needed. I quickly grabbed Kc and held onto her tightly because she has known Zoey since her childhood and was very close to her, and she was breaking down rather quickly. It took Catherine and Abby a little longer for Stoney's information to sink in from all the trauma that was going on, but when it did, the other guys quickly held onto them and tried to comfort them. Kc walked over to where Zoey was laying by the fire and she just sat down beside her and held onto her hand and remained deathly silent and watched and waited. Zoey's body was already going into fever and sweats from the venom rushing thru her entire body. Her body began to tremble and shake uncontrollably Kc looked over at me as a few tears fell from her face...as she turned to Klayton and asked him if she would suffer long.

Stoney walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her and told her that Zoey's body was in extreme shock from the venom and that she was so far gone now, that she didn't really know what she was happening to her because her mind was shut off, and that she wasn't even going to wake up from her sleep that she was in. Then Stoney stood up and helped her and told her that she needed to go back over to where I was laying and get some sleep, that it was pointless for her to set up all night while her friend dies in her sleep. Klayton sat her down next to me as he whispered in my ear to keep her close to me, and not to let her go to her friend anymore. I got his meaning from his voice and held her close to me until she went into a deep emotional sleep. Hours went by and Zoey finally drew her last breath, and Stoney carried her out of the cave with Sully following right behind him to help him bury her, so none of the girls would have to see her like that when they woke up.