Wild Desperation

Chapter 13

                                                   Luke

I gaped in shock despite the pain from the beasts attack, watching as it squealed once before collapsing on my legs, dead from the arrow shot out of nowhere. I searched for where it had come from when suddenly a kid came running from the trees, with a bow in his hand and shoved the beast off me with his foot. I was staring at him in silence before he turned and my eyes met his green ones, they were startling on such a young face and strangely beautiful too.

 "Y-You shot him." I choked out and received one curt nod before the kid sagged in what seemed to be relief from a sound behind him. "Not that it means much, we'll be dead in a few days anyway." Doc whimpered off to the side as the stranger turned to him, I winced at that thought. "It's not sick so unless you die from the wounds themselves or possible infections, you'll live." the kids voice was smooth and sweet, he had to be younger than I thought. "Um, no offense but how can you be so sure?" I asked warily, who was this kid anyway? 

"Him, if it was sick he wouldn't be doing that." The stranger motioned to a scary looking dog that had come up and started licking the carcass, well that answered one question but also brought so many more. "What's your name?" I was suddenly curious as I stood, wincing at the pain in my thigh and arm. The kid seemed to balk at the question as he narrowed his eyes at me warily, couldn't say I blamed the cute little shorty. "You can call me SS, for now." He answered shortly before stalking over to Doc and dropping to his knees as his pet growled towards me.

 I watched as the kid started to treat Doc's wounds despite his protests before coming my way. "I'm fine really, that was one awesome shot by the way." I tried being friendly as I smiled through my own pain only for the kid to snort at my response. "Fine being you can barely stand and have blood running down your arm and leg." He raised and I knew he had me on that one, as I reluctantly let him clean and bandage the gash on my arm. The kid helped get my pants off to look at the wound on my thigh as his dog growled at a very pale Doc.

 His lips thinned as he threw my pants to the side and focused on the deep and nasty gash on my upper thigh, I was just glad I'd worn the boxers Gabe gave me for once. "This is going to need stitches, hold on and stay here. Arrow guard." He tossed the command and the dog pinned Doc and I with a predatory look as his owner ran back in the direction of the road and our ride. "Nice puppy." I muttered, wincing as he bared his teeth at me. "Easy Arrow." The kid called and the mutt sat and focused his doggy scowl back on Doc. 

"He seems friendly." I joked as the kid snorted a response. "To me yes, he's the only real friend I've got out here." the poor kid was on his own out here, with just a growling mutt for company. "Here, drink this it'll help." The kid said as he handed me a cup of water with some form of plant in it. I thought about declining considering he could be giving me poison but figured if he wanted to kill us he would of done so by now, I sipped his offering as he went and gave Doc some too.

 Then I almost choked on the drink as he whistled and this huge horse came trotting up to the kid. Where in the world did he come from, and how did he get a horse? Whoever this kid was he certainly was taking good care of himself to have found a ride with true actual horsepower. I watched the kid go and pull a hair from the horses tail before coming back over to me with what looked like a sewing kit, I felt dizzy at the thought of the stitches without pain medication.