The Fear of Loneliness (Fear Series Book 1)

Chapter 5: Frozen (unedited)

Ausren turns to his human companion, seeming quite alarmed. He obviously did not expect giggling hysterically to be Leonidas's reaction to near-death.

"Are you okay, Leo?" Ausren asks, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Through the spasms wracking his body, Leo replies, "Yes. Thank you."

"Are you sure? Why are you laughing?"

Securing his hold on the rock behind him, the human sits up once again, gasping as his laughter calms. His shoulder blades are aching from colliding with rock and his skin feels raw in the cold. But despite the discomfort, he for once feels content. For just a moment, having Ausren defend him so thoroughly, he was happy. Scared, sure, but happy. Anyone else would have just let him get attacked. Everyone else would have just expected him to be able to defend himself as well as them.

"I'm fine," Leonidas says, hauling himself to his feet and balancing unsteadily. "Do you think you can fit into that cave?"

Ausren lowers his head, careful to not knock the human off his perch, and peers back into the cave. His wings rustle slightly and he murmurs, "Perhaps."

"Will you try?" Leo questions. "If you can fit, you'll be relatively safe and hidden here. You could stay here until you are healed. I can take the cloak and spread your scent out so that the hounds can't find you."

Ausren tips his head back around, fixing the shivering human with a stare. "You will do no such thing. You are already too cold. You must go home. This terrain is dangerous enough in the light. I can fend for myself now, so you must go."

For a moment, the human just watches the dragon. He was starting to feel something close to a friendship with the prince. Now, however, it is time to say goodbye. It is time to go back to being enemies. Perhaps they will never see each other again. Leo's not quite ready to give that up.

"I..." Leo starts, then trails off, staring into the fiery orb that is the prince's eye. Unable to hold the dragon's gaze, the human drops his stare to the ground.

"Perhaps, Leonidas, you could come back and visit, when it is not so dark. I will not be able to fly for quite some time," Ausren offers, his voice softening as he surveys the human.

Immediately Leo's spirits are lifted, and he smiles at the prince. "I will. I might not be able to for a while, but I'll come."

"Then I will wait for you," Ren murmurs. The dragon turns his attention to the cave, tucking his wings in tighter and squeezing down through the small entrance. After a moment, his voice floats back up, saying, "Goodnight, Leonidas."

"Goodnight, Ren," Leo breathes.

Turning from the cave, smiling fondly, the human begins the trek home. The minimal light only lasts another two minutes, leaving the boy to wade through inky blackness, shivering badly, and doing his best not to twist his ankle. A bad sprain or break could kill him. Staying too long in the cold, however, will also kill him.

The world around him is so dark that he has to bend down to feel his way along the rocks. It's so dark that he would not have a hard time believing he had gone blind. The total isolation and lack of sight begin to send tremors of terror through him. It would not be hard to get lost like this. Not hard at all. There is the chance that he's going in circles or simply wandering down the peak in the wrong direction.

Without his cloak, he won't survive a night lost in the darkness.

"I should have stayed with Ausren," Leo breathes, stopping his hesitant advancement. Without the ability of sight, his other senses have been heightened. He can feel his hands shaking violently, hear his rapid heartbeat, and taste the tang of fear.