Under the Same Sky [BOYXBOY]

CHAPTER 23

It stopped in its tracks when a hail of rocks descended on him from behind. It turned in fury to Cam and Leo who were tossing wave upon wave of rocks on it to distract it.

Leo was jumping and waving his arms about as he threw the rocks, taunting it. 'Over here you big ugly thing! Your momma must have died after taking one look at you. Come on, or are you too much of a pussy. Come and let me show you who's boss you big stinking baby!'

A rock hit it square on the nose causing it to roar in fury and charge towards them. This was the moment Jayden had been waiting for. He had perched on a branch and as soon as the bear passed beneath him, he jumped down onto its back.

He clutched its fur tightly and before the bear could react to the presence on his back, Jayden reached behind him and pulled out a stake, plunging it directly into its left eye.

The bear reared up, letting out a blood-curdling roar as it tried to toss Jayden off its back. Jayden barely managed to hold on, reaching behind him to pull out another sake before plunging it in the bear's other eye.

The bear roared in agony and managed to throw Jayden off. It stomped around in anguish and Jayden managed to roll away before he was crushed to death beneath those powerful limbs.

The bear turned at the sound of a twig snapping and charged in that direction. It leaped on Paul barely giving him enough time to thrust the stake into the soft underside of his neck.

The bear gave a final jolt before it finally collapsed dead, on top of Paul who struggled before pulling himself out from beneath it. He rushed to Samuel who was writhing on the ground in anguish as he clutched his arm.

Jayden rushed over to Noel who knelt beside Charles, cradling his head in his lap as he continued to lie unconscious on the ground. His face was pale and the blood had pooled beneath him, turning the ground red and staining Noel's pants.

Samuel limped over as Paul supported him followed by Cam and Leo and they all gathered around them.

'Is he...?' Cam asked shakily, not able to finish the sentence.

Jayden placed a finger to Charles's neck and they all waited with bated breath as he searched for a pulse.

Jayden nodded after a while. 'He's alive but his pulse is faint. He has lost a good amount of blood.'

'Wi... will he be...be alright?' Noel choked out, tears running down his cheeks as he stared at the barely breathing boy below him.

Jayden nodded. 'Luckily, it's just a surface wound. He has lost a lot of blood though, we need to staunch the flow. We also need blood replenishing herbs, Paul?'

Paul nodded and transferred Samuel to Cam. 'I'm on it. I better get some bone-strengthening ones too, Samuel has broken his arm.'

Jayden cast a glance at Samuel's arm, which he clutched tightly to his chest in pain. An unreadable expression flashed through his eyes but it was gone before anyone noticed.

Noel continued to kneel by Charles, unblinking and unmoving. Jayden placed an arm on his shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. 'Don't worry, he'll be fine.'

Noel shook his head as hot angry tears fell from his eyes onto Charles's body. 'He sacrificed himself to save me. He pushed me out of the way to take my place. He wouldn't have had to do that if I wasn't a bleeding coward that was too scared to fucking get out of the way. It's all my fucking fault.'

Jayden blinked in surprise. He had never heard Noel curse before. 'Hey, it's not your fault and thinking it is will not help anyone, especially him. Now help me clean up his wounds.'