Champions of Light: Gaëtano's Sword [Book One]

Chapter Nine

"Wait!" Alice pleaded. "Don't hurt her."

Sean looked at the wolf, whose eyes seemed oddly familiar. "Go back home," he bade, and the wolf turned and scampered into the woods going towards the camp.

Sean was about to follow, worried for the others when Alice softly touched his arm.

"Was it just me, or did that wolf remind you of Kim?"

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Back at the camp, moments later, Chris wandered into the woods to check on the traps and found Kim sprawled over rocks and roots. He wouldn't be surprised to learn she had slept there.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked above her.

She groaned. Every part in her body was sore. She felt as if she had barely slept, but she knew that she had been dreaming, and that it was infuriatingly confusing. She went to prop herself up, and she realized she was laying on the roots of a tree. She looked around confused and realized she wasn't at camp.

"What the hell happened?" She asked, bleary eyed

"Dunno, man, I came in here looking for food, and you were just slumped over rocks and roots. Did you sleep there?"

"It certainly feels like it," she motioned for help, and he helped her to her feet. She bent her back, cracking and popping, and twisted both ways, cracked her neck and then her knuckles. "Oh, that's better."

"You know, that's not good for you."

"Alright, Dad." She scoffed as she began walking by, "Please tell me I didn't miss breakfast."

After food, and after Alice had cleaned and wrapped the claw marks on Sean's back, they sent off once again, following the flow of the river.

They walked for miles without a hitch, with Skylar hopping on the rocks with Kim struggling just behind. They stopped occasionally, to allow someone to pick a pebble out of a shoe or splash the refreshing water through their lips. During one of these small breaks, a curious sound hailed the ears of those nearer to the forest edge. Chris wandered to find the source, and found a wolf pup whining against a rock, with its paw stuck in a trap. Kim watched the pup with a weird sense of dejá vu. Chris unsheathed his sword and Sean, Kim, and Alice all gasped and chimed together, "don't hurt him!"

Chris chuckled, and knelt beside the shivering pup, prying his paw out of the trap. When it snapped shut, the wolf's paw was out of danger. The pup tried to run back out of the woods, but its leg wouldn't allow it. It slumped fearfully against the rock, watching those around him.

"If we leave him here, I'm afraid he won't survive for much longer," Sean said, sadly.

"Can we help him?" Alice asked him, and he shrugged, but she tore off a piece of cloth from the shirt she had used to bandage Sean's wounds and began slowly approaching the pup. It growled and tried to hobble away.

"It's alright," Sean and Alice echoed each other softly. The pup looked to Sean, and he continued, "stay still, we're not going to hurt you."

The pup allowed for Alice to clean its wound and bind it in the rag. It wouldn't be much, but they felt better the pup might have a chance. They soon continued walking, sorry that they couldn't have helped the wolf more. But as the last of their group passed the pup, it slowly began following them.

Moments passed as the river began to grow wider and deeper, rushing faster than before. They would soon eventually come to a waterfall based on its speed. Then, a strange noise hailed their ears and they stopped to look for the source. On the opposite side of the riverbank, slightly upstream from them, were pygmy figures, shouting at them and hoisting their spears toward the sky in a display of ferocity.

Suddenly, a spear flung through the air and pierced right through Sean's abdomen. Alice yelped his name as he slumped to the ground. Chris roared a battle cry, grabbing his sword as he raced towards the pygmies and raised the blade high in the sky. A flash of blinding Light enveloped the riverbed, and they heard the pygmies scatter off into the woods. No one asked how Chris had summoned the Light again, nor wondered why a wolf had suddenly appeared where Kim had been, and instead focused on Sean.

Alice knelt on the ground, with him sprawled on her knees, struggling for breath. She broke off the spear head from the staff, knowing better than to take it out, which made Sean groan in pain, blood spurting from his mouth.

Alice's voice quivered, "don't you dare go. You can't go now. We're almost out. We're almost there. Stay with me." He sputtered her name, and tears welled in her eyes.

"You've got to hold on. Please," She was speaking through her sobs, and squeezed his hand. "You're my friend, you can't leave now." He smiled, and coughed blood, wheezing for air. "Sean, you have to get up. We have to go," a tear streamed down her face as she noticed the puddle of blood beneath his body. He exhaled softly and closed his eyes. His hand fell limp and her soul emptied. She laid her head slowly on his chest, sobbing softly, wishing he'd come back. Other than Kim, he had been the only one who made her feel safe and at home. She couldn't bear to lose that now. A single tear dripped into the wound as she held him. Slowly, a soft green glow wafted around them like a soft wind, and wound around his wound, enveloping them both in a strange warmth. There was a splash as the spearhead fell into the water, then his rhythmic breathing. His hand caressed her back and she shot up and looked at him in shock. There he was, smiling up at her with not a scratch on his body.

"You saved me, Alice."

She threw her arms around him, thanking the Light.

He chuckled and returned her embrace. "Idon't know how, but you saved me."