Dragon Wars: Destined Through Fire (Book 2)

Chapter 21 (Josephs POV) Padre?!

I looked at each one of them, just to make sure that they had heard what he had just said to all of us. It seemed to be that they were listening, as they each in turn nodded, and I looked over to John he was looking at me to make sure that I had heard what he had just, and I did the same as well.
We all sat there, as we were all clearly trying to regain our breath. Sure, maybe we had not needed to run up the hill at all, but it was better safe than sorry in the end. They did not know that the dragon was going come come back, such as I had known.
We were lucky to be safe right now, and I was also questioning myself as to why I had that vision in the first place as well. Did it always do that whenever I got near them? Is that the reason that my Uncle had died? Had they known that he was coming?
I shook my head at the same time as well, it was all so confusing to me, and none of it really made very much sense to me either. Why had I not seen the dragons coming that day that I had lost Pops... And my sister, and Julia... I shook my head trying to shake it all out at the same time as well.
It was all in the past now, and John was right with what he had said to me, and I knew it too. It was best not to dwell on things like those, he had actually opened up to me about his past at one point as well. Told me that he had always done the same thing that I was doing, and that was the reason that he had felt so much pain...
That was also the reason that he seemed to show no emotion as well, if I had to take my best guess at the same time too. I closed my eyes trying to shake out all of those thoughts that were going on in my head. I had to remember, just like he had told me, that it was best not to dwell on the past.
That meant the same for other people as well, he was not just talking about my past. He had told me on several occasions that people could change. Sometimes it was for the better, but most of the time, it was in fact not for the better, but it was mote for the worse.
I opened my eyes at the same time as well, as I heard my father then begin to speak up to all of us, making sure that we all heard what it was that he was saying. I looked over to him, as it was good to get all of that off of my mind at the same time as well, as I listened in to what it was that he had to say.
"We are not just setting up camp at the edge of the woods are we? We should go deeper in to the woods if you ask me, that would be a lot more safe... Dragons are not the only things that can be at the edge of these woods." He said, meant at John at the same time as well.
I looked over at my father for a few moments, and I squinted his eyes, a bit confused as to what it was that he could be talking about right now... Maybe he was talking about wolves, or maybe he meant other humans... I was not sure... I did not know that my father knew so much about the wild until all of this had happened in the first place as well.
It all came as quite of a bit of a surprise to me, I had never heard my father ever go out of the house, unless it was to drink or get food from the store... Maybe I did not remember what he was like before he had gotten all of that money from my Uncles passing.
I shook my head though, as I tried to shake all of that out of my head at the same time as well, as I looked over to John, so that I could listen in on what it was that he was going to say back to my father. John looked at my dad for a few moments, and then he rolled his eyes and then nodded back at my father at the same time.
It kind of confused me, because I sort of agreed with what it was that my father had just said to all of us. It just did not make much sense for us to all stand right beside the clearing that we had just ran into dragons at.
At the same time, I was quite a bit worn out, and I could clearly see that it was getting very dark outside at the same tine as well. I would not complain if we just dropped our bags right here, and made our tents, and layed to rest for the night as well.
I sat there for just a few moments, as I then turned my head over towards John, as I listened to what it was that he was saying back to what my father had just said to him. My eyes felt a bit dry, as I was in fact so tired in the first place, but I did my best to listen in on what it was that he had to say.
"Well obviously not... I just noticed that you were all so tired, so I figured I should be kind enough to let you get some rest... I am sorry about that... If you guys think you are ready to go, than we can go right on ahead." He said to my father. He clearly meant it a bit sarcastically at the same time as well.
My father was not really thinking that deep into it clearly, as he just nodded to John. Clearly I was not the only one that was very tired right now. I just wanted to fall over on to the ground that I stood on right now, I was so worn out, and so ready to just sleep for the night, because I knew that John was going to wake us up again, early in the morning tomorrow as well.
I shivered, as it was a bit cold, but more at the fact that I knew the next couple of days were going to be very rough on not just me, but the others as well, as they were in far worse shape than I was right now. I shook my head, trying not to think about it too much.
I then turned my head as I heard Padre begin to step up and speak, which had been the first time in quite a while that he had done that as well. I listened in on what it was that he had to say to not just John, but all of us as I realized what it was that he was saying.
"I think we should go ahead and head over to where we need to camp for the night, I don't know about all of you, but if I sit here for any longer, I don't think I can get back up." He said to John. We all looked at him, as I turned my head to John, assuming that the others had done the same as well.
I nodded to John, to let him know that I had fully agreed with what it was that Padre had just said to him. It already felt like my legs, and my brain was about to collapse on me as I stood in this same spot like I had been doing for quite a long time now.
John looked at all of us for a few moments, as I could tell that he was a bit surprised that we wanted to keep on going, which I did not blame him for being surprised at the same time as well. Normally all of them would complain every few minutes when we would be walking to a new camp site, and I could tell that it got on John's very last nerves.
He then nodded to all of us at once, at the same time too, and then he looked back further into the woods that were ahead of us. As it looked like he was gauging how far we should keep on going until we finally decided to lay to rest for the night.
I also noticed at the same time as well, that John even looked a bit tired from the quite rough day that we had just had as well. It was actually the first time that I had seen his face like that ever before. It came as quite of a bit of a surprise to me.
He turned his head back over to us, as I could tell that he was doing his best to hide how exhausted that he was as well. But he knew just as good as the rest of us, that we needed to keep on going until we were at a more safe place to stay at for the night.
I felt so tired, but I knew that we had to keep on going, and we could not be sticking this close to a clearing at the same time as well. Whenever we had our campsites, they were usually several kilometers into some deep and thick woods.
I shook my head, as I realized that I was hanging my head low, as it felt like I was about to fall asleep right now. I lifted my head up at the same time as well, as I began to hear John begin to speak once again to all of us, and I nodded thankfully to myself at the same time, as it had woken me up, just enough to keep on going.
"Alright you guys... We are going to go about half a kilometer further, there are some thick woods down that way, and we should not have to worry about any animals... Besides bears of course, but I am ready whenever yall are... So I am going to go ahead and head off, you guys take your time if needed to." He said to all of us. I looked at him for a few moments, and then I nodded to him.
I wondered if he was joking or not when he said that there were bears in the woods, but I shook my head at the same time as well, as it was really the last thing that I was worried about. I am sure that John was smart enough to not walk into a bear den, and I knew that bears were smart enough to not mess with 5 humans.
John began to start walking, and I heard the footsteps of the others walk past me at the same time as well. As I began to nearly fall back into a sleeping trance at the same time as well, until my father shook my shoulder as he walked past me. I lifted my head up as I heard him begin to speak to me, as I listened in on what it was that he had to say.
"Get up son... We've still got a bit of a ways to go... You are not the only one that is worn out, trust me..." He said to me. I looked at him and then I nodded to him, a bit thankful that he had just said that to me. It brought a bit of light to what was going on around us, as I then began to walk.
I looked ahead of me, as I saw Padre looking at me, as I could tell he was waiting for me to go ahead and start walking with the rest of them as well, I nodded to him, to let him know that I was paying attention, and that I was okay as well. He nodded back to me and he kept on walking.
He was not the only one that was looking at me, as I saw that John had his back turned to where it was that he was walking, as he had his eyes squinted on me. I shivered, as I knew that he was going to say something to me about that at the same time as well.
John was still looking at me for a few moments, as I saw that he nearly crashed himself directly into a tree that he had not seen coming, it came as a bit of a surprise to me as well, as it always seemed to me that John was always paying a fair amount of attention to the surroundings that were around him.
I did my best, as I stifled in a laugh at the same time as well, no one else had seemed to notice it at all, as it seemed that they all had their heads a slight bit low, as to how worn out all of us were. John did not see me stifle the laugh either, so I just shook my head and kept on walking with the others.
We all just kept on walking, as John was in the lead of all of us, and he was paying attention to where he was going now, though I could see how worn out he was as well. I just kept my eyes locked on him, for I feared if I looked down at the ground, I may very well just fall asleep.
We were walking for what felt like ages at the same time as well, as I was so tired at the same time, that I normally was lost in thought when I was walking in the first place, this time my brain just seemed to be a bit fried on me at the exact moment.
I did notice however, as John had finally decided to stop at the same time as well, I lifted my head up, as I saw the others do the same thing as well. I looked at him, a bit confused as to what it was that was going on right now. Had he seen something? Was someone watching us?
He then turned his head over to us, after a few moments of him standing completely still. He looked at all of us for a few moments, and then nodded to all of us. I was too tired to think of what it was that he was nodding to us for. I could tell that the others were just as confused as I was too.
He looked at all of us for just a few moments, as he then rolled his eyes at all of us at the same time as well. It was as if we were all missing something that was quite a bit obvious to him. Even if he was a bit tired, he was still a lot more on his feet that the rest of us were right now.
He shook his head at all of us, as he then dropped his bag on the floor that was where we were at. I looked around at where it was that we were at, at the same time as well, as it all of the sudden was becoming clear to me as to what it was that he was getting at.
I looked up at him, as he looked at all of us at the same time as well, and he began to speak up to all of us, as I realized at the same time as well, that my assumption that I had just had out of the blue, had in fact been correct, and I was not quite sure how we had not realized that before.
"We are staying here for the night. I can tell how tired all of you are, so I recommend that you all split into 2 into the same tent if I were you. Be ready to be up early in the morning." He said to all of us. It was clearly all that he had felt like he had needed to say at the same time as well.
We all sat there, completely still, as none of us did a thing, as I saw that John was already setting up his tent at the same time as well. It then dawned on me at the same time, as to what it was that he had just said to each one of us too.
I could tell by the look on Uncles face, that he had heard what it was that John had said to all of us too. As it was not me that he was looking at right now. I saw what it was that he was looking at, as I turned my head over just to see what it was in fact.
It was Padre, and I saw that Padre had his head on the ground at the same time as well, as he knew exactly what it was that Uncle was thinking. A part of me felt bad for him, but a part of me also knew that it was his own fault for Uncle looking at him like that in the first place after all.
I sat there for a few moments, as I was not sure whether to step up to all of them, or what it was that I should say right now. I just stood still, as it was in fact my father that made the first move to go ahead and get on with what it was that we were here to be doing in the first place.
I saw him look at Uncle, and nod to him to get his attention, as he clearly wanted him to help him with the tent. Clearly he had seen the nasty look that Uncle had given Padre at the same time as well, and he was smart enough to know that Padre was the last person that Uncle wanted to share a tent with at the moment.
Uncle looked at my father, and then he nodded to him, as they both began to begin to set up the tent that they were going to share for the night, as first I saw them pull out the tent, and then I watched as they began to pull in the hooks of it to get it set up at the same time as well.
I realized that me and Padre had not started with ours at the same time as well, as I saw he still had his head down at the ground, as he was just lost in his thoughts, as to whatever it was that he was thinking about in the first place, I was not sure of.
I went over to Padre, and then I nudged him to let him know that I needed help setting up the tent that we were going to sleep in together for the night as well. He lifted his head up at the same time, as the distorted look on his face went away at the same time, as he realized what it was that I was getting at.
He looked at me for a few moments, as he nodded to me, and then he dropped his bag at where it was at the it had been at on his back. I nodded to him, as he lifted himself down and unzipped it, and he looked up at me at the same time as well, as he began to speak to me.
"I am sorry, I am just so lost right now, so many things... I am sorry you know what a lot of them are..." He said to me. I looked at him for a few moments, as he looked at me to respond to what it was that he had just said to me at the same time as well.
I realized that he was doing that as well, as I then nodded to him, to let him know that I had heard, and to also let him know to go on ahead and pull out the tent, so that we could get it set up in the first place as well. He nodded back to me, as he kept on going on with what it was that we were here to do.
I thought about what it was that he had just said to me at the same time as well, as I thought deep into it. I was in fact only sure about one thing that he had meant by that, which was more than likely still a bit of the fact that he was a bit embarrassed about all that he had done to Uncle in the past.
I shook my head, trying to shake it all off at the same time as well, as Padre had finally managed to drop the tent onto the ground, as he tossed a couple of the hooks over to me at the same time as well. I was so tired I had not even noticed that he had done that for just a few moments.
I then saw that he had his eyes squinted at me, and I saw the hooks that were standing beside me on the ground as well. I looked at him, and then I nodded, as I grabbed the laces to the edges of the tent, and then began to attach them to the hooks.
Once I had done that, I then spiked it as hard as I could into the quite dry soil. I noticed that I had not gotten it far enough, as I shoved my foot into it at the same time to get it a bit deeper into the ground, so that it was a bit more sturdy and it would not fall on us in the night.
Once I was done with both of the 2 corners that were for me, I looked over at Padre, as I saw that he was just finishing up with his 2nd corner as well. Once he was done, he looked up towards me, and then he nodded to me at the same time as well.
I nodded back to him, as he then opened up his backpack once again, and began to pull out his blanket, and the small little matress that we usually slept on every night. It was not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it did in fact get the job done.
I pulled out mine at the same time as well, as once it was out, me and him both then walked into the tent with our blankets and mattresses out, and our bags in the other hand as well. Once we were in there, I heard John yell one last thing to the rest of us in the camp to hear.
"We aren't making anything tonight, so you still have leftovers, and hopefully a couple of things to snack on for the night..." He said loudly for all of us to hear. I nodded to myself, though I knew that John had not seen me do it, as I sat down onto the rough matress that I had put down.
No one said a word in response to what John had just said loudly to each other, but he knew just as well as the rest of us, that we had all heard what it was that he had just said loud enough for all of us to hear. I realized how hungry I was at the same time, as I reached my hand into my bag to find something to snack on.
I found a bag of peanuts, and I unzipped it and began to eat it up. It was quite a bit stale, and not very good, but it would at least do for the night. We were lucky that we were not starving right now, I was a bit excited now that I thought about it, about going to the farm that John had been speaking about earlier today.
I closed my eyes, think about all of the rich food that could be there. I then shook my head at the same time as well, as I also came to the realization that the dragons might have burnt all of that down at the same time as well, as they were smart enough to know that humans used that to eat.
I opened my eyes, and then I shook my head at the same time, as I looked up to see that Padre was eating some stuff at the same time as well. He saw that I had opened my eyes, and that I was looking at him at the same time, as he then nodded at me.
We both sat there for a few moments, a bit weirdly, as none of us said a word to each other, as we just watched each other eat. After a few moments, I felt like I should break to silence in the small room, as I could only see him because of the lamp that we had brought with us in his bag as well.
He looked up at me, as he heard me begin to speak to him, and he nodded his head to let me know that he was listening to what it was that I had to say to him as well. I nodded back to him at the same time too, and then I continued on with what I was saying.
"Padre... I know it might not mean much to you, but I do not blame you for what happened with you and Uncle, it was messed up... But you did what you had to do to make it... Just know that I am here as a friend to you." I said to him, not sure if he would comprehend what it was that I had just said to him at the same time as well.
He looked at me for a few moments, as he lowered his head to the ground, just as I had expected, and I also kind of wished that I had not said anything about it to him in the first place as well. I shook my head though, and then I just kept on eating the peanuts that were in front of me.
I sat there, as it did not seem to be doing much to feel me up, so I just put the peanuts back into my bag, and decided that I would go hungry tonight, rather than waste food. I hoped that the farm would still be okay, and that there would be food for us, but I should not get my spirits too high at the same time as well.
I shook my head, as I laid my head down onto the pillow that was behind me, and then closed my eyes. I did my best to try and get some sleep, but just before I did, I heard Padre begin to speak up to me, as it broke that from me, and I lifted my head up a bit annoyed at the same time.
"Thank you... It makes me feel better for you to say that... I knew what I had done was wrong, and my decision to stop was right... I lost a lot of friends due to that, but I realize now that they were not actually my friends... They just used me, and besides... They are probably dead for all I know anyways." He said to me. I lifted my head up at him to let him know that I was listening to him.
I sat there for a few moments, as I thought about what it was that I should say to him. I was not sure what it was that I should say, as I had not had very many friends myself, and I did not really know what it was like at the same time as well.
After a few moments of me not responding to what he had just said to me, I saw that he looked a bit embarrassed as he then put his head down onto his pillow at the same time as well. I felt a bit bad for him, so I felt like I should say one last thing to him before we laid to rest for the night. I began to speak loud enough for him to hear, and enough to wake him up a bit so that he knew what it was that I had just said.
"I get it Padre... Don't worry abou it... It is all in the past now, and times have changed, so we have to change with it. Lets just get some sleep for now, we had enough to worry about today." I said to him. I then lifted my head back down onto the pillow that was on the back side of my head.
I heard Padre grunt as a response to me, as I then shook my head, trying my best not to worry about all of that, as I then closed my eyes at the same time as well, so that I could fall asleep for the night. After a few seconds, it did not take long for me to do so as well, just based off of how tired I was...