Guardian

Chapter 33

I walked over to the tree where I told Jason to hide. When I walked around the trunk I found him curled up with his back to me. I kneeled down, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Jason," I said, "we have to get moving."

He didn't respond, and my face fell. I began to gently shake his shoulder, but he still didn't respond. I picked him up and cradled him in my lap, sighing in relief when I saw his chest slowly rise and fall.

"Come on, Jason, time to wake up. It's all over, we can leave now."

I brushed the hair from his face, but as I did so I felt that his forehead was burning! My eyes widened, and I despretely tried to wake the little human.

"Please, Jason, wake up," I pleaded, "I don't know what to do! You need to wake up right now!"

Tears pricked my eyes as I held him close. I brushed my claws through his hair, watching his chest for it to rise every time it fell. I don't know how long I sat there, holding him as if he were about to shatter in my arms. Once in a while he would let out a few coughs, but not awaken.

Suddenly, I heard the rustle of dead leaves nearby! I froze, I had been distracted and allowed someone to sneak up on me. I whipped my head around towards the noise and was surprised to see a young woman, visablely shaking in my gaze.

I stared at her, waiting for her to scream, or run, or something of that nature. She didn't though, and instead her gaze slowly went from me to my little human.

"I-Is that...J-Jason?" she asked timidly.

I pulled him closer to my chest, sheilding him from her view. "What do you want?" I growled.

She tensed at the sound of my voice, but stood her ground. "I-If he's hurt, I can get him help."

I narrowed my eyes at her, refusing to let her anywhere near him.

She sighed, "My name's Holly Chao. I could have helped him before, but I didn't because I thought...I thought he was just a scared kid that didn't know what was going on. Obviously, he knew more than I did..."

Her eyes were full of regret, "P-please, let me help him now."

I looked from her to Jason. His temperature was growing ever higher, and I knew I didn't have a choice.

Laying Jason on my lap again, I beckoned her over. She relaxed a little and quickly yet cautiously stood next to me. I sighed, growing a little impatient, "I'm not going to going to kill you if you sit."

She quickly sat herself down next to me.

As I moved him over to her, he started another bout of coughing. I saw Holly's eyes widen as she felt his forehead, "He's burning up!"

"I know that," I snapped, "but what is wrong with him? How can I get him to wake up?"

"He's sick," she tried to reply calmly, "we have to get him to a hospital. His burns don't look too bad, but they still need to be treated, as well as the fever."

I sighed, exhaustion suddenly washing over me, "Fine, take us to this hospital."

"Um...us?"

"He is MY little human," I glared, "I will stay with him. If you really want to help Jason, you will take both of us to the hospital."

"O-Okay, but..." she looked up at me sheepishly, "how will you fit in the ambulance?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm down, "Look, you carry Jason to the whatever-you-called-it, and I'll be with him in his shadow."

She still looked confused.

"Just go," I exasperated, "I'll follow."

Holly qucikly scrambled to her feet, and I handed Jason to her. I watched in slight amuzement as her eyes widened when I disappeared into her shadow. Once I urged her to get moving, she went as fast as she could back to what was left of the smoldering building.

Many humans in bright yellow clothes were working to put out the rest of the fire. When one of the men saw Holly carrying Jason, he immedietly ran over, "Miss, what happened?"

"I-I found him unconcious by the trees," she replied.

"Don't worry, miss, I'll take him from here," the man then took Jason from her.

"No!" I hissed as he turned away from us. I quickly jumped to the man's shadow before he sprinted off towards a big white square car.

"Hey, wait," I heard Holly call, "I'd like to stay with him!"

The man had placed Jason onto a bed in the back of the large car, "Do you know the boy?"

I jumped to the shadow of the bed before he closed one of the doors.

"Yes, I do. His name is Jason Walker."

"Walker," the man exclaimed, "the boy who's been missing past 2 weeks?"

Holly nodded, a look of regret on her face. The man let her on, then slammed the door shut. Soon, we began to move, the car hurriedly bumped along through the forest. I watched Holly closely as she stroked Jason's hair.

"He must have been through a lot," Holly said after a long silence.

"Yes," I replied sadly, "he has."

I took a deep breath, tryin not to let the emotions take control, "I...I failed him."

A small sympathetic smile appeared on Holly's face, "We both did."

I watched as crystal tears ran down her face. Her smile faltered as she began to sob from the weight of guilt that I felt just as strongly. It was then that I realized just how much this woman had begun to care for Jason in the short amount of time that she had known him.

It seems my little human has that effect on people.

I swiftly moved to her shadow, attempting to console her. I felt her shiver from the unexpected embrace.

"Holly," my voice cracked, unwanting to speak the reality of my situation, "I need you to do something for me."

****************************************************************
Mwahahahaha! The end is so close I can almost taste it!
I leave cliff after cliff, question after question. I hold all the power in my hands!
Thank you all for coming this far on this journey with me. Fear not, for the end is in sight. The light at the end of the tunnel!
Please, Comment, Vote, and Share so we may exit this long tunnel together!