Ashenveil's Dragon

Chapter: 15

We sat in silence staring out into the dark night. When a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit me. A huge yawn escaped my mouth, then one escaped Jackson's mouth. We looked at each other and I smirked. My smirk fell and I sighed deeply.

"I'll show you two to a place where you can sleep," said a deep voice from behind that startled me.

I turned my head around to look at Sarajah.

"Nothing sounds better than sleep right now," I replied.

I put the thoughts of anger with Sarajah behind me for now and got to my feet. Jackson went to follow me up, but he struggled to rise to his feet. I offered my hand to him and he accepted it gratefully. I helped him slowly to his feet and offered him my shoulder. He leaned upon it heavily as we followed Sarajah down a tunnel to the far left.

We turned down a tunnel off of the left wall. In a short distance, we arrived at a small cavern, lit with a single torch. There were multiple dips in the floor similar to the one I had spent my first night in.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Sarajah said, then she turned and walked away.

I helped Jackson to one of the divots and he collapsed into it. I moved to the one right next to Jackson's, and I settled myself in it.

"How are your injuries feeling?" I asked Jackson.

"Better, but the are starting to hurt again," he replied.

"Ok. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be right here."

"Thanks."

I heard him groan quietly as he rolled over. I curled up into a ball and let the heat from the stone floor sooth my body.
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I woke up to the sound of Jackson crying out. Very quickly, I sat up. Looking over at Jackson, I saw him tossing and turning. He cried out again, and I saw sweat beading on his face.

Should I wake him? Will it pass? Is it harmful to wake someone up while their dreaming? Or is that sleepwalking?

He let out another cry, louder than the other two, and my heart broke. That cry was the sound of true fear and agony. I moved over to Jackson and gently shook his shoulder as I softly called his name. He jolted awake and shot up, panting. He looked around quickly with fearful eyes. When his eyes came to rest on me, he scrambled back, out of the dip.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Please don't hurt me!" Jackson cried, his voice ending in a soft, panicked whisper.

His eyes were wide with fear, and he was breathing short, shallow breaths.

"Jackson, calm down. It's me, Scarlette," I answered softly, "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Where am I? What am I doing here?"

"I found you in the woods and brought you here. Don't you remember?"

"Oh...yeah. It's coming back to me," he blinked a couple long blinks, "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

"It sounded like you were having a dream...you cried out...that...um...that's why I woke you up. Do you remember what you dreamed?"

"I remember faces...three men. I don't know if I knew who they were at one point, or if they were strangers... They brought me into the woods and tried to kill me... I tried to fight back, but I-I couldn't... I tried! I tried so hard, but I couldn't! I couldn't! I couldn't!"

His voice started to shake at the end as it rose in volume, but quickly subsided into shaking breaths. He wrapped his arms around his knees and placed his face down between them as his shoulders began to shake. I walked over to Jackson and placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling it shake.

"C'mon, Jackson. Follow me," I said, while finding his hand and attempting to pull him to his feet.

"I hate this! I hate this, so much!" He whispered harshly, while not moving.

"Hate what, Jackson?" I asked, kneeling down to his level.

"I can't remember anything! Anything about my life, myself, or my family! This is so unfair! I just..." he trailed off.

"Get up and follow me, Jackson," I said as I stood up and hauled Jackson to his feet.

I put his arm around my shoulder and he leaned his weight on it. We walked out of the cavern and found our way to the main cave. The colors of the sunrise were just peeking over the trees. The sky was beautiful, and we walked over to be seated on the edge of the cliff. We sat down, and the sunrise and fresh morning air seemed to calm Jackson.

"I'm really sorry about what happened back there," Jackson said once he had composed himself, "I was just really frustrated because I can't remember who I am and freaked out about the dream because it felt so real. I guess I still am," he finished sheepishly.

"It is perfectly fine! You have no reason to be sorry!" I answered.

"Up early, I see," a deep voice from behind us rumbled.

I jumped at the sound and almost fell off the cliff. Jackson held me up with the arm still draped around my shoulder, but as he did, he cried out in pain. I quickly scrambled back unto the edge. Once I was safe, he let go of me and clutched his side. I glanced at the place his was clutching, and I saw fresh blood stains.

"Sarajah, I need more bandages, healing ointment, some warm water and a cloth. Quickly, please!" I told Sarajah urgently after turning to face her.

She gave a quick nod and disappeared down a tunnel. I helped Jackson move to the middle of the cave, and he lay there, his paling face screwed up in pain. Fresh blood was quickly saturating the bandages, and I began to worry.
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Author's note: Hey, guys! I finally wrote another chapter! I'm sorry it's been so long! How did you guys like this chapter? What do you think might happen next? I am always open to constructive criticism and feedback. Please comment and vote!

-Marvel_lover2