Alpha Ryland

Chapter 7

During the night, I wake up from a howl outside the house. It doesn't seem close enough to be a problem for us but it sounds like someone is out for a very late run and is having fun. I turn around to a more comfortable position on the floor and face the dead fire. It still is radiating warmth and the house is a little warmer that when it was when we came here.

I take a quick look around the room and see Eric asleep at the same spot he was in before. He has his jacket on and is sleeping on the bag of clothes he got yesterday. I get up from my spot and creep over to where he is. The item he stole from my lab is in his left pocket, so all I have to do is sneak my hand into his pocket and pull it out.

This could end really bad for me if he wakes up in time. He would never trust me again and it will make for an awful journey with him. I've built up trust, albeit a very thin trust if one could call it that, and I can't risk it. No matter how badly I want to just take it, I can't risk it right now. I talk myself out of stealing from him and plan to take it when he is more vulnerable and has his jacket off.

Before I turn around to go back to my spot to sleep, I see him shift. I freeze in my spot and watch him turn to sleep on his back instead of his side. I panic from seeing his face and fear that his eyes will open at any time and catch me. I slowly back away but stop when I see him shift again, this time he isn't moving positions, but shivering.

Tilting my head in curiosity, I watch him to see him shiver again. His jacket must not be warm at all. Either that, or being next to the fire is helping me a lot. I know my jacket cost a fortune because it is able to keep me warm in freezing temperatures. I decide that, since I had the fire next to me and it is still warm over there, I will make sure he isn't freezing while sleeping.

My jacket has pockets of money, but he wouldn't steal it since he told me to put it there in the first place. I take it off and carefully place it over his torso. It definitely isn't big enough to cover all of him, but it should help a lot. He stops shivering after a few minutes and I smile from feeling nice. Of course, I am just repaying him for the fire. In no way am I being nice because of his personality.

I crawl back to my spot and lay closer to the cinders. It might be a hazard to sleep this close, but at this point I have nothing to lose. Lying down as close as possible, I shut my eyes and fall back asleep until the morning.

When light seeps through the windows, I sit up from my position and rub my eyes. Something falls off of me as I stand up and I look down to see what it was. My jacket is sitting on the ground. I bend down to pick it up and look at it. I thought I gave this to Eric while he was sleeping? He must have given it back to me after he woke up. I wish I could have seen his face when he noticed my one act of kindness.

I check all of my pockets to see if he took anything, but it all adds up and looks right. I take my clothes into the bathroom after I checked to see where Eric was. He was in the other room packing his things back in his bag and I lock the door. I quickly change and do what I have to do before I get out and make sure I have everything inside my backpack.

He looks my way and checks to see if I am ready to go. "Let's leave early to make up for lost time of shopping yesterday." He exits the house and I follow him, already a little irritated. Shopping was a great idea because we are more equipped than before. He should be grateful.

I walk in silence with him for most of the day. We had stopped for food twice today and it is almost time to stop for a third time. He doesn't seem to be in a bad mood anymore since I didn't talk at all today. It probably is good for him, but I feel horrible not talking. Sooner or later, I'm going to crack and start talking nonstop.

We have walked through some highly populated areas but mostly took paths to avoid them. I wish he will tell me where we are going to I can see if we are using our time efficiently. The faster we get there, the closer I am to getting murdered, but I want to stop walking! "Eric?" I try to get his attention. He doesn't even notice that I had said his name. That, or he doesn't care. I'd pick either option. "Eric?" I say again in a sing-song voice.