32. Darkness

Gage loosens his grip on your arm as you slide down to the ground and begin taking your boot off. Your ankle isn't swollen yet but is slightly tender to the touch. "Did you do that on purpose?" You're surprised to hear Gage demand. For the first all day you let you true emotion show on your face. "What?" you demand angrily, glaring up at him. "Are you trying to slow us down?" His voice lowers and you feel a shiver run down your spine. "Yeah." you huff sarcastically, trying your best to match is hard stare. "Because I totally want to be stuck with you and injured on top of everything else." Gage's eyes actually soften a bit at this and he slowly sits down next to you. Without asking he reaches over and pulls your leg onto his lap. The angry expression dissolves from your face and is replaced with trepidation. Gage's hand runs down the length of your calf before he removes your sock. "It's not broken" he confirms after examining it. You sigh in relief and watch as he binds your ankle using the strips from the same shirt he had used to wrap your hand. Once your boot is back on he takes your hand this time to help you up. You teeter for a moment before reaching a hand out to his chest to steady yourself. You know you won't be able to walk but you worry about telling him that.

You hear Gage sigh and see him set down his backpack. He wordless takes the satchel off your shoulder and replaces it with the backpack. Once he's done reposition the satchel and duffel bag under one arm starts looking around. After scanning the area for a moment you see his eyes land on rotted tree stump. He walks over to you and wraps an arm around your back and under your arm. He helps you over to the stump then places his hands on your waist and lifts you up on top of it. He turns his back to you again and steps backwards. It dawns on you what he's doing and you swallow nervously before slowly reaching out and wrapping your arms around his lean, but taut, shoulders. He hooks his arms under your thighs and lifts you up onto his back. Your weight doesn't seem to of any inconvenience to him as he lifts his arms to push you up so your straddling the back of his hips. You feel yourself slipping slightly and have **** but to wrap your legs around his waist. Once you're settled Gage takes a deep breath then pushes forward. Now that you're on his back you notice that Gage make less stops on the way. Before you know it the light coming through the tree tops begins to grow dim and you know the sun will be setting soon. Despite the forests rough terrain you find being on his back is less bumpy than you had anticipated.

It's starting to get cold again and you find yourself wrapping your arms tighter around Gage's shoulders, pulling yourself closer to his back. It's warm and slightly damp but he smells surprisingly good. The lingering scent of fir tree sap clings to his clothes and you also detect the light smell of fresh clover. You rest your head against one of his shoulders and feel your eyes growing heavy.You're not sure when you fall asleep but you don't wake until you feel Gage begin lowering you off his back. You open your eyes and blink hazily as your eyes try adjusting to the darkness that now surrounds you. The canopy above you is to thick to let sufficient moonlight to shine through. You feel Gage lower you to the ground and dry leaves crunch under your frame. You throw your hand over your mouth to muffle an exclamation when you feel something crawl across your leg. "Gage" you manage to squeak out as you try to scramble to your feet. You feel Gage's strong hands on you seconds later as he lifts you to your feet. "What?" you hear his low, husky, voice ask, as you pulls you towards him. "Sorry" you say sheepishly, thankful the darkness is masking the flush that's creeping across your face. "I... I got scared." You don't want to admit that a stray bug was the cause of your fear, so you leave it at that. You still feel slightly groggy and reach out blindly for Gage's other arm.

Once you find it you use it to hold your self steady enough to pull away from Gage's chest. You're admittedly a bit scared to be in the woods when it's this dark. When you had made your way through the forest almost a year ago, you always made it a point to stop for camp before sundown so you could have a fire prepared before it got dark. Gage on the other hand doesn't seem bothered by the dark and moves through it with ease. He helps pull the backpack off of you and sets it on the ground before helping you back to lean against a tree behind you. You shiver and wrap your arms around yourself, you're able to see a little bit better now. You watch Gage's figure walk a short distance away from you and you hear him messing with something. After a minute or two you blink as the light of the small fire hits your eyes.

Gage turns and walks over over before pauses in front of you. His tall, lean, frame blocks the fire and a long shadow obscures part of his face. His eyes run down the length of your body before coming back up and landing on your face. You press your back further into the tree behind you, as his uncomfortable gaze lingers. Finally, he reaches out and assists you over to the fire. He tosses the backpack to the ground and helps you sit down on top of it. You hold your hands out to the fire and enjoy the feeling of warmth spreading through your fingers as you watch Gage unpack the tent. You're relieved at first as it means you won't be walking anymore tonight. But your heart quickly drops when you remember he just has the one tent. You trace a circle around in the dirt with your good foot while you wait for him to finish. There's definitely no chance of running now, you can't believe Gage thought you'd hinder yourself like this on purpose. After a few minutes Gage has finished and walks over to stand by your side. You continue staring ahead at the fire and let the uncomfortable silence hang in the air. Finally, you feel Gage's hand on your arm and he slowly lifts you to your feet. You tremble slightly as you lean against his frame to take weight off your ankle. Your heart is drumming in your ears when you reach the tent and he uses his free hand to unzip it.