Chapter 10 The search and Whiteblaze

Sage looked up at the storm clouds that were getting darker by the minute. Everyone was looking at them. It was already cold and there was rain on top of that. If Ryo was out in this without any shelter… no one wanted to think about what could happen to Ryo. There was another worry on every ones minds as well. What had happened when Ryo went back to his parents? It was only a small worry because everyone was sure that Ryo could stand up for himself against anyone. The only reason it was any worry at all was that Ryo had been acting weird and had possibly been sick.

"We're going to have to split up if we are going to find him before this storm hits." Rowen was yelling over the wind. The storm was really picking up as the temperature continued to drop.

"I'll head towards the lake." Yelled Cye. Cye knew that no one wanted him out here looking because of his head injury but after being told what was on the tapes and that Ryo was gone again Cye wanted to help find Ryo. Especially since he was the one that chased Ryo away the first time.

"I'll take the mountain path." Said Kento

"I'll head towards the main road and Sage that leaves you with the forest." Said Rowen. Everyone began to disperse and begin their separate searches when Sage yelled for them to stop.

"We need to meet back here in a half an hour. That's all the time we have before this storm cuts loose and I don't want anyone outside in this. We have to come back even if we haven't found Ryo."

"No way! I am not coming back until Ryo is found." Yelled Kento

"If we don't come back we risk having to look for each other and adding more time that Ryo is out in the cold and rain. I realize that none of us want to leave Ryo out in this but that is our only choice if we don't want to end up hurt or lost ourselves."

Everyone grudgingly agreed with Sage and then they all went their separate ways calling out Ryo's name.

Whiteblaze's POV

Ryo wake up! Please wake up.

Whiteblaze was trying to wake up Ryo. He could tell already that there was very little chance of Ryo waking up. His lips were turning blue and he was shaking uncontrollably. Whiteblaze had tried everything he could think of to wake Ryo up but it wasn't working. He wasn't sure if it was the because of the cold and the rain or if it was because of everything that had happened.

Whiteblaze resigned himself to the fact that Ryo just wasn't going to wake up. He was going to have to drag him back to Mia's house. He wasn't real pleased with the idea. It would mean dragging Ryo through already soaked ground. Ryo would end up totally soaked. At least under the tree he had partial protection from the rain. He had no choice though; if he didn't get Ryo back soon the cold would kill him. Whiteblaze grabbed Ryo by the collar of his shirt and began to pull.

He had traveled about a mile when he realized that Ryo was no longer shaking and was barely breathing. He had to get Ryo back quickly. He could since the Ronins had been searching for Ryo and had headed back to the house. He had tried to contact them but the only one that could almost hear him was too focused on searching to hear his voice. The rest he knew weren't even going to feel what he was trying to say. If only Ryo would wake up.

Ryo GET UP. If you can hear me, please say something.

Whiteblaze was about to give up when he felt a voice that was almost so soft that he couldn't hear it.

White…blaze…cold

Whiteblaze if he were a human would have leaped for joy. If Ryo could talk to him then maybe he could get Ryo to get onto his back. They could travel a lot faster that way and maybe Ryo would still have a chance.

Climb on my back. We can travel faster.

Whiteblaze sent images of hot baths and warm cozy beds along with his request.

At first he thought he wasn't going to get a response. Then he saw Ryo's eyes open just a little.

Blaze…cold…friends…sorry

Whiteblaze couldn't figure out what Ryo was trying to say to him. The images that Ryo sent with it were to distorted and confused, but he decided to play on a hunch.

Ryo your friends were looking for you. They want you to come back. If you don't get up now they will have to live the rest of their lives thinking that it was their fault you died. If you don't get up you'll be hurting your friends.

Whiteblaze waited. He hoped that playing on Ryo's guilt would give him the incentive to live. He was right. Ryo began to push himself off the ground. Whiteblaze sat down. He knew that there was no way that Ryo was going to be able to stand up. Just doing what he was doing was a huge strain on Ryo. Whiteblaze could feel Ryo's pain as he forced frozen muscles to work. Ryo made it onto Whiteblaze's back and Whiteblaze began to run as if his life depended on it.

Ryo's POV

Ryo could feel himself slipping. The rain had made Whiteblaze's fur slick. He knew he was slipping but he couldn't do anything about it. The cold and rain had taken all of his strength. He wasn't sure how far they had gone but he felt that he was close to Mia's house. He hoped he would be able to hang on for a little while longer.

Whiteblaze jumped over a fallen tree and Ryo lost his grip. There was nothing Whiteblaze could do. Ryo fell off. Ryo's mouth opened in a silent scream when he hit the ground. The water was freezing and it felt like it was burning him. He felt himself start to shake and his awareness slip farther away. He could distantly hear Whiteblaze roaring and then he felt himself moving.