A/N Phew, I made my own deadline again! And thanks to the days off I'm having, there's a big chance I'm updating a bit faster...
Somethin I forgot last chapter: A special thanks to Graywolf 84 for all the information 'bout wolves (and other critters). It was very useful, so a big southern thanks to you Graywolf!
Now on to the story y'all. Enjoy!
6
Both boys looked down, as if they were mesmerizing the stain, it's form and it's colour. But one sound broke their trance like state, the growling animals climbing up the steep hill.
Simultaneously they looked up, concern in Bo's eyes, a certain dullness in Luke's blue orbs. With a voice raw from coughing Luke spoke, "The trees!"
Bo nodded, he knew what his cousin meant, if they could climb one a those big ones, the wolves would probably leave them alone and go hunting for some other prey.
Unless they had already smelled their blood, then they would be lucky if those things would only bark up the tree…
Without thinking he threw an arm around his weary cousin, who was still wheezing an awful lot, and started runnin towards one of the large trees in front of them. His thoughts inadvertently drifted to the stain which was now probably imprinted in his shirt. The bright red colour would be altered to a metallic brown. As an afterthought he wondered how mad Daisy would be with such a stain.
Immediately he scolded himself for thinkin 'bout that right now. Shaking his head he noticed they had reached one of the largest trees, which was also placed close to the road, so if someone would pass, they would notice them.
Behind them, he could still hear the feral growls of the two wolves, making there way up the slippery hill.
Looking up he saw why Luke was just standing there, glancing upwards worriedly.
"I ain't gonna make that Bo," he said, clutching his chest as if he was trying to claw the pain away. He knew it was bad. It hurt to breathe, and he just couldn't seem to catch his breath. The sounds which were erupting from his own throat sounded scary, even to himself. And if those sounds didn't scare him, the bone grindin against bone-sound in his chest each time he moved, would've done it alright.
Bo looked up, seeing what his cousin meant, those branches sure were high… But Bo wasn't one to let somethin like that stop him, so he turned to Luke, who was still hunched over trying to ride the waves of pain
"You trust me cuz?" he asked, while forming a cup with his hands and lowerin his lean frame so that Luke could step into them without much movement.
A small smile tucked at Lukes lips, before he responded, "Ya know I do cuz."
Moving his feet wasn't the problem, the strength he had to use to lean on Bo's shoulder with his one good arm, caused the most pain in his roughed up torso. Biting on his lip, drawing blood, he willed the pain to the background, thinking about the wolves getting closer and closer. And if they came closer, that meant Bo had to get into that tree too, fast.
Luke grabbed the first branch he saw, still favouring his broken right arm to his chest. The strength he had to use to pull himself up, just a little bit, almost proved to be too much. But Bo seemed to sense his struggle and lifted him a bit higher. At this height, he found a small branch, just large enough to hold his weight and he put his feet on it. From there on he just forced himself to climb, and keep climbing, using all his willpower to force his stiff limbs to move.
The second Bo saw Luke grabbing on to the branch and making his way higher into the tree, he heard them.
Their gleaming eyes shimmered in the darkness of the night. The slight drizzle blurred their dark forms, but he saw them coming. And they were coming fast.
Low growls still emanated from their long muzzles, roaring into the night like the sound General Lee would make when they let him loose.
Bo didn't hesitate when he saw them coming. Grabbing on to the rough bark he pulled himself up, ignoring the ache his ribs were giving him, because he knew he would be worse of if those critters caught him.
Pulling up his stiffening leg, torn skin pulling in a painful way, he saw he had been just in time. The snapping of teeth only inches from his shoe showed him just how close the animals were.
Ya think I can open my eyes now? Those boys just like close calls if ya'll ask me…
With some agile climbing Bo caught up to his slower climbing dark haired cousin who had stopped a few branches further up that were big enough to hold them both.
Grabbing hold of the wet bark, Bo found a place next to his cousin, who was sitting on the branch and leaning against the coldness of the tree, wheezing. His chest ached even more now, and he didn't like the constricted feelin he had. But he decided not to tell Bo. Like before, there was nothing he could do about it now, so he forced himself to suffer in silence.
Looking down, he saw the same thing Bo saw, the two wolves, trying to grab hold of the tree, but failing miserably. So after trying to climb the tree, they started circling it in slow movements.
Bo heaved a sigh of relief, "Phew cuz, looks like we beat them critters. They's just helpless down there. With any luck they'll just go away…"
Y'all reckon Bo's been livin in another universe all these years? Duke and luck just don't go tagether…