A/N: We're halfway through the story now. I hope you are enjoying the read. NC

Chapter 19

The three companions continued their journey early the next morning with an excited, lighter feeling because they knew they were nearing the end. The trees were greener and healthier looking, and more sunlight was able to reach down from the sky to the ground below.

"Look, up ahead," Dean noted when he saw a clearing through the trees. "We're almost there." He hurried ahead of them and stepped out of the forest into a large clearing and looked in wonder at a tall, majestic, stately tree that was hanging with fruit that resembled apples that were golden and glowed softly in the sunlight.

"Wow," Titus said as he stepped up beside Dean to look at the tree.

"More beautiful than I ever imagined," Ice commented.

"Enough gawking," Dean stated taking control. "Let's get this fruit, take a thirty-minute break and head back into the forest. I for one want to finish this task and get out of this damn forest." He walked slowly to the tree and looked at the hanging fruit for a moment before pulling out a cloth and carefully pulling one, being sure he didn't knock another fruit off the tree.

He stored it in an inside pocket and caught sight of a glimmer coming from the trunk of the tree. Without thinking about it, he moved closer to the tree and placed his hand on the bark. A tingling suddenly ran up his fingers, arm, and into his body making him stumble back as he shook his hand. Dean wasn't sure what happened to him as he felt a charge run through his nerves. He didn't say anything about what happened thinking it was probably nothing. He rubbed his hand up and down his pants leg trying to wipe off anything that might have been on it.

"We're ahead of schedule and I would like to stay that way," Ice agreed walking to the other side and retrieving his own fruit.

Titus walked around the clearing and noticed the fruit that had fallen to the ground had changed color to a pale red. He reached to pick one up and turn it over in his hand thinking it looked good to eat. He picked several more up and dropped them in his bag before joining the others who had taken a seat on the grass and were relaxing.

"Join us, Ty," Dean called to him.

"Do you want something to eat before we start back?" Titus asked dropping his pack beside Dean.

"Give me a piece of jerky," Dean told him as he leaned back on his elbows and waited for Titus to dig out the jerky. He accepted the piece and laid back on the grass to eat it.

Ice and Titus stretched out to rest and snack on the jerky as they gazed up into the vivid blue sky watching the fluffy clouds slowly glide across it with the breeze. It had a calming effect on them, and they forgot about the journey they had to make to get out of there. Dean ticked off the time in his head and when it was time, he sighed as he got up, stretching and rolling his shoulders before putting his backpack back on.

"Time to get started," he told the others. "We'll get as far as we can before stopping for the night."

"We can back track most of the way, so that will make it easier," Ice offered as he shouldered his pack and adjusted the straps.

"You ready Ty?"

"Yes," he answered as he scrambled to his feet and put on his pack. "You think we will run into any problems?"

"I'm sure we will," Dean replied.

"I agree," Ice nodded.

They stood looking back into the forest as they contemplated their journey back through it. None made a move to enter, sad about having to leave this place so soon.

"Ice, you want to take the lead for a while?" Dean asked him.

"Sure," he replied stepping back into the trees to follow the trail that they had used to get there.

spn

The atmosphere had started getting drearier and heavier again as they trooped back into the forest. The tension came back, and Ice and Dean were hyper alert of their surroundings. They kept Titus between them for protection as the trees bunched closer together and the underbrush got thicker. They were following the faint trail that Fina had shown them previously. They were going to use it as long as they could before picking up the trail Ice had marked on their way in.

Something made the hairs on the back of Dean's neck stand up and he pulled up short to look around. He drew his broadsword sensing Ice doing the same. Without warning, a creature the size of a midsize dog jumped out at Dean, hitting him and knocking him to the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his left arm as he swung at the creature pinning him to the ground.

Other creatures came from the underbrush to attack Ice and Titus. The creatures looked like eight legged, giant spiders with a set of sharp pinchers and powerful jaws that could bite through bones. Dean stabbed the one attacking him and rolled away from the body as he jumped up and swung at the one attacking Titus slicing its legs off and letting Titus finish killing it.

Ice fought off two of the creatures sparing and swinging his sword and stabbing with his knife. He was able to injure one and focused on the larger of the two trying to stay out of the reach of the pinchers. He tripped and would have been killed if Dean had not sprung into action driving his sword into the back of creature and splitting its body into. Ice took out the injured one before it could crawl away. He backed up putting Titus between him and Dean as they made ready for further attacks.

"We need to get out of here," Dean insisted looking at the death bodies lying around them.

"You're hurt," Titus told Dean when he saw the blood staining his shirt sleeve red.

"I'll look at it when we're somewhere safe," he told him. "Ice, are you injured?"

"Just some scratches and scrapes, nothing serious," he replied. "We can't make it to the cave today, so we need to find somewhere else to stop. You take the lead and I'll watch our backs for any of those arachnids following us."

"Ty, are you good?"

"Yes," he said in a shaky voice. He had never seen creatures like this before and hoped they wouldn't be attacked by others that might be in the forest.

"Stay close behind me," Dean ordered as he got his bearings and hurried into the woods away from the creatures' territory. He set a fast pace and grimaced as his left arm started going numb and he could feel the blood seeping from it. There wasn't time to look at it yet and hoped he could find a safe place for them to stop.

They had been moving steadily for over an hour until Ice saw Dean stumble slightly and hurried up to him. He grabbed his good arm and Titus slipped his injured arm over his shoulder to help too.

"We need to stop and doctor your arm," Ice insisted as he searched for a suitable location. He found several fallen trees crammed together making a crude shelter that they could defend if needed. He leaned Dean against one of the fallen trees and quickly used a hatchet to cut away branches so they could get under the trunks. Titus was already gathering branches for a fire and worked with Ice to clear the ground so they could roll out their blankets.

"Titus, fix a fire pit and can you get the fire going while I check Dean?" Ice asked.

"Yes, yes, Dean gave me his fire tool," Titus nodded setting about the task. He pulled out the lighter Dean had gifted him and used it to start a fire.

"Sit here Dean," Ice told him guiding him to the cover where he sat down. He took a knife to split Dean's sleeve and saw a nasty gash on his upper arm that was still bleeding. He pulled out a bag from his pack and grabbed the water pouch so he could clean the wound to see how bad it was. "This may hurt. You're lucky you weren't bitten by the creature. It would have paralyzed you for twenty-four hours."

"I've had worse," Dean growled as Ice poured water over the gash and wiped it with a clean cloth. He looked at his wound trying to check to see if it needed a couple of stitches. Since he didn't have a first aid kit, Dean had procured several needles and extra strong thread from a servant, along with some salve, whiskey, and clean cloths for bandages. "Can you sew?" he asked Ice.

"Sew?" Ice questioned.

"In my pack are needles and thread. I think the gash needs a couple of stitches to hold it together. If you can't do it, I can if you thread the needle for me."

"Sounds like you're use to things like this."

"Yeah, well in my line of work you need to know how to doctor yourself. You can't always depend on getting medical help. And sometimes you can't seek medical attention because too many questions would be asked about your injuries."

"Don't forget you have the fairy healing powder," Titus offered as he fed the fire to get in blazing.

Ice found the bag in Dean's pack and laid out the items beside him.

"Sterilize a needle and then thread it," Dean instructed him. He took the bottle and poured whiskey over the wound, swearing as it burned like a hot poker being stabbed into his arm. "You'll want to pinch the skin together and push the needle into the skin on one side and catch the other side on the way out. And then tie it into a knot to hold it in place." Dean stretched his neck to the side and watched Ice follow his instructions and carefully put five stitches down the gash to close it.

"Here's the powder," Titus offered holding out the small bag to Ice.

"Thanks," Ice told him. He opened the bag and shook powder over the gash and then wrapped it for protection. "There, done," he huffed putting away the things.

"Not bad for someone who's never done that before," Dean sighed leaning back against his pack. His arm still throbbed, and he felt hot and not because of the temperature.

"I'll get some food going," Titus offered pulling out pots and food for their meal.

"Can you stand for a moment so I can spread your blanket out?" Ice asked Dean.

"Okay," Dean agreed taking his hand so he could help him stand. He watched Ice quickly untie the blankets from the bottom of his pack and fix a bed for him. He grunted in pain when he moved his left arm wrong and sighed with relief as he laid back down and pulled a blanket over his body.

When the food was ready, Titus brought a bowl and cup of water to Dean. He helped Dean to sit up so he could try and eat. He only ate a few bites and guzzled the water almost choking before dropping back down onto his bed. He didn't object later when Titus pulled his bed against him and cuddled into his side. Dean shivered and accepted the boy's body heat.

Ice kept watch over the two and kept the fire going all night. The next morning, Dean was doing better, and Ice checked his arm, adding more fairy powder and tied a clean cloth around it. The gash was almost healed, but Dean still had a little pain using the arm and his fever was nearly gone. They broke camp and continued their hike out of the forest when Dean told them he could continue their journey.

A/N: They found the tree and got the fruit. Now, to get out of the forest without being attacked again. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Thank you to any guests who have left reviews. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC