Chapter 28

"We need to find a place to make camp before it gets any later," Dean informed Titus knowing darkness would come quicker now that they were in the forest.

"Alright," Titus answered in a soft voice. He was still a little shaken by the birds and hoped they wouldn't be long in the forest.

Dean pulled his horse to a stop and dismounted because there was a downed tree blocking their path. He looked both ways trying to decide the best way around the fallen tree.

"Let's lead the horses around this and see if there's a suitable place on the other side," Dean instructed Titus. "Stay close."

"I will," Titus replied dismounting too and taking a firm grip of the reins as he followed Dean into the trees to get around the obstacle. Once they worked their way around the tree, Dean found the road again and they mounted to continue their journey.

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"There's another fallen tree over there," Dean pointed out several hours later. "The branches will make a decent shelter for the night." Dean led them off the road and through the trees to the huge tree that was partly held up by the other trees around it. He looked it over for a moment before dismounting and decided it would do.

"I'll get a fire pit made," Titus told Dean as he slipped from the back of the horse and pulled out the bark trowel he had used before to dig the pits.

"Better make it two," Dean replied. "It'll maybe keep unwanted visitors away tonight." He already knew there would be no sleep for him tonight. He unsaddled the horses and fixed feed bags for them since there was no grass for them to eat. After giving them some water, he tied them to a tree branch and went to help Titus.

Dean hacked away some of the branches and cut them smaller to use as firewood. He found several thick branches that had sap covering the broken end and thought they would make good torches if they needed to defend themselves. They had the thick trunk of the tree at their backs and two fires at the front for defense from any wild creatures that might decide to investigate their presence.

Titus threw together a quick stew and they ate quickly so they could settle for the night. Titus stayed awake as long as he could before falling asleep several hours later. Dean pulled the boy's blanket over him and tucked it in before pulling his own blanket tighter around his shoulders.

The crackling of dried branches and leaves had Dean going on alert as he stared hard into the darkness. He finally saw the glow of eyes among the trees and then another set appeared close to the other. Dean tensed and reached for his sword and the makeshift torch, shoving it into the fire. The sap began to sputter and caught with a whoosh as he pulled it from the flames. He slowly stood as two dark shapes stepped closer to the camp. He was sure it was the creatures that had been following them earlier and kicked Titus' leg to wake him.

"Get up, we've got company," Dean said in a low voice when Titus rolled over and looked up at him. "Arm yourself and light a torch."

"I see them," Titus replied quickly getting up and taking up the other torch and sticking it in the fire to let it flare up. He had his sling ready with a smooth river rock loaded and swung it to the side several times before releasing two of the leather strings and sending the rock toward one of the creatures. He smiled when a startled yelp and growl came from the creature who jumped and snapped at its companion.

"Get out of here!" Dean yelled as he brandished the torch and swung his sword at the wolf-like creatures causing them to back off and growl at him. He continued to poke the torch at them as Titus launched another rock hitting the other creature in the face making it yip and whine in pain. "Go! You're not getting a meal here!" Dean forced the torch into the face of the creature, burning the fur and sending it running away into the darkness. The other creature growled one last time at Dean but followed its companion when Titus landed another hard hit to his side.

"Do you think they'll be back?" Titus asked Dean panting hard as he stepped to Dean's side.

"I don't think so. That was incredibly good shooting Ty. Better put the torches out in case we need them again, but I doubt we will," he instructed the boy as he rolled his torch in the dirt. "You go on back to sleep Ty, it's too early for us to start out. I want to wait until it's lighter."

"I don't think I'll sleep any," Titus replied dousing his torch and reloading his sling. He sat back down and scooted back to lean against the tree trunk as he looked out into the darkness.

The night noises resumed once the creatures left to find other prey. Dean could hear small creatures moving around in the branches above their heads, but none ventured down to check them out. The sound of flying creatures swooped down toward the light of the fire and quickly flew away as Dean stoked the fires and added the last of their wood making the flames dance higher and sparks fly out.

Titus took a tin coffee pot and added water before sitting it partly in the fire to heat. He was going to make cups of coffee for them since neither were going to get any more sleep. Once it was hot enough, Titus mixed the strong brew and gave Dean a cup. He added a little sugar to his cup before blowing across the top and sipping on it. The travelers drank their coffee as they gazed out into the darkness waiting for the coming dawn.

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As soon as it got light enough, Dean had them break camp and get back on the road to continue through the forest. They were going to be spending at least one more night in the forest before finally breaking free of the trees. When they ran across a stream, Dean had them stop to water the horses and replenish their waterskins. They ate a meager cold meal, not wanting to take time to build a fire and cook something. After the short rest, they continued on their way moving at a steady pace down the dirt road. They ran across places where the road was littered with potholes or unearthed rock and had to pick their way around the obstacles.

"Do you think the beasts are still following us?" Titus asked as he kept a sharp eye on their surroundings.

"I don't think so," Dean tried to assure him. "Since we fought back last night, I think they realized we were not easy prey after all. Don't worry, I'm keeping a watch for them."

"So am I."

"Hopefully the road will get better, and we can make up the time we lost and get out of these woods."

"Yeah, I don't like these woods at all. But the bad thing is we have to come back this way too."

"Don't remind me."

They fell silent as each thought about the return trip through these woods again and neither were looking forward to it. But they at least knew places to camp on the return journey. Several times they had to dismount and lead the horses through the woods to bypass places that were unpassable with the horses. It was as if a storm of some kind ravaged the forest knocking down trees and blocking paths.

When it started getting dark, Dean knew they needed to stop for the night. He began looking for a place that would suit their needs and give them some protection from the unknown of the night.

"I think we'll be out of the forest by tomorrow," Dean offered. "The road seems to be better now, and the trees are thinning out some."

"That's good," Titus replied. "I won't rest easy until we are."

"Me too. How about we stop up ahead where those trees are bunched together?"

"Looks good to me," Titus sighed as his body slumped. He was exhausted and tired of riding.

They rode off the road and stopped at the trees that would give them shelter for the night. Once the horses were taken care of, Dean cleared a place to bed down while Titus gathered wood and got a fire going. He made a beef stew for their dinner and while it cooked did a quick inventory of their remaining food and thought he would need to hunt when they got out of the forest to be sure they had enough to last them until they could get back to the castle.

Once Dean found branches suitable for torches, he found a tree that produced plentiful sap and coated the ends heavily so they would burn longer and hotter. He also sharpened several long, sturdy branches into spears in case they were needed to defend themselves. Dean was trying to prepare for the worst and hoped for the best.

"You need to rest Dean," Titus told him since he knew he didn't sleep the night before. "I can keep watch. I won't go to sleep."

"Yeah, you're right Ty, but you wake me when you get sleepy," Dean conceded since he could tell his body was sluggish and tired. He took his blanket and wrapped it around his body and settled on his saddle not caring the ground was lumpy and hard. He gave Titus one final glance before his eyes closed on their own and he drifted into a light sleep.

Titus stirred the fire and added more wood as he gazed warily out into the darkness of the forest. He listened to the sounds of the night trying to distinguish any dangers to them. He could hear leaves rustling, twigs breaking, screeching and howling in the distance but none seemed to be focusing on them. He looked over at Dean when he mumbled in his sleep and though he recognized a name, Sammy, being spoken. He knew that was Dean's brother and knew he must be missing him.

"Dean, you need to wake up," Titus called to him shaking his shoulder.

Dean quickly woke and his hunter instincts kicked in and he had Titus pinned to the ground before realizing who he was.

"Sorry, Ty," Dean apologized to him, letting him go. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, you didn't hurt me," he replied giving him a brief smile as he brushed off his clothes.

"I let you sleep as long as I could stay awake."

"You did good, get some sleep," Dean told the boy as he moved closer to the fire and tossed a few more branches into the it. The flames quickly caught and danced higher into the darkness. He shook his body and stretched his neck and back as he prepared to take his turn at the watch. He was still tired, but what sleep he got helped some. Dean tuned his senses and listened to everything around him, sorting the sounds for any that might be dangerous. He was sure it would be several hours until dawn came once again, and they could continue their journey.

A/N: One more day and they will be out of the forest. Then, to find the Red Dwarfs. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC