Fearless ≫ Zach Mitchell

ix.

n i n e

~

Water splashed around her, the pressure on her chest was almost unbearable, and the pain in her shoulder was beginning to come back. Kicking her feet harshly, Ashton struggled to find the surface- but something was holding her down. Zach had wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, holding her beneath the surface in attempt to fool the dinosaur. Gray was struggling to stay submerged beside him, having already caught on to the plan.

A muffled roar of irritation could be heard beneath the water, followed by the vibrations in the ground as the dinosaur gave up on its meal, disappearing into the shadows of the forest once more.

Still holding onto Ashton, Zach pushed himself to the surface. She sucked in a deep breath as soon as she exploded from the water, blinking the cool liquid from her eyes as she struggled to stay afloat. No one spoke as they quickly swam to the bank, though Zach still held a hand on the small of Ashton's back, careful to make sure she didn't fall beneath the surface once more. As she swam, she left the water behind her red, telling him that she was bleeding. Was she injured by the dinosaur? If she was, how bad was it?

Gray lay on the shore, spluttering and coughing up water, when Zach and Ashton swam up. Almost instinctively, she wrapped her arm around the younger boy's shoulder, smiling widely despite the exhaustion that tugged at her feet.

Zach looked over at his brother, his brown eyes shining happily as he spoke softly. "You jumped."

~

Not ten minutes later, and the trio still sat on the shoreline of the small spring. The sky was beginning to grow amber from the setting sun, making Ashton wonder how the day flew by so fast. Gray sat on a fallen log not too far from her, drawing designs in the dirt with a twig.

"You're hurt." She jumped at the sound of Zach's raspy voice, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked up at him as he approached her, his face pulled into a look of genuine concern.

Ashton knew he must've been talking about her shoulder. The wound still bled slightly, though the pain was almost unbearable by then. She rubbed her shoulder gingerly, flinching as her fingers ran over the cut. "It's claw must've caught on me when we jumped."

Instead of speaking, Zach only pursed his lips and held out his hand. Though confused, Ashton took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet and lead her back down to the water. "Sit," he ordered softly, gesturing towards a rock that was partially submerged in water. Ashton obeyed, once again flinching as a branch rubbed against her wound.

Zach knelt beside her, his eyebrows pulled together as he rinsed his hands off in the cool water. A moment later, he reached into the pocket of his soaked jacket, pulling out a bright green, spiky leaf. "Aloe vera," he informed her with a small smile. He closed his hand around the plant, squeezing in attempt to grind it into a pulp. "It'll help clean it."

Ashton stayed silent as he focused on her wounded shoulder, recoiling a bit at the coldness of his hand as it touched her back. She slowly relaxed she she felt the pulp absorb into her skin, already beginning to feel the pain diminish. Zach kept his clean hand resting on the small of her back as he washed the remaining of the Aloe off in the water. Ashton couldn't help but smile as she watched him, feeling an odd surge of warmth in her chest. "When did you get all this medical training?"

"About five seconds ago," Zach chuckled, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "I just remember my mom using Aloe Vera on my wounds as a kid."

"Guys." Ashton tore her gaze from his at the sound of Gray's voice. She turned to look at the younger boy, only to see him pointing in the direction of the water. Ashton slowly turned, expecting to see a viscous, carnivorous dinosaur making its way over to them. Instead, however, a lone Stegosaurus had emerged from the trees on the other side of the spring, and was now drinking the cool, refreshing water. Its plates shone bright red in the sunlight as it absorbed the heat, its spiked tail swinging from side to side.