Part 6 - The Long Watch (original fiction for steemit)

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Part Six

Ben lay frozen on the small embankment, the men's cries began to fade and still no sight of any pursuer could be seen. He slowly and carefully inched his way back down toward the temporary shelter where Sam lay still unconscious, the sun was only just past it's peak in the midday sky - there were still several hours of sunlight left.

Pulling back the leaves on the branches that masked the entry to the crude dwelling that permitted them a temporary sanctuary, the heat inside was intense the air felt thick and prickled at the skin sapping the moisture from within.

Sam lay still her breathing shallow, but still there was no sign of when she would wake or even if she would wake. Hours had passed and there was no sign of her condition changing, Ben felt helpless he had continued to drop small amounts of water into her unconscious body - but he was unsure of how effective that would be against the summer heat.

He felt the condition of the remains of his shirt they were still slightly damp, he decided to wring the cooler liquid onto Sam's head and face gently dispersing them to enhance their effectiveness. Once satisfied he peeked out the small opening checking his exit was clear, he emerged quietly staying hunched over he made his way back to the small stream with the shirt and leaf in tow.

At the stream he stared out into the surrounding woods, looking for any disturbance or hint of a coming threat. Once sure that the immediate area was safe, he lunged his head into the water reveling in its cooling effect. Raising his head, he began to splash water over his arms and chest in an attempt to cool his overheated body.

Checking his surroundings again all still looked clear, so he cupped his hands and drank as much water as he could force his body to ingest. Raising his head again he glanced around his position, never wanting to let his guard fully down.

He began to rinse the tired cloth that once served as his shirt, allowing the water to hydrate the drying fibers once more. Looking down once more, he wrung out the shirt then permitted the water to flow freely back into it. He heard the sound a moment too late to react, his body naturally turning to it's point of origin - his face took the brunt of the attack.

The leather boot struck him across the left side of his face, knocking his half crouching body backwards off balance. He stumbled back to the right away from the small but fast flowing stream, It was a scout he couldn't be more than 19 years old - but that was still 5 years older than Ben and this boy wasn't from the kingdom, he would have been fighting in wars for years.

Ben struggled to find his footing, continuing to stumble backwards when the young scout lunged on top of him. Knocking him onto his back and winding him with a shoulder to the chest, accompanied by his full body weight. The young scouts eyes stared into Ben's filled with hate and rage he gripped the younger boy's throat and squeezed with both hands while screaming with anger.

Ben felt the burn around his throat and tried in vain to pry the scouts hands from his neck, this just made him more enraged and he turned his thumbs forcing them towards Ben's already damaged larynx. Unable to even cry out, his breath cut off and panic beginning to set in - Ben let go of the scouts hands and felt along the surface of the ground with his right hand he found a rock the size of a large mans hand, without hesitation he swung the rock with all the force he could summon striking the scout across the face.

His grip released momentarily Ben seized the moment and struck again knocking the dazed back toward the water's edge, he forced himself to his feet sucking in fresh air that burnt with every breath. Adrenaline kicked in and Ben was enraged, he leaned over the injured scout and hit him in the face with rock again.

The stunned scout was unable to control his body, disoriented from the repeated head injuries. He could do nothing to stop the young boy he had intended to murder, from taking his arm and dragging him to the water's edge. The young scout's eyes pleaded with the young boy realising his intended fate, "No - no please don't" he begged in vain.

Ben knelt by his side his face an emotionless mask "You're people killed my mother last night" he said in a cold calm voice, that struck fear into the young scouts soul. It wasn't me, I've never killed anyone" he pleaded desperately, Ben was taken back for a moment "I wish you hadn't seen me, because I can't let you go you'd just bring more" he raised his arm to deliver another blow.

"Please" cried out the scout, Ben stopped mid swing the boy flinching back at the expectant blow that never came. Blinking away tears he continued "If you let me go I wouldn't tell them and even if I did, you would still have a head start on us no need to worry" he felt calm wash over him as he saw Ben consider his proposal.

Ben sighed "I don't want to kill you" the scout relaxed slightly "but like I said, I wish you hadn't seen me..." Ben sighed obvious regret on his face, the scout became wary instantly "It's not me I'm worried about".

The scout went rigid his arms moving up to protect his face a moment too late, Ben bought the rock down hard on his temple and then again and again and again until there was little left to the scouts face. The water began flowing red with the scouts blood, Ben had positioned him here intentionally to hide as much of the blood as possible washing the evidence downstream.

Ben moved quickly washing the blood from his hands and face upstream, from the bleeding corpse laying in the stream. He dropped his old shirt back into the water allowing it to soak again, he grabbed the leaf and ran back to the small shelter where Sam lay still out cold. He quickly poured some water in her mouth and wiped a sleeve over her forehead and rested another portion of cloth in her mouth, he balanced the bulk of the shirt on the leaf on top of a rock so that the water would flow down over time - hopefully he thought to himself.

He exited the shelter and made sure to replace all of the branches to hide the shelters existence, adding more branches to satisfy his fear of Sam being discovered while he was gone disposing of the body. Once he believed she was safely hidden from view, he set off at a quick run he went about 40 meters he found a large branch with many offshoots.

Using the large branch he gathered armfuls of leaf litter and staked them onto the branch, repeating until he had a massive stack he then found another branch and sandwiched the leaves between the two. He then carried the stack of leaves over to where the fight had just taken place, he put down the branches and started scattering leaves over the blood and places where there was obvious human activity.

Once satisfied he had covered his tracks and there were no obvious signs of a struggle taking place, he turned back to the body. He didn't even want to look at it "I'd never killed anyone either" he said to the dead boy as if somehow trying to justify his actions.

Ben took a deep breath then bent down and picked up the dead young scouts arms, and started to drag his body through the water downstream. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone but he knew he had to get the body as far away from Sam as possible.

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