Far Away

CHAPTER XI

Jack woke up in a bed. Not a hospital bed but a much more comfortable one. He couldn’t remember anything after he passed out due to lack of blood. He felt around him gingerly with his hooves. ‘Ok, right side seems to be the edge of the bed,’ he thought. Jack rolled over to the left since the edge of the bed felt so close. He felt something soft against his chest.

Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Why does this happen to me every time I wake up after something bad has happened?’ he asked himself. He was pretty sure what this fluffy object was. He swung around back to the right in the pitch black room and read the glowing clock which was the only light source. 2:58am. Jack attempted to roll back to the left but instantly felt the warmth again. ‘Really?’ he fumed (he didn’t yell aloud because he also cared about somepony else’s sleep, unlike some ponies), ‘Why does she have to take up ninety per cent of the bed?’

Jack slowly lifted his covers. It was a cold night for sure. He walked around to the other side of the bed which was completely ‘Daring free.’ He laid himself down onto the soft mattress and stared at the ceiling. He tried to sleep but it just wasn’t working. Soon to his right, he heard a loud thump. Jack quickly turned on the bed lamp to find Daring trying to get up.

“Really?” was all Jack could say. He rolled his eyes.

“Why are you on this side of the bed now?” she asked.

“Well because you shift beside me until there is no more room for me to go to sleep in.”

She grinned sheepishly.

“You’re a source of warmth,” was all she said.

“So you’re using me?” Jack asked.

“Hmmm?” she asked totally oblivious to what Jack had asked her.

“Good god you are hard,” Jack fumed, “I’m just trying to sleep for crying out loud!”

Daring just stood in the cold air, looking at Jack questioningly. ‘That was a stupid comment. Dammit brain!’ she thought trying to keep her face void of emotions. Jack just simply lay back down and turned off the light. Daring did the same a few moments later. She kept what he said in her mind.

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Jack woke up again, the crack in the curtains let in a very dim blue light. The clock read 5:43am. He passed what happened last night as a dream but he felt something against him. It was like Daring was trying to force her presence on him ever since he nearly died in a temple. He knew why Daring was doing it after a long think. Only if he could only feel the same way for her as she did to him.

Daring was curled up against him as she dozed lightly. Jack could only think of one thing to do before the day came. It was to touch Daring’s chest. Yes, it might sound weird it struck a strange sense of comfort into Jack. It was so new that he even had a friend to travel with. Jack reached a hoof onto Daring’s fur and started working his way there. Three inches… two inches… almost…

“You like it?” she asked suddenly.

Jack recoiled with a horrified look on his face and jumped out of her reach. He decided swiftly that the best course of action to take was to: get up, have a shower, get his bandages changed, go talk to Daring about it. Jack tried to get out of bed to follow his plan.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going mister?”

Jack thought about his course of action. Well… might as well get it out of the way.

“So…” Jack trailed off.

“I need to tell you something, but you must never tell anyone what I will say to you today right this moment,” said Daring very seriously.

“Yes, go on.”

“I…” Daring trailed off

“I didn’t hear, what?”

“Nevermind.”

Jack sighed and walked over to the window, looking at the bustling city bathed in the golden morning light. All seemed calm. Too calm. Jack was used to a life of danger, nothing like this.

“So… How long do I have until my body recovers?” asked Jack.

“Two weeks, doc said you will be fine to go in one and a half.”

Two weeks of sitting around doing nothing but reading and doing boring things like that. Jack just dropped onto the bed again. It was frustrating. Whenever he was with Daring, things like this happen. It’s not like she was a bad omen, no. It was because she had so many enemies. Competitors who wanted power over the world. She had no such desire, just to keep the artefacts safe.

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Jack found Daring at the table, studying a new piece of parchment he has never seen before. The writing was ancient, with characters that had weird dashes and swirls. Daring looked like she was absorbed in it. Darwin was sitting opposite of Daring, reading the newspaper named ‘The Eastern Post.’ Jack just silently sat down in the empty chair.

“Oh hello, my name is Darwin! I work at the biology lab in the Great Oteron Jungle.” said Darwin enthusiastically.

“Jack’s mine,” said Jack, noticing that Darwin had never introduced himself before.

“Hungry?” queried Darwin.

“Positively starving!” replied Jack.

Darwin went into the kitchen and brought out a dish of eggs and toast. It looked great. Jack was grateful for the offer of shelter and food by Darwin. Jack dug in to the toast as Darwin disappeared into his study, a shabby old room lined with bookshelves filled with old, dusty books and books scattered the floor and desk. Darwin reappeared in a few minutes with a dusty old book, bound with thick leather. Jack looked up at it. The title read; The Anatomia Atlas.

Darwin opened the book, sending dust flying everywhere. He flipped around until he found the page and showed it to Jack. The title read; Sanguinem. Latin for blood. Darwin looked through the pages and rambled on about how blood loss can affect the body and how.

“I think that is enough learning for one day,” spoke a very annoyed Daring.

Both Jack and Darwin chuckled.

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Well this chapter may be a bit boring but it is a bridge to connect the two ends of the exciting story. You can’t wait can you? :D