To those who read chapter 4 before I made some small changes, I just want to let you guys know that I changed the doggo from being injured to not in that first encounter.
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No. I can't go to sleep. I musn't go to sleep.

I- I need to wake up! Or else-

A dead body on the floor.

"Comply, or you will end up just like him!"

No! -Ow! Okay, I'll comply!

I'll comply!!

I'LL COMPLY!

WAKE UP!!!

     My mind snapped into consciousness, allowing my senses to get a feeling for what was going on. Darn.. kinda wished the pain was still blocked out though. I had rolled over in my sleep so that I was on my side, my numb shoulder facing upwards to the dark sky. Realizing how dark and cold it suddenly was, I shivered. I laid there, awaiting my healing abilities to kick in.. not fully realizing just how hard that would be with my energy so low. Shivering, I curled myself into a ball upon the uneven stones, dreading the pain and soreness that came with it. Opening my eyes halfway, I was almost certain I could see my own breath deflecting the dim light coming from my eyes. This.. was not good.

Hyip! Hyip! Hawooooo!

     I heard distant yips from coyotes as they flocked nearer: them beginning to call on their nearby friends. I laid as still as the rocks around me, hoping I could go unnoticed or ignored if only I stayed still. However, I also readied myself for the possibility that I would have to get up somehow and fight them off. Maybe with enough adrenaline coursing through my veins, I could just about manage.

     Pretty soon I could hear the padded footsteps of the miniature wolves as they came up to me. Pretty soon they would be circling my defenseless and battered form. I could hear some snarl at one another, likely fighting over who would be the first to check me out. I squeezed my eyes shut. They were probably only twenty feet away from tearing into my back. My jaw chattered from both the cold, and my body slowly coming into the realization that I would have to move again.

     Suddenly, I heard some distant hollers, and more yips from the coyotes. A savage fest of snarling and commotion beat about my ears. Wild snarls and crazed yapping made me think the coyotes had broken into a civil war. I heard the snarles drawing closer, and though my mind said to get up and burn all those flesh bags down to nothing but smoke, all my body did was bring my hands over my head and squeeze myself into an even tighter ball of shivering.

     Barks continued to shoot like daggers from behind me, until finally.. there was whimpering, as the little creatures scurried off quickly, their nails digging into the rocks under them. Following: silence. I wasn't sure if I should internally rejojce, or worry now about what had been so mighty to fight off an entire pack of cyotes... Maybe.. it would be best if I didn't know. I heard heavier padded feet begin to step closer to me, making my muscles tense.

Sniff sniff sniff

     The noise was brought directly into my ear. I could feel the animal's whiskers tickle my face. My body jolted from the jump-scare. I was too weak to kill it.. I had to finally accept that. I had been beaten, bruised; nearly wiped off the face of the Earth. Still, my arm swiped up at the creature's furry face, catching it off guard and making it jump back. A moan from myself as the overall pain in my body began to weigh down on me again, making me drowsy. I began shivering more in my weakness. Oh.. why did I not see those humans coming? I should have known there was a possibility they could find my fortress!

     A whimper executed the static looming in my mind, and my memories came to me. That dog. Had.. had he followed me?.. Had he saved me?

     "..G- g- go away.. yh- you s-tupid mutt." I groaned. The animal only came closer, seeming to check out my physical condition by sniffing my back and legs. There was a strange pattern in his steps that made me momentarily wonder if he had been injured in the fight. I was taken from my thoughts once again with an uncontrollable shiver. I.. I should never be this weak. This PUNY. At least no person is around to witness this..

     Out of nowhere it felt as if a large, furry creature had just been dropped on top of me, shooting pain through my shoulder and bruises all over. My breath escaping through clamped teeth was however the only thing that shared my pain with the outside world. My eyes shot open, immediately looking downwards where I saw a a mass of fur. The animal shifted in place, trying to get comfortable, using me as it's pillow. No.. his, pillow. It was that same dog. I didn't know why, but for some reason he had decided I was a suitable place to sleep. I groaned, my throbbing shoulder unable to even lift my arm to push him off, the other underneath him as well. Was I really stuck like this? I began raising my leg, kneeing the domesticated wolf with it. The thing seemed to moan, moving a little to better his position. I grumbled back, kneeing him harder. That time he added a little snap to his moan, essentially threatening me with that single sound. I stopped at the sternness of his growl. I knew I wasn't cut out just yet to put up a real fight.. and, the dog didn't seem interested in hurting me. Still.. I tucked my chin in and tried to position myself in a way that was prepared enough to defend myself if he were to change his mind.

     The dog began to breathe in a peaceful pattern. His head and upper body laid on top of me with his legs facing my head. His curly tail tucked between his legs loosely, I could tell he had drifted off to sleep pretty quickly. My own eyes slowly began losing strength. My own heart slowed once again. My breathing sloped down into a somewhat calm pattern as well. No.. Stop it. Something, please.. scare me. Bite me, dog! Keep me awake! Don't let me fall back to sleep! Please..

     My eyes shut. My mind silenced. My breaths calm. I was asleep, and I couldn't keep the nightmares out.

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     The dog was woken by the twitching I did in my sleep. He opened his eyes quickly when he felt my injured arm raise stiffly and fall on his side, grasping his fur tightly. My breathing had escelated to an uncomfortable circle of skipping between short breaths and too long of pauses. Looking at my face, he could tell I was in stress. His deep brown eyes watched as I bit my own lip so intensely that it began to bleed. My entire body convulsed, making the dog nearly hop up, but unfortunately my grip on his fur was too tight for him to get up much further than just up on his elbows. He began to wonder now if I was dangerous, turning to lick my hand a few times. That seemed to help him, because I let go of his fur upon feeling the strange texture, and he scampered away from me. For a moment, he looked like he might just leave me there for the dark line of a forest way off in the distance.

     Once the warm and comfort was gone, my miserable unconcious self grew worse. I began dry heaving in my sleep, shivering in the cold and twitching in my fears. The dog looked back at me questionably. He probably just then beginning to piece together exactly what state I was in. More convulsions; and my right leg began weakly kicking at the air. The dog then whimpered, wanting to bark at me but then turned to look around at the open rocky terrain around us. The dog then quickly returned to me as I began mumbling in my sleep.

     He then sat down in front of me, wondering what he should do. Out of nowhere, I shouted in my sleep, rolling onto my back to make the nightmare that much more real. The dog seemed to notice how being on my back was painful, and tried nudging me over with his muzzle. When I didn't budge he began likcking my arm until I pulled away from him. He continued attempting to get me to roll over, pawing at me, nudging me, and licking my arm again. Nothing seed to be working, however, so he finally resorted to not just nudging me, but full on pushing me onto my other side. Right away I was on my side, and cried out again when the pain of my shoulder nearly woke me up. I stayed asleep; continuing to roll until I was on my stomach.

     Once in the new position, I pretty much fell silent immediately, only shivering in the cold. The dog then raised his head, tilting it as well. After that, he had a quick look around the horizon, watching for any potential hunters of my helpless form. Satisfied, the dog moved around to the other side of me so that his moonlit shadow would not block his view of my back as he looked upon it. He watched as more blood reached up to further soak my shirt, turning it into a dark purpley color. The dog then turned to view my face, which was pressed flat on the cold stone, but finally calm enough to be considered peaceful by some standards. The dog then pressed his big paw on my head gently, his claws only scratching through my knotted hair.

     He simply watched for a while, studying my unconcious form. Then, he took another long look at the forest behind him. That distant treeline where life was thriving. A small whine fell from his throat, and he turned to me once more. Being careful of my bleeding back, the dog laid down right next to me, providing just enough heat so that my shuddering decreased significantly. He then rested his head down on my shoulder. My good one. And, after a while of listening to the silent night, he too fell back to sleep.