Dean couldn't rest at all on that night in the camp with Rick's group. He spent all night crying and remembering everything that happened in Refuge Sarah, trying to sort out why his body was interacting with "Chaos" back then.
His mind was at full speed. Now that he had time to get idle, his memories were coming back. Because of the traumatic experience he had with "Chaos" energy and the various other problems he had to deal with afterward, he couldn't register for a good while what exactly happened. But now it was a different thing. The painful memories were coming back like a truck trampling him.
Dean was the entrance door for all those Dreads to end with years and years of struggle and hopes that those survivors built on that Refuge 7 centuries ago.
The boy couldn't comprehend at all that situation. Even less because "Chaos" energy shouldn't be interacting with the human body, not when it was alive and had "Willpower" inside it. Even the Ascendants that witnessed his frenzy of power couldn't understand it.
The fact was that the power dominating Dean at that time made it all start.
At the very start of the morning, when the sun was still showing its first traces of existence and Dean didn't have more tears to cry, he took the book he found in the place he was teleported and began to study it.
'This book has everything about "Willpower", but also about "Chaos" since these two energies are similar, although they oppose each other. If I can find something about this anomaly on my body, it will surely be in this book. Enough crying for today! I will study as much as I can, so I will be able to know why it happened.'
This effort was also a means for Dean to protect his own heart from the guilt he was feeling. That sensation was so heavy and so excruciating, that he couldn't carry it during all his trip towards his home. It would be impossible to do so. He knew that every day would be resumed in suffering and agony if he let it happen.
'I can't let myself get down here. If it happens, then I won't be able to catch up with the group and be a good partner. If I afford myself to fail here because of these feelings, then I will never improve. For now, I will discover the nature of this anomaly and use this guilty as fuel to motivate myself!'
Dean was like this. He had heart and emotions like any other human being. He was raised inside a limited space, so he was yet to mature properly and deal with big problems. However, as soon as those feelings befell him, he would always raise his head and act.
This was his most valuable virtue: determination.
This determination was what made a young boy, with thirteen years at the time, have the guts to look at the walls that enjailed him at that little space and challenge that dystopic world, claiming the dominance of humanity and believing that things would change.
Dean began to read the book with enthusiasm as soon as the sunlight invaded his tent. Even if he was sleepy and his eyes were dried after crying for so many hours, the boy continued to focus.
...
Three hours had passed after the sunrise. It meant that half of the day was gone.
Rick was going out of his tent, not wearing the upper part of his clothes. He took a deep breath out there, even though the air of Saphyr wasn't good. At least, not in that place. Near the refuges, it was somewhat better.
He looked at the sun a bit disappointed. It was in the center of the sky. Seven centuries ago, they would call it noon, but now was just a remembering of how their days were short and insignificant.
'Truth be told, if you want something to happen, then it's better to work at night...' He spat on the ground while thinking so. He had a bitter expression on his face. Anyway, nothing that he thought was a lie at all. Unfortunately, not all the people in Saphyr were able to risk their lives doing so.
He lazily combed his hair, trying to take off some of the dirt that probably was on it. Rick took a canteen that was attached to his waist and washed his face, then took a sip of water before saving it again.
The other members of his group woke up at that same hour as well. They weren't feeling good by waking up after so few hours of sleep, but they brushed that laziness off and focused on disassembling the tents and gather their resources that were spread on the ground.
"Morning, you three. Better you finish it and eat a snack quickly. I am going to our next destination in less than eight minutes." Rick ordered. His voice made it look like he didn't sleep at night at all. The others always wondered if he could even close his eyes when they got the opportunity to rest.
For a moment, the leader looked to Dean's tent. He narrowed his eyes and remained silent. Clay was going to talk with him, both Kevin and Hector also tagged along. Nevertheless, at the last moment, the tent opened and Dean came out.
He was looking just as tired as Rick was. His straight light brown hair was all messy. Besides it, looking at Dean's eyes, anyone could tell that he cried buckets of tears during the night.
The boy seemed somewhat ashamed that the group was seeing him in such a state. Anyway, he decided to act naturally since it was his first day under their care.
"Good morning, you all." He nodded his head.
""Morning."" Clay, Hector and Kevin replied.
"Morning, boy. Disassemble your tent and ask them for breakfast or water. We need to get out of here quickly. The Dreads from hundreds of kilometers away probably already sensed our presence. It's dangerous to be at the same place for a long while outside a refuge."
Dean nodded his head and soon moved toward his tent.