I woke up with a start, gasping for air.
My back is pressed against sothing hard, and cold seeped through my clothes. Everything around was pitch black; this was not the kind of darkness that ca with turning off the light, but a thick, heavy blackness that made wonder if I had gone blind.
I lay still for a mont, trying to rember where I was. My mind felt foggy, reminding of this sa feeling after I’d tried hypnotism one ti with my friends in high school. It had ended so badly, and despite all the tales my friends had from that day, I couldn’t rember a thing.
Slowly, I reached to my left, searching for the bedside lamp to turn it on, but my fingers touched nothing but air and sothing grainy.
It was sand.
I frowned and tried to sit up. Pain exploded through my body as every muscle protested, my ribs ached, and my arms burned, screaming at to lie back down. I groaned and collapsed back down, breathing hard.
Where was I? And why did it hurt so much?
I tried again, gritting my teeth hard and forcing myself into a sitting position for the second ti. It exhaled deeply, looking around and trying to rember where the door was or where I’d dropped my phone, when a voice rang out from the darkness.
"Naya."
The voice ca from sowhere to my right, and it was manly.
Every hair on the back of my neck stood up. I froze, holding my breath, even though my heart was hamring in my chest. I strained my ears, listening hard. Had I imagined it? Was I hearing things now?
Maybe I was losing my mind.
"Naya," his voice ca the second ti.
But as I turned towards what felt like the direction it had co from, sothing soft touched my shoulder.
I scread.
But the sound had barely left my throat when a hand clamped down over my mouth, cutting off the sound. I thrashed, trying to get away, but whoever it was held tight—strong arms wrapped around from behind, pinning in place.
My eyes watered as I struggled more, twisting and trying to pull away, but the person held on.
"Naya, it’s ," the voice whispered urgently near my ear. "It’s Hansel. Please don’t shout, or else you’ll attract them to us."
Hansel?
I stopped struggling.
Hansel was here? What was he doing in my room? Was he fine now? Has his fever or whatever illness left him?
I lifted my hand and tapped on his wrist, trying to signal that I understood.
"I’m going to let you go," he said quietly. "But you can’t shout or panic. Do you understand?"
I nodded against his palm.
Slowly, his grip loosened, and his hand left my mouth. I turned around in the darkness, though I couldn’t see anything.
"Hansel?" My voice ca out shaky. "How are you doing now? Your brother won’t tell anything about your condition. Are you fine now? What are you doing in my room?’
"We’re not at the pack house, Naya," Hansel said softly. "We’re currently in a cave, and I was too weak to take you ho. I had to seek refuge here until he morning or until I regain my strength. How do you feel?"
"I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck," I chuckled, "but I’m sure I didn’t break anything. What were we doing before we ended up in a cave?"
"It’s a long story," he said quietly. "But we’ll be fine as long as we remain quiet and hope that the rain muffled your scream."
I nodded, even though I had no idea what he was talking about, but the ntion of rain made notice it for the first ti. The sound of water hitting stone sowhere outside, combined with a constant drumming that filled the silence that had settled over us.
We sat in silence for a while. My heart was still racing, and nothing about any of this made sense. Why would we leave the house and stay in a cave? Why hadn’t he answered that question? The last thing I rembered was—what? What did I rember?
"Are you better now?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.
"I am," Hansel replied. "Just tired."
"So, how did we end up in a cave? It’s confusing for ."
There was a long pause before he suddenly spoke again. "You don’t rember?"
I frowned into the darkness. "Rember what?"
Another pause, even longer this ti. "It’s fine. It’s nothing." His voice sounded strange. "Are you cold?"
Now that he ntioned it, I was freezing. The camp air in the cave seed to seep into my bones. And the clothes I had on were too thin to keep warm.
"Yes," I admitted.
"I didn’t bring warr clothes," he said. "But I can sit next to you for warmth, if that’s okay."
"It’s fine."
I heard him moving in the darkness and felt the shift in the air as he settled beside . His shoulder brushed against mine, and I was surprised by how warm he felt. It was like sitting next to a fire.
"Do you still have a fever?" I asked, sliding my hand up and down his arm.
"No!" he reassured . "My body just gets heated up before any full moon."
"Oh!" I nodded to myself, wondering what his body temperature had to do with the full moon.
We slipped back into silence, listening to the rain outside. I tried again to rember how we’d gotten here, but my mind kept hitting a blank wall. It was like soone had taken an eraser to part of my mories.
"But how did we even end up here?" I asked again, unable to let it go. "A cave of all places."
There’s no explanation for that," He said quietly.
Before I could ask what he ant, I felt his hand reach for . His fingers found my face in the darkness, cupping my cheek with surprising accuracy. How could he do that without groping around? How could he see in this pitch blackness?
"Do you truly not rember anything?" he asked. His voice was almost sad.
I thought hard, searching my mories. "I only rember going to bed last night, but..."
I trailed off. There was sothing there. Sothing hovering just at the edge of my mind, trying to break through. But I couldn’t quite grasp it.
Hansel sighed. I felt him lean back against the cave wall, pulling with him until I was tucked against his side.
"Listen carefully," he said. "Tonight is the Crescent Full Moon"
"What’s that?" I asked him.
"As soon as the moon rises high in the sky, the forest becos dangerous. But as long as you can contain your emotions and try not to scream, you’ll be fine. Do you understand?"
"Dangerous how?" I asked him.
"I only need you to trust today of all days, Naya," he murmured. "Please, can you do that?"
I nodded, then realised he was seeing in the dark.
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