"We have to go now," Isaac urged Riley, his face stained with tears.
She looked at him with her lip quivering and eyes puffy."Yes…"
As quickly as they could, they rushed into the cave as the grove collapsed.
Snap!
Her heart rate sped up—she knew that snapping sound. Nothing good came from it so she picked up the pace and ran with all the strength she could muster.
After a few minutes, she was in the clear with Isaac already ahead of her.
He had stopped to breathe and so did she.
Her feet ached as she stood on the gravel floor and her heart was beating as widely as ever, almost threatening to break out of its cage.
"I think we are in the cle—"
Boom!
A loud explosion sent shockwaves through the cave, blasting the two away and causing them to crash against a wall. Luckily for her, he shifted his body to be behind hers and broke her fall
Debris scattered itself every which way, occasionally attacking the both of them leaving cuts and scrapes. Coughs and sneezes erupted from the both of them as the dust settled.
After the dust settled completely, she stood up, staggering with her hand on the wall for support.
She looked over at him, squinting unable to adjust to the darkness. The grove had collapsed, taking all the light with it. The mist was gone but darkness was still around them. Before, the light from the grove had been oddly strong enough to shine through the cave. The only thing that had hindered their vision was the mist. With it gone, theoretically, they were supposed to see as of that moment but the grove had collapsed.
From the little she could see, he didn't look too good.
"Village Head, are you still alive?"
A low groan escaped his mouth as he tried to sit himself up straight from his sprawled-out position.
She sighed in relief.
"I am glad. At least he…" she muttered.
"Kid, I am fine. A little bruised but fine."
Hearing those words, she smiled as her legs wobbled, drained from all that had happened.
After checking on him, next up was Nicholas.
'Nicholas?'
She couldn't find him.
Why wasn't he in her hands? Was it because of the explosion? Either way, she had to find him fast. After that fight with that wraith-like creature, he received gruesome injuries.
Without an ounce of hesitation, she had cupped him and dashed to the grove where she thought she could get him treated.
What baffled her the most was that he had transformed back into a mouse. Though it did serve to make escaping that much easier. However, his condition did grow worse.
She fell to her knees and began searching the ground for him. Her search was frantic and rushed as her hands reached every groove and hole.
"What are you looking for? " Seated against the wall, he could sense the frustration and frantic search as she moved the earth to and fro with her hands.
She didn't respond, her hands and mind still busy with the task at hand. He asked again but with more volume to his voice.
His voice startled her.
"Ummm..Err" She pondered on whether or not to tell him. All the Village Head knew was about her per mouse and Nicholas. She hadn't clarified they were one and the same but she figured he was smart enough to link the two.
So She told him that she was looking for Nicholas who was in mouse form. Her assumptions proved to be true as she saw there was no trace of surprise on his face.
"Kid, one thing you should know about lying is to keep the story the same." She understood what he meant. She first told him about waiting for a mouse and then Nicholas showed up in human form and mentioned her waiting for him.
Their story had had a few plot holes which she mentally noted to fix with the mouse in question later on.
"Let's find him." His voice disrupted her thoughts.
"Thank you but don't strain yourself. You got injured, again."
He smiled."This much won't hurt me."
They began their search. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Occasionally, she would receive a prick or two from sharp rocks, all she could do was swallow the pain and continue with the search.
After minutes of gruelling search, her hands swept over a small lump. With excitement, she carefully caressed it.
It was a mouse!
"I think I found him!"
"How can you be so sure? You could have just picked up another similar-looking mouse."
"That's true. Let me check if it has injuries on the same spots as him."
After checking, she found it to have similar injuries. It seemed the mouse was Nicholas but so as to not make any rushed assumptions, she decided to look for other mice that may have been injured in the cave.
After another gruelling search, she sighed, relieved to have not found another.
"This is him."
"Good. We should hurry and get him treated" He took out the vial.
"What type of an elixir is that?"
"It's an instant cure drug. It is…" he stopped himself and a sad expression was painted on his face, "I mean it was Hilda's invention."
"As expected of her, she is…I mean was someone who always thought of what I considered improbable when it came to medicine. She would be able to create such a lifesaving drug. How are its effects?"
"Very effective. Though he might feel a gruelling type of pain, it will bring him back to top condition."
"He has to live so it's fine for him to suffer a little. Please give it here."
He handed her the vial and watched her drip it into the mouse's mouth. By the way, he was swallowing it, it seemed he was retaining some of his vitality. Even some of his were closing up.
'Huh?' The Village Head noticed something weird. The boy or rather the mouse didn't show any signs of pain. It was as though he was immune to it. Perhaps it was due to his current form.
She made him drink till it was only a third full and gave some to the Village Head.
He thanked her, drank it and felt intense pain as it did its magic.
"Are you going to drink the rest?"
"It's for emergencies."
"Emergencies…?"
"Why do you think he got injured? It's because of a Wraith and with our vision-impaired, we have become quite the vulnerable targets."
"If it's a wraith, then I think we have already lost."
"The Wraith acts as an enforcer and only comes out when the Act is about to end. Right now, the good news is that this wretched day is almost over but the bad news, is that thing is coming for us."
"Why? Why would it be targeting us specifically? We ran away!" Her heart pounded heavily as she said it, her words laced with terror.
"That Wraith attacked the boy. It marked him as someone breaking the rules of the Act so it will stop at nothing to kill him…"
Boom!
The wall behind them exploded into smithereens. Isaac quickly grabbed her and dodged any debris.
A familiar eerie chill swept through the cave.
The Village Head had been right. That thing had followed them and by the look of its murderous intent, it had a thirst for blood—Nicholas' blood.