The woman couldn't believe what she was seeing.
All this time, it had been a tiny skeleton—with glowing pink flames in its eye sockets—that had been caring for her.
Realizing this, she felt embarrassed for having harbored such suspicious thoughts earlier. Still, a moment later, her expression grew serious again.
She remained still, letting the little skeleton continue its work. She wanted to be absolutely sure it was truly the one tending to her—and not someone else.
She should've been resting to speed up her recovery, but instead, she stayed awake the entire night, determined to satisfy her curiosity.
...
Morning
Loud noises interrupted Clayton's sleep. At first, he tried to ignore them, but they grew louder and more insistent. Eventually, he sat up groggily.
Looking toward the source, he was startled to see a group of people making a ruckus as they searched the area near his resting spot.
One of them approached directly.
