Aisha woke to find Nero gone and immediately panicked.
She sat up so quickly that her vision swam, dark spots dancing across her eyes. Her hands grasped at empty air where his body had been, and for one terrible moment she was certain that everything had been a dream. That Nero was still out there somewhere, bleeding and alone.
Dying...
'No!'
Then she heard voices outside the cave and the panic receded slightly, replaced by a different kind of anxiety.
She rose on unsteady legs and made her way to the cave entrance. The fog outside made it difficult to see clearly, but she could make out two figures standing together. Nero and Obed, talking in low voices.
Relief flooded through her so intensely that she had to brace herself against the cave wall.
The relief was short-lived.
Movement in the fog caught her attention. Two more figures approaching, resolving into recognizable shapes as they drew closer.
Geor and Lucy.
