That was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.
There was a cave right in front of me. My gaze swept across the landscape, seeing nothing but endless grassland stretching beyond. The grass around me was a single, endless sheet, bearing no trees, hedgerow, nor a trace of horizon to tell me where the world ended and the sky began. The cave was the only anomaly—a mouth of shadow yawning against a sky so beautifully blue it made my eyes ache.
I hauled myself up, the cold grit of earth and damp grass clinging to my clothes, and brushed at my palms over myself to discard the dirt. I spun around.
Did Amelia and her brother drop me here? Where were they? I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen this coming. How could I suspect anything when the only thing she’d done so far was help me and smile at me? I should have known from how overly nice she was being, but I didn’t. Because no one with ill intent was supposed to survive Nimorran’s cold.
I thought everyone here had pure intentions since the cold killed anyone with the opposite. Thrax was the only one affected by the cold since his case was different.
Unless…Nimorran made an exception for them? Hold on. Were they part of the monsters that attacked me that night? Only this time, wearing human form? Were they sent by the same thing that sent the messenger?
Were they after my life?
My chest rattled as I flung my gaze around, half expecting them to pop out of nowhere and peekaboo the fuck out of my life.
But the land was bare, clear as day with nothing to hide behind. Just endless grass...and me.
Where did they go? Did they leave me here on purpose—
A painful, echoed groan cut through the soft breeze, startling me so badly I jumped back, whipping my head towards the sound. It came from inside the cave.
Were both of them inside?
The groan came again—deeper and painfully gut-wrenching this time. It made me clutch at my chest, as though I could feel the pain radiating from within.
I looked around desperately, searching for anything else to fixate on—anything but the darkness of the cave yawning before me.
Could this be the cave Merton spoke of, the one Thrax warned me never to approach? I looked back at it, curiosity flaring.
“...We also heard some twisted sounds even from outside, and it was eventually linked to the Soulless Man’s lore of corrupting minds. They believed it was his home.”
Could this be the twisted sound he meant? I’d expected whispers, not a bloody full-on wail.
I tried to resist, to hold myself back, but when the wailing rose again only to die down completely the next second, my curiosity peaked. The entrance gaped wide and dark, just wide enough for ten people shoulder to shoulder, and the darkness within swallowed the light in a greedy way.
I waited a moment longer, wanting to hear the throat-scraping grunt again. But nothing came. It was human. I was almost sure of it. And yet, the thought struck me—what if it wasn’t human at all? What if it was another form of the messenger?
Still, my legs betrayed me, carrying me closer as though some hidden part of me already knew that was false.
I drew near, inspecting the cave’s mouth, frowning when nothing matched Merton’s description—that the stone shimmered as if diamonds were trapped within. This cave was plain and ordinary.
Either the bastard lied, or this wasn’t the right cave.
Taking in a deep breath, I stepped cautiously into the entrance. Moss carpeted the ground, jagged stones jutting up like teeth.
Thanking the gods for flat shoes, I picked my way forward carefully. The warmth that found me felt vicious, clinging to my arms and pushing against my chest the way too-close heat from a stove does. It was dark, and no one seemed to be inside. But I knew I had heard that sound. Peeling my lips apart, I called out.
“Hello!” My voice bounced back at me, echoing until it became eerie.
I tapped my pocket instinctively, but my phone wasn’t there. I had been holding it before I passed out. I sighed in frustration—it must have fallen when I’d blacked out earlier.
I cursed Amelia and her brother under my breath again, forcing myself onward, though every muscle in my legs begged me to turn back. Where would I even go? Back into the endless grassland? No. If this cave was the only landmark in sight, then I needed to see why.
For the first time since I’d been walking, the cave curved into a corner, and I turned to continue walking, but I stopped when my gaze dropped.
My breath hitched, a gasp tearing from me as I stumbled back.
My eyes stung instantly, tears brimming as I clapped a hand over my mouth, staring in horror at the body sprawled on the ground.
