“We’ll camp at the large cave tonight,” Ben finally said, his eyes looking at the sun heading behind the mountains. Dusk was upon us already, a whole day of slow progress.
They had no idea what sort of danger they were in. I was antsy and agitated, spoiling for a fight I knew was inevitable. I wasn’t sure from what direction though. Ben? Brandon? Makwa?
Mothman groaned in exasperation at Ben’s announcement of making camp.
“What’s your problem?” I asked.
“I hate caves,” he grumbled in my head.
“You were fine with the last cave.”
“Hmm? Does he not like caves?” Makwa asked, stretching Ava’s face into a wide smile of entertainment. “Pity, I love them.”
“I find that hard to believe,” I said.
“Well, I didn’t likethatone. Too much of a good thing,” he said, waving his hand and dismissing the conversation. Clearly, he didn’t want to talk anymore about it. It was obvious he’d been there unwillingly.Why, though? Everyone was brushing him off because there were other things to worry about. Even I was brushing him off for the moment. Escape was the first priority. I just hoped that decision wouldn’t cost us.
We kept on the same path we’d been on all day like we were headed to this cave the whole time. Ben had acted like this was a short excursion, even had told Makwa we wouldn’t be gone after dark. However, his people were packed for a long hike and no one seemed surprised at the decision to stop at the cave.
There was something they weren’t saying in front of us. Some plan or destination they didn’t want us to know about.
There was too much going on. Too many factors to watch. Makwa, Brandon, Ben…
Which shoe would drop first? Tonight weneededto escape. Something bad was coming.
Mothman was tense as we made it to the cave, something I could tell from the way his fur sat around his neck and how he kept looking slyly left and right. He’d dealt with the last cave without much anxiety so something was up. Also, why the hell could I tell when he was tense?
The musky scent of pine followed us along with the tapping. What was Brandon up to? The evening was oddly quiet, the late summer sounds of bugs entirely absent. A cave loomed in front of us, its maw open for our arrival. My shackles ached, biting into my wrists after rubbing all day. I could feel blisters on my heels, almost numb at this point. My eyes dragged over Mothman’s long duster swaying in front of me.
His presence was irritating me. It wasn’t as if I believed Makwa when he said Mothman was interested in me but then again… Fuck, I was confused and irritated by everything. About my worry over Brandon. About what the hell sort of relationship I had with West Virginia’s cryptid asshat. About my difficulty separating Makwa from Ava.
Oh yeah… and about being held captive by a fucking cult. Life was just fucking dandy. My bandmates were dead and the last one left alive had been viciously stabbed in front of me and turned into something inhuman. That night was horrible. Every part of it—from being useless to Makwa’s grand reveal.
That was the night something shifted in me about Brandon. I’d seen the anguish Ava had experienced when he was hurt and felt it deep inside my soul. That was the night I actually realized something was going on between them, even if I tried to pretend to be oblivious. I was too attuned to Ava not to be aware though.
Sometimes I wondered if I empathized with her so much, that I felt the same things she did.
Why was everything so complicated? I wasn’t good at these things… emotions and relationships. I grimaced in distaste.
We made it to the cave and filed inside. It had a large entrance with a big room that could fit twice as many people as we had. It was just a single room to take shelter, no branching tunnels to wander away in.
They carried us to the back of the cave and set us in a line on the ground, keeping us chained together. The walls were smooth and the ceiling was jagged and uneven. The ground beneath us was hard, offering zero cushion after a long day of hiking.
Mothman lifted his hat slightly and I could see the base of his antennae swirling.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Death is coming,” Mothman said in my head.
“Whose?” I asked through my teeth and he shook his head and shrugged. Then he settled against the wall and pushed his hat in his face as if he was curling up for a relaxing nap.
“Tik-tok, tik-tok,” Makwa said, his eyes facing the cave opening, looking up at the dimming sky. Tension was building under my skin. I didn’t like this.
A fire was built in the middle, the heat of the flames gradually warming the unnaturally cold space. They threw us a few granola bars and water bottles. Makwa eyed the food in distaste but gulped down the water, even while looking offended he had to do it.
“Living bodies are so tedious,” he said with a sneer. He eyed Mothman and me in judgment like we were lesser than him. Fucking ghosts. If the rest were half as annoying as this one, I could understand why Ava hated them.
Mothman eyed the granola bar in misery. He hadn’t eaten much since our capture yet kept his complaints to himself. It angered me. Him being half-starved wouldn’t help anyone.
