Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Into the Dark Rhian took a big sigh. For the first time since falling into this hellish ravine, he felt like there was nothing holding him back.
His body was sore, his thoughts heavy, but there was a strange confidence in his chest.
He hadn’t trained with his new abilities, hadn’t even tested what he could really do now, but he felt like he didn’t need to.
For now, strength and speed would be enough.
He turned to Nia again and crouched beside her. Carefully, he slipped his arms underneath and lifted her in a princess carry. Her weight wasn’t a problem. What held his attention was her face.
Even bruised and pale, she looked delicate.
The same girl who had once crushed a Spine Crawler’s leg like it was a piece of bark now lay still, like she could disappear if he looked away. Rhian’s eyes lingered a little too long.
Cough! cough! He coughed and looked forward again, trying not to think too much.
He approached the mouth of the cave. The opening wasn’t wide but wide enough for a person to walk in without crouching.
Darkness swallowed anything beyond a few steps, but with his vision, he could make out the beginning of a path.
He didn’t step in.
Instead, he looked around the outer wall, found a spot behind a ridge of stone just before the cave entrance, and carefully laid Nia down.
He adjusted her arms gently, then backed away to check the spot from different angles. It was decent cover. No monster walking out casually would see her immediately.
Rhian stood there for a moment, staring at the black opening. He didn’t like leaving her here.
But carrying her into an unknown space, especially one that likely held a monster strong enough to register on his watch, would be worse.
He had made his decision.
He was going to see what was inside.
.
.
.
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 .
.
In the forest, a small fire crackled steadily. The morning light filtered through the trees, casting long shadows over the group camped around it.
The sun had risen not long ago, bringing with it a dry heat and the scent of damp leaves and smoke.
Ash sat cross-legged, chewing loudly on roasted meat skewered over a branch.
His sleeves were rolled up, and his eyes were half-closed, clearly enjoying his breakfast without concern for anything else.
Iris sat nearby, her legs tucked under her.
She stared at the chunk of meat in her hand, turning it slightly, frowning.
"Are you sure this is good to eat?"
Ash didn’t even look up. He just nodded, mouth full, and shoved another bite in.
Whatever it was, he had no complaints.
Aras, sitting across from her with his back resting against a tree, let out a low laugh.
"It’s not poisonous, if that’s what you’re asking. Tastes like rubber, but it’s edible."
Iris gave him a small glance. "I’ll take that as a maybe."
He didn’t respond, only gave a slight shrug and returned his gaze to the fire. For a few seconds, neither of them said anything.
Neither of them disliked the other, but there was a distance.
They hadn’t spoken much beyond the basics since the searching. And when they did, it felt like they were unsure how much to say.
Ash, either unaware or just ignoring it, let out a satisfied grunt and leaned back on his elbows.
Iris eventually smiled slightly, shaking her head. "Lucky you’re still alive to enjoy that."
Ash pointed at her with the half-eaten meat stick. "Lucky all of us are. I thought Rhian and Nia were dead."
She nodded. It wasn’t a joke, and it didn’t feel right to laugh. They’d spent hours searching, their minds full of the worst possible outcomes.
The only relief came when they finally thought to check the watches.
Each student had one, a device connected to their core signal. It didn’t track movement exactly, but it registered life.
They saw Rhian’s reading and knew he was alive. Nia’s was still there too, but hers was flickering, unstable.
That didn’t happen unless something was very wrong. They didn’t know what it meant specifically, but it wasn’t good.
Iris looked down at her wrist, watching the faint green glow on her own watch. "We still need to move soon."
"Yeah," Aras said quietly. "They’re still out there."
The fire popped again, smoke rising up between them, but none of them moved to speak after that.
Ash had been the one with the loudest reaction when they first lost contact.
The usual smartass with something to say every second had gone quiet, his energy drained the moment he realized Rhian and Nia were missing.
For the first time, he looked more like Aras, sharp, still, and closed off.
When they’d confirmed both were alive through the watches, he returned to normal, almost instantly.
He cracked jokes again, made dumb suggestions, and even teased Iris, but none of them missed how he barely commented on Nia’s flickering signal.
Since then, the group hadn’t slowed down. They hunted while they searched, using every moment to keep moving forward.
Knowing their friends were alive helped ease the panic, but it didn’t erase it completely.
The uncertainty still clung to them, especially when they glanced down at Nia’s unstable signal.
Aras stood up, brushing off his pants. He stepped around the fire and began scooping dirt over it, smothering the flames bit by bit.
"We should get going," he said, voice flat. "Two days left before we’re pulled out."
Iris nodded, watching him work. "If only we could talk with these things," she muttered, smacking the face of her watch with two fingers. The device blinked, unchanged.
Ash stood up next, stretching lazily. He wiped his face with the inside of his shirt and exhaled. "Alrighty," he said with a grin, "let’s get going, no?"
No one answered. But a moment later, they started moving.
Completely shutting the fire, they began moving again. Iris stayed in her human form.
Ash, on the other hand, shifted in and out of his bird form every few minutes. He’d fly up, scout ahead, then return to the ground to walk beside them again.
His transformation had proven useful. Being able to get a quick overview from the sky saved them time, and it helped track movement in the distance.
Even Aras, who didn’t comment much, had acknowledged the value of it.
Iris kept glancing up each time Ash took off.
Watching his wings cut through the air made her think about how unbalanced their group was.
Some of them had strange, powerful abilities, while others, like her, had to work with what they had.
She wasn’t weak. But she knew her form needed a lot of training to master her style of combat, as for her ability... well, it wasn’t ready yet.
Ash swooped back down, shifting mid-landing.
He ran a hand through his hair as he caught pace with them again. "Nothing ahead," he said casually. "Still clear."
They nodded and kept moving.