Finding Elora

Chapter 39

ABBY

Kie wakes me up at the crack of dawn with a loud whistle and a light nudge to the side of my leg. I don't want him to be the first thing I see when I wake up, and I keep my eyes shut until I hear him walk away.

Only when I'm truly sure he's gone do I open my eyes.

The morning sky greets me, and I let myself have a moment to enjoy the sight of the sun just beginning to rise before sitting up and looking around.

Kie's packing up his sleeping items, and Mason's nowhere to be seen.

I immediately assume that to mean he's off sniffing my shit pile like the disgusting animal he is. He's probably snout deep in it trying to distinguish between the different enzymes in my digestive tract. I hope he gets pink eye.

Instead, to my surprise, he returns shortly with two dead rabbits. They hang limply out of his mouth, blood pooling down and dripping off their white toes.

It's a terrifying sight, and I do my best not to look at Mason's giant head or sharp teeth as Kie grabs, skins, and cooks the rabbits over the remains of our fire.

Either he or Mason must've been adding logs throughout the night. It was probably Kie, considering Mason is in his animal form and doesn't have opposable thumbs to pick up and move things around.

I'm just glad it didn't wake me up. The warmth from the fire was surprisingly cozy, and once I fell asleep, I was out.

I take small sips of my water while Kie cooks the rabbit meat, careful not to drink too much. I don't want to count on us stopping by another water source before we arrive at the portal.

Which should be sometime tomorrow.

My heart lurches at the thought, and I place my hand over my chest with a shaky exhale. I was a poor reader growing up, and this anxiety feels similar to how it did in middle school when the teacher decided to do popcorn reading.

I'd put my head down and frantically skim the paragraph ahead of the one we were on, mentally preparing in case I was the unfortunate student chosen to read aloud next. Some of the crueler kids liked to pick me because they found it funny when I stuttered, but almost everybody else would leave me alone.

Looking back, it was such a trivial thing to be so afraid of, and I'd give anything to be back in the human realm reading to a group of snickering middle schoolers.

Blood rushes through my ears, so violent and so loud I'm shocked Kie and Mason can't hear it.

They're quiet this morning, communicating with one another through sideways glances and hushed whispers. Their whispers never mean anything good, but I'm coming to accept that they're going to happen whether or not I want them.

Clearly, these two were never taught that whispering about somebody in front of them is rude. Or they were and they just don't care.

It's probably the latter.

Kie shares some of the squirrel meat with me once it's finished cooking. There isn't much, and he suspiciously gives me a larger serving than what he and Mason have. There's no reason for him to do that, which tells me I should be wary of it.

Maybe it's poisoned.

My first bites are cautious, but soon my hunger wins out and I end up eating every last bite. I wait for the pain to come, but it doesn't, and after several minutes I get up and begin packing my bags.

Mason and Kie do the same, and before long, we're making our way to the portal.

Traveling during the day is nice, and I let the sun warm my cheeks as I walk between the pair. They're doing the same thing they did yesterday, walking on either side of me instead of one in front and one in back.