Into the Dark

Chapter 16

A hand clamped over my mouth, startling me awake.

I popped my eyes open to see Kade leaning over me, a finger pulled against his lips to shush me. I blindly obeyed and sat up quickly, nervous about whatever he was worried about.

He put his face close to my ear and glanced at the entrance still covered up by rocks. "Someone's out there," he whispered. I followed his eyes and saw shadows shifting through the sunlit cracks. A voice was heard but it was low and the words were inaudible. I heard something that sounded like the grunts of an animal and the shuffling of feet accompanying it. It was sniffing around and breathing heavily through its nose, (or that's what I thought).

I looked back at Kade, unsure of his plan or if he even had a plan. I was scared, yes, but at the moment I was dependent on him. If he couldn't do anything then we were screwed. Hopefully whoever (and whatever) was outside didn't want to eat us or drag us to Hell.

Some of the rocks at the entrance suddenly started tumbling down when something pushed them. I jumped back into Kade and he gently but urgently pushed me behind him, eyes frantic but focused. We were frozen and watching more light stream in from outside. When all the rocks were gone and our supposed threat was revealed, I sighed with relief and nearly laughed.

It was just Odis and Maeve, Odis in his wolf form with what seemed like our luggage strapped to his hefty back. Like before, I could see the gracious muscles shifting under his black and brown sleek fur as he stared curiously with bright amber eyes. Maeve looked just as curious as he, but smiled broadly when she realized it was us.

"We actually found you guys! Oh my God, y'all gave us such a scare! Luckily Odis was able to track the last bit of your scent!" she exclaimed in relief and approached for a hug. At the appropriate distance, she came to an abrupt stop and stepped back with her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You guys look awful... not to mention the smell," she added and took a few more steps back while covering her nose. I took that time to notice she was right; Kade and I were covered in dry mud and dirt, there were a few tears in our clothes where the fabric got snagged on branches when running last night, our hair was just as messy (with twigs and whatnot) and finally, we honestly smelled like crap from it all. It would've been funny if I didn't feel so weak.

"Ugh... please go wash off in the river. We brought all our stuff, including yours so please! Feel free to change afterwards!" Maeve continued to complain and eyed us like we were rats in her kitchen. I glanced over at Kade to see his reaction and he just smiled softly.

"You first," was all he contributed to the conversation.

***

It took almost an hour to get all the filth washed off me. But luckily, Kade found a calm part of the river so I wouldn't be swept away by the current. And although I wasn't happy about having to strip completely out in the middle of the woods, it did feel good to be at least a little cleaner. I was sure Kade felt the same way. But who knows? He was currently still down at the river, taking his turn in the mildly cold water.

Meanwhile, I was back at the cave helping Maeve get all of our things situated. She made it clear that her and Odis left in a hurry and she didn't have time to get everything ordered properly, which for some reason bothered her. So while we did that, Odis remained in wolf form and guarded us; it was better for him to smell out threats that way.

"Oh great," Maeve suddenly blurted as she held up a grey shirt that I considered a t-shirt. "Kade left the shirt he was supposed to change in to," she added irritatedly. Handing it over to me, she bit back a smile. "Why don't you take it to him?"