Landry was frowning as if that wasn’t everything that happened. He remembered her face as she was pulled into the wall, her screaming face, her reaching arms. He was glad that she didn’t remember it.
“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Caden said now that she was quiet for a moment.
“What do you mean?” She frowned more deeply.
“Yeah, what do you mean?” Ross asked, jutting his chin forward. “We’re not Shifters. We’re just here…” He spread his arms to gesture to this place, “in this stupid forest with nothing to eat and the monsters--”
“Monsters?” Caden interrupted.
“Yeah, there are things here! Like every Shifter type ever!” Ross said with another gesture.
Caden blinked as he realized what they were actually seeing, which was the Spirits. The Spirits that bonded with humans. To Landry, Ross, Harvey and everyone here they must look like the animals that humans shifted into like Sphinxes, Dragons, Werewolves and more. “Of course, there would be. They would all be here and--”
“Where is here?” Landry asked. “Oh, hell, I don’t care! Just get us home!”
Caden drew in a sharp breath between his teeth. This was the moment where he had to take her hope away. “I’m not here on a rescue mission, Landry. I wish I was. But I’m not sure how I got here at all.”
Did they take me through a wall? Am I sticking out of it like a statue? Or am I walking around, looking for Valerius… oh, God, no!
Panic wanted to settle over him again in a heavy blanket of despair. He scrubbed his face with his hands. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be! He couldn’t give up or let himself be overwhelmed.
Landry’s expression fell. “You didn’t come here… on purpose?”
“I was chasing you… uhm, your body,” Caden explained, going through his memories for himself as much as her. “The Behemoth has possessed all of you. So you are Shifters just… Well, your bodies are the Behemoth’s to control. Looks like it went around the middleman and just occupies them.”
Landry’s head slowly nodded as if this made sense to her, though her expression was getting grimmer and grimmer.
Caden continued, “I trapped your body in an ice cocoon--”
“Ice cocoon?” Landry’s eyes went huge. “Is my body okay? You better not have frozen something off!”
“I didn’t. But your body is pretty immune to most things when the Behemoth is occupying it,” Caden said, though he grimaced at the memory of being beat up pretty well. “Anyways, I’m not sure if it was a trap or bad timing, but I was captured and… I don’t actually remember anything after that until I found myself here.”
Jasper Hawes let out a sharp, mirthless laugh. “See?! He can’t help us! He’s as stuck here as us! I--”
“SHUT UP!” Landry shouted at him. “You’re responsible for this! Your jealousy and desire for power brought us here!”
Jasper shook his head. “I’m not listening to any more of this shit!”
He then stalked off into the woods. No one went after him.
“So what was I doing that you were chasing me?” Landry asked, searching his face.
“That doesn’t matter--”
“It does, Caden! What was I doing?” Landry’s voice was high and tight.
“You, Ross and Harvey… took your parents hostage,” Caden explained, “to draw me and Valerius to you.”
“Our folks?!” Harvey cried. “Are they okay?”
“Yes, I think so. They were unconscious last I saw them, but I think we stopped the Behemoth in time,” Caden said. He really hoped that was true.
“Oh, my God.” Landry covered her mouth with one hand and nearly sank down to her knees. Caden caught her and kept her upright. “We were so stupid. Why did I ever think…”
Something occurred to Caden then. “Landry, why did you go with them to the mountain? You should have escaped… I mean, if you could--”
“I probably could have. But I…” Her lips flattened for a moment. “I wanted to be a Shifter, too. Then we could be Shifters together! You, me, Wally and Rose!”
