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A little...

Farther.

Anguish steals the breath from my lungs when a roar so torturous shakes the earth beneath my feet.

Orion.

I hit the ground hard, knees scraping across rock before my hands can catch me. A fresh wave of pain shoots through my nearly healed gunshot wound as I curl over myself and gasp.

God, that scream…

Every instinct screams the same demanding command—go back. But I drag myself forward, even as another tormented bellow from my monster obliterates my soul.

Orion, I'm so sorry.

One hand, then the other. The glowing moss slips from my fingers and tumbles across the tunnel floor, but I don't stop to retrieve it. Every movement tears me apart from the inside out.

Up ahead, the light grows brighter, mid-morning sun dappling the stone walls in glittering beams. I crawl toward it desperately, clawing at the dirt as my mind nearly shatters from another monstrous cry deep inside the mountain.

The sound tears through me with enough force that I crumple onto my side, fingers digging into my torso when another tug pierces my ribcage.

Turn around.

Go back.

He's hurting.

He's hurting so fucking much.

“You are safe, Benjamin. I will never, ever hurt you.”

A strangled cry rips through me as I force my body to move again, dragging myself the last few feet toward the blinding mouth of the tunnel. This is why Orion deserves so much better. All I do is hurt those I love. He's better off without me. He'll see. God, I hope he sees.

Sunlight kisses my fingertips first, warming my frostbitten skin. It travels up my arms, setting my unkempt curls ablaze, warmth loosening the muscles on my back. It should feel like victorious relief.

Instead, all I can think about is the monster buried somewhere beneath the mountain, screaming until his voice breaks because I chose to leave.

“I'm sorry,” I choke out, my forehead damp with cold sweat. “I'm so... fucking... sorry, Orion.”

Using the last of my strength, I finally pull myself into the light and collapse onto the forest floor.

Where I don't move again. Not for a very long time.

Hours pass by. At least, I think. If the bright ball of flame moving across the forest canopy is anything to go by. Mostly, I remain motionless because the warmth feels good on my skin, but also, I can't go any farther. My body refuses to listen.

Orion stopped screaming a while ago. I don't know if he’s gone back to sleep, or maybe he's realized it's better this way. All I know is that the tether in my middle eventually stopped yanking me back.

And I feel hollow. Barren, as if my insides have been scooped clean. Where once sat a beating heart, now yawns a cavern as big and lifeless as the bone pit below. But Orion is safe from me. That's all that matters.

I'm content to lay here and rot, at least until a stinging sensation on my arm becomes irritating enough that I turn my head in search of the source⁠—

Only to find an entire colony of ants gnawing on me.

“Fucking shit,” I hiss, bolting upright to shake them off with a shudder. My senses seem to blink back online all at once, and the world tilts violently around me. Noise floods my ears. Birds chatter somewhere overhead as leaves rustle in the breeze. Insects buzz loudly. It's almost overwhelming after so long listening to nothing but dripping water and crackling fire.

Standing proves to be another battle entirely. My legs tremble so badly I nearly collapse again, but after a few shaky breaths, I manage to stand on my feet slowly.

I made it. I actually made it.