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ROSI
“Don’t panic,”Austin said through the dark. Then the blue laser cut through the air toward the ground as he made his way back toward me. “Do you have anything else?”
Trying to breathe, I rummaged through my pack until I found the lighter I’d brought in case we needed to start a fire. I flicked it on, and Austin flipped off the laser.
“We need to get out of here,” I said, trying so hard to do what he instructed and not panic.
“What do you think this is?” Austin asked, shaking the ball in his hands and smacking it until it blinked to life once again, throwing a very human skull on the ground into clear relief.
I swallowed back the bile rising in the back of my throat as I locked gazes with the black holes of the eye sockets. What appeared to be teeth marks engraved the forehead like twisted tattoos. “It looks like a nest.”
Thankfully, Austin did not ask what would make a nest of bones and objects. Because none of the possibilities that came to mind were pleasant. Instead, he began rifling through the top of the pile of objects.
“What are you doing?” My voice cracked with panic as he froze with a tin can in hand.
“I’m looking for weapons or materials to make a fire.”
I shook my head. “Fire could attract it, and the tent has conduction tech, so it’ll warm itself with our body heat. And as for weapons, it didn’t do them much good.” I nodded at the skull on the ground. “We should get out of here.”
“Come on.” Austin grabbed my hand without protest, and we backtracked to the inuksuk and went to the path on the opposite side.
I tugged him to a halt. “Shouldn’t we be getting out of the caverns altogether?”
Austin cupped my face, and his expression said he wasn’t as certain as he’d seemed before. “It’s still our best chance at avoiding freezing solid. If we can make it through the night, then we can hike back to the resort in the morning. Maybe whatever did that is no longer nearby.”
I frowned. “You don’t actually believe that do you?”
“Fine,” Austin admitted, shifting his weight. “But if we’re not near its nest, then maybe it will never know we were here.”
Hesitating, I wanted to argue that I’d rather freeze than be added to a pile of bones. But he was right. It was logical, and we didn’t have much choice. If we camped up there at the entrance it would see us for sure if it came back tonight. If we did it this way, there was a chance it would never realize we were there. Camping outside of the sheltered area was too big of risk because of the elements, and that limited our choices drastically.
Slipping off my pack, I pulled a small bag from the front pocket. Then I shoved the rest at him. “Go set up the tent. It’ll add an extra layer of protection since we don’t know how far the temperature will drop down here. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“What are you doing?” he asked, handing me the lantern and taking the lighter from me.
I paused, kneeling by the front of the passageway. “I’m throwing off the scent if that’s what it uses.”
Austin grinned and took off down the passage while I opened the bag and scattered the chips of pine around the entrance. They were covered in a special blend of aromas, a useful addition to a cryptid hunter’s backpack.
By the time I’d caught up, Austin had the tent assembled in a corner across from a pool that cast a florescent, blue glow. Looking closer, I realized the glow came from stones beneath the surface of the water. The pool appeared to have formed over time, having collected slowly from the drippings off the wall and the stalactites above. If I wasn’t so unnerved by the whole experience, I’d have called it romantic.
He waited at the front of the tent with the entrance open. I crawled inside with him following behind. Austin pulled the pack in with us and zipped up the seal.
“Talk to me,” I said as I copied Austin, pulling off my parka and bunching it into a pillow. Now that we were inside the thermal protection of the tent, the temperature was only slightly chilly and would warm with our body temperatures soon. But the cold was the least of my worries at the moment. Out there, beyond the thin layer of carbon fiber laced material, was the monster of my nightmares.
“I’m so sorry, Rosi,” Austin said, watching me with his knees to his chest. His entire body trembled, and I remembered his head injury. What if he’d hidden more from me?
“For what? This isn’t your fault,” I said, sitting across from him and rubbing my arms to prevent my hands from shaking.
“What if it is?” he asked, taking one of my hands and setting his on top between us.
“It isn’t,” I said, sliding farther in and still desperate to wipe visions of bones and teeth from my mind. “Take off your clothes so I can see if you have any other injuries. I’ll get the med supplies out.”
He acquiesced without any snide remarks and freed himself of his shirt, turning so his back was before me.
My hands flew to cover my mouth and prevent the gasp that threatened to break loose. Large, purple bruises bloomed across his skin. One disappeared into the waistband of his pants.
