The two trudge through the forest as the sun begins to rise, dispelling what is left of the pale dawn light and replacing it with rays of yellow that force their way through the canopy, casting god rays through the morning fog. All around them, birds chirp, and in the distance, Astrid can hear something roar. Her hand automatically moves to the holster on her hip, only to find it empty. Even though she only had the gun for less than two days, she has gotten used to the weapon on her right hip. Now that it's gone, she feels naked. While some of the monsters out there are deadly even to someone with a gun, if anything found them now, there would be nothing she could do.

Astrid can’t believe she ever felt discomfort at touching a weapon. Now she would give anything to have another fully loaded gun by her side. She also can’t help but feel like she wasted Fynn's gift. Only three of the six shots in that gun actually hit something, and the fact that she didn’t count her shots beforehand makes her feel even more stupid. ‘Well. I wasn’t careful before, so I guess I’ll have to be even more careful now,’ she thinks.

 

They soon find a hiking trail that they follow until a wall of fog blocks their path. Unlike the harmless milky mist made from tiny droplets of water that the night created, this is the dark, magical type. All around them the trees are beginning to lose their leaves as winter slowly, but surely approaches. Unlike the rest of the woods, where most trees still have a good amount of green leaves left, the plants in the fog have turned into black silhouettes. Bushes, flowers, grass, and moss – everything is wilted and black, devoid of any life. Between the wiry black branches, Astrid can see the back of a large residential complex, as well as a few normal houses in the dark, moving fog.

Her brother watches the magical darkness as well. His eyes follow one of the wafts as it moves between the dead trees. “Astrid, what is that stuff? I mean, I’m not scared of it, but it looks like something that’s not, umm… good for the trees. And where is everyone?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not good for us either. There are these weird things in there as well. Ghosts, black entities and God knows what else. Whatever you do, don’t go in there.”

Elijah shrugs, but his eyes remain fixed on the fog. “Okay. But where do we go then if we can’t go into the fog?”

“We turn around and look for another way back.”

 

They continue for several hours, resting every now and again when Elijah complains that his feet hurt. Astrid understands that he’s tired, but as much as she wants to, she can’t keep carrying him.

Aside from the occasional complaint from Elijah, they try to be as quiet as possible, but every step rustles leaves, snaps the odd twig, or shakes a young tree. Astrid brushes aside a bush glistening with a weird brown film. She pulls away quickly, but the side of her hand is already covered in the oily substance. It feels like olive oil and smells like a mixture of lavender and whiskey.

“Ugh,” Astrid grunts and tries to shake the weird oil off her hand.

Her brother looks at the brown substance with wide eyes. “Are you all right? Does it hurt? Is it some sort of acid?”

Astrid shakes her head, and as she does, she spots something out of the corner of her eye. “No, it’s just disgusting…” She pauses and turns to look at the odd shape. A monster, standing on two legs with a brown feather-like fur coat and massive claws on its hands, is standing next to a tree stump. It’s the same monster she saw at the gas station. Its eyes are locked onto them.

A burst of surprise accompanied by a wave of anger and fear shoots through Astrid's body. It's instantly followed by a cold focus as she grabs Elijah and runs. Twigs whip her in the face, but the small bursts of pain are nothing compared to the mass of death chasing after them. Its feet break twigs and the creature lets out a wretch-like grunt with every breath, but Astrid suppresses the urge to look back.

In front of her, she can see a small creek. A jump carries her over the tiny river, but as she lands, her foot slips on a wet stone. Astrid stumbles, almost dropping Elijah. He screams, but through some miracle, she manages to regain her footing before she can fall. The chase continues as she hears the creature splashing through the water, and with a burst of acceleration, Astrid regains the speed the stumble cost her.

The thick undergrowth turns into a pine forest. The trees are lined up in rows with only a few paces between each plant. Their tops form an almost impenetrable barrier that keeps the forest floor in darkness. Only a few rays of sunlight make it through gaps created by transformed trees. With nothing but moss, a few ferns and mushrooms growing in the shadows, Astrid can increase her speed even more.

Elijah yells from her arms, “Faster, Astrid. It’s falling behind. A bit more and we lose it.”

‘I’m faster than that thing?’ New hope surges through Astrid, and even though her legs are starting to burn, she doubles her efforts.

The forest opens up at the foot of a hill. The border to the open field is formed by a cluster of vines and young trees. Standing on top of the hill is a large house with a wooden façade and a second building that must be a stable. Several chest-high fences that consist of wooden poles and steel nets separate pastures from the surrounding land.

“Elijah, brace yourself!” Astrid yells before she throws him over the fence. He yelps before he slams into the grass. Elijah lets out a pained groan but picks himself up from the ground, while Astrid clambers over the fence. 

They hear a massive crash behind them as the large creature rips itself free of the undergrowth. With a roar, it shakes off vines and other plant life that got caught on its bulky frame and continues the chase.

Elijah looks back, causing Astrid to yell, “Keep running!”

Astrid throws herself over the fence, scrambles to her feet and runs after her brother.

The monster simply charges through the obstacle, but the sound of breaking wood is quickly followed by a metallic groan and a dull thud. Stumbling towards the next fence, Astrid risks a look back. With angry growls, the creature frees its legs from the metal net spanning the now-broken fence.

Elijah is already trying to climb the next fence. He’s halfway up when Astrid grabs him again and throws him over to the other side. He lets out a yelp as he gets caught on the fence and the metal rips a long gash into his arm, but manages to land on his feet while Astrid climbs the fence herself.

“Don’t stop!” she yells. Elijah is already stumbling around a corner towards the house.

He runs around a corner, temporarily losing both his sister and the monster from sight

Astrid falls over the fence and runs around the same corner her brother disappeared behind.

To her left, she can see the entrance to the house, while on her right, there’s a small stable. A Jeep is parked between the two buildings. Elijah is nowhere in sight, but on the other side of the stable, she hears a male voice say, “Asti pamerga?”

The alien words stir something in Astrid, but she's too distracted to pay any attention to it.

“Monster!” Elijah yells.

Astrid yells, “It’s right behind me.”

She’s about to pass the car, as someone bursts out of the house. The human man has slick blond hair shaved at the sides. He's dressed in a long black sleeveless trench coat with silver trim and silver belt buckles. A black scarf covers his neck and is tucked so tightly into his coat that it almost looks like part of it. A simple black shirt is buttoned at his wrists, while his feet are clad in hand-sewn boots of dark leather. The lower part of his coat is caked in dried mud. His blue eyes lock onto Astrid and his thin face is covered with surprise. Then anger. Lightning sparks between his fingers and arcs onto his forearm.

Astrid can’t believe what her eyes are showing her and stares at the blue magic gathering on the man's skin. Her eyes widen and she sprints to the left.

“Fuhr… kinay! Atrega!”

With lightning speed, his arm moves like he's pulling something out of an imaginary pocket and hurls it towards Astrid. Energy sparks across his skin and as soon as his arm straightens, a ray of blue energy bursts out of his extended index and middle fingers.

Astrid barely manages a yelp and raises her hand before a flash of blue light illuminates the air around them. The energy makes a high-pitched, unnatural shrieking sound, like nails scratching against stones in an echoing chamber. The lightning spell hits Astrid's hand first. Tiny bolts of electric energy spark over her skin, while the rest of the beam pierces her hand. It comes out the other side as a cone of energy that strikes her chest.

A shudder shakes Astrid and her heart makes an uncontrolled beat. She wants to breathe but her chest doesn’t move as she stumbles forward. For a split second, electricity courses through her body until the blue light disappears and she regains control of her muscles. With a gasp, she stumbles behind the car.

Another electric shriek splits the air, but narrowly misses Astrid. It strikes the hood of the vehicle with a crackling noise and an explosion of sparks.

“No! Astrid! Oh no. Over there!” She hears Elijah's voice.

Astrid coughs and holds her chest, while the hand that got hit quivers. Being struck by that bolt of lightning or whatever that was didn’t hurt at all, but now a deep, searing pain is expanding up her hand and through her chest.

“Kan Mortisor!” The sound of another lightning bolt fills the air and is followed by a roar from the monster. Astrid doesn’t pay attention to it though as she rips open the door and ducks into the stable.

Suddenly Elijah is back at her side. “Astrid, are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

“Ugh. I’m fine… Let’s just… get out of here.” Astrid gasps as she stumbles towards the next door.

They pass two horses in their stalls and push open a large set of double doors to get back out of the gloomy stable.

To her left, Astrid can hear the man’s voice: “Akasti!” He comes running around the corner, unleashing a blast of lightning at something behind him.

“Oh, crap.” Astrid grabs Elijah.

“Akasti mijok ilnith!”

Astrid turns and runs back into the stable, only to see the clawed monster ducking in through the other door. It’s feather-like coat now has a blackened crater on its arm and one on its lower body. The horses start neighing as the monster swipes its claws at Astrid. She narrowly dodges the deadly pieces of bone and charges out of the stable. The magician is already waiting for them. This time he doesn’t say anything, but makes the same movement he made earlier. Astrid’s eyes lock onto his arm. Time almost seems to slow as she waits for just the right moment. As soon as he starts moving his arm forward, she ducks to the right. The air is filled by another burst of blue light and an electric shriek. A shiver moves through Astrid’s body and her hair puffs up as the bolt of electric energy narrowly misses her legs and strikes the ground, creating a small explosion of dirt.

Astrid doesn’t stop. ‘Got to get away. Behind the building.’ She thinks and sprints forward, but as soon as the magician sees that his first shot missed, he fires another one. Astrid ducks to the left, still, the bolt of energy hits her leg. It pierces right through it, sending electricity coursing through her left leg before hitting the ground with a loud crack. With a jump like movement Astrid trips and falls. Elijah screams, and Astrid barely manages to turn herself, so she lands on her back instead of her brother.

She groans and snaps for air while Elijah scrambles to his feet. He grabs a piece of firewood from a pile stacked up against the back of the stable.

Searing pain expands down her leg where the lightning bolt hit her. A shiver runs through her as Astrid sees more lightning spark over the magician’s arms. ‘This can’t be it.’ “Why are you attacking us?!”

The man just gives her an evil smile. He quickly looks at Elijah and nods. “Anixi paurati calna,” he says before his eyes lock back onto Astrid.

“No. Run away!” Astrid yells at her brother, but he’s charging the man, holding the piece of firewood in both hands.

The magician ignores Elijah. His eyes are on Astrid as he charges his next spell.

“Leave my sister alone!” Elijah slams the piece of firewood into the man’s groin. He buckles over and swings his arm to the side. The spell he was charging turns into a burst of electric energy that harmlessly dissipates.

Elijah drops the wood and runs back to Astrid. “Are you—” Before he can finish his sentence, Astrid jumps to her feet and pulls him towards the forest.

‘Please don’t hit. Please don’t hit,’ she begs. No electric screech splits the air, and no stunning energy pierces her body.

Astrid chances a look back to see the man straighten up. Instead of moving his hands to cast another spell, he just yells, “Du sifna tanin… edina?” after them.

They crash into the undergrowth and the magician disappears from sight.

 

Astrid and Elijah don’t stop until they’ve put a good deal of distance between them and that house.

Out of breath, Astrid leans against a tree. “Good job. I think you saved my life back there. God, that lightning is starting to hurt like hell.” She looks at her hand. The skin has turned from white to dark gray. “What the… Elijah, what does my hand look like?”

“It looks like a hand… with a big patch of really red skin. Like that burn I got when you spilled boiling water on me.”

A smile curves Astrid’s lips. “Good, I thought my skin was turning gray. Like what kind of lightning would that have been?”

“Why does that look gray to you? I’m pretty sure that’s red.”

“My new eyes can’t see red. To me, red things either look gray or a shade of brown.”

Elijah looks her up and down. “So you’re colorblind? Is it bad? Like do you notice it a lot?”

“I can see everything except red, and to be honest, it’s really hard to notice a difference. Plus, I have heat vision that lets me see in absolute darkness. So it’s actually a good thing.”

“Infrared vision. Okay, THAT is really cool! But now that you’re an elf, are you going to live for a thousand years?”

Astrid looks at and flexes her fingers. ‘I mean, I am really similar to the elves we see in most movies, aside from the fact that I have anger management and hunger problems. Maybe I also share that trait.’ “I don’t know. That would actually be pretty awesome though, and would really make up for the fact that I can’t read.”

“Wait! You can’t read anymore? Why?”

Astrid slowly slides down and sits with her back up against the tree. “I mean, I can still read, it’s just really difficult because words just look like they’re moving. All us elves have that. For some reason.”

“That’s not good, but at least you have heat vision and are big and strong.” A smile starts to form on Elijah’s face, increasing in size with every word. “But you know, it’s really cool how many different people there are now. I mean, Kilian is a giant and Mom is a merman and I even saw a bird-woman while I ran away from that dragon. She wasn’t nice at all, but she did look really pretty and just now we got chased by an owlbear and I punched a wizard in the balls with a piece of wood. I feel like the hero from a movie. Everything’s going crazy and in an awesome way.”

Astrid scowls. “You seriously enjoyed being kidnapped by a dragon, chased through the forest by… What did you call it? An owlbear? And almost getting blasted by lightning?”

“Well, for some reason he was hell-bent on blasting you and all he did to me was push me aside, but okay. I did not enjoy being carried through the air, and I’ll admit I almost wet my pants during the chase, but don’t tell me getting chased through the forest by a car-sized mutant with super claws isn’t the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you.”

Astrid shrugs.

 

They rest a bit longer, then continue walking. Without the adrenaline from the chase, both of them feel their strength fading. The burning hunger that never really goes away returns to torture Astrid.

 

Even though Elijah’s feet hurt and he feels hungry too, he doesn’t complain. He doesn’t know what, but it’s obvious that something is troubling Astrid. She’s his sister, yet something about her constant heavy breathing and angry stare unsettles him and as long as he can avoid it, he doesn’t want to say something that might tip her over the edge she’s balancing on.

 

It takes them hours to reach a highway. Abandoned cars rest in all six lanes, but there’s not a single person in sight. Astrid can’t help but peer into empty vehicles as they pass them. Some still have their doors closed, while others have been completely unloaded. One car even has its hood open and tools strewn all around it. Whoever tried to repair it salvaged surrounding cars for parts and even built a now-burned-out fire.

After a few more rests, the two finally reach something that tells them where they are and where they need to go. The signs attached to the gantry show that High Rock is supposed to be the next exit the way they came, and so they backtrack along the other lane until they can take the exit off the highway.

Soon, a large dark cloud builds ahead. The city limit sign next to the road welcomes them to High Rock, but the dark cloud moving just a few dozen paces behind it is all but inviting. Astrid doesn’t recognize this area, so the farm must be on the other side of the cloud. A few of the houses are still outside of the dark mist, and in one of them, Astrid can see light on the second floor. She considers knocking, but considering how close to the farm they must be, she’d rather not risk getting attacked again. Still, she feels like her body is eating itself, so they go to another house. After knocking and checking the windows for any sort of life, Astrid smashes in one of the windows and they search the kitchen for anything edible. Sadly, the people who left this place left nothing but a few bottles of booze and spices behind.

 

By the time they leave the house and make their way into the forest, the sun is starting to fall. Orange light begins to fill the horizon and the shadows the trees cast blend together to form a uniform mass of darkness. As the light fades, the color in Astrid’s vision begins to disappear and the red silhouettes become more pronounced. Soon they are the only thing guiding them through the darkness.

“Astrid, I can’t see. We should have asked those people for help,” Elijah says.

“And get blasted by lightning again, or maybe this time a shotgun? I can see in the dark – just stay close and don’t let go of my hand.”

“If you say so. I mean, I’m not scared of the dark, but are you sure you can see anything that might be hiding in the darkness?”

“My thermal vision highlights animals over a much greater distance than it does things like trees and the ground. If there were something dangerous nearby, I would see it.”

Astrid is actually surprised by how alive the forest around them is. Small red shapes shoot through her vision, appearing and disappearing constantly. Luckily, nothing’s bigger than a teapot.

 

The two try to be quiet, but their quick steps still crunch the gravel covering the small road they’re traveling on. Anything with ears knows they are there, and in a nearby moonlit clearing, a mixed group of hogs and escaped pigs is looking for food. The rustling of leaves catches the attention of the sow leading the pack. The old animal pauses and smells the wind blowing from that direction. She knows many types of humans and once met one that quietly stalked the forest. A hunter on the prowl. The experience ended in an ear-splitting bang that killed one of her piglets. Rather than risk another encounter, she vacates the clearing with her group before the humans come too close.

 

The sudden movement of the pigs also causes another creature to pay new attention to the nearby crunching. The black fox-sized animal slowly raises its head from within a bush. Annoyed that the prey it was stalking is leaving, it decides to investigate the disturbance. The opal organ at the center of its head glows before its magic sets in. A barely visible wave of rainbow-colored energy moves over the creature’s fur, and after a moment, the stealth field covers its entire body. Now invisible, the small animal creeps closer.

It smells the two humanoids before it sees them. The sweet scent of prey.

By the time Astrid and Elijah reach an intersection between two forest paths, the invisible creature has crept closer. The rest of its group is resting nearby. A howl would call them to its side in less than a minute. While the small one would be an easy kill, the big one might be more difficult. Still, its pack has already taken down several of these bipedal things. The oni knows they can’t see, hear or smell its presence, and follows them as they enter the shade of several spruce trees. The darkness makes the cloaking field easier and less exhausting to maintain and lets it come even closer.

The two leave a trail of smells for the creature to follow, but mixed with the distinct scent of elf and human is something else. A faint, slightly sweet stench like a mixture of exhausts and smoke, is coming from the big one. It almost disappears beneath the smell of sweat, but it’s a scent the creature can never forget. The scent that filled the air as its pack brother was killed by one of those two-legged creatures. The smell of burned nitro powder. While a meal is always welcome, the oni is not hungry enough to risk death. A howl would reveal it and their trail will be easy enough to follow with the others. While staying invisible takes quite an effort, it doesn’t want to fall prey to the two-legged creatures. it just wanted to hunt. The oni only uncloaks when the two have disappeared once more.

 

‘When is this forest going to end?!’ Even with her new constitution, the day is starting to take its toll on Astrid.

Finally, Elijah cracks. “Astrid. I can’t keep going anymore. I’ve been trying to keep up with you all day, but I just can’t anymore. Can we find somewhere to sleep? Please!”

“It can’t be far. I'll carry you.”

She kneels down in front of him and pulls him onto her back.

 

Meanwhile, something moves in the darkness. Silent shadows stalk them, waiting for the right moment to strike. The oni are not invisible, but the darkness hides them well enough. For now.

 

Astrid focuses all the strength remaining in her tired body on keeping a brisk pace. Even though her little brother isn't really that heavy, the extra weight is like a bag of bricks on her back. Suddenly, a twig snaps and she turns. Several bright red figures are moving through the darkness behind them. They are coming closer. A weird mixture of fear and cold focus envelops Astrid's brain. Her eyes search for anything that might help against whatever's after them, and like a gift from heaven, she spots something. About a dozen paces off the beaten path, the moon's light illuminates a hunting stand. The man-sized box stands on four wooden poles a good deal above the forest floor. It can only be accessed by a narrow, wooden ladder. Astrid turns towards the stand and looks back as she quickens her pace.

The red shapes have come closer, and one by one they are disappearing into thin air.

‘Why… they can’t be gone! They were too close to have gotten out of range, but that means they must be hiding from my infravision…’ Astrid remembers Mr. Rot's words. ‘They’re invisible. Even to my infravision?!’

 

The oni originally planned to let their prey become too tired to fight, but they can see that they are headed for the platform. A position that would make it a lot more difficult to attack. It's now or never. One of them decides they have waited too long. He turns invisible and charges in, quickly followed by the rest of the pack. 

 

An incredible pain pierces Astrid’s arm right above her elbow. She screams and releases the dozing Elijah. With a yelp, he falls, while Astrid turns to look at the source of the pain. The black creature seemingly materializes from nothing, its jaws locked around her arm.  She screams and flays her arm around to throw the animal off her, while Elijah slips out of her grip. Torn out of his doze, he barely manages a yelp before he hits the ground with a dull thud and rustle. Before he can even try to get back on his feet, he feels Astrid’s large, but soft hand close around his wrist.

Astrid continues shaking her arm, but doesn't let the creature stop her from dragging Elijah towards the stand.

Suddenly something yanks her brother back. Elijah screams as his hand is pulled out of Astrid’s grasp.

“Elijah!” Astrid screams. With her now-free arm, she tries to grab the oni clinging to her. The animal instantly releases its grip as it feels her hand about to close around its neck. Behind her, one of the monsters has sunk its teeth into Elijah’s shoe and is trying to pull him into the undergrowth. He screams and kicks, but his attacks are completely random and easily avoided by the monster trying to drag him away from Astrid.

Filled with rage, Astrid grapples the distracted creature. It lets out a high pitched, “Kiek,” and releases Elijah, but isn’t fast enough to dodge Astrid. Her hands close around its body: one around its tail and one around its neck. In a single movement, she stands back up to her full height.

The creature struggles, twisting its head in fruitless attempts to bite the hand strangling it. Parts of it phase out of view as a wave of multi-colored energy moves over its body, but where Astrid’s hands hold its fur, the invisibility field glitches, emitting rainbow-colored flashes of light. Astrid feels a rush of strength and joy as the terrified creature struggles against her. She lets go of its neck and swings it like a lasso over her head, before slamming it on the ground as hard as she can. The creature screeches, “Kiek!”

Astrid feels a pull on her hand as the oni tries to run away, but she just lifts it back up.

A burst of pain pierces her leg right above the ankle. With a single movement, Astrid slams the oni she’s holding onto the one biting her leg. “Oh, you like biting me huh?!” she screams as her hand shoots towards the other oni. The creature dodges just in time to avoid being grabbed and retreats into the darkness. Astrid sees the red shape marking its location disappear as the creature turns invisible.

Behind her, Elijah calls from the stand, “Astrid! I’m up. Come quick.”

The urge to continue fighting fills Astrid’s body like a drug. She wants to cause the creature in her hand pain, but her brain is too focused on the fight to come up with anything more creative than slamming it into a tree. It doesn’t satisfy her blood lust, but through the mad rage, the voice of reason tells her she has nothing to gain from this fight.

“Come back and I’ll kill you!” she screams, and throws the oni into the darkness. Astrid hears it land somewhere in the underbrush but is too busy climbing the ladder to see.

A hyena-like cackling sounds from somewhere in the darkness, while leaves rustle around them.

Astrid slams the stand’s small wooden door shut. She listens and looks for anything that might betray the presence of more oni, but all she can hear is the hoot of an owl.

“Are they gone?” Elijah whispers.

“I think so.”

As the adrenaline subsides, Astrid begins to feel the full extent of her wounds. She got bitten twice and both bites burn like fire. Even though she can’t see them in the dark, she can see the blood as a red-glowing liquid dripping out of the holes the teeth made in her skin.

“Elijah, did you get bitten?” she asked him.

“Yes,” he whimpers, “that thing bit me in the leg. It hurts, but I think my shoe got the worst of it. I’m okay. Do you think they are going to come back? Do you think they can climb?”

‘If he starts panicking, I’m going to lose it,’ Astrid thinks, so she just says, “No. They’re gone.”

She frantically tries to think of a way to staunch the bleeding. ‘I have to bandage the bites!’

“How can you know that?” Elijah asks.

 “Shut up!” Astrid yells. ‘My shirt. Yes, that could work,’ she thinks. As quickly as she can, Astrid pulls off her shirt. A shiver rushes through her. Not from the cold, but more from the disgust of sitting in a dirty cabin wearing only a bra on her upper body. Since she can only use one arm, she puts the shirt over her good foot and pulls. It takes several attempts and loud grunts, but eventually the shirt's seams can no longer withstand the pressure and tear. By the time she’s done, her father’s shirt has been turned into two rags.

“Elijah, come here. I’ll bandage your leg.”

The red shape that is Elijah moves in the darkness. After wrapping the cloth around his wound, Astrid ties the second rag around her arm so the entire bite wound is covered.

The wound on her calf looks small, at least in comparison to the one on her arm. The animal must not have been able to get its entire jaw around her leg. But even though there aren’t as many puncture wounds as on her arm, it hurts just as bad. Maybe not quite, because the bandage on her arm is like a branding iron, pressing against the holes the teeth made in her skin. It is a horrible, throbbing pain that dwarfs the one in her leg and is only slightly lessened by the fog of exhaustion dulling Astrid's mind. Even though she felt very awake just a few minutes ago, all she wants to do now is sleep. While sleep would leave them exposed, it would silence the pain and stop her from thinking about other things she doesn’t want to think about right now.

 

Elijah hears his sister take several deep breaths in the dark. She already took a bolt of lightning to the chest, and now two bites.

“Astrid… are you okay?”

Astrid lets out a deep breath, then answers, “I’m fine, Elijah. Just… a bit hurt. Sorry about that outburst, but I’m hungry, tired and half-naked and these bites hurt like hell—”

“You’re not gonna die, right?” he interrupts her, afraid of the answer.

Astrid chuckles. “Of course not. I’m not that wounded. Just… just let me sleep this off and we can find our way back tomorrow.”

“Good night, Astrid.”

“Night, Elijah.”