Chapter 40: The Warning of Paradise
The gentle blowing of the wind against her face, woke Alyssa up. She opened her eyes feeling very groggy, and as she sat up spasms of pain shot through her body. Looking around she noticed several of the same kind of trees as before, dried and twisted, and scattered around the perimeter of the grove were piles of rocks and boulders. As she stood up, it seemed like both had formed a circular barrier of some kind, and right now she and Derek were on the border of it.
“Derek,” Alyssa said, and then looked down and noticed he was still sleeping, but when she bent down for a closer look his body was soaked with perspiration, and he was feverish to the touch. “Can you hear me?” She asked as she gently shook his body, but she only got a few weak, muffled groans from him.