Chapter IX

Ow, my head hurts. I woke up with a sharp, stabbing pain above my right eye. I touched the spot and felt the sting of an injury. As I opened my eyes, I realized I was in a cave, partially blocked by a wall of earth that let in some light. Trying to sit up, I touched something warm beside me and realized it was a body.

It was Zane, lying next to me, covered in blood and burning with fever. He was shirtless, and he had used part of his shirt to bandage my head. The rest of his shirt was in tatters. I started trembling uncontrollably, which made me momentarily forget the pain in my head. I hadn't even noticed it was raining outside, with water dripping into the cave.

I pulled myself together and grabbed one of the bowls from our bag, which had held our meal earlier. I filled it with water from the cave and used a piece of Zane's torn shirt to clean his wounds, wiping away the blood and trying to prevent infection. As I did this, I felt tears welling up, but I held them back because crying would only make my head hurt more. Panic threatened to overtake me, something I had never experienced before. But I pushed it down, reminding myself that Zane had fought bravely.

I remembered the bear-like creature he had fought. Where was the Tetrabear? I didn't see it in the cave. Maybe Zane had managed to get us to safety and erected this wall of earth to protect us. The thought that he might have defeated such a monster was incredible.

As I continued to tend to his wounds, his fever seemed to rise even more. He was burning up. I checked his heartbeat—still strong—and he was breathing, but it looked like he had passed out from the pain and fever. When I moved him to a sitting position to clean his back, the sight froze my blood. A massive claw mark ran across his back, the wound from when he tried to save me. Tears I had tried to hold back streamed down my face. It felt like it was my fault he was hurt so badly. I was a burden to him. I sobbed, hugging him despite his feverish heat, which was the only warmth in the cold, damp cave.

I used the cloth to dab at his wounds, and each time I touched him, he flinched, making my heart ache. After cleaning his wounds, I laid him down on an animal skin we had in our bag. I crushed some of the medicinal herbs we had gathered and mixed them with water dripping from the cave. Trying to get him to drink it was futile; he couldn't swallow. I had to transfer it mouth-to-mouth, praying he wouldn't remember and be disgusted by what I did. After treating his wounds and applying the herbal mixture to the cotton-like plant material, I placed it on his injuries and tied them with the remaining scraps of fabric.

Once I was done with Zane, I finally tended to my own head wound. Exhausted, I sat against the cave wall and gently placed Zane's head on my lap. I couldn't help but worry. What were we going to do? Would the villagers come looking for us when they realized we were missing? What if the Tetrabear wasn't dead? Were the girls imagining the worst? I was cold, but Zane's feverish body provided some warmth.

As I sat there, I couldn't stop thinking about how brave Zane had been, fighting that creature to protect me. I hoped with all my heart that he would recover soon. The cave was silent except for the soft patter of rain and the occasional groan from Zane. Holding him close, I tried to stay calm, knowing that as long as we were together, there was hope.

I looked down at Zane's face, serene despite the pain he must have been in. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him. My mind raced with the possibilities of what might come next. The rain outside grew heavier, and the sound of it was oddly comforting. I stroked Zane's hair gently, whispering to him that everything would be okay, though I wasn't sure if I was trying to reassure him or myself.

The temperature in the cave dropped further, and I could feel the chill seeping into my bones. I adjusted Zane's position, trying to keep him as warm as possible. Despite the cold, having Zane's feverish body close helped stave off the worst of it. My own head throbbed, but the pain was secondary to my concern for Zane.

I kept a watchful eye on the cave entrance, hoping for a sign of rescue. The thought of the villagers coming to find us was my beacon of hope. Surely, they would notice our absence and come looking. I tried to push away the fear of the Tetrabear still being out there, but it lingered in the back of my mind.

Finally, exhaustion took over. My eyelids grew heavy, and despite the circumstances, I found myself drifting off to sleep with Zane's head resting on my lap. I hoped that when we woke, we'd find ourselves safe and that help would be on the way. Until then, all I could do was hold on to Zane and pray for his recovery.