Hilda and the Werepup

Chapter 14 - The Cave and the Forest

Hilda watched the campfire slowly die down before it turned pitch black. She shivered a bit as she only had the coat Johanna had used as a bed and a blanket. She looked around and saw Callum asleep not far next to her. She sat up and cautiously shifted herself until she was close. Hilda looked at him as he slept. She noticed he wasn't murmuring anymore, which made her somewhat happy, hoping it was a sign he was recovering. The wind flew in around the cave, making Hilda shiver, and the coat at brushed Callum at the top of the head. Callum opened his eyes a bit and blinked. He looked up to see Hilda looking back down at him.

"Callum!" she gasped, shocked yet happy. Callum grunted as he forced himself to sit up.

"Woah, be careful!" Hilda reached out to his stomach, but then realising the jacket was open and immediately went red and pulled her hand back. "I guess the miracle really did happen! I was praying."

"Oh... heh, thanks..." Callum chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "A-are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"Wait... where are we?" Callum asked as he listened to his voice echo around the cave.

"Oh! Don't worry, we're safe. For now..."

Hilda explained everything that had happened to him, starting from when the van exploded and everyone got separated. 

"Y-you really carried me all the way here, huh..." Callum began after a while, a small smile appeared on his face as he blushed. His blushing seemed to have been passed on to Hilda as she looked down.

"W-well, I can't just drag you in the snow like that, when you're in that state!" she muttered.

"No no, thank you for that." Callum smiled, then let out a small yawn. "I'm gonna sleep, good night."

"Good night." Hilda yawned as she also dozed off. 

As dawn broke out, the sun rays entered the cave, revealing its true colours. The birds chirped harmoniously. The four woke up to a splendid view, of triangular-shaped, snow-covered trees, foxes, and squirrels, scarring around, birds gliding to and from their nests. 

"Wow... the is really wonderful," Johanna got up and ambled over next to Percy, who was already at the mouth of the cave. "The air is really fresh too!" 

Callum got up and joined them, after placing his jacket over Hilda's. Hilda snuggled when she felt the extra warmth get laid over her as a smile painted across her face. Callum ambled up to Percy and Johanna, who turned. 

"I'm glad your awake, kiddo," Percy smiled as Callum went and gave him a hug.

"Wow, it really was a miracle," Johanna gaped as she saw Callum standing, "when did u wake?"

"You guys were asleep." Callum chuckled.

It wasn't before Hilda also woke up, and the four went down to the lake. 

The view was breathtaking as the lake shimmered in the morning light, clear as the sky, so clear that you could see your own reflection, but that was because the water had turned to ice. There were rocks that stuck out from the frozen lake. Callum shivered a bit from the cold. His jacket didn't have a zip or buttons as it was very old, in fact it was Callum's first jacket he had ever gotten. 

"Don't worry, I'll wash your shirt as fast as I can," Johanna reassured before heading down to the bank. Percy went along with her and handed her some gloves, before punching a hole in the lake. The colour was dark and rarely anything could be seen. It was like obsidian down there. 

"You kids can go exploring, just stay away from the road!" Percy called out to them. Callum nodded before feeling a pull from his arm.

"Come on, Callum!" Hilda laughed as she pulled him between trees and through snow. They eventually stopped running and started playing with the snow; like having snowball fights, building a family of snowmen, and buildings. Soon, they laid down next to each other and started creating snow angels.