February 29

Chapter 15

I woke after what felt like a month's worth of sleeping. My mind was still boggled, my head still sending dull jabs of pain throughout me. But it was almost gone. It was barely there. Insignificant. I yawned loudly and slowly opened my eyes, expecting the brightness of the sun to hit my retinas all at once. But I remembered that the sun was still hiding behind the giant dot. The infinite dot.

My stomach growled, and I realized how hungry I was. It must have been at least a day since I'd last eaten. Thinking of the ravioli that Dean had packed, I spotted a backpack with one can next to it, half open. I tried to stand up and get to it, eat some of the delicious food loaded in the can.

But I realized that my wrists are tied down to the trunk.

So were my feet.

My neck, thought loosely tied, was restrained too.

Now I was confused. Why was I tied up? Who tied me up? Had we been robbed? I glanced around, my gaze sweeping the place under the tree. Stacey and Dean were nowhere in sight. I began to panic. They were either taken, or kidnapped or killed or something. All that mattered was that they weren't in this area. They were gone. My breathing quickened, my heartbeat racing. A bead of sweat fell down my forehead.

"Dean!" I called, trying to wrestle my way out of the rope. "Stacey!"

I registered how stupid that was. Now if we really were being robbed by bandits, they'd know that I was still alive. I heard footsteps coming from behind the trunk and tried to turn the best I could to get a good look.

I sighed in relief. It was Stacey, her expression melting first into one of relief, then seriousness.

"You're okay," she said, smiling warmly. It only lasted a second, that smile, before turning angry and worried. "Gosh, Ethan. You've been out for two days." She turned behind her and yelled "He's awake!" She glanced back at me and cautiously stepped in front of me, her eyes never leaving me.

"What happened?" I asked, curious on why I was tied to a tree. "What's going on now?"

"Oh nothing," Stacey said nonchalantly. "We just wanted to wait for you to wake up before moving out." She shifted her gaze. "We're going to the hospital. I just want to know that. We're going to the hospital."

"Great," I said, smiling. "Finally."

"Are you okay now? You were screaming like crazy last time. I thought you were, you know, dying."

"I'm fine. I'm getting more and more headache every day. I don't know what they're from, though." I looked down in thought. "I don't have any idea where they come from." I glanced at Stacy and smiled, but then noticed something.

Her eyes were guarded. Her lips, although smiling as well, were forced into a thin tight line. The smile was not genuine. Her eyebrows were scrunched into a concerned, anxious lines. I let my smile wither and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," she said, way too quickly. "Nothing. What do you think I'd be hiding from you?"

"I don't know. Something? Like a ulterior motive."

She scoffed. "Ulterior motive? Like what? Turning into one of the dogs? If I had an ulterior motive, it would include me finding my father. But you guys already know about that."

"That's not it," I pressed. "Why are you...looking at me like that? Like I could strangle you or something? I mean, that choke thing was an accident, and we don't even know if that was a dog or not."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, secrets are only fun when everyone knows," I heard Dean say. I guessed he'd heard us whispering. He stepped from behind the trunk.