The Hidden | ✅

Chapter Twenty

"We'll build camp here." Alex said, rubbing his forearms for a bit of warmth. It was unnaturally frigid and cold here in the woods, but I blamed it on the excess wind blowing through the trees. I tossed down the supply backpack and collapsed with a heavy sigh. My legs were cold and aching.

Alex pressed his lips into a thin line as he observed the little place. He shook his head with a sigh. "First things first, we need some warmth." He pointed at Victor."Come on, Vic let's go gather some firewood."

Victor cast us a small smile before catching up with Alex, who'd already walked off. Evanora sat down beside me with a sigh of her own. "This has been one hell of a day." She muttered.

"Tell me about it." I scoffed.

"I don't know," Evanora said, "Everyone just seems so...mentally distant, you know?" She chuckled softly, "I mean, we did just see our only home go up in flames, but there's something else." She turned to me. "Can you see it, too?"

I hadn't seen it originally, but now that Evanora has pointed it out, I could. I really could. Alex was less flirty and more headstrong, taking control of our situation and is in some way, becoming our unofficial leader. Victor hadn't laughed ever since we left the burning house behind us. He hadn't even cracked one joke or pun. Evanora, who was usually just a ball of sunshine, hadn't said anything cute or hopeful. And I expected her of all people to make the situation a bit lighter. But she did not.

And then there was me. I was so happy to be finally feeling normal, to be getting back into the swing of things and getting over my previous mourning. But it seemed like it was just a never-ending cycle of heartbreak for me.

I nodded. "Yeah...I see it too..."

The boys came back with arms full of thick sticks and grass a few moments later. We all helped set it up so that we could get the maximum heat from the small fire that Alex had created. Then I passed around the Oreo container for everyone to eat. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to get any water. But it was enough to satisfy us at the moment

"I'll take first watch." Alex said out of the blue, standing up and stalking off.

"Wait, I don't think that anyone wants to stay up after what happened today, Alex." Evanora said."We can all just sleep tonight. Someone can take first watch tomorrow night."

Alex sighed. "Evie, this place is probably scattered with Dorian's workers. If we all slept tonight, we'd all be dead by morning. And I don't want that." He paused, looking down at his feet. "Nobody wants that." Without another word, he walked off into the woods and leaned on a tree, staring out into the darkness.

It was silent among the three of us before Victor sighed and laid down, attempting to make himself comfortable on the crunchy leaves beneath him. "Well," He began, "I'm certainly not going to lose any winks because of Alex's wayward attitude."

I looked at Evanora curiously before she spoke up. "So...You're just going to let him brood out there?"

Victor sat upwards at looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Evie, you know how stubborn Alex is. Once he has his mind set on something, he's not going to back down. And even if there are some creepy baddies lurking around, Alex is the most skilled fighter out of all of us. I'm sure he can hold his own long enough to warn us."

Evanora blinked and thought about it for a moment before she sighed and laid down beside him. I pulled my hood over my head to avoid getting leaves, twigs, and dirt in my hair and curled up by the fire.

"To be honest, I don't feel very comfortable leaving him to fend for himself, even if he is a good fighter." I said, looking up at the starry sky as I spoke.

I heard Victor chuckle and murmur, "That's the girlfriend worry kicking in." I opened my mouth to object before he cut me off and said, "Just sleep lightly."

"I don't think that's something that you can turn on and off, V." Evanora said.

"Sure it is! I saw an ad on T.V. It's kind of like lucid dreaming, but...You're not dreaming." Victor smirked.

Evanora and I stared at him with raised eyebrows before he shook his head. "Just trust me, okay. All you have to do is lay down, focus on the surrounding sounds and let your mind drift away."

"That sounds exactly like normal sleeping." I said bluntly.

"But its not!" Victor defended. "It works I promise!"

I sighed with a smile on my face, but nonetheless, laid down and closed my eyes, doing exactly as Victor had instructed. I listened to the wind flowing through the trees. I listened to the owls hooting in the branches and the bugs chirping in the grass.

And before I knew it, I had calmly drifted off into the dark oblivion of rest.