We Are Monsters 🌕 Book 1 || gxg

Limbo

Cain had been hard at work all morning cleaning up the aftermath of the night before. The first aid bag had been reorganized—with the addition of the new supplies they had brought back—and was back in the pantry beside the potatoes. Sam hadn't been much help, but no one seemed to mind. For the most part, Ada kept her company while the other two made themselves busy. No one seemed to want to dwell on the elephant. Ada and Sam discussed Dungeons & Dragons—Ada had never played, her siblings thought it was stupid. Sam was telling her about her gnome named Aripine (among six other names—she was still collecting) and how her character sheet worked, and how the gameplay loosely worked. She seemed interested, and Sam invited her to watch their first session to really get a feel for it.

Afternoon crept in, and with it came a thin mist in place of the steady rainfall that had started sometime before dawn. A gentle fog roiled across the glistening grass. The sliding door was open to carry the damp breeze inside and flush out the thick bleach in the air. They each had a steaming mug before them, and a plate of scones was untouched in the centre of the scrubbed dining table. The mist obscured the treetops beyond the vast windows. The fresh, dewy scent on the breeze was one of Sam's favourite things about spring.

Sam was endlessly grateful for her cozy clothes and tucked her hands further into the too-long sleeves. The night hadn't been long enough, and even having been left to sleep in, she was exhausted. She was sure if she had asked they would have let her sleep longer, but they had questions only she could answer. Sam had a few questions of her own to ask. Not to mention, it was hard to sleep into the afternoon when everyone was working.

Sam cleared her throat lightly, trying to remember the question as Ada gave her knee a soft squeeze. "Right, it was about four hours after you left, he found me in the clearing."

"What form was he in?" Aidan asked, voice hushed. He had been quiet all morning.

"This one, he came to talk."

Aidan frowned. "Was he on anything?"

Sam shrugged. "He said he wasn't, but I can't say for sure. He seemed sober, I think." She paused for a drink. Ada's warm palm cupped just above her right knee kept her grounded. "He wasn't hostile at first, but things got out of hand really quickly."

Cain finally put words to his troubled expression. "Did he say why he came here? I can't imagine what was going through his head taking such a risk."

"He was trying to convince me to leave him alone; you, too. We only touched on it for a second, so I'm not sure, but I got the impression he was tired of running." She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "He mentioned starting over at one point. He seemed to think he had to kill me for that to happen, though. It was a very strange conversation."

"I wonder who he was intending on seeing," said Cain after a time. They all turned to him, varying states of curiosity on their faces. "Well, he can't have known we were going away yesterday. If you think about it, he was taking a pretty big risk. He would have had to wait a while to get one of us alone or risk being overpowered and caught anyway; unless that itself was his plan. It's not like he could have stuck around waiting for long—we would have caught his scent as soon as we went outside."

"I hadn't thought of that," admitted Aidan, a troubled furrow forming on his brow. "What was he thinking?"

Sam shrugged, but then realized she had an answer. "Honestly, I don't think he was, not in great detail. Whatever is going on between him and his wolf, it's bad."

"You mentioned things got out of hand; what happened?" Aidan probed.

Sam finished her sip and went on. "I suggested we take him in,"—Aidan winced preemptively—"and yeah, he didn't take it well. He attacked me, we fought for a little bit, and I ran the first chance I got. The ground got higher and I couldn't see the cliff until it was behind me. I had my last memory as I fell. Well, actually, she spoke to me, and then the memory began. When I woke up we had already hit the ground. I stayed with him until he died—or at least I thought he did. Then I started to walk back and, well, you know the rest."