The sun began to set, the swirling sky outside gradually darkening from pale blue to deeper shades of violet and black. Yet Moon hadnāt been able to tell anybody about what heād found. Ever since heād entered the cave, Garethās eyes had been on him, watchful, like a predator tracking potential prey.
This made Moon even more suspicious about the bones outside. Could they have followed a cannibal to his den? The thought was horrific to contemplate, but it fit.
The repeated mentions of "when night comes" also made him suspicious. Gareth had said it multiple times, always with that same ominous undertone. And with the sun setting, Moon didnāt have much time left to warn the others or prepare for whatever was coming.
He needed to communicate with someone.
Selene was his best option; sheād shown the most awareness, the most capacity for independent thought. But with Gareth watching, any obvious attempt at private conversation would raise suspicion.
So Moon decided to use the cold as a means to get closer to her.
Despite feeling embarrassed about what he was about to say, this was life and death. There was no shame in survival.
"Hey," Moon said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear, projecting discomfort that came naturally given the circumstances. "Iām feeling really cold. Can we huddle closer together, so we can use our body warmth to warm each other up?"
Silence permeated the air for a brief moment, which made things more awkward for Moon.
John raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Elara looked at Moon with barely disguised disgust, as if he were a pervert using the cold as a flimsy excuse to get what he really wanted.
Even Derekās group glanced over, their expressions ranging from amused to judgmental.
Selene, however, wasnāt as quick to judge. She looked at Moon silently for a brief moment, her eyes searching his face. Whatever she saw there seemed to satisfy her.
She motioned for him to get closer. "Iām feeling cold too, letās do it."
Moon moved immediately, closing the distance between them until they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. The body heat was actually welcome, cutting through some of the persistent cold that had settled into his bones.
More importantly, he was now close enough to whisper without being overheard if he timed it right.
Garethās eyes were still on them, but his expression hadnāt changed. Apparently, two people huddling for warmth wasnāt suspicious enough to warrant intervention.
Moon waited, letting a few minutes pass, letting Garethās attention drift elsewhere as the man checked on the injured survivors near the fire.
Then, keeping his voice barely above a breath, Moon leaned slightly toward Selene.
"Outside, Human...bones. Everywhere." He whispered, his lips barely moving.
Seleneās body went rigid beside him, but to her credit, her expression didnāt change. She kept her eyes on the fire, her face neutral.
After a moment, she whispered back, her voice even quieter than his. "Amount?"
"Many."
Selene didnāt speak after that, her eyes remaining fixed on the fire. Thankfully, she was good at concealing her emotions.
After some time had passed, she stood up abruptly. "I need the toilet. Can you lead me to where you did it?"
Moon nodded and stood. "Sure."
Before they could move toward the entrance, Garethās voice cut through the cave. "Itās getting dark outside. You should just use the one inside the cave. Itās much more dangerous out there now."
Selene turned to face him, her expression calm and reasonable. "I know, thatās why I wanted him to come with me. We could protect each other. Besides, he said itās nearby, so it shouldnāt be much of a problem."
Gareth didnāt argue, but his silence was heavy, weighted with disapproval. "Thatās how you get yourself killed."
Derekās group seemed to agree with him. Marcus nodded vigorously. "Selene, I think you should stay, at least for tonight. Just bear with it. Nobody will look inside."
Moon cursed the idiots inwardly. They were making things difficult, speaking as if they had zero survival instincts, as if they couldnāt sense the wrongness permeating this place.
"Itās okay, donāt worry. Iāll be really quick!" Selene smiled, the expression not quite reaching her eyes, before turning her back and making her way toward the exit.
Moon followed immediately.
As they made their way out, Moon could feel Garethās eyes fixed on their backs, burning into them with unsettling intensity. The moment they stepped outside, Moon glanced back through the cave entrance and saw Gareth turn around, walking deeper into the caveās darkness.
Outside, the cold hit them like a physical blow, worse now that the sun had set. The temperature had dropped even further.
Moon immediately grabbed Seleneās hand and led her toward the area where heād found the bones, moving as quickly as the treacherous ice would allow. The wind howled around them, and visibility was barely ten meters. He needed to be fast.
Arriving at the location, Selene knelt down and took hold of one of the bones protruding from the snow. She turned it over in her hands, examining it closely despite the fading light.
"This is a humanās remains... youāre right."
"What should we do? Should we go back?" Moon kept looking around, scanning for movement, for beasts, for Gareth following them. "I feel like heās already suspicious. Ever since I left and re-entered, his eyes were glued to me."
"I noticed that." Selene stood, brushing snow from her knees. She looked back toward where theyād come from, toward the cave entrance barely visible through the blizzard.
"We canāt go back. We need to find another place for now." Her voice was steady, controlled, but Moon could hear the fear beneath it. "As for the others... weāll have to leave them there for the time being. There must be a reason he hasnāt acted yet. Either heās waiting for a specific condition to be satisfied, or he simply isnāt strong enough to take on all of us at once."
Moon nodded. "I was thinking the same. But what if these remains are simply those of deceased awakeners who died during their stay? Bodies they couldnāt bury in the frozen ground?"
Selene shook her head slowly, her expression grim. "Thatās possible, but itās very optimistic. Look at these bonesāthey have no flesh on them. Most of them are completely clean." She gestured at the scattered remains around them. "This means something wiped them clean, whether a beast or..."
She didnāt finish the sentence.
"You mean..." Moonās eyes widened as the full implication hit him.
"Yes." Seleneās voice dropped to barely above a whisper, as if afraid something might overhear. "He might be a cannibal. Either a human native to this hidden realm whoās learned to hunt awakeners and impersonate them, or heās actually one of us but has resorted to... this... to survive." She paused, her breath coming out in shaking clouds. "Or heās giving something in sacrifices to remain alive. Feeding in exchange for protection."
The wind howled louder, as if punctuating her words.
"Either way," Selene continued, her hand tightening around her staff, "we need to leave this place. Now."
Moonās hand moved instinctively to gather mana, the fire element responding to warm his freezing fingers. "Where do we go? We have no shelter. No supplies. The temperature will kill us before morning."
"I donāt know. But staying in that cave isnāt a good idea. At least out here, we have a chance."
A sound echoed from the direction of the cave.
Seleneās eyes immediately met Moonās, and in that moment, they both understood. They needed to run.