I awkwardly walk around the cavern, looking for something to do. Surprisingly for not sleeping, I feel completely awake, energized. I wish I could go for a run, ideally in the Forsyth. My body craves a release. I settle for walking circles around the cavern.

As I loop around for the forty-first time, my eyes glazed over, a loud moan calls me from my stupor. Layla, Noah, the boy who shocked me, and the girl with pierced ears are crouched over a figure by the iron pot. I move closer. Chief is on the ground, his limbs strewn limply around him. All I can see are the whites of his eyes.

“Is he okay?” I ask.

They ignore me. Layla opens up Chief’s shirt, tearing the buttons. They bounce across the floor. Chief’s chest is incredibly pale, almost translucent. Noah stretches out his hands over Chief’s chest.

“Wait,” Layla says. “He’s just unconscious. He doesn’t need that.” Noah lowers his hands, balling them into fists. “Chief?” Layla calls, shaking his shoulders lightly.

Chief’s eyes close and then reopen. I can see his iris now. He moans loudly. “Nani?” He calls.

“I’m here,” the girl with pierced ears says. She kisses his forehead, his cheeks and then his mouth. “I’m right here.”

The emotion is Nani’s voice is not something I’m used to hearing. The sound of it makes me very aware of my breathing. I feel a sensation, an ache, curl in my chest. I lower my gaze from this intimate moment and something catches my eye on Chief’s chest. The only bit of color on otherwise ghostly pale skin. A bright, almost glowing blue vein snakes up from Chief’s back and curls up his chest. It disappears under his arm. I’ve only seen a vein like that twice before. “What is that?” I ask, not realizing I’d spoken out loud until Layla responds.

“He’s going to be just fine.” With quick fingers she closes Chief’s shirt, overlapping the sides in lieu of buttons. Clearly she knows exactly what I’m asking about.

“That vein. Is he….is he okay?”

“He’s sick,” Layla says. “Got a bad case of the Io fever. You have that in the Forsyth?”

“Of course.” It’s incredibly dangerous. Your skin erupts in itchy hives. The fever that comes with it is what kills you. Neither of which Chief seems to have. “Can I talk to you?” I ask Layla, gesturing towards the tunnel. My patience for answers has just diminished considerably.

“Not now, forest boy.” She takes a step towards me and places her palm flat against my chest. “You should rest.” Her voice is gentle. She stretches her fingers out, pulling the fabric of my shirt tight. It’s incredibly distracting.

“I’m not tired,” I manage to say. Her fingers close and open again.

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“Then go for a walk.” She pushes me lightly with that one hand. I take two steps back. “We’ll talk later.” She turns back to Chief, kneeling down beside him.

My desire to get out of here, to run and not stop, reaches a critical mass. Pacing around in circles isn’t going to cut it. I sprint to the back entrance. These tunnels felt small before. Now they are claustrophobic. The sound of my footsteps fills the passageways. I know I could easily get lost. In fact, I think I already am. I don’t care. Losing myself sounds pretty good right now. I don’t stop running until I’m winded. I put my hands on my knees, gasping for breath. Could it be possible? Could Chief have the same disease that those animals did? Perhaps that’s one of the things Layla is keeping from me. All those strange appearances? Maybe they all have some sort of a strange sickness. I just don’t understand how this has anything to do with Evan. A soft breeze compels me forward. Up ahead I can smell something salty and damp. A dull roar grows louder as I walk forward. The sounds and smells momentarily push my worries away. At the end of the tunnel is a huge cavern almost entirely filled with a black body of water. The walls are high and I can barely see the ceiling. As I step forward I am splashed with salty water. A spitting stream pours down from rocky hole above me. This must be ocean water, not sewage. It smells clean, salty and, amazingly, nothing like human waste. I watch the waterfall crash down into the lake. There is something wonderfully powerful about it. That’s one of the thing I miss the most about the Forsyth. It made me feel small.

Past the semicircle of frothy white water, the lake is very calm. I can hear a soft lapping sound of waves, but I can’t see them. There is something out there though. Something creating small waves, cutting through the water. When it gets closer, I crouch down, not wanting to be seen. A creature with a mess of brown curls gliding through the water. A face breaks through the surface. Araya. I can’t help but smile. This is the second time I’d mistaken her for some sort of animal.

She swims towards the rocky bank of the water. She’s not coming right towards me, the bank is long. I don’t think she knows I am here. I watch as she glides through the dark opaque water, her brown curls streaming behind her. Near me on the rocky shore I see a pile of tan fur. That must be Araya’s cloak. She is moving quickly through the water and towards the bank. She disappears under the dark water and reemerges with each stroke. In the gray light, her skin glows silver. So much silver. I can feel my cheeks start to burn as I realize she’s not wearing any clothes.

I stand up quickly. She needs to know I’m here. She spots me instantly. She is close enough to the bank that I can see her eyes on me. As soon as I know she’s seen me, I turn around. Will she think I was spying on her? Should I leave or stay and explain that I came here accidentally?

Before I can make a decision, I hear her get out of the water, waves crashing on the shore. My cheeks are burning. I hear the rustle of fabric.

“Turn around.” Araya’s voice is low and rough. Her words slur together slightly, a humming undercuts each phrase.

I turn around. Araya is staring at me ferociously. Her wet hair is strewn over her fur cloak, curls stuck to her forehead. She is silent. And so I start to babel. “I’m Javin. I’m the new kid that came in yesterday. I don’t think you were there, but then I saw you later. My brother and I were kidnapped on a train. I think that happened to you too. Collin told me that. Was it okay that he told me? Have you been here long? Actually I know the answer to that already.” Somehow I stop myself and stare at Araya. Why hasn’t she said anything?

A small smile, almost imperceptible, curls Araya’s lips. “You talk too much.”

I nod vigorously. “Yeah, I do.”

The smile fades. “This is my place. Don’t come here again.” And then she leaves, pulling her cloak closer to her body and running to the tunnel.

I wait several minutes before following her. When I do I trace her wet footsteps for as long as I can, stepping over them with my boots.