Mel followed close behind Austin as he scanned the ground after Flavio’s footsteps and moved silently toward the east. Once in a while, they changed direction, but only briefly before the footsteps pointed east again. Flavio seemed to have been running around frantically out here, and Mel feared he hadn’t been alone.
What if he had been chased by one of those beasts?
Just because she hadn’t seen any of them take off after him didn’t mean there weren’t more out here. They could run into a beast or a shadow at any moment, and it kept Mel’s heart from slowing down to a normal rhythm. She needed to stay alert and be ready for whatever awaited them.
The night was growing more quiet the further they got from Aldrion and the fighting in the city. The air above them formed thick clouds and wind ripped at their clothes. Not even a single star was peeking its way through here, and it was only by the soft glow from Austin’s sword that they could even find Flavio’s footsteps.
They stepped carefully and didn’t light any more of their weapons for fear of being discovered while trespassing through the land of the void. Gabs walked up next to Mel and seemed to seek comfort in her presence. They walked side by side for a while until Austin stood up tall, no longer looking down at the ground, searching for footprints. He watched something in the distance and Mel’s first reaction was panic.
Her eyes scanned the night around them, trying to find glowing eyes in the darkness, but there was nothing. She dragged in a deep breath and focused on where Austin was still staring and saw small little huts popping up from the ground. There were tents placed on wheels just a few feet in front of them, and Mel took a quick step up to Austin’s side.
He glanced over at her and then lowered his head toward her. “Is this the village?”
Mel nodded and caught his gaze for a second before she walked off toward the tents. The group followed behind her while Mel strolled into the middle of the village. Everything was here, only in a slightly different place. There was the firepit, built on a contraption over the ground and their houses on wheels.
She thought she recognized one of the tents a little more and walked up to the opening. Mel peeled the tent flap back and revealed three people seated inside. It was dark in there, but as her eyes adjusted, she saw it was Luthel, Hanon and Flavio.
Her forehead creased, and she stared at Flavio in surprise. Mel had thought he might not have made it into the village and she certainly wasn’t expecting him inside Luthel and Hanon’s tent. She turned to Luthel and crouched inside the tent.
“Can we stay here and wait out the night?” Mel asked.
He nodded and peeked behind her at the group of people gathered in the middle of the village. “You can come in here, but spread out the others. They won’t hurt you.”
“Thank you,” Mel said.
She dragged her body back outside and signaled for the group to come closer.
“We need to spread out into the tents. Luthel promised they won’t hurt us. So just open up a tent and go inside. We hide here until morning arrives and the shadows are gone.”
“But weren’t you attacked in the morning last time?” Gabs asked, shifting in her stance.
Mel nodded. “Yes, but at least then we can see them coming.”
“And they can see us,” Brandon said.
Mel felt her confidence waiver, and she looked down at her shoes for a moment. “I still think it’s best we wait. Oh, and Flavio was in there with Luthel and Hanon. He is hiding in the tent.”
Mel looked up and met Clara’s gaze. She clutched her wounded arm closer to her chest, but Mel couldn’t see the expression on her face.
“Okay, then I agree,” she said. “Let’s wait out the night and decide what we do tomorrow.”
Clara took Brandon’s hand, and they headed away toward the tent next door. Gabs lingered for a moment, looking at Mel and then followed behind them inside the open tent flap. The tent closed and Austin stood still next to Mel, waiting for her.
“What?” Mel asked.
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“I’m coming with you,” he said.
Mel felt a soft blush spreading up her neck, but didn’t know why. This certainly wasn’t the time to feel embarrassed about anything.
“There are lots of people in there,” Mel said.
“Then they’ll have to fit two more,” Austin said.
Mel swallowed hard, feeling the heat color her cheeks red. She was glad that darkness still shrouded everything and that she could not see the expression on Austin’s face. She turned back to the tent and opened it, crawling inside.
Austin followed and closed the tent after them. Mel sat down next to Flavio and Austin next to her. They were sitting close, their legs touching, and Mel’s breath hitched.
She tried to make her heart slow down, but it didn’t want to listen to her. Instead, she focused on Luthel and Hanon, who sat in front of the three of them and tried to forget about the burning sensation of having Austin so close to her.
“I have to ask you,” Mel said. “Why did you leave me in the village that morning the last time I met you?”
Luther shared a glance with Hanon. “It’s our way.”
Mel’s eyebrows dipped. “Did you know I was attacked by a shadow?”
“We found out too late,” Hanon said. “You were already gone. I’m glad you didn’t die and that we get to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“We wish you hadn’t come here again,” Luthel interjected. “It’s not safe in the wastes for you. I guess you’re still in search of Bahlan.”
“Yes,” Mel said.
Luthel nodded. “If I take you there, when the sun rises, will you leave this place and never come back?”
Mel looked over at Austin, but his face was shrouded in too much darkness. She couldn’t see him clearly. She closed her eyes and felt his presence. What did he think of this?
He wasn’t saying anything and Mel felt like she had to take this opportunity, even if it meant speaking for all of them.
“Yes,” she said. “If you take us there without being attacked, we promise to never come back.”
“We leave at sunrise,” Luthel said.
Mel relaxed, feeling her shoulders slowly descending toward the ground. She had come to an agreement with Luthel and even if she didn’t trust the people of the wastes after last time; she felt like they didn’t mean to do her any harm. They had saved Flavio too and helped him. Mel could feel that there was good in both Luthel and Hanon and she trusted they really didn’t want anything bad to happen to anyone.
Flavio sat shaking next to Mel, and it was only when his knee bumped into hers that she noticed it. He was watching his own hands. His head was bowed and his posture frightened.
Austin leaned in over Mel and Mel dragged in a sharp inhale.
“What happened out there?” Austin asked, still leaning over Mel to whisper to Flavio.
Mel could feel his body pressed against her side, and she didn’t know what to do. A part of her wanted to lean in toward him, to press her body back against his. But it felt wildly inappropriate to do so in here with so many people in the tent. Another part of her wanted to run away, escape through the tent flap, and never look back. Afraid of what this could mean and of letting herself feel something for someone else.
She couldn’t do any of these things though, so Mel just sat there, frozen into the ground, staring at Luthel in front of her and trying to detach herself from Austin’s presence.
“I…” Flavio said, still looking down at his lap. “There were too many.”
He shook his head, and Austin kept watching him.
“You can’t leave us like that again,” Austin said. “We went after you and followed your footsteps just to find you. And Clara got hurt. Maybe she wouldn’t have if you had stayed and helped us.”
Flavio shook his head again, but said nothing.
Mel could feel Austin’s body tensing, and she knew before he spoke that he was angry now. “Are you even listening to me? We could have died out there. You could have died out here. You can’t just leave the group when things get hard. We gotta stick together…”
Mel interjected, putting her hand on Austin’s chest and pressing him back into his seat. His head turned to her, but he let her push him back.
“Not now,” Mel said. “It’s not worth getting riled up about. What happened happened, and I’m sure Flavio won’t do it again.”
“How can you say that?” Austin asked. “After everything he’s done to you. He’s always been shitty toward you, Melissa, and now he just left us to die out here.”
“Because he’s scared,” Mel said, glancing back at Flavio. “We need to make sure everyone gets out of here, even Flavio. We need to get to Bahlan, too. It’s not something we can do on our own. We need everyone to stay together.”
Austin seemed to relax a little from what Mel said. “Okay, I get it. But I’m watching him. He can’t run away again.”
“I know,” Mel said. “I think he knows that, too.”
Flavio said nothing. He just kept staring down at his hands and Mel felt his knee bumping into hers once in a while from his shaking. She didn’t know what to do about it, but thought that maybe if they gave him time, he could bounce back until tomorrow. At least she hoped so.
Her hand was still pressing lightly against Austin’s chest and she felt his heart beating in her palm. His chest rose and fell in an even pace and Mel suddenly felt very aware that she was touching him. She pulled back her hand from him in a quick gesture and placed her palm on her thigh, pressing the heat of it against her pant leg.
She dragged in a deep breath and felt like this was going to be a long night. Mel didn’t know how much she would be able to rest before sunrise, with Luthel and Hanon staring at her and Flavio shaking beside her. But worst of all, Austin’s leg pressed against hers and his body was so close she could easily have touched him without anyone thinking twice about it.