I was sound asleep until I heard something in the forest. The sound came from a large animal not a bear but not a deer. What if it's a human? I get up quickly.

I see a shadow walk near the shack. I scream. Caden and Jacob wake up. Jacob must have seen the figure too since he grabs his dagger and runs towards it. I get up too and bring a knife as well. Jacob has it pinned to the ground and the dagger to its chest. The moonlight gives barely enough light to see the figure's face. It's an older man and I look down on his arm. Eight lives. I shudder. How is this possible? I don't think Jacob has noticed since he's already stabbed him. Seven lives is still an atrocious amount. The man blacks out then comes back, shuffles, and runs off. What was he doing here? Jacob stands there shocked.

“I just realized he had eight lives,” Jacob mutters and drops his knife on the ground. I hold his hand. He's shaking.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

…

Earlene wakes up like nothing happened last night. Wait, did she sleep through the whole thing?

Jacob and I are still shaken from last night. I'm surprised how Earlene can wake up and attend to her herbs and eat until her stomach is full. I didn't even take a bite. I need to clear my mind. Like how does a person walk on this land with seven lives?! I'm glad Jacob took one of his.

“I'm going to find wood,” I say. Jacob stands up.

“I’ll come with you,” he says quickly. Earlene smiles.

We both walk into the forest. We don't talk for a while. The silence is nice but I still break it.

“I'm glad you got the life,” I say looking at my arm still at four lives.

“Yeah, I am too. I was kind of stressed about only having two, but I'm grateful there are probably people out there with one life,” he looks at his arm.

“Don't worry if you ever need a life just ask me,” I say genuinely.

“Mallory, you know I could never kill you.”

“Really?”

“I promise.”

“Okay, I promise as well. To never kill you.”