11

11.

Nobody ever taught me how to swim. I never left my village, never saw a large body of water, never experienced the sensation of kicking for the earth and not finding it. So, perched in the scrub as I stare out at the large expanse of black water, I feel a pit deep in my stomach. I am way out of my depth.

The earth transitions to rocks before us, the tide pulsing against it like a heartbeat. Beside me, I feel the heat of Eric's body.

"This it it?" I ask.

"The ocean," he confirms.

The moon ripples on the water like a drop of white paint. It doesn't smell like pine anymore, but salt. But beyond the coin of the moon, a thick fog clothes the sky. I can't see anything.

"Anything?" I ask.

He pauses, then shakes his head. "They could be anywhere."

I don't know what I expected to see when we got to the coast—some sort of sign, any indication people have passed through here, anything that alluded to the fact that we were heading the right way. But there's nothing. I leave Eric perched in the bushes and make my way back to our makeshift camp. Malik foraged together a shelter from broken branches and fallen leaves to create a shelter for Cassia, who leans against the rock face, hand clutching her stomach. She looks awful, a sheen of sweat across her pale skin. She woke up an hour ago and even though she insisted on walking, Eric carried her the whole way.

"See anything?" she asks. The hope in her eyes evaporates when I shake my head.

Across from her, Anastasia sits against a tree, knees pulled to her chest. I can feel her eyes on me but I can't look at her. It's so hard to remain composed, to keep myself from grabbing her shoulders and demanding her to tell us where Elias is. But I can't lose it. Not like Eric did. Not now.

"I'm going for a walk," I say.

"No." Eric doesn't look at me when he returns, just goes straight to Cassia. "Too dangerous."

"Excuse me?"

His eyes meet mine, nonchalant. "I said no."

"I won't go far. I just want to have a look around the beach to see if there's anything."

"You're not going anywhere."

Cassia shifts on the ground. "Eric—"

"The last thing we need is another incident," he says.

His comment stings, but I clench my jaw. I know Cassia said he was worried about me, but I've been working hard in the time that he's been gone, and his lack of faith in my abilities hurts more than anything.

"I'll go with her," Malik interjects before I can say anything.

"The hollower is your responsibility," Eric snaps.

"Fine, then she can come, too," I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, mostly because I'm not entirely confident that Eric wouldn't torture her if both Malik and I left. Eric stares at me, a challenge brewing in his eyes. But finally, he sighs and looks back to Cassia. A wave of triumph washes over me and I look to Malik, nodding in thanks, before snatching a dagger and sliding it at my ankle.

The foliage and fauna are all new to me, the pine trees replaced by shorter, less densely packed forest. Tallgrass surrounds us, and the temperature has spiked from the shifter village. I peel my sweater off and tie it around my waist as we reach the beach. Malik walks stealthily ahead, posture on high alert.

"This is where they found you?" I ask Anastasia.

Malik answers when she doesn't. "A couple miles inland, but they tracked her tracks all the way to this beach. They ended at the waters edge." He kneels to the ground and picks up a stone, throws it across the beach. It stops at the bottom of a cluster of boulders. "I'm going to climb up on that rock, see if I can get a better vantage point. You okay down here?"

I nod, grip tight on the rope, and he heads off. I peer around again, as if I'll be able to see something we missed. The coast dips out and then in, so I can't see anything past the corner, and it's impossible to see anything beyond the thick fog that hovers over the ocean.

"Damn it," I mutter.

"They talk about you, you know."

I spin to face Anastasia. Her expression is guarded, those wide eyes on me. There's something about her that sets me on edge, aside from the fact that she's a hollower—it's the way she watches me, eyes tracing every movement. "The hollowers?"

She nods. "You grew up amongst them. They believed you were a wisper for so long. There's a huge bounty for you death, did you know?"

A shudder crawls down my spine. "Why do they care about me? They know I'm not a wisper."

"I don't know. But Cynthia won't stop until she has you."

My stomach lurches. I try hard not to think about her, but she weasels her way into my nightmares sometimes, and Darius follows, his body limp and lifeless. "You know Cynthia?"

A cool sea breeze brushes her hair across her face. "All hollowers know about her."

"What do you mean?"

"She controls the serum—who gets it, how many get it, why they get it." Her eyes meet mine. "She's someone of great power in our community."

"And why did you get it?"

She swallows but looks away. I shudder. All this talk of the serum unnerves me, because I know what they have to do to Elias and others to get it. I continue along the beach, pulling Anastasia behind me towards the boulders Malik started to climb. My eyes remain on the ocean. I wonder what it'd be like to swim out there, to feel the ocean against my skin and taste the salty water. I sigh, looking back to the forest, as if a flashing sign will pop up and point in the direction of Elias.

Anastasia's gaze makes my skin crawl, but I shake it off, pulling her back towards the trees. "What're you doing?" she asks.

"Looking for anything." Maybe Eric was right. Maybe this was a bad idea. We have nowhere to go from here.

"In the forest?" she asks.

I squeeze my eyes shut and wish I was alone. Did we drag Cassia all the way here for nothing? Are we wasting valuable time we could've spent searching somewhere else? It feels so hopeless. In my desperation to find Elias, I was blinded. Eric could see more clearly. It seemed crazy that he'd been hesitant at first, but now I understand. After a journey that made my body ache and left Cassia with lasting scars, we've hit a dead end. That's been Eric's life for the past few months. With each futile attempt, a burning hope dwindles in the relentless wind of failure. I want to scream in frustration.

"Milena." Anastasia's voice is closer. "You're looking in all the wrong places."

I look at her. She stands close, so close that if she wanted, she could reach to my ankle and take my dagger. She doesn't, and somehow, that gives more weight to her words. "You said they were on the water, but you lied. We're at the coast and there's nothing."

She shakes her head, turning so she's angled slightly to the water. I can see the marks around her neck, finger shaped bruises and purple veins. It seems immortality does nothing for healing non-fatal wounds.

"I said on the water." She gazes to the ocean. "Not on the coast."

I frown. "I don't—"

Pebbles crumble above us and Malik skids down the boulder, jogging toward us with purpose. "There's something beyond the sea fog," he says, slightly breathless. "I can't quite see what it is but it looks like—"

"An island," I breathe. On the water. Of course. I turn back to Anastasia. "Why are you helping us?"

"I already had the serum. I don't care if you get your wisper back."

I don't believe her. "Then why not help before?"

"You helped me." Her jaw clenches, eyes flickering with a memory—something dark and twisted. "And you and I, we're not so different."

I don't know if I believe her cryptic reasoning, but it doesn't matter why. I meet Malik's gaze. "We have to tell the others."

He nods, and together, we dash back through the forest.

~

release day for Creatures of the Night is slowly creeping closer and I'm so excited/nervous! I'm sure every author has that little seed of fear convincing them they're going to be a failure (oops). there are days where it's so hard to write because of those evil little thoughts. so I'm really grateful for each and every one of you who leave lovely comments and help keep me back on track!

if you guys are on Goodreads, you can find Creatures of the Night (just type the title in the search bar) and add it to your 'to-read' lists if you intend to read the published version! this is really helpful for me as an author pre-publication and really boosts my visibility on goodreads. feel free to give the book an honest review & rating! :)

DISCUSSION:

1. Do you think Eric is being too overbearing?

2. Why do you think Anastasia decided to help Milena?

3. What do you think might happen next?