Bone Diggers - Chapter Twenty Two

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When she was down to her undergarments, he stripped off his own tunic just to give her something as he went to gather the blankets. Fear bit at his heels while he was away. Telling him he'd never move fast enough to save her. Once out of wet clothes, piled with blankets, and tucked safely close to the fire, the only remaining thing Daniel could do is cuddle up next to her to share his body heat.

He closed his eyes and pleaded silently. Instead of falling asleep, he stayed alert to the world. Listening for any snap of a twig, every rustling leaf, without a twitch, like a watchdog carved from stone. He'd lend her his heartbeat if he had too.

The next morning, Daniel woke to a small voice calling his name. He let out a sigh of relief before he managed to reply. "I'm here." There was so much more he wanted to ask, but it all fell away in simple gratitude that she woke up.

Amilia couldn't work up a smile, but Daniel's words did help. She turned back, pulling her fingers up out of the blankets to take stock of them. All were their proper color, and that brought a new relief that almost lulled her back asleep.

"I can't believe you are alive." Daniel's words were mumbled against her back, as his arms were tucked around her as if simply letting go would change it.

"Thanks to you," she said softly.

It was a sweet sound, too real for this to be a dream or another vision. If this would have been a Hollywood movie, they might have kissed. Had a crescendo of happiness and life play out of their lips. But instead, Daniel stayed exactly how he was until they had the strength to get up on their own.

It was later than Daniel would have liked to start the day, but it was of little concern, considering. Amilia sat up staring at the dying fire as Daniel packed up their camp. He looked over a few times. His concern didn't go unnoticed for long.

She smiled over at him, her serious expression shifting to a curious one.

"Where did you go last night?" Daniel asked. He hadn't wanted to push her first thing, but now she seemed well enough for a little prodding.

Amilia let out a heavy sigh, needing a moment to digest the question. "I don't know what I was looking for, exactly. I can't even really remember if I found anything last night, but I heard tale of something in this area. I thought I'd look without causing a detour. It was stupid of me." Her worn body made her look so tiny under the blanket around her shoulders, but also made the vague wording in the lie easier to spot. He wasn't sure for whose benefit these lies were for anymore.

Daniel lifted his eyes to the horizon, narrowing them slightly at what could be out there. "I should have a look around."

"Don't you think we better get going?" she said, her voice jumping up an octave. "We've lost enough time already."

He looked back down at her as he raised a brow. "We could afford to lose more. You can either go on, or wait for me to satisfy my own curiosity." It wasn't meant as a threat, just a matter of fact. Something had undeniably happened, and he wanted to know what.

Amilia got up on her feet, the blanket still carefully wrapped around her. They exchanged a glance. Neither of them was certain how this would play out. "May I change first?" she asked.

"By all means."

She tucked her head down and moved towards their supplies. The space in the back of the wagon still was enough for her to change into spare clothes. She took longer than needed before she came back out, but she needed the moment to ready herself to talk about things that even her uncle and cousin no longer wished to hear.

"As a child, I heard my father talk about one of his travels," Amilia said as she stepped out. Daniel paused in putting out the fire to turn and listen. "It was around these parts. At least that's what I believed when we stopped. He said that in a cave behind a waterfall, there was an artifact hidden. I didn't find anything besides freezing water. I slipped, and thus the real cause of the mess I've made."

"What was the artifact meant to do?"

Amilia's head cocked to the side at the question. "It doesn't do anything," she said, "It was just valuable."

Daniel nodded his head, and looked around in consideration. "I don't want you to leave this campsite for a second, for anything."

"Wait, what?" She stared with wide eyes as Daniel moved towards the horses. "I thought you said we'd go if I told you."

"I won't be long," Daniel said, as he swung up to the horse. He was off without any further objection. He rode fast, following the map he had and riding towards a speck of water it showed. The roar of the falls came early, and shattered his faith in the accuracy of his map.

Daniel got off his horse. The falls were a beautiful sight that sent worry into his bones. His steps were careful, not wanting to slip into the water himself as he tried to figure out the place's mysteries. Couldn't even imagine how little of it would have been visible at night. Daniel crouched down at the edge.

There was nothing besides the veil of water that fell like a sheet. Unwilling to give up, he edged as close as he could without fighting the force of the falls. Daniel reached his hand out, and it pressed up against an invisible barrier before it was even fully outstretched.

"It's like the edge of the world map," Owen said. In all of his hours logged into this open-world game, he'd never run into a barrier like this before. So few games had them anymore. Maybe Amilia needed to be here to trigger anything more, or maybe this was an incomplete section that hadn't been patched yet. Whatever the case may have been, one thing was for sure; this was already one hell of a trip.

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