In Saving the Imperfect

13. Abandoned by the fortune

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In the depths of the forest, the sun seemed to be setting faster than it normally would. Or perhaps it was because they were lost, tired and desperate. Cat still followed behind them, but even the dog didn't seem to know where they were.

"Let's just follow the ditch," mocked Coden, "we won't get lost that way."

"Shush." Layne refused to look at him. "We'll be back in the Village soon enough."

"Of course, you keep saying that."

"You didn't even have to go with us. Probably would have been faster if we didn't have to keep standing by while you rested."

"Probably didn't have to drag me into the forest."

"Shut up," Troy snapped.

Coden gave him a side-eye, still, no one else said another word. Layne was certain that his plan wasn't flawed. It was the execution that sucked since neither of them planned to memorize where did they start following the ditch instead of going straight forward.

Layne rotated his tongue around his dried mouth. It made a clicking sound. They haven't drunk anything ever since they left in the morning and even the brown water on the bottom of the ditch didn't look so disgusting anymore. Chasing away the thought, the man shook his head and concentrated on his task. They had to figure out where they had to turn.

The fact that they didn't know whether they've already passed that point or haven't even reached it yet didn't help by the slightest. Aching heels only made it worse, as well. Not to mention it getting darker by the minute... And the thought of what could be waiting in the dark.

Eventually, the sky turned black and the faint contour of a young moon didn't provide enough light to go on. It wasn't long before the first eerie howl sliced through the silence.

Layne jumped away when something brushed against his leg but it was only Cat, running off in a hurry. The dog had never dared to get close to a human before. It must have gotten freaked out bad enough.

Layne cussed to himself. The animals weren't active every night – or at least, they weren't being noisy, as there wasn't a real way to know. Of course, they had to be around that one time.

Coden kept sobbing. The other two men would try to walk faster, yet he couldn't keep up and they weren't going to leave him alone. It didn't matter, anyway. It was way too dark to successfully find their way home or even see a further than fifteen centimetres ahead one's eyes.

More and more howls sounded around them and they shuddered after each. Some appeared to be far away, others – way too close for comfort. In the end, they stopped looking for a way to return to the safety of their cabin. All that was left to do was trying to avoid getting too close to the sounds.

"We're going to die," whispered Coden. He then continued, but Layne didn't comprehend the silent words through his own loud heartbeat.

No one replied to him. Layne calmed himself thinking that they had to be as silent as they could. Though, he guessed that Troy simply didn't manage to speak. Just like himself.

They kept walking.

Accompanied by the howls of supposedly man-eating beasts they knew nothing about.

A large gust of air rushed by Layne's side. Afterwards – a loud thud and a gasp. Coden was laying tall on the moss between the tree roots. All three of them froze and stopped to listen but nothing out of the ordinary caught their attention.

"You have to be more careful where you step," Troy hissed. "You're gonna draw them in."

"S-something's t-there," stuttered Coden.

Layne looked round. Indeed, a glowing blob of light was dancing in the distance. A silhouette of a person carried it away.

"We have to catch up." Layne pulled Coden up. They jogged towards the light without much hesitation – whoever was the person, it topped meeting one of the animals.

The stranger, apparently, heard them closing in. No wonder, too – they were far from quiet, crunching the branches and tripping on roots, stems, and humps. The person turned to their direction and soon enough, they met. He was no stranger, too. It was Clark, the scar on his face looking even more terrifying when lit up by a single lantern.

He smiled at them. "And there I almost thought you three were gone already."

"What are you doing here?" asked Layne. "Isn't it forbidden to go outside at night?"

"Looking for you, of course." Clark turned around and waved for them to follow. "That black woman from your cabin reported that you were missing."

"We got lost," admitted Coden.

"It's alright. Let's just get back to the village before all of us get killed. Victor's waiting for us there."

Layne didn't know Clark very much. He'd always either hang out with Victor or do his work, so, that automatically made him less approachable. However, this time, being with that man made him feel safe as if wild animals howling around him were now harmless. Clark's likely been in the Land for a long time, maybe almost as long as Victor. If he was daring to go into the forest like that, he must have known what he was doing.

The walk back to the village was uneventful. Maybe too much so. As soon as they left the forest, the environment, not obscured by trees, appeared to be lighter, and the contours of the cabins were clear in the starry night sky.

Another blob of light emerged from between the buildings. Wasn't hard to guess who it was.

"You're alive," exclaimed Victor. "Thank god."

"They just got lost," Clark explained. "Weren't even far away when I found them."

Victor shook his head. "Go to your cabin. We'll talk about it in the morning. It's not safe here."

They didn't need another word. Relieved, Layne followed Troy and Coden back into the cabin they've been sleeping in for ever since they first arrived. Before entering, he turned around to see Victor and Clark whispering something between themselves as they were walking away.

The flames were still high in the furnace and everyone was fully awake.

"You're ok!" Alana squeaked. Coden gave her a hug. Layne thought that at the moment, he wouldn't have minded doing that too much, as well. Not that he actually would have.

His eyes turned to the table, on which stood a rough clay jug. He tilted it to see it still half-full of water. That seemed like a good enough ending to that night. Maybe, he'd be able to sleep well through the rest of it.

If only the next morning wouldn't come with a lecture from Victor. Or worse.