They had been in the tunnel for hours. Lux slept like a log, breathing unevenly, his skin finally cooling down but still quite warm.
Gavin didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing since all they've known was the harsh cold all their lives.
Gavin rubbed at tired eyes, keeping watch while Varik was lying with his back towards him, resting or still thinking.
He was tired, it was a long day of getting beaten, beating up and running away. It was obvious he was waning in and out of consciousness but held firm, still keeping watch.
When Varik finally said, "Switch." While placing a hand on Gavin's shoulder.
"You've done enough, let me keep watch."
Gavin paused before sighing and preparing to surrender to the sweet embrace of rest.
However before he could Varik asked him, " Do you have a plan for when they send people after us? You know that if they didn't pick up his last flare they will eventually. We need to make a plan once we've all rested as soon as possible."
Gavin's eyes hardened. "I know, I've been thinking and I'll discuss it with you and Lux when I'm up."
"Alright, get some well deserved rest," Varik replied.
Gavin lay down beside Lux, keeping a hand on the boy's back until both of their breaths evened.
The tunnel sank into stillness.
Varik sat with his arms crossed, scanning the dark ahead and behind.
His posture was alert.
His mind wasn't.
Hours passed and sleep tugged at him, but every time he blinked, the same image pushed forward—the man he'd killed.
The way the light left his eyes and his body grew stiff. The slack jaw. The stabs in his throat and face that he'd made without thinking, only reacting. The face mangled by panic and fear. It was all so vivid, so surreal and still fresh on his mind to the point he barely got any sleep.
Varik had seen dead bodies before and in far worse states, but he had never been the one to cause such horrific deaths and with his own two hands nonetheless.
He knew the man had deserved it. He knew Gavin meant what he said earlier—that protecting each other, even if they have to resort to murder is not something to be ashamed of.
"It was murder with a purpose," is what he told himself.
Still, the memory stuck like grit under a blade.
Varik kept his eyes on the tunnel, but the focus wasn't crisp. His hands felt steadier than his thoughts.
He shifted his weight, forcing himself to breathe evenly. "You did what needed to be done." The logic was sound. He could accept the logic. The image, though, kept pressing at the edges.
Then
A faint noise snapped him back.
Not loud—just a soft metallic tap. But not the kind tunnels made on their own.
He straightened, all thoughts cutting clean away.
Another sound followed. A low scrape. And with it came a cold draft, sharp, sudden, unnatural. The temperature dropped as if something massive was pushing the air ahead of it.
Varik stepped back toward Gavin and nudged his shoulder. "Up."
Gavin blinked awake instantly. "What is it—?"
"Something's coming."
Lux stirred, heat flickering under his skin as though responding to the shift in the air.
Then a shape slid into view at the far end of the tunnel.
Two distinct glowing eyes. Its body was barely visible in the dark tunnel, only illuminated by the flickering blue light of the lantern. There was no mistake though, its unnervingly large body clad in a thick white fur. Its claws and teeth that could shred through human flesh like air. The frost tipped spikes protruding from its spine and the repulsive growl it made.
It was a Dyrheim.
It was most likely the same one as before.
Gavin pulled Lux to him. Varik stepped to the side, shiv already in hand.
The creature paused—head lifting, eyes glowing faintly. It stared as if analyzing them then its sight fell on Lux
The Dyrheim's gaze locked onto them and the 2 boys were frozen stiff.
"What is this pressure I'm feeling," Varik barely uttered, struggling to move even his lips. His body was no longer obeying him, it was as if he was flooded with fear so great his body gave up all will to resist.
The beast immediately let out a loud growl and slowly began to approach the boys with terrifying hunger in its eyes.