The night felt wrong.... Not dangerous, not haunted, Just… wrong.
The fire outside their tent had nearly died, leaving behind only faint orange embers that glowed weakly against the darkness. The woods were silent again, but not in the comforting way silence should be. It was the kind of silence that listened.
Inside the tent, the others slept uneasily. Lenora turned occasionally, muttering under her breath. Kevin snored softly. Cole — Joyce frowned. Cole wasn't there..... Then she heard it — A soft high sound. Almost like something soaring through the sky.
A distant cry
Whoooosh…
Joyce sat upright immediately. Her heartbeat quickened. The sound came again but not from inside the woods, it was above them..... Outside.
Slowly, trying not to wake the others, she slipped out of the tent. The cold air wrapped around her instantly.
The forest looked different at midnight. Shadows stretched unnaturally long, and the moonlight barely touched the ground beneath the thick trees.
Then she saw him — Cole.
Sitting alone on a fallen log near the dying fire. He stared upward, watching the dark sky.
"You're awake?" Joyce asked quietly.
Cole glanced back, not startled.
"Just couldn't sleep." Joyce walked over slowly.
"What was that sound?"
Cole looked up again.
"I don't know," he said. "Something flying, maybe."
"Flying?" Joyce frowned. "At this hour?"
"That's what worries me." She sat beside him.
"But bats do fly at night" Cole added
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The fire crackled softly. The wind moved through the trees.
And somewhere far above — That strange soaring sound returned. It was lower this time.
Joyce shivered.
"You think the shadows found us again?" she asked quietly.
Cole shook his head. "No."
His expression darkened. "I think whatever's out there is worse."
That made Joyce uncomfortable.
She folded her arms.
"You always say comforting things, don't you?"
Cole laughed softly.
"Well, am glad you noticed!"
Silence settled again. Then Joyce spoke.
"You ever miss home?" Cole hesitated.
"Sometimes."
"That sounds like a lie."
He sighed. "Okay… all the time."
Joyce smiled faintly. "Same."
Cole looked into the fire. "My dad used to take me camping," he said quietly. "Before everything changed."
Joyce glanced at him.
"What happened?"
Cole shrugged. "Life happened."
The answer felt heavier than it sounded.
"My family's weird," Joyce admitted. "Everyone's always around, but somehow nobody talks." Cole nodded slowly.
"Guess families are complicated."
Joyce leaned back slightly.
"You think we'll make it back?"
Cole didn't answer immediately.
The soaring sound echoed again..... Closer.
He looked into the darkness.
"We have to," he finally said.
"Just think positively"
"Because if we don't…" He looked toward the tent.
"…then all this was for nothing."
They talked for hours after that. About home, about old memories, the lives they had before the quest, things they missed, things they regretted.
And for the first time since the journey began — The fear felt smaller. Cole and Joyce just semmed to bond with each other
By the time the sky began to lighten, neither of them had slept.
Morning arrived quietly. Kevin woke first, stretching dramatically.
"You guys look terrible," he said, noticing Joyce and Cole.
"Thanks," Joyce muttered.
Lenora wasn't listening. She sat cross-legged near the Artifact, surrounded by books, old papers, and scribbled notes.
Her expression was serious or rather too serious.
"You guys need to hear this," she said.
Everyone gathered around immediately
"What is it?" Cole asked.
Lenora lifted an old worn page. "I found something."
She pointed toward a symbol drawn repeatedly across the paper.
It matched the markings on the Artifact.
"The Lupercalia's Blood and the Artifact are connected," she said.
"How?" Kevin asked.
"What do you mean 'How'?" Joyce asked in surprise
"They should be!." She added
Lenora took a breath.
"They come from the same source."
Everyone stared.
"What source?" Cole asked quietly.
Lenora looked at them carefully.
"We have been asked to look for these things — these ancient things with the names: Lupercalia's Artifact and Lupercalia's Blood. We haven't even thought for once about what 'Lupercalia' is!" She said
"She is a goddess."
Silence.
"The Blood and the Artifact belonged to the same goddess," Lenora continued. "That's why the Artifact reacts whenever we get closer to information about the Blood."
Cole frowned.
"So this whole time…"
"The Artifact has been guiding us," Lenora said.
"Since we found it" She added
Kevin blinked twice.
"Okay, that's..... That's.... terrifying"
"No," Lenora replied quietly.
"What's terrifying is what I found next."
She opened another book.bDust rose from the pages. Ancient writings, sketches, symbols, laboratory records, experiment reports, notes stained with age.
"What is all this?" Cole whispered.
Lenora swallowed. "Research.... On the Blood."
Everyone froze. Kevin frowned.
"You mean people actually experimented on it?"
Lenora nodded slowly. "For centuries.". They all exchanged looks.
They spent hours searching through the books. Page after page revealed disturbing discoveries. Failed experiments, strange reactions, people trying to unlock the Blood's power and Ancient scientists recording impossible transformations.
Above all, they found some sort of warnings written repeatedly in faded ink:
DO NOT SEPARATE THE BLOOD FROM IT'S SOURCE
UNSTABLE IN MORTAL HANDS
CONTAINS MEMORY
Joyce's stomach turned. "This is insane….."
Cole stopped suddenly. His eyes narrowed at one particular page.
"There's something here."
The others moved closer. A final report — Torn at the edges, almost unreadable. It was just that it was written in old Latin and the only person who had strong Latin understanding in the tent was Lenora. They turned to her
"Alright, alright..... I'll try" She grabbed the paper, trying to carefully translate the old latin text.
Her voice grew quieter as she read.
"The Blood was removed from the supernatural realm…"
Kevin frowned.
"Wait… what?"
Lenora kept reading.
"…hidden where no immortal would search…"
Joyce felt a strange chill. Cole's expression darkened.
Lenora stopped. Her hands trembled slightly.
"No way…..."
"What?" Kevin asked quickly.
Lenora looked up slowly, with fear mixed with disbelief in her eyes.
"The Blood....." She swallowed hard.
"…isn't in the Land of the Supernatural."
Silence traveled across the room.
Nobody moved....Nobody breathed.
Cole stepped closer.
"Then where is it?"
Lenora looked at him. Her voice barely above a whisper.
"With the mere mortals.... As the paper says"
The woods suddenly felt much smaller — Much closer.
The tension has risen..... Fear, negative thoughts. The teens were a hundred percent confused and surprised at the same time.