“What happened?”

He was panting. His hair was disheveled and his arms were covered with scratches.

“I have no idea. I ran to the source of the noise, or at least where I thought the source was. I couldn’t see anyone. I even shouted out. Nobody replied.”

I shuddered.

Perhaps we’re not as alone as we thought.

Chapter 11: Rose

Those screams still ringing in my ears, I was too scared to fall asleep. I drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the night, tossing and turning in my bunk.

As the early-morning hours approached, I rolled back onto my stomach and looked down. I was surprised to see Caleb’s bed empty. Perhaps he couldn’t sleep either and had decided to go for a walk. I looked past Caleb’s platform toward Annora. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open as her chest heaved gently.

I might as well do something useful with my time…

Considering Annora had tried to burn me alive, there were still a few lessons I needed to teach her. Swinging my legs off my bed, I lowered myself onto the branch below as quietly as I could.

I scanned the branches surrounding me once again for anything that could assist me in my endeavor. There were a few more empty nests nearby that probably contained more muck, but she needed a worse surprise now. I was about to start climbing down the tree in hope of finding something in the jungle below when I was met with a sight that sent goosebumps running along my skin. A red spider the size of my hand swayed on a branch about four feet away from me. Its dewy web gave off an eerie glow in the moonlight.

Now I needed to figure out how to get it off the branch without it biting me. I leaned forward and reached out to see how easily broken the spider’s branch was. It wasn’t thick and wouldn’t be hard to snap. I just had to make sure that the creature didn’t go boomeranging to its death… or onto my face.

The closer I got to it, the more disgusted I was. I’d never seen such a vile spider. Its red body was covered with patches of brown fur, and its pincers looked long enough—perhaps even sharp enough—to be nail clippers.

As I was seconds from snapping off the branch, I stopped. Its bright red color led me to believe that it was poisonous. Although it was no time to start having moral quandaries, I couldn’t help but think that my mother wouldn’t have approved of this.

What if its venom is deadly? Do I really want to become a murderer?

The part of me that was closer to my father brushed the thought aside. Eh. Maybe it’s deadly, maybe it isn’t…

As soon as I snapped off the branch, the alarmed spider scrambled upward, its fat body quivering. I was relieved that it stopped where it did—a safe three feet away. Brandishing the branch in front of me, I made my way down toward Annora’s bed. I prayed that she would remain sleeping soundly and wouldn’t sense my presence. She must have been tired, because she didn’t. Not even when I placed the branch between her legs.

I raced back up to my own bunk and, lying on my stomach, peeked over the edge. The spider was already beginning to make its way upward, onto Annora’s leaf skirt. I held my breath as it crossed the leaves and began crawling over her stomach, across her bare chest, up toward her face. Her eyes didn’t shoot open until it started climbing onto her face.

There was a muffled scream as she sat bolt upright. Her hands shot up to her face, which only squished the spider closer against her skin. Feeling its furry back, she lowered her hands again, now screaming so shrilly it hurt my eardrums.

She only had to endure the trauma for a minute or so before Caleb came swinging up the tree. Based on the terror in her voice, he’d probably thought one of us had just murdered the other. Gripping the spider’s back, he yanked it off Annora and dropped it onto the canopy of leaves beneath them.

Spoilsport.

I moved my head out of view again. I found myself wondering if the spider had bitten her. She was still moaning, which gave me hope that it had. Now we just had to wait and see if its venom really was deadly…

Once Annora stopped sobbing after half an hour, I finally started to drift off. Then a cold hand touched my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see Caleb staring down at me.

“Caleb?” I said innocently.

“I want to finish my tour of the island,” he whispered. “And I want you to come with me.”

I looked down at Annora. She appeared to be sleeping again.

I didn’t need a second invitation. I sat up and as he moved his body closer to my bunk, I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck. He put one arm around my waist, supporting me as he leapt downward from branch to branch.

I held him tighter as we hit the ground and he began running forward. I closed my eyes, burying my face in his neck, wanting to lose myself in him. I wished he would keep running forever. Across the ocean, away from this island, away from Annora. To somewhere Caleb and I could be together without any interruptions. No distractions. Just us.

For now, I appreciated him taking me away from her, if only for an hour or so. I felt him stop running and he lowered me down. I looked around. We’d stopped at the other side of the crystal lake. I stared out at the beautiful, calm waters covered in lotuses.

Caleb caught my hand, pulling me to face him. He looked at me seriously. “You’ve been trying to say something for the last two days. There are no interruptions now. Talk to me.”

Finally, I did. “I-I want to know what Annora’s return means for us.”

He remained silent for several moments, his eyes roaming my face. I was reassured that his grip on my hand didn’t loosen after I’d asked the question. If anything it tightened.