One word pounded in my head.
Lev.
Forging through the bush, branches scratched my face, tugging at my tunic. I ran carelessly, his name on my lips, desperate to shout it out.
“Sepp!” It was Gideon. He was nearby, crashing through the forest. I veered away. It was impossible to run, the forest was too thick here.
A stone marker at the base of a tree pointed to a narrow, overgrown path. Trees blocked any other route. Crouching low to avoid a branch, I took a quick look back. No one was behind me. Gideon and Mara had gone in other directions, their voices stolen by wind and rain. What if I got lost too? Or they found Lev before I did? I took a deep breath while his name echoed in my head.
The wind grew stronger, whipping the trees into a frenzy. I bowed my head against the rain, holding up a hand to block it from my eyes. The path forked. A stone marker sat in the middle, covered with leaves and debris, as if it had been camouflaged.
“Kaia?” My name, barely audible, floated to me. And again, louder. “Kaia!” Gideon emerged from one side of the path. He was soaked, droplets of water clung to his beard, his hair was matted to his head and his shirt stuck to his chest. “You were supposed to go to the cave!” he shouted over the rain.
The lie caught in my throat. “Not without Sepp.” I shook my head angrily. “We should split up to cover more ground.” Even as I spoke, my eyes darted through the sheets of rain looking for signs of Lev.
He held my arm, gripping the forearm tight. “No, you stay with me. You don’t know these paths like I do.”
I jerked my arm out of his grip and swallowed back an argument, desperate to continue my search. I’d stay behind him. As soon as he headed down a path, I’d duck away from him and keep going on my own.
“We’re wasting time,” I prompted. “Let’s go!”
Gideon narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you looking for Sepp? Or the overseer?”
I pretended I couldn’t hear him over the storm and shook my head. He shouted the question again, drawing himself closer to my ear, holding my arm tightly. His breath was hot in my ear as he asked the question again.
From behind, a flash of something entered my sightline. Arms raised, it crashed down on Gideon and they both tumbled to the ground. Gideon lay face down and a figure sat on top of him holding a log like a club over his head.
Gideon struggled. “Get off me!”
The figure turned. His eyes, glazed and ringed by dark circles, stared at me, bright with sickness. His mud-covered face was haggard, skin peeling and blistered. But the dark stain on his cheek marked him as mine.
And then another figure stumbled out of the path. It was Sepp. “Don’t leave me!” he cried, walking toward us with slow, uneasy steps. “Are you there? What happened? Come back!” he yelled.
“Lev!” I cried, finding my voice. “Let him go.”
“Kaia?” Sepp turned to my voice.
“I’m here, Sepp. So is Gideon.”
Sepp’s face crumpled with relief and he started to sob. My heart lurched at the fear he must have felt in his world of darkness.
Gideon groaned, wincing with pain and rubbing the spot on his head where Lev had hit him. My eyes locked with Lev’s and he opened his mouth to say something, but moaned instead and rolled off Gideon. The log dropped and he held his stomach with both hands, writhing on the ground. His face was deathly pale.
Gideon got to his feet. He stared in confusion at his attacker and reached for the log, but I grabbed it first. “What are you doing?” he asked.
I widened my stance, holding the log in both hands. “He won’t hurt us.”
Gideon’s eyes widened in anger. “Maybe not you.”
Lev tried to stand. “I thought he was attacking you.” His words came out slurred and he only got as far as his knees before he collapsed. Anyone could see he was sick. Dropping the log, I ran to him and slid to the ground. I lifted his head to my lap. His skin radiated feverish heat, but his teeth chattered. “Lev!” I said. “Lev, wake up!’
“He’s not going to make it,” Gideon said, standing over us. A note of satisfaction in his voice.
“We need to bring him back to camp. He needs to see Mara.”
Gideon crouched beside me. His eyes hard. “Ezekiel will never let an overseer into camp.”
“An overseer?” Sepp’s voice rang out. “But he helped me. He was leading me back to camp.”
“No, Sepp. He was using you to find our camp.”
Sepp’s brow wrinkled at Gideon’s words and his face fell. “I led him to us?”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Gideon moved beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
Lev stirred. “Kaia,” he whispered. “I’m looking for Kaia.”
“Shhhh,” I soothed and shot Gideon a defiant glance. “Look at him. He’s no threat. Take Sepp back to camp and then find Mara. Tell her I need her help”
Gideon narrowed his eyes at me, his mouth tight with anger.
“Please!” I begged.
Gideon grabbed Sepp’s arm and left the clearing. In seconds, he and Sepp were swallowed by the sheets of rain and the dark of the forest.