Leena ran to the woods before Bo could find her downstairs. There was a small cave by the brook in the woods where she would go when she finished her chores. It was away from Grandfather and away from the town and somewhere she could go to feel safe for a while.

It wasn’t a real cave, just a small niche between some rocks that could fit about one or two full sized adults and no more than that. It was situated on the side of a hill in the forest with the brook running through a gap on the right side of it, far enough away to not be concerned with flooding.

Leena kept a few items in a bag on a crate at the back of the cave: an extra set of clothes, a notebook, a pen, a couple of books, chalk, and a switchblade that opened from the side. She tended to spend time exploring and collecting things she found in the woods which she kept on the floor, less concerned with their cleanliness. If the weather was worse, she spent more time reading and watching the brook perched on another crate she kept as a stool.

Everything was so muddy from the rain the night before that she had a hard time moving quickly through the woods. She was thankful for her boots because the mud was sometimes deep enough to go up past her ankles. Once or twice her socked foot came free, and she had to pull her boot out while balancing precariously on one sinking foot.

The rain had not affected the cave too much. Some tall trees had roots dangling down the sides of the rocks like extracorporeal veins. The water from the brook was high and rushing quickly, but it did not go past the edge of the small gulch.

Leena stopped a moment to watch the water. It was like the water by the house. A strange viscous movement washed dead leaves and twigs past the trees and around the hill.

Stepping under the rocks, she sat on her crate stool, just a bit damp from the air and leaned against the smooth rock of her cave. With an exhale, her body released built up tension and her muscles extended. She closed her eyes a moment.

There were squelching footsteps.

Squelch.

Squish.

Squelch.

Squish.

Leena’s hands jumped to the pocketknife at her side, and she flipped out the blade.

Squish.

Squelch.

Squish.

Squelch. Louder.

Leena released her breath slowly through her mouth, feeling like she was drowning.

Squish.

Squelch.

“Ah, bugger,” someone cursed mildly. She heard someone struggling with the mud. Cold washed over her as she realized he could probably follow her footprints.

“Hey, Leena, I know you’re here somewhere. We were gonna talk, remember?” Bo’s voice called out. Leena hesitated.

“Are you in the rocks there? I see your footprints.” Leena peered out in his direction.

Bo was standing ankle deep in mud, resting his hand on one of the nearby trees. His blonde hair was wind tossed and stiff, sticking up like broom bristles in the air. He was still wearing her father’s clothes, his satchel bulged out over this shoulder.

“Hey, Leena,” he said, looking at her in the eye. She dared not to avert her gaze from him.

“Hey,” she replied curtly, very aware of what her grandfather had told her.

There was silence as Bo stared at her, mouth contorting wordlessly. Wind winded through the trees and pierced his face for a moment, sending his broom bristle hair back. His mouth turned down.

“Leena, I’m Bo. I know…I know you don’t remember me, but I used to visit you and your family here when we were kids. I know it was a long time ago now, but I still remember. Your grandfather didn’t use to be like this. You didn’t use to be like this. This…this sickness, this disease, this…darkness is making everything crazy. You need to get out of it,” Bo started, waving his arms about, eyes wide and impassioned.

“What are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you feel the fire? The water? There’s no animals. There’s no life here. Everything is just going to get colder and colder until nothing living can live here. It’s the miasma, the darkness, that is spreading over everything. It spreads slowly, but it consumes and feeds and, Leena, you can’t stay here or it will take you, too. You’ve already forgotten so much. Even…” Bo paused.

He pursed his lips together in a thin line, and she could see his eyes dart back and forth, ruminating something.

“Yeah, I noticed it. Only after you pointed out the chickens,” she replied, “But I can’t leave Grandfather. Have you seen him? He can’t take care of himself.”

“He is too far gone to take with,” Bo replied.

Leena shook her head, “I can’t leave him.” Bo ground his teeth together, flashing them at her.

“I can’t just leave you here.”

“I can’t just leave Grandfather.”

“He’s already gone!”

“I’m still here, though,” she replied, starting to feel a darkness boiling in her stomach. She felt for the pocketknife.

“Your mom sent me,” he said suddenly. Leena felt a lightning bolt strike her chest.

“My…my mom?”

“Yeah, your mom sent me to get you and bring you to her,” he said.

Her mother had abandoned them all years ago. What would she want with Leena now? But, the few memories of her mother were warm and soft, like freshly made bread or a cup of warm milk.

And she remembered how her father withered after her mother left. She remembered the sicknesses that took her sister and her grandmother. She remembered the gradual frost the iced over her grandfather and herself.

“Why wouldn’t she come herself?”

“She…she is unwell right now,” Bo replied. He took a step towards her, “If you want to see her, I can take you to her, but…this is the only chance. I…I can’t stay here for so long or I will start to be affected, too. I have to leave today.”

“Mother is sick?”

“Yes, she…she is sick.”

“Can I come back here for Grandfather?” Bo hesitated.

“You are free to do what you want to do,” he said finally.

“Then, I have to go to Icherrun,” she replied, sighing a bit.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to accompany me into the town,” Bo said, looking relieved.

“I will go with you. I will need to set Grandfather up for a while so that he is well. Though…” she bit her lip, “You really don’t want to go into the town, especially with me.”

Bo’s eyes narrowed, “That’s why I want to go with you.”