As soon as Wolf realized I was breaking down, she stopped and pulled me into a hug.
“Shh. It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ve got you. We’re almost there, I promise. Please, I need you to stay with me now... I… I can’t do this alone…” she pleaded. It was clear that the months spent in this shithole were wearing on her too. I tried to pull myself together, but I was too exhausted and another roar from that thing didn’t help.
Once it finally shut up again, she let me go and began rummaging through one of the packs.
“You’re going to see a light in a moment” she warned, before moving in close and turning on a flashlight. I was blinded by it for a few seconds until my eyes adjusted. She held the light close to our faces as we stood nearly nose to nose. I analyzed every detail of her that I could make out.
“There we go. Imagine being glad to see my ugly mug” she said with a laugh as I finally started to calm down.
I gave a small laugh in response.
“Here, let me show you something” she moved her face away from mine, so she could hold her hand up to the light, letting me see it. A tendril emerged from her wrist to make a small cut on her palm.
“See, I’m alive and here with you” she said, softly as it bled. “Give me your hand”
When I did, she raised my hand to the light and made a matching cut on my palm. “See, you’re awake and alive too.” The sting of the cut and the sight of the blood confirmed it. Maybe it’s weird, but I felt relieved by that.
“I know it’s hard, but I need you to trust me. Noisy as that thing may be, it’s dead. I can say that with complete certainty.”
She kept my hand clasped in hers “We’re almost there” she said, wrapping a couple of tendrils around my shoulders as a further reassurance until I was ready to continue.
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