Cora calmed down after twenty minutes which made the trip down the tunnel easier. While it was dark, now that I was submerged underwater, with my second lens now in place, I was able to distinguish most features of the tunnel. It ranged from 20 ft diameter to as small as 4 ft. I made sure that in the tighter areas the girls were safe which kept me from panicking too much.

It also helped that neither of them could see with their human eyes. They didn't need to know the true dangers of what hid in small craters. It was almost worse when we were finally out of the underground river. I knew it was coming eventually, but the water lightened as the sunlight penetrated its depths.

I didn't have time to argue with Leo and if I simply let the girls go now, the pressure of the water would instantly crush them. Still, he looked at me expectantly and flicked his head down to the deeper water. When I shook my head, he hissed at me.

Flashing my fangs, I snarled back at him, swiping my tail at him. He knew my strength and if he didn't back off, my tail could easily do some serious damage. His hiss turned into a whimper as he swam back so I barely missed him. We stared at each other as I set my jaw and Leo scurried off into the deeper water alone. The couple stared at me with wide eyes and they were speaking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

It was fifteen hours later when we finally arrived to the Columbia River. Safety wasn't far away, but I was seeing spots for the past hour. Despite the dangers, I didn't have the continued to strength to keep us at the safe levels. Instead, I swam in front of them, just below the water. We were never more than a kilometre off of shore in case things went sideways they would have the chance to swim for land.

There were no boats in our way, but from what I knew if this was twenty years ago, we would have been caught and probably killed. Thankfully we arrived at the river, my eyes were heavy and their pocket of air was growing smaller. I swam a bit slower, just not having the strength to even flick my tail anymore.

With Kalliope and Cora behind me, it didn't matter that they were more alert, I couldn't hear them or see Kalliope as she waved her arms. I kept swimming straight and it felt like I ran into a brick wall. Instantly, the pocket of air collapsed in on itself as I found a net collapsing around me. I let out a panicked hiss, weakly swiping at the net. I used what little strength I had left to snapped my tail. It only ended to me getting more tangled into the net. I didn't have the strength or will to continue to fight the exhaustion.

The next time I woke up, it wasn't for long. Warm sand was pressed against my cheek and I gasped before coughing on it. The pain of shifting back to human was just enough to keep me awake. "Hey! Get away from those two kids!" A man shouted, rushing over. I blinked as I felt the heat of sunlight.

"They caught her! They could have killed all three of us."

I knew I had shifted to human, the pain slowly disappearing and with it, my will to stay conscious. "Caught? Caught who?" The concern of the man changed. There was a pause, "Oh my gosh, Aejor, Petric, go get Ethan. Tell him to come here with the Doctor, now. Don't let anyone stop you." Another moment passed before he shouted again, "Now!" The kids must have ran off because I felt the ropes of the net being cut. "Leena, you're okay, you're home."

"Mylo...?" I grumbled, staring up at his worrifilled expression before sleep took me once again, this time it didn't let go so easily.

"It has been over two days!"

"We ain't got an idea what she's been through, she may need it!"

"The Doctor said she was physically fine, just... she is fine."

Three voices argued over me like an annoying alarm clock. My body still felt heavy so I rolled over and brought a pillow over my head. My movement was enough to get the attention of my alarm clocks. "Leena!" Mylo shouted as another pulled pillow off my head.

"I hate you all," I grumbled as I finally gave in. I slowly forced my eyes open and blinked back the exhaustion, waiting for the room to stop spinning. "What do you want? Let me sleep." I groaned as I rolled over to see six faces looking down at me. "Woah, too many people!" I quickly objected as I sat up, swatting them all back a pace.

Thalian ignored my assaults and took a weak slap to his forearm as he embraced me in a hug. "I am so relieved to see you alive. You gave me all quite a scare."

Sure enough, when he pulled back Kane, Mylo, Maya, Cora, and Kalliope were all there showing their form of agreement one way or another. "Gave a couple kids a good scare too," Mylo said with a laugh as he grinned seeing me. "Glad to have you back, you look really different, almost didn't recognize you. Even out of the net."

"That's enough," Maya stepped forward and hit her brother in the arm. "How are you feeling?"

I waved off her question, my concerns were all on Cora and Kalliope, "Are you two?"

"No," Cora was quick to say causing me to sit up a bit straighter. "I've decided I don't trust you after that stunt. You could have killed all three of us!"

Kalliope frowned and glanced nervously at her girlfriend. "Cora..."

I chewed my lip and sighed, I deserved that. "Better that than a demon," I mumbled, but knew she was right. "We'll head back to Hollowview-"

There was a chorus of protests with just the first half of my sentence. The only one I heard was Thalian whispering "there is no Hollowview." My heart sank and my eyes closed, heart in my stomach. All voices died and Thalian spoke again, "I am so sorry Leena."

"How many survived?"

"Leena..." Kane started to protest.

"How many?" I shouted as my eyes shot open to rock on his.

Kane's face said everything. "Including you three? Maybe two dozen, but it is still early. I sent a team up and I got word that King Dalok's men are looking, taking in whoever is not strong enough to go off on their own. The demons who killed most of the town are dead, but the sorcerer who set the town ablaze is not."

"She doesn't need to hear this now," Maya was almost begging.

Glancing around the large tent, it was mostly empty and I could see the shadows of the collection of the few still from the night. "Tonight at dusk we will give them a proper service, remember them, mourn them." It was a promise to them and those who had lost their lives because of me.