Kai opened his eyes groggily and rubbed them with his hands. The smell of early morning air filled his nose, and he pushed himself up, looking around.

Chase was lying on his back next to Luke, who was sitting crisscrossed with his arms folded. He saw Kai and smiled kindly, but didn't say anything. Chase didn't look great - his body was tense even in his sleep, and he was shivering again. His face was pale, too. 

Shintaro was leaning against the cave wall with his arms crossed as well, but he was asleep. Kai didn't know how he slept like that, but it must have been terrible because Kai's whole body was sore from just lying down.

Abby was sprawled halfway on her father's lap. Her lower body was resting on the cave floor, while her upper was tucked on her father's thighs. She looked finally peaceful.

Linda was to Kai's left. She was curled up in a ball with her back to him, her purple hair pooling at her head. Kai's eyes trailed down to her right foot, where she had taken off her shoes. Her ankle was slightly swollen, not broken, but twisted. 

Kai's stomach growled, and he flushed. He looked down as Luke chuckled. 

"Don't worry, I think we're all hungry," he said, uncrossing his arms to rub his face, then he wrapped them around his torso and leaned back a little. "I wish I knew how to distinguish good food from bad food in the woods. Otherwise I would have gone out and done so already." He glanced over to his friend. "I bet Shintaro does, though. He knows everything." A soft smile reached his mouth, and he sighed. 

Chase suddenly coughed, startling Kai so badly that he almost kicked Linda. He jumped forward, narrowly avoiding trampling Linda, and sat by Chase, who had stopped coughing and was rubbing his face tiredly with both hands. 

"Chase?" Kai whispered. 

"What?" the older boy replied, his voice hoarse and slow. He kept rubbing his face, then sighed and put his hands down. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"No better than yesterday," Chase murmured. "Where are we now?" He opened his yellow eyes and tried to sit up, but failed and relaxed again. "Is Abby alright? What about Dad?" He was gaining more awareness, and he pushed his elbows under him to sit up a little. 

"They're both fine," Luke said kindly, scooting forward and helping Chase sit up all the way. "Here, lean against the wall." 

Chase leaned back and sighed again. He looked around the cave and assessed everyone, then coughed into his hand. He winced and glanced down at his wound, touching it lightly with one hand. He looked back up and watched as Abby yawned and started to stretch. 

Shintaro groaned and opened his eyes. He let Abby sit up off his lap and sat forward, spotting Chase. He immediately scooted forward and sat in front of his son. He reached up and put his palm on Chase's forehead and frowned. 

Kai took that as a bad sign. He frowned as well and sat back a little. His shoulder throbbed when he put weight on it, and he winced. He sat forward again and looked down at his shoulder. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still stung when the air touched it. 

Linda groaned and rolled over, her hair falling over her face. She opened her purple eyes and brushed it away, slowly sitting up. She hissed slightly through her teeth and looked down at her foot with distaste. She pulled her eyes away and saw that Chase was sitting up. She smiled at him and looked around the cave. 

Abby yawned and rubbed her eyes. She blinked groggily a few times before saying: "I'm hungry..." 

Shintaro sighed and put a hand on his face. Kai felt bad for pressuring him like this, but he was hungry too. He tried not to show it, however. He didn't want to be a burden. Shintaro already had a lot of those.

"I know, Abby," Shintaro murmured. He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger then looked up. "I'm sorry I couldn't get us food. This was all uncalled for, and we weren't prepared. I'm sorry." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in thought. 

"What are you planning, Shintaro?" Linda asked cautiously, raising an eyebrow at him. Kai noticed a bit of concern in her voice, and her face seemed to show it as well. 

Soon, he realized something and gave her a strange look. Couldn't she hear everyone's thoughts? Did she ask just to make him tell everyone else? 

"No," Linda said in his head. Kai noticed that the voice from her head sounded much weaker than her normal voice. She was trying not to show her weakness on the outside, but couldn't help it on the inside. 

What do you mean, 'no'? Kai thought, casting her a sidelong glance.

"I mean," she said, "his mind is strangely impossible to get to. I've never been able to hear this thoughts. I'm not sure why." She folded her hands and focused on Shintaro, who wasn't answering. 

Chase raised his eyebrow at his father. "Hello?" he said hoarsely. "She asked you a question." He coughed once and groaned angrily. 

"I know how to-" Shintaro started, but Luke interrupted him by laughing. Everyone jumped and turned to look at Luke. 

"You know how to distinguish good food from bad food in the woods, don't you?" he said, smiling humorously. He pushed a section of his black hair out of his face.

Kai giggled and looked at Shintaro, who narrowed his eyes at his friend questioningly.

"Yes," Shintaro said slowly, confused. "I do. I can find food and water. I'll look for a stream, and maybe I could get some water here somehow. I don't want us traveling yet." He cast a glance at his son sorrowfully. 

Chase shrugged. "I can go on." He smiled at his father, but Shintaro wouldn't have it. 

He shook his head. "I'm not letting us go anywhere until you're at least a little better. At least." He stood up and glared down at Chase and Kai, then looked over at Luke. "Don't follow me, any of you. Stay here and rest." He shot one last look at Chase, then walked out of the cave.

"Please don't get hurt," Linda called after him suddenly, and Abby nodded her head. 

Kai sighed and scooted next to Chase. He leaned his back against the wall with a wince. Chase looked up and stared at Kai's shoulder. 

"That looks terrible," he murmured to Kai, his mouth turning up in a teasing smile. 

"Not as bad as your's," Kai shot back, gesturing to Chase's stomach with one hand. 

Chase chuckled and leaned his head back on the cave. "At least we all got out of there alive." He closed his eyes and sighed slowly. 

Linda laid herself back down with her arms crossed under her head. She stared up at the ceiling, and Abby scooted next to Kai. 

Hopefully Shintaro would come back safely with food. 

~

Chapter twenty!!!! This is an accomplishment for me, okay? Don't judge. XD

Hope you all enjoy the rest of this book! I can't wait for the next book! You all are going to cry. There's going to be one big heartache moment in EACH book. 

You're welcome. 

Peace!~~~