Kai felt miserable. He was cold, hungry, sore, and tired. He felt like there was dirt and mud everywhere on him. He wanted to shower, he wanted food, he wanted water, and he wanted to sleep for countless days. His legs hurt when he took even the tiniest step, his shoulder was throbbing painfully again, his head hurt, and his throat was dry. His clothes were getting all ripped, too, and things kept getting caught in his tangled hair. He just wanted a bed to sleep in.

But of course, he didn't complain. He didn't want to cause everyone to stop just yet and prolong the journey. He knew that everyone would be at least the littlest bit annoyed if he complained and made everyone stop.

But he could tell Abby was having trouble continuing, too. Her feet were dragging and her shoes catching on sticks and leaves. She had her arms wrapped together, and she was rubbing her skin for warmth. Her blond hair was greasy and tangled like Kai's, and she had to stop and wrestle it out of a branch ever so often. She looked tired and sore, just like Kai.

Now that he knew that Abby was having trouble, he felt a little compelled to say something. He wouldn't be saying something about himself, he would be letting Abby's father know that his daughter couldn't go on much longer. Kai didn't want to make himself feel like a burden, but he was sticking up for Abby.

"Um," he murmured, surprised to find out that his voice was scratchy and his throat sore. He cleared it and tried again. "Shintaro?" Kai noticed with a twinge of shame that his teeth were chattering. He really was cold, and he didn't like being out in the woods, especially at night.

Shintaro turned his head but kept walking. "What is it?" His voice sounded tired and frustrated, like he wanted to rest too, but there was no place to and that was making him angry.

Luke cast a glance over his shoulder as well, and Kai noticed that he didn't look very happy either. He didn't look angry, just extremely tired and sore. He hadn't noticed before, but there were circles under Luke's eyes. Now that Kai thought about it, they had been there before, as well. Was Luke having trouble sleeping?

Now that he'd said something, he didn't know what else to say. There was a long, awkward silence as the group continued to walk. Kai looked back at Abby, who's eyes drifted closed then snapped back open.

"Abby looks really tired," Kai blurted out, and the young blond jumped to attention when she heard her name. "I don't know how much longer she can go... Or me." He shamefully looked down at his feet, though they were just silhouettes of darkness.

Shintaro sighed and put his hand on his face. "I know. I'm sorry. There's... hardly any good places for us to stay. I don't like this woods one bit." He glanced above him as if a tree would suddenly come tumbling down onto his head.

Luke looked up as well, and Kai noticed him shudder. He knew that it wasn't from the cold, so he thought that maybe Luke had a bad experience with forests.

Linda shuffled to Kai's side and put her arm under his, helping him walk. She smiled at him - at least Kai thought that's what she did. Kai flashed a small smile back, even though she'd turned her head already.

Kai noticed with a twinge of pity and sadness that she was still limping a little from her fall way before. She had been right when she said she had bad ankles, and Kai felt bad that she had to walk through the woods. Especially when it was night, when you couldn't see the ground in front of you and there were lots of dips and holes.

Suddenly, something like a growl mixed with a roar split through the woods, startling everyone. Kai jumped and realized that it didn't sound too far off. He shivered and picked up the pace as Abby whimpered and brought her hands to her chest.

"What was that?" she asked in a hushed tone. She looked around her in fright.

Shintaro looked around him as well. "Probably a mountain lion." Kai noticed that even Shintaro sounded a little nervous.

Luke stopped as soon as the words 'mountain lion' came out of Shintaro's mouth. He was so rigid that Kai thought about going forward and pushing his shoulders down into a relaxed position so that he wouldn't hurt his neck.

Shintaro stopped and turned to face his friend. His voice was soft when he spoke. "Luke?" He put a hand on Luke's arm, giving him a worried look.

Kai shuffled forward with Gabriel and the others, eyeing Luke. From what he could make out, Luke's mouth was pressed into a thin line and his eyes were squeezed shut. His hands were fists at his sides, like he was trying to strangle whatever had come over him.

"Luke," Shintaro said again. "Luke, look at me." He grabbed his friend's chin and jerked it upwards, forcing Luke's eyes open. "Look. At. Me." 

Luke shivered and took a shaky breath in. His green eyes flicked back and forth, but they soon locked on Shintaro's. His hands were still clenched into fists as he took a deep breath through his gritted teeth.

"Calm down, okay?" Shintaro said softly. "It's alright. Try to focus on the present, not the past. You're alright. Breathe slowly. In and out. Relax." He demonstrated taking a deep breath for Luke, who followed as best he could. Shintaro didn't say anything else, but Luke didn't relax. In fact, he tensed up even more and his shoulders shook.

It was only that Kai realized that Luke was holding back tears when a small squeak escaped Luke's mouth. Shintaro realized as well, and his eyes widened. He then put his arms around Luke and pulled him close, whispering something into his ear. Kai leaned forward to listen.

"Hey, it's alright," Shintaro murmured. "Don't let it overcome you. Please, I can't stand to see you like this. What would they think? Knowing your sister, she would probably yell at you for thinking about her this way. She would want you to think of the happy things, not what happened to her. Not the bad things. Okay?" 

Kai saw Luke nod once, and his shoulders relaxed a little. He took another shaky breath and let it out more smoothly. Shintaro pulled back and looked his friend in the eye, then smiled softly and nodded. 

Luke returned Shintaro's smile with a small one of his own. He murmured something that Kai couldn't hear, then started walking again. Shintaro smiled again and followed. Kai picked up his pace, then turned back to Abby. She was smiling, seeming a lot brighter than she did before. 

Chase suddenly hissed through his teeth in what sounded like pain. Kai watched as he pushed a sharp, thorny vine away from his stomach. Fear and worry seized Kai as he walked forward to check on Chase. 

"You okay?" he asked the older boy. 

"Yeah," Chase said after a moment. "Just ..." He winced. "Thorns got my wound." He touched his shirt, which was starting to turn red, and lifted it up to reveal some parts of his wound bleeding again. 

Shintaro spun around and faced his son. "We need something to cover that up," he said frantically. "Bleeding the woods at night is never -" 

A howl interrupted him. It pierced through the woods and the group fell silent. Kai felt Abby's hand slip into his, and he flushed. Chase looked around him frantically, as did Luke. Linda gritted her teeth and stood at the ready, glancing around her as well.

Another howl followed the first, and it was closer this time. A third echoed right after the second, and a fourth came soon after. 

Fear and panic and worry squeezed Kai's stomach.

"Wolves," Linda said suddenly. "We're surrounded by wolves." 

~

*breaks into an evil laugh* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAA 

Now you all must suffer with this CLIFFHANGER!!! *evil laugh again* AHAHKSJHGAGHAKJSGHAG

Will they escape from the danger? Will another friend get hurt? What happened in Luke's past?! AGHAGHASJHG 

*laughing so hard that I'm struggling to breathe* 

Abby: *appears* Please calm down.... *reaches forward to pat my back* 

*straightens up and beams* 

Abby: *poofs*

Okay, well! 

Hope you all enjoy the cliffhanger... EEHEHEHEHEHEHE

Peace!~~