Caroline didn't say a word and slowly blinked, and I could tell that there were a lot of questions going around her mind but didn't know how to tell them. She looked around to see if we were alone before she looked at me, stopping in front of this gray building that stood eery and all alone with only tents surrounding it.

I paused and cocked my head while I stared at the building and then looked at her, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. "Is this the shower place?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and she nodded in confirmation.

"Yes," she said before she cleared her throat and licked her lips, hesitating ever so slightly. "This is the shower building. It's one of the only things that Tabitha had made that still works..." She shrugged and grimaced, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Her cheeks turned another shade of red, and she looked around before she looked at me without saying another word.

I slowly nodded and bit the inside of my lip, biting back a tired sigh. "Then let's go ahead and take a shower," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I also want to see how bad my back looks. I am pretty sure that it looks pretty gnarly."

Caroline furrowed her brows and slowly nodded. She cocked her head to the side and studied me, and worry flashed through her eyes. "Do you think your toe looks bad too?" she asked. "Like do you have a scar on it?"

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I don't know," I said before I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck. "I wish I knew, but I do not think so. It's not going to be as bad as that. It might not have left any scarring at all."

"Well, we can check on it later," I said and moved a hand through my hair, wrinkling my nose and pursing my lips in annoyance when I felt how greasy it felt. "I'm surprised that no one has said anything about me stinking," I added and rubbed the back of my neck.

Caroline bit back a small laugh and nodded. "I am surprised, too. I didn't even notice it... not really." Her cheeks turned red, and she bit back a small smile while she tucked her head closer to her chest.

I shrugged and grimaced before I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "Let's go ahead and get those showers because I want to feel pretty again. Ok?" I flashed her a small smirk and a wink, and she bit back a small smile and slowly nodded.

Caroline bit back a small chuckle and shifted on her feet while she grew serious. "Ok," she said. She gestured for me to enter the building first, silently indicating that she would follow me after I stepped in, and I did what I was told to do and walked into the building with her following me. "Do you need any clothes?" she asked and cocked her head while she studied me. "Or do you think the pouch has some for you?"

"The pouch will have some for me, I am sure," I said with a small shrug and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I don't mind standing out because I know that I am different from everyone else and from a different timeline than you all."

Caroline furrowed her brows and slowly nodded, biting the inside of her lip. Worry flashed through her eyes, and she cleared her throat while she licked her lips. "I think it would be best if you wore the same clothes as us..." She trailed off before she cleared her throat, and her cheeks turned red. "I don't want you to get hurt, or worse, killed."

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thinner line before I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes. "I don't care if I get hurt, and I don't think I will be killed because I am able to protect myself more than others."

"Because of your fire powers?" Caroline asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and I nodded in confirmation. "Will you use your water powers, too, to protect yourself?"

"If I am able to use them," I said and shrugged with another grimace on my face. "If I need to use them, then I am hoping that they will work, but if not, then I will be fine without using them."

Even though I am going to need to be able to use my water powers just as much as I need to use my fire powers...

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head while I walked further into the shower room and paused in front of the stalls before I turned my attention to Caroline. "Uh... is there any stall that I can use or can not use?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, cocking my head to the side while I studied her.

Caroline bit back a small smile and shook her head. "There are no assigned stalls," she said and gestured toward the stalls. "Go ahead and pick one, and I will show you how it works so that you can take a shower whenever you want and when no one else is here to help. Ok?"

I nodded and breathed a small sigh of relief, and my whole body slowly but surely started to relax. "But first, do you think you can look at my back and tell me how it is?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "I am really curious about the way it looks and how bad it is."

Caroline bit back a small chuckle and nodded. "Sure," she said. "Are you fine with getting naked out here, or do you want to go into the stall first before you take off your shirt."

I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line. "I am fine with either way," I said before I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "I guess the question is what are you comfortable with, Caroline? Do you want to be in the shower spot before you check out my back, or do you want to do it here? Neither way is going to bother me, so if you aren't comfortable with it, then we can go ahead and enter the stall." I gestured to the stall, and Caroline looked at the stall before she looked at me with her cheeks turning red.

"Do you want to look in the mirror so that you can see it, though?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "If so, then let's go ahead and do it here so that you can see it here."

I tucked my head closer to my chest and bit back an amused smile while I looked at her. My heart grew warm and became filled with happiness because I could tell that she wanted to do this for my sake and not just her own curiosity. "You don't want to do it out here, though, in case someone walks in," I said while I studied her. "You want to enter the safety of one of the stalls just to make sure that no one sees me and says something that could be considered hurtful to me. Correct?" I raised an eyebrow in question while I studied her further to see if what I said was true or not.

Instantly, Caroline tucked her head closer to her chest, and she didn't meet my gaze while her cheeks turned another shade of red. Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest, and her mouth went dry.

She didn't say a word, and her heart skipped a beat before it continued to pound hard and fast in her chest, sounding like a runaway train. Her whole body was tense, and I could tell that she was worried about me, even though she didn't need to be; I would have been fine either way.

I bit back a small chuckle and shook my head, biting back a small smile. "Then come on and let's go ahead and go into the stall before I take my jacket and shirt off," I said and entered the stall, with her following me close behind without me having to tell her again, and I could tell that she was nervous and worried.

As soon as the curtain was lowered over the entrance of the stall after we were in, I took my jacket and shirt off of my body before I turned my back toward her, and she gasped out in shock and pain. "Now, how gnarly does it look?" I asked and turned my head to the side to try and see my back. "Does it look like I had been through the ringer and won?"

Caroline hesitated and shook her head. "It looks like you had lost," she said, her voice barely above a whisper while it became filled with pain and sadness. "And you lost badly."

She wanted to touch my back; I could tell, but for some reason, she didn't do it while she continued to study my back and where I had gotten hit with a whip so long ago.

But not long enough...

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "You can touch the scars on my back, Caroline. They won't bite," I said before I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line, "and I am not dead, so I would like to say that I did in fact win, even though it doesn't look like it."

Caroline hesitated again before she slowly nodded. She did what I told her to do and touched my back, and her hands shook while she started to touch the scars and traced it.

I tried but failed not to shift as soon as her cool fingers were on my back, and she instantly gasped and pulled away from me while she stared at my back, afraid that she had hurt me.

"Sorry, sorry," I said, with a small chuckle in my voice. I tucked my head and looked at her with a small smile on my face. "I did not mean to shift away from you. Your touch was just cold, and I couldn't help but shift away from you."

Caroline frowned and slowly nodded, pressing her lips into a thin line. Her brows were furrowed, and there was a small frown on her face while she looked at my back and then at me. She didn't say a word, and I could tell that she wanted to know if I would be able to touch my back again.

I smiled and slowly nodded before I turned to look away from her, letting her see the fullness of my back again. I didn't say a word while she touched my back, studying it with a critical gaze and a frown on her face.

"There are ridges on your back," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "like bumps that go up and down your spine."

I hummed and slowly nodded. "I am not surprised," I said before I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "I know that he had hit my back many times, and I am sure that he had hit the same spot more times than not."

Caroline furrowed her brows and bit the inside of her lip while she slowly nodded. "I do think that he has missed a spot," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She continued to stroke my back, biting back a wince of pain. "Do you think some of them had hit your back lower than this?"

"I know that the tip of the whip hit the bottom of my back where my pants rest on my back," I said. "Do you want to see?" I asked and cocked my head to the side while I turned my head so that I could look at her, raising an eyebrow in question.

Caroline nodded before her cheeks turned red. "Are you comfortable with showing me that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Or is that something that you do not want to show me?"

I bit back a small snort and rolled my eyes. "We are both females," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I do not mind showing them to you. After that, I want to go ahead and take a shower. I don't need you in here for that." I flashed her a small smirk and a wink, and Caroline bit back a small hesitant smile and slowly nodded.

"Then go ahead and take off your pants so that I can see it, please," Caroline said, her voice barely above a whisper, "and then I will let you be alone while you take your shower. I'm going to take one, too."

I nodded and did what I was told to do. I unbuttoned and unzipped my pants before I let her see it. "See?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question. "How amazing is it?" I asked and cocked my head to the side.

Caroline pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't say a word while she started to trace the bottom parts of my whip marks. "Do you think that you have some of the scars lower than this?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I shrugged and grimaced. "Don't know," I said while I shook my head. "I will look at it later, but for right now, I think that this is for the best that I will go ahead and shower."

Caroline hesitated before she slowly nodded. "Ok," she said before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "I am going to go ahead and leave you to your shower so that I can take one. Are you going to stay in the building after you are done with your shower? Or are you going to check on everyone afterward?"

"I am going to be staying in here and waiting for you to get done with your shower," I said. "After that, we are going to check on everyone and make sure that everyone has settled in nicely, especially Reece. After that, we are going to go ahead and train some more so that we can get you ready for anything."

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked and tucked her head closer to her chest. A look of nervousness and excitement filled her eyes, and I couldn't help but chuckle while I slowly nodded in confirmation. "Why?"

"Well, we both need to practice and train," I said and shrugged with a small grimace on my face. "I need to make sure that my skills are on point, especially since I have to help you and make sure that you are ready to face anything and everything that is going to happen to you after I leave and go back home."

Caroline slowly nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't say anything and bit the inside of her lip while she looked at the curtain before she looked at me. Her whole body grew tense, and a look of fear and nervousness appeared on her face while she did so.

I frowned and furrowed my brows while I cocked my head and studied her, biting the inside of her lip. "Are you ok?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied her. "What is it? What's going on in your mind?"

She hesitated and shook her head, biting the inside of her lip. "I don't know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "All I know is that something bad is about to happen."

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and a shiver went down my spine. My heart skipped a beat before it started to pound hard and fast in my chest while I studied her. "What is it? What's wrong? What is going to happen?"

Caroline's eyes grew wide, and her cheeks instantly turned red. She didn't say a word and shook her head as if she had no idea why she said what she did, and I could tell that it freaked her out just as much as it freaked me out.

Her heart continued to pound hard and fast in her chest, and she shook her head, with her bottom lip quivering and a wave of emotion washed over her. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and I could tell that she was nervous, scared even as if she didn't know what she was feeling or thinking.

"Caroline?" I pressed gently while I took a step toward her, and I couldn't help but grow worried about her, praying that she would be ok and would tell me what was going on. "What is it? What are you feeling? I am here to help you. Ok?"

Caroline hesitated before she slowly nodded and bit the inside of her lip. "I know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, and her cheeks turned red. "I know that you are here to help me, but I do not know what is going to happen and don't want to worry you."

She paused and took a deep, shuddering breath in while she tried to calm her nerves before she released it with a shaky, whoosh. "All I know is that something bad will happen here, and it is going to happen sooner than we hope." She paused and licked her lips while she turned her head so that she wouldn't be looking at me, grimacing. "I am afraid that we will not be prepared for whatever it is to come, no matter how hard we try or what we do beforehand, because in the end, it will not be enough, and one of us will get hurt or worse... killed."

Oh, Goddess, protect us...