It was obvious Erin didn't want to be there. But then again, neither of us wanted her there, either. She was dressed in the same clothes as earlier, just with an added belt, filled with rope and climbing gear. She also had a single red ribbon strung into her hair. Her pack was filled with canned food and canteens of water, items she wasn't preparing to share with the rest of us.

Jesse fumbled his map, tracing the path through the forest with his finger before turning to us, his expression stating that we had been lost. Erin ripped the paper out of his hand before storming off to the lead. I couldn't exactly blame her, though.

We had been two hours away from school and no closer to anything else. I had been convinced even Arry if she ever spoke, would have been asking if we were their yet. She slouched over, droning by at the back of the group with her rapier strapped to her side.
What made everything so much worst was the heavy cloud that cast a shadow over the world around us, threatening to burst at any moment.

Now and then, I'd feel a single drop against my face that would stop my heart. Erin scanned the map, then rolled it up tightly and stuffed it into the inside of her jacket. She seemed at home, away. Only being her usual level of a bitch.

“How lost are we?” I spoke, jogging to keep up to the girl. Erin didn't answer, simply walked slightly faster so that she wouldn't need to talk to me. She pressed forward, determined to walk to the top of every hill and rock formation that we found, only to look around, or to make us tired enough so that we'd drop dead sooner.

Everything about the situation had been awkward. Everyone remained silent until the silence began to bother even Arry.

“I think we should take the camp somewhere.” Jesse had been the one to break the silence, his voice weak, unsteady and gripped with the cold that began to set it. Erin, again perched at the top of a large boulder, looked up at the sky.

“Whatever. There's a cave just a bit further down the path. My sister and I use to go there when – ” she froze, looking directly at me, then back ahead of her. “We should get going.”

Erin had long legs that seemed almost too awkward to move around with but really made it even harder to keep up with her that it was to keep up to Arry. But we followed, ducking under a fallen tree and skipping across the rocks placed in the stream that cut through the forest. The path was long gone, covered in foliage and washed away by the weather. But, Erin still knew where she had been. That much had been apparent as she leads us to the entrance of a cave system, placed against the face of a cliff.

She stepped in, and we followed. The cave had been surprisingly warm compared to the outside, and the trees that covered the entrance provided more shelter from the wind than I would have expected.

“Lux,” She spoke, and a ball of blue light formed in front of us, casting a gentle hue onto the darkness of the cave. The cave, now that I looked at it, was a safe house. A burnt-out campfire near the entrance, and surrounding it was a bunch of pillows, blankets and stuffed animals scattered among children's books about tigers and birds. Erin crouched over, picking up a stuffed cat, then placed it on one of the pillows.

“I'll start the fire,” I spoke, choosing not to ask her any questions, fearing that she'd make me combust instantaneously, or something. I lowered myself down to the fireplace holding my hands outwards. I whispered. “Phoenix.”

Nothing happened.

“You humans are so useless,” Erin spoke, tossing a lighter my way. I grabbed it, lighting the fire before adding in more of the scrap wood placed alongside it. The glow of the flame engulfed the room, lighting it up even further. Erin snuffed out the light of her spell and sat against the cave wall with the blanket wrapped around her.

It wasn't much longer until the sun went down and the rest of us fell asleep. I drifted through clouds of darkness until I found myself sitting aside the girl again, and again, she seemed slightly older this time.

“You miss me?” She played with a small flame, throwing it from her one had to the other. Her eyes glistening orange, her hair now a pure blonde with a single blue strand. She must have been around sixteen.

“I missed your name the last time we spoke,” I responded, my eyes fixated onto the flame. She frowned.

“You already know my name.” The girl spoke, tossing the flame to me. I caught it and D passed it back like it was some sort of hot potato. I considered what she said, then looked up at her.

“Salem,” I spoke, and her face lit up with delight. “I knew there was something familiar about this place. It's you, isn't it?”

“We have a winner!” She shot upright nearly jumping for joy as the ball of flame burnt out. She was dressed in a white dress — the kinda princess would wear in those Barbie movies. The kind that flared out as she span. Then suddenly, she stopped.

“You're in danger.” She spoke with a frown. Her eyes narrow and without its sparkle. Her face, ridden with worry lines and her ears twitched like that of a cat.

“Oh great, here comes the prophecy crap.” I sighed, rolling my eyes. Prophecies were always a cliché and I was hoping to not get one.

“No, really!” Yelling, she pulled me to my feet than with all her might, pushed my back down. “Wake up!”