Everyone had gone inside, but Jake stayed behind.
"I guess I still need a little air before I go in" Jake said, sitting on the log beside Kayla.
"Thanks" she smiled at him.
"For what?"
"I know you're here to keep me company"
"Sure about that?" Jake asked, scrunching his eyebrows and staring so deep as if he could see her soul.
"Yeah, I am" she said, now laughing. Jake just realized she had a pretty smile.
It complemented her pretty face and brought out the glow in her hazel brown eyes.
Jake remembered how distraught she had been earlier when she saw an injured Tony, he could almost pick out the dread and sincere worry in her eyes as if it were material.
"She's like our little mother" Jake thought to himself.
"What?" she stared at Jake quizzically
"Hmm?" Jake raised his head to face her.
"You said something"
"No I didn't"
"Yes you did"
"Did I say that out loud?" he asked, she chuckled slightly at the look of realization on his face. "I thought you seemed like a mother to us lot" her smile slowly faded.
"I can't really do much to help, so I guess I just have to make sure everyone is okay" she hung her head remembering how Tony had been brought back, his head matted with dried blood.
"No, no. Don't say that. You already do a lot as it is. We fight and are only able to watch our back, but you have all our backs. Without you, we might not be able to return in one piece after a mission. If you weren't here, what do you think would have become of Tony"
"Most of us know first aid, that's basically what I did"
"And what of his sprained ankle? Then he would've become extra baggage, a liability while we went in search of the last demon tomorrow.
I dare say that you are the most important person in our little group, so don't feel that way about yourself. Alright?"
"Okay" she smiled at him in appreciation.
"Your shift is almost over, when you're done just come in and tap Levi, he's not a deep sleeper.
I should be worried, I have to wake Percy." Jake twisted his face in a groan earning a slight chuckle from Kayla.
"I have to catch a little sleep before my shift"
"Alright, thanks Jake"
"Sure"
Jake entered inside the tent, he was asleep almost before he touched the mat.
He knew how tired Kayla must be, she hadn't engaged in combat of any sort but she had to heal Tony and tend to his injuries.
He hoped she would wake Levi and get some sleep.
Jake stirred in his sleep, he opened his eye and looked around, it was dark.
He wondered what had woken him up. He gently released himself from the leg lock Percy had used to pin his legs down and went out of the tent.
The light from the fire was now a dim red glow that illuminated the area around the firewood. The rest of the woods was dimly lit with the help of the half Moon in the sky.
He rubbed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, taking a few steps forward till he saw a dark female figure sitting on the log of wood near the dim light of the dying flames.
As he drew closer, he could make out the long hair and the slender shape.
"Anna" he called, half hoping a faceless monster won't turn and tear him apart.
"Jake?" came the smooth velvety voice with a turn off the head.
"Yeah" he came up to the log and sat beside her.
"Can't sleep?" she asked him
"Dunno, woke up for some weird reason. How long have you been here?"
"Almost an hour"
"I see, I'm up next huh. You can go back in, catch some sleep before it's daybreak"
"Not yet" she replied turning down his offer "I'll stay for a while"
"Works better, at least I'll have someone to talk to for a while"
"It's the least I can do after what you did for Kayla"
"You saw that?"
"Sure did. Was awake the whole time" Jake could feel his cheeks redden in the red glow "what you did was nice"
"Thanks" was all Jake could muster. "What Levi did was nice though"
"You mean volunteering Kayla for first watch?"
"Yeah. You knew too" Jake and Anna were equally smart, but Levi had outstanding leadership qualities. They were the only ones who had noticed what Levi had done.
"A good guy, Levi"
"Yeah, I'm glad we have him on our side"
"Yeah" Anna agreed
"Imagine he was an enemy" Anna chuckled at the thought of Levi in a demon form.
"He would be a handsome demon with more than two arms and two horns poking from his head" Jake smiled at her description "I just hope we can finish on time, so we can leave this damned place as soon as possible"
"I hope so too" Jake agreed, they sat there conversing as the dim red glow of the fire reduced to darkness. It was almost thirty minutes since Jake joined Anna outside.
"Anna, don't you think you should go to bed, you need to be fully rested for the journey tomorrow"
"You're right. I guess I'll leave it to you then"
Jake was now alone in the dimly lit night, staring into the bushes as though he expected something to jump out of the bushes.
He looked at the numerous stars in the sky, remembering his sister, Claire, Uncle Mike and Aunt Hilda. He hoped they were okay. He absently fiddled with the locket around his neck, running his hand over the engraved characters, submerging himself in the sea of calmness that came with the feeling, he shook away the feeling of calmness lest unwanted sleep befell him.
He wondered what waking Percy would be like but it was not something he was looking forward to.
He searched his head for thoughts to occupy his mind while he waited for his watch to be over, that was when he felt it again. The same feeling he had felt the night before while he slept in the hostel, the same feeling that tugged at his gut till he woke up.
Jake was quickly on alert, his eyes darted left and right scanning the environment around him. He couldn't see more than fifty yards ahead of him, due to the half moon which casted shadows all around the eerie forest.
He stood up and began walking into the trees, away from the tents he had walked only twenty yards when he immediately turned left, he had heard something.
His human eyes which could hardly do much in the dark scanned the surrounding area, not seeing anything.
He thought he might have imagined it, after giving it another thought he remembered his job was to watch over the tents. Then he heard a sound, from the direction of the tents where he'd just left.
Jake immediately spun around sprinting the fifty yards he had taken from the tent, he was sure this was not his imagination.
"Where did you go to?" Percy asked Jake absentmindedly seemingly kicking something Jake couldn't see in the burnt wood.
Jake came to an abrupt stop, trying to hide his mortified voice he answered "just took a little walk to stretch my legs"
"Alright, see if you can catch a little sleep before dawn"
"My one hour is up already?" Jake asked, he didn't know he had stayed up to an hour already.
"Dunno, but it's my shift now"
"Sure" Jake clapped his back and returned to the tent.