Romilly shakes her head. "They ran off," she says. "Even the ones that knew where we were, though I suppose we might have been more than they were bargaining for." She shakes her head. "It was like something was calling them away. Something that we couldn't hear."
"Well," you say, trying to stop exhaustion from completely overwhelming you, "I suppose we should get back." Slowly, fighting just to keep yourself upright and moving, you start forward, following Max through the forest.
After a few seconds, you realize that Will has fallen into step beside you. "Oh," you say, trying to get up to speed mentally. "You all right?"
The Head Boy musters up a weary smile. "Surviving," he says. "Something the two of us have in common."
You nod. "Makes you wonder what two humans are even doing in the middle of all of this."
A warmth encircles your hand, and you look down to see that Will has taken hold of it. "Well," he says, smiling at you just a little shyly, "I think you were saving the entire world. I was just…"
"Surviving?" you suggest.
"Quite. I…" Will hesitates, then looks down at the dark forest path, now addressing his words to the damp ground. "I was wondering about…well, the two of us. I mean…" He coughs. You did just have a rather life-altering experience. I'd…I'd quite like to know how you feel about…us."