"Long ago, this was once a home I had built for you and our clan a little after the second war ended. I had envisioned us living here, but time interfered with those plans," Kai revealed the tale to me as we wandered through the ruins together.
I must admit that learning he was the one who built this Palace took me by surprise as I wasn't anticipating what he said to be my answer.
"It must have been a beautiful home during its prime. We've come a long way in our architecture with homemaking since then," I playfully teased, earning a delightful smile from Kai.
"We should rejoin the others. I need to hunt and find a sheep for you to eat," Kai suggestively announced, guiding me out of the fragments of a mud-brick building that had partially crumbled.
After we made our way back, Glenn and Rome were busy digging two holes for a fire while Kai set off to hunt with Jack and Ian.
By sundown, they had returned with seven freshly butchered sheep. Using the well-preserved ancient pottery and basins, Kai and Jack thoroughly drained every drip of the sheep's blood into the pots as they taught Ian their methods on how to endure when finding human blood came to be scarce.
Nearby the fire, the flickers of firelight shimmered over my exposed forearm bone while I used the glow to watch Glenn stitch my wound with the strands of dried-out sheep's guts. Across the fire from us, Rome busily cooked a portion of meat for me to eat.
"Ouch!" I winced, groaning in pain as Glenn extracted the needle from out of my flesh.
"I'm sorry I couldn't numb the area before starting," Glenn apologetically sighed, pushing the needle back through to secure the stitching by knotting it shut.
"It's... okay..." I gnashed my teeth, bearing with the pain.
Shortly after Glenn finished stitching my arm, the meal was ready for me to eat as Kai, Jack, and Ian joined us by the fire. As they drank sheep's blood from the ancient pottery cups, they talked about the old times as Ian and I listened to their stories.
Done with my meal, Kai made me a makeshift bed on the ground by borrowing Jack and Glenn's jackets while he and Rome spared theirs to cover me.
For the hour, Kai cuddled with me, nestling me in his arms as his body warmth kept me toasty. Ian was sound asleep by the fire as everyone else kept a watchful eye on our surroundings.
"Try to sleep," Kai whispered, gazing at the sparkling stars above our view.
"I'm trying," I muttered, squirming to find a comfortable position in his arms.
Relaxed in his tone, Kai asked in a whisper, "Are you sure you're comfortable?"
"I'm more than comfortable," I replied with a partial lie.
There was nothing more he could do. No matter how many times I switched positions, I still couldn't get comfy. My feet were swollen, and my whole body felt heavy from carrying triplets. On top of that, the long hike made every bone in my body ache. Overall, I didn't want to be a burden. I knew they'd done everything possible to make me comfortable.
With a light breath, Kai sighed, sensing the lie behind my words, but he chose not to pursue it further.
"Ian and I need to hunt," Kai merely murmured, pressing his lips to the side of my head, and a soft kiss graced my skin.
Yawning, I mumbled in response, "I figured... it might be... time."
As Kai lifted himself, he faintly called, "Glenn, can you keep her warm?"
From the shadows, Glenn crept into the lighting of the fire."Sure, are you leaving to hunt?" he asked, positioning himself towards the ground for me to steal his body heat.
"Yes, Ian and I need to feed. Jack and Rome will stay with you," Kai declared, and Glenn nodded with acknowledgment of his plan.
After Kai kissed me goodbye, he roused Ian awake. He had to ensure they fed before their hunger for blood would overpower their senses. Once Ian was alert, they vanished by taking off into the darkness.
As I rested my head on Glenn's shoulder, he idly fiddled with his non-functional cell phone. Among us, only Glenn, Ian, and Kai still had their cell phones on them. Mine was left back home because Kai didn't bring it with him. Jack lost his cell phone during the plane crash, and Rome's phone was left charging aboard the plane's single bedroom whenever Kai and I were resting inside it.
Regrettably, there wasn't any phone service around these parts for us to reach anyone from home. Nothing about our predicament got any easier for us to seek help because the distance was too far for them to telepathically contact Mr. Collin for aid.
"You miss Alice, don't you?" I quietly asked as my warm breath mixed with the chilly air.
"Very much," Glenn admitted with a frown, forming his mouth. "Once we reach Egypt, I'll charge my phone and contact her." A sudden light chuckle escaped him. "I bet she's sent me a thousand texts and calls by now."
I giggled at his humor in that thought. Like any typical teenage girl, Alice was glued to her phone as if it were her lifeline. I could only imagine the barrage of notifications that would blow up his phone with all the missed calls and texts he'd receive from her.
"You should try to sleep," Glenn sweetly suggested.
"I'm trying," I whispered, snuggling closer into the warmth of his body heat.
My eyelids gently shut, and eventually, exhaustion ushered me into a deep sleep.
"Victoria, it's time to wake up," Jack's voice nudged me from my slumber. "Victoria, do you hear me?"
With a hefty groan, I struggled to pry my eyelids apart as my eyes refused to cooperate, "I'm trying to wake up," I groggily muttered, rubbing away the soreness from my eyelids. "Where's Kai?"
"Kai's gone hunting, but he wanted me to wake you for breakfast. We plan to set out after your bath," Jack explained as my heavy eyelids begrudgingly peeled apart.
Just as his features sharpened into focus, something went wrong as an unexpected blurriness disoriented the image of his face before my eyes.
"Jack!"
"Victoria!" Jack's voice spiked with alarm as I felt myself slipping into my time gap as it traversed me somewhere in the past.