Chapter 30 - Luke and Anna on a Cold Night
In the cold early morning, Luke awoke. He knew it wasn't his turn for the watch, as it had already happened. Anna had taken the first shift, then him, and now it was Alice's turn to stay outside. In the small cave, the trio had covered the floor with animal hides to keep the place warm. Luke lay a bit farther away, but not too far, since he still needed to lie on the hides to avoid the cold ground.
Looking outside, he saw only darkness and the faint glow of the moon and its stars. Fortunately, they had found some sheets that could have been there for thousands of years. Luke didn't know how it was possible, but just as the corpses took a long time to decay, he theorized that the clothes in that place must also take a long time, after all, they weren't simple clothes. The garments of the ancient inhabitants were made from fabrics and hides of magical animals, so they must have had some magical properties that protected them a bit, and the method of sewing those clothes was likely based on prana. They also found some clothes and blankets in some magical chests that they explained had some sort of preservation power.
Aside from the clothes found in the chests, the ones outside were worn and a bit damaged by time; they took the best ones and washed them before putting them out to dry. They even used the fire to speed up the process. They also used a branch to try to make a curtain for the cave door, but in the end, you could still see practically everything. It wasn't perfect, and it didn't need to be, since they were going to stay there for a short time. Sometimes, they spent more time outside that place than inside. The trio circled the area around the Veil trying to find other survivors.
But in that darkness, lying in that place and covered, Luke still felt cold. What made him open his eyes wasn't the cold, quite the opposite. What made him open his eyes was actually taking the cold away. He felt warm breath on his neck, but part of him couldn't believe it was really happening.
Turning his head a bit, he looked quickly.
It's happening…
He looked outside a bit desperately to see where Alice was.
I need to solve this situation!
Looking again at the problem, he was getting relaxed with the warmth that took away the cold.
Gods! Anna… she ended up hugging me in her sleep!
Luke was a bit desperate. Obviously, he had woken up as soon as he felt the touch of the little redhead, his sleep was light and he wasn't in his apartment safe. As soon as he felt the touch, he had awakened. Part of him stayed still for a long time hoping that sleepy Anna would go back to her place, but she was deeply asleep.
Damn! It's freaking cold, and she's warming me up.
He didn't know how, but even in that cold, he was sweating from being so nervous. He could feel the little redhead's arm around him.
She definitely sleeps hugging a pillow… and I ended up being the pillow…
One of the little redhead's legs was draped over him as she squeezed him even tighter.
Gods! I'm so nervous, I need to get out of here. What do I do? What if Alice comes in? I need to avoid problems.
Luke tried to move a bit, gently pushing the girl away, but he was too nervous about the situation. He didn't want to move or touch sleepy Anna; he was afraid she would wake up if he did, or Alice would come in at that moment.
I'll be in big trouble if that happens.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to pretend to be a rock and go back to sleep, after all, it wasn't his job to explain or do anything. But even so, he was still nervous and worse... he was getting comfortable that way, having something to keep him warm in that cold place.
Luke felt himself being squeezed even tighter.
Damn it! Wake up, Anna! She's... I can feel her pressing against my back... I'm feeling... something soft pressing against my back... two soft, round things to be exact. Gods! How I wish my intangibility was useful to get me out of this situation.
Luke couldn't stop being nervous.
Why the hell do I feel like I'm committing some kind of crime? I am definitely innocent in this story, I did nothing wrong. Just to be clear, I did nothing, and why am I explaining this to myself?
Luke started to move to try to distance himself, but he heard sleepy Anna mumbling.
I... I must be the only guy in the world who would try to get out of a situation like this. The worst part is, I don't want to, but not for the wrong reasons. I don't want to leave because it's damn cold and the little redhead is warming me up more than the wolf pelt. Is she of the fire element, and I didn't know? How can she warm me up so much... or am I just getting too nervous?
He started to fake cough to see if the girl would wake up, but there was no sign of her waking up. He also didn't want to make loud noises and attract Alice to this slightly strange situation he was in. Luke had Anna's arm and leg on top of him, squeezing him like a pillow.
Even the wendigo didn't make me this nervous, and that guy pierced my back...
Luke tried again to move to push the small redhead away.
He was in that internal struggle for a long time, feeling Anna's little arm squeezing him and two soft forms pressing against his back. Luke tried to ignore everything and pretend it didn't exist, but he couldn't.
I'm complicating things, stuck in this situation, and I can't even sleep. I'm sacrificing my precious sleep. How is she so strong? She's shorter than me and very strong. What does this little redhead eat? Could she be a legendary Deviant with a Transmitter Aspect too? She's pressing me hard, and I can't even get loose.
Luke felt like he was in the middle of a fight with a very strong enemy. He tried to move to the side, but the powerful villain's arm held him and squeezed tighter. He was facing the biggest challenge of his life again... and at the same time, it warmed him up, dissipating the strong cold of that place.
What did I do to be in this ambiguous situation? She's good, but she's not! This Little One! She's definitely stronger than me... I'm stuck here.
Coughing a bit, he tried to push the girl away while also not making movements that would make the situation worse if someone saw it. Occasionally, he looked outside to check if Alice was nearby. He could try to pretend he was sleeping, but if she noticed he was awake... explaining would be difficult.
The worst would be if she came into this darkness and thought I was making weird movements while the little redhead here is innocently sleeping, hugging me. I'm screwed, I'm completely screwed. I just wanted to sleep, what did I do to deserve this?
Trying to agitate himself, he made an effort to get out and failed.
"Anna..." he murmured near her face.
Damn it! This is too close.
Luke had to turn to face her while being hugged by her arm and leg. "Anna!" he whispered, trying to wake her.
Gods! Wake up!
"Anna!" he called softly.
"Anna! Redhead! Little redhead!" he tried calling her.
Damn it! I'm getting even more nervous now that I'm facing her.
"Anna..."
Luke couldn't lift his arm; he was stuck, pressed against her, and he wouldn't dare try to free himself and risk touching parts that would land him in jail.
"Anna!" he called a little louder, giving her a gentle headbutt on the forehead.
The red-haired girl furrowed her brow and tried to open her eyes, attempting to figure out what had been squeezing her and keeping her warm. Still groggy in the darkness, she struggled to identify what exactly was pressing against her.
Squinting, she forced her vision to clear. "Luke!" she exclaimed, suddenly alarmed.
"Hello..." replied the boy dressed in black.
"I-I-I-I! I-I-I didn't! It's not what you think!" she yelled, scrambling away and sitting up.
What does she think I would have thought?
Even in the dark, Luke could tell the girl was blushing furiously. "Don't look at me!" she threw a blanket over his face in embarrassment.
"Sorry... wait, it's not my fault. I'm innocent," he said.
"I... I-I-I have this habit, I didn't mean anything by it. I swear, it's a habit of mine to sleep hugging a pillow," she tried to explain.
"I figured it was something like that..." he said.
Poor pillow, the little I experienced, I suffered being squished.
A silence settled over the place. "Good morning!" said Alice, entering the cave and opening the curtains.
"Kyya!" Anna let out a squeal.
"Oh, I see you're already awake. I'm hungry, and it's almost dawn. Should we get that monster pig?"