Blood Moon

8 | Survivors

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" says an unfamiliar face. 

"I...I'm Selene," I answered. 

"What makes you think you can come barging into my home?" 

"No, you've misunderstood. I'm just looking for my friend." I answered nervously. 

The stranger raises an eyebrow, suspicious of my intentions. 

"And what does your friend look like?" 

"Uhm wearing a white top, pants, and boots," I stated vaguely.

"Your friend's pretty well-dressed for someone who's lost." the stranger says, not trusting me one bit. 

"Well, we learned to make our own clothes from the cloths that we forage from the city. Sometimes, if we're lucky, there are still clothes there just abandoned from the shops and -" 

"--Wait, what!? You've been to the city?" he says cutting me off. 

"Um, me, actually no. But my friend has" 

"Hmm, and what makes you so sure that your friend hasn't left you here?" 

That hurt a little bit. This stranger might be right and it seems that Ciro isn't around here.

"I better get going then." I stood up and started to walk away. 

"Wait a minute," he grabs my arm to stop me. I was startled and took my hand away from him. I turned around and looked at him cautiously.

"Ah yes, yes, I haven't introduced myself yet. Sorry, I'm Raff." he then offers me a handshake.  

I stared at him for a while, squinting. 

He chuckles still holding out his hand. "I'm sorry and I'm not a bad person. Actually, you're the one who's standing in my property." 

The nerve! 

I turned around and started to walk away. Fine, then I'll leave. 

"No, wait wait wait," he says, following me to where I'm going. "I'll help you find your friend."

"Uh, Raff, thanks but no thanks. I'll do it myself" I don't trust this guy. 

"The woods here aren't safe and I tell you, honestly, that I saw a Newborn around here last night, searching for prey," he says intently. 

If he's right, I don't have much time before sundown. And I need to look for Ciro as soon as possible. I don't plan to rescue the others all by myself and I don't know these parts of the woods either.  

I stopped and turned around. He held his hand out again for a handshake. "Raff" he repeated his name. 

"Selene," I said mine again and shook his hand. He smiled and his boyish looks brightened. 

"Let me lead the way, milady." he bows down escorting me into the woods, talking to me as if we were already friends. 

~

It's been an hour and we haven't found Ciro yet. I'm getting worried. 

"Could it be?" he says suddenly. 

"What?" 

"That- your friend is the one who was being eaten by a Newborn last night?" 

I turned pale. 

He looked at me and began to worry. 

"Woah Woah Woah, I was just kidding. We'll find your friend! No need to go all white on me." 

I ignored his insensitive jokes. He doesn't know Ciro. Ciro wouldn't just get eaten easily. Heck! He wouldn't get eaten at all. He's too strong to be just prey. He'd eat that Newborn if he had to!

"Okay, this part is pretty rocky and covered with plants. We'd have to cross a cliff to get to the other side," says Raff. 

"A cliff? why would we do that!?" I asked as I kept on walking.

"Well, princess, we've practically searched all the areas near to where you camped and if your friend had just set off this morning before you found them gone, your friend couldn't have gone that far. But, since we still haven't found them yet, we'd have to see if your friend traveled further."

"Wouldn't that be too much? Why in the world would he go deep into the woods again when we were supposed to travel by the roads this morning? It just doesn't make sense!" I say, frustrated. 

"Oh, so the friend's a he," he says. 

"So? What!?" 

"Hey there! Don't get angry at me. I'm not your prick of a boyfriend who left you here alone!" he holds both his hands in front of him as if he was stopping me.

"Excuse me, but he is not my boyfriend" I crossed my arms and turned away. 

Raff laughs and points his finger to my face. 

"Seems like it! You blushed ten times more when I said that," he continues. 

I didn't respond, instead, I just walked straight into the narrow path by the cliffs. 

"Hey, wait! Be careful! It's too dangerous!" 

"Stop calling me princess!" 

I didn't look where I was walking and I took a misstep and suddenly fell but Raff catches me just in time. I almost fell to my death. He pulled me away from the edge and I winced at my leg then looked at him. He's staring at me warmly with his dark eyes and holding me tightly. 

"I told you, be careful," he whispered as he was slowly helping me to stand. 

"Who the f**k are you!?" shouts Ciro. 

"Ciro!" I tried to walk to him but failed. "Ouch!" 

"Careful!" says Ciro and Raff simultaneously. 

They both look at each other oddly that it made me really uncomfortable. 

Raff offers his hand and introduces himself. Ciro declines and is just staring him down. 

Raff doesn't make a fuss out of it and proceeded to assist me in walking. 

"Let me," says Ciro and takes over not breaking his eye contact with Raff. 

"I don't trust this guy," he whispers to my ear. 

I chuckled. "I thought the same thing too". 

"Really? It didn't seem like it. You were with him after all," insists Ciro. 

I just stared at him annoyed while we walked. 

Raff was still following us. "I think we should head back to my cabin" 

"No, we can manage," says Ciro coldly. 

"Hey man, she's hurt and you're obviously tired and hungry. C'mon, I insist."

Ciro kept walking with my arm around his neck and his right hand on my waist. I felt myself blush all over again, so I covered my face with my long hair. I didn't want him to see me like I'm enjoying being hurt.

Ciro looks at him and then at me, "He's okay," I said, assuring him that I wasn't harmed and was even saved. 

Ciro trusted my words and agreed. 

"Okay, but just for an hour or so, just so that Selene can rest and then we go." 

"Alright!" says Raff, too cheerfully.

He offers to help Ciro in assisting me but Ciro suddenly carries me instead. I was flustered so I covered my face with my hands as he carries me like a newlywed couple. 

Raff laughs a little and puts his hands up to surrender, letting Ciro know that he won. 

~

"Come on in, make yourselves at home," says Raff as we enter the cabin that was previously barred by heavy objects. 

Raff is skillful. He made an automatic lock for his cabin's doors with the use of wood. He didn't need a companion, he was good on his own. He told us to turn our backs as he opened his doors so that we couldn't see where the hidden lever was and closed it the same way once we got in. 

Ciro laid me on the couch gently and whispered 'What were you doing out in the deep woods with this guy?" he asks. 

"Looking for you, dimwit," I said. 

"We were looking for you, man. Why'd you leave your girl all alone?" interjects Raff who knows we were whispering. 

"First off, I was hunting for food. Second, I thought she would be safer near the roads and lastly, she's not my girl. We're just friends." answers Ciro. 

I frowned and snapped "Yeah, I'm not his girl or anyone for that matter!" 

Raff just nodded and looked at me with a little smile on his face. "Good to know."