I feel like I almost lost my d.a.m.n mind... I wipe my mouth and say "I'm sorry... it just tastes so good. Wait! Why did you come down here!? Have you lost your d.a.m.n mind!!?" He gives me a sad smirk and says "Yeah, I lost my d.a.m.n mind when I thought I lost you. If I hadn't come, you'd have died down here."

I look into his red eyes with tears forming in mine. He quickly reaches out and wipes a tear before saying "None of that. What's happening to you, dollface?" Oh yeah... I look down at my hair and see that my ends are still light but the rest of my hair is dark as Kian's.

I look back up at him and say "I think I turn into a demon every full moon... I'm not a hundred percent sure but that's all I got for now." He looks at me with concern before looking around us with sharp eyes.

I look around in confusion and ask "What? What is it?" He looks back at me and asks "Can you walk?" I nod my head as he quickly pulls me up to my feet and says "We need to keep moving. How you've survived this long out here in the wastelands is beyond me. I think your demon side is to thank for that."

Wastelands? I look around as Kian takes my hand and starts leading the way. "I don't even know... I just kept moving. I think someone's looking for me." Kian keeps walking as he says "Of course they are. Enzo is probably responsible for summoning you down here but something went wrong. He probably tried to summon you to him but you landed out here in the wastelands instead."

I struggle to keep up as I try to file all the new information away but to be honest, I was exhausted. As if sensing it, Kian turns around and looks me over with worry. "We need to make it to the city. If we can make it there, we'll be safer. They're dangerous creatures out here in the wastelands."

I give him a look of confusion as I say "I haven't seen any creatures while I've been out here." He nods and says "That's because it's day time. Once night comes... we'll be in trouble." He turns around and crouches down while saying "Climb on. We need to keep moving."

Confused and still dehydrated, I try to pull him back up as I say "Are you insane? I can still walk." He grabs my arm and pulls me over on top of him. He quickly wraps his hands around my thighs and stands up. "Hold on," he says and starts walking.

He'll die out here at this rate! I try to get down but he just lifts me back up and holds me tight while saying "I understand you're worried about me, dollface but if we don't keep moving... we'll both end up dying out here, okay?"

I stop trying to get down and awkwardly allow him to carry me even though we're both starting to sweat buckets. Before long, I don't even have the strength to keep sitting up. I relax on his back and rest my head on him as he continues to walk.

"I don't understand... it's never been dark here." I say in a mumble as I try to block the red, nonexistent sun from my eyes. He keeps his pace up as he says "Time flows differently here. Five days on, five days off."

I frown at that and struggle to understand. "So... five days with the sun and then five days without?" I ask trying to lift my head. Kian easily cuts through the dead forest with ease as he says "Correct. We're a few miles away from the city but I'm afraid we won't make it in time."

I try to ignore the way his sweat drips down the side of his neck and ask "When can I have some more water? I tried to drink the red stuff from the trees but that didn't work out too well." Kian nearly stumbles and comes to a sudden stop.

He quickly lowers me and spins me around with a look of worry on his face. He quickly grabs my face and starts looking me over as he asks "You did what!?" I let him look me over as I say "I tried to drink the red stuff from the trees. I saw some other demons do it and I was thirsty so..."

He makes a pained expression before asking "How long ago was that?" Confused, I try to remember but I can't. I shake my head and say "I don't know. I thew it up though... was it bad? The others were drinking it though."

He nearly collapses in relief as he says "Thank you thank you thank you" over and over again. He kisses my forehead, my nose, and then my lips before resting his forehead against mine and saying "The others have lived out in the wastelands for generations. They've adapted to drink from the trees but even they can die from it if they're not careful. Don't ever drink from the trees again."

s.h.i.+t... I swallow hard and nod my head as everything suddenly starts getting darker. We both slowly look up as Kian curses. He grits his teeth and hands me the water as he says "We're too late... drink and rest. You'll need your energy."

I take the water with a worried look. We both sit and drink water as the temperatures continue to drop. When the last bit of light is gone, Kian looks to me and says "No matter what you hear or see... don't stop running. Do you understand?"

For the first time since coming down here... I'm afraid.