[WARNING! Unedited! Don't buy!]
{IRIS}
The stars did not comfort me.
They burned cold and distant above our heads, indifferent to everything we had just endured. Their light touched our soaked bodies without warmth, glinting off torn fabric and bloodied skin like mockery.
Caroline rolled onto her side, coughing violently. River water poured from her mouth and nose as she retched, shaking hard enough that I crawled closer and wrapped my arms around her.
"It's okay," I murmured, though my own teeth chattered. "You're safe. You're breathing. That's all that matters right now."
Safe was a lie.
But alive was not.
She clung to me, fingers digging into my shoulders like anchors. I let her. My body hurt everywhere—ribs screaming, back burning, throat raw—but pain meant I was still here.
"Did… did we kill them?" she whispered.
I shook my head slowly. "No."
Her grip tightened. "Then they'll come after us."
"Yes."
