Alex- Day Three

It was hot outside, and Alex wrote. He wrote in his journal about experiences and memories. He wrote now, mostly to document what was happening. He kept seeing little flickers on the edge of his vision, his eyes darting around anxiously. Marie's phone was on it's last dregs of battery, so they didn't dare use it.

The bus had never come back for them. Maybe it did, but it didn't know where to look, so it had passed them by. Maybe that was just wishful thinking. It probably hadn't even bothered.

He felt a flash of light and glanced up to see Marie taking a picture of him. He scowled.

"Instead of taking pictures you can do something useful," Merick spoke out loud what Alex was thinking.

"Like what? Lounging around like you two?" Marie scoffed. "And besides, I want to see if the shadows are fixed."

All three of them knew that was a lie. They had spoken about it before, how Merick heard whispers and Alex felt the shadows closing around him, twisting, snarling, like branches on a tree waving in the wind. Only they were claws, grasping around him, and he couldn't get out. Lately he had begun to see things as well, like Marie claimed she's been seeing.

They had entertained the idea last night of going out to a different cave, but there were no guarantees.

"What if we don't even find another cave? And we're stuck in the heat? We'll die a lot quicker." Those had been Alex's words, but now he wasn't so sure if he believed them. Was going out in the heat really worse than being stuck here, doing nothing? Merick had caught a small desert mouse last night, but that was pure luck. The thing had been scrawny enough to rival a skeleton.

They were going to die out here. It wasn't the first time Alex had the thought.

"We… we can't stay here." Alex cleared his throat. "I know last night I said we should, but…" He trailed off. Merick glanced at him.

"We'll die out here if we don't move," Merick finished for him. "We can barely catch food, and who knows how long before the water makes us sick. And the cave…" He glanced around, and Alex noticed how pale he was. His eyes were rimmed with purples, his jaw taut, his fists tight at his sides.

"I agree." Marie shuffled her feet on the floor. "We should leave. I don't like this place, and even if we end up… not making it… it's better than sitting here doing nothing. We have to at least try." She was staring at her camera, biting her lip and closing her eyes.

Alex scooted up next to her, leaving his notebook on the ground.

Wrapped around him, as if in an embrace, a twisted cloak of darkness. A hand was placed on his shoulder, the other just grazing the other side of his face, the fingers lengthening until they almost touched his cheek. There was no face, no body, but there was a certain 'form' to the darkness. Almost like it was liquid: uncertain of where it's boundaries are. Alex touched his own face, as if to be certain that there was nothing there.

He swore the air was slightly chillier before he withdrew.

"Take another one?" Alex whispered, though he didn't know why. "Or I'll take one. We can see if you're safe from it?"

It was only Alex's morbid curiosity that made him say those words. Marie clearly hesitated before nodding. Alex scooted back towards the wall with Merick, taking the camera around his neck and drawing it up to his eye. He clicked a picture and instantly went to see it. Merick drew close to Alex, peering around to see as well.

Marie's face, more gaunt from the lighting, was pale against the backdrop of the shadows. More than one, this time.

"Glad we're not the only ones," Merick huffed, returning to his stubborn seating position. Marie opened her mouth to say something before-

Sand. Or rather, the sound of it being thrown up into the air from steps. The trio froze, gaping at each other silently.

"Hello?" The familiar, almost welcome voice shouted. "Are you still hiding down there like cave-mice?" He sounded almost exasperated, but Alex felt what was masked behind his words; there was desperation. Desperation that they'd all been feeling.

"Jordan?" Marie called up. She stood, steadying herself on one of the rock walls. Alex stood too, the rocks waving around him as the dizziness took hold. Merick stayed for a while longer, before another shout from above caused him to slowly rise.

"Jordan? Is that you?" Marie called again.

Well, of course it was. It really was a stupid question. Who else could it have been? Alex leashed his annoyance and instead looked upwards, where the sun was just at its midpoint.

Jordan slid down on the rocks, landing next to them.

He looked terrible, probably just as they all looked. His black hair, normally neatly in place, was resembling a bird's nest with how messy it was. His clothes were tattered and torn, and he sported some cuts and bruises.

"What did you do? Walk through brambles?" Merick snorted. It was a weak attempt at humor, but Alex smiled. Jordan glared, but the effect was ruined with the tiredness on his face.

"As a matter of fact, yes." He sighed out, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "What have you guys been up to? You don't seem to be doing that great."

"First, please tell us why you're back. Did you not find any people, or a bett-"

"No." Jordan swallowed as he thought through his next words. "I don't know how far I went, but I turned around… like the morning after I.. left." I couldn't find you guys, so I went a bit past the cave before realizing I probably passed it. And now.. Here I am." His words were halting, nervous, his eyes darting, his movements… uncertain.

"Are you alright?" Alex thought to ask, but Jordan plowed on.

"I didn't see people. I didn't even see any other forms of shelter or caves or anything. I…" He stopped again, letting out a long breath.

"Jordan?" Merick stepped forward. Jordan stepped back, eying Merick's outstretched hands. Merick dropped them back to his sides.

"What happened out there?" Alex asked.

"The wind. It whispers, Alex." The words were a mere whisper, as he stared at Alex.

"Ha. Funny." Merick laughed out, though he looked unsettled. Jordan looked at him now, in turn. But Merick continued," You probably just heard something in the bushes. The wind is known to make sounds."

"The sand reaches. The reaches up, reaches towards you. And i-"

"Alright, Jordan." Marie placed a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her. He had nothing else to say. "That's enough now. You're really scaring us." She said it in a playful tone, reserved for handling little children, but even behind her smile Alex knew she felt as panicked as he did.

They didn't know what happened to Jordan, but they knew it would happen to them soon enough. Something outside was just dangerous enough to quicken up the process. It was likely even more dangerous than staying in the cave.

Alex returned to his spot and began to write again.

'It was hot outside…'