Chapter 23.

Moth didn't remember anything from his life before but that night he had a dream that he hadn't expected to see. He was about nine years old at the time and he was a short kind with earthy brown colour hair ad the same bight green eyes. He had a small backpack strung over his shoulder and a bug catching net in hand as he leaped over a large tree route, a childish grin plastered on his face. Moth hummed a happy tune to himself as he walked through the forest nearby his home. He peeked under rocks, crawled through hollow logs and climbed up trees in search of bugs without much luck. The child felt almost giddy as he pranced through the trees, his mother had told him not to go into the forest today because she had work to do but she always had work to do and he just wanted to be in the forest. He did this all the time without her knowing, so it was okay, he didn't get too hurt when he did this. 

His mother and father were busy, always coming home late in from the place they called the lab and they were always arguing. But they wouldn't argue about work, they would argue about him. Apparently he was meant to hang out other kids instead of spending time in the forest, they'd spend their time at work to try to forget about him. They were working on something important, Moth could tell because they were working on the days they promised to spend with him. But it was okay, he had the forest to keep him company. It was quiet and safe.

But then forest ,that was always quiet and serene and calmed the boy's worries grew loud causing him to halt in his tracks. He looked up to the sky, birds flew away from the forest at an intense speed. Animals hidden within his surroundings came out from their spots and started to do the same, startling Moth and causing him to fall to the ground.

The cicadas chirped loudly making a low trilling sound like an alarm that made the boy bring his hands to his ears as he stood up, blood dripping down his knees from the fall. His eyes welled up with tears and his breathing quickened as he let out a scared sob. A loud hiss from behind him pulled him out of his thoughts, he spun around to see a large green fog crawling towards him slowly. Moth took a hesitant step back as it came closer to him, reaching out a foggy claw to grab him. He yelled a surprised noise as he stumbled away from the fog, moving backwards into a tree root, making him fall to the ground. He groaned in pain as he sat up again, rubbing his head which had collided with a sharp rock. The fog quickly consumed him, terrifying the poor boy who started to cough and splutter due to the unclean air. He felt his body start to heat up and his fingers started to twitch on their own, he coughed as a sharp searing pain in his stomach. He groaned and clutched at the area, keeling over in pain. Black veins spread up his arms and his vision started to go black, he wanted to scream and cry for his mother but he couldn't move through his debilitating pain. The final thing he saw before his vision went black was two moths, their bright wings standing out in the dark green fog. He watched as they danced in the air together, a frantic, desperate, final act between the two moths as if they were trying to escape the same fate as him.

Moth had found out that he could preserve his energy by sleeping as much as possible so he spent a lot of his time sleeping, only occasionally getting up to check on Lane and collect food and water. He'd also made a habit of keeping an eye on Dorian mostly to see where he'd go or seeing if he could find any clues as to where the exit was. The man hadn't moved from his place in the terrarium for the time he was there, he even slept in the small bed that was placed in the area. Moth shivered in pain, a deep chill ran through his body and seeped into his bones. It made him want to fall asleep and rest in the warm grass but he was sure that he would have a hard time getting up again. No matter how much he wanted to sleep he couldn't, not until Lane got better. Dorian's words stuck with him, You can trust me. I want to help you. Moth started fiddling with the grass in front of him, trying to distract himself from his tiredness. "What a load of crap. Like I'd trust him." Moth wanted to avoid him as much possible but he was dying.

He stood up deciding to head towards the centre of terrarium where the wire frame was set up. He came into the clearing but stayed in the tree line to observe him at a distance. He seemed to by sitting at that same metal table doing more paper work. With the amount of writing he was doing on those paper, Moth was starting to wonder if it was his favourite activity. He stared at the figure for a moment before heading back to Lane, shaking off whatever thought had filled his head. 

As he arrived back, he settled back into the grass, cuddling up into his cloak. Nearby, Lane rustled in his hammock groaning slightly and his face contorting in pain. Moth's eyes widened as he rushed to his side. "Lane. Are you awake?" He refrained from touching him but shook the hammock lightly. Lane grunted in pain before his face smoothed and he fell asleep again, Moth sighed and collapsed on the ground beneath him. I miss him. I hope he wakes up soon. Moth wrapped his arms around his knees. I wish he'd wake up, by now he should have me wrapped up in a big hug with his face pressed into my neck. His heart throbbed in longing. 

His eyes glanced back over to the direction he'd just travelled. I want... to live long enough to see Lane.