Rena Rockwell's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Rena Rockwell pushed deeper into the woods, red hair snagging on low branches. She had a goal: find a place to hide people the patrols wanted. The grey cat trotted ahead, tail high, green eyes catching the last light. Rena followed because the cat had never been wrong. The cat stopped at a bush covered in black flowers. Fireflies drifted around it in a slow, steady ring. Rena knelt. The ground here was dry. The air felt cooler. The cat looked at her, then walked past the bush and sat down again. Behind the flowers stood a stone figure. A horned man with goat legs, carved long ago. Red marks on its base pulsed faintly, like a slow heartbeat. Rena did not like it. She also did not look away. "He has been waiting," said a low voice. A toad sat on a flat rock, eyes wide and purple. "Most people walk past. You stopped." Rena gripped her knife. The cat did not move, which meant the toad was safe. "What is this place?" "Shelter," the toad said. She tilted her head toward a wall of green vines. Behind them, an arched mouth opened into the hill. Crystals glinted inside. The cat stood, walked to the cave entrance, and sat down once more. Rena let out a slow breath. She had found it. Now she had to fill it before the patrols did.