NEVE ignored the pain in her legs, straining to keep up with Alice. Said girl hadn’t even broken a sweat, and Neve had the feeling that for Alice, this was nothing.

She was more than tempted to collapse, but the threat of that creature hovered over her. As far as she could tell, it was nowhere near them—every time she glanced back, there were two figures racing around each other, and it had to have been Angelica and the creature—but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t terrified. Though, Neve still didn’t get how Angelica could take it down with her dagger and now white hair. The creature was larger than her in every single way, and it had a frighteningly bulbous head.

Neve shivered just thinking about it, pumping her legs harder to distract herself. A sharp sting came from her thigh, and she tripped, knees scraping on the dirt. She blew out a breath from surprise and slowly brought herself into a sitting position to look at the marks on her knees. They were bright and ugly but didn’t hurt as much as she’d originally thought they would. She could keep going.

Or so she thought until she actually tried to get up. Her thighs burned, even though she’d hardly been running for a few minutes, and her knees failed her.

She stayed on the ground.

Neve grimaced when Alice approached her, fully expecting a slap. Instead, Alice held out her hand to her.

“Get up already!” Her words were cutting, emphasis on each syllable.

“I can’t!”

Alice reached down and gripped Neve’s hands, pulling at her. “You’re joking, right? We have to get away from here!”

“I literally can’t! You’re free to go—I never asked you to drag me around!”

That didn’t deter Alice at all, the girl only pulling harder.

Neve flailed around, trying to shake her off. “Are you even listening to me? Let go!”

But as Neve took a closer look at Alice, she realized the girl really wasn’t listening. Her eyes were wide with fear and frustration, and her arms shook as she yanked Neve onto her feet.

Neve groaned as her legs failed her again, and she was on the ground. “Alice, I’m way too tired to do anything right now! No matter what you do, I’m staying right here.” Now that she’d sat and calmed down, the cuts in her arms were starting to hurt, and Alice’s tugging sure hadn’t helped.

“You’re not in any place to be making demands right now!” Alice said, shrill voice causing Neve to put her hands over her ears.

“I get that you’re scared,” Neve said, “but you’re literally asking for it to come after us!”

Alice stared at her for an uncomfortable moment. “Excuse me?”

“‘Excuse me?’” Neve said in a high-pitched voice. “It’s written all over your face—you’re terrified!” She winced. She hadn’t meant to sound so mocking. Well, maybe she had…

Before Alice had a chance to respond—or hit her—a voice came from behind Neve. “Enough with the arguing! You want to draw another one of those things here?”

“You took a while. Getting a little rusty, I see,” Alice said. Her mouth pressed into a thin line that was probably supposed to be a smirk. Instead, she looked a bit on edge.

Angelica stepped into view, breath coming in short puffs. “Says the one who ran away.”

Alice ignored her. “Let’s get going. You should carry Neve.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“She keeps saying that she can’t walk, so…”

“But why should I carry her? You’ve just been—”

“I am not touching that thing!” Alice hissed, hands pointing at Neve in frantic gestures. “You’ve been touching demon for the past five minutes, so I’m sure you can do it for a few more!”

“Al—”

“Stop it!” Neve stood on shaky legs. “I’m not a demon—I am not a thing—and I’d appreciate it if you both stopped talking about me like I’m some kind of freak!”

Alice gave her a murderous glare. “I’m sick of you playing dumb. If you don’t want to tell us anything willingly, I can break your fingers. That might make you a bit more cooperative.”

“Wait,” Angelica said. “What if she’s not lying?”

Alice scoffed, rolling her eyes. “What are you talking about? You saw what was in her head.”

“And I can’t explain that. But hurting her without even listening to what she has to say is really fucked up.”

Alice’s jaw clenched, teeth gritted. “Fine. Fine. Go ahead and explain yourself, Neve.”

Neve averted her eyes as they both stared at her. Was it okay to tell them about The Obscurity? What would they do if she told them? What would The Obscurity do if she told them? But at the same time, she didn’t have much of a choice. If she lied, they’d probably know, and she had no idea what kind of lie would explain whatever they’d seen in her head. If she said nothing, they’d torture her. She didn’t know what deliberate torture felt like, but she’d gone through enough pain in the last few days. And if she told them—

Well, only one way to find out.

“The thing you saw inside my head… is not part of me.” She paused. “Actually, it sort of is, but it’s not me. When I tried to strangle you, Alice, that wasn’t me. That was the thing in my head, and it—”

“And this, Angelica, is what happens when you listen to demons.” She side-eyed Neve. “They lie. And this one’s not very good at it.”

Despite the dire situation she was in, Neve found herself blushing. How could she explain this without sounding like a lunatic? “I’m not lying! I don’t know why it’s in my head, but it’s there. And it calls itself ‘The Obscurity.’”

Angelica and Alice froze.

“The Obscurity?” Angelica repeated.

Neve nodded, hands clammy. Clearly, they recognized ‘The Obscurity’, and not in a good way.

Alice opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “We should go somewhere less… visible.”

Angelica nodded, and Neve was a bit unsettled at how quickly they went back into that position they'd been in before, except Alice was in front now, and Angelica stood behind Neve.

It didn't take long for them to get to a place similar to the one they were in before. This one, however, was made of dirt, most likely dug so that an animal could be hidden.

Neve grimaced as they crawled inside the small space. “Is it a good idea to stay in here? What if the… animal who made this comes back?”

Angelica sat with her legs criss-crossed. “The marks made by it are more than days old, so it probably won't be coming back for a while. And if it does, I'll take care of it.”

Neve could only nod.

“In any case,” Alice said, arms crossed, “how would The Obscurity get into your head? And why?

“I already said I don’t know! It’s just there. But… what is it? It calls itself a goddess, but—”

Alice gave a humorless laugh. “Goddess? In what world? That thing is darkness personified. Literally.”