Adrian woke to the sound of breathing

  For a moment he thought it was his own, rough and uneven in the dark, but when he lifted his head the sound came from somewhere across the cave. The air felt stale and dry in his throat. Swallowing hurt now. Everything did. They both still couldn't guarantee that they would be safe here from the monster so as pointless as it may be Soren had decided to stay up throughout the night. Is it night? It should be. The few minuscules rays of sunshine has stopped so it could be night

  As he woke it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the faint grey light creeping in from the cave entrance. The world had become little more than stone and shadows. Soren was still awake. He sat against the wall with his arms resting on his knees, staring into the darkness like he had been there for hours. He didn't move when Adrian shifted. Didn't speak either. He just sat there, eyes fixed on nothing

  Adrian couldn't remember the last time he had seen him sleep

  The hunger had settled deep in Adrian's stomach now, no longer a sharp pain but a constant twisting emptiness that refused to leave. Worse than that was the thirst. His tongue felt thick and useless in his mouth, like it had been left out in the sun for days

  Adrian rubbed his dry eyes and pushed himself up against the cave wall

  "Did you sleep?" he asked quietly

  Soren didn't answer right away

  He kept staring toward the cave entrance where a thin strip of grey light cut across the stone floor

  "Not really," he finally said

  Adrian let out a weak breath. "Yeah… me neither"

  Silence returned, heavy and uncomfortable. Adrian shifted, pressing a hand against his stomach. The movement made a hollow sound against the stone

  "God," he muttered. "I'd kill for water right now"

  Soren's eyes flicked toward him.

  Adrian forced a weak laugh, though it barely had any life in it, "Or food. Honestly I'd take anything."

  Soren said nothing

  Adrian noticed that and frowned slightly, "What?"

  "Nothing," Soren replied

  But Adrian could feel his gaze now, lingering longer than usual. After a moment Adrian looked away, pretending not to notice. Soren watched him for a long time after that. The sound of Adrian's stomach had been loud in the quiet cave. Louder than it should have been. Soren could almost feel the emptiness in his own body answering it.

  Hunger had stopped feeling like pain sometime yesterday. Now it felt like something deeper. Something patient. His eyes drifted down without him meaning them to. Adrian's hands rested loosely on his knees. His sleeves were pushed slightly up his forearms. Pale skin stretched over bone and muscle. Soren quickly looked away. The thought had come before. Just a flicker at first, easy to ignore. But hunger had a way of bringing it back and every time it returned, it stayed a little longer

  At first it was manageable, the hunger, the thirst, but over the course of being trapped both Soren and Adrian were becoming desperate. Soren especially. Their sense of time has been distorted, they just most of the time just existed in the pit of darkness they had found themselves in. Luckily or maybe now unluckily for them no matter how much time has passed it seems that the monster hasn't even come to chase them down here. No voices. No dreadful chase. Just silence

  Soren tried to focus on anything but the hunger. At first it had been simple. Ignore it. Wait it out. They would find a way out eventually. They always had before. However, here they couldn't escape whilst trapped in a prison of stone, walls unscalable, they were like death row inmates just waiting from their execution date

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  The hunger kept growing

  It wasn't just in his stomach anymore. It had spread through his entire body, hollowing him out from the inside. His limbs felt heavy, weak, like they belonged to someone else

  Across the cave, Adrian shifted again

  Soren closed his eyes

  Don't

  The thought had slipped in before he even realized it was there. Quick. Quiet. Like something whispering from the dark

  He forced himself to think of something else. The others. The way they had laughed days ago. The way they had believed they would all make it out together. They were gone now. Taken by the cave one by one. Now there were only two of them left

  Soren opened his eyes again before he could stop himself. Adrian sat hunched forward, arms wrapped loosely around himself. He looked smaller than he used to. Thinner. His breathing slow and shallow

  Weak

  Soren immediately looked away. The thought returned anyway. Not loud. Just patient and the worst part was that it no longer sounded impossible

  Adrian shifted against the cold stone, pressing his arms around his knees. His stomach churned again, emptiness twisting sharp inside him. The thirst burned like fire at the back of his throat, making every breath feel heavy.

  Soren didn't move. He just sat there, eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the faint light.

  "You awake?" Adrian asked, voice hoarse and breaking.

  Soren nodded once, slow, almost mechanical

  "Good," Adrian muttered, his words rushed, nervous. "At least you're still… still here"

  Soren didn't answer

  Adrian's chest tightened. "I-I keep thinking about them." He swallowed hard, gagging on the dryness in his throat. "All of them… gone. Just like that. Taken. And now it's… it's just us"

  Soren's eyes flicked toward him briefly before turning back to the darkness

  "Do you… do you ever think about it?" Adrian asked, voice trembling. "About what we did, about… about Sofia, Lukas, everyone else?"

  Soren stayed silent

  "Because I do," Adrian continued quickly, words spilling over each other. "I keep seeing it over and over. Their faces… how they-" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "I can't even… I can't even think straight"

  Soren finally spoke, flat and low. "It doesn't help to dwell"

  Adrian flinched, the tone of his voice twisting inside him. "I know… I know that," he said, almost pleading. "But I can't stop seeing it. Every time I close my eyes, I see them. And I… I'm scared, Soren. I'm so scared I'll be next"

  Soren didn't answer. His eyes were calm, cold, fixed somewhere just beyond Adrian, but not on him

  Adrian's stomach knotted tighter. He wanted Soren to say something, anything, to remind him he was still his friend. "You're… you're not going to leave me, right? You're not going to-" His words faltered, choked off by dry lips. "You're not going to leave me like the others."

  Soren's gaze flicked to him for just a second. That brief look made Adrian flinch. There was something there. Something different. A quiet calculation. Not fear. Not desperation. Something else

  "Good," Adrian said quickly, trying to fill the silence, forcing a weak smile. "Good. That's… that's fine." He laughed, but it was hollow and sharp, echoing off the walls. "At least it's just us now. We can… we can survive"

  Soren didn't respond. He never did anymore. And the way he watched… Adrian felt it pressing against him. Heavy, patient. Adrian didn't know if it was reassurance or something darker, and the thought made his chest tighten even more

  That last word lingered in Soren's head 'Survive'. If Adrian only knew the lengths he had gone to survive. What he had to do to their close friend to survive, what he did to Lukas. Would Adrian still depend on him now if he knew? As disgusting as it may be it was good that Vera got caught by that monster rather than Adrian. Soren didn't want to admit it, to think these vile things, but with their future of living so bleak he forces himself to assess everything, to take every detail in. If she was here instead of Adrian I would have a much harder time doing what I will have to do. God knows how long has passed in this cave, we have survived on the droplets of water albeit barely, but as for food if we don't eat soon we will both die

  When I say soon I mean within the next day or so. We have already been starved from being chased those few previous days and now our bodies are reaching their breaking point. A lot of people would not have only have given up before but even more would resign themselves to death now after falling into this cave. Falling to their death. Trapped in a pit with no means of survival and no way out and even if we managed to escape from here we still have to find a way out of this forest whilst escaping from that demonic monster thirsty and starved. A lot of people would give up

  How stupid

  How disgusting

  If what I did to Lukas was disgusting then that is even more vile. How can you accept death knowing you can still struggle to live? Even when it may only extend your life for a brief period longer. I will fight, I will struggle, I will survive no matter what, that's why I beg for your forgiveness Adrian. I am a shameless human being but at least I am true to myself, that's why I can accept what I have to do even if it will hurt me oh so much. This is my last resort. I will break or maybe pieces of me have already started to shatter and this is the last one to finally be destroyed

  Adrian....

  My best friend

  I'm sorry