So, this is a continuation of Chapter 2, and I originally meant to make it longer, to reveal some stuff, but I found that I couldn't continue where I stopped. It was too sweet!

So, I give you Chapter 3!

Chapter 3-

When Alby touched my shoulder to wake me for the next watch, I sat straight up. I think he knew that I wasn't going to fall asleep.

"Wake me at dawn," he told me as he lay down and yawned, though I could still see a shimmer of fear in his dark eyes. If he fell asleep, I wouldn't wake him. But I nodded anyway, to appease him.

As he settled himself on his sleeping mat, I moved to the edge of our shelter, near the cloth flap. Alby had secured it by tying short lengths of rope through holes in the bottom corners, securing them to curved sticks, and driving them into the ground.

I drew my knees up to my chest and held them with my arms, letting myself shiver in the night. Usually, Alby and I didn't see the need for night shifts like this, but sometimes we would, if something strange had happened during the day or we heard more shrieks than normal coming from the creatures- Grievers, I guess we could call them now.

It was during these times that I allowed myself to be weak. With Alby, it was just the two of us. I felt like we each had to be strong, a little like a show of strength. I still didn't even like to talk to him much, but I was slowly becoming more comfortable with the idea of being trapped with a boy.

The night held many terrors for me. Alby had told me once, shortly after his arrival, that I looked like a ghost. Granted, he had much darker skin than I did, but even as I studied my hands during the day, my fair skin did look very white. Sometimes, when there was a breeze, I would catch glimpses of my hair being lifted up in the gentle wind. My hair was light, as well. Not white, but not quite yellow either.

The first month that I was here, I knew nothing about my eyes, and this bothered me. Alot. No matter how hard I tried to identify a color in my reflection in the moving water from the stream, I just couldn't quite pin it down. I knew they were big, but that was about all I knew about them.

That was one of the first times I asked Alby a question.

"Alby?" The word felt strange on my tongue, and my voice was barely louder than a hoarse whisper.

But he heard me.

"Yeah?" He turned to look at me. We had finally completed the shelter and were sitting at our small make-shift fire pit.

"Do you…" I stopped and swallowed. Talking to him was difficult, because I didn't trust him yet. I had to know, though, and an overwhelming sense of impatience washed over me. It successfully damped my fear; for a moment at least. "Can you tell me what color they are?" I said this in a hurried breath. "My eyes," I clarified, catching his confused glance.

"They're blue. A real nice blue, too. They kind of seem silver at times, but always with shades of blue," he told me in a somewhat gentle tone. He shifted so he was facing me. "What about mine?"

"Brown," I said to him, feeling obligated to answer. "Brown like rich soil, except they sparkle sometimes. Not like dirt."

He nodded and turned away from me again.

So I was a ghost. Alby tried to talk to me more, but eventually gave up and coaxed me instead to eat rather than speak. He had seen me scared, but he had not seen my true fear. The panic I could exhibit was astounding. Not in front of Alby, though.

This was my fear, and so I kept it to myself.

That night as I huddled near the entrance, I kept thinking about the knife that had been thrown, and who could have thrown it.

And then I remembered the box. It's late departure.

This made me consider the amount of time since Alby had come up.

It had been about a month since his arrival, which was the amount of time I spent alone before him. That must be it. There was another human in the Glade with us. This thought scared me more than anything else so far.

Forgetting my promise in my mind earlier, I crept across the floor and tentatively poked Alby. His eyes opened immediately, making me think he had never fallen asleep.

"Alby," my voice croaked out. "It's another human."

He almost seemed to roll his eyes. "What else do you think could have thrown that knife, girl?"

I shrugged, feeling a bit foolish, but still shaken enough to explain to him where the human had come from.

"He, or she, is from the box, Alby. Remember it wouldn't leave? And it's been a month since you." I tried to describe it to him between silent, heavy breaths and broken words.

His eyes closed. "I'd been wondering if that had any connection." He scrutinized my face closely. "Look, you're obviously shaken up. Why don't I take the rest-"

"No." I shook my head fervently. "I'm not sleeping anywa-"

"Stop it, and listen to me. I'll take the rest of the watch with you. I can't sleep either, okay?"

I didn't nod, but since I didn't protest, he took it as confirmation.

"Calm down and lay on your mat. We can talk," he tried to reassure me.

"I'm fine."

He snorted quietly. "If that was fine, then I'd hate to see you have a panic attack. Lay down," he told me.

Still apprehensive, I finally reclined on my mat. I turned myself so I could see Alby.

"You may have been here first, but you're not alone anymore. It's alright to be scared."

Though I couldn't see him clearly in the dark, I saw him reach out his hand. It brushed my own hand and I realized then how very cold I was. I pulled my blanket closer around me and yawned.

Maybe I was a little bit tired.

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