He went back to sharpening the stick, obviously not interested in any further conversation. I sighed, glancing up at the glowing orb overhead. The sky was streaked in shades of gray, from dark to platinum, and though it was somewhat eerie, it was also incredibly beautiful and made our surroundings surprisingly light. Had the moon always been this luminous? Had the city lights dimmed it so much for me in recent years? I started lying back down, but pressure on the wound on my flank almost made me yelp. I pressed my lips together to hold it back as I sat up. Tuck’s head rose, his gaze meeting mine. “I have to use the bathroom,” I squeaked, rising stiffly but quietly, careful not to wake Charlie.

I noticed Tuck’s hands halt in their task as I moved past him toward the denser section of trees and brush off to the right. “Don’t go far,” he said.

I didn’t answer. I’d go as far as I wanted. Yes, he was helping us. But he wasn’t the boss of me. Truthfully though, I had no interest in going far anyway. I was creeped out and had this odd weight sitting on my chest that felt like it was about more than just the fact that we were basically lost in the wintery wilderness. I just needed to privately investigate this wound that was getting more painful by the hour.

I stepped behind a section of brambly bushes that hid me from view and lowered my pajama bottoms and then unbuttoned my pants, hissing as I peeled them down slightly and the leather scraped over my skin. I’d stuck a pair of ankle socks in my jacket pocket to wear on my hands and I took one out and dabbed at my wound which was now oozing and angry red around the border. Great. And ick.

The edge of the seat belt had obviously sliced into me pretty deeply in this spot, but it’d also abraded and burned from my waist to halfway down my ass. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the gash as it was in a spot that was difficult to see unless I simultaneously twisted and bent. But even in this dimmer section of woods and from my awkward vantage point, it didn’t look good. And dabbing it with a sock was doing nothing except getting small fibers stuck to the open flesh.